"He's here…"

"He has to be here!"

The Direwolf King's fur bristled all over, every nerve on edge. Its beast instincts screamed danger—something lethal was closing in fast.

Without a second thought, it leapt backward.

The moment it moved, the ground beneath its paws cracked and collapsed, as if the earth itself had been crushed under an invisible weight. The Domain of the Dead had already reached that spot.

"Not bad… pretty sharp," Ethan's voice echoed as he appeared just a short distance away, calm as ever.

The Direwolf King's vertical pupils locked onto him, its entire body tense, ready to spring or strike—but knowing neither would matter.

From the other side, Bloodveil arrived, his presence just as overwhelming. The two Voidborn Undying now stood side by side, their auras blazing like twin infernos, dominating the battlefield.

"You finally decided to get your hands dirty?" Bloodveil asked, his tone casual but edged.

"As your ally, how could I not come help?" Ethan replied with a polite smile.

Bloodveil narrowed his eyes. That line sounded way too familiar.

If someone didn't know Ethan, they might've thought he was being sincere. But Bloodveil knew better—this guy was definitely here to snatch the crystal core.

The Direwolf King's ears flattened, hackles raised. "Two against one? That's not fair!"

Ethan and Bloodveil exchanged a glance.

"Fair?" Ethan echoed, like the word itself was a joke.

Fairness? From a mutant beast overlord?

Against two Zombie Kings?

"Yo, why does this Direwolf sound like a damn husky?" Bloodveil muttered, squinting. "You think eating his crystal core would mess with our IQ?"

"Don't worry," Ethan said with a grin. "You're safe."

"…Huh?" Bloodveil's brow twitched. That sounded way too loaded. Was Ethan calling him dumb? Or just implying he had no IQ to begin with?

He decided to let it slide—for now. First, they had a mutt to put down.

Bloodveil's mutated blood surged, red serpents writhing across his skin like living tattoos. A thick, crimson aura poured off him, staining the air.

"Bloodtide Domain!"

With a low growl, he unleashed his Absolute Domain. A tidal wave of blood erupted outward, crashing across the battlefield like a living sea.

At the same time, Ethan's Domain of the Dead exploded forth, a storm of death and decay rolling in behind the blood tide.

Two Absolute Domains—unstoppable, overwhelming—smashed into the Direwolf King like twin natural disasters.

It didn't stand a chance.

Even with its monstrous physique, the Direwolf King was like a leaf caught in a hurricane, tossed and torn, barely holding together.

"Awooo—Awooooooo!!"

Its once-feral howls turned into pitiful, high-pitched wails.

Honestly? It did sound a lot like a husky now.

"Bad dog—let's see you bark after this!" Bloodveil snarled, seizing the moment. He lunged forward, blood chains lashing out like whips, cracking through the air.

The Direwolf King, trapped in the overlapping Domains, couldn't dodge. One of the chains slammed into its side with a sickening crack.

"Awooooo!!"

It screamed in agony as its fur sizzled and peeled away, revealing raw, red muscle and gleaming bone beneath.

Bloodveil didn't stop. With a flick of his wrist, he lashed it again—twice—each strike tearing more flesh, more howls.

The Direwolf King writhed in pain, eyes squinting toward the jungle's edge, desperate for a glimpse of the Mountain God.

But no help came.

Ethan glanced sideways at Bloodveil.

Was this guy… enjoying himself?

He was just about to step in and finish the Direwolf King off himself when—

Something changed.

Suddenly, golden runes flared to life beneath the Direwolf King's feet. They spread rapidly, intricate and glowing, like a swarm of tiny tadpoles wriggling into formation.

A Ritual Array.

The runes pulsed, then burst into radiant gold light, fully activated.

The space around the Direwolf King twisted violently, warping like a heat mirage. A pale white glow shimmered around its body—and in the blink of an eye, it vanished.

Gone. Just like that.

At that exact moment, Bloodveil's blood chain came down again—whiffing through empty air.

"…Huh?"

He blinked, confused.

"Where'd he go?"

"Where's the husky?"

