The Nether could not believe his eyes—or rather, his senses.

'What am I looking at here?' He asked himself.

Throughout his life as a primordial entity, he had never seen anything like this. It was quite intriguing.

As soon as he utilized Karlia's current soul to reach the stockpile of souls she had, the Nether had begun to eradicate them. However, the moment he took one down, two more took its place.

Her souls were in a constant state of multiplication and he took that into account. That was why he sped up his corrosion and tried consuming as many as he could at once.

However, the moment one was consumed, two appeared, thus by destroying billions and trillions of souls, even more souls surfaced. It was like a never-ending game.

'And what is this now? The new souls are resisting my power?' The corrosive effects of his Nether had been dampened, and he was amazed by it.

Karlia now had more souls, and she was less prone to dying than before. She had gotten much stronger and more resistant to him. It was as though she was on a constant stream of evolution—and if he didn't stop, a time could come when she would be completely immune to his power.

To prevent that, the Nether had to admit his loss and halt his corrosion.

"You really are immortal.." He muttered.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Was all she could release from her lips, before once again overcoming his hold on her and exploding brilliantly.

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

She appeared a distance from him, ready to strike once again. Concepts such as exhaustion were foreign to her, and her focus was solely on her target—one who remained unscathed despite her many attempts.

"It's pointless. Do you not see? I can not kill you, but you also do not have enough power to damage me. We're at a stalemate." The Nether grinned.

Ciel, from her position, expressed surprise at this. She couldn't believe her master could make such a statement. He even went as far as praising the woman in front of him.. just as he'd once praised her in the past.

'N-no way.. does he..?!' Her eyes widened as she looked at Karlia with jealousy and fear.

There was no way the Nether would take an interest in a savage like Karlia, right?!

"Unfortunately, you are too deep in your grief and rage to consider a proposal from me. Mind control and other measures don't seem to work on you either. Your body must be resistant to those.."

The Nether didn't seem keen on keeping her as an ally, much to Ciel's relief. However, it begged the question of what exactly he was going to do with this discovery he had just made.

"I'm quite occupied now. So, I'll save you for later. Your power will be very interesting to observe.."

Karlia was done with her preparations, and an even greater surge of power burst from her—far greater than anything she had displayed earlier.

It was as though she was the very personification of destruction!

"I'll observe you later." As soon as the Nether stretched out his hand, Karlia was already in front of him, ready to launch a reality-shattering blow at him.

The speed defied time and space, and this blow was bound to be the finishing blow that would tear this island apart.

However—

"That's enough for now."

—The Nether easily parried it, using a huge wormhole to suck in her fist as soon as he deflected it.

"H-HUH..?!"

Before Karlia could recover from the recoil of having her hand sucked into the wormhole—a dazed state that didn't even last a moment—the Nether moved much faster and shoved her into the massive black portal.

Helplessly pushed inside, Karlia disappeared into the darkness, removed from the world completely.

"It seems I can still seal her away. In any case, she's not escaping from where I kept her. I'll deal with her later.." He murmured.

Still, he hadn't been this intrigued by a creature for a while. Only a few had accomplished this feat—like Ciel and Merlin. The last person that had really attracted his attention was the one who was responsible for the current overlapping of his memories.

'That one, Jared.. he showed promise. Maybe it was because he was still young. He was not as strong as I'd have liked.' Ultimately, none of them could prove to be of much trouble to him—at least, not anymore.

"M-master, how do you feel?" Ciel's voice broke the Nether from his thoughts, causing him to look in her direction.

He felt like he could tell her the honest truth.

"I feel weak. As much as this body has managed to contain my energy without getting destabilized, there's still so much power I haven't tapped into. The consumption of this world is progressing slowly too."

"I-I apologize, master. I am sure it'll acclimate and you'll gain your powers as time passes." Ciel bowed frantically, truly displaying her fealty.historical

'Like a dog.' The Nether grinned as he looked at her.

Ciel was definitely not the most interesting person he had met, but she was the most loyal. That ensured stability, as well as a guarantee of the success of his ambition. As long as she existed, he would always be guaranteed a way to return.

That was why he liked her so much.. though he had to admit that she was weird.

"In any case, I say it's time we deal with the leftovers. They shouldn't pose much of a challenge to me."

"Should I do it for you, master?" Ciel asked with puppy dog eyes.

"No need. I'll do it myself. I have nothing better to do, after a—"

>VWUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<

Before the Nether could complete his statement, a brilliant glow of blue light ascended to the heavens. It lit up the darkness above, making everything bright.

"Hm?" Both the Nether and Ciel looked in the direction of the glorious burst.

It came from a single person.. the Martial Blade God.

"Haaa.." Misty breath escaped the swordsman's lips as he focused his gentle gaze on the Nether.

"I'm ready."

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[A/N]

Please look up Chuunibyou Challenge!! on Webnovel, or simply use the link below. I promise, you'll love it.

/book/chuunibyou-challenge!!_25760893305800205

Cheers!