Mithra followed Nino's team into Sunshine Village.
By now, the breach in the city wall and the surrounding residential area had been transformed into a Chrysalis Cursed Being village. Aside from the absence of massive mounds of flesh, the place was likely indistinguishable from the Eternal Night Phantom World.
As soon as the team caught up, the Cursed Beings immediately converged to block their path.
At that moment, a scout hurried to Nino's side to report: "The village periphery has been secured by our Antitity Flare Wall Miracle. The enemy cannot break out and is retreating toward the top of the city wall breach!"
Mithra glanced at the blazing wall of fire nearby. The flames roared toward the sky, aggressively raising the temperature of the surrounding air.
[Antitity Flare: Miracle of Flame. A Miracle of righteous fire that uses hardened will as fuel to incinerate evil. When shaped into a fire wall, it remains formless yet surpasses the tangible, capable of repelling Curses. The more will used as fuel, the higher the wall ascends.]
Nino quickly looked toward the summit of the breach. Occasionally, civilian corpses tumbled from above, hitting the ground and transforming into wriggling masses of flesh.
"To the city wall! Everyone, stay alert!" Nino shouted before charging forward.
The terrain at the city wall breach was complex. Using it as a battlefield severely neutralized their numerical advantage.
The team threaded through narrow paths along the wall. Along the way, they were frequently ambushed by civilians converted into Cursed Beings, briefly plunging the line into chaos.
Following the dense Miracle of Curses and the rhythmic thumping of a heartbeat echoing in his ears, Nino surged forward, his Ignition-flamed straight sword carving a path through the opposition.
Busheng stood upon a narrow suspended bridge, watching Nino fight his way toward him. At this point, he was too enthralled to continue fleeing.
He was inviting Nino onto the bridge. The narrow, precarious terrain completely eliminated any risk of being surrounded.
Busheng had deployed a vast number of Cursed Beings along the way to exhaust the pursuers. If Nino failed to arrive, he could simply wait, destroy the bridge, and escape—or at least buy himself more time.
However, he now felt a much more intense desire to personally stop his pursuers.
Nino stepped onto the bridge, his Ignition straight sword ignited once more, and charged directly at Busheng.
Busheng's fingers splayed out, extending and sharpening into curved scimitars to meet the attack. The two engaged in a fierce duel upon the bridge, their blades flashing under the light of the setting sun.
After a bout of close-quarters combat, Nino retreated, waving his hand to unleash several fireballs that fanned out to cover the front.
Busheng's chest erupted with a barrel made of flesh and bone, which began firing biological projectiles in rapid succession.
Fireballs and projectiles collided continuously, neither side gaining the upper hand for a moment.
Suddenly, a dark blue light flickered beside Busheng.
Busheng spun around, but the Hunter Greatsword was already embedded in his face.
Slash!
The upper half of his skull flew into the air. Mithra seized the opening and kicked Busheng's body off the bridge.
Normally, a direct hit to the head would permanently kill a Flesh Transmutation Believer if they could not shift their vital organs in time.
However, Busheng was clearly no ordinary Flesh Transmutation Believer.
Tentacles sprouted from his limbs, snagging the edges of nearby structures to pull himself back up. One tentacle snatched the severed half of his head and fused it back onto his neck, quickly reforming his youthful face.
"It's you again!" Busheng glared at Mithra, his face contorted with rage.
"It is I," Mithra replied earnestly.
Her blunt demeanor only fueled Busheng's inexplicable fury. He hissed: "I'll cut out your tongue!"
Mithra: ?
Did she say something wrong? Was she not just speaking the truth?
But no sooner had Busheng spoken than Nino, swinging his sword from a distance, sent a wave of flaming energy streaking toward him. Busheng dodged the strike, but instead of counterattacking, he retreated higher up the city wall.
Mithra watched Busheng's twisted form.
