Skinning, tanning, stitching flesh...

A high-level Skin-Thief did not merely learn how to seize another being’s skin for personal use. They would also process and refine those skins, transforming them into something even more intricate and terrifying.

<Devourer Skin>

Crafted from the hide of a "Magic Devourer," a creature specialized in consuming magic itself, this skin was designed specifically to absorb and devour spells.

In an instant, all of the countless surrounding skins turned a deep violet-black.

Every single layer carried the same external effect.

The blazing infernos, freezing storms, corrosive waters, and every other elemental spell formed through magic immediately lost much of their power...

Not that they became completely ineffective.

But Elythmira’s own defenses had already reached true Divine-level standards. She was not some half-baked pseudo-god of the Eighth Rank. Even a genuine Ninth-Rank Archmage might not be capable of instantly annihilating Elythmira through Ninth-Tier Magic alone.

And on top of that, she had specifically strengthened her resistance against magic.

Swish!

The endless layers of skin surged inward.

Once again, the entire space was completely sealed shut beneath writhing flesh, layer upon layer of skin folding together like the stomach lining of some monstrous beast, wrapping Kanzaki Rei airtight within its depths.

Even space itself had been sealed.

"Divine Kingdom Descends."

<Divine Kingdom — The Inner World Beneath the Shed Skin>

Swish!

In the next moment, the flesh-walls enclosing the surrounding space peeled away layer by layer like the skin of an onion being stripped apart.

And at the very center of the Divine Kingdom stood Kanzaki Rei—

Like a crimson fruit exposed at the core.

Every spell around him fell silent.

Terrifying, world-shaking magic detonated one after another, yet now they burst apart like colorful fireworks ribbons. Magic circles disintegrated, peeled open like strips of flesh being skinned away.

Beneath his feet spread a scarlet earth, resembling tender muscle after its skin had been flayed off.

Kanzaki Rei stood atop the exposed pale flesh.

He attempted to rise into the air—

But the moment he lifted his foot, a pain impossible to suppress assaulted him.

As his foot rose, skin and flesh instantly separated. A thin outer layer sloughed off like a discarded molt.

And the shed skin...

Did not regenerate through his healing.

Under normal circumstances, his regeneration had already reached an absurd level.

Forget merely shedding skin.

Even if his entire body were pulverized into dust, he could regenerate in an instant.

This was...

Divine Authority.

Gods possessed Divine Authorities. They were the embodiment and manifestation of the world’s laws themselves.

"So this is why killing a god is so difficult."

Clang!

Kanzaki Rei thrust violently downward!

The war spear pierced through the red flesh below!

<Cang Path — Second Principle: Dissolution of All Things>

BOOM!

Countless dense cracks exploded throughout the entire Divine Kingdom—

But at the same time, the skin of Kanzaki Rei’s arm peeled away as well, sloughing off in bloody scarlet strips.

Dissolution of All Things.

Kanzaki Rei’s strongest armor-piercing technique.

Yet although endless fissures spread across the crimson flesh, the Divine Kingdom itself remained unmoved...

Only more distant violet-black flesh began to rupture instead...

Using finite attacks to kill infinite skin.

Pshhhk pshhhk pshhhk pshhhk—

During the span of that single strike, the skin across Kanzaki Rei’s body split open once more...

Every motion he made peeled away another layer of flesh.

And...

Those peeled strips of skin transformed into flexible razor-like spikes that sliced back into Kanzaki Rei’s body, covering him in blood.

The moment the skin separated from him—

It already belonged to Elythmira.

<Cang Path — Fifth Principle: One-World Prison>

Swish!

One-World Prison expanded once more.

But this time, the instant the prison formed, its outer shell was peeled away, the originally sealed barrier instantly forced open.

BOOM!

In the very next instant, countless phantom images of Kanzaki Rei appeared across the sky from every direction!

<Cang Path — Sixth Principle: Convergence>

"Soul Sacrifice... one hundred trillion."

Tap.

Kanzaki Rei brought both hands together.

And every phantom image of him throughout the sky mirrored the same motion.

His gaze fixed upon Elythmira’s destined moment of death.

This attack no longer targeted Elythmira’s Divine Kingdom—

Nor her endless "skin bodies."

Instead, it aimed directly at the destined point of her death itself.

At the same time, within his mind, the blueprint of a blade was rapidly taking shape.

<Elythmira: Skin-Hunter’s Blade>

He had now witnessed enough of Elythmira’s Divine Authority and Laws.

The Divine Weapon blueprint had fully formed.

Hands pressed together.

Between Kanzaki Rei’s palms, an endlessly compressing core trembled violently.

Magic.

Battle Arts.

Manifestation Arts...

I’ve already comprehended enough methods of combat.

But truly powerful attacks...

Were never won through quantity alone.

Victory always required a decisive finishing strike.

Swish!

Kanzaki Rei’s body was instantly segmented into countless pieces.

This was the interior of the Divine Kingdom.

Elythmira’s attacks directly stripped away the very existence of his flesh at its source.

At the same time, Kanzaki Rei saw—

Far in the distance within the Divine Kingdom—

A skin shell identical to himself gradually curling together like rolled parchment, slowly forming an entirely new body in his image.

Elythmira...

Was replicating his skin.

Then...

Kanzaki Rei’s hands also began peeling away like strips shaved from paper. As more skin was removed, the flesh beneath rapidly withered into dry ruin.

"And you still struggle?"

Elythmira’s figure emerged behind Kanzaki Rei once more, still appearing as that pale, voluptuous woman with a narrow waist and full chest.

"A mantis trying to shake a tree."

"You killed one of my avatars and actually believed that meant you could kill a true god?"

"All this flesh and skin—every part of it—is my magnificent body."

"My true skin can cover an entire Moonsea."

"The skins under my control include countless geniuses from throughout all of history."

"You cannot even destroy my Divine Kingdom."

"So how exactly do you intend to kill me?"

"When you can annihilate an entire sea region, then perhaps you can talk about your ridiculous dream of slaying a god!"

Elythmira’s voice was icy cold.

In her eyes, these were already Kanzaki Rei’s final moments alive.

In one more second—

Every layer of his skin would be stripped away.

And then she would replace him, living anew within Kanzaki Rei’s body.

Now that her true form had descended into the world, her fall from godhood was already inevitable.

In less than half a day, she would no longer remain a Divine existence...

But in exchange—

Obtaining Kanzaki Rei’s body was worth it.

At least in her view, this was the most worthwhile transaction imaginable...

Elythmira raised her hand once more and clenched.

Pshhk!

The violently trembling core Kanzaki Rei had been compressing in his hands instantly began peeling apart!

She had no idea what he was preparing.

But she absolutely could not allow him any opportunity.

Talents like him loved making desperate final counterattacks before death...

She had to extinguish every last possibility.

Though it sounded lengthy, everything occurred within an infinitesimal instant.

The moment the Divine Kingdom wrapped around Kanzaki Rei, he had already unleashed Dissolution of All Things. In less than one-billionth of a second, he had attempted countless countermeasures.

The instant those attempts failed—

He immediately activated:

<Cang Path — Sixth Principle: Convergence>

And Elythmira severed that attack almost simultaneously...

Snap—

Within less than one ten-thousandth of a second after the Divine Kingdom unfolded—

Kanzaki Rei’s flesh completely vanished.

Every layer of skin fell to the ground like discarded paper rolls.

And in the distance, another Kanzaki Rei formed from reconstructed skin emerged as well.

Kanzaki Rei’s counterattack had been stopped.

All Ninth-Tier Magic ceased.

As though...

Kanzaki Rei had truly been completely killed.