novelraw Chapter 346: Confrontation Across Space (Two-in-One)
Chapter 346: Confrontation Across Space (Two-in-One)
"Eldest Miss, watch out!"
Outside the window, that massive eyeball growing on the tree branches abruptly looked towards Valentiina. Following that, tentacles grew out of those branches and rapidly charged towards Valentiina. Those tentacles smashed through the window. In the blink of an eye, they were about to arrive before Valentiina, who was so frightened her face was entirely pale. Fortunately, Heidelin behind her was quick of eye and deft of hand, abruptly pulling the wheelchair back. Only then did she barely manage to evade the first round of attacks.
"What... is this thing?"
"Don't care about these for now, Eldest Miss. Clan Chief Dar, please immediately take all members and evacuate. We'll head outside first."
Heidelin was perhaps the calmest person on the scene. But although her words were considered calm, however, if you were to focus and stare at her thighs at this moment, you would discover that they were continuously trembling. Evidently, her heart was not as calm as her surface.
"Boss, I'm here!"
Just at this moment, the main doors of the conference room abruptly shattered. That Lion-kin Phyllis carrying a giant saber roared as she entered the room. She was seen waving her hand towards the conference room, then shouting loudly,
"Phyllis has arrived, everybody move aside!"
"Move aside my foot! Quickly let Eldest Miss and Clan Chief Dar out... where is that guy Fisher?"
Phyllis' handsome posture was interrupted by the foul-faced Heidelin. She had no choice but to pat her own head and yield the path. Simultaneously, she pulled out a Pendant flashing with deep red light from her embrace,"Oh, he went downstairs to look for Old Bal. But before that, he gave me a few magic Pendants, saying they were for self-defense. Here, seems quite valuable."
Hearing these words, the Struck With Panic Valentiina's small face slightly sank. She gritted her teeth, casting a glance at the magic Pendant in Phyllis' hand, and softly muttered to herself,
"This guy... asked him to engrave magic for my self-defense, yet he went and gave the magic to you first... then what about mine?"
Phyllis also didn't know why her boss suddenly got angry. She stroked the back of her head, subconsciously handing the magic Fisher gave her over to Valentiina,
"Boss, then let me give mine to you."
"No need, you keep it."
Heidelin couldn't wait for her Eldest Miss' sudden petty temper to pass. She merely sighed and hurriedly pushed Valentiina heading outside the door. And in passing, those quite miniature-height Snow Fox-kin also hurriedly caught up. Right before leaving, Heidelin just then looked at Phyllis guarding the doorway, instructing,
"I'll leave bringing up the rear to you first. Don't linger too long. Retreat from the hotel together with us shortly. Ensure safety before talking about anything else..."
"Understood!"
Everyone behind her retreated out of the room. Phyllis let out a yawn and raised the giant saber in her hand, pointing it towards the flesh and blood tentacles constantly attacking her eyes. The fire magic Fisher gave her in her hand also flashed with bright light. That light continuously conducted, soon igniting her eyes and the mane on her head,
"Although I don't know what kind of plaything you actually are, just bring it on."
"What exactly is this thing?! It sealed up the hotel's main doors! We have to go out!"
"Eldest Miss is still upstairs..."
On the first floor, very many maids and staff ran down swiftly, yet stayed blankly in front of the door sealed dead by the massive tree branches, Looking at Each Other in Blank Dismay. Only until the one-armed Balzac staggered over from behind, did their being at a loss for what to do alleviate slightly.
"Everyone move aside, everyone move aside! Let me use magic to blast open the main doors, everybody move aside a bit!"
"Wait, magic? Using it here, we will all be affected..."
Just as the people at the doorway were hesitating, deep in the corridor behind them, a violent tremor abruptly burst forth. They only saw a red-eyed Naris Person wielding the Fluid Sword in his hand, continuously hacking at the tentacles spreading and growing on the ground. Series of magic lights flashed incessantly, blasting the originally fragile walls until they became increasingly precarious.
"Bzz bzz bzz!"
That was Fisher. Although in order to ensure the safety of the building he was only using stockpiled low-ring magic, to these servants who were already panicked out of their wits, it was already shocking enough.
"No no no, still better to hurry up and use magic to blast open the main doors. I beg you."
"..."
Balzac wordlessly cast a glance at that guy beside him whose face suddenly changed. Afterwards, he raised the high-ring magic Fisher gave him just now, aiming it at the dead-blocked main doors before his eyes. Following that, enduring the intense pain, he stimulated the magic power. A giant sword flashing with blinding light instantly appeared in his hand. The people at the side successively retreated. Balzac gripped that massive sword of light. Even with a severed arm, he felt his entire body was filled with power...
