My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 278

"Well?" TheReaper called out. "Your heroes can’t stop me. Your guards are all unconscious. Commander Elric is down. Do you want to surrender now, or do we escalate further?"

Pope Gregorius’s face was pale, but his expression carried desperate determination. He reached into his robes and pulled out a small crystal that pulsed with ominous energy.

"I didn’t want to use this," the Pope said, his voice shaking. "But you leave us no choice."

He raised the crystal high and shouted in a voice that echoed with power: "ACTIVATE THE SEALING PROTOCOL! BRING FORTH THE DIVINE PRISON!"

[THE ARTIFACT EMERGES]

Reality screamed.

That was the only way to describe the sensation as space itself was torn open by the Pope’s command. A massive dimensional rift appeared in the center of the throne room, edges crackling with unstable energy that made looking at it painful.

Through the rift, servants emerged carrying something that made even TheReaper’s expression shift from amused confidence to wary attention.

It was a cube, approximately two feet on each side, made from a material that shouldn’t exist. Crystallized divine energy woven with temporal magic and spatial bindings, all held together with enchantments so old and powerful that they radiated palpable force just from existing.

Runes covered every surface—not the elegant decorative script used by modern mages, but harsh angular symbols from a language that predated recorded history. Each rune pulsed with its own light, creating a chaotic pattern that seemed to shift and change when viewed directly.

The cube was set on a specially prepared altar that had been hidden beneath the floor, rising on a mechanical platform that suggested this had been planned long in advance.

"Do you know what this is?" Pope Gregorius asked, his voice carrying vindictive satisfaction despite the fear still evident in his eyes.

TheReaper studied the artifact, his expression serious for the first time since the fighting started. "Sealing device. Divine Prison type. Probably dates back to the First Hero Era based on the construction methodology and rune patterns."

"Precisely," the Pope confirmed. "This artifact was created five centuries ago by a coalition of the world’s most powerful mages and clerics, working together for a single purpose."

King Ferdinand continued the explanation, his voice hard. "Our ancestors knew that summoned heroes were too powerful to control through normal means. That eventually, a hero might turn against those who summoned them. So they created this—a prison specifically designed to contain beings of legendary power."

"It has been maintained in secret for five hundred years," the Pope added. "Each generation’s most skilled enchanters adding their own improvements, strengthening the bindings, perfecting the sealing mechanism. Waiting for the day when it might be needed."

TheReaper’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "You’ve been planning to betray me. How long?"

"Not betray," the King corrected. "Prepare. We always hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. But the contingency was always there. Because power like yours is too dangerous to exist without some means of control."

"And now," Pope Gregorius said, his voice carrying grim finality, "you’ve forced us to use it. You’ve chosen to oppose your sacred duty. To protect a demon lord over humanity. That makes you a threat that must be contained."

He raised his hand, and the cube began to glow brighter. "You should have just accepted the mission. Should have stayed loyal. Should have remembered what you were summoned to do."

Energy built around the cube, distorting space in an expanding radius. The four heroes scrambled backward, warned by their instincts that they didn’t want to be caught in whatever was about to happen.

TheReaper looked at the artifact, his expression calculating. He could sense the danger—this was genuinely threatening in a way the guards and heroes hadn’t been.

"Interesting," he said quietly. "A divine sealing matrix powered by five centuries of accumulated enchantments. Spatial compression to eliminate physical escape. Temporal stasis to prevent breaking out through time manipulation. Anti-magic fields to prevent spell-based counters."

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Someone did their homework. This might actually work if you can activate it fast enough and if I don’t destroy it first."

He started moving toward the cube, clearly intending to shatter it before it could fully activate.

The four heroes intercepted despite their fear, throwing themselves into his path one final time.

"[Villain’s Bane]!" Gattychan’s power flared to maximum, suppressing TheReaper as much as possible.

"[300% Enhancement]!" Seraphelle poured all her magic into one massive buff.

"[Absolute Zone: Maximum Restriction]!" Mika created the strongest barriers she could manage.

"[10,000x Amplification]!" Rin fired arrow after arrow, each one carrying catastrophic force.

It wasn’t enough to stop TheReaper—not even close. But it slowed him down. Bought precious seconds.

The cube’s activation accelerated, Pope Gregorius pouring his own magical reserves into it, chanting in ancient languages that made the air vibrate with power.

TheReaper broke through Mika’s zones, shattered Rin’s arrows, knocked Gattychan aside, deflected Seraphelle’s barriers—but each action took a fraction of a second that he didn’t have.

He reached the cube, his hand extending to crush it—

The cube activated fully.

"DIVINE PRISON: ABSOLUTE SEALING!"

Reality inverted.

Space folded in on itself, creating a singularity point that pulled everything toward it with irresistible force. TheReaper found himself yanked off his feet, pulled toward the cube despite his legendary strength.

He tried to resist, planting his feet and channeling power to counter the pull. For a moment it seemed like it might work—his sheer level and experience creating a counterforce against the sealing magic.

But the cube had been designed specifically for this. Five hundred years of improvements, tested and refined by every generation’s best enchanters. It wasn’t trying to overpower him—it was using his own strength against him, redirecting his resistance into the seal itself.

"NO!" TheReaper shouted, genuine surprise and anger in his voice for the first time. His hand shot toward his sword—if he drew Souleater, the legendary weapon’s power might be enough to cut through the sealing matrix.

But he’d waited too long, spent too much time toying with his opponents instead of ending the fight immediately.