Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 103: The hell?

It was total chaos. The outlaws, the elite members, saw the level of the battle and ran, but one or two of them got caught in the onslaught of the fire wave that Vale first sent.

But ultimately, they hid, trying to find ways to get out of the building. They were outlaws, after all, and their individual survival was more important than anyone else’s.

Tiber ignored them as he kept his essence senses high in case of an attack from the side. Then he changed form. The first ruin hunt had taught him what his future fighting capability would be like.

He would have to prepare and digest a good nightmare in case of any major battles. And for the past few weeks, he did just that. He searched for and found a human who had been traumatized by something so bad he was known as a madman.

He frequented his place for a while, entered his dream, and then, with some time, killed and ate the man’s nightmare. Digesting it until a few days ago, this would be the first time he was using it.

Since he didn’t have the time to take off his clothes, they ripped from his swollen body, his flesh squirmed, and his bones bent at odd angles. New limbs and flesh grew.

Tiber was now a block of formless green flesh with a long neck. He had a long, thick leg that carried his weight surprisingly well, but the rest of his body was filled with limbs, hands with five to seven fingers.

He opened his mouth, and it spread to his jaw, fangs glinting, with his long black tongue darting out. "Huh... this is what I expected, but still." His voice sounded odd to his own ears.

"What the hell are you? A demon?" the Shattered Vile leader said. He was a short man with a bald head, but he made up for it with a full beard.

Tiber looked at the man. His eyes were set so deep in his flesh they almost didn’t show, but they were filled with amusement. "I’ve seen a demon once, and trust me, he’d kill you for that insult."

An immediate sense of terror covered the man, but he shook it off as a golden light flashed over his body, dispelling all the negativity. A Holy Order!

The leader, Vile, growled. He had recovered from the shock of a human turning into... a monster. His eyes flashed golden. "I’ll kill you for showing me this sight."

The man took a step forward, and his body faded, turned translucent, and he appeared in front of Tiber—Flash Step! It was just like Shadow Steps but made use of light instead.

Immediately, he pressed his hand on Tiber, and golden light spilled forth like smoke.

Tiber flinched and stumbled back. The golden smoke had eaten into his skin like acid! He opened his mouth wide and bit down on the leader’s head, crushing it between his jaws, but suddenly he recoiled and stumbled back, letting out a short cry.

He shook his head like a wet beast, his hands slapping saliva and blood from his mouth. Half his tongue had been eaten away, the rest squirming to regrow. He growled and grunted. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

What he bit through wasn’t Vile, but golden smoke in the shape of him! Vile had just used a common illusion to cover and replace himself but had filled the illusion with his golden smoke technique.

Vile didn’t wait—he opened his mouth and shot out a few words of power, and all around him, his golden smoke billowed, forming into a bigger shape around him.

At the same time, Tiber used two of his eight hands to tear the remaining sux from his body. Ripping it away with a sharp crack and a sickening tear!

Black blood gushed forward, splattering Vile and turning the ground into a sticky puddle. The golden smoke had now formed into a giant-like figure that held a longsword, and it brought it down with overwhelming force.

And yet, immediately as the sword crossed into his space, Tiber’s severed stumps blasted out more black blood, directly covering the golden sword. The edge immediately darkened, and when it hit, Tiber barely felt it—it was as if he was hitting himself.

Black spots appeared on the sword, quickly spreading through the whole thing and into the golden figure. In two seconds, the golden figure had turned into a black figure.

Vile blanched, and his body began to turn translucent as he prepared to use Flash Step, but the sword of the figure slammed into him from the side, piercing through muscle and bone with ease.

Blood fell from his mouth and stomach, and he collapsed.

The black figure looked down at the fallen opponent. The body of Vile was quickly covered in black spots that spread through his blood and body like an ink plague. The body stood up and then, with a bubbling roar, threw itself toward the hiding outlaws.

The figure it conjured followed, sword trailing behind.

Tiber stood there and sighed. His tongue had recovered enough that he could speak properly. "I like this nightmare form. If only I could find a way to keep it."

The power of this nightmare was to taint essence and then forcibly take control of it.

He turned in place, looking for a suitable opponent.

Slya was still fighting the muscled woman, her forged hand punching like a battle hammer, but the woman wasn’t that much weaker because she always returned the favor.

"Should I go and assist her? That woman always regenerates even if a chunk of her body is taken out, but Slya can’t take too many direct hits." He took one step forward when he suddenly froze.

He felt a presence behind him. Tiber’s eyes widened. "How did I miss that?"

The person behind him was one of the leading outlaw leaders. His body was charred with Vale’s fire, and his right hand had burned to blackened bones.

His left hand gathered power into a pulsing deep blue energy, ready to be released. He straightened his hand toward Tiber’s long head. "Even if I die, I’ll take one of you with me."

He had previously fought Vale earlier, using his power as a Knight Sniper to cloak his presence to appear and disappear, firing shots at Vale. But he got caught when Vale suddenly used a controlled explosion to fling himself in his general direction, then just put everything on fire.

Tiber heard the man’s voice and felt a chill. ’I haven’t regenerated the blood I used earlier, and before those corrupted ones I made dash back here, it’ll be too late!’

The man tried to smirk, but his lips were already burned. He just showed his blackened teeth. Then he fired at Tiber’s head.