Chapter 245: Was It a Success?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 245: Was It a Success?
Fighting the same way as before was no longer an option.
Most of the abilities I was using in this battle were newly acquired, ones I hadn't possessed until recently.
Humans are creatures of learning; through repetition, we can eventually perform actions unconsciously. However, there are clear and definite limits to that.
Ultimately, these biological organs required a processing cost far too high for a brain born within a human vessel to handle.
Even with the 'Adrenaline Break' skill—which accelerates brain activity—constantly active, there was a ceiling to how fast I could process and react to immediate situations.
I had found three ways to solve this. The first was this:
Creak…
"Huuup!"
Through the massive exhaust nozzles built into my back, extremely compressed cooling gas expanded and vented. Simultaneously, I saturated the air with flammable liquid in aerosol form and ignited it once more.
I called this the 'Afterburner,' though the name didn't particularly matter.
My tail had become even more vital now. By effectively manipulating the high-output airflow, it allowed for easy directional changes and enabled even more powerful attacks than before.
By using Horus's magic to twist the airflow hitting my body, I could minimize friction, drastically reducing the deceleration effect and, as a byproduct, lowering the heat generated by air resistance.
—KABOOM!
Blue flames ignited from my back, propelling my body forward in an instant. The air taken in through inhalation was automatically compressed and stored in my lungs; as soon as I began to exhale, the intake valves closed automatically, forcing the exhaust out the back.
Furthermore, this prevented propulsion from leaking forward, minimizing energy loss.
Thus, the first method: physical automation. By linking the movements of the diaphragm to the frost and flame cores, I made them operate in turns, allowing me to act naturally without conscious effort.
Skreeeech!
As Iris flapped her wings, the blood scattered around the area began to bubble and boil. In an instant, it clung to her back, anchoring her firmly to the ground.
She possessed monstrous specs, capable of blocking supersonic attacks without even using magic. However, my body wasn't a machine built from a fixed blueprint; it was a highly fluid Bio-Combination Platform that could change on the fly.
Crunch!
Leaving the two arms that were locked in a power struggle with Iris, a new arm sprouted from my right waist, taking the shape of a sharp spear. After channeling compressed air fuel into the limb, I vented high-pressure gas from the elbow, launching a fist at the speed of sound.
—Boom!
It takes a long time to describe, but the attack occurred in less than a tenth of a second. Before Iris could even attempt an evasive maneuver, a third forearm pierced through her side.
I opened a vent in the forearm embedded in her flank. Mixing the remaining compressed air fuel with flammable liquid and the toxic gas of a Poison Mushroom, I injected the mixture into her wound at incredible speed.
Pshhhhhhh—!
Iris’s body lost its form, vanishing as if sucked into the pool of blood. Now, I had to pinpoint her next location.
The Direwolf Alpha’s eyes had been enhanced, granting me extremely precise mana-detection vision. However, Iris’s method involved scattering mana-infused blood in every direction beforehand.
It was impossible to track her through mana trails alone.
But I had another way.
Rumble…!
My ribs spread wide, and my chest cavity inflated like a balloon, gorging itself on air. I sucked in the surrounding atmosphere in an instant and exhaled it like an Eldyokul’s flame breath, turning all the blood within a 100-meter radius into ash.
"Come out."
My back skin writhed, and dozens of massive synthetic monsters poured out. Their base was the sturdy frame of a Snowfield Troll. Their grim faces had been replaced by the giant eyeballs of an Evil Eye, and the fireballs of a Skeleton Mage were embedded into their left arm bones.
Infused with my mana, they were far stronger than before. I had engraved them with the ice magic of an Ice Drake, the spells of a Goblin Shaman that I rarely used myself, and even the powerful forelegs of a Gigantos Mantis.
Things that would be a waste of brainpower to use consciously, yet were too good to leave unused, were mostly given to these synthetic monsters.
I had excised most of the monsters' brains, leaving only enough to ensure they would blindly kill anyone they encountered. I removed the parts related to fear and preemptively excluded survival instincts or any other thought mechanisms that might interfere with combat.
The Snowfield Troll’s brain, which contained many combat-related functions, was a truly excellent product. This was the second method: if my own brain capacity was insufficient, I could simply use the brains of monsters.
This applied to my own body as well. I equipped miniature brains throughout my body that didn't interfere with my original brain—the control tower. I embedded Queen Arachne’s eyes in blind spots I couldn't normally see, like my back and shoulders, and connected them to small brains that handled only visual functions.
If Queen Arachne’s Future Sight identified a threatening creature approaching, it would instinctively send a signal.
Zzzzt!
The moment my rear vision detected Iris, the Queen Arachne eye vanished, and an Evil Eye sprouted in its place, paralyzing Iris’s movements for a split second.
