Inside the underground relics.
As the space quivered and the air surged, the already unstable mountain began to collapse.
Ivyst's ten fingers radiated a captivating crimson glow, like sharp claws dripping with blood, fiercely piercing the surface of the Wish Jar.
At the same time, the Power of Devouring inside her operated at full capacity, stealing attributes and Laws from this powerful Level 0 Sealed Object every second.
However, as the Devouring progressed, Ivyst's complexion grew increasingly pale.
The intense pain swept over by the Sealed Object's characteristics spread throughout her body, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.
This object... it was the most problematic Sealed Object she had ever handled.
Having only Devoured a small part of its power, Ivyst felt like she was about to pass out.
Yet, with brute force, she still inflicted visibly detectable damage upon this supposedly indestructible Sealed Object.
Accompanied by the sound of fine fracturing, slivers of cracks spread in all directions.
Ivyst bit down on her silver teeth, suppressing the moan that was on the verge of escaping from deep within her throat, her body swayed, nearly unable to maintain levitation.
The platform below, originally submerged by the black mire, now seemed to boil and quake due to the clash between these two formidable forces.
After the crisp sound, a visible crack pierced through the surface of the Wish Jar.
Perhaps in just a few more seconds, the host body of the Sealed Object would suffer destructive damage!
It was getting close.
Ivyst, extremely weakened, exhaustively controlled the Sealed Object in her hands, trying to minimize the leakage of the filthy and cursed powers outside the underground relics.
Despite the extreme pain, for some reason, with a sliver of obsession in her heart, Ivyst persisted.
Never had she accomplished anything significant in her life.
Yet here and now, she was desperately fighting for the lives of others and some rather inconsequential matters.
This really isn't like me at all.
When... when did the change start?
Meanwhile, the cracks on the surface of the Wish Jar widened further.
Wisps of black light, mixed with some incomprehensible abstract symbols, radiated from those cracks.
Ivyst suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood, and the Curse Mark on her face seemed to come to life, spreading toward her once impeccably white neck and chest.
This curse seemed to erode her sanity and life, constantly enticing her to fall into the abyss of evil.
Everything... was about to end.
Although she could still sense the destructive power contained within the Level 0 Sealed Object, Ivyst murmured to herself.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in her ears again.
"Do you not wish to live?"
It was the voice of the lifeform residing within the Sealed Object talking to her.
The next second, the boiling black mire beneath her suddenly twisted and trembled.
After a rising flurry, a female face appeared in the center of the mire, similar to that on the surface of the Wish Jar.
It... no, She was the Creation Goddess worshipped by the Creation Sect, but according to the Great Priest Askin, her real identity was actually a Demon.
The female face that emerged on the black mire was colossal, almost as if it intended to fill the entire underground relics.
"Do you wish to die?"
Gazing up at Ivyst in the sky, Her voice was full of confusion as She asked the question again.
A flash of red, and a massive blade formed from the River of the Death flowing from behind the blood door, cutting through space as if teleporting, slashing across the face of the Creation Demon.
The face was rent into two instantly.
But all these were mere projections formed of the mire.
Shortly thereafter, a stream of black mire hovered mid-air and coalesced into a shapely female figure.
She looked down from above at the agonized Ivyst: "You are strong, if it really came down to a fight to the death, in my current state, the odds are not in my favor against you."
"However, you chose the most foolish method, actually thinking of ingesting the Level 0 Sealed Object that hosts me."
"Was it to prevent me from bringing disaster to this nation?"
Ivyst still did not answer Her question.
Her complexion was pale at the moment, blood dripping from her mouth, a far cry from her usual cold composure.
Still, she did not cease the movements of her hands.
"I see." Instantly reading a trace of her thoughts, a mocking smile appeared on the Creation Demon's face, "Endowed with such tremendous power, yet you willingly become a 'tool.'"
"Your foolish thoughts, they match the suffering you've endured along your way."
"Your heart should be filled with intense hatred, but why do I not sense any desire to destroy everything from you?"
"Let me guess... is it because you've suddenly found an inexplicable hope?"
"Is it because of a man?"
The crimson greatsword once again cut through space, slicing through massive mountainsides, flattening several peaks in the distance.
But soon, the Creation Demon again solidified a black entity.
All Her power was now retained within the Wish Jar, confronting Ivyst herself.