Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 485 - 422 Growing up Happy_1

First a punch, then another!

Dust blotted out the sky, rising within the hurricane. Bahamut grinned, a fierce smile playing on its lips as It raised Its claws. Instantly, countless shards of steel proliferated from Its sharp scales.

Triple-fold Drum Thunder!

A punch thundered down. In an instant, the land for thousands of miles sank. Countless fleshy tentacles hidden underground were utterly obliterated by this direct punch.

Then, Its claws closed, eight fingers interlocked, smashing down on the wailing darkness below as if spiking a volleyball.

—Triple-fold Lightning Heaven Break!

Fire erupted from the earth. Molten lava surged into the sky like a torrential rain, only to fall back down from the heavens.

This move, pilfered from Luo Xian, was finally unleashed by Huai Shi, whose current size was massive beyond reason. Even though his mastery was rudimentary at best, the instantaneous burst of explosive power still surged severalfold.

It was like a star plummeting.

When Huai Shi slowly moved His claws apart, the scales on His palms had already begun to show cracks.

And the darkness beneath had vanished without a trace.

The Miracle Imprint: Dracula state was shattered by this decisive punch. Not only was it forced back, but now, within the pit of lava and Iron Stone, only a pool of writhing blood remained. It struggled to coalesce, forming a broken, ragdoll-like body.

It really was as Morando said; no one truly dies here.

Huai Shi's smile widened with even greater pleasure.

Raising a claw tip, He pinched Morando's head, lifting it as if it were a speck of dust.

The shattered husk swayed in the wind.

Blood trickled down.

Huai Shi asked curiously, "How does it feel, little bro?"

Morando stared blankly at him, his twisted face numb.

It was as if his soul had been devoured by a nightmare. This place was indeed a nightmare. However, the one devouring his soul wasn't the nightmare itself, but the Huai Shi standing before him—and His smile.

"Just remember not to piss yourself," Huai Shi said, a plume of metallic steam hissing from His nostrils. "We're just getting started."

Morando opened his mouth, wanting to make a sound.

Perhaps a scream of agony, or a plea for mercy. But it no longer mattered.

Because Huai Shi took a deep breath.

And so, those insignificant moans were drowned out by the roar of His breath.

A tyrannical blaze soared into the sky.

The torment of Purgatory had only just begun.

Actually, it didn't last long. One minor reason was that Huai Shi felt a bit thirsty after spewing fire for five minutes and was running low on... material. But the main reason was... guests had arrived.

To call them 'guests' isn't quite accurate, He thought. It would be more correct to say they are the original inhabitants of this Rotting Dream.

With an earth-shattering roar, a massive creature with three black goat-like hooves and wrapped in writhing tentacles lumbered forth from the edge of the desolate plain. Several gaping maws on its body opened simultaneously, emitting sharp shrieks towards Huai Shi.

From its body, countless deformed monsters spread their wings and soared into the sky, forming a black cloud that swarmed towards Huai Shi like locusts.

Meanwhile, in the perpetually dark and gloomy sky, a huge, ferocious shadow emerged...

It was unclear whether it was some kind of manta ray or another spectral beast. It resembled an oval carpet brimming with eyes and fleshy tentacles, stretching its body as it undulated through the gray, nightmarish Hell. Wherever it passed, it scattered a sticky and foul-smelling rain of blood.

Its movement seemed slow but was deceptively fast, covering a hundred miles in an instant.

What alarmed Huai Shi even more were the countless decaying Souls slowly crawling out from the cracked ground. These pale, translucent figures were covered in distorted marks and emitted chaotic screams and moans. When they collided, they stuck together, resembling earthworms crawling on the ground or figures staggering as they walked.

Countless faces etched with pain and resentment lifted, staring intently at Huai Shi. They raised their hands, trying to drag Him into the darkness of the Rotting Dream.

These are the remnants left after being digested by the Rotten Dream—the eventual fate of victims who fall into this inescapable nightmare. Eternal torment and agony, with no escape...

When numerous decaying Souls adhered to one another, they transformed into worm-like masses, constantly sprouting tendrils that sought to entwine Bahamut's body.

And at the horizon, a massive shadow emerged. One could vaguely discern a humanoid silhouette.

But it had three entirely different faces: a grinning woman, a tormented child, and a charred, ghostly visage. Its five hands clutched various blood-drenched instruments of torture, and it stared hungrily at Huai Shi.

It's as if it's contemplating how to 'entertain' this guest, a thought that sent a relentless surge of intense danger through Huai Shi.

"Is this your reinforcement?"

He glanced down at the remnants of Morando clutched between His claw tips. "Won't you introduce them?"

"You're dead, kid... The Predators of the Rotting Dream have been stirred by you, hehehe..." Morando's slowly healing single eye, filled with a mocking and vicious light, glared. "I might not know what you are, but you'll definitely end up a million times more miserable than me! In this Hell, where even death is a release you cannot find, you'll pray for the world to end soon..."

CRACK.

Huai Shi's claws inadvertently applied a bit more force, snapping Morando in half at the waist. Molten iron then dripped down, covering his grinning face and freezing his ferocious expression.

"I don't know what my own fate will be," Huai Shi said, His movements swift as He carefully pierced tiny Sacrificial Knives into Morando's body, fixing him firmly in the gradually solidifying molten iron. "But I doubt... they'll have the leisure to bother with you."

