Second by second, the black cocoon in the restaurant kept writhing, as if some monster was about to be born within it. Its struggles grew faster and more frequent.
The room had already been dimly lit, but now it seemed as though the cocoon had sucked away what little light there was. Any ordinary person who walked in would probably be plunged into an incomprehensible panic.
Strands of slime and thread clung to the walls. The few pieces of furniture had all been pulverized, while dust rose and fell with the great cocoon's rhythm like plankton drifting in a river.
With a muffled boom, the black cocoon exploded, and two figures fell out.
One of them, looking somewhat bedraggled, slowly sat up. The other simply collapsed to the floor and lay face down without moving.
Black slime and fluid splashed onto the ground, then gathered into little streams that flowed through the darkness toward the seated man. They formed black-and-yellow armor over his body, while a rag that had been flung into a corner during the explosion flew back behind him.
"That was brutal. Why didn't you tell me that devouring one of your own kind while preserving the other party's host would take this much stamina? If I'd known, I wouldn't have listened to Monark."
Su Ming's face was pale as well. Controlling Strangle to devour the Black Sword inside Gorr's body had been more exhausting than brawling with Superman for a month. Every part of his body, including his internal organs and brain, ached unbearably, and his stamina was severely depleted.
He sat on the floor with his legs stretched out, bracing himself with both hands behind him as he mentally complained to the bean sprout wriggling on his shoulder.
Strangle was still savoring the Black Sword's flavor.