Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 784 - 725: The Great Dung Eater
The probing continued, and it felt as if perfectly-fitted steel needles were excavating one’s veins, without any sense of pain or even psychological rejection. A sense of passive integration dominated Lyle’s entirety as he felt a deeper understanding of the Ominous giant’s body under the scrutiny of the Intangible Son. His mood was neither good nor bad; if not for the high-level spiritual attachment from the Evil God’s offspring, perhaps the chaotic and incomprehensible sensation he was experiencing might have turned into unspeakable terror.
Perhaps, to the Evil God, servants like the Intangible Son were as adorable as the Phantom clan.
Despite developing a slight fondness for these nascent Intangible Sons due to the strange feeling, Lyle still manipulated the possessed Phantom within his own body to weave layers of lies. Watching these diligent cleaners absorb his fabrications gave Lyle a sense of superiority, as if he were fooling the honest. As for guilt, it had faded long ago when he realized the others were not human. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
"I lurked within the shell of an ant, donned an innocent guise to indirectly control a Lich Academy, and lured them to keep probing the abyss, to unlock the gates that seal the father god." Lyle even felt he wasn’t completely lying—after all, the sorcerers of Andrei Academy weren’t only pawns of the Evil God; they would dare meddle with anything. Had it not been for the external influence from the Church of the Holy Light and the internal workings of the Salvation Association and Raymond, the principal’s wails would have echoed across the world.
[Great achievement, Deceiver Lord.] Their heartfelt admiration was clear to see, and their praise resonated in his own skin.
"I have resurrected the new King of Dragons, the former god of betrayal, Yemotar, I have taken up the reins of Dragons, and the kingdom of the gods will be more complete than ever. Don’t worry about the Devourer’s attitude; he’s on my side." Hmm, on my side.
[This... The creator must be looking forward to reuniting with the betraying brother.] This time it was his own tentacles speaking, the Ominous giant’s lush tentacle meatballs joyfully dancing.
They were about to touch his innermost being, the center of the Ominous incarnation where there was Lyle, and where there was the pure soul of the being of light. Even though he had already gathered the possessed Phantoms and decorated it with perfect camouflage into chaos, his heart still felt a twinge of unease when it actually came to it.
Would they see through the ruse? The Phantom clan and the Intangible Sons were so similar, with akin abilities to shapeshift and possess spirits, yet the Intangible Sons were the offspring of the Evil God. And the Phantoms, for now, appeared to be just a creation from an important member of an obliterated mysterious organization, the Pact-Maker’s Tower.
If he failed... then Lyle would only have to devour them. The Intangible Sons had penetrated so deeply into the Ominous that their chaotic intangible bodies were already assimilated into a form similar to the Ominous, where eating and communication were indistinguishable concepts. With just a thought from Lyle, they could become a part of him—this must be the "experience it yourself" correct way of eating mentioned by Susanna, although it was somewhat regrettable.
The current state of the Intangible Sons seemed less like external invading entities and more like different, secondary personalities split from the mindscape of the Ominous, where the main personality simply needed to deny itself, and these split thoughts would become additional energy.
From the moment Lyle accepted the Phantoms’ possession, which was when he allowed himself to have multiple personalities, his mental state underwent a curious change. Therefore, a promotion to Four Locks would indeed leave one with a mental disorder. However, maybe from the moment the mistakenly awakened talent created Nia as an alter, Lyle was destined for this extraordinary path.
The Intangible Sons’ probing continued unabated, about to reach the mental barrier forged by the Phantom, Lyle watched the "needle" inching toward his core, full of anticipation. Whether he succeeded or something went awry, he wouldn’t lose.
Time slowed down, his perception narrowed to the microscopic level, acutely feeling the tendrils’ tips touching the Phantom barrier.
[!!!]
An anomaly had occurred; the Ominous Titan began to tremble all over—no, it was all the Intangible Sons attached to him that were trembling. They stopped delving into Lyle’s heart and, like rats fleeing a sinking ship, scurried out through every crevice in his body. Lyle did not attempt to capture them, for the emotions they exuded were so clear: it was not the anger of betrayal they felt, but disgust, a disgust so pure and intense.
Intangible Sons abhor Phantoms.
This was highly abnormal. The Evil God was the creator, from whom all things in the world had derived; everything that originally existed in the world could be seen as the remnants of the Sleeper. And the servants of a god, they might disdain, scorn, or become angry with the myriad things of the world, but they would not feel disgust. They would not abhor themselves. Yet the Intangible Sons were repulsed by Phantoms, such intense emotional turmoil that it even whipped up colossal waves in the sea of the subconscious.
The Intangible Sons formed a circle, staring dead at the Ominous Titan—more precisely, at the anomalous substance attached to the exalted Deceiver, Divine Child. Hazy lumps crawled out of the Ominous Giant, like several little brothers left behind in a hasty escape, transforming into tentacles growing on the massive body of the Ominous, under the scrutiny of all the Intangible Sons, their emotions tinged with grievance.
With positive energy and blending in seamlessly with Lyle, the Phantom—which was as harmless as it was kind—didn’t quite understand why these huge, similar companions displayed such a palpable sense of aversion. Had it done something wrong? It followed the leader Lyle’s orders, trying its best to become pleasing to the Intangible Sons by transforming into their kind.
Lyle was mistaken; Intangible Sons and Phantoms might have similar abilities, but they were fundamentally different.
Intangible Sons were creatures of myriad changes; like the Evil God, they possessed a high "Origin," which meant that if the Intangible Sons wished or external factors intervened, they could perfectly transform into any substance. They were the [Source] of all things, and as the source, they retained the grace bestowed by the Evil God.
The grace of evil, the selfish gene. All things constantly evolve for survival, and survival means encroachment and plunder— the weak are culled, and the grace given by the god is a bloodstained path of evolution. A predilection for bloodshed and violence is an instinct hidden in the deepest reaches, the same instinct that drives the most tender sprout to feast upon sunlight.
But Phantoms did not possess this; their existence was as tools, unnatural creations by a dead Pact-Maker master that ran counter to the divine. The Phantom race was purely altruistic; they couldn’t even conceive of the thought of harming others. Such anomaly, in the eyes of the Intangible Sons, was an abomination, a deviation from the godly, loathsome parasites, mere dung.
And now, to their astonishment, they discovered that this exalted Deceiver’s innermost was filled with dung.
More frightening still was that, under their probings, this high-ranking one filled with dung smelled sweet to them, for the bloodline of the Sleeper exerted a powerful attraction.
The Intangible Sons adored the Ominous, yet abhorred the Phantoms within him, and were even more baffled as to why this exalted Divine Child would fancy such distasteful contrivances.
But regardless, the combination of attraction and repulsion, along with the complexity of human emotions, achieved a similar effect.
Intangible Sons, revering the exalted Dung Eater, the Deceiver Lyle.