["Chrysalis Larva," Busheng: The "arm" has seized the "heart." Even if the flesh is insufficient, its symbolism is nearing completion. The crawling flesh of Transmutation struggles within the chrysalis. Will it be reborn as itself, or devolve completely into a crawling thing?]
The prefix in the Eyes of Night description had changed. Busheng had entered a critical phase.
Nino walked to Mithra's side and gave a slight nod to thank her for the reinforcement before continuing the relentless pursuit.
As they moved, Nino's techniques became grand and expansive. A Believer who had achieved full-body Sensory Synchronization fought with absolute abandon, creating a terrifying momentum without reservation.
Flesh monsters and flames clashed as they chased one another through the architecture.
In Mithra's eyes, various flame-type Miracles—some she understood and others she had never seen—continuously erupted from Nino's body. It was a fascinating spectacle.
But with the immediate area turned into a sea of fire, it was very difficult for anyone else to intervene.
Busheng was eventually cornered at the top of the wall. His entire body churned violently, emitting an ominous red glow.
Nino closed in, his body encased in flame-armor, his aura surging.
Busheng looked at Nino. Tentacles extended from his body, his flesh compressing and retracting until it transformed into dozens of razor-sharp, whip-like blades. He launched them all toward Nino with forceful intent.
Nino calmly parried with his sword, deflecting the whips and releasing flames to sear the flesh.
After blocking the majority of the blades, he seized his moment. Erupting with a sudden burst of stored strength, he stomped fiercely on the ground, sending stone fragments flying. His entire body, like a lion of fire, charged forward.
The whip-blades retracted quickly, attempting to weave a defensive net while new blades thrust forward to intercept him.
A dark blue light flickered again, accompanied by a series of sharp, metallic clangs.
Mithra moved like a ghost, weaving through the gaps of the fleshy tentacles. With a greatsword in one hand and a straight sword in the other, she carved through the air as if dancing. Every tentacle obstructing Nino's path was severed.
Having cleared the way with extreme speed, Mithra stood near Busheng, lightly striking her twin blades together under his vexed gaze before vanishing again.
She left Busheng to face the raging inferno alone.
Boom!
A violent explosion rocked the area. The flesh that had formed Busheng's armor was blasted apart in large chunks. His entire body was sent flying backward, reverting to his original small stature.
Nino stepped out of the smoke, breathing heavily and splattered with Busheng's blood and ichor.
Busheng spat out a mouthful of blood, staring at Nino with wide, bloodshot eyes.
"You finally touched my flesh!"
He had intentionally sacrificed his defense to ensure that a portion of his flesh would not be burned away, allowing it to land directly on Nino's body.
To achieve this, he had been willing to take massive damage.
Nino's eyes widened slightly.
Hiss!
The tiny fragments of flesh clinging to his skin suddenly began to sprout, feeding on his body as if it were fertile soil!
Mithra moved to Nino's side, intending to help him tear them away, but Nino was already half-kneeling on the ground, his body enveloped in a protective shroud of Antitity Flare.
"His flesh possesses a potent corrupting power. Do not touch me carelessly, Mithra," Nino warned. He could feel his own heartbeat accelerating, pulsing with a newfound, erratic strength.
Mithra and he exchanged a brief, understanding glance. She then decisively turned away, the Hunter Greatsword in her hand flickering with an eerie light as the Eyes of Night slowly began to unseal.
Busheng struggled to his feet, his movements slow and ragged. "You truly believe a pair of meager rats like you could be my match? Scoundrels."
"But are you not also gravely wounded?" Mithra replied, her pace never faltering.
"I am nearly complete now! Soon, I shall become a fragment of the god!" Busheng snarled, a twisted sneer spreading across his lips. "Damage from such ordinary Miracles is already losing its sting. Even at great cost, I will cut out your tongue and teach you how to become part of me. I might even keep your face as a souvenir to admire."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a flash of dark blue sword energy streaked through the air. Several of Busheng's tentacles were severed instantly, and even his arm was sent flying in a spray of ichor.
