Chapter 3: A Regretful Sigh
"Void Behemoths appearing in groups near the Siberia World—neither the World Will nor I believe this is normal."
Joshua invited Nostradamus to the experimental table. With a wave of his hand, a layer of light screen emerged on the table: "They are natives of the void, the apex of the void's biological chain. Even the legendary 'Star Devourers' or 'Void Spawn' are merely mutated individuals derived from them. These creatures—or rather, these existences—do not form groups, because grouping is something only 'weak existences' do. Super Lifeforms do not need companions, do not need civilization, and do not even need reproduction; they can split themselves."
In the light screen appeared images and recordings. Hundreds of enormous, malformed, utterly grotesque beings that defied human aesthetics were drifting through chaotic temporal currents. They traveled in groups through the void, arriving at the periphery of the Great Maelstrom.
Joshua stared at the images in the light screen. He seemed lost in thought for a moment but quickly snapped back: "By normal logic, only one Void Behemoth inhabits a single temporal domain—this is their hunting territory. If the star domain is too small or contains too few worlds, it cannot meet their energy demands. You should have seen the behemoth originally in our domain—that Leviathan. It was actually a juvenile, less than thirty thousand years old, just a child, of course, for a Void Behemoth."
"Hmm." Nostradamus watched the light screen, responding briefly with a furrowed brow, looking very tense. The old mage's gaze was full of wariness—anyone would be wary; those were hundreds of Void Behemoths! Just thinking about it made Nostradamus shudder. He pressed on: "What about those Void Behemoths now? Do you know where they are?"
"I packed them up... well, kept one for experiments. They're still children, after all, easy to handle."
Patting the terrified flesh of the Void Behemoth beside him, Joshua glossed over this part vaguely under the old mage's wary gaze, quickly changing the subject: "The trouble is resolved. At first, the World Will and I didn't understand why the behemoths gathered spontaneously, but after reviewing the data in the Grand Database, I think I've found an answer."
"You've reviewed the data recorded in the Grand Database?"
Nostradamus blinked, catching on: "Right, whether it's Star Devourers or Void Spawn, they are powerful existences recorded in the Era of Radiance. Being able to name them means you've definitely seen it. After all, your Number 3 is also in the data analysis team, even a key member."
Nodding, Joshua didn't deny it. He stated the answer bluntly: "These small Void Behemoths should be the 'remnants' left after an adult Void Behemoth died. As for whether it died naturally or was killed, I lean toward the latter, because I sensed a strange Chaos aura from those Void Behemoths. Not the Plague Evil God, not the Famine Evil God, not the Calamity Evil God, not the Atmosphere Evil God—it was a completely unfamiliar Evil God aura, one never recorded even in the Grand Database or by me."
"A strange Evil God?!"
Hearing this, the old mage accidentally crushed the armrest of the chair beside him. He stared at Joshua in shock, then exclaimed loudly: "You knew this, and you didn't tell us?! What if an Evil God capable of killing a giant Void Behemoth follows these small behemoths here?! We should prepare for battle right now!"
With that, the old mage was about to turn and leave the research institute to notify everyone to initiate full-scale war preparations.
"Relax. I was just as tense at first, but after a thorough inspection, I found no signs of Chaos activity nearby."
Joshua patted Nostradamus on the shoulder, calming him down. Sitting in the chair, he said calmly: "Besides, who knows how long ago that ancient adult behemoth was killed? These small behemoths have been drifting in the void for at least a few thousand years. Back then, the Era of Radiance still existed, and they weren't caught up to. Now, the Era of Radiance is gone, and they still haven't been caught up to—caution doesn't mean paranoia."
"But even if the Evil God that killed these behemoths isn't nearby, in a few decades, other Evil Gods will attack together... You've reminded me of this depressing matter again."
Forced back into his chair by Joshua, unable to stand up for a while, the old mage slumped in place. He sighed helplessly: "Joshua, the truth is, the entire upper echelon of the Mycroft World is very tense. Since the last 'Black Mist Mother Nest Suppression Battle,' most Legendary experts have felt utterly lost."
"The Black Mist Mother Nest's power required over a dozen Legendary experts, plus multiple deities, just to suppress. Even killing it required Singularity Points and massive divine multi-dimensional arrays to wear it down bit by bit. And the Black Mist Mother Nest was just part of the Sanctuary Civilization's 'Final Line of Defense,' which was destroyed by the joint invasion of multiple Evil Gods—in short, they failed once before."
