Chapter 98
Nille kept the communication ring slightly raised as Maruha's voice stayed on the line.
"Please gather the potions," he said calmly, "I'll handle something first. I might open a small spatial link like before."
There was a short pause.
"…Understood," Maruha replied, more serious now. "Don't push your limits too far."
Nille didn't answer that part.
His attention had already shifted.
From the broken hut opening, he carefully peered through a narrow gap in the wood.
Outside, something had arrived.
A humanoid figure stood at the edge of the swamp settlement.
Nine feet tall.
Heavy presence.
A crocodile head, covered in old scar-like ridges, jaws slightly parted as if it was always on the edge of laughter or hunger. A thick tail dragged behind it, carving shallow lines into the muddy ground. In both hands it carried massive enchanted meat cleavers, each blade engraved with crude but glowing runes that pulsed faintly with mana.
It was not infected.
Not miasma-corrupted.
It was something else entirely.
Controlled.
Intentional.
The dark elves inside the settlement reacted immediately.
They didn't run.
They didn't fight.
They lowered their heads in silence.
Fear wasn't even visible anymore.
It was routine.
Like obedience had become part of survival.
The crocodile-headed being stepped forward with loud, heavy confidence, its voice booming across the swamp air.
"I am Zipacna."
"I have returned to collect my master's offering again."
It tilted its head slightly, scanning the settlement with slow satisfaction.
"Where is the offering?"
The elder dark elf, barely standing, wiped his face—streaked with dried Hydra blood and exhaustion. His voice came out rough, but obedient.
"…It is being prepared."
At his signal, movement echoed from the broken castle gate behind them.
Dozens of dark elves slowly emerged.
Their bodies were thin, sick, and trembling.
Each carried baskets filled with silver ore.
Nille's eyes narrowed slightly from his hidden position.
Silver.
Not food.
Not medicine.
Ore.
Nyx immediately analyzed the situation inside his perception.
"Observation confirmed."
"Resource extraction demand imposed on settlement."
"Material requested: silver ore."
Nille frowned slightly.
"…Why silver?"
Nyx responded after a brief calculation.
"Silver is commonly used in purification metallurgy."
"But…"
A pause.
"This quantity suggests extraction-level dependency rather than trade."
Nyx continued.
"Conclusion: settlement is being used as a resource supplier under coercive control."
Nille stayed still.
Outside, Zipacna laughed, deep, guttural, almost amused.
"Good."
"Make sure it is enough this time."
He stepped closer to the baskets, inspecting them without care for the trembling hands holding them.
"Last time your tribute was lacking."
The elder dark elf lowered his head further.
"…We understand."
Nille's grip tightened slightly on the edge of the wooden wall.
Not because he was afraid.
But because the pattern was clear.
This wasn't random suffering.
This was structured exploitation.
A system.
Nyx spoke quietly again.
"Master."
"Recommendation: wait for full assessment before engagement."
But Nille's eyes were already locked on Zipacna.
The crocodile-headed being shifted slightly, cleavers resting on its shoulders as it turned its gaze across the settlement again.
For a moment, its eyes passed near Nille's hiding position.
Nyx's camouflage layer activated instantly.
To external perception, Nille's presence blurred, like a gap in reality that the mind refused to acknowledge.
Zipacna paused.
Then looked away.
"…Hmph."
It continued forward, uninterested.
Nille exhaled slowly.
Then spoke softly into the ring.
"Maruha."
"Keep preparing the potions."
A brief pause.
"I'm going to open a path soon."
His eyes stayed fixed on Zipacna.
"And I think I just found the reason this place is collapsing."
To external perception, Nille's presence blurred, like a gap in reality that the mind refused to acknowledge.
Zipacna paused.
For a brief moment, its crocodile-like eyes narrowed, scanning the settlement again.
Then it dismissed it.
"…Hmph."
It stepped forward, cleavers resting lazily on its shoulders as if everything here already belonged to it.
Its voice rumbled again, louder now, carrying through the swamp air.
"Where is the young dark elven girl?"
A slow, deliberate pause.
"The daughter of that warrior I killed."
The words landed heavily across the settlement.
The already weakened dark elves stiffened.
Some lowered their heads even further.
Others trembled harder, not daring to speak.
The elder dark elf swallowed, his voice breaking slightly as he replied.
