Chapter Twenty-Five: The Incubation Barrier Worsens
A Grotesquery creation equivalent to a ninth-order Awakened One was comparable to a complete Grotesquery around the two-hundredth Sequence. From a purely combat perspective, it represented the peak of human strength without wielding an Authority.
Anything beyond that transcended human limitations, reaching “boss” level.
According to the Company’s Grotesquery handling protocols, such a threat required a P7 team led by a P8 specialist.
Of course, this protocol aimed to minimize casualties. After all, specialists above P7 were no longer considered expendable by the Company.
Linna’s strength was likely between P7 and P8. Confronting a Grotesquery of this level alone was incredibly difficult.
Furthermore…
The troupe leader’s abilities countered hers.
With his superior speed, the troupe leader could easily close the distance, preventing Linna from fully utilizing her power.
Linna’s abilities required preparation time and distance to maximize their effectiveness and avoid self-harm.
Simply put, a glass cannon.
Compared to the troupe leader, Wetherby posed less of a threat.
His original body was now covered in fungal growths, restricting the viscous liquid’s movements.
“Ugh…”
Linna clutched her wound. She had severed her own arm. The troupe leader had injured her forearm, and to prevent infection by the Incubation Barrier’s power, she had decisively amputated it.
The severed arm on the ground was already showing signs of decay, purplish-black liquid oozing from the pale flesh, pulsating slightly, as if growing another heart.
“Sorry…”
Linna looked at the approaching Luo Ling apologetically.
She was supposed to protect these two little girls, yet she had inadvertently put them in danger.
These Distorted Beasts instinctively targeted Awakened Ones, the stronger the better. They had encountered these two because of her.
It seemed ironic, but it was her fault for being strong, yet not strong enough.
“Don’t speak.”
Luo Ling stopped Linna with a look. Linna noticed that Miss Southern Cross’s eyes had turned grey-white again.
At the same time, she felt an unbearable itch from her severed arm.
Linna looked down, her eyes widening in shock.
She witnessed an unforgettable sight.
Her hand… was rapidly regenerating!
A wave of exhaustion washed over her, seemingly the price for the new limb, but a negligible price compared to the miracle of regeneration.
“Just a temporary fix, hopefully, it’ll hold.” Luo Ling whispered, giving Linna a thumbs-up. “I’m a Myriad path Awakened One, so I know a thing or two about healing.”
Using “Proliferation” was sufficient. Fortunately, Luo Ling was quite familiar with the Puppet Ballad’s abilities, so she didn’t accidentally give Linna extra limbs. Otherwise, Linna would be even more shocked.
“…This is Myriad… no, can an Awakened One even do this?”
Linna gulped. The strongest Myriad path Awakened One she knew was a high-ranking member of the Fate Society, wielding a Sacred Tool that could channel an Authority.
She could even briefly resurrect the dead, but not regenerate limbs at such a low cost in such a short time.
If Linna knew that Luo Ling had once instantly healed a low-order Awakened One who had lost half their body, she would be beyond shocked.
Of course, Luo Ling wasn’t lying when she said she only knew a thing or two about healing. She couldn’t heal many types of injuries through conventional means.
For example, if an organ was damaged, even slightly, her only solution was to remove the damaged part and regrow a new one…
She could avoid growing extra kidneys, but she couldn’t repair the damaged area directly.
Even with Linna’s injury healed, the danger hadn’t subsided.
Luo Ling had tested the viscous beast and confirmed her earlier assessment.
After their transformation, these Distorted Beasts had essentially become part of the Incubation Barrier’s Grotesquery. She couldn’t control them like before, only temporarily restrict their movements with “Complete Domination.”
The Puppet Ballad’s abilities weren’t primarily offensive, but supportive and controlling.
After having one of his bone scythes shattered by Linna’s Sacred Tool and Sacred Relic bullet, the troupe leader howled in pain before recovering.
But he didn’t immediately attack them. His eyes rolled around before settling on the viscous beast.
