And not only him but everyone else on the battlefield was also stunned. Raven and Blaze looked worriedly towards Ozul's standing figure.
They had never seen him show even a hint of emotion on his face, but this time around, everyone could see that Ozul was stunned!
He stood rooted on the ground the same as on the day when he saw Grandma Coral's peaceful sleeping figure. He felt the same as he felt on the day when his mother took her last breath while holding him.
For others, that leg might only be one of Ozul's body parts. But how could they know that those life-like moving black symbols on the leg meant much more than they could ever imagine?
How could they even begin to imagine the possibilities, the endless energy, and the potential those engravings held?!
And most of all, how could they know that it had a particular connection with Ozul—That losing it wouldn't just make him sorrowful, but it will be akin to cutting his existence!
Merely staying alive does not mean that you exist! The whole meaning of existence is finding happiness! Otherwise, you are just that—an empty va.s.sal made up of organic compounds.
Some find happiness in pursuing a purpose in life, while some find pleasure looking at the joyous smiles on their family's faces.
Some even exist so they could search for the meaning and reason for why they live! Ozul was one such being. However, it did not matter to him if he could not find out about himself. He felt content with just being 'whole'.
He felt satisfied by just being 'complete'. Ozul found happiness when a warm hug from the void enveloped him when he is not so empty anymore.
The day when his limb was cut off, he felt empty inside. But there was always hope that he will get them back because of his extraordinary intuition.
However, at this moment, Ozul stood rooted as he saw his leg entering that abomination's mouth!
It had not even been a few seconds when the Fire Pillar hit him, so he did not have any strength to rush towards the monster.
The others could not clearly see in the middle of the night, but Ozul saw how the gla.s.s container began to melt when it came in contact with that abomination's insides!
The monster closed his mouth as Ozul lost all hope. But this was not all! Just as he thought if he would ever be able to be 'complete', the pain hit him.
And it hit him hard! It had not even been a second that the leg went inside the monster, and an extreme pain a.s.saulted his mind.
This time he could not even take a moment to think how painful it was before he dropped down on his knees as his face contorted.
It was the same as the day his limbs were cut off. He did not cry out that day, and he did not cry out today as well. But it did not mean that the anguish he felt was tolerable.
No! If it were an average human experiencing the same agony, they would have chosen to end their lives instead of suffering so much.
In this split second, everyone present on the scene was worried for one reason or another!
Raven and Blaze were worried when they saw Ozul in distress. Duke Edwin's face contorted in anger as he thought that he would never be able to retrieve the leg back.
And the Leader of Eclipse's Order, Podas, was worried because this was not how the ritual was supposed to proceed!
The ritual was like a computer system. The runes were not only the wires but also the processor. They instructed the energy to flow from the leg to the monster and let it absorb.
However, now that the monster had eaten the leg whole, they did not know if it could absorb any more energy from it, or would it just be digested? At this moment, the monster radiated the energy equivalent of a peak Rank-8 Mage.
This power was not enough for Podas to become a G.o.d. The most he could do was advance to Rank-9, and that's it! Hence, he still held the hope that the monster would be able to absorb the energy in the leg and grow stronger. Otherwise, all his efforts will go to waste.
But his mood took a 180 degree turn when in the next moment, he felt the ma.s.sive spike in the power of the monster!
*Swhoooshh*
A Mana wave was released from the monster, which even threatened to pull off the trees from the soil. The wind pressure could alone kill some ordinary humans!
Most of the people did not know why the monster released such a destructive Mana wave from its body, but those few at higher ranks knew! They knew that this indicated that the Beast had advanced to Rank-9!
The Mana wave had expanded all the way to the other end of the City. A phenomenon of such magnitude only occurs when the individual advances to Rank-9!
However, the Mana pressure did not stop increasing as the monster kept getting stronger.
Each pa.s.sing second, the strength of the monster grew leaps and bounds. Its size increased, and it was now about 15 meters tall when it reached the peak of Rank-9.
The monster was already strong enough that it could devastate entire kingdoms!
Even with all the control from his conscious of a Rank-8 Mage, Podas could not wipe off the silly smile on his face.
Ozul, on the other hand, had his face scrunched up as he tried his best to stand up and ignore the head-splitting pain.
The monster's increase in its power did not stop, and before long, everything came to a standstill.
The battles had already stopped between the Beasts and the people, but there was still some commotion before.
However, this time, it just felt as if everyone had seen a ghost. Even the rustling of the leaves stopped! The air pressure around the area dropped, and...
*BOOOM*
A deafening sound spread out, followed by the pressure wave, which instantly killed the weaker bunch of people on the battlefield!
Raven and Blaze did not have it easy as well. Blaze was even worse since he was only a Rank-2 Fighter!
People at these ranks could not even stand up! Despite the addition of the headache and this pressure, Ozul did not allow himself to fall again!
He had it enough being on the losing end. He greeted his teeth while glaring at the ma.s.sive 15 meters tall abomination.
The pressure radiated by the abomination even began to suffocate the two Rank-8 existences on the battlefield!
And naturally, all the Rank-8 and above existences all over the kingdom had also felt this ma.s.sive event. The tremors of the earth plates reached the far ends of the continent!
Even the old monsters in seclusion opened their eyes to look in that direction.
Back on the scene, except for Ozul and the two Rank-8 existences, everyone else was either dead or bleeding from their orifices!
Duke Edwin had terror written on his face as he did not even dare to move. While the Leader Podas was ecstatic looking at the growth of this monster!
He had set up the ritual in a way that he just needed to will it, and he would absorb all the monster's power. But the anomaly in front of him was still growing, so he could not help but think of all the future possibilities.
All of this power that he felt from this monster; it will all belong to him! The weakness he felt just from being in the presence of it, everyone else will feel the same gap in his presence!
Just at this moment, the monster's size started to shrink again! In just a few moments, the Rank-10 anomaly shrunk back to only 8 meters from the previous 15 meters!
Under the bewildered and confused gazes of the people, the monster again started to increase its energy!
Even after breaking through to Rank-10, the monster was still growing! Existences at this monster's level could be counted on one hand in the entire continent, and yet this power was not enough to satiate this Beast!
But this news only further delighted Leader Podas. He did not even think of the consequences of creating such an abomination.
The only thing on his mind right now was that he would somehow become a G.o.d using this abomination!
Ozul did not have it easy, but he was still standing upright. He had thought things through now;
'I will just give it my all... I can still feel the leg is safe. If I do not put my life on the line, I won't ever be able to get it back! And what will I do with this life if I cannot even become 'complete' again?'- Ozul had decided that he would either get his leg back or die trying!