"Miracle of Divinity, I possess it. A god-killing weapon, I have that too. Tell me, is this not a remarkable coincidence?" Mithra's voice was ethereal and wavering, her pupils flickering between their normal state and a fully dilated, predatory slit.
Busheng's arrogant expression vanished, replaced by a mask of gritted teeth and fury. He lashed out with his whip-blades once more, attempting to ensnare Mithra.
Bang!
At the sound of a crisp metallic ring, Mithra vanished. When she reappeared, she was already within Busheng's guard. Her Hunter Greatsword and straight sword worked in perfect tandem, unleashing a relentless and seamless barrage of slashes and thrusts.
Her simple yet exquisitely coordinated attacks forced Busheng into a desperate defensive stance, driving him back step by step. Her bizarre, fluid movement made his swift whip-blades nearly impossible to land; he was so frantic that he almost tangled himself in his own appendages.
Most importantly, the occasional bursts of invisible sword energy forced him to expend a massive amount of mental effort on defense, fearing that a single lapse in concentration would result in a fatal wound. Each strike that connected tormented his spirit and withered his flesh. He knew that if he could just grasp Mithra once, he could tear her apart, but the opportunity remained frustratingly out of reach.
His tangled net of whip-blades was repeatedly evaded by Mithra's flickering steps. Busheng sprouted numerous additional arms, clawing wildly in every direction, but he caught nothing but air. Another wave of sword energy swept through; despite his thick layers of flesh-and-blood armor, he could not prevent deep, bloody gouges from appearing across his body.
Mithra's silhouette flashed around him, appearing in front, then behind, then darting to either side.
Bang!
By now, merely hearing that sharp clanging sound caused Busheng to look around instinctively, even when Mithra only struck her blades together without activating Resonance Leap.
Suddenly, Busheng abandoned the fight and rushed toward the edge of the city wall, leaping into the void. Mithra followed without a moment's hesitation, jumping after him.
Below them lay the Transmission Point they had previously opened. He had been fighting a losing battle against Nino and Mithra on the wall for the sole purpose of reaching this exit. He had never intended to die here; escape was his true mission.
As they fell, Busheng saw his chance. His whip-blades thrust upward with lethal speed. Mithra tilted her head, narrowly avoiding a strike to her skull, but the blades pierced deep into her body.
Seizing this rare opening, Busheng did not let go. One blade swept across her face, shattering Mithra's lower jaw, while a hooked scimitar-limb followed through, severing Mithra's tongue entirely!
Busheng waited for a look of panic to cross her face, but Mithra remained unnervingly calm. Just as he prepared to exert his full strength and tear her limb from limb, he saw her reach out toward him.
A Ki totem materialized in the air. Object Manipulation!
A massive quantity of the severed flesh-blades Mithra had cut away earlier rained down from above, impaling Busheng as they fell. The two combatants tormented each other in mid-air until they finally slammed into the ground in unison.
Thump-thump!
Two heavy impacts echoed, followed by the wet, fragmented sounds of debris hitting the earth.
After a long silence, Busheng was the first to reassemble himself from a state of mangled flesh. Struggling to maintain a humanoid shape, he crawled desperately toward the Transmission Point. The lifeless fleshy masses scattered around were far less efficient to re-digest than living tissue, but he had no choice.
Just as his hand reached for the portal...
"Did I give you permission to run, insect?"
A cold, clear voice echoed through the clearing, causing Busheng to freeze in his tracks.
[Cost: You have lost your tongue.]
[Compensation received: Mocking Tongue.]
[Ambato's Signature: Even a tongue counts? Well then, I suppose it's my turn.]
Mithra slowly emerged from the undergrowth. Her wide mouth had helped absorb the impact of the fall, leaving her largely uninjured. Though her lower jaw had not yet fully recovered, a long, greenish, corpse-like tongue had replaced her original one. A twisted, laughing mouth totem was etched into its surface.
