Chapter 85: To Be Human
After relaying everything, Li Shaoheng’s forehead was beaded with sweat as he held the phone.
He glanced at the nearby battlefield, a scene of death and decay, rebirth and distortion, intertwined with spiderwebs, a sight beyond human comprehension.
So this was a battle between Grotesqueries…
As for the person on the other end of the phone, Li Shaoheng felt a growing unease.
He hoped Miss Luo Ling and her sister were still alive…
At least alive, there was still hope.
After what felt like an eternity, a voice finally came through the phone.
A languid, unfamiliar voice, laced with impatience and a hint of seductive charm.
“Understood.”
Then, the line went dead.
Who?
Li Shaoheng’s eyes narrowed.
It was a voice he had never heard before, pleasant yet terrifying.
Because… even through the phone, even as a High-Order Awakened One who had encountered an Authority, he had lost consciousness for a moment.
Just from the voice alone…
What had happened on the other side? Was it a new member of the Harbingers of Calamity, besides Scientist and Artist?
Li Shaoheng’s mind raced. The current situation was a delicate balance. If another Harbinger appeared, he might not even be able to escape this Realm of Nothingness.
Meanwhile, Luo Ling looked at the broken flip phone with a sigh.
Her repair method was… unconventional. After functioning for a few minutes, the phone had finally given out.
However, being able to repair a phone that was practically in pieces to the point where it worked for several minutes was already a miracle.
“Sister…”
Luo Ling composed herself. Although worried about her sister’s safety, she had to stay calm.
Opening her eyes, she examined the Spirit Walker.
It was a Sacred Tool, its ability to occupy a space within the Realm of Nothingness, allowing free movement beyond the Boundary. It had no other functions.
Through Weave, Luo Ling could temporarily control this Sacred Tool that wasn’t hers.
“Besides identification and repair, I can also forcibly use other people’s things…”
Luo Ling explored her new form and abilities. Even the most basic effects were incredibly powerful, worthy of the title of Taboo.
Elsa’s current unconsciousness wasn’t due to her consciousness being sealed, but a sleep-like state. After helping her back into her wheelchair, Luo Ling turned her attention to the teddy bear.
—Bella.
Its body was enveloped by a power Luo Ling recognized as Artist’s Midas Touch.
It was through Midas Touch that Bella had been transformed from an inanimate object into a living being, but its existence was special, likely having undergone some unique process.
Ordinary Midas Touch could only create a basic, insect-like intelligence, far inferior to Bella’s.
Bella had been forcibly reverted to an inanimate object by Artist’s ability, but this state was temporary. Even if Artist didn’t undo it, Bella would eventually recover.
Luo Ling raised her hand, and the invisible web from her fingertips enveloped Bella, Weave activating within its body.
Analyzing, dispelling.
A flicker of life returned to Bella’s button eyes, and after a moment of confusion, she shrieked.
“Ah—”
Mid-scream, she saw Luo Ling and wisely shut her mouth.
“What did you see?” Luo Ling asked.
Strangely, she felt she had spoken in a calm, indifferent tone, but the words, leaving her lips, carried a hint of seductive danger.
Just like when she had spoken to Li Shaoheng.
Luo Ling wasn’t used to this.
Bella shook her head frantically, zipping her cloth mouth shut with her tiny paws, indicating that she hadn’t seen anything, and even if she had… she hadn’t seen anything.
Luo Ling frowned. This wasn’t the answer she wanted.
She had wanted to ask Bella about her sister’s whereabouts, because even in her “inanimate” state, Bella still had some perception of her surroundings.
“Ah, ah… you’re asking what happened here, right?” Bella, adept at reading expressions, quickly switched to a fawning tone. “I saw it, I saw it, I saw everything…”
“Tell me,” Luo Ling raised an eyebrow.
Bella immediately started chattering, but it was all information Luo Ling already knew.
Until the end…
“That old hag Scientist killed Miss Luo Ling, then ran away. And Ms. Su Wan… eh, where are they?”
Bella finally noticed the state of the train car and was stunned.
Where were they?
Where had those two people gone?
“…I understand.”
Luo Ling’s eyes flickered. It seemed that after her “death,” something had blocked Bella’s perception.
Elsa’s coma was likely caused by the same thing.
Her sister…
The sister who had been with her for over a decade, was she really… something special?
Was she the Puppet Ballad?
Luo Ling wasn’t sure.
Because if she were the Puppet Ballad, even just an “egg,” Luo Ling’s “death” would have been the perfect opportunity to strike.
But if she wasn’t, then where was her sister now…?
Luo Ling was silent.
