Chapter 275: Chapter 135: A Burst of Magnificent Fireworks (Part 2)
"Tina, I miss home..."
"Miss home? Heheheha... Me too!"
The Demon Clown’s despairing roars ceased. His crimson eyes slowly darkened, turning into black pupils identical to Tina’s. He turned and chased joyfully after her, humming an off-key ditty.
"Hum hum ha, the night’s an old hag, stays up all night long, beating on a black-flower drum, THUMP-THUMP-THUMPING..."
"Hum hum hey, the sun’s a squinty eye, swaying day by day, making fires rage, and the ground cave in..."
"Oh me, oh my, the Storm is a horse and a bug..."
As he departed, the controlling force on everyone gradually weakened.
One kilometer, two kilometers...
[Your Contract Partner - Calamity Species... Special Reward: Aberration (Temporary), Survival Points +5, Resilience Level +1, Spirit Level +1.]
[...]
[Your Contract Partner - Calamity Species Tina Closterman has undergone a calamitous aberration, her power reaching that of a Level 2 Calamity Species. Due to your companion contract, your body is also undergoing an aberration. Evaluation: Can you focus on yourself for a moment? If you don’t figure something out soon, you’re really going to die. Special Reward: Aberration (Temporary), Survival Points +40, Resilience Level +10, Spirit Level +10.]
’Tina is a Level 2 Calamity now?’
Huh?
’On my own body?’
Wei’en snapped back to his senses, glancing at the panel’s information and then at his own base stats.
Name: Wei’en Loft
Bloodline: Sullute
Class: Wizard Apprentice (Advanced)
Resilience Level: 2023 (318.7)
Spirit Level: 2101 (381.6)
Origin: 187 (87.57) (1 point sealed)
Talent: None
Survival Points: 2567
’My Resilience and Spirit levels are both over two thousand, and my Origin is as high as one hundred eighty-seven?!’
Not only that, but he was shocked to find his stats soaring with each passing moment. In just two seconds, his base stats had jumped by 500...
’Holy shit. No wonder my body feels full of power, with this faint tearing sensation, like something inside me is about to claw its way out.’
’I can only hold on until Tina becomes a Level 3 Calamity at most?’
Wei’en recalled the earlier notification, his heart pounding with anxiety. He didn’t know if Tina would reach Level 3 Calamity before the Demon Clown released control of his body.
If he couldn’t increase his own strength by then, he’d probably end up just as the panel warned—he’d go POP.
’Power... I need more power... Damn it, Leonard! If you were going to leave, couldn’t you have just released your control over my body?!’
Wei’en’s crimson eyes were filled with anxiety, and even more so, with struggle.
It was not just anxiety over his surging power, but a struggle with the choice he faced to rapidly increase his strength.
He knew with perfect clarity that there was only one way to increase his strength fast enough: kill people. If he killed the Vasquez People on the other side, his base stats would skyrocket, and he could avoid being torn apart by the power surging within him.
’Kill... power up... kill... power up... Power up!’
He didn’t know when it started, but the last sliver of his conscience was being pierced, shattered bit by bit. The hunger for power, the thirst for survival, echoed in his mind.
’I want to live!’
’I want to live!’
’I want... to live... to see what the hell is wrong with this world!!’
"This is bad!"
Just as Wei’en was struggling internally, Director Nifa cried out in alarm.
She had seen it in the distance, at the far end of the Dumitru District. Nicole Vazquez was moving again, as were the Vasquez warriors before her, who were all gasping for breath, the fear still fresh.
They, the Vasquez People, were the first to be freed—
Nicole’s reaction was just as swift. Casting aside any joy she felt at surviving, she brandished the Golden Scepter and roared, "Warriors, kill them!"
Her thinking was simple. Since only the Vasquez People had recovered, they had to seize the forbidden artifact and get out of the Caster City-State immediately.
First, the forbidden artifact had lost control, and then there was that bizarre girl... Who knew what other strange horrors were about to befall this city-state? If they stayed, their power level wouldn’t be enough to even leave dust behind.
"Kill!"
The Vasquez warriors who had regained their mobility froze for a second, then their faces lit up with glee. They drew back and hurled their spears—hundreds, thousands of them shimmering with Extraordinary light—at the paralyzed Investigators.
Without a second thought, Director Nifa flew towards the attack, trying to get out of the Demon Clown’s "theater," the area where he had disabled all Extraordinary abilities.
But when she realized she was still too far, she had no choice but to expend her Origin Power, sacrificing it to the figurehead in her hand.
She knew that if she didn’t intercept this attack, at least half of the Investigators below would be killed or wounded.
"Dai... De... Slin!"
A sphere of darkness coalesced for just a second before she hurled it forward to meet the thousand-strong volley of spears. In an instant, it dissolved them all.
Nifa’s heart eased slightly, but before she could act again, a second wave of Vasquez warriors was freed. They unleashed an even larger volley of spears, and from the rear, the BOOM of Steam Cannons firing off several shells echoed through the air.
A look of despair crossed her face. There hadn’t been enough time. The power she’d gathered into the Dharma Seal via the forbidden artifact was too weak; there was no way she could stop this next wave.
Besides, her Origin Power...
But no matter how desperate she felt, the outcome was inevitable. A portion of the spears and shells were blocked by the sphere of darkness, but the rest whistled past her on either side, hurtling toward the Investigators behind her.
"No!!"
"Hahaha..." Nicole couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. What a twist of fate! Who would have thought that the forbidden artifact losing control would end up helping them so much?
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