NOVEL NEXT Chapter403-Dean’s Worry
With Daniel's final strike unleashed, the Void Orb began to shrink rapidly, its surface folding inward until it wrapped completely around Fleshheart.
No matter how frantically Fleshheart thrashed, no matter how desperately it struggled, it no longer mattered.
The vast energy woven into the domain tore apart and annihilated every single one of its cells.
Thus fell a being of Fake God rank, slain at last by Daniel's hand.
The death itself seemed strangely anticlimactic.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no dramatic scream that echoed for miles.
In fact, because of the consuming nature of the Void Orb, the end of Fleshheart was eerily quiet—almost peaceful, if such a word could be applied to the demise of so grotesque an entity.
Moments later, the suffocating gloom that had blanketed the battlefield was swept away as if by an unseen wind. The faint light of Dark Star Jarvan once again cast its glow across the entirety of the Flesh Continent.
But this time, there was no longer any trace of Fleshheart's presence. Not even the once omnipresent sea of flesh remained.
Without the abomination's energy to sustain them, the layers of pulsating meat withered at incredible speed.
Within breaths they collapsed into dust and ash, scattered to the winds.
Daniel, gazing through the Eye of Insight, confirmed what he already knew in his heart—Fleshheart was gone.
Completely, utterly gone. Unless some unfathomable resurrection art capable of reviving a Fake God rank being existed, Fleshheart would never rise again.
At that realization, countless human awakeners raised their eyes to the sky.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, they saw the heavens unobscured, as if daylight itself had returned to them.
"So it's true? We've really won this war?"
"Of course! His Majesty Daniel is invincible. As long as we follow him, humanity will only grow stronger and more glorious!"
Breathing heavily, their bodies spent and battered, the awakeners could not suppress their elation. Victory burned through their exhaustion. Their muscles trembled, their wounds ached, but their spirits soared higher than ever.
Not a single one of them had expected this outcome.
To think that with their combined strength, they had managed to destroy something as formidable as a Fake God rank entity!
And not just any Fake God rank. Fleshheart had stood at the very peak of that rank, a step away from crossing into Demigod.
Yet here, in this very battle, it had been slain.
Daniel's gaze swept across the land below.
What had once been the dominion of the Heart of Flesh was now nothing more than barren, ownerless territory.
He exhaled softly.
"It seems the time has come for humanity to expand its dominion once again."
Far away, over the rolling Storm Sea, another figure felt the ripples of what had transpired.
Dean slammed his fist down upon the ocean's surface, sending waves rising thousands of meters into the air. His roar shook the skies.
"Damn it! How could this happen?!"
"Fleshheart… we swore we would live on together. So why—why have you died?!"
His emotions churned in turmoil. And then, as if struck by another invisible blow, his expression twisted with pain.
"No… Edward's presence… it's vanished too? Has he also fallen?!"
Despair etched itself onto Dean's face.
He had never imagined such a nightmare. In less than an hour, two of his closest allies, partners in survival, had been annihilated.
What unsettled him most was not only their loss, but the mystery behind it.
He knew Fleshheart well.
In terms of raw aggression, perhaps Fleshheart was not the deadliest among Fake God ranks.
But when it came to survivability, Fleshheart had always been in the very first tier. Its defensive resilience was legendary.
That monster could even endure direct assaults from true gods and escape with its life.
And yet… Fleshheart was dead.
"How? Who could have possibly done this?" Dean's mind raced. "What kind of enemy did you face, old friend? Who was powerful enough to end you?"
Then a darker thought surfaced, one that drained the last traces of color from his face.
"If even Fleshheart can be killed… doesn't this mean the Demigod Rank may be stirring once again?"
The possibility left him cold.
He knew better than anyone what the resurgence of Demigod Rank beings meant for the world.
It was a vision of bloodshed and horror, of endless slaughter and ambition.
Every Demigod lived with one singular obsession—ascending further, becoming a true god.
To them, nothing else mattered.
Kingdoms, lives, civilizations—mere pebbles scattered across their path. If they had to trample continents to claim a domain of divinity, they would.
And so, whenever Demigods awakened, war inevitably followed.
Even amongst themselves, they would tear each other apart in brutal struggles, each desperate to claim a single concept, a single law of reality as their divine right.
In such conflicts, everyone else—mortals, masters, even lords—were nothing but ants crushed beneath their heels.
It was only with the rise of true gods in ages past that the Demigods had chosen to seal themselves away.
Even they had no wish to provoke divine wrath. They had slumbered, willingly, for countless generations.
That was why, in the present world, there were no living Demigods at all. Not one.
And now… perhaps that age of slumber was ending.
Dean's expression hardened, his earlier rage cooling into grim realization.
"If Demigods return," he whispered, "then the world is about to be drowned in blood once more."
A deep frustration gnawed at him.
He searched for more information, but found nothing. It was as if fate itself had veiled the truth from his senses.
He straightened, eyes narrowing as he gazed across the seas toward the distant Land of Origin.
"What in the world has happened there?" he muttered.
But in his heart, he dared not go back.
If the Land of Origin truly harbored a Demigod, then to return would be no different than a moth flying straight into the flame.
After a long, heavy pause, Dean turned away. He sped across the Storm Sea, heading for distant horizons.
"If I find the chance… I will try to revive you both. For now, rest well, my partners. Sleep, until I can bring you back."
Back on the Flesh Continent, Daniel's vision filled with a sudden prompt.
[The current area is unclaimed territory. Would you like to convert it into human domain?]
Without hesitation, Daniel answered: Yes.
In mere seconds, the entire continent shimmered with a faint white light. It spread from horizon to horizon, enveloping the land before slowly dissipating.
And with its passing, Daniel felt it clearly—the Land of Origin had become unified once more.
After thousands of years of fragmentation, the land was whole again.
At that precise instant, Daniel's heart trembled.
He felt as though he had unsealed something, fulfilled some hidden condition long waiting to be met.
He could not name it, could not describe it, but the sensation was vivid, undeniable, and deeply important.
Yet he did not linger on the mystery. With a flash, he returned to the Star Upgrade Hall.
He had not expected the second phase of the Star Upgrade Quest to be completed so smoothly.
Yes—slaying Fleshheart, a Fake God rank entity, had proven surprisingly manageable.
[Congratulations. You have completed the 2nd Phase of the Star Upgrade Quest.]
[Quest Objective: Slay one Fake God rank being. Status: Completed.]
[Congratulations! Your level cap has been raised to 300.]
[Reward Granted: The 30th-ranked God Rank Skill in the Compendium – Myriad Worlds Mastery.]
Daniel's eyes widened. He had never dreamed that merely completing the second stage of the quest would yield such astonishing rewards.
A skill ranked 30th in the God Rank Compendium—surely it would be unimaginably powerful.