It was the mutated humanity he had cleaved away, yet it was completely different. The difference, however, was strangely unsettling.
It was as though it had been dominated by something even more terrifying, more absolute.
"Get lost... you lowly fragment...!"
Vidal's corpse let out a furious roar. Filthy power surged once more, transforming into a massive, rotting claw made of grave soil and bones that viciously grabbed at the dark silhouette within the doorway.
The enormous, metallic-hued shadow in the darkness moved.
There was no earth-shaking roar, only a metallic black flash too fast for the eye to follow.
A gigantic tentacle wrapped in metallic Incantations, like a venomous dragon that had lain in wait for ages, slashed straight down from the darkness beyond the door.
The three-part maw split open at the tentacle's end gleamed with a metallic chill. Like the iron arm of a tower crane lashing down at extreme speed, it met the rotting giant claw with flawless precision.
Squelch!
There was no violent crash, only the teeth-grating sound of corrosion and dissolution.
It was as though it had struck a heap of rotten mud.
Before the tentacle that seemed forged from solid metal, the giant claw of grave soil and bones was as fragile as ice and snow beneath the blazing sun.
The tentacle's maw was like the most efficient shredder, instantly grinding apart and devouring the front of the giant claw.
The filthy energy was greedily absorbed and converted by the Incantations on the tentacle's surface, becoming nourishment for the Evil Spirit Puppet.
"Ugh, argh—!"
Vidal's corpse suffered a backlash and staggered back a step. The half-section of petrified tentacle embedded in its chest trembled violently, releasing even more black smoke.
For the first time, an expression of astonishment appeared on its rotting face.
It