Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4527: Predator! V

In The Infinite Unfurling.

Primordial trees rose far above the landscape, their trunks so massive that they seemed to support the sky itself. Thick mist surrounded them in swirling layers, creating an atmosphere of perpetual twilight between their ancient roots.

In between these towering trees, a massive basilisk-like creature raised its head with predatory focus.

Its serpentine eyes shone with a terrifying green light that seemed to pierce through all concealment. The eyes looked unfathomably far into the distance as if they could observe phenomena occurring light-years away with perfect clarity.

And at this moment, those eyes had locked onto an explosion of poisonous green light erupting in the distance.

The power of that explosion was not insignificant, and its serpentine face twisted into a devilish cruel smile. The creature’s voice echoed out with cold amusement.

”It looks like I have to stop playing with you and eat you and your Sovereignty in a single gulp,” it said with casual malice. ”Someone else is hunting in my territory, and I need to deal with them quickly.”

The creature spoke while looking down at an extremely gory scene spread out before it.

A white fox-like creature could be seen lying in a pool of its own blood. Half of its body had already been eaten, consumed by the basilisk over the course of hours of torture. Its lustrous white coat of fur was painted crimson-gold with blood that still flowed from grievous wounds.

Its gaze was weak but still held defiance as it stared up at the basilisk with hatred burning in its dimming eyes.

But its Way of Light and existence was far too weak compared to the Way of Poison that this basilisk represented. And now, its entire existence was about to be extinguished completely.

The basilisk opened its massive jaws wide to swallow this radiant fox-like creature whole and claim the remnants of its Sovereignty.

And in that exact moment, a verdant green arrow also shining with concentrated Way of Poison appeared directly before the basilisk’s face!

The creature’s eyes opened wide with shock and fury as it seemed to ask a silent question: Who dared to attack it with poison, of all things?! The fucker it just sensed the attack of Gigaparsecs away?!

It tried desperately to erupt with its own Way, to counter poison with poison and assert dominance. But it found its Way of Poison completely suppressed all around its body, unable to manifest properly!

Its existence buzzed with mounting horror as it felt this unfathomable poisonous authority that seemed to hide something else beneath its surface. Something fundamental and overwhelming that completely suppressed its carefully cultivated Sovereignty!

And then that hidden authority collapsed its existence entirely!

BOOM!

The head of the basilisk was torn apart by the impact, exploding into chunks of flesh and bone that disintegrated before they could fall. The creature’s body thrashed once before going still, its Way extinguished.

The heavily injured and half-consumed white fox nearby saw how the explosion contained the destruction in a unique way, preventing the surroundings from being decimated unnecessarily.

A moment later, the fox trembled as the visage of a massive humanoid being shining with green poisonous luster appeared where the arrow had originated!

Of course, this was none other than Noah who had moved with rapid efficiency to claim his second target.

At this moment, Noah waved his hands and the massive corpse of the basilisk disappeared into his storage without ceremony.

Since he had already suppressed and understood the Way of Poison with his first kill, doing so again was even easier this time! After all, it had been confirmed multiple times that his Way of Mana superseded poison-based concepts at the fundamental level.

But now, before he left the scene, he turned his gaze toward the former prey of the basilisk.

A decimated-looking fox lay there, and when Noah’s eyes focused on it, the creature’s body trembled with fear and residual defiance. It whimpered softly, the sound pitiful and weak.

Noah’s terrifying body looked down at the broken creature as he spoke with calm consideration.

”Now what shall I do with you?”

The fox trembled violently at his words as its feminine voice echoed out weakly.

”I... don’t... don’t kill me,” she pleaded with desperation coloring every word. ”I could... I could act as a mount for sir as soon as I heal! I also know of a place with some good resources a distance from here!”

Her voice grew stronger with desperate hope.

”That basilisk was torturing me for information about it! My Light was telling me that even if I revealed the location, it would still devour me anyway. But it feels different with you...”

She looked up at Noah with eyes that held both fear and strange trust.

”My Way of Light says sir will keep his word if you make a promise. So please, I can be useful! I can guide you! I can serve! Just...please don’t kill me!”

Her voice broke at the end, and fresh blood dripped from her wounds. Her remaining fur was matted and filthy, and half her body was simply gone, consumed by the basilisk’s cruel feeding.

She looked utterly pitiful, a broken creature clinging to the last thread of existence.

Oh?

Noah’s eyes lit up with interest at the words of the fox as a thought occurred to him with sudden clarity.

How...would it be if he spread his Civilization in the Infinite Unfurling? Would he be able to understand exactly what happened in the coming future if he had subordinates present during these ancient times?

He looked at the fox and her pitiful appearance analytically. Since he had to move quickly and could not afford to linger, he made his decision with rapid calculation.

His vision pulsed as information flooded his perception.

|Name: Lumivara, The Radiant Wanderer|

|Classification: Light-Path Entity (Not yet Pre-THE)|

|Complexity: 19 Decillion|

|Purity: 19 Decillion|

|Grand Principles: Illumination Genesis, Photon Propagation, Radiance Manifestation, Light Dominion, Luminous Convergence, Brilliance Authority, Reflection Mastery, Refraction Supremacy|

|Current Sovereignty Progress: Attempting to establish claim over Light (0.11% toward Pre-THE status)|

|Status: Critically injured, half-consumed, near collapse|

|Temperament: Desperate for survival, willing to submit|

|Special Trait: Possesses knowledge of resource-rich locations|

His eyes shone brightly as he gauged the positives and negatives of accepting this creature into his service. After a moment of consideration, he waved his hands to reveal a spark of blue-gold brilliance that floated between them.

”The Way of Light,” he said with commanding authority, ”can be exemplified even more after it accepts its true nature as an expression of Mana. Light is electromagnetic radiation, and electromagnetic forces are powered by Mana at their foundation.”

He looked at her with tyrannical certainty.

”Take this spark and accept it into your existence. We can then see about your future and whether you have value beyond this moment.”

The spark floated closer to the fox, pulsing with the fundamental authority of his Civilization.

The fox hesitantly looked at the brilliant spark, her eyes wide with a mixture of hope and fear. This could be salvation or it could be another form of enslavement worse than death.

But she had no real choice, and her Way of Light was telling her that this being would keep his word.

She opened her mouth with trembling jaws and swallowed the spark whole!

The moment it entered her body, her eyes blazed with blue-gold light! The Spark of Mana flooded through her decimated form, and her Way of Light began to transform and elevate!

Her wounds started to close as Noah’s Mana-infused regeneration kicked in, his body shining with light that flowed into her. Her missing half began to slowly regrow, flesh and bone reforming with agonizing slowness.

She gasped as she felt her Sovereignty deepening, her understanding of Light expanding to encompass its fundamental relationship with Mana!

...!

Oh!

An irreversible event stemming from an equally impossible entity.

And who knew just what effects it could have for the future when this creature who should have died was instead elevated and bound to Noah’s Civilization?