"Behind me...!"
There was no need to turn my whole body. Eldyokul’s flammable liquid was incredibly versatile. I fashioned Queen Arachne’s hard exoskeleton into cylinders and filled them with the liquid as fuel.
I attached an Evil Eye to the tip to track hostile targets, and finally, the moment I ignited them through the flame core—
Ssssss!
The flammable liquid in the exoskeleton acted as fuel. The Evil Eye’s vision and the excised brain acted as a guidance system. Finally, by combining the Skeleton Mage’s fireball and the Poison Mushroom’s toxic gas, I created toxic cruise missiles that would cause flesh to rot upon explosion.
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
Six biological missiles, accompanied by toxic gas and high-heat explosions, crawled out of my back with a sickening crunch and lunged toward Iris.
Since this utilized many biological organs as consumables, I had to be careful with their use. However, as long as I had mana, I could supply Evil Eyes almost infinitely, and the Eldyokul’s flammable liquid would refill over time.
The real issue was Queen Arachne’s exoskeleton; I’d have to find a replacement for that eventually. But that didn't matter right now.
The high-strength exoskeleton wouldn't be destroyed by the explosion. Instead, the moment the Evil Eye detected 'impact,' the implanted miniature brain would manually open the cylindrical exoskeleton to trigger the blast.
This meant I just had to go to the blast site and retrieve the exoskeletons later.
"Firepower really is the best. So many uses."
Despite taking six powerful missiles head-on, Iris was advancing, carving through dozens of synthetic trolls in an instant. As expected, while a Snowfield Troll was a nightmare for low-level explorers, they couldn't stand against a Vampire Lord even with magic.
Creak…
But it didn't matter. The green mana core in my chest emitted a powerful, gloomy mana, sending a massive wave through the subspace.
"Rise."
The necromancy of a Lich who had regained its true power. The bodies of the synthetic trolls, which had been mere heaps of meat, began to rise again. They turned into Undead and charged at Iris once more.
In this state, they didn't move through blood or biological functions; rather, the Lich’s mana replicated their movements from when they were alive. Since their bodies were mostly drained of blood, they were highly effective against Iris, whose primary weapon was blood.
—ROAAR!
Snowfield Trolls with severed heads or missing limbs began to lunge at Iris again, shrouded in a murky green demonic energy.
Skreeeeeeeech!
With a sound like the world itself was warping, a beam of dark-red destruction poured from Iris’s fingertips. The Snowfield Trolls I’d used as meat shields were destroyed, but the trade-off was worth it, as I had forced her to use a powerful attack.
"Huuu..."
I launched myself at Iris at supersonic speed just as she finished her spell. Taking advantage of the moment her mana was low, I used Amelia’s Magic Suppression.
I had only recently realized that this worked by releasing Amelia’s vast reserves of mana to nullify and offset the opponent's mana.
It wasn't very effective if the opponent's mana grade was significantly higher or if their absolute quantity was greater. I wasn't sure about the grade, but there were likely very few people who could overwhelmingly surpass Amelia’s mana capacity.
"Kh!"
When Iris’s attempt to cast another spell was disrupted by Amelia’s mana, a brief opening appeared in her movements.
I grabbed the scythe she was trying to lift with two of my arms, then sprouted another arm from my back to seize her throat in a powerful chokehold.
I immediately severed the nerves responsible for pain throughout my body and unleashed the mana of the Umbra Valkyrie, which caused searing pain.
Sssssss!
Smoke rose from Iris’s body along with the sound of boiling mana.
Overwhelmed by the intense pain, Iris shoved me away and began to gather the scattered blood in the area into one place, preparing a powerful strike.
"That again?"
"Yes."
That magic—I had no idea how to deal with it. A mass of blood nearly the size of an apartment building gathered above Iris’s head, rotating majestically in a sphere.
It was a devastating spell that left no living creature behind. Droplets of blood began to rain down like bullets, devastating the surroundings.
Previously, I couldn't use it properly due to a lack of proficiency and the damaged state of the organ I’d obtained.
"But this time, I’m using it...!"
The Dragon Heart of the Dragon Species 'Tenebrax' that I had received from Theodora. It had been used for research purposes for a long time, and its mana had been nearly extinguished.
However, as I gained a massive amount of mana, the Dragon Heart regained its majesty. And by using the Knight Lord’s mana, I had succeeded in completely suppressing the dragon's violent energy.
Zzzzt...
In an instant, my entire body scattered into a purple mist. I felt my consciousness dissolving. My body no longer held any physical form, and I felt liberated from all external pressure.
Did it work...!
Tenebrax’s exclusive skill, 'Dematerialization,' had successfully activated, and my entire body began to transform into a purple mist.