Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Rahtor… he is turning into a half-blood! They all are!"

Zavir finally concluded as he saw the situation with his colleague. One had to note that the utter shock Zavir and Sage Rahtor had felt in their heart was much more profound than the pain the transformation was causing.

Zavir's and Rahtor's shock was deeper than the pain of the transformation. They were part of the Anfang Alliance, against the hidden half-blood clans. Now, they faced becoming like the very enemies they once opposed.

What was one supposed to do if they became the very thing they hated?

Eren's actions had started to turn the Beast Contract users into half-bloods one after the other. These transformations started occurring all across Anfang as the Rankers continued to get exposed to the Elder Ichor's bloodline energy.

Some transformations took place effortlessly, causing relatively less pain and trouble for Rankers. Others were not so lucky. They went through hellish procedures before they could stabilize their body stats. Some truly unfortunate ones couldn't even survive the transformation, dying before the beast blood merged with their existence.

The number of the half-bloods within the Land of the Faithless kept increasing at a rapid rate. When it crossed a certain threshold, something never seen before took place.

The World-Encompassing Array Formation revealed itself on the vast expanse of Anfang's sky, covering everything under it. A grand magic circle of seemingly endless runic symbols appeared, blanketing the whole of Anfang. Even the sunlight turned dim as the divine formation appeared, sapping away the world's essence found in the surroundings.

"This… World Encompassing Array!"

***

Sage Zavir immediately recognized the divine formation as a member of the upper echelons within the Anfang Alliance. He was well-versed in the details of this formation.

This divine formation dates back to the Calamity Era, a period when Anfang faced threats from otherworldly invaders. It was a creation of a slumbering goddess who approached the Anfang Alliance when the world was facing its darkest time in recorded history.

To activate this formation, the half-blood clans and their descendants were sacrificed.

This formation earned Anfang the name "Land of the Faithless", it prevented otherworldly invaders from entering its borders freely. It also led to the near eradication of half-bloods and other demonic Rankers. The divine formation's very existence made them retreat into shadows following the Calamity Era.

Constructed using immortal magic, this formation was considered indestructible by mortals. However, the goddess imposed certain conditions for it to function perpetually.

One key condition of the isolation array was that it would begin to deteriorate if the descendants of the sacrificed subjects exceeded a certain number in the population. The divine formation could not be destroyed by mortals. However, it would eventually crumble from within if the stated conditions were not met.

Eren decided to use this loophole in the divine formation so that it would break from within. He didn't need divine might or access to the immortal magic to destroy something that the slumbering goddess had created as an eternal cage for the potential inheritor of the Elder Ichor. He only needed vast amounts of resources and thorough preplanning to counter the goddess' machinations.

***

The Elder Ichor's bloodline energy kept radiating all across Anfang in waves. There was no barrier that could stop it. No healer that could cure it. Even the mighty Sages of Anfang were not immune from it.

"Aaaaaah!"

"Help me… something… something's happening to me."

"Keh! What the… My blood's boiling. Does this formation inflict us with a curse?"

"What the fuck is happening to these people? What are they turning into?"

"I… I'm going to die_aaaaaah…" *Pichoook!

The screams of helplessness and agony erupted all across Anfang as the regular Rankers started turning into half-bloods. A form of uncontrollable chaos erupted all over the world as Eren's bloodline energy sipped into these Rankers and changed them into something most of them didn't even know of.

"Eren Elijah Idril!"

As Eren was busy supplying the Array Formation with his blood drops, he heard someone call out to him with a mix of anger, fear, shock, and other sorts of emotions. The voice sounded shaky as if the owner of the voice wasn't even sure what his intervention could achieve.

Eren turned to his side to see Zavir had appeared outside the Birdcage Barrier once again, looking at him intently. He didn't have to say anything because Zavir had come to him loaded with his curses.

"You filthy scumbag. Stop this Array Formation right now or I will kill fucking you." Zavir tried to sound as threatening as possible. But alas, it had no effect on the butcher.

"Make me," replied Eren while looking into Sage Zavir's eyes fearlessly.

"What… what the fuck do you want? The Anfang Alliance will do everything to meet your demands if…" Zavir was about to put forward his conditions when he saw Eren shaking his head in denial.

"I wasn't asking for compensation, mister Sage," Eren said calmly as he kept the array formation active. He looked above and stared at the appearance of the divine formation as he spoke further.

"This was never a hostage situation to begin with. So there will be no negotiations. As you can see, I will do everything in my power to look after my self-interests.

So I want you to do everything in your power to stop me. That's what I asked from you. I am not trying to mock you. And I'm not trying to kill all these people. Not really.

But no matter what happens from now on, I'm not stopping on my own. You have to make me stop. You have to take that responsibility. That is the only way you and I can stop this chaos."

Eren said as he kept on pouring more blood into the array formation.

"You sick fuck! You…"

Sage Zavir couldn't control his emotions as his eyes turned misty. One could tell that he was thinking of his loved ones back home who were probably suffering from the same fate Eren had imposed on practically every Ranker of Anfang.

"You… will go to hell for this, Grimdawn."

Zavir said before disappearing from his position. He wasn't willing to waste his time on the battlefield anymore. Eren looked at Sage Zavir's disappearing figure before speaking out to particularly nobody.

"Hell? I am not going to hell. It better come to me."

===

AN: The conditions of the divine formation were mentioned in Chapter 1082: Machinations Of A Slumbering Goddess P2.