"Hahaha," Argo laughed in contempt.
"You... you need to practice what you preach, big man. Don't get too cocky," the Lord of the Flies said with strained breaths, his chest heaving with great effort.
This time, Argo's voice took on a deep and demonic tone, indicating Beelzebub was also speaking through him.
"If we wished, we could have wiped out the two kingdoms and all their inhabitants before departing from this world. Killing you wouldn't be a problem once the Demon Soul Fragment was fully ignited.
However, doing so would introduce unpredictable errors. We didn't want to spoil the grand stage our lord set for himself, you see. So count yourself lucky, BITCH!"
Argo spoke with his eyes fixed on the sky above, a hint of longing for flight in his gaze.
Unbeknownst to Garos, Argo had restrained Beelzebub from fully descending upon the Anfang world. Or rather, it could be said that Beelzebub had restrained himself from doing so. Otherwise, Eren's multi-layered Runic Array Formations that were previously set up would have been obliterated.
Beelzebub's original consciousness would have faced dire consequences during his descent while the World Encompassing Array was still active. However, eliminating someone like Garos and destroying the battlefield and all its occupants would have been a trivial matter for Beelzebub within a fraction of a second if his descent had fully commenced.
"Lord?"
Garos' heart raced upon hearing Argo's fading words.
After all, Beelzebub wouldn't refer to an ordinary individual as his lord.
He peered at Argo cautiously, then asked with a mixture of doubt and anticipation building in his heart, strengthening his grip on the sharp gladius he had poised to strike.
Whether Argo responded to his question or not, Garos intended to strike him down in the next moment, eliminating the battlefield's anomaly that was the Demon Prince of Gluttony.
Cough. Cough. Cough.
Argo first coughed, which gradually morphed into a sinister laughter. He laughed at Garos and displayed his bloodied teeth before continuing.
"Haha. I got punked too, so I don't blame you. He... he saved his progress just before the boss fight. Respawning in 3... 2..."
Argo's words seemed like gibberish to Garos, who was prepared to dismiss them. But as Argo began counting down, an ominous feeling overcame Garos, compelling him to turn around.
"1..."
Argo finished his countdown, and in the next instant, a spatial disturbance manifested right beside him. It appeared Garos had been duped into looking the other way when the so-called Respawner materialized right beside Argo.
Swoosh. Zoom. Chop.
***
A certain someone found himself in an isolated space that resembled a vast world of mirrors and reflections.
An expansive, motionless lake extended in every direction, its end beyond sight. It looked like a giant surface of a flawless mirror.
Overhead was a starless blue sky devoid of stars. The lake's thick, mercury-like waters mirrored ethereal aurora lights, creating a mesmerizing spectacle. The originally colorless water took on the hue of the sky above, its only source of color.
An ethereal form rose from the lake's depths, giving the impression of a lifeless body drifting aimlessly. It took some time for the body to open its eyes.
"I died, huh?"
Eren muttered to himself as he gazed up at the starless sky inside Shallot's Mirror, floating on his back. The lake's surface rippled as he sat up.
Eren was profoundly distressed, having experienced death once again. He struggled to grasp the time or location. He was struggling to remember what he was supposed to do at this point.
What he did know was that he had been killed by Garos.
"Eren, how did it go?" a soft and soothing voice chimed in Eren's ears. He turned his head to see the artifact spirit of the Elder Seed Artifact beside him.
She resembled a sweet girl in a princess-like gown, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at her owner.
"I... I'm okay," Eren responded, attempting to stand but failing for some reason. He sighed and remained seated. "It's just that my recent encounter isn't a pleasant memory. But don't worry, Shallot. I'll be fine." He reassured the artifact spirit, deciding to wait for his Spiritual Force to stabilize before attempting to rise.
As Eren addressed Shallot, another entity materialized on the opposite side of him. She was the actual Shallot Lancelot, or rather, her apparition, as Eren liked to think of it.
He looked at her, raising his eyebrows, realizing he had made a significant error by renaming the artifact spirit with the same name as its previous owner. He sighed again, choosing to overlook his mistake for now. This wasn't the first time he had made mistakes. He was sure that it wouldn't be the last either.
With a wave of his hand, he signaled Shallot's Lancelot to vanish from his view. He had no desire to interact with someone whose descendants he had robbed recently.
"Eren, the Soul Imprint you sent out is… no more. Your Soul Space is agitated. It might take some time for you to stabilize your Spiritual Force. But I… I can help you."
Shallot explained, shedding light on Eren's sense of distress and disorientation. She extended her hand, suggesting Eren use it for support.
Eren chuckled at Shallot's gesture, wondering if he could indeed stand with the artifact spirit's assistance. She appeared quite diminutive, barely reaching his waist in height. Yet, Eren felt compelled to accept her offer when he noticed the way she presented her hand. As soon as he grasped Shallot's hand, the internal turmoil in his mind subsided, and he felt the peace he sought.
With this newfound clarity, Eren managed to regain his footing. He moved around, stretching his limbs, although he knew it wasn't his physical body but rather a mental strain he needed to alleviate.
Sometimes, engaging in stress-relieving activities could be sufficient to ease the tension, regardless of the location.
AN: Soul Imprint was explained in chapter 1388. The capabilities of Shallot's Mirror were explained in chapter 1387.