"…She is still inside the hut."
Zipacna tilted its head, almost amused.
"Still alive?"
A low, mocking chuckle escaped its throat.
"Persistent little things… even when broken."
It took another step forward, the swamp mud sinking slightly beneath its massive weight.
Inside the hut, Nille's gaze sharpened.
Nyx immediately responded in his perception.
"Target identification confirmed."
"Hostile entity directly connected to previous trauma event involving Hydra Nyx-class engagement."
A brief pause.
"Threat level: significantly unstable. Emotional aggression present. Combat behavior unpredictable."
Nille didn't move yet.
But his focus changed.
Not curiosity anymore.
Not observation.
Recognition.
Because now the pattern had a face.
And Zipacna, still standing outside the hut, casually lifted one of its cleavers and pointed it toward the settlement as if selecting something.
"…Bring her out."
Its voice dropped slightly, colder now.
"I want to see what remains of a warrior's bloodline after I break it twice."
The swamp went silent again.
Even the miasma seemed to hesitate.
Inside the hut, Nille slowly shifted his stance, still hidden, still unseen.
But no longer just watching.
Preparing.
The Hydra's voice echoed faintly inside Nille's consciousness, fragmented but filled with rising intensity.
"…That one."
Nille narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You recognize him?"
The Hydra's response was slow, strained, like memory itself was damaged.
"He is the one who severed my heads."
A pause.
"But not the one who pinned me."
Nille stayed silent for a moment, analyzing.
"Can you show me how it happened?"
A ripple of silence passed through the Hydra's presence.
Then regret.
"…No visual memory remains."
The corruption and trauma had burned too deeply into its spiritual imprint.
But then, something shifted.
The Hydra's voice steadied.
"But I can help you."
Nille's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Why?"
The answer came without hesitation.
"I wish to regain my dignity."
A second pause.
"…And claim what is mine to settle."
Nyx immediately processed the emotional fluctuation.
"Entity motivation confirmed: restoration of identity integrity."
"Combat support alignment possible."
Nille exhaled slowly.
"…Understood."
Outside the hut, Zipacna continued walking forward, its massive frame casting a long shadow over the swamp settlement.
Its cleavers dragged lightly across the ground now, producing a scraping sound that made the nearby dark elves flinch instinctively.
Its voice rose again, irritated.
"The girl should have come out by now."
A slow pause.
"…Or has fear finally replaced obedience?"
Inside the hut, Nille remained motionless, but fully aware now.
Nyx spoke quietly.
"Target proximity: 12 meters."
"Trajectory indicates direct approach toward hut entrance."
Nille's fingers shifted slightly near his weapon.
The Celestial Cloth tightened almost imperceptibly around his form, preparing layers of concealment and response structure.
The Hydra's presence inside him stabilized, coiling with restrained intent.
Nyx issued a final readout.
"Combat probability: imminent."
And outside, Zipacna stopped directly in front of the hut.
Its head tilted slightly.
"…I can smell fear."
It raised one cleaver slowly.
"…Or something hiding inside it."
The swamp went completely still.
And for the first time since entering the domain, even the miasma seemed to hold its breath.
Zipacna moved first.
Not because it saw clearly, but because something in its instincts triggered warning.
A step back.
A sudden recoil of its massive body.
And in that exact instant, the hut exploded outward.
Wood shattered.
The entrance collapsed inward as Nille's retractable dragon-scaled whip shot forward like a living strike line, tearing through the structure with controlled force.
Zipacna reacted instantly.
Both meat cleavers rose.
CLANG—!
The impact rang out like metal striking a fortress gate.
The whip's trajectory was deflected, but the force behind it still pushed Zipacna half a step back into the swamp mud.
Its eyes sharpened.
"…Tch."
Inside the broken frame of the hut, Nille stepped forward.
Fully revealed now.
Head to toe covered in the Celestial Cloth, its layered structure subtly shifting like breathing fabric, adapting to surrounding energy pressure.
Behind him, the six retractable dragon-scaled whips extended outward in controlled arcs.
No longer chaotic.
Not independent.
Coordinated.
And something inside them was different now.
The Hydra's consciousness, now integrated under a simplified identity: Hyde, flowed through the system like a second layer of awareness.
Not overriding.
Assisting.
