Only after entering the Fourth Netherworld did Shiomi realize the greatest difference between this place and the Second Netherworld.
If the Second Netherworld had been a mass of jagged obsidian blade mountains with no roads at all, then the Fourth Netherworld was a vast hollow hidden within a mountain range.
No matter which path one followed, it would eventually lead inward, deeper into the mountains.
For Shiomi and Morgan, flying straight across would not have been difficult.
But doing so would an leaving the extrely troubleso Camazotz for the Storm Border behind them to deal with.
Any unnecessary casualties had to be avoided.
So the matter had to be settled here.
"You certainly kept waiting. Tezcatlipoca and the Crypter have already passed through, yet you only arrive now. Even though you hold the advantage, you're always one step behind your enemy. Have you decided to abandon your objective?"
Camazotz's voice echoed through the dark hollow within the mountain.
Looking up, the only thing visible were mineral veins embedded in the rock, glimring faintly like distant stars.
"Whether we arrive sooner or later makes no difference. If Tezcatlipoca and Daybit could awaken ORT directly, they would have done so already."
Shiomi spoke casually, as if chatting.
"There must still be so crucial piece missing. That's why even though they arrived ahead of us, they haven't made any new move."
"How extrely calm. Is that the confidence of a god?"
Camazotz continued.
"Before the Crypter arrived, Mictlan had no concept of myth. If we must speak of myth, then…"
"You are the only myth in this underground world," Morgan stated plainly. "A myth that has endured for 6.6 million years."
"Heh… hahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Camazotz burst into loud laughter.
It was the laughter of soone pleased that his truth had been recognized.
"I have no problem continuing this chat. But if you have no intention of showing yourself, then we'll simply pass straight through your Netherworld."
Shiomi raised a hand and gently adjusted Morgan's hair.
"This place may be underground, but the cosmic radiation is extrely severe. It's not good for my wife's skin and hair."
"…."
Morgan could only suppress a laugh as she listened to Shiomi openly mocking Camazotz.
Cosmic radiation really did exist within the mountains, but it could only threaten humans. To beings on the level of Servants and above, it was simply an environntal hazard that could be ignored.
Perhaps Camazotz had finally lost patience with Shiomi's mockery.
Or perhaps he simply had no intention of letting them pass through the Fourth Netherworld unchallenged.
After Shiomi finished speaking, Camazotz erged from the darkness. Just like before, he hung upside down in the air like a bat, overlooking the two figures standing on the mountain path.
"Indeed. Letting you pass so easily would be inappropriate."
Camazotz's voice lowered.
"Witness it. Watch closely. In the final age of Mictlan, the blood of beasts is stored here. And after that cos the ti to kneel in reverence before the king of the Netherworld, the source of death itself…"
The mountain path suddenly trembled.
In the darkness, countless pairs of ghostly blue eyes lit up.
They were skeletal warriors, the sa kind that had appeared among the ruins of Ka'an.
And here in the Fourth Netherworld, they existed in even greater numbers.
"Then witness our power as well, Camazotz!"
Shiomi suddenly responded loudly.
"Standing before you is the god who governs [Creation] and [Continuation]. That god is—"
A violent storm erupted inside the Netherworld.
The skeletal warriors erging from the darkness had not even managed to steady themselves before the gale swept them away.
Those who avoided falling instinctively stabbed their weapons into the rock beneath them to anchor their bodies.
"So. The Unity God."
Camazotz's voice beca completely cold.
"In pursuit of power to defeat your enemy, you would even sacrifice your own companion?"
"Sacrifice? If such an act can truly be called a sacrifice, then the one who made that sacrifice was my husband, not or anyone else."
Morgan raised her hand into the air and grasped the pure white Holy Lance.
Gungnir, Longinus, and the two crimson spears manifested behind her.
"Until the very end, he was soone who only ever chose to sacrifice himself. Allowing such power to exist at all was already the greatest concession he could make."
Morgan's clear voice echoed through the darkness.
"King of Ka'an, who crossed 6.6 million years of ti, who forgot the past and yet continues searching for it. Witness my husband's resolve."
"Who told you that?"
Camazotz's voice turned colder still.
This man had always been like this. His emotions swung between intense excitent and icy indifference.
Extrely unstable, yet carrying a strange, indescribable presence.
"You defeated ORT, yet ended up like this. Why?" Morgan asked.
"Was it Maya? Or Kukulkan? Or that useless Xquic?"
Camazotz stared at the Unity God.
"Never mind. It doesn't matter who said it. What you said is a challenge to . An insult to Ka'an. A blasphemous provocation."
"If you consider it blasphemy, then treat it as such."
Shiomi's voice echoed through empty space.
As the other half of the Unity God, he could communicate with the outside world whenever he wished.
Most of the ti, Morgan alone was more than capable of judging and handling any situation. Shiomi only needed to offer advice and thoughts from within while fighting alongside her.
But after learning about Camazotz's past, Shiomi found himself unusually compelled to say a few more words.
"That's right. Camazotz defeated ORT. The monster that devours planets was slain by him."
Camazotz's expression twisted with savage fury.
"Hahahahahaha! That's exactly what happened! I slaughtered them all! When that calamity tried to devour the Cosmic Tree and invade Mictlan, I annihilated it completely!"
Camazotz roared as he recounted the event.
"I threw it into lava! I pierced its chest with my claws! I tore out its organs and turned it into a silent skeleton!"
"But the price you paid was enormous," Shiomi said quietly.
"Silence! Camazotz needs neither your pity nor your understanding! Everything you say only desecrates Ka'an and insults that sacred war!"
With that furious outburst, Camazotz's Spirit Origin reaction began to expand rapidly.
Without any instrunts, the Unity God could directly see the magical energy of his opponent.
And what he saw was astonishing.
Camazotz's Spirit Origin output was skyrocketing.
One hundred thousand. One million. Ten million.
Until it finally exceeded one hundred million.
Countless bats flew out of the darkness, swirling around Camazotz's body before transforming into a black-red blood mist.
"Prepare yourself, my wife. Camazotz intends to reveal his true form. The two of us must defeat the weapon forged from the sacrifice of over one hundred million citizens. That weapon is Camazotz himself."
"I told you long ago, my husband."
Morgan raised the immaculate Holy Lance and pointed it directly at the powerful enemy before them.
"As long as the two of us stand together, nothing can stand in our way."
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