[Rumble rumble rumble----]
At this moment, the inside of the Monster Association was like the depths of a volcano.
As far as the eye could see.
There was flowing magma and scorching firelight everywhere, with no other living creatures in sight.
Only Tatsumaki and Orochi were nowhere to be seen.
Adjusting the view.
A massive hole nearly a hundred meters in diameter appeared below, its rock walls completely melted away and its depths unfathomable.
However, it did not seem to lead straight down, but slanted at roughly fifteen degrees.
It happened to avoid the location where Jiwei, Psykos, and the others were.
"Oh?"
"So there's actually a place like this~"
Within an underground space so hot that a human body would spontaneously combust.
Tatsumaki floated in midair beneath a pale green barrier, calmly surveying her surroundings.
The nine-tiered steps in the distance and the mural at their summit were especially eye-catching.
She knew Orochi had deliberately lured her here.
But so what?
"Welcome to the stage of my resurrection—the true me, the me who is about to become a god!"
Orochi, having initially released his energy and transformed into a flaming form, had half his body submerged in a pool of magma. His voice echoed throughout the underground space.
"I once told Gyoro Gyoro that the living sacrifices it provided were becoming less and less able to satisfy my appetite."
"Driven by the instinct of hunger, I chose to explore deeper underground, preparing to directly absorb the energy of Earth's core."
"During that process, I accidentally discovered this ancient temple ruin."
"And the creature in the mural looked exactly like me."
"Even more miraculous was the mysterious script on it, which I had never encountered before."
"Yet I could easily understand its meaning."
Tatsumaki had originally been growing impatient, but