Rob You

"The elevator's out too."

As for jumping—the straightforward option—he didn't even consider it this time. Leaping from this height to elbow-drop concrete? That would take a special kind of desperation.

Thud.

The third heartbeat.

Yin Chen's Frostbone Wolf lay sprawled on the ground, its limbs trembling, its head tilted toward the crack beneath its paws. It let out a sharp, drawn-out howl, completely abandoning its usual aloof composure.

From within the tower's structural frame came screeching sounds of metal snapping—several points at once, one after another, spreading from underfoot all the way to the roof. The entire tower was disintegrating inch by inch within its own skeleton.

"The seal is at about thirty to forty percent strength. At this rate, it won't hold for more than ten minutes."

An Changqing held his sword horizontally before him, starlight coating the entire blade.

"And after ten minutes?"

Yin Tianzheng didn't answer. Chen Guan answered for him.

"It comes straight out."

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The heartbeat quickened, intervals shrinking from a few seconds to two or three, one pounding after another. Something that had been imprisoned for who knew how long had finally pried open a crack and was fiercely forcing its way out.

Black mist began seeping through the tower's cracked seams.

One wisp, two wisps, three wisps.

Slowly, it emerged from the gaps in the metal plates, crawling across the ground and spreading outward. The temperature dropped another notch.

When the black mist passed by Hong Yuan's feet, she stepped back and looked down at the trace it left on the metal surface.

Long black corrosion marks. The metal had been dissolved into a thin layer.

Chen Guan stood in the center of the platform, watching the black mist coil around his feet, circle once, then wrap back up—as if trying to identify the scent on him.

The black dot in his palm was burning hot.

Baal's voice surfaced again, this time without the usual joking opener.

"Kid, this mess—how are you planning to clean it up?"

Even Baal couldn't force a laugh now.

He knew his comrade's strength too well. Revival was not good news for him either.

Chen Guan didn't reply. He had another reckless idea forming.

He looked up at the collapsing metal plates beneath his feet. The black mist was gushing from every crack at an accelerating pace.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The heartbeat grew denser.

The black mist spread faster than anyone had anticipated.

Long Ao threw a punch. The air blast scattered a patch of the mist before him, but within two seconds, the dispersed part regrouped, even thicker than before.

"Can't break it apart."

Long Ao pulled back his fist and retreated two steps. Physical attacks were useless, it seemed.

Hong Yuan held her axe in front of her, watching the black mist crawl past the tips of her shoes. The metal beneath her feet had visibly thinned.

"Old Yin, how much longer can that seal of yours actually hold?"

Even Hong Yuan had shed all pretense of politeness.

Yin Tianzheng knelt on the ground, unable to rise. Both hands braced against the fractured surface, his fingers bleeding into the black mist—a stark contrast.

"Seven minutes. Maybe less."

"There's another way."

Chen Guan's voice wasn't loud, but the wind carried it to everyone's ears, silencing them all.

"Since we can't suppress it—"

He raised his head. His eyes were terrifyingly clear.

"—then don't. Open the seal. I'll devour it."

Silence hung for about two seconds.

"Have you lost your mind?"

Long Ao was the first to speak, his voice louder than he'd intended.

Hong Yuan's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.

"Hold on. You were just hit so hard you got a nosebleed from that thing, and now you're saying you want to eat it?"

An Changqing stepped over to Chen Guan in two strides and grabbed him by the shoulder, his grip tight.

"Chen Guan, you touched it for just a few seconds, and you already suffered irreversible changes."

He kept his voice outwardly calm, but the suppressed tension in it betrayed his real emotions.

"If you dive headfirst into this, it won't just be a matter of getting hurt. You'll become another version of it."

Chen Guan didn't shake off his hand. He just tilted his head slightly.

"Let go. Trust me."

An Changqing didn't let go.

"Give me one reason."

Chen Guan held his gaze for a moment, seeing the persistence in his eyes.

"Let go, and I'll tell you."

An Changqing's fingers loosened, but he didn't step back. He stood half a stride away from Chen Guan.

Chen Guan raised his right hand and showed them—letting everyone see the black dot in his palm.

"This thing was left behind when I linked with it earlier. It hasn't disappeared, and it hasn't spread."

"Know why?"

No one answered.

"Because my body accepted it."

Long Ao frowned deeply.

"Accepted?"

"Yes. Accepted."

Chen Guan lowered his hand and looked at Yin Tianzheng. "Sir, when you sealed this thing, did you ever wonder why every seal eventually fails?"

Yin Tianzheng's gaze darkened.

He didn't speak, but his silence was answer enough.

"Because sealing only delays the explosion."

Chen Guan continued. "If we keep blocking it, it'll still wake up in ten years. Same in a hundred years."

Yin Tianzheng finally spoke. "I know all that. But refining the remnants of a demon god—that's not something a human can do."

"Humans really can't."

Chen Guan glanced at the iron coffin beside him.

"But I can."

"I used a mortal body to borrow the power of a god. That means I can do more."

As he said this, the hint of darkness swimming in his eyes briefly came alive.

Baal's voice echoed in his mind.

"I can't support you on this one either. Letting a shard of divine essence attract its attention is one thing. Throwing yourself in as a furnace is another. Understand the difference, kid."

Chen Guan replied mentally.

"Since when did you start worrying about me?"

"I'm not worried. It's just that if you die, where would I find such an interesting contractee?"

An interesting human—it would be far too boring to let his story end too soon.

Besides, Chen Guan still carried too many things Baal was curious about.

Chen Guan ignored him.

An Changqing stepped back half a pace, holding his sword horizontally across his chest, thumb pressed against the guard. His expression was more serious than Chen Guan had ever seen.

"Even if your constitution is special, devouring a demon god's remnant takes more than just a vessel. It requires enough mental strength to suppress its instinct. Do you have it?"

"Not enough."

Chen Guan's answer was blunt.

An Changqing's brow furrowed even tighter.

"But I don't need to suppress it. I'll let it devour me, then—inside its stomach—I'll digest it from within."

Chen Guan had studied demonology carefully. In the demon world, kindred spirits consumed one another.

For a demon god like Baal to reach his level, he'd devoured countless of his own kind.

Facing an unconscious remnant, Chen Guan believed his odds were decent.

He could tap into the power of the divine essence from his own body. And besides that, he also carried the power of that nameless demon within him.