Mithra was as surprised as the newly acquainted Ambato Signature that a tongue would be considered a significant loss. But since the "boss" had provided the compensation, she intended to use it.
The Mocking Tongue, unable to be contained within her mouth, slithered like a serpent, exploring the air. Unlike the Hand of the Abyss or the Prosthetic Miracle Hand, this limb possessed a distinct, though less active, self-consciousness. It moved of its own accord and could assist in speaking, though it was unlikely to act as a third arm for combat.
Its true power was not in physical force, but in mockery. By utilizing language, it forced a target to fixate on the user, manipulating their emotions and preventing them from disengaging from the fight. In essence, it amplified the influence of one's words on the minds and hearts of others.
Mithra had not expected to receive compensation for a severed tongue. Her "bosses" truly did oversee a vast and peculiar range of things.
Lost in his own thoughts, Busheng had already turned his head, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Mithra.
Her tongue regenerated with supernatural speed, and the Mocking Tongue was just about to detach.
Mithra, seizing the final moment of the effect, added one more sentence: "Help me cut this one off, too."
Her calm words, amplified by the Mocking Tongue, pierced directly into Busheng's mind. Consumed by a blind rage, he completely ignored the nearby Transmission Point.
Busheng abandoned all pretense of self-preservation. A massive surge of flesh and blood transformed into sweeping whip-blades, lashing out violently in every direction.
The shadows of these whip-blades moved so fast they were nearly invisible.
Mithra's Wide Mouth quickly opened, spitting out its own tongue to engage the attack. However, even the Wide Mouth—which could stall a Multi-limbed Abomination—found itself briefly overwhelmed by Busheng's frantic outburst.
[Your tongue has regenerated. The Mocking Tongue departs.]
[Ambato: Feel free to cut off your tongue and play whenever you like.]
Thank you, boss. I appreciate the sentiment.
The impact of the Mocking Tongue was undeniable. Busheng's explosive state made him far more difficult to handle, and the Wide Mouth's tongue was severed several times in a matter of seconds.
Mithra could not find a suitable opening to close the distance with Resonance Leap.
In his fury, Busheng's whip-blades were significantly faster than they had been in his earlier, more conservative state.
She had intended to pull him back, but her words had accidentally triggered a total eruption of his power.
Still, it was fine.
No matter how far he pushed his performance, his total pool of power remained the same. Unleashing everything at once without reservation would only result in a fleeting, short-lived peak.
Mithra quickly cast Calmness on herself, then slowly advanced while parrying the chaotic whip-blades. Occasionally, a blade would graze her body, leaving wounds that regenerated almost instantly.
Once he had vented his rage, he would eventually falter. Only then would Busheng try to reach the Transmission Point again.
Mithra knew she had no room for error.
Closer. A little closer.
An ominous black aura began to emanate from Mithra's body, and her eyes gradually became vacant.
Suddenly, Busheng snapped out of it.
How did I lose my mind over a few casual words from this brat?! Not good... my flesh and blood have been drained far too much. I have to get out of here!
Busheng left a portion of his whip-blades to pin Mithra down, then spun around and reached out to touch the Transmission Point.
At that exact moment.
Mithra suddenly transformed into a Stranger. A terrifying shriek erupted as she tore through the surrounding whip-blades with her bare hands and lunged at Busheng.
Simultaneously, a figure emerged from the Transmission Point, appearing directly in front of Busheng!
It was Leon!
Leon's eyes were sharp and spirited, the Water-Splashing Totems outlined within his pupils. He manipulated the flowing water, casting a Miracle and transforming it in the same breath.
[Shock Cascade: Water Miracle. A Miracle that creates flowing water with the force of a plummeting waterfall. Its sound and momentum can both be used to manipulate power, blending absolute firmness with fluid gentleness.]
[A waterfall does not only fall downward.]
Hydro Tech: River Rage!
The power of Shock Cascade was magnified several times over. Leon's palm strikes shot forward, slamming directly into Busheng's chest.
