Chapter 18: Hunting the Demon God

The Deep-Sea City of planet Atlantis.

The sunken ruins of ancient palaces and grotesque alien arches reeked of blasphemy. Along both sides of the road, twisted, indescribable stone statues lined the path—depicting predators from beyond time, from dimensions outside this universe.

Countless corpses of Deep-Sea Spirits floated nauseatingly in the water, their stench luring scavengers in droves.

Suddenly, a thunderous underwater explosion resounded, followed by a chilling roar. A granite wall shattered, and from it emerged a colossal sea beast—its body covered in dark purple tentacles, three pairs of eyes gleaming, and an enormous jaw that split into eight grotesque petals.

“Phew. So this is Leviathan, the Abyssal Demon God—the one they say can swallow half the stars of the galaxy. To think even a divine-tier strike like Netherworld Ten-Thousand Kill Array could only scratch it like this.”

A brown-haired twin-tailed girl in a sailor uniform sliced through a whipping tentacle with her black longsword. In her other hand, she gripped a dark staff brimming with stolen soul energy, aiming it at the beast.

“Heh. This is getting exciting. I can feel my fighting spirit burning!”

“I honestly thought an idiot like you would’ve died long ago.”

Behind her stood another woman, draped in black robes, so grim she practically wore the word gloom on her face.

“Save the insults for later. This thing just entered its second phase. Don’t get careless.”

“Maybe you should worry about your own survival, idiot.”

Sure enough, Leviathan roared in fury, lashing out after the repeated blows. The purple markings across its body flared, releasing dense void matter. Even the two bizarre girls, monstrous in their own right, were forced to retreat as the annihilating energy filled the waters.

This upheaval on Atlantis should have been handled by the Ranger Association. But this time, their sworn rivals—the Monster Association—had arrived first.

Their sovereign, Ceciya Fortuna, better known as the Blackstar Demon Lord, now floated nearby with waterproof pen and paper, calmly jotting down notes on the performance evaluation of these two newcomers’ first demon hunt.

“Mephala, go easy. Don’t kill this fish. I want it alive for my collection.”

Of course, it wasn’t just about trophies. Capturing a demon god could make assaults on Ranger-controlled worlds much easier. But honestly, Ceciya was more interested in expanding her fish tank.

As an obsessive collector of rare curiosities from across the cosmos, her home overflowed with treasures. Under her leadership, the Monster Association looked less like a villainous organization bent on destruction and more like a band of glorified thieves.

Behind her back, Mephala and the other girl, Priscilla, often called her the “Perverted Completionist.”

“Ugh, this is so annoying—dodging skills and keeping its HP low? Fortuna just wants to run us ragged. I’m starting to regret joining this mission.”

Mephala sulked. What fun was a fight if you couldn’t go all out? She hadn’t joined the Monster Association for ideology. She joined because she hated the Ranger Association’s double standards—and because she craved battles against strong opponents.

She remembered clearly her humiliation during recruitment.

The first time she interviewed with the Rangers, the examiner dismissed her instantly: ‘You look like some pampered little princess. Not acceptable.’

The second time, she dressed in an adorable sailor outfit instead. Their response: ‘Too cute. You’ll distract the male members. Not acceptable.’

What nonsense! Being cute wasn’t her fault—she was the Abyssal Princess! Those geezers were just jealous!

“Whatever. If they won’t take me, fine! If I can’t be a hero, I’ll be a villain. As long as I get to fight, that’s enough!”

“Could you not monologue your life story right now?”

Priscilla deftly plucked the staff from Mephala’s hands. With a few elegant gestures, she summoned massive sea vines that erupted from the seabed, coiling tightly around Leviathan’s dorsal fin. Poisonous anemones sprouted along the vines, firing volleys of paralyzing stingers into the beast’s flesh.

The monster bellowed in pain. Seizing the moment, Mephala lunged with her Black Dragon Blade, driving straight for one of its many eyes. For all her foolish bravado, her reckless courage was undeniable—after all, this was the same girl who had once dared to storm a Zerg nest head-on.

“Tch. Is that all? Pathetic. After I went through the trouble of releasing you, too. Looks like it’s time for me, the Crimson Witch, to step in.”

Watching from afar, Graciara finally grew impatient.

With a spell called Mind Invasion, she seized control of Leviathan’s beastlike brain. Silver threads streamed from her pale fingers, piercing every inch of its flesh as if she were pulling the strings of a grotesque puppet.

“Hmm… in this case, I’ll use this move. I call it Abyssal Shockwave!”

Leviathan’s eight-petaled maw yawned wide. Dark violet void energy swirled within. A deafening hum shook the waters before a massive beam of purple light erupted outward, surging straight toward the two girls.

“You’ve gotta be kidding! Dimensional Refuge!”

Mephala grabbed Priscilla and slipped them both into a rift in the abyss, reappearing safely at a distance. The shockwave missed and slammed into a distant camp instead, obliterating the Deep-Sea Spirits locked in battle there.

“Ehh? I missed? That shouldn’t have happened~”

But Graciara didn’t mind. These two odd girls were far more entertaining than the boring Rangers.

“Supreme Evil Art: Sun Prison Shatter!”

“Let us dance with the vines!”

The girls launched another devastating combo—hard control plus raw damage. But under Graciara’s manipulation, Leviathan now displayed an uncanny agility, dodging their attacks and retaliating with spheres of void energy.

Wait—why was her communicator ringing?

“Whoa, almost got hit—ugh, Huoxiang, is that you again? I told you not to play with my toys while I’m away… huh? Mama?”

For the first time, Graciara’s smug composure cracked.

“Mama, I’m performing for you right now, can’t you see I’m—what? You want me to bring Linger home?!”

“Now! Mephala, Priscilla, strike!” Ceciya barked like a coach shouting from spawn.

Even distracted, Graciara twitched her fingers and slipped Leviathan free from Priscilla’s seaweed snare.

“Linger… and that sword immortal I slapped to death? They’re together? Mama, are you serious?!”

Damn it. Ceciya gritted her teeth. Looks like she had to intervene personally.

“Emperor. Empress. Subdue this beast.”

With a snap of her fingers, two massive dark-golden puppets materialized. With sheer brute strength, they slammed Leviathan to the ocean floor so hard that space itself warped from the impact.

“Fine, fine, Mama. Your eldest daughter will head to Peace City Ita right away to fetch Linger. Yes, I’ll play nice with Namira too.”

Tch. That annoying old hag. That hateful Nyara. Detestable Nyara. Vile Nyara. Scum among scum! I’d love nothing more than to twist her into a pretzel…

But what choice did she have? Mama was the one who created her.

Cursing silently, Graciara released her control over Leviathan and departed the wreckage of the Deep-Sea City.

She left behind Mephala and Priscilla, who could only stare helplessly at Ceciya—smiling far too cheerfully for someone who had just hijacked their hard-earned fight.

President of the Monster Association: Cecilia

Monster Association Officer: Mephala

Monster Association Officer: Priscilla