Chapter 312

Kumironi was wrapped within a cocoon of black matter.

Yet even so, she continued analyzing the opponent’s biological structure.

As a faint current swept rapidly across its body, Lomor couldn’t help but feel a trace of shock.

This woman was insane.

Captured by it, yet instead of behaving cautiously—

She was actively probing its life structure?

Are all the humans I met today lunatics?

They were clearly so weak—

Yet none of them feared it in the slightest.

As an 8th-tier magical creature, its very descent into the world should have been seen as a catastrophe.

To survive, humans would resort to anything in its presence—

Offering loyalty, offering wealth, flattering, groveling, using every possible means to appease it.

And yet—

These two were completely different from any humans it had encountered before.

One was an unkillable, low-level Ascended whose mutations had no effect, whose true nature couldn’t even be discerned.

The other—

A healer it had abducted—

Who still dared to openly analyze its biological structure.

These two...

Were bizarre to an incomprehensible degree.

Lomor accelerated its escape.

It had no intention of continuing the fight with Kanzaki Rei.

Holy Flame did affect it.

Even now, its domain remained filled with those inextinguishable flames.

With its own power alone—

It could not extinguish them.

It needed to return...

It needed the Nest Lord to cleanse the burning Holy Flame, or its domain might become unusable.

And beyond that—

Lomor understood something clearly.

If this fight continued, the only one suffering losses...

Would be itself.

It alone was being battered, while the opponent remained completely unharmed.

A mindless beast might continue fighting that child endlessly—

Until one of them died.

But as an intelligent creature—

A smart creature—

After recognizing the situation, why continue?

What’s the point?

"Human... what exactly is that child?"

Kumironi remained silent, her expression cold.

Would Rei catch up?

She held her ground, though Lomor couldn’t do much to her either. Kumironi was a valuable specimen—

Extremely valuable.

She should even be offered to the Great Master.

"Haha~ Hello there~"

Suddenly—

A bright, cheerful voice echoed through the world.

Lomor froze in shock, halting instantly.

Another strong one?

This presence—

Was completely different from that child.

This one was... chaotic.

A presence like this—

It had only ever sensed from the disciples of Aegmissa.

"Ah~"

"I didn’t expect to actually find such an intelligent magical creature. First time I’ve ever seen one—how rare, how fascinating!"

A man with brown, curly hair stood casually in the air, hands tucked into the pockets of his suspenders.

Behind him stood another man in a wool sweater, looking utterly exasperated.

"I’m telling you, Roya, did you have to drag me here?"

"That’s an 8th-tier monster. If you two start fighting, the shockwaves alone will kill me."

The speaker was Rhein.

"You are... a disciple of Aegmissa?" Lomor manifested a tangible form of interwoven flesh and stared directly at Roya.

This time—

There was no ambiguity.

The man before it wasn’t hiding his strength.

He was a genuine 8th-tier Ascended.

"Uh... not really," Roya tilted his head. "Though my class is somewhat related, I guess."

"You... know me?"

"Who would know you?" Lomor replied coldly.

Its domain was still engulfed in Holy Flame—completely unusable.

If a battle at the same level broke out now—

It would be at a severe disadvantage.

"Ahh, so you don’t know me. I thought you did."

"I usually hang around the Murkwave Sea. But for the past hundred years, I’ve barely gone out—just stayed home reading manga, following fictional waifus, occasionally jerking off... time just flew by. Before I knew it, so many years had passed."

...

Kumironi. Rhein. Lomor.

All three were momentarily stunned.

Was that... something you just say out loud?

Do you have any sense of boundaries?

"You... why are you stopping me?"

"Uh... do I really have to answer that?"

Behind Lomor, six butterfly-like wings unfolded.

Each wing was covered in countless eyes—

All staring directly at Roya.

Roya scratched his head.

He felt a prickling sensation across his body.

"Uh? Is this... mutation? Are you trying to turn me into a monster?"

His tone remained completely relaxed—

As if he didn’t feel the overwhelming pressure at all.

"Your answer will determine how I treat you. Don’t play games with me."

Roya sighed.

"Are you always this serious?"

"Or... are you scared of me?"

All of Lomor’s eyes contracted instantly.

A blatant provocation.

"Well, whatever. I don’t mind telling you."

"The reason I came here... is just because I thought it would be interesting."

"Interesting?"

"I heard there was a magical creature here with intelligence comparable to humans. Got curious, so I came to take a look."

Lomor’s voice turned icy—

Completely different from how it had spoken to Rei earlier.

Gone was any trace of ease.

"Now you’ve seen it. You can leave."

"Uh... do I have to?"

"I actually think a creature like you is pretty interesting. Why don’t you answer a few more—"

PUFF!

The six wings behind Lomor snapped open—

Every eye widened!

In that instant—

Roya’s flesh began to swell violently!

[Curse: Grotesque Mutation (Tier 8)]

BOOM!

With a single glance—

Roya’s body transformed instantly!

His lifeform changed in a flash—

Flesh turning into wood, iron, ice—

As if he had been killed outright.

Yet—

The mutated mass began to expand.

Grow.

At first chaotic—

But then suddenly, it elongated—

Stretching toward Lomor!

SPLURT!

Blood vessels and tumors spread everywhere—

Steel embedded itself into growing flesh!

Roya rose upward—

Mutating continuously—

Expanding into a massive, grotesque entity of iron and blood!

His voice deepened, booming with power:

"THIS... IS... WHAT... MUTATION... FEELS... LIKE~"

BOOOOM!!

A monstrous fist—

A chaotic fusion of steel, flesh, and ice—

Crashed down toward Lomor!

What the hell...?

Someone gets hit by my mutation—

And then uses that mutated body to attack me?

What kind of lunatics am I dealing with today?!

But—

It was just a punch.

No technique.

No skill.

Just a grotesquely swollen limb—

No real power behind it.

Lomor raised one hand—

Preparing to take the blow head-on.