Chapter 143
Ssssss…….
A faint trace of Demonic Energy flowed from Lord Biden’s mouth.
Crack. Crack.
His skeletal body collided against itself, producing unpleasant noises.
The recovery of the power he had consumed during his battle with the Heavenly Demon was progressing slowly.
Lord Biden had become impatient.
Because the other High-ranking Executives were tearing into him like starving hyenas the moment he showed weakness.
The moment news of the Heavenly Demon’s attack spread, it was no different from exposing his vulnerability to them.
By criticizing the Heavenly Demon’s actions, they prevented her attention from turning toward them while greedily coveting his authority.
But after losing his strength, there was nothing he could do.
That was why he desired to obtain No. 66’s body as soon as possible.
And today—
Was the promised day.
Imagining the complete self he would finally become after obtaining the Body of the Living, Lord Biden smiled.
Once he acquired No. 66’s body, no one in Pandemonium would dare look down on him again.
Not the High-ranking Executives.
Not even the Heavenly Demon or Pandemonium’s ruler.
His body, wrapped in Demonic Energy, slowly moved.
The time had come.
His black cloak fluttered before completely swallowing his body.
At the same time, Lord Biden vanished from Necropolis.
---
The researchers hurriedly moved about.
“Did you check the test subject?”
“T-that’s the thing! The new recruit suddenly disappeared!”
“What kind of bullshit is that?!”
“He was definitely here until yesterday…….”
“Damn it! Lord Biden will be arriving soon, so prepare the test subject first!”
The researchers hurriedly prepared for the experiment.
Today marked the seventh day of the preparation period Lord Biden had mentioned.
He would arrive soon.
“What about the sacrifices?”
“They’re perfectly prepared.”
“Our lives depend on this experiment succeeding.”
The experiment they were currently preparing involved combining the various Predation-type Authorities possessed by No. 66 into a single, stronger Authority.
The researchers believed that was the method needed to create the Vessel of the End.
And at the same time, it aligned with the ideal body Lord Biden desired, as well as the evolution of existence itself.
That was why Lord Biden intended to personally participate in the experiment.
Partly because he intended to seize her body the moment the experiment ended—
But also because the experiment stimulated the scholarly curiosity of the man who had once been a magician.
He believed that if he acquired this knowledge, then once his body became complete, he would achieve another stage of evolution in the realm of magic as well.
No. 66 silently watched the preparations for the experiment.
Normally, he would have been beside her, preparing things while talking endlessly.
But today, he wasn’t here.
Without the noisy existence constantly chattering beside her, her mind felt at ease.
She felt no disappointment.
No. 66 simply decided to think of it as finally being rid of an annoying person.
Her gaze lingered briefly on the place where he used to stand.
At that moment, the laboratory door opened and a researcher approached.
“Follow me.”
Without a word, No. 66 rose from her seat and followed him.
The reason she obeyed the researcher without complaint was because she knew escaping now would be meaningless.
Her gaze lowered toward the floor.
More precisely—
Toward her shadow.
A crimson light flickered from the eyes within No. 66’s shadow.
For the past week, the Vampire Butler, Lord Biden’s loyal servant, had been watching her.
More Undead than ever before guarded the research facility.
After passing through numerous research wings, they finally arrived at a gigantic altar.
The researcher who brought her there looked around at the surroundings and nearly vomited.
“Uwegh!”
The sight was horrifying enough to disgust even a researcher accustomed to grotesque scenery due to countless inhumane experiments.
Beneath the complex Magic Circles and inverted pentagrams lay countless sacrifices.
The scene resembled a grand banquet prepared for someone.
Covering his mouth, the researcher hurriedly fled the area.
No. 66 quietly walked through the sacrifices toward the center of the Magic Circle.
She knew exactly where her place was.
Because she had already undergone similar experiences countless times during experiments involving implanted Demonic Authorities.
Of course, back then, she hadn’t been able to move her body.
But now things were different.
Now she understood what all this was for.
Her shadow suddenly rose upward as the Vampire Butler emerged from it.
“Do not be afraid. You are about to become part of a great existence.”
“…….”
No. 66 gave no response.
She simply laid her body silently upon the massive altar.
How much time had passed?
The atmosphere among the Undead guarding the altar suddenly changed.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Without warning, the Undead began slamming their weapons against the ground.
At the same time, they let out low groans.
“Grrrrrrr…….”
Together with vibrations echoing through space at steady intervals, the funeral dirge of the dead rang out beyond the altar.
Seeing this, the researchers frowned.
There was only one reason the Undead would behave like this.
Their master had arrived.
Soon, space distorted, and Lord Biden emerged from within it.
All the Undead immediately knelt simultaneously, welcoming their king.
Even No. 66 momentarily shrank back from his overwhelming presence.
Wrapped entirely in black Demonic Energy, he slowly approached her.
“You’re unusually obedient today.”
Perhaps because he would soon obtain the Body of the Living—
Unlike a week ago, he appeared to be in an exceptionally good mood.
After glancing around once, he gave a brief comment.
“The preparations are satisfactory.”
Then he stretched his hand into empty air.
A large staff immediately revealed itself.
The moment Lord Biden grasped the staff, an overwhelming aura of death erupted from his body.
Filled with murderous energy, the Undead roared in excitement.
“UWOOOOOOO!”
The researchers watching from outside the altar nervously swallowed.
The preparations had already been flawless from the moment Lord Biden arrived.
Raising the massive staff high, Lord Biden slammed it down with a thunderous crash.
At the same time, the hem of his cloak, made entirely from Demonic Energy, spread outward and swallowed both the altar and its surroundings.
