chapter 27: a moment of peace, a new slave

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Void gazed up at the sky, now a deep crimson red, and frowned. He could feel the world itself weakening, like it was on the verge of collapse.

"System, why is this happening?" Void asked, his tone calm but curious.

*(Host, gods are either created by or are part of the laws that form a middle-level world. For instance, the God of Water is partially created from the water law within this world. Middle-level worlds and below are composed of laws. It's the mastery of these laws that makes Rank 3 beings so powerful. For example, if lightning strikes you but you comprehend the law of water, you can turn the lightning into water. The gods are connected to these laws, and each time a god dies, a piece of that law vanishes.)*

"Interesting... What happens if all the laws are destroyed?" Void asked with a small, unsettling smile.

*(The world itself dies and returns to nothingness.)*

"I see," Void mused. "So at Rank 2, I will likely evolve my elemental power into a law of my own." He grinned at the thought.

*(Yes, Host.)*

"Well, that's still in the future. Let's focus on reaching high-level Rank 1 first," Void smirked as his massive wings unfurled, casting a fifty-meter shadow below. He flew into the air, his wings flapping with an ominous grace.

Then his expression darkened. "Ah... seems like my slave is disobedient," he chuckled before vanishing.

---

Linkir stood amidst the massacre she had caused, her hands trembling. The village she'd slaughtered wasn't from the orc race, but it didn't matter. They were living beings all the same. Her new Aeron form, part of a primordial demon lineage, made killing effortless. Yet her mind was fraying, struggling to reconcile what she had become.

"Help... me..." a weak voice called out, breaking through her thoughts. She turned and saw a creature barely clinging to life, using its only remaining limb to drag itself toward her.

Linkir felt tears welling in her eyes, her heart clenching in agony. She whispered to herself, "At least I spared the elderly, children, and mothers. I did something good... right?" But the words rang hollow as she gazed down at the dying creature. Just days ago, she had been a young orc, innocent to the horrors of battle. Since becoming an Aeron, everything had changed.

"Please... I... don't... want... to... die..." the creature rasped, coughing up blood. Linkir moved closer, her body numb but her mind crumbling. She knelt down, staring into his eyes, and whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Then, without warning, a giant toe crushed the creature's skull with a sickening *splat*. Blood and brain matter splattered across Linkir's frozen face.

She didn't move for several seconds, her mind struggling to process what had just happened.

"You dare to disobey orders?" A deep male voice rumbled. Linkir's body shuddered involuntarily.

She slowly looked up to see Void standing before her, towering and menacing. His massive hand reached out, gripping her neck, and lifted her off the ground effortlessly. He brought her closer to his face, his expression dark and dangerous.

"You see, there's something we demons despise more than anything..." Void said, his voice low and menacing. Linkir's face was twisted with fear, her voice caught in her throat.

"That is a disobedient slave."

Void's free hand moved to her leg and with a quick motion, he crushed it. The sound of bones shattering filled the air.

"Aaah! No... please... I'm sorry!" Linkir screamed, the agony overwhelming her. Her leg was completely destroyed, muscles torn and bones pulverized. Yet, within moments, her demonic regeneration kicked in. The leg healed almost instantly, cutting her screams short.

Void grinned. "Impressive regeneration, right?" His voice dripped with sadistic pleasure. Linkir, trembling, stared up at his monstrous face, his teeth—each twice her size—gleaming menacingly.

"This will be fun," he chuckled. This time, he grabbed her waist and began to slowly crush her bones again, savoring the pain he inflicted.

"Master... please... stop..." Linkir begged, but Void only smiled in response, enjoying her suffering.

Throughout the night, animals in the surrounding area heard her screams echo through the city until dawn. When her cries finally ceased, Void stood over her broken form, examining her closely.

"I hope I didn't break her completely," Void muttered to himself before picking her up.

"Find them. Kill them all, and bring me their hearts," he commanded coldly, placing her back on the ground.

"Yes, Master," Linkir responded mechanically, her voice devoid of emotion, before disappearing into the distance.

---

An hour later, Linkir returned, carrying a large sack made from skin. She dropped it in front of Void.

Void raised an eyebrow, amused. "This skin... who did it belong to?"

"Master, it's the skin of the elderly and the women. I couldn't carry all the hearts, so I used their skin to make a sack," Linkir replied, bowing.

Void chuckled, impressed by her resourcefulness. "You're a savage... creepy, but effective." He snapped his fingers, and the sack burst into flames, reduced to ashes within moments.

"Now, I should investigate the benefits of being in the top ten," Void said with a smile.

Since reaching quasi-high-level Rank 1, Void had received a message promoting him to the 8th rank in the human race leaderboard. Because of him, the 10th had been pushed out, and those ranked 9th and 8th were demoted.

