In the Divine Realm of Geggoron, the Demon Demigod was trembling. His gigantic cloud-like body was desperately throwing dark lightning in all directions.
The pain of having two of his Split Souls used to possess vessels in the mortal world was almost nonexistent, as he was separated from them through the space of his Divine Realm.
Although they were able to connect their minds, they were separated enough to not feel such pain… at the very least.
However, each time he would receive their memories, he would have to experience the pain through them if he wanted to gain any information about that battle in particular.
If he could sweat, his entire body would be dripped in it.
"To begin with, she's capable of granting the effects of 'Divinity Devouring' to the rest of her allies… She is also able to divide her entire body and create perfect clones capable of wielding almost all of her powers. She can also fuse with her allies to increase her strength exponentially… and she can devour, and digest Divinity faster than I imagined… Damn it all! If my vessels would not have taken so long in playing around with Mohini, I would have received her Divinity already!"
Geggoron's split souls spectated the way Kireina opened a portal to an unknown location and sent Mohini there… he began to speculate just what was that.
"Did she obtain… a Divine Realm? Or Space Magic? No! How could a mortal have a Divine Realm…? That is impossible! It must be the other… she managed to obtain the rare Space Magic, to the extent that she is capable of creating a different space where she can send unconscious bodies… perhaps it wasn't even Space Magic and she stored Mohini in her Item Box?! Perhaps she was just bluffing then…!"
Geggoron crafter theories after theories, coming to different conclusions… he was trying his best not to fall into despair or desperation. There were still several pawns that he could use against Kireina.
Some of his trump cards were the special 'prototype' artifacts given to him by the suspicious Athena… And because of this, he could not just run away either. If that were the case, Athena and her followers would follow him to the end of the world and finish him off.
However, even after considering this possibility, Geggoron still thought about escaping. But he thought that as long as he kept his main body and soul on his Divine Realm, Kireina wouldn't be able to damage him no matter what… he had to bear the pain of his Split Souls dying… but as long as he had Divine Energy, he could divide his strange cloud-like body endlessly to possess many pawns.
But he also considered that if he were to let Kireina eat too many of his split souls… she would end up becoming stronger and stronger. Even if she cannot reach his Divine Realm, he would be without any option but to abandon Moonfang and Sunclaw, and find another place to nourish himself with cultist's sacrifices and worship.
"However, as long as I keep creating more pawns with small split souls… I should be able to overwhelm Kireina at the end. She seemed to have gone all out in that fight. Meaning that she does not have any other trump cards… You fool, you already revealed all your fantastical and nonsensical powers! Perhaps Megusan was not as hard to kill with them, but I am a Demon Demigod on its peak! Megusan was but a weakened trash amongst trash!"
Geggoron began to device his plans, which involved both Kingdoms, Moonfang and Sunclaw…
"If she was requested to save these Kingdoms… why don't I rage war once and for all? Will she be able to save them all? In the middle of the war, while she tries to stop these foolish mortals from killing each other… I shall strike you down, while you least expect it! If I use these artifacts and find a blind spot… It should be possible!"
Geggoron fantasized about the moment he could destroy Kireina and assimilate her. He would be capable of obtaining all of her strange powers, and perhaps he could even use her physical body as a new and perfect vessel… if he could, then he would be in the same league as Demigods such as Zudig, who had recently obtained a Hero's body as a vessel.
"The thing that infuriates me is that as hard as I try to find it, I cannot find a perfect vessel for me… not even both of these beast kingdoms heroes are compatible with me… they are all pathetic! If I am capable of finding an ideal vessel such as Kireina, I would be capable of learning many 'forbidden' skills, such as Dungeon Snatch or Divinity Devouring! My power would surge, and I would become unstoppable! If I had such powers in a current vessel… if I were capable of making them learn skills when I possess them… It would be possible for me to defeat Kireina, by using Divinity Devouring against her!"
Geggoron's only attack capable of 'eating' or 'assimilating' gods or divinities was the 'Divinity Devouring' Transcendental Technique, which was a technique devised by the gods in the past before the System existed in Genesis.
This technique used Divine Energy and the Divinity of the God, alongside different materials, and magic incantations. It was different than a Skill and was not as strong and easy to use as the 'Divinity Devouring' of Kireina.
