Deep within the Forbidden Forest, an orange cat leapt nimbly from branch to branch, its movements so swift that afterimages trailed behind it.
Hastur felt amazing.
Ever since it started cultivating Divine Qi Art, its mind had grown clearer, its body no longer felt as fragile as before, and a mysterious breath—sometimes warm, sometimes cold—flowed through it.
As this inner breath circulated, Hastur felt light as a swallow, its senses sharpened, and even its normally unused claws had become noticeably sharper.
Right now, it desperately wanted to find something—anything—to practice on.
But the only beings capable of taking a hit besides its master were:
1. The big idiot inside the master's personal domain (Reality Marble Garden), and
2. …No one else.
As for Fafnir?
Tch. Too fragile. Hastur felt it could flatten him with a single paw.
"So what if he knows how to use lightning? What's so impressive about that? My inner breath can deflect all your flashy lightning spells."
But the master had no time to play, and the big idiot refused to step out of the garden, so Hastur had never gotten the chance to show off its martial prowess.
The Basilisk would have been a good opponent—except it was the master's tool, and killing it wasn't allowed…
Suddenly, Hastur stopped and looked up.
Its pupils narrowed sharply.
A tiny black dot in the sky.
Fafnir.
Hmph. Clearly sent by the master to "assist."
As if it needed help.
Especially not from someone who always stole its mice.
Annoyed, Hastur lowered its gaze—and spotted a squirrel peeking from the neighboring tree.
It opened its mouth wide.
A thick, writhing tentacle shot out, twisting and reshaping itself into something like a human arm without skin—just exposed muscle.
The grotesque arm extended infinitely and grabbed the unfortunate squirrel.
Then, in sync with Hastur's controlled breathing, the muscle bulged, and visible white currents of energy spiraled across its surface.
"Meow!! (Get lost, you stupid bird!!)"
With a forceful swing, Hastur hurled the squirrel like a living cannonball straight toward the black speck in the sky.
High above, Fafnir—who had been watching Hastur from afar—noticed the fast-approaching projectile. Instinctively, he spread his wings. Golden feathers flared, and several bolts of golden lightning rained down upon the incoming object.
To his astonishment, the black projectile endured everything and reached him anyway.
Fafnir stared blankly as the now-slowing projectile floated right in front of him.
It…
…was a squirrel.
The squirrel wasn't injured at all—just panicked.
Not even a singed hair.
Fafnir was stunned.
He clenched the squirrel in a talon and examined it again and again, refusing to believe it.
Even a rock he struck with lightning would shatter into eight pieces.
So why could a squirrel survive completely unscathed!?
Fafnir possessed perfect-grade biological gene segments and innate thunder abilities.
A single casual flap could generate enough current to ionize the air.
And yet… he was being humiliated by a squirrel Hastur had YEETed at him.
Depressed, Fafnir let out a low whine and flew away without looking back.
Fine.
If that orange cat wants him gone, he'll go.
Once Hastur gets roasted into a bald, crispy cat later, he'll come back and laugh at it.
Watching the black dot in the sky turn around and fly away, Hastur let out a satisfied meow.
Hmph! Hastur needs no supervisor!
Seeing Fafnir leave, Hastur turned and dashed deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
Before coming, Louis had given clear instructions:
To prevent Aragog from using the scroll at too great a distance, Hastur needed to get as close to the Acromantula nest as possible before tossing the Basilisk out.
After running for about half a minute, Hastur arrived at the edge of the Acromantula territory.
White spider silk was everywhere—hanging from trees, wrapping trunks, carpeting the ground. Nothing was spared.
Hastur looked left and right. Its sharp instincts told it no spiders had noticed it yet.
So it opened its mouth…
…and a thick, muscle-bound, sanity-draining tentacle reached inside and dragged out a huge Basilisk head.
To avoid the Basilisk seeing it, Hastur had already wrapped the creature's head tightly in tentacles.
It refused to be subjected to the Basilisk's gaze ever again.
Last time it saw those eyes, it nearly lost half its life.
If not for the monstrous durability of its Eldritch Beast species, it would've died on the spot.
The Basilisk, starved for months in its spatial prison, began struggling desperately the moment it emerged, trying to break free of Hastur's tentacles—but Hastur's strength was far beyond what the Basilisk could resist.
It couldn't escape before, and it certainly couldn't escape now.
After cultivating Divine Qi Art, Hastur was stronger than ever.
The massive Basilisk was dragged out of Hastur's mouth and flung onto the ground.
Starving, denied even a mouse for months, it roared fiercely—releasing its anger and…
Its hunger!
It was starving! It needed food!
And its perfect target—one that satisfied both hunger and vengeance—was right before it!
The moment it hit the ground, the Basilisk lunged at Hastur without hesitation.
Its jaws gaped open, foul poisonous breath spraying out.
At the same time, the Basilisk widened its eyes, trying to kill Hastur with its signature lethal gaze.
But something stunned it—
the hateful orange cat had its eyes closed.
Hahaha! Finally realized it can't escape and is surrendering?
The brain-cell-deficient Basilisk failed to notice something was wrong.
If it had even a shred of intellect, it would have realized—
This was confidence, not fear.
Hastur wasn't giving up.
With its eyes closed, it recalled what it read in the manual and entered a mysterious, transcendent state.
In simple terms:
Heaven-Man (Cat) Unity!
Suddenly, Hastur leapt into the air.
Despite having its eyes shut, every detail of its surroundings appeared vividly in its mind—
including the deadly droplets of poison and the Basilisk's enormous body.
With elegant precision, it dodged the Basilisk's gaping jaws and landed on its head.
A soft pink paw pad stamped down onto the Basilisk's forehead.
BOOM!
Trees snapped.
The ground caved in.
The massive Basilisk slammed into the earth under irresistible force.
Though the damage wasn't severe, it left the serpent dazed—and even angrier.
Hastur ran lightly across the Basilisk's body and darted deeper into the forest.
The Basilisk twisted around, roaring, its colossal form surging forward to chase Hastur down.
A cat and a snake—one fleeing, one pursuing—raced through the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
And the Basilisk's terrifying aura exploded outward in all directions.
The Forbidden Forest boiled.
Or rather—
The entire Acromantula territory boiled.
Countless eight-eyed spiders fled in panic, abandoning prey that was already in their mouths.
Because they felt the presence of their natural enemy.
Right now, running for their lives was all that mattered.
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