The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 65: Mystery of Nothingness (2) (Part 2)

Was the final blasphemy, born from the edge of the Abyss, surging through endless time.

The thing gnawing at my existence—

Was the shapeless evil, created by chaos in the endless abyss of permanence,
a presence that churns ceaselessly at the center of forever,
a final denial forged at the bottom of hell.

And when I realized that—

Hope fell into despair.

My vision warped.
The space around me twisted and bent.

When the grotesque symbols appeared across the flesh walls,

Kai saw a new rule appear above the Rulebook.

4. If strange symbols appear on the walls, leave immediately.

: At times, unknown symbols may form on the walls. Do not look at them or try to understand them.
Your consciousness will slowly become trapped here.

If the mark begins to spread across your hand or arm—kill yourself.
Kai moved exactly as the rulebook instructed.

But then—

“Adrian-nim?”

…Adrian wasn’t moving.
He stood there in a daze, like someone hypnotized—completely frozen.

Right at that moment—

Rrrrumble…!

To make matters worse, the fleshy mass of the space around them rippled once again.

From the walls, ceiling, and floor, faces with eyes and mouths emerged, all staring this way.

And soon enough, grotesque legs and tendrils stretched out, slowly devouring the space itself.

“We need to move!!”

Kai shouted urgently—but Adrian didn’t respond at all.
Getting closer to check on him, Kai saw that Adrian’s eyes had completely lost their focus.

Just then—

The rulebook squirmed again and brought forth a new rule.

5. Keep repeating who you are.
   This place slowly erases your memories and identity. You will lose your name, forget who you were, and ultimately become part of this place. No matter what, remember your existence.

“Get a hold of yourself!!”

Kai yelled directly into his ear, but Adrian remained unresponsive.

Then an ominous energy pulsed from the rulebook, and a bizarre sigil began carving itself onto Adrian’s hand.

Kai had no idea what was happening.
But one thing was clear:

The rulebook had to be removed from Adrian immediately.

Kai reached out and tried to snatch the rulebook from Adrian’s hand.

But—

The rulebook wouldn’t come off his palm.

It wasn’t that Adrian was holding on to it.

The rulebook was holding on to Adrian.

It clung to him like a parasite, refusing to let go.

Upon closer inspection—

It had started fusing with Adrian’s body, as if it were becoming one with his skin.

“What the hell is this…”

They needed to destroy it.

Kai raised his sword, ready to strike—

Screeeeech!!

A wave of fleshy tendrils burst from the rulebook, lunging at Kai like a twisted fusion of slime and stone.

Kai leapt backward with all his might.

Then another rule was etched onto the writhing cover of the rulebook.

7. Under no circumstances should you damage the rulebook.
   This rulebook is your only guide. If you harm it, this place will become aware of your defiance.

As if to emphasize the warning, the fleshy rulebook bulged grotesquely.

Its vein-like structures pulsed and twitched as if screaming out the rule.

Even that alone was enough to know this thing was evil.

But what truly disturbed Kai…

…was the rule itself.

“Rule number seven…?”

The last rule that appeared was number five.

Which meant—

Rule six had been skipped.

The moment Kai realized that—

Veins writhing atop the distended flesh of the book started etching yet another rule.

8. There is no [Rule 6] in this rulebook.
   If you happen to find Rule 6—

Could that even be called a “rule”…?

9. Kill yourself.
   There is no hope for you.

The rulebook intertwined with Adrian’s hand expanded with each breath, the fibers of his flesh splitting apart with a creeeak.

And then—

10. Once again, there is no exit from this place.
    Just die here. Die he-. Die he-. Die h-? Di-!?

Mid-sentence, the words of Rule 10 abruptly cut off.

At the same time, Adrian’s fused hand began to convulse uncontrollably—
as if it no longer belonged to him.

His joints twisted at unnatural angles—
Crack. Crunch!

Horrific sounds of bones snapping echoed through the air.

And that wildly flailing hand—
grabbed Adrian’s own throat.

Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.
Adrian’s fingers wrapped tightly around his own neck, squeezing with all their strength.

His face turned pale blue in an instant.

Kai launched forward, kicking off the ground.
He channeled all the aura in his body into his blade.

Rrrrrrumble—!

But the fleshy tendrils from the rulebook blocked his path.

He cut them down again and again, yet they kept coming, forcing him back.

“Adrian-nim, wake up!!!”

There was nothing Kai could do but shout.

And shouting alone would never be enough.

Crunchhh—!

At last, the sound of flesh splitting apart rang out.

And Kai saw it.

A twisted smile on Adrian’s face.
A flash in Adrian’s eyes, which had just been vacant moments before.

And within that glint—
a storm of emotions swirling into focus.

Fragments of feeling, coalescing into one clear will.

“I found it.”

The moment those words left his lips—

SKREEEEEEEEEEEEE—!!!

A blood-curdling shriek erupted from the rulebook fused with Adrian’s hand.

Translatin_Otaku

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