The Three-Headed Devourer!!! (I)

-Selene…- Kai hissed, his breath almost quickening.

In the last few years, there was nothing more he had been hoping to see but the Ghost Basilisk evolving and finally coming out of its shell. -… you OK, girl?-

A cool, white mist had covered everything now from the earth to the knees.

The curls within it seemed to have minds of their own, licking, sniffing, and marking everyone.

-… I… see…-

When Kai received this reply, his hazel, purple-rimmed demonic slits narrowed even further.

He so wanted to plant the Ad Infinitum's Echoes into the mist and search for the serpent, but even he wasn't this much of a fool.

Any rash action now could be taken as him interfering with the Contestants, effectively ruining all plans.

So, like everyone, Kai waited with bated breath.

And then it happened.

With a massive crunch, the entire giant egg broke down becoming mist, too.

The lake of white mist rolled, coiling over itself, gathering between the Contestants and the Supreme Protector.

Little by little, it began taking shape, becoming a massive pillar.

Kai saw the pillar towering over 20 ft in length above the earth, and when he saw the pillar branching off in three separate pillars, his heart thumped.

"Is it Mist Mist Fruit or something?" a Contestant suggested.

"No…" an 8th-Floor Contestant stepped forward, his Perception screaming murder. "… Its viler than anything I have seen…"

They simultaneously looked at the Supreme Protector and finally realized…

"… He can't interfere…" one of the 29 strongest said.

"… Something's happening… We are on our own…" another declared, steeling her heart.

Kai could scarcely care about whatever the bugs were discussing.

The misty lake had begun taking a definite form now, looking like a humongous Runespoor with three heads.

The Contestants also connected the dots. "Hey… Is that…"

"Enough!" An 8th-floor Contestant of Chaos' Valley stepped out, wearing a black skin-tight suit. His black eyes were filled with dense bloodlust, and his wrath dropped low along with his long, thick beard.

"Choker…" Old Sage said, adjusting his glasses.

"Oh?" The Supreme Protector mumbled airily, already knowing everything in and out about this Choker. "Tell me more…"

Old Sage's feet dangled under the chair. "He specializes in spells from Fairy Tail Random World…"

At first, the Old Sage was among the ones who had given up hope.

At first, the Old Sage had decided to kill himself, for he despised nothing more than others seeing him like this.

Now, things had changed.

He knew the Supreme Protector wouldn't have called him to sit next to him, if he was meant to die in this place.

There must be a reason, Old Sage knew.

He must have something on him, or about him, for the Supreme Protector to keep him alive. And then there was this…

No matter how ridiculous it was… to see a Taboo taking place right in front of him…

Even if he remained alive after this event, who would believe he wasn't a part of this?

But Old Sage cared little about that. At this moment, he was content with not having a seat among the other Contestants.

That's how he had survived till now, anyway — Grabbing opportunities!

You couldn't be curious and stupid at the same time, Old Sage had learned.

So, for now, he had decided to just enjoy the show, his feet moving up and down as he made himself comfortable in his chair.

Choker gave a hard look to the Supreme Protector and then snorted. He crouched and let out a powerful shout. "Ahhhhhhh!"

Crack!

Lightning cracked around him, making everyone back up.

Curse and Corruption coursed through the bolts of lightning, giving it a distinct black appearance with a white core.

Black Bolt!

"I will… end it…" Choker's voice intermingled with the booms and bangs.

Then, pouring all his Mana in the Charge Triggered Skill, he hurled his right hand, firing the thickest bolt of lightning anyone would have ever seen.

The things that happened next, shocked not even the Contestants, but the white-haired Demon King himself.

The giant mist Runespoor dispersed as if it didn't exist in this reality at all.

All eyes, even Kai's, had to fall to behold the… three beings who had appeared in its place.

"That's…?" Old Sage stood up, curiosity getting the better of him. His Mystic Eyes of Enchantment were glowing purple, trying to unravel the magical mystery. "Wow!"

The three beings that had taken form all looked like little girls.

In the Contestants' eyes, the one at the leftmost had white hair and was wearing a white jacket over a white t-shirt. She had a white mini-skirt, its end rippling, leaving trails of silvery mist. Even her sports shoes were white.

If there was one color that differed from white about her, then it was her eyes.

They were blacker than black; they had no pupils.

It all gave her a very unnerving, boyish appearance.

But when Kai looked at her face, it made his lips twitch.

Because her face looked like a combination of Kai and Darcie, not deciding to settle on anyone. It did make her look even more beautiful than the two of them combined somehow.

The one in the middle was wearing a plain white gown, her long white hair reaching to her waist. The ends of her hair were rippling, too, as if they were melting into the silvery mist that had shadowed the floor.

But this one was even more weirder than the boyish one.

For one, she had no face at all. No mouth. No nose.

Then there was the vertical eye, in the middle of her forehead; closed.

As if these two weren't enough by themselves, there was the third girl at the rightmost position.

She was wearing a white robe, its hood covering her face. Light, silvery mist curled within the hood, making it blurry. However, even the mist couldn't prevent the yellow glow from seeping out from the darkness under the hood.

As she lifted her face, the origins of those hideous glows came into sight.

Her eyes were pupilless as well; and they were yellow.

Shocked, and beyond stunned, Kai left his throne and stood up, his eyes reflecting the Stats only he could see hovering above the girls' heads.

Crackkk!!

On the other side, already on the verge of exploding, Choker thought nothing and just fired the corruptive bolt of black lightning at the girls, sensing the monstrous danger his Perception was picking up.

Booommmmmmm!!!

The black lightning snaked toward the girls and none thought for a second that the girls could do anything to dodge it.

Even if they had a mist form, the corruptive lightning was heavily effective against them.

It was then the rightmost girl, wearing the white robe, stared at the bolt with her yellow eyes and lifted her right hand, pointing at it with an innocent, snaky smile. -Time…-

Taking that as the cue, the girl in the middle also opened her eye with an unmatched nobleness. The single, vertical eye in the middle of her forehead parted, letting everyone see a pupilless, gray eye as if that wasn't an eye but a stone embedded in her head. -Space…-

"Mother of Root…" Old Sage gasped, his mouth open.

One moment the destructive bolt of black lightning was hurling itself through the space.

In another, it stood there between the girls and the Contestants like a black snake swimming over the invisible ocean.

Girls…

"There are only two…" someone pointed out.

The third girl, wearing a white jacket and mini skirt, had disappeared at some point in time.

She blinked into existence right over Choker with the creepiest smile on her face, her dark black eyes showcasing no pupils looked like millions of worms wriggling together in a hideous perversion.

She opened her mouth, which looked like a black maw with unknown depths. -Devour…-

BANG!

With a monstrous bang, a body exploded.

In the next instant, the blood, flesh, and bones got sucked into the girl's mouth.

And none could tell if an 8th-floor Contestant, named Choker, even ever existed or not?

**************

AN: Images of Character Choker and the three different Selenes, along with other scenes, are available on Patre0n

Over 60 Chapters ahead of Webnovel are on Patre0n, excluding exclusive Side Stories. With each Tier, you will get ALL Monthly Uploads as well. You can also access all the backlog chapters, with Images and Gifs, enriching your reading experience, while simultaneously supporting the work.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/c/droopyauthor

Link (if you would be kind enough to donate a hot coffee): https://ko-fi.com/droopyauthor

50 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter and +1 Bonus Chapter for every 20 Power Stones above that