As the Demonic Energy manifested, No. 66 frowned at the pressure crushing her entire body.
But the discomfort she felt now was only the beginning.
Unknown words began flowing from Lord Biden’s mouth.
[κατανάθεμαεὐχ ή ῆς ἡ ὄρεξις εως ἡ]
A language impossible to understand and unpleasant even to hear.
Although Lord Biden’s voice was quiet, the disgusting language burrowed deeply into the ears of everyone present.
Then Lord Biden suddenly raised his head and shouted once more.
[Ποῦ ἐστιν τὸ δεῖπνον.]
“Hnghk?!”
Lord Biden’s chant tore through No. 66’s mind.
Immediately afterward, Demonic Energy began flowing from her eyes, nose, and mouth.
The Predation-type Authorities implanted within No. 66’s body had begun manifesting.
At the same time, an overwhelming hunger descended upon her.
The hunger felt like claws scraping against her stomach from the inside, causing No. 66’s body to twist violently.
Her gaze turned toward the countless sacrifices placed around the altar.
The flesh that even the researchers fled from in disgust gradually transformed into irresistible delicacies before her eyes.
As if entranced, No. 66 stretched her hand toward the sacrifices around the altar.
But the attempt was meaningless.
The Demonic Energy covering the ground bound her arms and legs.
No matter how much strength she used to resist, Lord Biden’s Demonic Energy refused to release her.
Blood vessels bulged around No. 66’s eyes.
“Grrrrrrgh!”
It was a kind of pain she had never experienced before.
Hunger.
Human dignity, status—
None of that mattered anymore.
Only the instinct to consume the food before her remained.
Seeing this, Lord Biden smiled.
The Demonic Authorities engraved within her body were rampaging out of control.
He poured Demonic Energy into her body and began interfering directly with the Authorities running wild within her.
Originally, the experiment the researchers intended to conduct involved implanting an even stronger high-ranking Demon Authority into No. 66, allowing it to support the other Authorities and create synergy.
But Lord Biden’s thoughts differed.
To him, No. 66 was meant to become his new body.
And implanting an even more powerful Demonic Authority into a body already filled with numerous Authorities did not seem wise.
It would merely become a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.
Thus, Lord Biden chose a different method.
Countless Magic Circles rose around No. 66 and enveloped her.
Then black masses suddenly began protruding from her body.
They were projections of the Demonic Authorities implanted within her.
Like fighting dogs trapped inside a cramped cage, the Demonic Authorities burned fiercely as they tangled together.
The power Lord Biden injected into No. 66 split the Authorities apart.
Yet the rampaging Authorities continuously tried to devour one another without pause.
And the more violently they clashed, the more No. 66 descended into madness from the escalating hunger.
What Lord Biden sought to achieve was a form of Authority fusion.
Ordinarily, such a thing would have been impossible even for Lord Biden, who had reached the pinnacle of black magic and Demonic Energy.
To begin with, Demonic Authorities were not powers that belonged to the user themselves, but powers bestowed by Demons.
The reason Yoo Sung-woo succeeded in such a fusion was because the Demon of the End had already been sealed within his body from the very beginning.
And after observing both the Heavenly Demon and Yoo Sung-woo, Lord Biden realized a certain loophole.
Instead of directly fusing Demons and Demonic powers together—
What if one engraved magical and martial enlightenment into the Demonic power itself?
Rather than combining Demons directly, creating two separate manifestations of Demonic power and then fusing the resulting forms together—
Wouldn’t that serve as a sort of bypass?
The separated Demonic Authorities ignited like black stars.
Manipulating Demonic Energy, Lord Biden began creating links to connect the black-burning Authorities together.
Mana linked the Demonic Authorities, forming a massive ring.
Then the Demonic Authorities began racing furiously along the ring, each trying to devour the others’ power.
The sight resembled mythical serpents endlessly regenerating while consuming one another.
Ecstasy filled Lord Biden’s face.
This was no different from the birth of a completely new Authority.
It was a revolutionary achievement.
What he had accomplished was truly extraordinary—
A development entirely different from the original history.
The new power settled within No. 66 and began spinning violently as it spread throughout her body.
The Demonic Energy flowing from her eyes, nose, and mouth was sucked back inside, and the murky glow in her eyes sharpened into radiant brilliance.
Crack.
Then cracks began spreading across her body.
Through ancient records, Lord Biden already knew what this transformation signified.
A type of evolution in which a martial artist who reached the peak attained enlightenment and transformed into a physique better suited for mastering martial arts.
‘Rebirth through Reconstruction!’
Her skin, wrapped in light, began peeling away as she emerged anew like a hatchling breaking free from an egg.
The appearance of No. 66 after breaking free from her shell had changed drastically.
Her hair, once gray like dying ashes, became as black as pitch darkness.
And the muddy gold in her eyes transformed into brilliant radiant light.
An overwhelming desire to seize her body immediately consumed Lord Biden.
Before him stood the very Body of the Living he had desired for so long.
And not just any body—
A monstrous body possessing the Power of Predation.
If its power combined with his own, no one would be able to stop him.
Unable to endure the wait any longer, a new chant began flowing from Lord Biden’s mouth.
Before she, exhausted from the ritual and transformation, could resist—
He intended to seize her body and erase her pitiful soul entirely.
‘No… does she even possess a soul to begin with?’
Unable to contain his excitement, Lord Biden stretched out his bony hand toward No. 66.
And watching this—
No. 66 slowly smiled.
Because she realized that this was the perfect opportunity.
Stretching her hand toward her mouth, she spat something up from her stomach.
A dazzling jewel the size of a fist.
From it, an intense light erupted—
And the power of the sun began to blaze forth.