CHAPTER 156: THE UNESCAPABLE HELL BEGINS

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  After sleeping for a month like an embryo being nourished in its mother’s womb, I awoke.

  I emerged as a completely new being. Now, the glaring imperfections that my body had sustained in my reckless attempt to quickly raise my power were completely repaired, like they didn’t even exist for a single second.

  My bones were stronger than ever, now boasting the new addition of my armor, the [Indomitable Cereum Carapace], seamlessly melding into my skeletal structure.

  It was nothing like before, back when I had forcefully melded it into my bones. When I undid my transformation to my second form back then, it did nothing but put agonizing pressure on my skeleton, a crude attempt born of my lack of control. But now? With the new addition of [The Fallen Sanguine Lord], I was formless. Genderless. More perfect than ever.

  It allowed me to truly switch my gender between male or female, or perhaps a combination of both. Or, I could remain without any gender at all, lacking the features of a male or the daunting features of a female. This should be the base of all my forms, a genderless motherfucker that is so extremely beautiful that even the word 'beautiful' wouldn't be enough to do me justice.

  Just thinking of that glorious form, I waved my hand and a mirror appeared before me, as I shapeshifted my body in the next second.

  Shhhhk.

  The bulge in my groin disappeared, along with my Adam's apple, my nipples, and any roughness or feminine side of me. They were replaced with a perfect combination of both. My face took on a sharper yet soft appearance, like that of a petite woman that would trigger one’s protectiveness the moment they looked at me. All they would be able to think was that they wanted to protect this innocent person from whoever tried to harm it.

  I paused, frowning. Then, I sculpted my face yet again. I was not satisfied with this face. I didn't need a face that spilt my glaring weakness, what I needed was the perfect face of a Ruler. An Emperor who led the most glorious empire in all existence. A face that would deter all his enemies with a single glance. It shouldn't be too ugly, since an ugly ruler doesn't have the natural charm that makes people want to follow them.

  So, I sculpted it into perfection. I carved my face like the finest porcelain glass, then shifted the structure of my eyes to make them look fox-like, yet holding the regalia of a dragon and phoenix, while my gaze carried the latent, suppressive authority of the Heavenly Tiger.

  I smiled, then cackled at my work. I trimmed my eyebrows into a thin yet thick shape to compliment my eyes, while I made my lips more alluring to the gaze, redder, making one want to jump straight to them so they wouldn't regret their life choices of not being able to kiss them. While at it, I made my jet-black hair, which gleamed with the light of the countless stars in the universe, a little bit curly. Not overly so, but a perfect blend of curly and silky that resembled the flowy waves of the seven seas.

  I smirked, then sculpted my Adam's apple. Not too rough, but rather feminine like a woman’s, yet not without one completely. It was visible enough for all to see, provided they were keen enough to notice the small bump on my neck indicating that this beautiful person, whom even the most beautiful beauties in existence couldn't rival, was not a woman, but a male through and through.

  I took one last glance at my face in the mirror, then nodded with satisfaction. Next, I shapeshifted my muscles. I forced my abdominal muscles and leg muscles to take a more sophisticated shape, like that of a sculpture of the ancient Terence, or the paintings depicting the lewd abdominal muscles of the Devil. It looked as if it was sculpted from the highest purity of marble, gleaming with an allure that would make those who laid eyes upon it unable to forget it for the rest of their lives, regretting that they hadn't had the opportunity to touch it.

  I sculpted my hands to look like the uncalloused hands of a scholar, except my arms rippled with power, the curves of the muscles proportioned perfectly. Into my legs, I made them a little bit muscular in contrast to my arms, though my abdominal muscles didn't seem too bulky. Likewise with my chest. Then, into my back and shoulders, I made them muscular, but just in perfect proportion to be called fit, not overly massive. I didn't want my form to look like that of a gorilla.

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  I shook my head at the thought of a hairy gorilla, comparing it to myself now. We were lightyears apart. I dismissed the mirror, and it fell to the ground, dissolving like sand.

  I grabbed for my robes but found them nowhere to be found. I let out a low chuckle, then flicked my hand. The Cereum melded into my bones seeped out of my skin like liquid fabric. They conjoined into two sets of robes, one was a simple black robe that hugged tightly to my skin and neck as an inner layer, while the other was an outer robe with a white color palette, a sharp contrast to the black fabric hugging my curves.