With the Stranger closing in from behind, Busheng's chances of escape were now infinitesimal. Leon's strike, while not fatal, completely extinguished his last glimmer of hope.
"You son of a bitch!" His lingering fury finally boiled over. Busheng suddenly extended one arm, piercing Leon's abdomen and sending him flying.
Leon was tossed aside like a broken toy, offering no resistance as he slammed into the city wall behind him.
Then, Busheng was pulverized.
Mithra was evolving, and so was her Stranger. This gradual improvement was magnified several times over whenever she entered that state.
The Stranger held two blades, its arms slowly spreading like a butcher who had just finished his work. Before its eyes, the mangled flesh—shattered in an instant—hadn't even hit the ground before scattering in all directions.
Busheng's last remaining eye met the empty sockets of the emaciated walking corpse.
A primal fear of a higher-ranking entity was etched into his soul as he died, struggling until the very end.
Almost instantly, Mithra broke free from her Stranger state, though her head still spun with dizziness.
Cutting the insect into fragments didn't feel like enough. She continued to strike, smashing the remains into minced meat and jerky until nothing recognizable was left.
Anyone who dares to provoke me will die without a grave!
Calmness.
Ding, ding, ding...
She repeatedly cast Calmness on herself, forcing the magic into her mind until she finally suppressed the raging urge for violence.
Mithra glanced at the wriggling remains on the ground. No Life Lock appeared. It seemed Busheng's lives had finally run out. Fearing the fleshy remains might still try to reassemble, Mithra waved her hand, leaving a mass of flames to incinerate everything.
Then she moved forward, approaching the weakly breathing Leon.
At the Transmission Point, motes of light gathered once more. Redwyn finally caught up, panting: "Crab, don't... What the hell?!"
Seeing Mithra standing over the bonfire and Leon slumped against the wall, the scene looked exactly as if Mithra had just murdered him.
Mithra turned her head at the sound. Her indifferent expression, illuminated by the flickering firelight, sent a cold shiver down Redwyn's spine.
"What is the matter with you two?" Mithra asked.
"The crab—I mean, Leon—suspected that Busheng's escape route was flawed. For those from the Enchanted Realm, a Transmission Point is the most logical choice for a retreat. Fleeing outward would have been a desperate gamble, so he speculated there might be a hidden, closer Transmission Point near the breach. He tested a point within the city and actually found this location, so he came straight through..." Redwyn explained, his words tumbling out at high speed.
Mithra nodded and shifted her gaze to Leon.
Leon's abdomen, where he had been impaled, was already sprouting fresh flesh that pulsed rhythmically. His heartbeat was becoming dangerously erratic.
She looked back at the charred remains of the flesh she had incinerated.
Even with the destruction of the Chrysalis Larva, the curse would not simply dissipate; it might even intensify. The curse was the lingering vengeance of the Wandering Gods against a world that coveted them, a power that was both persistent and insidious.
"Even if I am unsure if I actually provided any help, finally stopping him brings me a sense of relief, haha." Leon, despite his critical state, still tried to maintain his characteristic facade.
"A momentary lapse of judgment that nearly cost your life?" Mithra inquired.
"On the contrary. We are the elite of the Enchanted Realm. And I, specifically, am an extraordinary second-generation aristocrat of that realm. Naturally, I must prove my worth through action," Leon said with a strained laugh.
"Is that so? Then you may rest easy and depart," Mithra replied with a nod.
Before Redwyn could process her words, Mithra drew her hammer, leaving him utterly bewildered.
"I recall you mentioning that you still have a Life Lock, correct?"
"Yes," Leon confirmed.
The moment he finished speaking, the hammer descended, shattering Leon's skull.
Red motes of light appeared, rapidly fracturing and then re-coalescing. Leon's body reverted to its original, pristine state. He startled awake as if escaping a nightmare, bolting upright.
"Hoo… So that is what death feels like? It is truly… an experience. I suppose this counts as having faced the end, yes? Hmm~." Leon panted, wiping cold sweat from his brow, though his voice still trembled uncontrollably.
