Lord: Sequence Master

"Blood sacrifice?"

Rosen observed a familiar scene, realizing that the Gray Rat leaders were performing a blood sacrifice to summon the Gray Rat Patriarch. He now had no doubt that the Patriarch was specifically targeting him, likely using some prophecy-like method.

Earlier, Rosen had hidden inside the Mysterious Study Room, which shielded him from the Patriarch's divination. Now, by sending out the Nightmare Slime, he had deliberately baited the Patriarch, and as expected, soon drew his attention.

Before the blood sacrifice could be completed, Rosen commanded the Nightmare Slime to use its Divine Splitting ability, creating several clones. These clones stealthily approached the Sequence 7 Gray Rat leaders, staying concealed in the shadows.

Once close enough, the clones transformed into Nightmare Marks, attaching themselves to the leaders. Even if the Nightmare Slime abandoned Shadow Stealth, the Gray Rat leaders would still be unable to perceive it.

The Nightmare Slime climbed atop one of the Gray Rat leaders, patiently waiting for the Gray Rat Patriarch's arrival.

Moments later, the blood sacrifice was complete, and the Gray Rat Patriarch's divine essence descended into one of the Gray Rat leaders.

The Patriarch, already aware of the situation, scanned the surroundings immediately after his descent. However, despite his efforts, he couldn't locate the human he sought. Frustrated, he gritted his teeth, and his eyes began glowing with a seven-colored light.

This act consumed part of his divine essence, temporarily boosting his perception to Sequence 6. Yet, he still couldn't locate Rosen. Forced to raise his perception further to Sequence 5, the Patriarch finally detected the Nightmare Slime.

Realizing it was merely the pet of the human he sought, the enraged Patriarch lunged at the Nightmare Slime, his jaws open wide to tear it apart.

The Nightmare Slime, seeing it had been discovered, panicked and used Shadow Stealth to teleport just outside the Mysterious Study Room, near the window.

The Patriarch twisted in midair, continuing his pursuit. However, as his claws neared the Nightmare Slime, nine bullets materialized out of thin air, hitting him point-blank.

Both his front paws were severed, his eyes destroyed, and even his tongue and throat were torn apart by the shots.

With the Gray Rat Patriarch severely wounded, the Nightmare Slime quickly split off another clone, marking the Patriarch with a Nightmare Mark. The slime then latched onto him, draining the blood from his wounds.

Simultaneously, a nightmare chain emerged from the void, wrapping around the Patriarch and binding him tightly.

Still cautious that the Patriarch might break free, Rosen activated his Supernatural Five Senses, stripping the Patriarch of his sense of touch.

Despite being a Sequence 7 divine avatar, the Patriarch was caught off guard by the series of ambushes, leaving him temporarily stunned.

While the Patriarch struggled against the nightmare chains, the other Gray Rat leaders finally reacted, launching attacks toward the unseen threat. Yet, unable to perceive the Nightmare Slime, their strikes hit nothing but air.

Occasionally, an attack would graze the Nightmare Slime, but bolstered by spiritual energy, the slime endured. Eventually, the Gray Rat Patriarch, overwhelmed, was completely devoured by the Nightmare Slime.

Rosen then commanded the Nightmare Slime to return to the Mysterious Study Room and quickly activated the crossbow mode of his Hunter's Divine Crossbow, unleashing a barrage of bolts at the remaining Gray Rat leaders.

Though formidable at Sequence 7, these leaders were no match for Rosen. With the leaders disoriented and no longer coordinated, Rosen picked them off one by one with precision crossbow shots.

His overwhelming victory was thanks in large part to the hidden capabilities of the Mysterious Study Room. Without the Patriarch's reckless pursuit of the Nightmare Slime, the ambush at the window would never have succeeded.

Even with the divine nature of the Patriarch, the Death Strike and Storm Barrage-enhanced crossbow bolts had left him gravely wounded. Had the Patriarch chosen to flee, Rosen wouldn't have been able to stop him.

The Nightmare Chains, though effective, couldn't hold a Sequence 7 powerhouse like the Patriarch for long. The Patriarch had initially feigned weakness, hoping to enter the alternate dimension through the Nightmare Slime for a counterattack.

However, the plan backfired spectacularly. The Nightmare Slime, strengthened by its Devouring ability, fully digested the Patriarch instead.

As for the remaining Gray Rat leaders, marked by the Nightmare, they couldn't even detect the crossbow bolts as they flew toward them. With the Patriarch incapacitated, they were too terrified to flee, and each one eventually fell.

Rosen, not yet concerned with collecting the loot in the Void Scavenger's Space, rushed to tend to the Nightmare Slime, which was visibly struggling.

The Nightmare Slime had swollen to an enormous size, and Rosen could faintly hear the Gray Rat Patriarch's screams from within. Though the slime's Devourer ability had allowed it to contain the Patriarch, the sheer resistance of the divine essence was pushing it to its limits.

Rosen quickly fed spiritual crystals to the slime, converting them into spiritual energy to stabilize its condition.

Gradually, the Nightmare Slime calmed down as the continuous influx of energy helped it cope with the strain.

Had the situation worsened, Rosen would have had no choice but to eject the Patriarch from the Mysterious Study Room.

Over the following two weeks, Rosen barely slept, spending all his time ensuring the Nightmare Slime could digest the Patriarch's divine essence.

Initially, Rosen thought the Patriarch was on the verge of death when he noticed the slime digesting his flesh and bones. Considering releasing the weakened avatar, Rosen decided to finish him off directly.

However, the moment the Nightmare Slime opened its mouth, the Patriarch, feigning death, tried to escape. Fortunately, Rosen had planned for such a scenario and had the slime eject the Patriarch into a nearby wall, smashing his skull and rendering him helpless.

After that, Rosen became more cautious, waiting several more days until the slime had digested everything except the Patriarch's divine essence.

Even at that point, Rosen refrained from releasing the Patriarch, recalling how the Gray Rat Patriarch had once possessed another body through lingering spiritual essence after being defeated in Spiral Harbor. A being like this, whose body wasn't their true vulnerability, had to be handled with extreme care.

Finally, after two weeks, all that remained was the Patriarch's divine essence.

Rosen cautiously placed the Main God Computer's mouse into the Nightmare Slime's mouth. Even in this state, the Patriarch's divine essence struggled to resist, but the mouse slowly drained the essence, absorbing it into the computer.

After half an hour, the divine essence had been fully absorbed. Rosen retrieved the mouse, patiently waiting for the results.

Two days later, a rainbow-colored orb appeared in the Void Scavenger's Space.

(End of Chapter)