"Even if the Black Mist Mother Nest has grown to rival an Evil God, exhausting the full strength of the current Mycroft Civilization would only allow us to fight one or two before reaching our limit. Even accounting for development over the next few decades, blocking the known four Evil Gods—'Plague,' 'Famine,' 'Calamity,' and 'Atmosphere'—is an almost blindly optimistic expectation. Now you say there's a new Evil God... This news is truly disheartening."
At this point, Nostradamus's tone grew low: "To this day, the Sage's realm remains beyond our reach. Without an existence of that level, blocking the Evil Gods' invasion is just empty talk... We will inevitably face an unstoppable annihilation."
This was actually the true sentiment of most Legendary experts—after defeating the Black Mist Mother Nest and roughly understanding how powerful the so-called 'Evil Gods' were, most Legendary experts went into seclusion for a time. Some did so to digest the insights and technical inspiration from the battle, while the majority fell into the same helplessness and confusion as Nostradamus.
Such a powerful Black Mist was merely a failure in resisting the Evil Gods' invasion. Could they, these so-called Legendary experts, truly preserve their civilization in the future and allow the beings of the Mycroft World to continue?
Not just four.
On the other side, Joshua thought this to himself, shaking his head with a silent sigh.
To this day, no one knows exactly how many Evil Gods there are, but just the ones he could name exceeded twenty—the Evil Gods across the entire Multiverse were practically endless, their names requiring serial numbers.
But saying such things would only dampen morale, with no other use. Joshua could only say: "That's why we should develop technology as much as possible and strengthen our own power—the reason I'm using Void Behemoth flesh for experiments is precisely for this."
"Come, look at my recent research results. Maybe it'll lift your spirits a bit."
Without waiting for Nostradamus to refuse, Joshua lifted the seal on the experimental table, showing his recent achievements to his familiar friend.
Thus, countless bizarre, spine-chillingly dangerous 'creatures' appeared in the center of the entire practice ground.
—A walking plant whose leaves could oscillate at high frequencies to cut and launch like cannonballs.
—A self-destructing dragonfly capable of unstable chain-reaction explosions, moving at twenty times the speed of sound.
—A viral dandelion whose seeds could fly, parasitize most carbon-based lifeforms, and control their neural centers to make them berserk.
—An eroding slime, like a slime, that could freely deform, aggregate, and mimic some abilities of absorbed creatures.
All sorts of chaotic, nightmarish creatures, both in appearance and abilities, crawled out from silver orbs sealed around the experimental table. These bizarre lifeforms, created using Void Behemoth flesh, immediately roared and unleashed their abilities upon escaping, launching indiscriminate attacks in all directions.
Biological lasers crisscrossed the practice room's air. A bipedal lizard-crocodile-like creature spewed high-temperature ion streams exceeding 300,000 degrees, filling the air with a strong burnt odor. Nostradamus watched numbly as a seemingly ordinary, even slightly cute yellow mouse unleashed a powerful current exceeding 1.2 million, 5 million volts—within seconds, it was nearly reaching 10 million volts. Amid sharp screeches, a visible plasma cloud formed above the practice room's dome.
—You call this comfort?
"No, thanks. I'm fine, no comfort needed."
Suppressing the urge to blast this small demiplane to pieces with a single 'Space-Time Shatter,' the Legendary Mage raised his hand, making a gesture to fix space and freeze all the bizarre creatures' mutual attacks. Nostradamus took a deep breath and said dryly: "On the contrary, Joshua, I think your mental state is a bit... tense. You need rest, not experiments here."
"This is dangerous—for the research institute, other researchers, and yourself. I suggest you return to the Lord's Mansion, enjoy a healthy holiday life, and relax your mind."
"I want to understand the limits of Transcendent life in the Supernatural world more deeply... Ordinary biological constitutions simply can't bear too powerful abilities."
Joshua didn't mind the old mage's words. He clapped his hands, and all the rampaging strange creatures were sealed in silver Steel Force orbs. He said softly: "If we could farm Void Behemoths, erase their self-will from their flesh, and manufacture biological weapons for all ordinary humans, even powerless civilians could have attack power threatening to Evil God's Minions."
"If I could safely transplant Void Behemoth flesh into humans, then abilities like those of these dangerous creatures—all abilities—would become standard for humans. They could use thunderstorms at will, spew flames at will."
"Unfortunately, I can't do it. Humans simply can't bear this power. Even a small piece of Void Behemoth flesh has life; unless it's completely destroyed, there's no way to use it safely."
At this point, Joshua sighed regretfully—and Nostradamus also sighed, out of relief.