  I cackled, then took a look around the chamber, only to find that there was no one inside. Not even a single soul was loitering around, and even the clingy Samantha was nowhere to be found.

  I sighed, then flicked my hand. Something metallic pierced my ears as accessories settled into them, hanging lazily, not to show off wealth, which I currently didn't have, but to show that even I liked the idea of piercings.

  I let my thoughts run through my mind, then expanded my field of perception that I had compressed into my body. I looked across the hallways of the sanctuary, into the countless rooms where no one was around, and finally into the training room.

  There, Lumicor, who had blinded himself, swung his spear with all his might. The wrath of a leviathan embodied his every movement. I looked at his impressive improvement, his skills had risen from the elementary of spearmanship to that of an expert who had wielded their spears for thousands of years. It was flawless, perhaps even perfect.

  But I ignored it the next second. Imperfections could be seen the more he unleashed techniques upon techniques. While his flow wasn't disturbed in the slightest thanks to his great mind, the imperfections created by his lack of experience told me otherwise. His every action was still too awkward to see. I looked into the next training room where all the girls and Tellus were gathered.

  In the far distance, Solia could be seen coordinating with Tellus while fighting him. Her swords cut through the dummies that Tellus marionetted to attack her with ferocity. He also helped Solia defeat them, creating a stone platform in the air which Solia gladly used as a stepping stone.

  Solia leaped towards the hoard that conjoined into one singular golem, it looked like Surtr, but without flames, replaced instead by a sandstorm incoming at her.

  But with a single click of her blades, which didn't even leave their scabbards, the whole training room went still. A streak of whiteness flashed into the room. In the next second, the golem was severed in half. Solia landed on the ground, took a bottle, and downed it as she wiped her sweat. Witnessing this efficient and practical training method, I couldn't help but be proud of the baby girl I had raised up to this point.

  Then I glanced at Samantha and Ishtar, who were honing their mana. Ishtar was past that point, but looking at her pretending to be an absolute novice just to bond with her mother, or master in this lifetime, I couldn't help but chuckle at them. I took a step using [Void Steps].

  Vwoom.

  I appeared right behind Samantha and grabbed her waist.

  Samantha, startled at the sudden touch, reacted swiftly. She twisted her body and kicked the perpetrator who was grabbing her away, but clenched her teeth as she felt like she had kicked a boulder.

  Thud.

  She turned her head at the impudent man who dared to grab her waist without permission, as she pointed her revolvers at him. Then she clicked the trigger, but the man merely smiled. He tapped the bullets, and they've dispersed like they didn't exist, his hands moving like a blur. Samantha flinched, knowing his goal was to seize her neck, so she braced herself for the impact.

  But to her dismay, the unfamiliar man merely patted her head, then jokingly cackled in her dearest husband’s familiar voice.

  "Huhuhu... Your reaction speed is far greater than I had expected, so I don't have to teach you much when it comes to instincts or something similar. Since you're a prodigy, but a lazy one, that leaves me one option. And that is to help you master your bloodlines in a week."

  Before Samantha could even process this unknown man's words, Ishtar, on the other hand, shivered at her father's words.

  Mastering a high-level bloodline in a week. She recalled the past when he told her that he would help her master her [Eyes of Truth] in less than a day. At first, she was excited at the notion that her beloved father would teach her, but after experiencing that hellish day that passed like a year... it traumatized her so greatly that she even resorted to erasing those memories. Yet, she was unable to do it, since as long as she heard him say those dreadful words, Ishtar would remember that very day.

  Ishtar, not wanting her mother, or her master in this lifetime, to suffer, clenched her teeth and tried to shout. But she was far too late.

  Samantha, who had realized whose man this handsome guy was, jumped straight into his arms and agreed.

  This left the pitiful Ishtar pale with dread. She whispered softly enough that none should be able to hear it. "Ha... hahaha, Father... how much do you want my Mother to suffer in your hands?"

  I smiled at her words, then sent her a voice transmission. "Huhuhu, for as long as I want, my lovely daughter. So come with me, since you need to master those two new eyes of yours, which should be the Eyes of the Fallen."

  Ishtar’s face lost all of its color after hearing her father's words. She followed him from behind listlessly, mumbling words of despair. "I-I wish that I was not born as your child, you devil!"