Nyx stabilized the synchronization process.
"Hydra consciousness successfully integrated into external combat framework."
"Emotional instability detected, resolving via Celestial Cloth command structure."
Nille spoke calmly, without turning his eyes away from Zipacna.
"Hyde."
"Don't let anger control the movement."
A brief pause.
Then inside his mind, a steadier response came.
"…Understood, Master Nille."
The whips tightened their formation.
Six segmented dragon-scaled strands hovered behind him like controlled extensions of will, each one responding not just to physical motion, but to layered intent shared between Nille, Nyx, and Hyde.
Zipacna rolled its shoulders once, gripping both cleavers tighter.
Its voice dropped.
"So…"
"You're the one hiding in there."
A slow grin formed under its crocodile jaws.
"Interesting."
It shifted its stance, lowering its center of gravity.
The swamp around them trembled slightly from its pressure alone.
But Nille did not move back.
He stepped forward instead.
Just one step.
The whips followed.
Silent.
Coiled.
Waiting.
Nyx issued the final readout.
"Target behavior: aggressive engagement confirmed."
"Combat initiation recommended."
And Zipacna lunged.
Hyde's reach expanded rapidly.
The six dragon-scaled whips stretched outward until they measured nearly twenty feet each, moving like segmented extensions of will rather than simple weapons. Their surfaces glinted with layered spiritual reinforcement as Nyx stabilized their structural output while Hyde supplied raw adaptive regeneration and reactive force.
Now they were more than blades.
They were a multi-function combat system.
Each whip could shift its internal flow on command, releasing corrosive acid bursts, injecting paralytic toxins into impact zones, or channeling compressed fire burst spells through the dragon-scale conduits like a living casting circuit.
Nyx handled structure.
Hyde handled survival adaptation.
And Nille remained the core executor.
The battlefield outside the hut had fully opened.
Zipacna no longer treated it as intimidation.
It engaged.
Its twin meat cleavers came down in heavy, brutal arcs, each strike carrying raw weight and refined killing intent. Unlike the Hydra or previous demons, Zipacna did not hesitate between movements. It read openings instantly.
And it noticed something quickly.
Nille's coordination was still rough.
The whips were powerful—but slightly delayed in correction cycles. Their arcs were too wide, their timing not fully compressed. Every attack carried strength, but not refinement.
Zipacna's eyes narrowed.
"…Predictable."
It shifted suddenly, using one cleaver to hook and redirect a whip mid-flight while stepping inside Nille's defensive spacing.
The swamp mud exploded under its movement as it tried to break into close range.
Nille's gaze sharpened instantly.
He saw it too.
The gap.
Not in power, but in synchronization.
Hyde reacted aggressively, trying to compensate with more force, more output, more raw correction, but that only widened the motion instability.
Nyx immediately intervened.
"Correction directive issued."
"Hyde, observe error patterns instead of force compensation."
"You are protection, not destruction priority."
Hyde paused for a fraction of a second.
Then, it understood.
The whips changed.
Less chaotic force.
More structured response loops.
Shorter arcs.
Tighter returns.
Instead of overwhelming movement, they began to predict Nille's intent and align with it.
Nille exhaled once.
"…Good."
He gave Hyde a narrow window, not for attack, but for learning.
"Adjust now."
Hyde responded internally.
"…Acknowledged."
The whips recalibrated mid-combat.
Zipacna clicked its tongue.
"Training mid-fight?"
It lunged again—but this time, the battlefield structure had already shifted.
Nyx stabilized external prediction layers.
Hyde corrected whip trajectories in real time.
And Nille, moved physically through ARCA.
Not just striking.
Positioning.
Flowing between angles of attack like a hunter reading pressure lines in the air.
A whip snapped forward, this time clean.
Zipacna deflected one cleaver—but the second whip curved mid-air and struck its flank, injecting a burst of paralytic compound.
Zipacna's muscles tensed for a fraction of a second.
Its eyes widened slightly.
"…Tch."
That was the opening.
Nille didn't hesitate.
ARCA activated.
A controlled burst movement.
One step in.
One strike angle formed.
Hyde supported the opening, compressing fire burst energy into the remaining whip lines to seal escape routes.
Nyx stabilized timing convergence.
For the first time, all three systems aligned in the same combat rhythm.
