Mystic Realm Space
Jambhvan panted heavily, throwing aside Sid's corpse. "Huff... Call someone to take care of the mess here!"
"Yes... sir!" The soldier, trembling with fear, crawled out from his hiding spot, ready to rush back and summon help. But before he could even turn, the sight before him made his eyes widen in horror. "Lord Jambhvan, watch out!"
The sudden scream put Jambhvan on high alert. He struggled to escape the ensuing chaos, stumbling and rolling over the ground.
Turning back, he looked with a terrified expression. "What is that? I've never seen anything like this in my lifetime."
The surrounding corpses started to get sucked toward Sid's body, blood and all. It was an extremely gruesome and horrifying sight. The corpses converged around Sid's body, forming a blood sphere.
"Ahhh..." Jambhvan launched himself into the chaos, aura gathering around his paw. The aura solidified into a huge sphere, smashing into the blood sphere that contained Sid's body. But it was completely ineffective; the aura sphere itself felt an overwhelming suction from within the blood sphere.
Jambhvan retreated frantically, clutching his injured right hand with the other.
Soon, the corpses were exhausted, and the blood sphere began to lose its source of nutrients. This caused the suction to intensify. Everything around the blood sphere—dense trees, giant boulders, moist soil, dense foliage—was pulled in without discrimination.
"Cough... cough... What is that? I thought it was just a mind demon possessing a vanara. But from the looks of it, it's clearly more than that. It's something far more sinister." Jambhvan, coughing blood, was picked up by the soldier as he stared at the chaos ahead.
The suction increased at an unprecedented rate, as if the sphere could absorb anything without limit.
The blood sphere devoured every drop of blood as it formed. Soon, a creature emerged from within, resembling a centipede from hell but without the hard carapace covering its wriggly body.
The countless tentacles writhed endlessly, attaching themselves to a newly formed spinal cord, gradually integrating with it. Soon, the tentacles were encased by a backbone that formed around them.
Nerves sprouted within the structure, wrapping around the skeleton. Organs formed one after another, connecting with the nerves as they took their respective positions. Muscles filled the entire structure, and finally, a layer of skin covered it all.
With that, Sid's transformation was complete, his figure emerging from within the blood pool.
"Roar..."
A monstrous roar erupted from Sid, chilling anyone who heard it.
.....
At the Same Time in an Unknown Space:
Unbeknownst to everyone, a certain creature opened its golden eyes, eyes that spanned the entire universe, gazing down at the mortal world.
"Hmm, interesting! It's back again," it thought, as its vision focused. Piercing through the mystic realm, its sight landed on Sid, who fought like a wild beast. "Huh, what a strange combination. Let's keep an eye on this."
It closed its eyes once more, drifting back into a deep sleep.
.....
"Roar... kill... destroy... everything..."
Sid had just been revived, yet for some reason, his mind was still consumed by an obsession with destruction.
Jambhvan looked at Sid's increasingly hideous form. The traces of the vanara were completely gone. It was now a pure incarnation of destruction, nothing else.
*Gasp...* "Th-this aura... s-so strong... how is this possible?" He stuttered, his words sending a deep fright through the soldier beside him.
"Roar..." Sid roared again, slashing out with great force. There was no aura around his arms this time, yet the mere force of waving his hands was enough to mobilize the wind, causing a violent whirlwind to form around him.
The whirlwind flew out with ferocious force, cutting through the remaining forest. It traveled as far as it could, finally colliding with the walls of the realm, causing a violent spatial ripple.
"Roarrrrr..." Seemingly unsatisfied with the destruction, Sid roared again, slashing frantically without pause.
The mystic realm was soon filled with numerous slashing marks, causing large spatial cracks to appear. The space began to disintegrate bit by bit, pushing the mystic realm to the verge of collapse.
.....
Meanwhile, in the Outside World:
The leaders of both sides wore stern expressions as they observed the movements within the mystic realm.
The crowd was lively due to the preparations underway in both camps. But unlike before, these preparations were for war. The atmosphere grew tenser by the minute.
