Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Keeeeeeee!

A sharp, unstable sound permeated the surroundings as the Cloud Head Sabre vibrated with erratic energy.

Concurrently, Reen's vessel displayed signs of implosion, suggesting that the artifact creation process had reached a precarious, unstable state, akin to before.

"Eren…" Alephee regarded Eren with a tense expression.

"I know," Eren responded with a stoic gaze. Despite the stress induced by the process, his control over the formation's functionality remained flawless.

"Shallot, come out!" Eren called to the artifact spirit of his first Elder Seed Artifact, now encompassing his right hand like a bracelet. In the following moment, Shallot emerged before Eren.

'So, this… this is Shallot. She looks… familiar.'

Alephee pondered silently upon encountering the artifact spirit for the first time, her curiosity piqued. However, she chose to reserve her thoughts and focused on operating the Array Eye.

Alephee was unsure how Shallot could assist Eren at this juncture. Nonetheless, she sensed that questioning this would be futile at this point. It was best to allow Eren to take command.

Eren closed his eyes and concentrated, shutting out his surroundings and listening to his heartbeats. After taking a deep breath, he let his Soul Sense expand around him, wielding his God Spark within his soul.

Zooooom!

A power distinct from Mana spread throughout every corner of Anfang from Eren's epicenter. It manifested as an intangible force, akin to a formless sea of divine might, using the Elemental Attainment of water.

As a consequence, for a fleeting moment, every living being in Anfang felt as though they were suddenly submerged in water.

This was Eren's first time wielding his divine powers, yet he did so with such proficiency that it left even Alephee in shock.

***

"Edict Over Water: Become my mirror and reflect the image of the world to me."

With this simple command, Eren exercised his divine might. It seemed that mere words from a divine being were enough to alter the laws of the world.

An Edict functioned differently from spell casting. It didn't adhere to the standard rules of Spiritual Force or magic. Simply verbalizing the desires of the wielder was enough.

The Edict would interpret the wielder's wishes according to their imagination and will, enabling them to manifest their divine might however they desired, relative to their God Spark.

The God Spark served as the conduit through which the divine will could be expressed. This expression didn't require the support of one's Spiritual Force. The Edict Over Water that Eren had employed showcased his divine might related to his water-element God Spark.

Almost instantly, water-element mana began manifesting across Anfang in various ways. Even the large and small bodies of water in Anfang began behaving strangely.

In certain regions, water covered the ground, seemingly replacing the earth. It changed viscosity, turning mercury-like, acting as a vast mirror that reflected the panicked expressions of the living beings and the devastated state of the environment due to the successive calamities.

In other regions, the Elemental Attainment of Water enveloped the world, intangible yet making the living beings inside it feel as if they had been transported to the deepest part of a lake bed.

In some other areas, mist formed from bodies of water gathered in the sky, creating a thin layer of water. This thin layer remained in the air, becoming semi-opaque. It resembled a giant cicada wing that covered a large region, faintly reflecting the events occurring below its surface.

Such scenes unfolded throughout Anfang. Even the most forbidden zones in the world were not exempt. Not even Sages could interfere with the way divine might manifested.

The current battlefield was also affected by Eren's divine might. It transformed the vast expanse of barren land into a lake in an instant, submerging the feet of Eren and others in water-element mana.

While mortals and Rankers might have panicked if Eren had unleashed his divine powers on any other day, they had more pressing matters. Many people were perishing due to the chaos caused by the deterioration of the divine array formation.

Hence, the inhabitants of Anfang collectively chose to overlook the unusual behavior of water or water-element mana. Eren's divine might didn't pose any immediate threat to them. Rather than panicking at the sight of his divine powers, they focused on prioritizing their survival.

***

"You know what to do?"

Opening his eyes, Eren asked Shallot while raising his hand in front of her. His emerald green eyes had a divine sheen to them.

"Hmm," Shallot answered, placing her small hand in his before closing her eyes. In the next moment, something unusual took place all over the world.

The various water manifestations that had appeared all around the various parts of the world became medium for Shallot to exert her powers. Countless tendrils made of her reservoir Spiritual Force manifested themselves. These spectral tendrils sprouted from the surface of the water manifestations all around the world and spread in all directions.

These spectral tendrils did nothing to the living beings. However, they started latching onto the souls of those whose vessels had just died. These spectral tendrils started drawing the souls inside them in droves.

One could say that Eren was in the process of harvesting the souls of all beings who had lost their lives recently due to the calamity. And as the chaos caused by the sudden deterioration of the divine array formation was big, the number of souls Eren was harvesting was in the billions.

The souls were soon pulled inside the water manifestations from which the spectral tendrils had sprouted from. In the end, they ended up inside an isolated space of the Shallot's Mirror.

'This… I never thought Shallot's Mirror could be used like this,' Alephee said to herself with shocked expressions as she watched Eren perform a miracle only a god could perform. Only now did she realize why Eren was confident in making not one but two Elder Seed Artifacts at the same time.

'This is insane. It hasn't even been a day since he became a demi-god and he has wielded his divine might with a profound clarity. No wonder those gods feel threatened by him.' Alephee thought to herself and sighed before smiling mirthlessly.

'He'll become unstoppable when he becomes a true god.'