Zipacna realized it too late.
The fight was no longer just power versus power.
It was adaptation versus adaptation.
And Nille had just begun to synchronize.
The swamp island had fully turned into a collapsing battlefield.
Mud churned under every step—heavy, sucking, alive with contamination from the Hydra's dying influence. Broken roots jutted like bones through the surface water, and the abandoned hut behind them shook each time the two forces clashed.
Zipacna came in first, brute confidence, no hesitation.
Twin meat cleavers swung in wide arcs meant to split bodies in half. Each strike carried enough force to tear through tree trunks, but Nille was no longer meeting force with force.
He read it.
A step back. A pivot. A slip through the blind angle.
The cleaver passed inches from his shoulder and buried itself into a wooden post instead.
CRACK.
Nille responded instantly.
A compact elbow strike to Zipacna's wrist.
Not loud. Not flashy.
But compressed spiritual force detonated at contact.
Zipacna's arm jerked backward, not from pain alone, but from disrupted energy flow. His grip loosened for a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
HYDE reacted immediately.
Six dragon-scaled whip-tentacles snapped outward, not attacking, but controlling space. They wrapped around broken trees, roots, and stone fragments, forming a moving defensive lattice around Nille's body.
A shifting barrier system.
Not a weapon anymore.
A shield that thought in angles.
Zipacna clicked his tongue.
"You're slow. You rely on toys."
He charged again.
Nille did not answer.
Because he wasn't thinking about insults.
He was analyzing.
This man is strong, but not refined. He wins by pressure, intimidation, and weight transfer. If I disrupt rhythm, he collapses.
Zipacna swung downward.
Nille stepped inside the arc instead of away from it.
A knee strike hit Zipacna's midsection.
Then a palm strike to the ribs.
Then a rotating elbow into the jawline.
Each movement flowed into the next like a practiced sequence—not wasting motion, not wasting energy.
Spiritual force condensed at each contact point like sealed pressure exploding inward instead of outward.
Zipacna staggered for the first time.
Mud exploded beneath his heels as he tried to stabilize.
HYDE tightened her defensive pattern.
One whip anchored Zipacna's trailing movement leg for half a second.
Half a second was all Nille needed.
He advanced.
A sharp kick to the knee joint.
A second strike—heel pivot into the hip.
A follow-up palm strike into the sternum.
Zipacna's cleavers dropped slightly as his posture broke.
But he was not falling yet.
He roared and forced raw strength back into his limbs, swinging wildly again.
The swamp shattered under the impact.
Trees snapped.
Water sprayed upward like rain.
But Nille had already adjusted distance.
Too wide. Too predictable. He resets after every overcommitment.
HYDE moved again—this time intercepting, not striking.
Whips wrapped the cleavers mid-swing, redirecting their momentum into the ground instead of Nille's body.
BOOM.
Mud erupted.
Nille stepped through the opening.
Close now.
Too close for Zipacna's advantage.
A rapid sequence followed.
Strike to throat pressure point.
Elbow to collarbone.
Knee to abdomen.
Spinning strike into the side ribs.
Each hit carried controlled spiritual compression, like stacking invisible impacts inside the body instead of breaking the surface.
Zipacna finally dropped one knee into the swamp.
Breathing heavy.
Eyes burning with frustration.
Nille stopped.
Not because he was tired.
But because he had achieved what he needed.
He looked down at Zipacna with calm, steady eyes.
No hatred.
No satisfaction.
Only evaluation.
"You're not dying," Nille said quietly.
Zipacna spat into the mud. "Then finish it."
Nille shook his head slightly.
"I need answers."
HYDE loosened her grip but stayed ready.
Nyx's voice echoed faintly in his mind, steady and precise, like a system stabilizing the situation.
"Master Nille. Target subdued. Defensive containment sufficient."
Nille stepped closer just enough for Zipacna to see him clearly.
His tone remained even.
"Who are you really serving?"
A pause.
The swamp went quiet except for dripping water and collapsing wood.
Nille continued, his reasoning now fully exposed, not emotion, but logic shaped by experience.
"If you are truly under Apo Lakkay… then your behavior should have structure. Order. Purpose."
"But what I see is consumption. Chaos disguised as authority."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I've seen humans do the same thing. Using names they don't deserve. Using fear to replace legitimacy."