The viscous beast was now contaminated by fungal threads, which were relentlessly consuming it.
The viscous beast was also trying to corrode the fungal threads, but with little effect, gradually weakening as it was devoured.
The troupe leader targeted the weakened viscous beast.
After a moment of hesitation, he pounced on it, devouring it greedily.
The helpless viscous beast wailed in terror, but weakened by the fungal threads, it couldn’t resist, consumed entirely by the troupe leader.
Meanwhile, the troupe leader’s shattered bone scythe slowly regenerated.
Soon, he would be back to his full strength, perhaps even stronger.
“Miss Southern Cross, we have to leave!”
Linna whispered, her voice weak and tired.
The price for Luo Ling’s healing wasn’t just her own Inspiration, but also Linna’s stamina. Linna felt like she had been running for a day and a night.
Luo Ling frowned.
The troupe leader was incredibly fast. Even if they left, they wouldn’t get far.
But breaking through the Incubation Barrier nearby…
They didn’t have enough time.
The troupe leader was watching them. If Linna used her power to breach the barrier, they would be met with his bone scythe.
“Trust me.” Linna took a deep breath, her expression serious. “I need some time… to reload.”
“…Alright.”
Luo Ling didn’t hesitate, helping Linna up and running away from the troupe leader.
Linna closed her eyes, focusing on “reloading.”
One hand on her firearm, the other forming hand seals, performing a ritual, her Inspiration surging within her.
A faint, mocking laughter echoed from behind them. The troupe leader was ridiculing their futile attempt to escape.
“…”
Luo Ling remained silent, her mind racing.
Although her spores were limited by the Incubation Barrier and her depleted Inspiration, unable to cover a large area, they were still scouting the surroundings.
The appearance of the troupe leader and the viscous beast had been sudden. Luo Ling was certain she hadn’t detected them earlier.
They had appeared only when Linna was about to breach the Incubation Barrier, as if deliberately intercepting her.
The deaths of Linna’s teammates were also strange. The troupe leader was powerful, but Linna and her teammates should have been able to escape.
Being of the same order, the difference in rank wasn’t insurmountable. With the right abilities and strategy, a lower-ranked Awakened One could defeat a higher-ranked one.
Linna had been severely injured because she had been ambushed by both the viscous beast and the troupe leader, forced to fight head-on.
But how did Wilson, who had transformed into the viscous beast, die?
According to Fiona’s information, Wilson was a Myriad path Awakened One, the paladin of their six-member team. His holy light could not only defend against most mystical attacks but also possessed powerful healing properties.
Yet, the wound that nearly bisected him was on his front…
“…This is getting stranger and stranger.”
Unfortunately, Linna couldn’t contact her other teammates, and Luo Ling’s spores hadn’t found any trace of them.
After they had run a certain distance, the troupe leader, having completely consumed the viscous beast, finally caught up.
He had only half a body, moving with a single bone scythe arm. But after consuming the viscous beast… no, it was more like a fusion.
A pungent, putrid stench assaulted their senses. Luo Ling glanced back to see the troupe leader floating upside down in mid-air in a grotesque manner.
His body swayed unsteadily, yet he moved towards them at incredible speed.
“Hiss…”
A corrosive sizzling sound echoed as drool dripped from his gaping maw.
“How much longer?”
Luo Ling whispered.
“One minute.”
Linna opened her eyes, her pupils replaced by ritualistic patterns, swirling with mystical symbols.
Blood trickled from the corner of her lips. This “reloading” process was also taking a toll on her.
“I’ll give you one minute.”
Luo Ling pulled her cloak lower, stood up, and turned to face the troupe leader.
When she looked up again, her eyes were burning with dark golden vertical pupils, faint blue scales appearing on her temples.
She hadn’t fully transformed into her Grotesquery form, but she was channeling a portion of its power.
Having encountered Authorities and Taboos, Luo Ling’s understanding of this power had deepened.
It was “Devouring,” constantly devouring everything.
If fully unleashed, it could cause another, even more terrifying disaster.