Even the most difficult possibility was better than this unbearable uncertainty.
Luo Ling released her Weave on Bella, and the once lively teddy bear reverted to an inanimate object, only a flicker of resentment remaining in its button eyes.
She walked to the car door and opened it slightly.
Beyond the door was an impenetrable darkness, a place even her web domain couldn’t reach. Luo Ling had tried sending out Spores in her White Witch form, but they couldn’t penetrate it either.
…Had her sister entered this strange darkness?
Luo Ling wanted to step outside, but a silent warning echoed in her mind, as if a single step would lead to irreversible consequences.
After hesitating for a long time, Luo Ling closed the door.
She gave up, not because she lacked courage, but because without any clues, she couldn’t afford to sacrifice herself blindly.
If she was certain her sister was in that darkness, she would step inside without hesitation.
“It seems… I have to meet with Li Shaoheng and the others…”
Luo Ling made her decision.
Li Shaoheng seemed to know something about this dark abyss, but he had been secretive on the train. Perhaps he could offer some insight.
“He said the train car had been detached and affected by Artist’s Midas Touch…”
Luo Ling’s web domain enveloped the entire Spirit Walker, spider legs emerging from her back, three illusory black eyes opening on her forehead, adding a grotesque touch to her alluring face.
A terrifying presence, a fleeting gaze, seemed to fall upon her once more.
“Countering a High-Order Awakened One’s influence is still a bit difficult…”
Luo Ling could feel her “inspiration,” her equivalent of mana, rapidly depleting, but the effect was significant.
The Spirit Walker was almost entirely out of its owner’s control, temporarily in Luo Ling’s hands.
“Artist’s ability… should be in this direction.”
It was her intuition guiding her.
In this endless darkness, all she could rely on was her intuition.
“Then… let’s take a gamble.”
The old steam train started up again, slowly at first, then accelerating rapidly, hurtling towards the direction indicated by Luo Ling’s intuition.
…
“This feeling…”
Scientist was the first to react, her head snapping up, a sharp pain in her mutated eye.
The next moment, her spider legs slowly dissipated, and her eye began to turn hollow.
What was going on?
Her Omniscience, obtained at such a great cost… was fading!
But that wasn’t the most terrifying thing.
A flicker of fear remained in Scientist’s single eye as she whispered,
“Naraku… He…
“Is awakening…”
Although the Harbingers of Calamity members paid a Price to obtain the power of Taboos, they ultimately saw Grotesqueries as tools.
There were many in the world who worshipped Grotesqueries, willingly becoming their servants, even forming a large organization, but the Harbingers clearly weren’t among them.
Not only that, but the Harbingers were considered the greatest enemy of this organization.
Precisely because they played with Grotesquery Authorities, using various methods to “deceive” High-Order Grotesqueries and obtain their power.
Like Artist, who had used countless “artworks” as a Price, and Performer, who had even used her own flesh and blood.
The greatest difference between them and Grotesquery servants was that the Harbingers always resisted the Grotesqueries’ influence, maintaining their self-awareness, even killing High-Order Grotesqueries to obtain their Authorities—the three Harbingers who possessed Authorities had obtained them this way.
Of course, no one dared to try this with Taboos or, in most cases, High-Risk Grotesqueries.
That was why the Harbingers only dared to borrow power from dormant Taboos.
And now… Naraku, who should have been dormant, had briefly awakened, his gaze falling upon them, reclaiming Scientist’s power and a portion of the Price she had paid.
In an instant, Scientist felt four of her six abilities vanish. Combined with the one she had sacrificed earlier, she was now left with only one.
“You should go,” Artist said, seeing Scientist’s weakened state.
At the same time, the Authority he wielded intensified slightly, trying to suppress “Ji Ying” once more.
Needless to say, Artist had paid a greater Price.
The battlefield in the Realm of Nothingness was disadvantageous for the Company, but also for them.
However, they had been exploiting this disadvantage.
But they hadn’t expected the Taboo, dormant for three hundred years, to awaken at this moment…
Otherwise… “Ji Ying” would have been the first to fall.
Scientist, weakened, was unwilling to give up, but there seemed to be no other choice.
Her power greatly diminished, barely alive, she would only be a burden.
Fortunately, the ability that allowed her to escape was still intact…
As long as she could return to the Spirit Walker…
Her weapon, Elsa, was still there, and she could still fight.
Everything could still be reversed.
Under Artist’s cover, Scientist slowly activated her ability.
“Ji Ying” watched coldly, not trying to stop Scientist’s escape, as Artist had expected.