In the past, power could not be easily obtained through Skills, proper training, gathering of resources, and magical understanding was needed.
Those that managed to become gods in such an era, were considered geniuses amongst geniuses, dragons amongst dragons.
Even those Demon Gods, who raised from creatures and monsters held an immense talent within them, even someone as deplorable as Megusan, who was born as a lowly critter, yet he slowly raised through the ranks and nourished his body, becoming a demigod, could be said to be admirable and incredible.
Geggoron… was not much different than Megusan. He was once a demonic creature, that was born in the world of Genesis before it was split into Realms.
Part of a forgotten species of creatures composed of smoke, gases, and poison, he was born weak and pathetic.
But he, like many of his species, fought, and devoured prey. Geggoron seemed to exceed the ones that were born at the same time as him… and he slowly became the one leading them all.
However, he knew that he could not trust anyone. He was betrayed and almost eaten by his siblings… he became hateful and distrustful. He could only trust himself and no one else.
He devoured his entire family, his siblings, his mother, and all those of his same species. Due to this, he found delightfulness in devouring his same species, like many other monsters.
Through cannibalism, he grew exponentially, by absorbing beings of his same composition, his gaseous body grew in size, he gained new abilities and used them to hunt bigger preys, while developing his intelligence and innate powers.
As he continued like this for hundreds of years, one day, he became a Demigod.
However, no matter how long he lived before becoming a Demigod, he never changed his mind. He never trusted anyone, and could barely form alliances only to survive through the Ragnarök, the war between gods that was occurring in Genesis.
The world was destroyed… and reborn into multiple realms. Geggoron joined his 'allies'. But after seeing how he could never fit with their different natures; he betrayed them and ran away.
He is a demigod with the Divinity of Nightmares and Hateful Distrust. Naturally, he hates and is distrustful. Divinities are often a curse more than a blessing.
But Geggoron, unlike some other gods, embraced his curse and made it his own power.
Now, he needed to cross this challenge that was Kireina, one in the millions he had faced, and he had survived and devoured afterward…
Gods had tremendous wills, Geggoron was not the exception.
Geggoron considered all of his pawns and began to craft several plans. He still had three strong vessels, in the Moonfang Kingdom he had the 'Golden Adamantine Claws Lion King', which he had brainwashed and was considerably strong, almost at Rank 13 of the Mortal Realm.
Meanwhile, in the Sunclaw Kingdom, he had the 'Sacred Light White Wolf Swordsman' and the 'Corrosive Poison Sword Hyena Knightess', both being of Rank 11, closer to 12 of the Mortal Realm.
"Those two dogs, the Werefox and the Eclipse Wolf… they're still running away? And going to the Moonfang Kingdom? It is useless, I will catch them before that happens and brainwash them as quickly as possible… If I can gather all of these strong pawns against Kireina in the middle of a chaotic war… there should be more than one opportunity to take her by surprise"
Aside from these individuals, Geggoron had been nourishing promising talents found in both Kingdom's royal families, making them his apostles and cultists, and others into powerful 'Nightmare Hunters' as he called them. Talented individuals which were possessed by Geggoron's split soul and mutated into abominable monsters, he had quite a hundred of them by now.
"I should make some more… that little cat prince seemed interesting… but why is it running? Gegegegeh… there is no point in running away. You're a mere pawn in my plans!"
Geggoron watched as a young lion beastmen boy, part of the royal family of Moonfang had run away from the castle, seemingly discovering the truth about the cult of Geggoron and that his family was not the same as he remembered.
This boy was blessed by Mohini, and was one of her targets to rescue… However, she was caught by Geggoron before that could have even happened, leaving the boy on his own, only accompanied by his loyal maid, who was not brainwashed yet, and a guard, who had grown close to him after saving him from a bandit group.
The three ventured to the outside of the Kingdom, traveling towards Sunclaw in hopes of finding help and shelter there while alerting their neighbor Kingdom about the dangers of the cult of Geggoron… but they did not know that such an act was futile, as the Sunclaw Kingdom was already completely assimilated by Geggoron.
Meanwhile, as the three traveled through the outskirts, a group of 'Nightmare Hunters' led by the brainwashed big sister of the prince were closing in… while Geggoron rested on his Divine Realm, glancing with amusement from the commodity of his Divine Realm.