A slight tilt of his head.
"So I'm asking again."
"Are you serving someone real…"
"…or are you just another thing pretending to be important in a place no one is watching?"
Zipacna's expression tightened.
And for the first time, it wasn't anger that showed.
It was uncertainty.
Nille did not raise his voice.
He simply looked at Hyde.
A calm order, no hesitation, no cruelty in his expression.
"Extract the truth. No unnecessary delay."
For a moment, Hyde paused.
Then something inside her shifted.
Not hesitation.
Recognition of function.
The six retractable dragon-scale whips reoriented in the air behind Nille, not as blades of attack, but as structured instruments of pressure and restraint. The metallic-draconic scales clicked softly as they aligned, each segment adjusting length and tension like a living mechanism.
Zipacna's eyes widened slightly.
"You think you can"
HYDE moved.
Not with rage now.
But with deliberate control.
The whips struck the ground around Zipacna first, pinning escape angles, sealing movement routes. Then they wrapped his limbs, not crushing immediately, but tightening in measured increments, enough to force pain responses, enough to break resistance patterns.
Zipacna gritted his teeth.
Mud and swamp water trembled beneath him as his body tried to push back—but Hyde adapted instantly, redistributing pressure every time he attempted to resist.
Each movement he made only made the bindings more precise.
Nille stood still.
Watching.
Not enjoying it.
Not stopping it.
Only observing for truth efficiency.
Zipacna spat blood into the swamp water.
"You don't understand…" he growled. "Apo Lakkay Masalanta is not the only name above us."
Hyde tightened one whip segment slightly.
Zipacna's voice cracked.
"There is structure… hierarchy… I'm just a foot soldier."
Nille's gaze sharpened.
"Then who gives you orders?"
Zipacna laughed weakly, but it was unstable now.
"A broken system replaced what was missing."
"Urto Dimas… was supposed to handle this sector."
At that name, Nille's expression changed slightly.
Not shock.
Recognition.
Zipacna continued, breathing uneven.
"He never came back after leaving for the eastern rim… Southeast Asia… something about unfinished personal business."
HYDE adjusted pressure again.
Zipacna's knees sank deeper into the mud.
"And when he disappeared… i was the one who filled in the gap. That's all it is. Replacement authority."
Silence.
Only swamp wind and distant dripping water.
Nille finally spoke.
Low.
Measured.
"I know that name."
A pause.
Then, quieter.
"I was the one who subdued Urto Dimas."
That statement changed the atmosphere instantly.
Zipacna's eyes flicked upward.
Confusion replaced arrogance.
"…You?"
Nille continued calmly.
"I did not kill him."
"I removed his ability to act."
His gaze lowered slightly.
"And he was afraid of me."
HYDE loosened slightly, not out of mercy, but recalibration. The interrogation target had shifted from physical resistance to informational value.
Nille stepped closer.
His reasoning was clear now, almost clinical.
"So this is not loyalty."
"It is vacancy exploitation."
"No true command structure. Just opportunistic entities filling empty authority."
Zipacna swallowed hard.
"…Yes."
A beat.
Then Nille turned slightly, as if organizing the entire situation in his mind.
"Then Apo Lakkay Masalanta is not a god-tier authority."
"Just a placeholder of a much higher power."
Zipacna did not answer.
Because there was nothing left to defend.
Only silence.
And the swamp, rotting, sick, and still watching.
Zipacna's breathing became uneven.
For the first time since the fight began, his voice lost its arrogance completely.
"Spare me…" he rasped. "I was only following orders…"
His eyes darted toward the swamp ground, avoiding Nille's gaze.
HYDE's whips remained wrapped, but no longer tightening—just holding, waiting for instruction.
Nille didn't respond immediately.
Because he wasn't listening to emotion.
He was reading behavior.
And what he saw on Zipacna's face was not just fear.
It was satisfaction, earlier, when he ordered the dark elves around. A kind of pleasure in control. That alone made his claim of "forced" unreliable.
Nille spoke calmly.
"You are not just a victim."
Zipacna flinched.
But Nille continued, voice steady.
"You enjoy power when you have it. And you use 'orders' only when you lose."
Zipacna's mouth opened, but no words came out.
Nille's attention shifted slightly.
Killing him now would be simple.
But it would trigger escalation.
