Chapter 982 Instrument of Slaughter
Lucia gasped for breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her arm underwent a surreal transformation. No longer bound by the familiar contours of human anatomy, her limb now bore an uncanny resemblance to the iconic Buster Sword wielded by a mysterious individual. Yet, unlike a mere imitation, this otherworldly appendage seemed imbued with a vitality of its own, giving the impression of a living, breathing weapon.
The sword-shaped limb, pulsating with life, bore an eerie semblance to reality. However, its true peculiarity lay in the network of throbbing veins that wrapped around its metallic surface. These pulsating veins, emerging from the blade itself, lent the otherwise lifelike sword a demonic and sinister appearance. It was as though the very essence of malevolence coursed through the veins, casting a dark shadow over the once familiar appendage.
"Lucia? What's happening to your arm?" The concern in my question was palpable, as I tried to make sense of the grotesque metamorphosis of her new arm.
"I don't know... ugh..." Lucia's response, punctuated by a grimace of pain, revealed her ongoing struggle with the discomfort. Despite the agony, she remained acutely aware of the profound changes manifesting within her arm.
Seeing that the Sand Walkers weren't merely sitting and waiting but already launching an attack, I took on the fight solo. Lucia, still catching her breath, struggled to move properly. The Sand Walkers, aware of their disadvantage, called for reinforcements. In no time, the area swarmed with more monsters. Although I could handle them alone, I realized I wasn't fast enough to protect Lucia.
Glancing back at her, I saw a Sand Walker leaping into the air, poised to strike Lucia's vulnerable back.
"Lucia!" I swiftly dispatched the nearest Sand Walker, intending to rush to her rescue, but before I could reach her...
SWISH!
The Sand Walker attacking Lucia was abruptly split in two. Lucia, now standing properly after recovering a bit, then casually waved off the blood on her blade, revealing a newfound strength.
"I am fine Master...I am fine..."
"Are you hurt or anything?" I asked Lucia.
"I still feel a slight pain but I am fine for the most part...I just needed to adapt to the pain for a bit," Lucia answered as she looked at her new arm. "But it does feel like it is new. I can't even feel the fingers that it once had."
"Seeing that you can cut things using it, maybe it was now in its weapon form?"
"I guess, Master."
Our conversation is interrupted when the Sand Walkers continue their assault.
"Let's talk again later once these f*ckers are dead, alright?"
Lucia nodded and although she looked awkward with her new weapon, she imitated my stance.
"Master, to use a sword, you just needed to swing it around, yes?" Lucia asked.
"Most of the time, yes... but..." Before I can say more, Lucia rushes forward to the Sand Walkers in front of her and starts slicing them. She is killing them at a fast pace as she can easily pierce through their hard shell without problem, making me sigh in relief seeing she can just do fine right now.
I also began clearing with the other Sand Walkers as well and it took us a few minutes to clear them all. Not a single one of the Sand Walkers is alive and all of them are minced to pieces.
As soon as the last Sand Walker is dead, Lucia's arm returns to what it once was, back to its form as her arm.
"It's back to normal..." Lucia glanced at her bloody arm, drenched by the blood of the Sand Walkers she had slain.
"I guess that is one of the functions that Cath Palug meant earlier when he said that it will now be capable of protecting you from danger. Seeing as it can morph into a weapon, I assume it will also transform into a shield if you are in danger as well."
"Is that how it is?"
"We require to further test that theory, Lucia, and as much as I don't know what it can really do, we also don't know how much strain it can do to you as well. All we know is that this is an instrument that is capable of slaughter depending on your actions and feelings."
Lucia nodded and was soon forced to kneel on the sand and start huffing. I quickly helped her stand straight.
"Looks like what happened to you earlier has taken your body to a big toll. You should rest for a bit. You just recovered from your coma and I think your body has yet to fully recover. We should go back to the mansion and rest there for now."
She couldn't say much and could only nod as I helped her back to the mansion by flying.
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Lucia returned to sleep again, but this time, she wasn't in a coma. This was a huge relief, especially considering that she had fallen into a coma after the new arm was attached. I feared she might slip back into a coma if she decided to rest. However, Pixie shook her head after a thorough examination.
"She just needed rest, Master. Her body has been pushed to its limits, which is why she ran out of stamina so quickly earlier. It's not a significant concern, so don't worry. She won't slip back into a coma again unless there is a bigger injury that she gets to experience which should not happen now that her new arm is protecting her."
"That's a big relief. I hoped things wouldn't be so bad for her considering that a new arm of hers is the one who caused her to fall asleep for a long," Rika sighed in relief after hearing the diagnostics as well.
I shook my head as I glanced at her new arm. "Still, her new arm is a double-edged sword. Considering that it acts only depending on the situation and how she feels currently, it might be a bad thing for her to be in extreme emotions. We still don't know if she can control that arm properly but it also has a mind of its own so we should also take this chance to keep an eye on that as well."
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The journey continued and we only stopped when the night came. The elves also get a chance to finally get some rest as well. Even though we asked them to not overdo it, because they wanted to reach King Arthur as soon as possible, they would continue doing it until they tracked him down. Thankfully, Almira managed to talk sense to them and they agreed to take a break at night from tracking him which is also why we are now stopping.
Queen Tanya wanted to scout ahead for a while to ensure that our night would be safe and not full of trouble for a while. While she was doing that, Lucia woke up which fully erased our doubts of Lucia falling back into a coma once more. She is feeling energized again after a full rest and joins me and Pandora on our guard watch as the two of us are the ones tasked to be the night watchers.
"Evening, Master, Pandora-san. How long was I out?" Lucia asked while still rubbing her eyes.
"5 hours. We thought you had returned to a coma state once again but thankfully, you have not."
"Sorry if you are worried, Master. I didn't expect I would feel that exhausted after the transformation of my hand."
I shook my head and patted her head. "No worries. As long as you are fine, then everything is okay."
Pandora smiled and she glanced at Lucia's new arm. "Maybe because the two of them are now considered as one, perhaps the reason why Lucia easily got tired is because the arm decided to use the power of Lucia this time around to transform and didn't use its innate energy that would allow it to transform freely. Since it fuels itself using your emotions, Lucia, there is a chance that any impulsive behavior that you exhibit based on the level of danger you are in, the more energy gets used at you as a result. Might be why you would feel pain after the arm transformed because it forcibly drained every energy you have," Pandora theorizes.
"I feel this one as well. When it transformed earlier, something seems to be 'sucked' out of me and I felt like my whole body felt drained. Although I can still move and do something, it doesn't do much after everything is done and the fatigue hits very fast the moment the power that the transformation of the arm gets undone."
"Then, the only way for you to properly control it is to perhaps control your emotions. Since it fuels itself based on how you feel during battle, then perhaps if you are calm, then perhaps the amount of energy it needs to transform is lesser and you can fight like normal again and maybe you can even control whether to use the transformation skills it has or use your mana instead," Pandora suggested.
As we continue to suggest Lucia on how to control her power, Queen Tanya returns but from the look on her face, the news she carries doesn't look so good.
"Prepare. It seems a huge bandit-infested city took notice of our little walking hideout. Let's get ready to welcome them."
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