Six-Ring Light Prime Magic, Halo Greatsword Magic. Holding the post of Academic Official passed down through generations in Schwari, Balzac naturally also recognized this magic's use.
No wonder humans of the ancient era could rely on magic to defeat so many strong Demi-human Races. This was still merely a Six-Ring magic, yet it could let a person who hadn't undergone any training possess considerable lethality.
That magic gave him immense courage. Shouting loudly, he raised the weapon in his hand towards the fleshy tentacles before him. Slowly, he sliced open a large hole in the tentacles sealing the main doors. Following that, only then did he pant and release the magic in his hand, shouting to the others behind him,
"Quickly go out! Cough cough!"
And in the distance, carrying the Fluid Sword and hacking at the surrounding constantly attacking fleshy tentacles, Fisher shifted his eyes and took a look at Balzac's direction. After confirming the others were escaping the hotel, he changed direction without further hesitation, rapidly rushing upstairs. Because Erwind's target was Valentiina, or rather those Sigils she stored away. He had to rush back to her side at the very first moment.
"Where are you going, Fisher?"
Behind him, Erwind's voice transmitted Following Like A Shadow. Fisher couldn't distinguish whether what he heard was actually a hallucination or reality, so he had no choice but to silently brake his footsteps. Because the next moment, the underground tentacles began to grow crazily again, squeezing and filling up the entire stairwell connecting the first floor to the second floor, shattering even the upper floor's ground completely open along with it.
"Watch out, Eldest Miss!"
Fisher faintly heard Heidelin's exclamation, as well as the dense and flustered footsteps of many people. His complexion instantly sank. Extracting a slender necklace and a copper ring from his embrace. Deep blue light and deep purple light of high rings respectively flashed upon them.
Seven-Ring Ice Prime Magic, Conductive Flash-Freeze Magic. Capable of invoking a rapidly-conducting freezing beam to cover a large area. Fisher wanted to use it to stabilize the precarious hotel building, lest the people above lose their lives due to collapsed building materials.
Six-Ring Gravity Magic, Sliding Gravity Magic. Capable of accelerating the target's movement speed and temporarily automatically bouncing away items around the target. This was so Fisher could arrive by Valentiina's side even faster.
"Crack crack crack!"
The two spells simultaneously began taking effect. Fisher couldn't wait for them to take effect, however, as he madly dashed upstairs. Tenth-Tier physical Constitution made his running resemble a bolt of lightning. The deep purple gravity aura wrapped all over his body made his advancement act like a musket bullet piercing back and forth through the body of those giant tentacles.
"Rumble!"
On the verge of shattering third floor of the hotel, the ground beneath Heidelin's feet violently split open, instantly thrusting Valentiina into mid-air. Everyone present looked in astonishment at the tentacles spreading and entering pervasively. Regarding that terrifying creature, their hearts only felt despair remaining aside from shock...
They had never in their entire lives seen such a spectacular and bizarre existence. Even looking from the sky above Mya's urban district, you could discover at a glance the silhouette of that massive fleshy flower blooming.
"Eldest Miss, grip your wheelchair tightly, absolutely do not get thrown off. I... I'll come over right away..."
Heidelin pale-facedly looked at Valentiina being bodily supported by the fleshy tentacle. Even though her thighs had already begun to tremble uncontrollably, she still decisively kicked off the high heels worn on her feet. Her feet wrapped in completely sheer black stockings stepped on that soft fleshy tentacle. The next moment, eyeballs extremely disgustingly grew out of the place she stepped on one by one.
"Uurgh..."
Enduring the feeling of dry heaving, Heidelin forcefully stepped on that tentacle to climb towards Valentiina's direction. But the next moment, bone-chilling frost continuously spread, firmly freezing her feet onto the tentacle. And with that tentacle struggling once, she fell downwards out of control. Behind, six or seven Snow Fox-kin with a height of only about 1.5 meters hurriedly formed a circle wanting to catch Heidelin.
But the next moment, from underneath the frozen ground, a man whose entire body flashed with magical radiance violently lunged out from under the ground, steadily catching the falling Heidelin.
"Fisher?"
Heidelin subconsciously hugged Fisher's neck. Her face flushed red for a second, then alarmingly looked upwards, pushing Fisher's face with her hand.
"Eldest Miss is still on top of the tentacle, you quickly go save her!"
Fisher got annoyed being pushed by her fair, soft, and tender hand. With one bite, he bit her finger into his mouth. That strange sensation made Heidelin immediately glare at him, exposing an obvious expression of disgust. And then she softly muttered to herself,
"What are you thinking about? Telling you to quickly go save Eldest Miss, and you..."
