The thick mist that had once obscured Alex’s vision had finally cleared, revealing the full horror of the Hatred Demon’s ultimate form.
Alex had assumed that its previous transformation, where it had gained four massive arms and reached unimaginable levels of power, would be the final one.
It had already seemed unstoppable, a force beyond what he had ever faced before.
But he had been wrong.
In its purest fury, the Hatred Demon had summoned every ounce of hatred it had ever gathered, pouring the essence of its own heart into one last, final transformation.
And now, it stood before him.
A nightmare beyond anything he had ever witnessed.
Even though Alex was floating high in the sky, his four wings keeping him aloft, he only barely reached the monster’s stomach.
The sheer scale of it was mind-shattering.
A deep, resonating rumble echoed from the demon’s chest, vibrating through the air like an earthquake waiting to erupt.
And then…
“Can you see me now, child?”
The voice was a storm, a cacophony of layered, overlapping voices, each carrying a different pitch.
Some were low and guttural, others shrill and haunting.
It wasn’t one voice, it was dozens, all speaking at once.
Crimson light flared from the dozens of eyes embedded where its head should have been, locking onto Alex with a presence that made his entire body tense.
Alex clenched his fists.
This pressure… it was suffocating.
The Hatred Demon wasn’t just looking at him, it was smothering him with its sheer existence, as if forcing him to acknowledge his own insignificance.
“I hope you know…” the demon continued, its many eyes narrowing, its aura crackling with volatile energy, “that you have made the biggest mistake of your life.”
Alex remained silent, eyes locked onto the abomination, his mind racing.
The Hatred Demon let out a deep, rumbling chuckle, a sound that shook the very sky.
“Even killing you will not be enough anymore,” it declared, its tone dripping with malicious certainty.
“I shall drag you into my new domain… and torture you for all of eternity.”
Alex’s eyes widened slightly.
New domain? Had it created a realm of its own? That… wasn’t normal.
He quickly pushed his thoughts aside and forced himself to focus.
“You ain’t gonna do shit,” Alex growled, shaking off the lingering sense of dread that clawed at his thoughts, “One more hit and you’re dead!”
The Hatred Demon simply tilted its colossal head.
“One more attack, and you are dead as well,” it mused, a hint of amusement in its voice.
“And you know that you are far weaker than I am, don’t you?”
“Fuck off.”
A barrage of shadowed tendrils burst outward, reforming into shields in front of Alex, the Crown of Calamity was already reacting.
Because even while speaking, the Hatred Demon had never stopped attacking.
It had no intention of lowering its guard. It didn’t care for conversation.
Every word spoken was accompanied by an attack, its claws raking forward, each swing aiming to end Alex instantly.
It had underestimated him before. It had been careless. That would never happen again.
Until Alex was dead and erased from existence, the Hatred Demon would keep attacking relentlessly.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Its monstrous arms ripped through the air, but the Crown’s tendrils moved like a living fortress, forming layer after layer of protection.
Meanwhile, Alex took a moment to fully analyze what he was dealing with.
[Hatred Demon, Ultimate Form: Pure Hatred]
As expected, it resembled its previous form, but at a scale that defied logic.
It was over five hundred times larger than before.
Its four arms, already terrifying in their prior form, were now even longer, even faster, even sharper.
Each claw could likely tear through mountains like paper.
Its body was pulsing, crimson veins bulging across its darkened flesh, throbbing with raw, unimaginable power.
And its aura… It was monstrous.
Even Alex, who had faced countless horrors, could feel an undeniable truth pressing against his mind.
This thing’s aura was beyond anything in existence.
Even gods would fall before it.
But that meant one thing.
If Alex could somehow defeat this monster, if he could extract whatever it held inside, then his future victory would be assured.
The only real threats left in the world would be Lich and the Gods.
And at this point? Only the top five gods would actually pose a real challenge.
His eyes flicked across the demon’s body, taking in every detail.
Its legs were adorned with strange, glowing boots, thrumming with an unknown energy, something it hadn’t worn before.
It had no armor in this form, its ultimate body was its own defense.
And at its center, across its entire chest, was the rotating ritual circle.
Alex’s breath caught.
It was the same summoning circle that the [Hatred Sect] had created.
The same massive formation that had covered the entire city before the demon transformed.
Now, it rotated constantly, radiating a crimson mist, a pulse of forbidden energy that made his very soul shudder.
And then… Its face.
Or rather, the horror where its face should have been.
There was nothing there.
Nothing except a massive, gaping hole.
And inside that void, dozens, no, hundreds, of eyes and mouths floated, drifting slowly, unnaturally, watching from within the abyss.
Alex felt his stomach twist.
“What the actual fuck…?”
This thing wasn’t even a being anymore.
It was pure monstrosity given form.
Worse than the [God of the Abyss]’ ultimate form. Worse than anything he had seen before.
Every time it spoke, the floating mouths inside the abyss that was its head moved in unison, their whispers layering upon each other, creating a sound so unnatural it made the air feel wrong.
“Have you finally realized the odds you are up against, child?” the Hatred Demon asked, its voice shaking the very world.
“Then let’s speed things up, shall we not?”
“Huh?”
BOOM!
The Hatred Demon exploded into motion.
All four arms moved at once, swinging faster than the eye could follow, creating a storm of death and destruction.
Even the air itself was being torn apart, the shockwaves of its attacks sending blackened energy waves spiraling through the sky.
[The Crown of Calamity wishes for you to tell the demon this attempt is useless.]
The Crown moved instantly, its tendrils multiplying, forming four perfect barriers, each one absorbing the attacks effortlessly.
“As expected of my heart,” the Hatred Demon laughed.
The sound was a horrifying chorus of overlapping voices.
“But it will not be enough.”
Alex grit his teeth, he had no destiny points left.
[World Cleaver] still hadn’t returned.
And now, the Hatred Demon raised its hand.
“Let us head to our final battlefield.”
Crimson light surged from its abyssal eyes.
Then, the world shifted as Alex’s consciousness snapped, and everything collapsed into darkness.