The parasitic curse of the Chrysalis flesh was a major complication. Leon's previous condition had been critical; had the Wide Mouth attempted to "clean" him, it would have had to consume more than half of his body. It was far more efficient to simply kill him once and rely on a Life Lock to refresh his physical state.
A mass of mangled flesh fell beside Leon—a byproduct of the Life Lock's regeneration as it expelled the cursed foreign matter. Mithra promptly incinerated it.
Leon stood up. Redwyn watched him with a look of deep suspicion.
"What is it?" Leon asked, sensing the odd stare.
"How did it feel… being hammered to death by Mithra?"
"How did it feel? Do you truly wish for me to relive that sensation? No, thank you. I hope that was my final death," Leon said, shaking his head.
Redwyn nodded solemnly and patted his shoulder: "In this, we are truly brothers."
Leon: ?
What was this monkey talking about?
He soon learned the truth through Redwyn's awkward explanation of his own dark history of being hammered to death by Mithra. He nearly burst out laughing.
Mithra ignored the two behind her, sifting through the cooling embers for anything of value.
She found a scattered Inspiration: a semi-transparent, coiled insect enveloped in white light, resembling a pupa waiting for a metamorphosis that would never come.
["Chrysalis Larva" scattered Inspiration: Originates from a mutant fused with the "Chrysalis" arm and heart. An incomplete youth who could not wait for the light; his path was a crawling road paved with blood. To escape his unbearable incompleteness, he voluntarily became food for the Chrysalis. Absorption greatly increases Senseforce and enhances the deification comprehension of Flesh Transmutation Miracles, but will also mark the user as the next target for that crawling flesh.]
["I will mend my flaws and become a perfect being, a god. Then you shall be my apostles. I will protect you. Wait for me, wait for me…"]
Mithra felt nothing as she read the description.
Then, she found something else.
A fleshy, pale heart, with tentacle-like blood vessels still wriggling weakly, clutched tightly by a gaunt, withered hand. Mithra tried to pry them apart, but they were fused together, inseparable.
["Chrysalis" Hand holding the Heart: The "Chrysalis" once discarded nearly all its physical form, yet a few specific organs maintained a state of "Returning." This is its anchoring point, nearly impossible to destroy. Even years after the main body's death, it continues to curse the world, awaiting recovery. A precious material suitable for forging powerful tools or weapons.]
Mithra's eyes locked onto the word "weapons."
As a material from a Wandering God, perhaps it could be forged into a God-killing Weapon. However, she wondered if her Fleshforge automation could achieve such a feat. She had not yet fully mastered the knowledge left by Fasellos.
Mithra tucked the item away for now.
The Wide Mouth's tongue flickered eagerly, but seeing that Mithra had no intention of sharing, it regretfully settled for scavenging the surrounding scorched meat.
By the time the remains had stopped wriggling, Mithra realized she still hadn't received the "Hunt Wandering God" triple-choice reward.
Does Busheng not count?
Then it clicked: he hadn't actually become a "Chrysalis," only a "Chrysalis Larva." What a waste.
Suddenly remembering something, Mithra turned back to Leon: "Did you see anything when you were thrown back?"
"What do you mean?" Leon was confused. "I was hit by a palm strike and sent flying. All I saw was that twisted face. I didn't have time to notice anything else."
"Never mind," Mithra said casually, turning away.
Even for the fragile students of Earth, being seen in her Stranger form wasn't a catastrophe. They likely wouldn't recognize what it was, assuming it was just another powerful monster. Besides, given her flesh regeneration, Weapon Forge, and a tongue extending from her chest, she was already quite "monstrous" by their standards.
Despite all that, Mithra still considered herself an ambitious, ordinary person—a quality even Instructor Chensar had acknowledged.
Shaking off her thoughts, Mithra looked toward the summit of the Xyrin City wall.
She wondered if Nino was still holding his own.