Li Shaoheng, observing the battlefield, had considered taking advantage of this opportunity, but with the ambiguous “Ji Ying” in the way, he hesitated.
If he acted rashly and was deemed an enemy by “Ji Ying,” he wouldn’t be able to protect Cen Xiangyun and An Yu alone.
In the awkward silence, Scientist’s Retrospect finally activated, her form beginning to dissipate.
A smile appeared on her lips.
The next moment, her smile froze.
“What?!”
Back in the Spirit Walker, Scientist heard a rumbling sound. Looking around, she saw that the Spirit Walker was moving.
Who?
Who was it?
Who could use her Sacred Tool?
Scientist instinctively tried to stop the Spirit Walker, but she had lost control.
She focused her will, opened her remaining eye, and tried to examine the Sacred Tool.
But she saw…
“Spiderwebs…”
The train car was covered in invisible webs.
This was… Naraku’s power.
“You’re back?”
A seductive voice echoed from behind, and Scientist abruptly turned to see a mysterious, unfamiliar woman sitting on the sofa.
“Who are you…?”
Scientist looked around, not seeing Luo Ling or Su Wan.
When she looked at the mysterious woman again, her blood ran cold.
Perhaps… she knew why Naraku had awakened…
This mysterious woman, simply sitting on the sofa, exuded an irresistible charm that transcended gender, captivating with just a single glance.
But most striking were her eyes, and the faintly visible spider legs behind her.
“An apostle of Naraku? No… an agent.”
It was rumored that there was an organization that worshipped Grotesqueries, considering it an honor to serve them. They didn’t have a fixed name, usually calling themselves apostles of a certain Grotesquery.
They could indeed use a portion of that Grotesquery’s power, and the most powerful among them were called agents.
It was said that the apostles and agents of Taboos could even travel freely through the Realm of Nothingness. Scientist had always dismissed it as a rumor, but now, it seemed to be true.
Neither Luo Ling nor Su Wan resembled the mysterious woman before her.
Scientist hadn’t expected that while borrowing Naraku’s power in the Realm of Nothingness, she would encounter the real deal. No wonder Naraku had briefly awakened and reclaimed her power.
If an agent was involved, it wasn’t impossible.
“Hmm?”
Luo Ling tilted her head, puzzled.
What apostle, what agent?
She was indeed using Naraku’s power, but just like with the Puppet Ballad, it was more like she had “stolen” it.
She hadn’t expected her actions to be recognized by the real deal.
But to Scientist, the mysterious woman’s expression wasn’t one of confusion, but a threat.
People thought the Harbingers of Calamity were unreasonable, but Scientist knew they had their own code of conduct, their actions driven by a “purpose.”
But Grotesquery apostles and agents were different. Their actions were dictated by the Grotesqueries they served, each with their own unique, often erratic and incomprehensible, style.
Simply put, they were all lunatics.
Lunatics wielding immense power.
At this moment, Scientist didn’t even dare move. She knew Naraku’s abilities, and within this web, she couldn’t even think of resisting.
“She doesn’t know where my sister is either…”
Through Weave, Luo Ling could vaguely sense Scientist’s thoughts, a fleeting question of “Where are Luo Ling and Su Wan?”
This was within Luo Ling’s expectations. If Scientist had wanted to kill her sister, there was no need to dispose of the body. She hadn’t even disposed of her body.
“But… we’re almost there…”
Luo Ling looked up, a strong sensation from her Weave.
The next moment, the Spirit Walker lurched violently, and Scientist, losing her balance, fell to the ground.
“What?!”
Scientist looked up in shock and saw…
The Spirit Walker had collided with the gold-plated train car in the Realm of Nothingness!
Even plated with gold, the ordinary train was no match for the Sacred Tool and was cut in half.
Luo Ling stood up and took a deep breath.
Ignoring the sprawled Scientist, she walked to the car door.
Opening the door, she saw several familiar faces, their gazes filled with shock.
Li Shaoheng, crouching by the restroom door, his hand reaching for his throwing knives. Cen Xiangyun, holding the unconscious An Yu.
And Artist, his face filled with disbelief. He hadn’t expected Scientist to return this way, and so soon.
But Luo Ling didn’t notice them. Her gaze fell on the only person looking at her with sorrow…
…If it could still be called a person.
“You came,” she said softly, white mycelia threads flowing from her lips as she spoke.
A grotesque smile.
“I came,” Luo Ling nodded.
“…That’s good, at least this time, I haven’t failed,” Ji Ying said, closing her eyes, her form beginning to dissipate.
“I leave the rest… to you.”
She had reached her limit.
The limit of being human.
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