MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 1305: Challenge

Anthony’s hand moved towards his katana. He unsheathed it with an indifferent motion, blue flames immediately coating the katana as he unleashed an unseen slash too fast for either of them to track. Before they could move, their heads separated from their bodies, blood spilling into the ocean as the undying blue flames refused to be quenched, immediately devouring the millions of Merfolk as though they were nothing.

Screams immediately began to echo through the ocean as their bodies burned. He made sure it was slow and painful, but with none of the usual swiftness at which the Divine Flames burned. Anthony didn’t spare them another glance. He turned and swam at sonic speed, allowing the blue flames to run rampant and consume the entire Merfolk City.

’Time to leave here,’ Anthony thought to himself as he flew.

He knew that this Sleeping Hollow was definitely divided into sections, so he had to find a way to leave, as he had already claimed the reward from this section.

’Since The Lover Of Death is a pretty smart guy, I’m sure the exit itself would be somewhere here,’ Anthony thought to himself as he shot through the water.

As he moved, hours passed, but he didn’t stop flying through the ocean. Of course, he could just use the Authority Of Information to find the exit, but where was the fun in that? He would only do that when he became bored of this place.

Anthony suddenly came to a stop as his eyes snapped in another direction. In that direction, the Law Of Water didn’t resonate, which was weird. After all, throughout this ocean, which had existed for thousands, if not millions, of years, the Law Of Water was heavy. This place was almost no different from a Law Land.

He shot in that direction, and in a couple of minutes, he arrived. His body floated above what seemed to be a spot that mirrored the Abyssal Maw he had seen at the River Of Night Territory, but this one was much smaller, and just wide enough to fit one person. Despite the immense current and pressure of the ocean, water didn’t even pour inside the hole, as though it wasn’t there.

Anthony didn’t bother hesitating. He simply jumped inside with zero fear. Any normal person, after getting a Genesis Grade weapon, would immediately remain hidden in the Merfolk City and wait for The Sleeping Hollow to close and automatically eject everyone.

But not Null Anthony.

Anthony felt some dark, inky substance slithering around his body, but he did nothing and simply remained calm. The next moment, he felt an upward force as though he was being pushed back to the bottom of the ocean. Anthony’s head tore out from another Abyssal Maw of similar size, his hand rising as his fingers tore through the ink and his body shot into the air.

He landed on his feet beside the Abyssal Maw, which immediately closed and vanished as though it had never been there, the Universal Clothing Artifact cleansing him of the ink and ocean water. Oxygen filled Anthony’s lungs as he took a deep breath.

Anthony gazed around at his new location. This was land, but it wasn’t just any land. In various directions, corpses were scattered, corpses from various races: Gorgons, Dragons, Celestials, Bloodborn, Cryonids, Eclipsians, Netherborn, Anubari, Kitsune, Humans, Titans, you name it, they were all here.

Some were piled up into mountains, some into hills, some mountains even made of just bones, or a specific body part like the heads of the dead, not their bony skulls, but their actual heads. Everywhere was dimly lit. One could see, but it wasn’t exactly day, as the red sun above bathed the entire area in crimson light, the land stretching for kilometers in every direction.

Anthony could hear the sound of something dripping, and with the sound came a smell. His head turned in the direction of the sound and smell as his Sense Dome stretched outwards. And in the distance, a lake of blood could be seen crashing against a foothill.

It was truly a land of death.

The Law Of Death, Law Of Blood, Law Of Killing, Law Of Massacre, and other related Laws hummed in the air as they resonated throughout the land.

’What kind of underground tomb did The Lover Of Death even create?’ Anthony couldn’t help but think to himself.

First, it was the ocean, and now this. This was practically a Law Land on its own, and it seemed as though The Lover Of Death was gathering places that were transforming into Law Lands and using them as his Tomb.

’What happened to just putting yourself six feet under and etching your name and years on a tomb headstone?’ Anthony mused to himself as he decided to move.

The moment he took a step, the entire place began to shake. The sky itself trembled as though reacting to the coming of something. Anthony’s head snapped towards the sky as he sensed space being twisted. The next moment, the sky tore open, and from it, a being descended with calm ease, the being floating ever so slowly as Anthony could see the shoes and black trousers first.

As the being landed, Anthony didn’t need to think too much to understand what the being standing before him was: a Demon.

Of course, Anthony wasn’t delusional enough to believe that Demons were only found in the Acarnis Galaxy if one searched throughout the Universe.

Huge red-and-black, bat-like wings could be seen extending from the Demon’s back, his ears pointed like an Elf’s, a pair of glasses sitting on his face, his pupils slit like a Dragon’s, while a tail that seemed to be made of silver iron could be seen swirling behind him as he was draped in a red-and-black suit. He stood tall like an aristocrat, nothing like the Demons Anthony was familiar with.

"Welcome, Challenger, to the Home of the Retired," the Demon spoke calmly and with a bit of respect for his visitor.

’If calling this place home and calling the dead retired is what retirement looks like, then I would very much like to stay alive,’ Anthony mused to himself.

"Challenger, what is your name?" the Demon asked.

Anthony stayed silent for a moment, then replied, "Null Anthony."

"You may call me Kaxrak," the Demon spoke as he pushed his glasses upwards like some genius, a small smile remaining on his lips. "Anthony, I will begin to explain how the challenge for the Home of the Retired works," Kaxrak continued speaking.

Anthony simply nodded as he listened. The Dark Ocean had been about storming some group of undying Merfolk and taking a Genesis Grade weapon, which over ninety-five percent would probably fail. He wondered what this place had to throw at him.

"The challenges are divided into five: Easy Mode, Hard Mode, Hell Mode, Nightmare Mode, and finally, Impossible Mode," Kaxrak continued. "Each mode gives out various rewards if you complete them, each reward reflecting the difficulty you took on, and you are allowed to challenge only one mode and no more," he explained calmly, neither speaking fast nor slow.

Anthony simply nodded his head in understanding as he saw the Demon, Kaxrak, asking with his slit eyes if he was following.