ranker-who-lives-twice-05122221
chapter-588

"Father."

『Yes? What is it?』

"I already know."

A moment of silence ensued.

『Son, do you really need to say things in such a disrespectful tone and manner?』

"Yes. Isn't it fun?"

『You son of a bitch!』

'Saying that is actually cursing yourself…'

『This crazy...!』 Kronos was lost for words at his son's blatant teasing. However, he soon turned his gaze towards Mother Earth when he heard Yeon-woo's next words.

"I think it's starting now."

『Anyway. We'll settle the matters between us later.』

Argh! Although it seemed as though she were on the brink of death after being hacked into pieces, Mother Earth let out a terrifying scream and rebuilt her true body into a bizarre form. It expanded, looking like a gigantic single cell, oozing poison and a terrible smell.

However, for Niflheim forces had seen this before, and it triggered memories of the time before they had been trapped in the Tower. In fact, Mother Earth's humanoid form was more jarring to them because they were used to seeing her as a blob. They quickly counterattacked.

『Everyone, fall back!』

The poison that Mother Earth spewed out was filled with her divine power. A small misstep could mean that Mother Earth's divine power would contaminate their divine nature. If that happened, they would become Mother Earth's food, and they quickly retreated. Seeing the Niflheim forces fall back, Yeon-woo's troops also retreated to the shadows.

Soon, the poisonous blob shrunk in size like a rapidly deflating balloon. Through his Draconic Eyes, Yeon-woo could see the Soulstone at the center of the shrunken blob, glimmering with color within the black-and-white lines of imperfections.

Yeon-woo took immediate action. He spread his Sky Wings and quickly reached the Soulstone. The poison spewing out of Mother Earth quickly rushed back inside her body to deal with Yeon-woo. It was Hydra's venom, the same poison that Syceus had used when he hunted down Athena. Hydra's venom was one of the few poisons that could affect supreme gods.

[An unknown substance is entering your body!]

[You have been afflicted with the status 'Poison'.]

[Your powers have been reduced.]

…

[Your skill 'Formless Poison' has countered your poison status. Status is being updated.]

[You have successfully neutralized the poison.]

[Analyzing the components of Hydra's venom.]

[Analysis complete.]

…

[Hydra's venom has been added to 'Formless Poison'.]

[Your mastery of 'Formless Poison' has increased!]

After using Formless Poison to neutralize Hydra's venom, Yeon-woo could now apply his upgraded Formless Poison skill onto his subsequent Sword Thunder attacks.

Boom! The blob was scorched, and parts of it began to fall off. A terrifying shriek that was much louder than any of Mother Earth's previous cries echoed. Yeon-woo maintained his focus on the center of the damaged blob.

Thump. Thump. The Soulstone beat like a heart. It was connected to a system of organs and veins. At the same time, the Sin Stone inside Yeon-woo trembled as if reacting to the beating. Yeon-woo felt the stones' desire to combine. They were pulling at each other like magnets.

As soon as he extended his hand to grab the Stone of Luxuria (Lust)—

Now.

You. Won't. Be. Able. What. You. Want.

A face that looked like Vieira Dune's, but much colder, popped out next to the Soulstone. The face was completely gray, like a plaster statue, and devoid of life. It was Mother Earth's incarnation. The incarnation shot out a hand.

Bam! Unable to snatch the Stone of Luxuria, Yeon-woo quickly wrapped his Sky Wings around himself to block the incarnation's attack. However, he was unable to dissipate all of the impact, and he was flung backward into the air.

Mother Earth's incarnation swallowed the Stone of Luxuria in one bite, completing her final transformation.

Sss. The grey plaster-like skin of the incarnation began to take on an apricot color as the incarnation was reborn into a real body.Just as she had thrown away the useless part of Vieira Dune, Mother Earth successfully removed all the damaged and unnecessary parts of her true body, creating a new humanoid form through the Soulstone. It was like a metamorphosis. Mother Earth had finally obtained a physical body, but her expression was full of frustration and disappointment.

She had planned on swallowing the entire World Tree, solidifying her ego through Vieira Dune, and being reborn as a perfectly omniscient, omnipotent god. After absorbing some parts of the World Tree, she managed to transform many conceptual parts into her physical form, but she failed to obtain the all-powerful omnipotence that she wanted. She directed her frustration and anger at Yeon-woo, who had always interfered with her.

Bang!

『I'll tear you apart!』 Mother Earth spread a pair of gray wings and rushed towards Yeon-woo. Since she had refined her physical form through a Soulstone, Mother Earth's consciousness was as organized as if she had a true ego.

Yeon-woo read her intentions and raised Vigrid in the air to block her. Bam! Yeon-woo slightly frowned at the stinging pain that traveled through his arm from Vigrid, but he continued to swing Vigrid without paying much attention to it. Whenever Sword Thunder shot out of Vigrid, space tore apart.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Rumble!

Yeon-woo's attacks were powerful enough to rip apart any divine being. However, after finishing her metamorphosis, Mother Earth was formidable, and she managed to nullify Sword Thunder quickly with her hands.

In some ways, Mother Earth's new form was more powerful than Yeon-woo. After all, Mother Earth had existed since time immemorial. Of course, in such a battle of transcendent beings, she would have the advantage.

She opened her right hand to shoot out a skill, and Yeon-woo countered with his blade. However, Mother Earth shot out a beam of light to swallow Yeon-woo whole. Yeon-woo wrapped one of her legs with his chains and cut off part of her wing. The severed wing turned into sharp blades and shot at Yeon-woo's midsection.

The rules and laws of the space had gone topsy-turvy. Yeon-woo quickly recognized that he was in a situation similar to that when he fought Nessie in the Demonic Sea. At that time, Nessie had constructed an Illusory World to merge reality and illusion. Mother Earth was using a similar principle to twist the natural laws to her advantage.

The divine power that Mother Earth had accumulated since her inception, the magic power of the Soulstone, and the energy she had been collecting from Kronos's corpse all mixed together. Although the different natures of these pieces were incompatible, the Soulstone, which was the core of Mother Earth's physical body, processed everything smoothly.

Bam! Bam! Fortunately, although Yeon-woo was relatively lacking in divine power, he had the upper hand when it came to physical fights. He had accumulated achievements step by step as he climbed up the Tower with his keyword, "fight". Furthermore, he had crafted and honed his own form of martial arts. Additionally, he possessed the various folklores that Kronos had passed onto him through Vigrid, so Yeon-woo was clearly aware of what a fight between transcendent beings entailed.

『Left side…and then on your right.』

『She'll be able to nullify your attacks.』

『In that case, form a fog with your Formless Poison and fall back.』

Also, with Kronos' advice, Yeon-woo found it much easier to anticipate Mother Earth's movements. Even though she hadn't been able to inflict serious injuries on Yeon-woo, Mother Earth was forced to take a step back. Her expression was horribly contorted. Her emotions rose and powerful waves of her considerable holy power burst out, twisting space.

She seemed to have realized why she couldn't catch Yeon-woo.

『From father to son…three generations shackled me. Even now, even now…!』

Yeon-woo felt Vigrid separate into several pieces that reassembled into the shape of a human. Kronos suddenly appeared next to Yeon-woo with his arms crossed. He looked at Mother Earth sharply, but there was a bitter sadness in his air. 『Gaia.』

Mother Earth was maddened, and she cried out, 『Despicable thing. Do you think I birthed you so you could do this to me? Bastard child!』