The Corpse King lunged forward, his arms encased in a layer of black demonic armor, instantly slicing down the Broodmother's other two subordinates.
These two—one a hedgehog-like creature and the other a white humanoid—possessed strength roughly at the Heaven-level. Before the God-level peak of the Corpse King, they didn't last a single second before being pulverized!
With the four egg-hatched creatures dealt with, Ren finished gathering the tissue samples from the Nebula Twins. Without lingering, the three resumed their pursuit of the Broodmother.
"Wait, why are we chasing that 'Demonic Stitch' anyway?" Bai Xiaofei asked, confused, as he looked at Ren and the Corpse King. Because the Broodmother had four arms, a black body, and a massive maw, Xiaofei had already dubbed her with the nickname.
Ren laughed. "To collect her biological samples for research back home!"
The Corpse King was more direct, stating he had entered the Gate specifically to devour such powerhouses for his own growth.
After a few steps, they rounded a corridor corner and encountered a completely naked woman. She had pale gold hair and refined features, but she looked utterly dazed as she stared at her surroundings.
"Holy—?!" Bai Xiaofei's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He had never seen "proportions" that massive before!
Ren took one look and knew this was Gabriel, whose soul had already been swapped by the Broodmother. He didn't stop, turning a corner only to see a red-skinned demon flying toward them.
The demon was about to speak when an appalling aura erupted from Ren's body. Under the weight of this pressure, the cavern walls cracked. The demon felt her vision go dark, as if struck by a heavy blow to the head, and she began to stagger.
It seems before the soul swap, the Broodmother transferred both the demon's power and her own original power into the Angel's body. Otherwise, even if the soul in the demon's body isn't the original, it wouldn't be this easily suppressed by my Conqueror's Haki, Ren mused.
Then, he materialized in front of the demon instantly. His fist, coated in Conqueror's Haki, slammed directly into her face!
With one punch, the demon's once-elegant face was knocked sideways. After a dizzying world-spin, her body crashed into the rock wall, becoming completely buried under rubble.
Rumble—
A red arm with black nails thrust out from the debris, looking as if she were about to crawl out!
Ren frowned. He didn't want to kill this Angel; eventually, when he traversed the universe, he would need to deal with the "Celestial Tribe" (Universal Police). Now was the best time to build a rapport. If he let her crawl out and be seen by the "Angel" (the Broodmother in the Angel's body), the demon would surely be killed.
In his urgency, Ren's eyes transformed into blood-red Mangekyou!
The next moment, he locked eyes with the demon. Their consciousnesses appeared in a world of pure white.
Tsukuyomi!
Under pressure, Ren had used his mental energy to force-activate the Sharingan's ultimate illusion.
"Where is this?"
Standing opposite Ren was a woman as white as snow, those pink accents on her chest being particularly eye-catching!
Ren pulled his gaze away and cleared his throat. "This is a world of my creation."
"You?" Gabriel looked confused. "Have you Earthlings evolved to this level? Creating a world with a single glance!"
"Alright, let's put 'Earthlings' aside for a moment. I assume you've noticed the problem with your body?"
At this, Gabriel instantly grew serious. "Yes. I didn't notice when I first woke up, but after you punched me, many memories of that demon flooded my mind. If I'm not mistaken, I'm currently using a demon's body!"
Clap, clap, clap!
Ren lightly applauded. "Congratulations, you got it right! But there's no prize."
Gabriel continued, "I remember fighting the demon, Vinali, but that damned Broodmother ambushed us and swallowed us both. If my soul is in Vinali's body, then inside my own body is... Vinali's soul? The Broodmother swapped us? But... what's the point of her doing that?" Gabriel furrowed her brow, unable to fathom the motive.
Ren spoke up. "Is there a possibility that the one in your body right now isn't the demon, but the Broodmother herself?"
In an instant, the realization hit Gabriel! "Of course! My body doesn't have the Prisoner's Mark! If she uses my body, she can leave this place!" She then looked at Ren. "By the way, I haven't asked who you are."
"Me? I'm an Earthling. Earth is having some issues, so I came here looking for a chance to break through to the Super-God level," Ren said. "Listen, don't act rashly for now. The Broodmother is still useful to me. I'll kill her after I've finished using her."
Gabriel frowned, clearly unwilling, but she realized she had no way to resist in her current state. "But... can we swap back?" she asked worriedly.
The next moment, the scenery shifted back to the familiar cavern.
Ren dropped from the air and stood before the demon. He tilted her chin up with his hand and smirked. "I didn't realize it before, but you're actually quite pretty."
In that second, the demon (Gabriel's soul) felt her heart skip a beat, as if something was about to leak out!
"Wait for me here. It won't be long before I return to solve your body problem."
As if possessed, the demon nodded. Her pointed ears twitched slightly, and her eyes turned a bit glassy. After a shiver, everything became peaceful.
Ren buried the demon under some light rubble to hide her. Seeing the Corpse King, Bai Xiaofei, and the "Angel" arriving, he felt a wave of relief. It was a good thing his mental energy had driven the Sharingan; otherwise, it would have been impossible to explain so much to the real Gabriel.
Deactivating the Mangekyou, Ren said to the others, "You guys head on. I'm going to collect some of the demon's genes."
Long You and Xiaofei didn't hesitate, charging ahead. The "Angel" hesitated for a split second before following. She had seen Ren kill the Nebula Twins without hesitation, so she assumed he was simply finishing off the demon.
Once they were out of sight, Ren exhaled. Looking at the still-trembling demon, he smiled. "Recover here for now. We'll meet at the top floor!"
The demon nodded slightly, her eyes staring dreamily at Ren as she instinctively licked her lips. Under her expectant gaze, Ren harvested a few strands of her hair and left without looking back.
The "Charm" ability was one of the many ocular powers he had awakened. He hadn't expected it to work so well on a demon. Maybe the demon body is just naturally sensitive?
When he reached the Broodmother's bathing pool, he saw that Bai Xiaofei had already drunk the spring water. His physical stats had exploded—he had officially reached the God-level physically! Because he was wearing the Level 1 suit, he didn't suffer the "exploding clothes" scenario from the original story.
As Xiaofei marveled at his new power, the "Angel" returned from the abandoned spacecraft, dropping three bundles in front of them. "These are combat suits that adapt to the wearer's physique and can self-repair if damaged. Put them on."
Looking at the suit and then at his Level 2 armor, Ren ultimately chose the suit. Armor was great, but it wasn't flexible enough!
The three quickly changed and jumped into the pool with the Angel!