Something above Zipacna would notice the silence.
That was the real problem.
Control the system without breaking the alarm.
Nille's eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he asked, directly:
"What is Apo Lakkay doing with the silver?"
Zipacna hesitated.
For a moment, it looked like he genuinely didn't want to answer.
Then fear won.
"I… I don't know everything," he said quickly. "I only deliver it."
"To another handler."
"Outside this swamp sector."
Nille's gaze sharpened.
"Location."
Zipacna swallowed hard.
"…Luminaire Boundary."
A stillness followed.
Even the swamp seemed to quiet for a moment.
Nille didn't react outwardly, but internally the connection clicked into place.
Luminaire Boundary… a controlled High Elven-linked sector.
That meant this wasn't just swamp-level corruption.
It was connected to structured systems.
Zipacna continued, desperate now to reduce his own guilt.
"I swear, I don't go inside! I just hand over the silver and leave!"
"That's all I do!"
Nille's mind processed quickly.
Silver as an exchange material.
Not random tribute.
A supply chain.
A network.
Then, Zipacna suddenly froze.
His body jerked.
A strange pressure emerged from within him.
HYDE reacted instantly, tightening slightly—but Nille raised one hand.
"Stop."
Too late.
Zipacna's eyes lost focus.
His body trembled violently as something inside him activated.
A parasitic resonance.
Nille recognized it immediately.
Not a normal curse.
A trigger-response system.
A containment fail-safe.
Zipacna's skin darkened in veins of unnatural energy as his muscles expanded beyond normal limits. His breathing turned into a distorted, animal-like sound.
HYDE whispered internally through her connection:
"Master… anomaly detected. Internal override."
Nille's expression remained controlled.
"…So that's how it works."
Zipacna's head snapped upward.
But his voice was no longer fully his own.
A fractured, layered tone emerged.
Like something speaking through him.
And in that moment, Nille's memory aligned with something else.
Imto Dimas.
The same pattern.
The same sudden loss of self.
The same violent shift into berserk state when interrogation reached critical truth proximity.
Nille stepped back slightly, not in fear, but calculation.
"So it activates when exposed."
His eyes narrowed further.
"A built-in silence mechanism."
HYDE tightened defensive positioning instinctively, preparing for full combat shift.
The swamp water around them began to ripple again, but this time, it was no longer just Zipacna's presence changing.
Something inside the secretly observing had noticed. Nille.
Nille moved first.
No hesitation.
The instant Zipacna's body convulsed and the parasitic override fully activated, the swamp itself seemed to react violently around him. Mud burst upward as the crocodilian Encanto tore free from Hyde's bindings through sheer mutated force.
CRACK.
One dragon-scaled whip snapped sideways from the recoil.
HYDE immediately adjusted formation defensively.
"Master Nille, target energy spike confirmed."
Zipacna roared.
But it no longer sounded intelligent.
It sounded diseased.
Rabid.
Its muscles expanded grotesquely beneath thickening scales as blackened veins spread across its body like corruption forcing itself through flesh. Bones shifted beneath the skin with wet cracking noises. The crocodilian head elongated slightly, teeth becoming jagged and uneven.
Its spiritual pressure exploded outward.
Level 450—
then rapidly climbing.
The swamp water rippled violently from the pressure release alone.
Nille's eyes sharpened.
So Maruha was right…
This place really is unpredictable.
When Imto Dimas transformed before, the increase had been immense too, but King Lykos had severed her limbs before she could fully utilize it.
This time was different.
Zipacna still had mobility.
And now it had lost restraint entirely.
The mutated creature charged.
The muddy island shook beneath every step.
Trees snapped apart as it bulldozed forward with berserk momentum, twin meat cleavers swinging wildly with monstrous strength.
But Nille had already moved.
ARCA activated.
His body twisted sideways with fluid precision, barely slipping past the descending cleaver as it slammed into the swamp ground hard enough to crater the mud.
BOOM.
Nille countered immediately.
The machete appeared in his hand in a reverse grip.
Then—
he spun.
One circular motion.
Compact spiritual force surged into the blade edge.
Not explosive.
Compressed.
Controlled.
The machete blurred.
Then blurred again.
And again.
Nille's body rotated with terrifying precision as he advanced directly into Zipacna's blind zone, each step grounded perfectly despite the slippery terrain.
