Chapter 27: Devouring The Werewolf Cultist
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"Let’s test that out."
Still in his reptilian form to gain even more power, and fearing the dark curses that lingered within the corpse, Riven started devouring it with his Endless Hunger Aura. The Aura allowed him to skip the terrible flavor of most things he consumed.
As he began to eat, taking massive bites out of the headless corpse and then the large werewolf head with its eyes rolled back, Riven felt a constant surge of evil, cursed divine energies coursing through his body.
"T-This is...?!"
It felt slightly painful. His veins blackened for a moment, but his Level 2 Titan Physique held on surprisingly well, suppressing the curse and then absorbing it as raw power.
"Amazing... keep going!"
He ordered his Aura to grow even wilder, continuing to eat the corpse more voraciously than before. At the same time, the werewolf head was bitten three more times until it was completely gone.
Riven sat down cross-legged and began meditating while carefully controlling the curse that still flowed inside his body. He crushed it under the combined weight of his four demonic Authorities.
Beelzebub.
Mammon.
Asmodeus.
And Lucifer.
All four of his Authorities manifested as towering giants made of colorful auras — red, gold, magenta, and blue — coalescing together into a single pillar of demonic power.
As he focused, the demonic cursed energy began to rapidly bow down before his own strength.
"It’s almost done...!"
He felt the power growing faster and faster. His stats began to skyrocket, and a brand-new ability seemed to begin awakening deep within him.
BA-DUM!
BA-DUM!
BA-DUM!
"It’s both a Skill and a Talent again!"
He felt exhilarating excitement surge through him as he smiled like a maniac. His aura continued growing tremendously... only to suddenly disappear, as if he had gained no power at all.
"...What?"
Then everything became black.
TRUUUM!
"NNNGGH?!"
He felt something gazing down at him with immense fury, disbelief, and pure hatred.
He watched as the night sky darkened completely.
The forest surrounding the backyard disappeared.
The lights turned off.
And then he found himself floating in a deep black void as small stars began to shine in the distance.
Those stars slowly took the form of a dark creature — a true devourer of worlds.
Riven clenched his teeth, forcing himself to stay calm before the absolute presence of...
An Authority.
"YOU..."
The voice echoed through his ears, his soul, and his heart all at the same time.
A powerful desire to give up and fall to his knees tried to consume Riven’s mind for several seconds, but he fought it back with everything he had.
"YOU DARE...!"
As the voice continued to echo, Riven felt like he could no longer breathe. His throat burned and his stomach churned violently, as if his body wanted to vomit everything he had just eaten.
But he refused to give in.
"YOU DARE... DEVOUR A PIECE OF MY FLESH?"
As the voice echoed once more, Riven finally faced the massive wolf that gazed down at him. The creature was composed of countless stars, and its eyes resembled black holes.
Behind Riven, his four unseen Authorities began to awaken, slowly pushing back against the crushing pressure.
"HMMM?"
Then Fenrir’s fury slowly began to fade as he noticed the power rising from Riven.
"OHO... NOW... THAT’S SOMETHING UNEXPECTED."
Riven, who had been unable to speak until now, suddenly found he could breathe again, as if Fenrir had deliberately allowed it.
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME, VESSEL OF THE CARDINAL SINS? HOW DO YOU HOLD THE POWER OF THE VANQUISHED ONES?"
Riven felt confused. Just what did Fenrir even mean by that? He could not answer carelessly. Would a powerful being like this not immediately know if he tried to lie his way out of the situation?
"I... Am Riven Hale... Claymore."
"!!!"
Fenrir’s eyes widened, looking like galaxies exploding one after another.
Then a voracious sneer spread across the wolf’s starry face.
"Claymore... you say? You’re... the son of that child? The vessel of the Brightest Star?"
"The Brightest... Star? What?"
Riven had no idea what the wolf was talking about.
Who could possibly be the vessel for such a being?
Wait... did he just mention his father?
He knew his father was among the strongest L+ Rank Awakened in the world.
But... what exactly was this Brightest Star the wolf spoke of?
"Your hatred for the star and its vessel is clear."
Riven noticed that Fenrir’s voice had calmed down. It no longer carried the same hatred or fury as before.
He faced the massive wolf head-on, holding his ground with the help of his four Authorities.
"I happen to also hate the Guardians of Order."
"...?"
"They get in the way of Chaos far too much. It is about time that we stop them, don’t you think?"
"..."
"Chaos... is the natural form of the universe. What they have created... is nothing more than a pitiful attempt at imitating what once made them... Futile."
"Right, there’s something I need to ask you..." As he continued speaking with Fenrir, Riven suddenly remembered the Cosmic Monarch and decided to boldly ask about that mysterious entity.
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