So…
A small portion was enough for now.
The troupe leader swooped down, his speed significantly increased after fusing with the viscous beast, reaching a level beyond human comprehension.
His bone scythe sliced through the air, carving a deep gash in the ground, like a gaping wound.
However, a starlight shield materialized, the only unbreachable point within the wound.
The appearance of the starlight shield caused a ripple in Linna’s concentration, but she quickly suppressed it.
“Mother…”
The starlight shattered, but the next moment, a cold glint flashed.
“Severance,” the dagger crafted from pure ice, met the troupe leader’s bone scythe head-on.
“Certain Death.”
Absolute death, inescapable even for a High-Risk Grotesquery.
But it required time. Sensing the approaching death, the troupe leader shrieked and tried to escape, but his bone scythe was unavoidable, severed cleanly.
However, as the bone scythe broke, a mass of viscous liquid engulfed it, reattaching it to the troupe leader’s wound.
The bone scythe instantly regenerated, along with his other injuries.
“He can’t be killed…”
Luo Ling calmly sheathed her dagger, looking at her hand, now covered in thin scales, her trimmed nails growing back, sharp and grotesque.
The deterioration was worse than before.
But her raw power had also increased significantly.
“Excuse me, Miss Southern Cross.”
Linna’s soft voice echoed, tinged with exhaustion.
Luo Ling stepped aside, glancing at Linna.
Her blonde hair was stained crimson, blood trickling from her eyes, ears, and nose, her pupils completely replaced by ritualistic patterns.
Under the moonlight, starlight shone even brighter.
“Reloaded.”
Linna raised her firearm with one hand, her finger not even on the trigger.
A ritualistic pattern resembling outstretched wings unfolded, layers of magic circles emanating from the barrel, aimed at the troupe leader.
The troupe leader, sensing the imminent danger, his grotesque face contorted in fear.
Flapping his viscous wings, he attempted to escape the terrifying attack.
But… Luo Ling wouldn’t allow it.
“Complete Domination.”
Fungal threads erupted from the viscous beast’s remains, completely immobilizing the troupe leader.
“Perfect Hunt.”
Linna whispered, the ritual concluding.
A path of starlight extended from her, reaching towards the bright moon in the sky.
It pierced through the troupe leader’s suspended body, engulfing him completely.
The Distorted Beast, equivalent to a complete Grotesquery of the 170th Sequence, nearing Dangerous Grotesquery level, met its end in the starlight.
“That attack… was powerful.”
Luo Ling stood there, sensing the lingering power of the starlight, slightly unnerved.
It required lengthy preparation, significant consumption, and a one-time use Sacred Relic, but its power was undeniable.
Even… enough to severely injure Ji Ying, who had already transformed into an “egg.”
Even if the troupe leader were stronger, he couldn’t have withstood that attack.
“Is that so?”
Linna walked over to Luo Ling and collapsed against her shoulder.
“However, Miss Southern Cross, I need you to help me walk for a bit.” Linna looked up weakly. “You can bind my hands, but no need for the blindfold, thank you.”
“…I told you there was a reason!”
Little Odeletta looked up, her face still pale.
“Do you want to check on your former teammate?” Luo Ling’s expression softened slightly.
“No need, he’s dead.” Linna shook her head, her expression worried. “But I don’t know about the others…”
She hadn’t seen them since they were separated.
Finally encountering a teammate, only to find him as an enemy, was truly tragic.
“Wait.”
Luo Ling’s expression turned serious.
“It’s dissolving…”
She murmured.
“What’s wrong?”
Linna looked up with effort.
“The Distorted Beast we just killed, its body has completely dissolved.”
Luo Ling looked up. The troupe leader’s body had vanished, only a faint bloodstain remaining on the ground.
Absorbed by the Incubation Barrier?
Or had another Distorted Beast appeared, fusing with it through consumption?
Luo Ling’s spores scouted the surroundings, though she wasn’t optimistic.
But after a moment, she noticed something.
“Wait, this Incubation Barrier… has it expanded?”
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