SHHK.
SHHK.
SHHK-SHHK-SHHK.
The blade no longer looked like a weapon.
It looked like a rotating industrial cutter.
A meat grinder of condensed force.
Every rotation shaved flesh from Zipacna's hardened mutated body in spiraling layers. Blackened blood exploded outward across the swamp as scales, muscle, and corrupted tissue were carved apart faster than regeneration could stabilize.
Zipacna roared in agony and swung downward blindly.
HYDE intercepted instantly.
Six dragon-scaled whips crossed defensively in front of Nille like a living shield, redirecting the cleaver strike sideways just enough.
Nille never stopped moving.
That was the terrifying part.
No wasted motion.
No emotional over commitment.
Just continuous calculated violence.
His machete rotated again with full-body torque—
and this time the blade bit deeper.
CRRRRK.
One of Zipacna's mutated arms nearly separated completely at the shoulder.
The creature staggered.
Still alive.
Still regenerating.
But slower now.
The corruption boosting its power was destabilizing its body structure at the same time.
Nyx's calm voice echoed internally.
"Target cellular regeneration becoming inefficient."
"Corrupted amplification exceeding biological tolerance."
Nille understood immediately.
The parasite increases output beyond sustainable limits.
Which meant one thing.
The longer the fight continued, the more unstable Zipacna would become.
But Nille also realized something else.
This parasite was not random.
It was designed.
A silencing mechanism.
A disposable berserk protocol for subordinates who knew too much.
That thought disturbed him more than the actual monster in front of him.
Because it meant someone intelligent created this system deliberately.
Nille's machete spun once more before stopping completely.
Black contaminated blood dripped from the blade into the swamp below.
Zipacna's mutilated body twitched violently several meters away, its oversized mutated frame still trying to regenerate through sheer corrupted instinct. Flesh bubbled unnaturally where Hyde's acid and Nille's compact spiritual strikes had destabilized the berserk transformation.
But Nille's focus was no longer fully on the fight.
His mind was connecting patterns.
Fast.
Too many coincidences no longer remained coincidences.
"I haven't confirmed it yet…" Nille muttered quietly.
"But they're using the same berserk insect."
Nyx immediately understood the reference.
"The parasitic curse organism used by Trần Hữu Khang."
Nille nodded slightly.
"And Sector 11's imp used it on the war troll."
Another connection surfaced.
"The previous timeline… King Lykos was infected too."
His eyes narrowed.
Imto Dimas.
Manipulation magic.
Psychological influence.
Hatred amplification.
The Lycan-Vampire war suddenly looked less like natural conflict and more like engineered destabilization.
Nille exhaled slowly.
"This Apo Lakkay Masalanta isn't working alone."
"It's too organized."
His gaze shifted toward Zipacna's convulsing body.
"Silver transport."
"Parasite deployment."
"Cross-sector movement."
"Behavioral manipulation."
"Hidden handlers inside Luminaire Boundary…"
The realization became increasingly disturbing the more he processed it.
Someone was building influence across connected territories.
Not openly.
Quietly.
Using existing hatred, fear, desperation, and instability to weaken domains from the inside.
And worse, they already had agents moving between sectors.
Nille suddenly understood why Maruha warned him that the higher-numbered sectors were unpredictable.
Because the problem was no longer isolated.
It was spreading.
Without wasting another second, Nille activated the communication ring.
The artifact glowed faintly against his fingers as spiritual energy flowed into it.
A distorted ripple formed.
Then Maruha's voice answered almost immediately.
"Nille?"
Nille spoke calmly despite the situation.
"Are the potions ready?"
On the other side, he could hear movement, glass containers shifting, people preparing supplies quickly.
"Yes," Maruha answered.
"We prepared everything available."
"The purification mixture, stabilizers, and concentrated extracts."
A brief pause.
Then her tone changed slightly.
"…Something happened, didn't it?"
Nille looked toward the twitching monstrosity that used to be Zipacna.
HYDE remained positioned protectively beside him while Nyx continuously scanned the parasite activity inside the mutated body.
Nille replied honestly.
"Yes."
"And it confirms something dangerous."
"What kind of dangerous?" Maruha asked carefully.
Nille's eyes darkened slightly.
"The infection isn't random."
"It's organized."