The hunger of Reproduction gradually spread out. Fisher didn't dare breathe in the faint fragrance on Heidelin's body. He held his breath and looked up, then violently slapped Heidelin's waist and put her down, taking this as compensation for saving her yet being disgusted by her.
"I know, stupid woman."
"You!"
With both feet on the ground, Heidelin resentfully wanted to kick Fisher with her foot. But turning her head to take a look, there was still a small circle of Staring Dumbfounded Snow Fox-kin surrounding behind her. She again somewhat awkwardly withdrew the tip of her foot.
In the eyes of the Snow Fox Clan Chief Dar, the deep purple disgusted aura on Heidelin's body continuously deepened, yet the pink representing fondness and interest was also deepening. Above his fox head, an uncomprehending ahoge popped up. Following that, he silently cast a glance at Valentiina who was still gripping the wheelchair deathly and screaming.
"Ah ah ah! Save... save me!"
Behind them, Juna carrying a wooden basket didn't pay any attention to Heidelin whatsoever. She just looked with beaming eyes at that back figure carrying a Fluid Sword. That reliable back figure suddenly appearing during a crisis; what other person could be more worthy of the title "Prince Charming"?
It's just a pity Fisher wasn't any Prince Charming, but a great villain about to be burned to ashes by the raging fire of Reproduction.
Only after Heidelin left his side did he dare to breathe. But inside his nasal cavity, there was still that faint fragrance from Heidelin's body lingering, causing him to take a few extra glances at Heidelin behind him who was always glaring at him... as well as the completely sheer black stockings worn on her legs. Renee seemed to have worn them prior; they were even a popular model in Naris. He hadn't expected even Northern Border females to purchase them.
Upon thinking about Renee, the scorching flame towards completely sheer black stockings settled down somewhat. Viewing it objectively, she didn't wear them as beautifully as Renee, but it wasn't bad either.
Fisher's terrifying gaze made Heidelin shrink back her small feet. However, the next moment, Fisher had again already charged towards Valentiina above.
"Rumble!"
That frozen tentacle wriggled again, seemingly to stop Fisher from saving Valentiina. But this after all wasn't Erwind's main body but a biological weapon he created. Even counting the entire tentacles covering the hotel, its Rank wouldn't exceed Ninth-Tier. Fisher reached a hand into his embrace, throwing several Rings flashing with magical luster to Heidelin.
"These are Magic. Take the Snow Fox-kin out from another direction. I will bring Valentiina back safely."
With both hands, Heidelin caught those sprinkled Magic Rings. Watching that massive tentacle holding up Fisher and Valentiina charging towards above together, her just now quite disgusted expression dispersed slightly. Only until after Fisher disappeared, did that expression completely turn into worry.
She turned her head to look at Clan Chief Dar, speaking to them quite seriously,
"Please have everyone immediately follow me to leave. This place is not safe."
The sound hadn't even completely exited her mouth when Heidelin briefly opened her mouth. Her words came to an Abrupt End.
Had... she forgotten some important matter?
Where did that idiot Phyllis go?
Heidelin's face darkened. Supporting the emerald-green hair crown on her head, she searched for the figure of that Lion-kin near the conference room, yet saw nothing.
"Fisher, what... what is this thing? Where is it taking us?"
Fisher jumped to Valentiina's side. Only upon approaching did Fisher discover that her body was shaking terribly, and her palms deathly gripped the armrests of the wheelchair beneath her, until even the tips of her fingers were pinched pale.
"Are you afraid?"
"N-Not at all!"
Fisher cast a glance at her suddenly raised head. That soaring stuborness was the mark of her adulthood, yet that extremely obvious fragility infected the reality that she was still young... He slowly took off his suit jacket and draped it over Valentiina's head. Straight after, he grabbed her wheelchair with one hand.
From under the jacket covering her head, her large silver-white eyes looked towards Fisher beside her. Except, before she could see clearly, he reached out a hand and yanked it down, obstructing her entire field of vision.
"What are you doing..."
"Although people use ostriches as metaphors for cowardly cowards, it is undeniable that this will indeed give you slightly more sense of security."
"Hah? Are you saying my cowardice is like an ostrich?"
Fisher, while evaluating the direction the tentacle was carrying them towards, casually replied,
"No... I'm saying, at least when alone with me, occasionally showing your timid appearance isn't bad either. Especially when acting tough and being stubborn, very cute."
Valentiina, hiding beneath his jacket, secretly clenched his jacket tightly. As a result, she suddenly touched a square book. Valentiina probed with an inquiry,
"Mr. Eimhart?"
Lying in Fisher's pocket, Eimhart who was currently lying flat atop Valentiina's head had maintained dead-fish eyes for a long time. If the situation wasn't still so critical right now, he truly would speak fragrantly... But seeing as this little girl was frightened quite severely, he'd better be a bit polite to her.
