Chapter 301: Chapter 142: Outbreak
The veil on Nifa’s face disappeared, revealing a face of exquisite beauty, like a delicate and otherworldly jade carving under the moonlight. Her eyes, like two deep gemstones, held a wisdom that seemed to see through all things. A high-bridged nose and full lips only added to her unique charisma.
But now, her face held only sorrow. She murmured, "Gunfire resounds; the death knell tolls. As death descends, does one step into the Abyss of Despair, or find eternal life in the Dawn?"
"So, this prophecy... it was about you all along, Ales."
Beside her, Old Jack was also watching Ales in mid-air. "This was his plan. To use the Resurrection Coffin to revive, then absorb the Calamity Origin from Tina and use it to take his power to the next level."
Director Nifa nodded slightly. She had already seen all this, but she still couldn’t come to terms with it.
"Why did he have to hide this from the entire Secret Investigation Department? We all would have stood by him..."
"Perhaps it was to avoid implicating the rest of you. If I hadn’t accidentally stumbled upon him using the array in the Detention Area to plant psychological suggestions in Tina, he probably would have kept me in the dark as well."
"But what he’s doing to Tina..."
"You want to ask how he could bring himself to do it?" A bitter expression appeared on Old Jack’s face. "If there were any other way, I would also hope he could spare Tina."
"So, who is she, exactly? And where did you bring her back from?" Nifa looked at him and asked.
This question had been weighing on her mind for over a decade. Ever since Tina had suppressed the rampaging Joker and saved them seventeen years ago, she had always harbored doubts about Tina’s origins.
A Forbidden Item losing control, a power comparable to a Third-Grade Calamity, was suppressed by a newborn infant with a single finger. No matter how you looked at it, the whole thing was deeply suspicious.
"We brought her back from some ruins," Old Jack sighed. "It was a tomb from the Third Era. A party of five of us went in... and in the end, only the two of us made it out alive."
"Is that where Yegor’s brother died?"
"Yes. To be honest, I wasn’t interested in Tina’s origins, but Ales was convinced she held a great secret. That, combined with her terrifying power, so..."
Just then, a new development between the two figures above the Cathedral interrupted their conversation.
The massive, illusory figure that had been standing behind Tina turned and moved to stand behind Ales instead. Along with it, the terrifying Calamity Power in the surroundings seemed to transfer as well, coalescing around him.
"Yes, this is it... Calamity, despair, fear, darkness—"
An eye-shaped pattern, identical to Tina’s, faintly emerged between Ales’s brows. The pattern was unstable, however, flickering in and out of existence, mirroring the madness and cold indifference on his face.
The massive illusory figure behind him watched the scene unfold with great interest.
’Two Calamity Demon Eyes appearing... Interesting, very interesting!’
Opposite them, Tina calmly gazed at Ales and the illusory woman behind him with her dark eyes, whispering, "I... want to go home..."
ZZZT!!
Just then, a frenzied figure abruptly appeared before them, eight tentacles lancing straight for Ales.
"Oh?"
Noticing the unexpected interloper from the corner of his eye, Ales pulled his arm from Tina’s body and sidestepped the tentacles’ attack.
"So it’s you, Investigator Wei’en."
The newcomer was indeed Wei’en, who had used the "Yearning" ability of his Partner Contract to appear at Tina’s side.
Seeing his strike had missed, he didn’t linger. Grabbing Tina with one hand, he used a Blink Spell to teleport away, leaving four illusory clones behind to cast a Charm Spell on Ales.
"Mens, Di."
[Your illusory clone’s Charm Spell has hit Ales Kilibali. Charm status will last for 2 seconds. Evaluation: This Spirit level is truly... insane. Special Reward: Survival Points +20, Resilience Level +2, Spirit Level +2.]
A level-four Blink Spell had a maximum range of one thousand meters and created four illusory clones. Furthermore, the Charm Spell cast by these clones would affect any target whose Spirit level was no more than two hundred percent of the caster’s own...
And with Wei’en’s current base stats—
Resilience Level: 25334 (4525.2)
Spirit Level: 21662 (2127.8)
Origin: 443.84 (326.84)
With the two-hundred-percent Spirit level bonus, it meant that no enemy with a Spirit level below forty thousand could possibly escape the effects of the Charm Spell.
But what Wei’en hadn’t expected was that such a powerful magic effect could only control Ales for a mere two seconds. It was a testament to the terrifying power Ales now wielded.
"Wei’en... Brother..."
Tina let him carry her away obediently, just as she always had whenever they were together.
Except now, she was extremely weak. Not only was her chest stained with blood, but her face was also deathly pale, completely drained of color. It seemed as if she could fall into an eternal slumber at any moment.
[Your contractual partner, Calamity Species Tina Klosterman, has suffered grievous injuries and is on the verge of death. Due to the effects of the Partner Contract, your power is beginning to decrease. Evaluation: If she were to die... that would certainly be interesting! Special Reward: Survival Points +50, Origin +4, Resilience Level +8, Spirit Level +8.]
’On the verge of death...?’
Wei’en brought her to the bell tower of Krimms Cathedral and gently laid her down. He took out a Healing Potion, poured it on her wound, and then made her drink several more vials.
But the Healing Potions did nothing to improve Tina’s condition.
Moreover, unlike when Clelia was injured last time, he couldn’t detect any force preventing the Magic Potion from working. It was as if Tina’s own body was simply immune to magic potions.
"Trying to save her? It’s useless. A Calamity Species is beyond salvation." Ales, having broken free from the Charm Spell, couldn’t help but laugh at Wei’en’s actions.
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