Moments later, Void's eyes widened as he accessed the perks of his new rank. The top ten received numerous benefits: a private chat room, visibility of all other humans—marked by a number above their heads—and even a power boost. Those ranked outside the top ten would unknowingly channel 1% of their efforts to the top ten members.

"This will be converted into various forms and distributed to the top ten based on their rank. For example, the one ranked number one will receive 30%, while I will take 8% of the whole thing. The 8% will be converted into souls for me, while for someone like Kira, it will be transformed into divinity."

"What the… seriously, why did the other races disband themselves?" Void asked, clearly surprised.

**(Host, this is a new feature added to the system.)**

"Oh, I see. If they knew about this, I wonder if they would be crying now. So, system, when will I get my 8%?" Void asked.

**(Host, 1% of their hard work will be collected every day for a month, and after the month ends, everything will be distributed to the top ten.)**

"No wonder the top ten are improving every time..." Void smiled lightly. In a month's time, he would enjoy this benefit as well.

---

**At the Divine Plane**

All the gods had self-destructed, causing severe damage to all Rank 2 and most Rank 1 beings. The remaining Rank 2 creatures of this world had retreated back to the mortal realm.

"Guys, I have important news," Mark said with a frown. He looked down at his gigantic body, riddled with holes, and smiled wearily. He hadn't expected the gods of this world to be so insane. Now, everyone was seriously injured.

"Spill it," Kira demanded.

"What news? Damn it, is this how you gods' race behaves?" Feng Yun snapped angrily.

"Haven't you guys noticed the changes in rank?" Luke complained.

"That was bound to happen sooner or later, so why are you angry about it?" Marcule said, disgusted.

"Really? Ish... that demon we saw earlier is now one of us," Doria said excitedly.

"Seriously? You're happy about that? I don't blame you, though," Falcon Princess said, clearly annoyed.

"Relax, the weak always make empty noises," Leo taunted.

"You..." Luke's rage was barely contained, and he wished he could bash Leo's face in.

"Won't you allow Mark to speak?" Blade said sternly.

The chat quieted down for a few seconds.

"Thank you, Blade. Now, there's good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?" Mark asked.

"Come on, stop playing around. Bad news," Feng Yue said, rolling her eyes.

"Alright. The bad news is that Rank 3 beings can't enter this world, meaning Rank 4 beings can't even get close. So we're all alone, and we will be the ones leading this war. The best help Rank 3 beings could offer was breaking the divine plane earlier," Mark explained. Everyone frowned and fell silent, waiting for him to continue.

"We're listening, dumb head," Kira said, annoyed by the silence.

"LOL… So you top five are like this? Are you kids?" Luke laughed, taking the chance to taunt the top five.

"Idiot. Ignore this fool. Mark, continue," Marcule said.

"Alright. The good news is that we're all seriously injured—" Mark started, but someone interrupted him.

"How is that good news?" Marcule asked.

"Seriously?" Kira added.

"Let me finish. Not only us, but the natives are also injured. So we're going to descend to the mortal realm to recover our strength. In a month or more, we'll fight the final battle. You guys need to be careful out there; the gods will be revived by then," Mark warned, his tone growing stern.

"Okay, okay. Can we move now, leader?" Leo teased.

"Won't you say something to the boss?" Doria laughed at Mark.

"Alright, I like how we're getting along, but let's know when to limit our playfulness," Mark said, and everyone felt the temperature drop. It was as if they were being watched by a prehistoric beast while they were just modern-day chickens.

"Yes," everyone replied. The top of the leaderboard wasn't a joke—everyone had witnessed Mark's strength firsthand.

"Good. I'm just saying, don't take it too seriously," Mark laughed.

"Damn, you just built your rep, and then you crashed it the next second," Fire Blade slapped his head.

The rest chuckled, and smiles broke across their faces. Ever since they became these new creatures, the top ten had mostly been cold and quiet. Now, they felt human again and could communicate like they once did.

"Alright, let's move. We'll talk about the new 'shy' member tomorrow," Kira said with a smile. The rest nodded and disappeared.

The entire army dove down, and another round of burning meteors lit up the dawn, creating a unique and beautiful scene in a world on the brink of destruction.

---

**At the Mortal Realm**

Void closed the race chat with a frown. "So, their universe is the one they're battling with. They even have Rank 4 beings… Damn, they're about to evolve into a multi-universe," Void muttered, shocked, though his expression remained cold. Linkir noticed her master's fading smile. She knew something else had happened.

"Linkir… let's move," Void said. Linkir nodded and disappeared. Having recently broken through to the Archmage rank, her speed was now far greater than before.

"Let's clear another city and break through quickly. If the gods are going to reappear in a month, I have to reach high-level Rank 1 soon and keep a low profile. This time will be the calm before the storm for this world," Void thought as he followed his slave.

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