"If Kireina goes around the outskirts rescuing each village of Moonfang, then she will surely take her time with it… enough for me to complete the schemes I am unfolding… and if not, I will create my own chances…" laughed Geggoron, revealing the only crimson eye he had in the middle of his dark and gaseous body.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Moonfang, in the surrounding section of large forests, a small party of three, led by a young lion beastmen boy walked through the harsh environments.
The boy had emerald eyes, long and blonde hair, and small, lion-like ears at the top of his head, alongside his mildly long tail. His face was flawless and pale white, with beautiful features, which would often make him be mistaken for a girl.
"Young master, Cathin-sama… I don't want to go against your will, but do you think that it is fine to go through this route?" asked a burly white tiger beastmen man, with a youthful and stoic face and short white hair with black stripes. He was wearing heavy armor, which seemed too small on his gigantic body. Several of his herculean muscles showed through the gaps.
"It should be… that's what the Map Artifact says so… although, in the past, this place wasn't as filled with monsters as now… it is a bit baffling. Anyways, we must make haste towards the Sunclaw Kingdom, we must alert them about Geggoron and the cultist before it's too late" said the young lion boy.
Cathin Greeneye Moonfang was the young prince of the Moonfang Kingdom, born from his father, the Lion King, and his deceased mother, a young Desert Cat concubine that his father had when he was younger.
Since he was born that he was seen as a bastard child, however, his father still treated him fairly well, giving him several commodities. Although he was bullied and discriminated against by his family, some of his siblings showed him the warmth of a family as well.
The White Tiger Beastmen was Kamuris, a young man with a burly complexion and a herculean strength. He protected Cathin after realizing that he was a prince, and has been following him since then, fighting the threats that come for the young prince's head.
"Kamuris, stop complaining so much. The wild Goblins and Trolls found in here are no threat to us." Said a beautiful Black Cat Lady, with short black hair and cat ears at the top of her head. She wore a revealing maid outfit while wielding two sharp knives that shined eerily through the night.
"Cassamia-chan, don't be like that…" muttered the Kamuris, he had been fallen to the maid's beauty and was always trying to be as gentle as possible with the boy so he could win extra points with his servant.
"Hmph, stop flirting with me, you won't get anywhere," said Cassamia, approaching the young Cathin, who was confused about these strange interactions.
Cassamia Lisia was born in poverty, due to the debt of her parents, she was sold as a slave. And after wandering through masters that never treated her fairly, she was brought by the royal family of Moonfang, and trained as a professional assassin and spy for the Kingdom.
However, unlikely her expectations, she was employed by the King as a personal maid and guard to his bastard son, Cathin.
Through the years, she developed a strong bond with the young lion prince and became a mother figure to the often-lonely boy. She trusted the prince's words and helped him escape. After experiencing how her allies became brainwashed pawns and monstrosities, her beliefs that the cultists were insane grew deeper within her mind. She had a stoic personality and was very overprotective of Cathin.
"Cathin-sama, you seem tired. Do you want me to carry you?" asked Cassamia, with a gentle yet mild smile, her short black hair mixing with the darkness of the forest, as well as her black eyes and pale-white skin, however, closer inspection would reveal that she was a beauty amongst beauties.
"Cassamia-san I am already twelve years old… I do not need to be carried around! Also… I'm feeling like I am awakening my inner bloodline of lions, so my strength and stamina is enough to walk through here without any troubles!" said Cathin, trying to relieve his servant.
Cassamia seemed mildly depressed about her young master's statement, she was desiring to princess carry him as he usually did in the past.
"I see… Very well then, young master," she muttered.
Kamuris glanced at both Cassamia and Cathin baffled.
"H-Hey, kid, why did you reject her! Cassamia-chan, carry me if you want!" he said.
"Shut up, you pile of muscles," said Cassamia, with a fierce look in her eyes.
"Haah… so harsh with this poor guard… Life ain't easy for good men," muttered Kamuris.
"Hmm, it still dark, though the sun is slowly approaching from the horizon… a dawn of a new day," said Cathin, trying to change topics.
As the unlikely party walked through the dark forest, shadows followed them close by… led by an eerily familiar face to Cathin…
"Fufufu… Cathin-kun~ I can't believe how resilient you are~ Why can't you accept Geggoron-sama in your life~?" she said.
