Facing the Primordial Mother in her Beast form, bearing down on him with world-ending pressure, Rei Ao not only didn't retreat—
He actually took a light step forward.
He didn't even assume a defensive or offensive stance.
He simply raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and casually tapped at Tiamat from a distance, even as she charged in like a mountain of black mud and destruction.
There was no burst of light, no shockwave of energy.
But the instant his fingertip "touched" her—
The rampaging Tiamat's colossal body suddenly jerked and froze mid-charge!
And then,
something happened that left both Alaya and Gaia utterly stunned.
The chaotic, raging aura of calamity that marked her as a Beast faded and dispersed like spilled ink thrown into a purifying spring.
Her terrifying body of molten rock, black mud, and spectral shadows began to undergo an unbelievable transformation.
Her massive form shrank and condensed at high speed, like a balloon losing air.
Her feral draconic-serpentine bulk drew back and reshaped.
The chaotic "materials" turned pure, becoming fair, delicate skin.
Her seven gigantic horns shrank and transformed into two elegant, gently curving black horns sprinkled with starlight.
Her empty, destructive eyes regained focus and took on a deep, gentle indigo hue…
In just a few breaths,
the world-ending Beast that could have triggered the incineration of Human Order had vanished.
In its place floated a woman, quietly suspended in the void.
She had a mature, voluptuous, breathtaking figure,
draped only in wisps of gauze like woven nebulae, revealing large expanses of smooth, snow-white skin.
Her long indigo hair fell like a waterfall.
The two curved black horns on her head added to her mystery and majesty.
Her face was stunningly beautiful, carrying both a mother's warmth and a god's nobility.
Her indigo eyes were now fixed on Rei Ao, blazing with focused intensity, not blinking for even a second.
That gaze was filled with unspeakable affection, dependence, and… submission.
She was Tiamat—but no longer a "Beast." She had returned to a more primordial form, one closer to her true nature as a Goddess of Creation.
Or rather, a form that had been "corrected" and "awakened."
"Th-this… is impossible!"
For the first time, Alaya's icy voice wavered noticeably, thick with disbelief.
"The summoning contract… was overwritten?! The Authority… was tampered with?!"
Gaia's emerald eyes were likewise full of shock.
They could clearly sense that the very essence of Beast II, whom they had summoned and temporarily controlled through the Counter Force's authority, had been completely rewritten in that single instant!
The summoning contract had been forcibly overwritten and reshaped by some higher-order power.
Tiamat had not only slipped entirely free of their control—
even the nature of her existence had undergone a fundamental change!
What shook them even more was the way Tiamat was looking at Rei Ao right now.
That was absolutely not the gaze of someone under control.
It was a connection and sense of belonging that came from the very root of her being, something even deeper than her original "maternal" nature!
Rei Ao seemed completely oblivious to the shock of the two Counter Force maidens.
The newly reborn Tiamat—perhaps we should now call her "Mama Tia"?—moved lightly, drifting down to Rei Ao's side like a feather.
She tilted her head slightly,
and leaned affectionately against his arm.
Those indigo eyes still never left him for an instant,
as if he were the very center of her entire world.
Alaya and Gaia instantly felt an enormous sense of threat and loss of control.
They hesitated no longer.
They simultaneously rallied even greater rule-level power within this domain,
trying to directly erase the now-unbound Tiamat, even if it meant a massive expenditure!
However—
when their power touched Tiamat, it vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea—as if it had slammed into an invisible, intangible, yet absolutely impenetrable barrier.
Tiamat remained peacefully nestled at Rei Ao's side,
not even reacting to the forces trying to erase her.
She simply kept her full attention on Rei Ao.
"How can we not interfere with her?!"
"Her existential foundation… has been anchored?! And the anchor… is him?!"
Alaya and Gaia finally realized just how serious the situation was.
This outsider before them not only possessed unfathomable power—
his very existence itself seemed to have some incomprehensible compatibility with, and even override authority over, certain underlying rules of this world!
Just then,
Rei Ao finally tore his gaze away from the gentle "Mama Tia" and looked back at the two Counter Force maidens standing before him as if facing a mortal enemy.
A smile surfaced on his face that, to Alaya and Gaia, looked a bit wicked and more than a little teasing.
"Alaya. Gaia."
Rei Ao's voice carried a strange magnetism as he spoke slowly:
"Do you know how I usually 'educate' the disobedient, mischievous little 'children' who don't like to behave?"
Alaya and Gaia both froze for a moment,
and a powerful sense of unease welled up inside them.
Children?
Who is he talking about?
Could he mean…
…
Before they could work it out,
Rei Ao had already snapped his fingers lightly.
Snap—!
The crisp sound echoed through this void-like domain.
As the snap rang out,
the endless glowing void around them spun, warped, and rearranged itself like a canvas stirred by an invisible giant hand!
The void receded.
Solid flooring appeared out of thin air.
Chaotic light and shadow condensed into walls and ceilings covered in ornate reliefs.
Soft, warm light poured down from unseen sources.
Finely crafted, luxurious furniture—a huge, soft four-poster bed draped in velvet, velvet sofas, a floor buried under plush carpeting…
all of it manifested in the blink of an eye!
With just a snap of his fingers,
this rule-bound void domain of the Counter Force had been forcibly remodeled into an opulent, warm-toned, and unmistakably suggestive… luxury master bedroom!
Alaya and Gaia, the two embodiments of the Counter Force, now stood barefoot on the overly soft carpet,
staring at the utterly unfamiliar surroundings, thick with the scent of human desire and hedonism,
and feeling the terrifying reality that the very rules of this space had been completely overwritten and twisted.
On their delicate, doll-like faces, for the first time, appeared a blank, almost stupefied expression.
Wh-what… is going on?!