Reborn In A Perverse Monster World! My System Adapts To Everything!

Chapter 125: The End Of Maldred.

Tauriel screamed—a raw, primal sound that tore through the chamber like a blade. Her body arched off the marble floor, her hands clawing at the air, her voice cracking with terror.

The fragment of her soul that had been trapped within Maldred had returned, carrying with it echoes of horror she could not comprehend.

She had seen darkness. Felt hunger. Experienced the cold grip of consumption as something vast and ancient had tried to devour her. And beneath it all, she had felt a presence—small, fragile, yet somehow connected to her. A piece of her that had been torn away and given to the void.

The baby.

The thought surfaced through the chaos of her mind, sharp and undeniable. She had not known she was pregnant. She had not even considered the possibility. But the fragment of her soul that had been bound to the child had sensed its presence—had felt its tiny, fierce resistance against the darkness.

Tauriel’s screams faded into ragged sobs. Her body trembled violently, her fingers curling against the stone floor.

The queen knelt beside her, her eyes were cold but not unkind. She raised her hand and pressed a finger to Tauriel’s lips. The queen had changed drastically changed compared to how she was before disappearing.

"Be silent," she commanded, her voice low and firm. "There are ears that do not need to hear what comes next."

Tauriel’s breath hitched. She looked past the queen’s shoulder and saw the other elves—pale, frightened, standing at the edges of the chamber. They had seen their former leader reduced to this. They had heard her scream. But they knew better than to approach.

Tauriel nodded weakly. Her voice, when it came, was barely a whisper. "What happened to me?"

The queen’s eyes flickered. "Your soul was consumed. Or rather, a fragment of it was." She paused. "The one who devoured it was forced to expel it. He could not hold onto it any longer."

"Who?"

The queen’s jaw tightened. "Maldred." But this was a name she shouldn’t have know unless she had encountered him personally.

Tauriel’s blood ran cold. She had heard the name before—whispers in the dark corners of the Marrow since her soul was in the belly of Maldred, warnings spoken by those who had ventured too close. The lord of hunger. The devourer of souls, he went by many names as the memories of those he had consumed all overlapped for a few seconds.

"Maldred," she repeated, her voice hollow. "He is the one who—"

"Yes."

The queen’s gaze dropped to her hands, folded in her lap. For a moment, her composure cracked. Just a fraction. Just enough for Tauriel to see the weight of something ancient and terrible pressing down on her.

"I know this because I have experienced it myself," the queen said quietly. "I was gone for twenty years. You assumed I had abandoned my throne." She shook her head. "I did not leave by choice. I was taken."

Tauriel’s eyes widened. "Taken? By whom?"

"Maldred." The queen’s voice was flat, drained of emotion. "He captured me. Tried to make me bear his child. He wanted an heir—a vessel that could hold his power without being consumed. He thought I would be the perfect vessel."

Tauriel stared at her. "Did he—"

"He succeeded."

The words hung in the air like a blade suspended above them. Tauriel felt her stomach turn. The queen, her sovereign, had been subjected to the same horror she had only glimpsed.

"The child was bound to the Marrow," the queen continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "I could feel it. Every moment, I could feel the Marrow’s will pressing down on me, trying to claim me, to make me part of its eternal cycle. I knew I had to escape."

"How did you?" Tauriel asked, her voice trembling.

The queen’s eyes met hers. "I removed my womb."

Tauriel’s breath caught. The image was too terrible to comprehend—the queen, alone, performing a ritual that would sever her connection to the child and the Marrow both.

"And the child?" Tauriel whispered.

The queen’s gaze dropped. "I removed it too. It was the only way to break the bond. But to escape the Marrow, I needed more. I needed a catalyst—a force powerful enough to tear open a hole in the barrier that surrounded the wasteland."

She paused, her voice hardening. "That catalyst is the reason that thing exists. He was sent to the Marrow to fulfill a purpose he does not yet understand."

Tauriel’s mind raced. "Jason? How does he—"

"He is the one who will break the cycle." The queen’s eyes burned with a fierce, fiery light. "I do not know how. I do not know when. But I know that he is the key."

The queen rose to her feet, her white robes pooling around her. The other elves had retreated further, their eyes wide with fear and confusion.

"The Marrow perceives time differently," the queen said. "What felt like years to me was only hours in the outside world. Only after I escaped did I realize that twenty years had passed. My body is still catching up to the current perception of time. That is why I have been... distant."

Tauriel pushed herself up, her arms trembling. "And the baby? The one that was inside me?"

The queen’s expression softened. "That is the child of an abomination. But it saved your life."

-

Jason stood before Maldred, his wooden sword still in hand, the golden light of the Marrow pulsing faintly around him. The giant was on his knees, bound by roots, his iron-grey skin cracked and oozing black ichor from a dozen wounds. His golden eyes, once blazing with centuries of fury and hunger, were now wide with something Jason had never expected to see.

Fear.

Jason sighed. The sound was heavy, weary, carrying the weight of everything that had led to this moment. The battles. The deaths. The sacrifices. The endless, grinding struggle to survive in a world that had tried to break him at every turn.

"You really are weak at the end of the day," Jason said, his voice flat and cold. "All that power. All those centuries. All those souls you consumed. And here you are, on your knees, begging for your life."

Maldred’s throat bobbed. His massive frame trembled. His hands, which had crushed mountains and torn apart armies, now lay limp at his sides.

