Chapter 244

Chapter 244: Familiarity Breeds Acceptance

When heavy footsteps thundered from behind, Butis jolted in alarm!

“Disaster!”

“The so-called Giant God before me was merely bait!”

“I used the lowest rank to fish, yet that ‘Giant God’ was using his own subordinate to bait me!?”

“This…”

“What should I do…”

“What should I do!?”

Panic and terror seized Butis’s Soul, making it tremble violently.

That fearsome, cunning “Giant God”—originally lurking nearby—could close the distance in mere seconds!

Amidst such overwhelming fear, he couldn’t gather a single coherent thought in that brief moment.

“ROAR—!”

A guttural, savage bellow erupted from the Colossal Divine Body behind him, intensifying Butis’s dread!

Stunned, his thoughts scattered and his will crumbled; the seventeenth seat of the Chaos Council could only react instinctively—mouth agape, eyes bulging—displaying pure astonishment and horror!

Then he turned around with trembling movements!

Yet the instant he turned, an unexpected calm washed over him.

The virtue of a “Passive Skill” was this: regardless of the wielder’s condition, so long as they lived, it would fully unleash its power!

And Butis’s Powers were exceptionally unique.

What seemed a shameful reaction to other deities could actually amplify his Powers!

“Victory!”

Butis silently exulted, already declaring the battle’s outcome.

“My Powers make even core councilors tread carefully.”

“Now they’re strengthened further!”

“Not just some mere Giant God!”

“Even a core councilor would be no match!”

Butis’s “Passive Skill” was peculiar, affecting deities and mortals almost identically—any who witnessed “Light Evacuation” would suffer dizziness, blindness, and similar afflictions.

Duration, however, depended on the Soul’s resilience!

For mortal-level beings, the Powers’ effect might crystallize into a lifelong curse.

As for deities…

Core councilors themselves would endure blindness and dizziness for half a minute.

In those thirty seconds, Butis could flee effortlessly even without attacking.

“Even the mighty, keen eyes of core councilors couldn’t withstand it!”

“You, fellow, didn’t even need to mention!”

…

Sure enough, his attack took effect immediately.

“Ah—!”

The robust beast charging forward let out a surprised scream, and its eyes turned fearful!

—-

“Ah!”

Trilobite was startled by the ugly creature in front of him!

“Wow, luckily the real world looked like pixel art to me!”

“Otherwise, I would have lost all my SAN value on the spot.”

“Just observing with these terrible-resolution compound eyes hurt my eyes, let alone full resolution.”

“You really were impressive.”

“Even under pixelated style, you could still look uniquely ugly!”

“Right, Horizontal-Toothed Beast?”

The Horizontal-Toothed Beast lived from the mid-Triassic to the late Triassic; just by its name, one could tell it belonged to archosaurs. Their fangs were somewhat degenerated, but their molars were more developed, leading paleontologists to speculate that these fellows might be omnivorous.

However, despite some similarities in dental characteristics, they were quite distantly related to mammals.

Overall, the Horizontal-Toothed Beast clan also began to walk upright, though their legs were disproportionately short and their heads disproportionately large.

Of course, these creatures were not outstanding in terms of Ecological Niche or habits; their only distinctive feature was—ugliness!

“But it didn’t matter.”

“I could eat with my eyes closed!”

“And I had heard that the uglier something was, the better it tasted?”

There was actually some truth to this statement.

In fact, many things might look quite off-putting, but because they were tasty and everyone ate them, these "SAN value-depleting" appearances gradually became associated with deliciousness.

So people no longer found it strange; instead, they just thought it was delicious.

The most typical examples were tentacle monsters, octopuses, and squids; those creatures had faces that gave off the uncanny valley effect, and they also had tentacles.

And if that wasn’t enough, the tentacles even had suction cups with “claws”!

From many fantasy works in later times, it was clear that the tentacles of these monsters referenced Cephalopods, suggesting that if these tentacles hadn’t been linked to food, they would indeed have been quite terrifying.

But in reality, not many girls screamed at a plate of stir-fried squid.

Moreover, even if something was really terrifying and reduced SAN value, it could not stop a foodie’s appetite!

When Trilobite was still human, he had tasted centipedes, scorpions, grilled spiders, and a series of SAN value-depleting foods, and he found them quite good.

Let alone after embarking on a continuous evolutionary journey as Trilobite, encountering various bizarre and twisted echinoderms, cephalopods, sea scorpions, which were far quirkier and weirder than the creature in front of him.

But because the Horizontal-Toothed Beast not only looked SAN value-depleting but was also an archosaur, it was somewhat closer to humans, making the uncanny valley effect significant; this was the only thing that made Trilobite pause for a moment.

However, it only made Trilobite pause for a moment.

Within two seconds, the huge flashing "Hungry" on the system panel jolted Trilobite from shock back to his ravenous appetite!

"Doesn’t matter!"

"After tearing it apart, all that enters my mouth is meat anyway!"

Trilobite’s massive jaws gaped wide!

But just as his vision cleared, something promising caught his eye.

—-

"Just as I thought…"

"The Giant God amounts to nothing."

Shaking off his terror, Butis finally examined this Giant God that nearly ruined him.

Truth be told, the creature was colossal.

Its sheer size likely exceeded his own by half; in a direct clash of divine bodies, Butis knew his chances were slim.

"But you fell for my aura!"

"Fool!"

"Now then…"

With the enemy ensnared, he steadied his nerves and weighed his options.

Should he flee now? Or press his advantage?

"Attack now, of course!"

"This so-called ‘Giant God’ possesses a formidable divine body. Though it knows no complex magic, its magical resistance is formidable!"

"Its strength unquestionably reaches Core Councilor Level."

"Yet being Core Councilor Level means its first exposure to my Power Aura guarantees minutes of blindness and disorientation!"

"Observe those eyes…"

Butis studied the calcite-cluster eyes.

"Lifeless… vacant… seeing nothing."

"Utterly soul-stripped. My aura works remarkably well on such dim-witted prey!"

They say eyes mirror the soul.

But calcite windows?

What soul could you possibly glimpse?

Since the effect proved exceptional…

Well then…

*Thud… thud…*

Butis crawled perilously close to Trilobite, gaze locked on the slightly parted jaws.

"Hah…"

“Maybe your magical resistance was strong, but how about taking a ‘God-Slaying Spear’ hit at point-blank range?”

“Let me tell you something else.”

“The reason I became the seventeenth seat wasn’t just my aura—it’s my lightning-fast spellcasting!”

“Other gods might’ve needed five minutes to prepare a single-target divine forbidden spell like God-Slaying Spear. Me? Fifty seconds!”

“Enjoy your final fifty seconds!”

“Buzz—!”

Magical particles converged before demon god Butis’s mouth as the luminous spear readied to strike.

But then…

“Huh?”

The Giant God suddenly gasped in astonishment.

—-

“Huh?”

“Strange…”

The Horizontal-Toothed Beast had already charged before him, head thrust toward his mouth as if gathering energy.

“Insane much?”

“Shouldn’t you flee while I’m stunned by your hideousness?”

“Not that running’d help—I’d just recall you with my middle finger. Same outcome.”

“But you’d gain seconds! Minutes even! Yet here you are—charging closer?”

“Gawking slack-jawed?”

“What, having a meal together?”

Trilobite didn’t ponder the beast’s motives. When food offered itself, why question it?

Devour first!

“Aaaa—chomp—!”

As Trilobite’s crimson maw descended again, the beast’s already-ugly face contorted further in terror.

This time, Trilobite didn’t hesitate for even a millisecond!