Chapter 31
Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Episode 008 (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
──────Piiiing!!!
No creature could survive having its head pierced through.
Not even a monster in the midst of spiritual transformation.
The moment the Wraith Bullet's projectile tore through its brain, something burst inside its carapace with a resounding crack.
At the same time, a gush erupted from its maw, spraying straight toward Kuhn.
Queeeek!
It was none other than its brain matter.
Thick, greenish-yellow brain sludge.
Not entrails like intestines,
but actual brain tissue.
Shredded to pieces by the Wraith Bullet's spin, the monster's brain mixed with cerebrospinal fluid and bodily secretions poured out in a torrent.
Its head had exploded from within, but the rigid carapace hadn't allowed the blast an easy exit...
Perhaps this gruesome end had been inevitable from the start.
The cave shuddered violently as the beast's massive body collapsed, as if it might bring the whole place down.
Kugrrr rumble─,
Suddenly drenched in the creature's brain fluids and secretions, Kuhn grimaced, unable to hide his disgust.
'Ugh...'
Gray smoke rose from the ground and his clothes where the fluids had splattered, accompanied by a foul stench.
Acid so potent it corroded not just his clothes but the stone floor beneath.
Yet Kuhn, who had taken the full brunt of it, stood completely unscathed.
The acidic venom must have registered as a poison, that's all.
As he glanced down at the fallen behemoth, Kuhn's eyes suddenly gleamed.
'Wait, does that mean every fluid from this massive body is poison?'
An aura cultivation method that devoured poisons and corrupt essences to grow one's mass.
For someone practicing Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits, the entire corpse was practically a gigantic spirit elixir.
Of course, he couldn't absorb every last drop of poison here.
A whole month remained until the deadline, but with the weather warming bit by bit,
as winter ended and full spring took hold, the fluids would likely rot before he could finish.
'Still, I should absorb as much as I can.'
This chance might swell his Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits mass even further.
Muttering to himself, Kuhn stepped forward.
First, to free the baby fox bound tightly in the cocoon.
Step, step.
Up close, faint breaths escaped the fox's protruding snout.
...Haa, haa.
Was that final burst of fire its dying struggle?
Its weakened breathing came with eyes losing their spark, slowly drifting shut.
Pupils unfocused and dim.
It still clung to life, but no one could call this "fine."
Kuhn tore into the encasing cocoons with ruthless hands.
Tssrrrrrip!
The cocoons ripped apart crudely, echoing harshly off the walls.
What emerged was far worse than it looked from outside: wounds and rot covered it completely.
'Rotting sores from prolonged decay... It was already critically injured when captured?'
Besides that, a starved, emaciated frame and dying gasps squeezing out final strength.
A sight that left no room for questions like why it had been caught here.
'The wounds are bad, but the real issue is its life force.'
That fire breath had been its last desperate surge.
Treating wounds and feeding it nutrients wouldn't cut it.
It needed something more to replenish its depleted vitality.
'For food, the spirit elixirs I stocked before last training will do... The problem is...'
Replenishing life force whittled to the brink. And Kuhn knew one way to do it.
A ritual linking souls to anchor the fox's spirit to this world.
'The catch is the side effect that comes with it...'
He'd hoped to avoid using it this way.
'No choice, huh?'
Nothing else seemed viable right now.
Plus, it had been his sparring partner and burned away the spiderwebs targeting him.
"Hoo."
After a brief deliberation and sigh, Kuhn steeled himself and moved.
He fed it a spirit elixir from his pouch, then extended his index finger straight.
Pressing the tip to the fox's brow as it rasped raggedly.
...Haa, haa.
A cautious motion, distinct from firing wraith bullets.
Shadows erupted from Kuhn's feet, swallowing the baby fox in an instant.
Whoooosh!
.
.
.
A term for hordes of all manner of spectral horrors rampaging together.
In this world's tongue, something like "Phantom Parade."
And the Phantom Parade art recreated that horde.
It bound spirits together, subjugating the horror's soul under one's command.
Then summoned dozens, hundreds of spectral legions from the shadows.
Legends from his memories spoke of peak masters commanding armies of hundreds.
The side effect Kuhn mentioned stemmed from that subjugation clause.
For the Phantom Parade art didn't force submission.
'If it refuses, this won't work.'
It already seemed haughty beyond measure.
Refusal meant losing not just the fox's life, but the elixir too.
It happened right then.
...Grrr.
With a faint breath, someone's memories flooded Kuhn's mind.
'This is...'
Born in its mother's embrace as a three-tailed fox kit.
Playing in the underbrush with siblings.
Sharing hunted meat under mom's watch, huddling in caves or broad leaves to dodge rain.
The kit's memories surged into Kuhn's head.
Whoooosh!
2.
The baby fox's life hadn't started special.
Just one ordinary kit among mom's litter.
Mom wasn't some powerhouse either.
Though as a fox from the Ak Bone Mountains, she was swifter and stronger than common ones... that was it.
The kit first sensed its uniqueness when it realized it had two extra tails unlike its siblings.
From then, it grew far stronger and faster than them.
Though only months old, it could handle snakes, raccoons, weasels—even wolves and small monsters.
Yet it never flaunted this power.
Simple reason.
Sharing meals and warmth in mom's embrace felt too precious.
Revealing its strength might shatter that bliss, or so it vaguely feared.
And then.
The thing that shattered it all: the massive mine centipede Kuhn had just slain.
It raided the den where the kit and siblings lived.
Mom fought desperately but perished.
Only the kit survived, thanks to her sacrifice.
Fleeing the den, it ran to distant ranges beyond the mountains.
...Grrr, grr!
No matter its gifts, the centipede was overwhelmingly stronger.
To survive and avenge, it needed more power.
For years, it wandered forests beyond the beast's domain.
Then it met Kuhn.
A human exuding intriguing energy, who could hone its strength if they partnered.
By his side, the kit sharpened its innate power and instincts.
'And this is how it ends up?'
Deeming itself ready, it returned to the Ak Bone Mountains, sought the centipede, and challenged it anew.
Only one miscalculation...
'It didn't expect the centipede to have grown far stronger, gnawing on Kaliore's ore veins during that time.'
No wonder it stopped visiting the training grounds. Who'd have thought?
Bowing his head, Kuhn saw the kit's breathing steadying in his arms.
It had accepted the Phantom Parade art; a bizarre soul-link sensation came with it.
'Rest deep.'
Tucking the kit back into his shadow, Kuhn moved slowly.
Why hadn't the centipede eaten the kit despite long captivity?
Why the extreme caution around the cocoons and one other spot, even in frenzy?
The answers lay in the kit's memories.
Step, step.
Not far from the cocoon cluster, in a dim corner of the chamber. Kuhn reached out carefully.
Picked something up.
'So that's it.'
An oval object, milky-white sheen, just beyond fist-sized.
The massive mine centipede's "egg" lay right there.