"Please," he rasped, his voice cracking. "I can give you anything. Power, knowledge, souls. Anything you desire. I have accumulated more than you could imagine. Spare me, and I will serve you for eternity."

Jason glanced over his shoulder at the Shade Lord and Ember King. They knelt in silence, their ancient forms bowed, their power subdued. Their eyes, one burning with molten fire and the other glowing with spectral light, were fixed on the ground before them.

Jason hadn’t expected them to submit so easily. He hadn’t expected them to kneel at all. But here they were, two of the most powerful creatures in existence, bending their will to his.

"Anything, huh?" Jason turned back to Maldred. A cold smile played at the corner of his lips. "I will give you a chance before I take your soul and dish it to those two over there."

Maldred’s eyes darted toward the kneeling lords. His breath quickened. His entire body tensed. He knew what they would do to him if Jason left him to them. They would not be quick. They would not be merciful. They would tear him apart piece by piece, soul by soul, until nothing remained. The Shade Lord would consume his essence, and the Ember King would burn away whatever was left.

"What do you want?" Maldred asked, his voice cracking. "Name your price. I will pay it."

Jason shrugged. "Thalion needs a new body. His old one is dead, and there’s only one body here that can hold his power." He gestured at Maldred’s massive frame. "Yours."

Maldred’s eyes widened. His mouth opened and closed soundlessly. "You want me to give up my body? My vessel? The only thing that keeps me anchored to this existence?"

"I want you to expel yourself and find a new vessel somewhere else." Jason’s voice was cold, absolute. "Or you can lose your soul right now and stop existing altogether. The choice is yours."

The offer hung in the air between them, heavy and absolute. Maldred’s mind raced, grasping for a way out, for a loophole, for anything that would save him. He could survive. He could find another body. It would take time, but he would live. The other option—oblivion—was absolute.

Maldred looked at the two lords. They had not moved. They had not spoken. They simply watched, their ancient eyes fixed on him like predators waiting for a command.

Jason saw the hesitation and smiled. "It’s fine. They won’t give chase."

Maldred’s shoulders sagged. His massive frame seemed to deflate. He closed his eyes, and a faint light emerged from his chest—his soul, expelling itself from his body. It drifted upward, fragile and exposed, a pale shimmer against the darkness of the chamber.

Before it could move more than a few inches, the Shade Lord and Ember King moved.

Their swords struck simultaneously—one of shadow, one of molten fire—colliding in the center of Maldred’s soul. The impact was blinding. A shockwave of pure annihilation rippled outward, erasing Maldred’s essence in a single, devastating moment.

His soul did not shatter. It did not scatter. It simply ceased to exist, crushed between the twin forces of shadow and flame.

Jason shrugged. "Hey, I said they wouldn’t give chase." His smile widened. "I never said they wouldn’t kill him where he stood."

Thalion’s soul surfaced within Maldred’s body. The giant’s form shuddered, its golden eyes flickering, its massive frame convulsing. For a moment, there was chaos—the struggle of a soul trying to claim a vessel that had never been meant for it.

Then, stillness.

The body that had once belonged to Maldred opened its eyes. They were no longer gold. They were a deep, familiar blue.

Thalion looked at Jason. His lips parted. His voice, when it came, was raw and broken.

"Jason?"

Jason smiled. "Hello, stranger."

Thalion’s eyes welled with tears. They spilled down his cheeks, tracing paths through the grime and ichor on his face. His massive hands rose to his face, trembling, as if he could not believe he was still alive.

"I thought... I thought I was gone," Thalion whispered. "I thought I would never—"

"You’re here now." Jason’s voice was soft. "That’s all that matters."

Ylva watched from the shadows. Her throat tightened. Her eyes burned. She tried to hold it together, tried to be strong, but the sight of Thalion weeping—of Jason standing there, patient and kind—broke something inside her.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Mae sobbing openly. The cow woman’s face was a mess of tears and mucus, her brown eyes swollen, her body shaking. She looked horrendous. Absolutely horrendous.

And Ylva started crying too.

She didn’t try to stop it. She let the tears fall. Let the relief wash over her. They had survived. Against all odds, they had survived.

The Shade Lord and Ember King stood in silence. Their forms were still, their eyes fixed on Jason. They had not been dismissed. They had not been commanded. They simply waited.

Jason felt it before he saw it.

[Ding!]

[Incoming request!]

[Two new summons acquired!]

[Ember Lord] [Shade Lord]

[Accept Summons? Y/N?]

Jason blinked. The screen hovered in front of him, glowing faintly. His lips curled into a grin.

"Fuck yes!" he muttered.

He pressed accept. The two lords did not react visibly, but Jason felt something shift—a connection, a bond, a thread of loyalty that bound them to his will.

Jason turned to face the others. Thalion was still weeping, his massive frame shaking. Ylva was wiping her eyes, pretending she wasn’t crying. Mae was still sobbing uncontrollably.

The Marrow as it had been known—a prison for the worst criminals in existence—had been a lie. It had trapped anyone who stumbled into it. To survive here, one had to become a criminal. The true horror was not that the Marrow held monsters. It was that it made them.

But now, everyone was free to leave. Thanks to Jason.

He looked up at the sky. The grey clouds were beginning to part. Faint sunlight streamed through the cracks in the barrier.

"It’s over," Jason said quietly.

Thalion looked up, his blue eyes shining.

"Is it?"

Jason smiled.

"Yeah," he said. "It is."