"…"

Bloodveil narrowed his eyes, scanning the air where the Direwolf King had vanished. He focused, trying to sense any lingering trace of its presence—but there was nothing. Not even a whiff of its aura remained.

"It's gone," he muttered. "Completely."

Ethan's gaze sharpened. "That Direwolf… it wasn't just running. It was teleported."

"Teleported?" Bloodveil echoed, the word foreign on his tongue. He tilted his head, clearly unfamiliar with the concept. "What the hell is that?"

Ethan nodded slowly. "Yeah. The way it disappeared… it reminded me of how I arrived on Originis. And those golden runes—it wasn't just decoration. They were laced with spatial energy."

Bloodveil looked genuinely intrigued. "So that mutt had a trick like that up its sleeve? An SSS-tier beast, vanishing right under the noses of two Voidborn Undying… that's wild."

"Yeah," Ethan said, his voice low. "But the real question is—where did it go?"

Bloodveil shrugged. "Beats me."

Even Ethan didn't have an answer. And that alone was unsettling. There weren't many things left in this world that could surprise him—but those ancient, glowing runes? They did.

Then—

"ROOOAAARRR—!"

The mutant beast horde, which had been on the verge of collapse, suddenly let out a collective, thunderous howl. But it wasn't fear. It was something else.

Excitement.

Rage.

Hope.

The zombies' relentless slaughter hadn't broken them—instead, it had ignited them.

Their howls rose in pitch, filled with fervor, as if they were welcoming something… or someone.

BOOOOM!

The sky cracked open with a deafening blast, like a mirror shattering across the heavens.

Ethan looked up sharply.

The air above twisted violently, space itself warping. A massive force was pushing through—something ancient, something wrong.

The sky darkened, not from clouds, but from the sheer density of the spatial distortion. Even light couldn't escape it.

A swirling abyss formed overhead, pitch black and bottomless. Within it, streaks of lightning danced like silver serpents, crackling through the void. The pressure in the air thickened, heavy enough to crush bone.

Then came the sound—like boulders grinding against each other, deep and primal.

A voice followed, booming from the abyss like the wrath of a god.

"In Xenorift, your kind has no place. You will not run wild here."

The words hit like thunder, shaking the mountains, rattling the stones, vibrating through the bones of every living thing. It was so loud, it felt like it might rupture eardrums.

Even the Zombie Kings looked up, eyes narrowed.

"What the hell is that?"

"Is that… a god?"

"Gods, my ass. Probably just some overgrown mountain freak."

"…"

Big Ears clutched his oversized ears, wincing. "Damn, man! You wanna show up, just show up! Why you gotta scream like that?!"

Shrimpy's face was scrunched in discomfort. "Big Ears… this one's different. I feel like there's a whole mountain sitting on my chest."

The mutant beast horde roared louder, their cries now filled with unshakable belief. The undead paused, sensing the shift.

Then, from the heart of the black void, something stepped through.

A foot—massive, made entirely of stone—slammed down onto the battlefield. It was layered in jagged rock, each slab heavier than a tank.

And that was just the foot.

Big Ears and the others stared, stunned into silence.

"…Is that… actually a mountain?"

The pressure intensified.

From the shattered sky, the full form emerged—an enormous figure, carved from the very bones of the earth. Its body was a living mountain, towering and ancient, with moss and stone fused into its skin.

The Mountain God had arrived.

Its colossal form stood tall, feet planted in the soil, head brushing the clouds. It radiated power—raw, elemental, and unyielding.

And on its shoulder, a massive wolf stood proudly, fur bristling, eyes burning.

"Awooooo—!"

The wolf's howl rang out again—but this time, it wasn't wild or savage. It was reverent. Devoted. Fanatical.

The rest of the mutant beast horde erupted in response, their roars reaching a fever pitch.

"We're saved!"

"The Mountain God didn't abandon us!"

"Those damn zombies are gonna pay!"

"Divine punishment is coming!"

"Retribution is here!"

The battlefield trembled—not from fear, but from the sheer weight of belief.

...

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