"I have to say... you don’t look surprised at all."

Kanzaki Rei’s expression remained calm, his emotions completely unmoved by Kumironi’s transformation.

"Or... have you simply not processed what just happened?"

He gave a faint, indifferent shake of his head.

"No. I know exactly what this means."

Kumironi—

Had been taken over by Sophia.

Or more precisely...

Possessed.

A look of pity appeared on Kumironi’s face as she spoke, almost gently:

"Do you not feel anything?"

"That child, Kumironi... she should have been a very good friend to you."

"Does her death not move you at all?"

Kanzaki Rei’s face remained utterly impassive.

His tone was steady, without the slightest fluctuation.

"If something like that truly happened, I think I would feel very sad. And very angry."

"But right now... I only want to know why."

"I want to know your reason."

Rhein stood off to the side, barely daring to breathe.

Sophia—through Kumironi—met Kanzaki Rei’s gaze.

"You’re quite cunning."

"To think that even I cannot see through your identity... who exactly do you represent?"

"You don’t seem to be aligned with Zhuya’s side~ though I do see a lackey of Yakaticto tagging along with you. Strange, I’ve never heard Egmisa mention someone like you."

"Or perhaps... some god unknown to me wishes to claim a share of the Secret Sea."

A share of the Secret Sea?

What exactly was there to claim?

Wasn’t the Ocean Lord released by them?

Wasn’t the Primordial Sea unsealed by them as well?

Which raised the question—

Who, exactly, stood behind all of this... and what were they trying to gain?

Surely it wasn’t destruction for destruction’s sake?

Aside from the Moon Deity of Death and Ruin... who else would do something so senseless?

Kumironi’s tone turned flippant as she commanded:

"Child, state your origin."

"I may choose not to make things difficult for you."

The dynamic had completely reversed.

It had been Kanzaki Rei asking the questions—

Now, she was interrogating him.

Hearing this, Kanzaki Rei paused briefly.

Then replied:

"You tell me first—what exactly are you trying to do?"

Kumironi narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at him as though he were something pitiful.

"You think... you have the right to bargain with a Moon Deity?"

Within his mind, Ansu couldn’t help but twitch. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"You brat... you’ve got guts."

"To provoke a reigning Moon Deity—are you tired of living?"

Kanzaki Rei responded inwardly, his thoughts calm:

"I wouldn’t go that far. Besides... I’ve got you, don’t I?"

Ansu erupted into silent curses, his thoughts flooding Kanzaki Rei’s mind.

Damn it! We just formed a contract and you’re already picking a fight with a Moon Deity?!

I knew you were trouble!

Even though Sophia, currently inhabiting Kumironi’s body, was only a Level 6 healing-class—

She was still Sophia.

A true Moon Deity.

Even the Skin-Shedding and Form-Shifting God, who once descended using a borrowed body, had only possessed the qualification to contend for such a rank.

Compared to Sophia, who had occupied the throne of a Moon Deity for countless millennia—

The gap...

Was immeasurable.

"Do you think—"

"That just because Kumironi is a healer, borrowing her body means I can do nothing to you?"

"Child."

"You underestimate a Moon Deity far too much."

The moment her words fell—

Kanzaki Rei saw it.

In the next instant—

Kumironi’s palm was already pressed against his chest.

At the moment of contact—

Information flooded into his mind.

His 「Hidden Origin」 activated.

But the data no longer identified her as Kumironi.

Instead—

「Sophia’s Second Body」「Sophia’s Mortal Vessel」「The Most Perfect Descension Container—Bearer of an Eternal Body」

Kanzaki Rei looked at her death timeline.

It was...

Infinite.

There was no end.

For the first time—

He faced an existence with no visible death.

Every battle he had fought beyond his limits—

Every seemingly impossible enemy he had slain—

Had relied on cutting down their death timeline.

Without divine artifacts,

Against Level 8 opponents, the only way to truly harm them—

Was to strike their destined death, not their physical form.

"Child..."

"Do you know? Life is something that flows like liquid..."

"You have remarkable regenerative ability."

"But if the very essence of your life changes—"

"No amount of regeneration will matter."

Tap—

Just before Sophia could act—

Buzz!

Kumironi’s mouth suddenly opened uncontrollably—

A strand of emerald-green soul shot outward!

「Soul Dominion」

The activation condition for Soul Dominion—

Was when a soul resided within a body that was not its own.

Sophia had chosen Kumironi as her vessel.

Naturally, her soul had entered it.

And that—

Perfectly fulfilled the condition.

What perfect timing.

Snap—

Kanzaki Rei reached out, grabbing the escaping soul—

But in the next instant—

The emerald soul exploded in his grasp!

Boom!

His body was engulfed in green light.

"Kanzaki Rei!"

Kumironi’s voice returned to normal.

Her hand was already raised, emerald light enveloping his body.

"Kumironi... are you alright?"

She pressed a hand to her temple, her expression focused as she stared at the grotesque figure in the distance.

"I’m fine..."

"Thanks to you."

If Kanzaki Rei hadn’t extracted Sophia’s soul—

She would already be dead.

Sophia...

Had planted a trap within her soul long ago.

The moment conditions were met—

She could seize Kumironi’s body completely.

The god she had devoted her faith to—

Had done something like this.

Kumironi felt her heart turn cold.

In the distance, Sophia raised her head slightly, a hint of disbelief in her expression.

This man—

Had forcibly extracted her soul from Kumironi’s body.

Even if she couldn’t exert her full power through that vessel—

It shouldn’t have been possible for anyone below Level 9 to do that.

But after a brief glance—

"Oh, I see."

Kumironi—standing beside Kanzaki Rei—spoke again.

Her tone had once more shifted into that sorrowful, divine cadence.

"Get... out—"

But beneath that tone—

Struggle.

Her hand clutched her head.

Half her body trembled.

"So it’s a soul-targeted extraction... an innate talent."

"In other words... unless I fully seize the soul—"

"You have no way to stop me."

Kanzaki Rei watched closely.

Kumironi’s internal structure was changing.

It was as if foreign flesh—

A seed of something else—

Had been planted inside her.

Sophia was taking root.

Growing.

What she intended—

Was not simple possession.

It was rebirth.

And once that rebirth was complete—

Kumironi would be completely replaced.

...

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