"Hey—hey Aarav, why the serious face? What did the boss say?" Anaya asked in her usual lively, cheerful tone, causing Aarav's tense face to soften somewhat.
"She's leading the rest here personally. Only the giant will be left behind to defend the ocean border," he explained in a stern voice, startling her a bit. "The boss is personally coming over? Guess it's pretty serious this time."
"Yeah! We need to capture this Sid kid at any cost. He's too valuable to be handed over to the Main City." Aarav looked at the distant slums, the concern in his eyes growing further.
At the same time, in the Main City camp, Black Mummy picked up a call from President Morgan. "You need to guard the line until we arrive. That kid must be in our hands, at any cost. He's more valuable than any large mystic realm."
"Sir!" Black Mummy cut off the line, his hollow, emotionless eyes fixed on the mystic realm space.
.....
Back to the Mystic Realm:
Still unaware of the situation outside, Sid continued his mindless rampage like a maniac.
Jambhvan looked at the chaos caused by Sid and the few subordinates who survived the rampage. His blood boiled with each loss, his anger accumulating to an unprecedented degree.
Soon, a slash suddenly came over while he was distracted. The soldier beside him saw the situation and, in a panic, pushed Jambhvan aside, taking the brunt of the whirlwind instead.
The blood splattered over Jambhvan, his eyes widening in shock and horror. "Ahhhhh..." He came back to his senses, roaring in agony.
"I... couldn't... protect your subjects... forgive me... Lord... ahhhhh..." He stood up, staggering as he glared at the monster ahead with an aggrieved expression.
"I'll kill you!" Jambhvan launched forward with great force, the aura around him distorting to a substantial degree, making his figure slightly blurry.
An unexpected pressure shot out from his body, suppressing every living thing in its path. The trees swayed, leaves fluttered, wind blew past, and the ground vibrated, creating a natural symphony, as if the world itself resonated with Jambhvan's every move.
"Even if I have to die, I'll take you with me, you monster!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, staring at Sid with red eyes.
Jambhvan leaped into the air, reaching a height too great for the naked eye to see clearly. "Roar..." Following the bear, Sid also jumped into the air.
Their figures collided midair, sending them both flying back with ferocious force, forming huge pits where they fell. Yet, both were unaffected as they stood up, clashing once again.
Each of their attacks was stronger than the last, damaging the mystic realm to varying degrees.
Soon, the realm couldn't bear it anymore, the cracks widening into a web-like pattern just as a glass on the verge of shattering. It was just a breath away from breaking into pieces.
The intense battle fluctuations leaked out, alerting those gathered outside, who moved to surround the mystic realm entrance from every side. Guns were pointed forward, and everyone was ready to move at a moment's notice.
*Vroom... vroom... vroom...*
The loud roaring of engines echoed across the barren lands as cars, jeeps, and trucks full of people arrived at the scene from both sides.
Everyone turned to look at their reinforcements in unison, the tension in the atmosphere increasing further.
*Whirring...*
Soon, large whirlwinds of dust formed on both sides. With the loud clattering of huge blades, choppers flew over one after another, landing in line.
President Morgan descended from one of the choppers on the Main City's side, followed by a strong group of personnel. As their gazes swept across the battlefield, everyone except Black Mummy bowed slightly, greeting them with utmost respect.
Meanwhile, on the Slums' side, the lady president of the Underground Black Market finally landed from one of the choppers. Her beautiful figure swayed in the violent winds, while a black veil draped over her face, hiding it from onlookers.
The residents of the slums didn't bother with formalities like bowing and saluting, but their enthusiasm and increased confidence spoke of something else entirely.
"Prepare for war!" Both sides issued the order, receiving the crowd's enthusiastic response as everyone got into a battle-ready position.
.....
Meanwhile, in the Mystic Realm—or what was left of it:
The culprits behind the destruction and chaos continued their battle, unaware of the developing situation outside.
With its right hand severed, Jambhvan quickly found himself at a disadvantage. Unwillingness filled his eyes as Sid's hand pierced through his gut with ruthless precision, causing a pool of blood to spill onto the ground.
"Heh... hehehe... I guess... it's over... forgive me... Lord—"