Then, layer by layer, He plastered on quickly solidifying iron sheets, swiftly forming it into a smooth iron egg.

"You'd better pray I win this fight, and that I remember to come back for you. Otherwise..."

Before sealing the last iron plate, Huai Shi grinned, bidding him farewell with a smile. "Otherwise, you'll just stay in there by yourself forever."

CLANG.

Amid Morando's screams, the two iron plates clamped shut, welded permanently.

Finally, Huai Shi tossed the iron ball to the ground, stomped on it a couple of times, and it vanished from sight.

Looks like this coffin was a success. I really hope its user gives me a five-star review.

"Next—" Bahamut slowly raised His mountainous head, surveying the surrounding enemies with a broad grin. "—let us begin."

The words had barely left His mouth when His wings abruptly unfurled. They blotted out the sun, stirring up a wild hurricane that pulled His body into the sky.

Then, like a star plummeting to earth, He crashed down once more.

He dragged the blood-red manta ray, that thing like a sentient blanket, down into a deep pit. Then, He lifted a foot and stomped down—Yu Step!

His foot landed squarely on the base of its three fleshy, intertwined tails, crushing them flat. A piercing, mournful shriek echoed.

The carpet-like creature of twisted flesh spasmed violently, spewing torrents of blood. Suddenly, it arched its body, its ruptured belly splitting open to reveal several gigantic orifices from which thick tentacles emerged, coiling around Huai Shi's body. They immediately began to frantically drain Bahamut's blood—assuming the sharp suckers on their maws could penetrate Huai Shi's scales and the armor-like hardened skin beneath.

Naturally, they were useless!

Huai Shi simply raised a claw, seized a tentacle, and pulled with all His might.

He was curious to see just how long this unfortunate creature's 'tongues' could stretch. And they were indeed quite long.

Huai Shi had pulled out several kilometers of them and it seemed there was still more, but He had lost patience. Annoyed, He ripped the fleshy blanket from His body. Then, gripping the 'tongues' harshly, He bundled them up thickly.

It was almost impossible to tie them; they were too thick.

Huai Shi lifted His foot and stomped down hard twice. Finally, He compressed them enough to yank the fleshy tentacles through and swiftly tied a dead knot.

That looked much better. Now it was just a blanket dripping blood, like something from a crime scene.

Ignoring the locust-like swarm enveloping Him like dark clouds, Huai Shi drew The Hammer of Sorrow, aiming it at the 'blanket' pinned firmly under His foot.

He swung it up.

"Eighty!"

The Hammer of Sorrow roared with excitement, wildly drawing upon the ubiquitous suffering of this Hell. Flames shot out for hundreds of meters from its head, and as it crashed down, it unleashed a blinding, incandescent light.

BOOM!

The earth quaked mightily, and a hurricane swept across the land.

The blanket-fiend shrieked like a banshee.

When Huai Shi hammered down again, it let out another spectral wail, as if a giant rubber chicken was trapped inside it.

Soon, the screams ceased, and it was reduced to a pile of unkillable ooze.

Huai Shi took a deep breath. Molten metal vapor transformed into a tsunami, roaring as it flew out, carving a river of lava hundreds of miles long across the land.

Under the terrifying heat, the mangled Predator wailed as it burned.

Perfect.

Huai Shi lifted a claw, wiping non-existent sweat from His brow, feeling the surroundings had brightened considerably.

Then, He saw the other monsters standing frozen in the distance.

They stared at Him in shock. They looked from Him to the burning pile of flesh at His feet, then back at Him again.

They seemed unable to comprehend what had just happened. Why was this outsider fiend even more ferocious than they were?

Soon, the countless writhing Yin Souls shuddered violently. They deftly turned tail and dissipated, breaking down into scattered White Spots that burrowed into the ground and vanished.

They had fled.

But the three-legged Tentacle Monster was a step too slow. It didn't possess its companion's talent for swift escapes.

Its target was simply too large. It had barely shifted when it felt six icy stares from the three-faced demonic entity. It froze awkwardly, shivering.

It turned back to look at Huai Shi.

It steeled itself, ready to charge.

Then, it saw the Dragon of the End slowly stretching, as if finishing a warm-up. His body began to expand once more.

Fiercely drawing upon the Abyssal sediment and the very essence of suffering from the Rotting Dream, the Dragon of the End, proclaimer of universal destruction, let out a deafening roar.

Amidst the roar, thunderous sounds erupted from within Huai Shi's frame. It was the thunder of growing bones grinding against each other, accompanied by the booming of His heart. Burning blood surged like a tidal wave, coursing through and filling His rapidly expanding body...

In His palm, the remains of the burning blanket-fiend quietly disintegrated into ash, consumed by thunder and flame.

All the power accumulated over eons within the nightmare was devoured by Bahamut. It transformed into new blood and bone, flesh and scales, becoming an integral part of Him.

His size doubled, then doubled again, and then again!

Only when the very earth beneath Him groaned under His weight did this absurd growth spurt finally slow to a halt.

In the silence, He lowered His head, eyeing the two stunned Predators before Him.

He bared His teeth in a grin.

He realized He could enjoy growing again...