The originally beautiful and holy face is now twisted like the vilest demon, with eyes burning with the fire of sacred hatred.
They wear tattered holy robes, and the sacred emblem on their chest has long been inverted, becoming a symbol of desecration.
"Delir..."
Ron observed the legion of this Apostle through the perspective of the puppet, gaining a deeper understanding of the complexity of the Abyss:
"To bring angels to such a degree of fall, this technique of spiritual control..."
Following behind the fallen angels were hundreds of twisted souls of once devoted religious individuals.
Priests, Holy Knights, nuns, missionaries... They were servants of the Light in life but have now become a perfect irony to faith.
Their souls burn with an eternal fire of vengeance, a fury and betrayal towards their once worshipped deity.
Abyssal creatures from the audience erupted in appreciative roars.
In the values of the Abyss, such a perfect subversion of light and holiness is the highest form of art.
"Delir’s legion, always so... poetic."
A voice on the audience commented.
It toyed with the human head in its hand, with a clear tone of admiration:
"Look at the despair in those angels’ eyes, they are living works of art."
"Ssss... I prefer the expressions of those priests."
Another voice hissed and replied: "That complete negation of former faith is more cruel than any torture."
Maggs’ voice rang out again: "Next, let us welcome Kempes’ ’Dimensional Rift’!"
The second spatial rift opened, but this time the emerging legion made people more uneasy.
Their forms were extremely bizarre, each individual existing simultaneously in multiple spatial layers.
They appeared like puzzles cut by invisible blades, their body parts flickering between different spatial levels.
Some soldiers’ heads existed in the main space while their bodies were distributed in three other dimensions;
some soldiers’ weapons existed on a future timeline, only manifesting when they attacked;
and some soldiers themselves were missing spaces, leaving void-like cracks with every step in reality.
"Bizarre segmentation method..."
Ron analyzed these eerie beings through the puppet:
"Distributing the soldiers’ existence across multiple spatial layers, this technique enhances evasive capability and unpredictability of attacks..."
The audience’s reaction became more fervent.
Abyssal creatures were evidently thrilled by such transcendent display beyond conventional understanding.
"Kempes’ creativity always surprises!" a spectator shouted.
"I wonder how these soldiers are trained."
Another voice filled with curiosity: "Existing in multiple spaces simultaneously, doesn’t their consciousness split?"
Then comes the third legion - Kro’s "Time Erosion."
The horror of this legion lies in its distorted use of time.
Some soldiers appeared to have died centuries ago, reduced to mere skeletons, yet still capable of action;
some soldiers trapped in infinite cycles of death and rebirth, their bodies continually decaying and regenerating;
and some soldiers’ time flows completely differently from their surroundings.
Their every move was slow as a slow-motion scene, but their power magnified several times by time compression.
"The variation in time flow..." Ron mused: "If this ability is properly utilized..."
The following legions similarly left deep impressions:
The "Corrosion Forest" legion, commanded by the Seventh Floor’s plant Apostle "Root Toxin" Karola.
Hundreds of gigantic carnivorous plants and mobile, decayed ancient trees constituted this bizarre plant army.
The horror they bring lies in their infectivity; any enemy killed by them will quickly resurrect into a new plant warrior.
The "Flesh Fusion" legion, from the eighth floor—"Splicing Master" Nicholas.
Each soldier was a killing machine perfectly spliced from organs of different creatures.
Ron could see the heart of a dragon, a demon’s muscle, an angel’s bone, and even organs of Otherworld creatures he couldn’t recognize.
The "Void Devour" legion, belonging to the ninth floor’s "Heart of Emptiness" Cecilia.
The most terrifying trait of these creatures is their ability to devour surrounding reality, trapping enemies in terrifying void.
Wherever they tread, even the air disappears, leaving an absolute void.
The final legion, "Mind Labyrinth," from the Sixth Floor’s local Apostle "Thought Parasite" Alpha.
Each soldier is an activated labyrinth structure, capable of dragging enemy consciousness into an endless spiritual prison.
After most legions completed their entrance ceremony, the entire arena fell into an unusual silence.
All Apostles focused their attention on the final Teleportation Gate.
Awaiting to see what surprise the recently rising "Eye of the Abyss" Nari would bring.
A chaotic rift slowly tore open in the arena center, with purest chaos energy swirling at the rift’s edges.
Judging by the energy’s quality and concentration, it clearly surpassed the tier of previous legions.
The audience’s din gradually faded, all creatures held their breath awaiting this born chaos’s entrance.
However, as Nari’s figure emerged from the rift, unexpected laughter erupted throughout the arena.
She only brought three "warriors":
An ordinary looking mannequin—Stand-In Puppet, quietly hovering in midair, lacking any aura of threat.
An upgraded bio-mechanical golem—Explorer One.
Though its surface flickered with bluish energy patterns, compared to other legions, it seemed negligible.
And a group of seemingly ineffectual luminous jellyfish—Sound Jellyfish.
They floated slowly in the air, emitting pleasant but completely non-threatening sound tones.
Thunderous mockery instantly erupted from the audience:
"This is Nari’s legion? Three toys and a bunch of pets?"
"Looks like that lunatic is truly insane! Does she think this is a child’s playhouse game?"
"I bet a thousand soul essences she won’t last through the first round!"
"Hahaha! Maybe she plans to hypnotize enemies with music?"
Mocking hisses emanated from Delir’s legion of fallen clergy.
Kempes disdainfully commented through multiple spatial layers:
"This caliber of legion couldn’t defeat even one of my soldiers."
Even Kro didn’t bother hiding its disappointment, its time erosion soldiers halted their complex time cycles,
clearly thinking no preparation was needed for such weak opponents.
Other Apostles’ reactions were similar.
Karola’s plant legion emitted sarcasm like wind rustling leaves;
Nicholas’s spliced soldiers relaxed their vigilance, some even sat down;
Cecilia’s void legion stopped devouring the surrounding reality;
Alpha’s mind labyrinth soldiers began chatting amongst themselves, completely disregarding Nari’s presence...
Only Maggs, suspended at the highest point, thoughtfully watched that seemingly innocuous puppet.
His spider sense told him things were definitely not as simple as they appeared.
"Nari indeed previously went insane due to chaos, but her combat instinct never disappeared..."
Maggs analyzed in his mind:
"Furthermore, recent intelligence shows her rational state has notably improved.
Given her personality, she wouldn’t lose face in such an occasion... unless..."
His nine eyes simultaneously focused on the Stand-In Puppet, trying to analyze its essence through deeper perception.
But to his surprise, this seemingly ordinary puppet completely shielded his probe.
Not in the usual powerful opposing manner, but through a more sophisticated "absence of existence."
It was as if the puppet didn’t exist in this reality level at all.
"Interesting..." Maggs’ mask slightly skewed, expressing contemplation:
"To hide oneself from my perception, such technique..."
Meanwhile, Ron felt different sentiments through the consciousness connection sensing the whole arena’s reactions.
"A perfect state of underestimation..."
In the embrace of Nari’s tentacles, he quietly analyzed the situation:
"All opponents believe Nari came to fool around this time, completely dropping their guard. This psychological advantage is more precious than any tactical arrangement."
He could feel the terrifying power contained within the Stand-In Puppet.
After Nari’s meticulous cultivation for some time, the puppet’s strength had leaped significantly, and more importantly, it was fully controlled by him at this moment.
"Moreover..."
A slight smile crept onto Ron’s lips:
"I still have some cards they can’t imagine."