Hence, Eimhart let out a sigh and replied,
"Mm-hmm... However, if possible, I feel you had better call me the great Sir Book Artifact. Usually, only Fisher will call the name Eimhart, and I can't be bothered to stoop to his level."
"..."
Fisher narrowed his eyes, watching that tentacle supporting them along the elevator shaft continuously conveying them to the upper floors. He suddenly realized something. His entire body's Mana Circuit lit up. Following the Soul's power being stimulated, he lowered his head to look at that massive tentacle supporting himself and Valentiina. He only saw the Soul radiance above it was extremely dim. This also meant Erwind's Consciousness observing this place wasn't here.
Then, him doing this was only to temporarily distract himself; the purpose was for...
Just the next moment, Caleb Uz's voice suddenly rang out.
"The Sigils! He already knew where Valentiina hid the other Sigils! Those Sigils, including those currently held by the Snow Fox-kin, are his objective. He only wants to lead you away right now. Don't be fooled..."
Fisher looked back. He only saw Caleb Uz with his back facing him, squatting at the edge of the tentacle and pointing straight downward. Fisher didn't reply to that hallucination's words. Instead, he turned his head and asked Valentiina,
"Where did you put those Sigils?"
"Sigils? You're saying this attack is because of the Sigils we collected? I hid them away in the room where we looked at the True Ice before, right downstairs from the conference room floor..."
Fisher went silent for a second. Subsequently, he abruptly grabbed the wheelchair Valentiina was sitting on, opening his mouth to remind,
"Hold on tight, Eldest Miss Valentiina."
"I've told you already, don't be so... ahh ahhhhh!"
The next moment, Fisher abruptly raised the Fluid Sword in his hand. That Fluid Sword rotated like a drill piece, forcefully stabbing towards the fleshy tentacle beneath his body. In his eyes, those splashing flesh and blood were completely ignored. What he solely saw was Erwind's Consciousness hidden within these flesh and blood. And that Consciousness was on the second floor of the hotel, the place where Valentiina stored the Sigils...
"Found you, Erwind."
Fisher used the drill to pierce through the massive tentacle beneath his body. Following that, pulling Valentiina's wheelchair with one hand, he used the Fluid Sword with his other hand to ruthlessly stab into the wall of the elevator shaft. Accompanied by ear-piercing friction sounds and Valentiina's screaming, they descended all the way down until completely vanishing without a trace.
In the corridor on the hotel's second floor, a lion-kin girl with her entire body shrouded in flames wielding a giant blade kept brandishing it. The densely packed saber winds wrapping the fire magic chopped towards the ceaselessly attacking tentacles. If it wasn't the Phyllis forgotten by Heidelin, who else could it be?
"Hahaha! Igniting my blade edge with magic before attacking truly is very effective. This is simply the greatest invention of this century!"
She laughed wildly. The movements on her hands weren't slow in the slightest, seemingly showing off her creative new invention.
In reality, the magic Fisher gave her was a Fourth-Ring fire wall. Plausibly communicating with magic power completely would raise a spectacular wall of fire. However, whether it was because Phyllis' brain wasn't too good or her magic power for stimulating magic was insufficient, the flames appearing from this Fourth-Ring magic was intermittent just like a single-ring bonfire. Only then did it turn into the current pathetic appearance of "Fire Enchantment".
The surrounding giant tentacles were continuously slashed apart by her. The combat bloodline of Lion-kin was fully excited. She didn't feel exhausted but instead danced faster and faster. The many tentacles growing in the corridor were quickly slaughtered clean by her, leaving only the traces of flames burning everywhere still eye-catching.
"Did it end... eh? Why did I arrive on the second floor... uh..."
She abruptly stopped her footsteps and looked back. Only then did she discover that she had actually killed her way from the third floor down to the second floor. Foolishly she stopped in place. She just wanted to turn back to find Heidelin and Valentiina, when she abruptly sensed an extremely terrifying aura appeared behind her.
The muscles all over Phyllis' body slightly stiffened. Like her fur stood on end, she looked back. What she saw was a sticky, bouncing mass of flesh constantly approaching her direction. Even though that mass of flesh looked way more Harmless To People And Animals than those giant tentacles, Phyllis inexplicably felt that mass of flesh was extremely terrifying.
"Bubble..."
That ball of flesh squiggled its body. It raised its "head" to take a look at Phyllis in front who was standing with a blade vigilantly watching itself. The next moment, it was seen to softly lift the tentacle in its hand. That small tentacle instantly turned into a blur, striking towards Phyllis.
"Whir whir!"
Instantly Phyllis' hair stood on end. She spared no effort pushing her muscles to raise her sword to block. This was probably the quickest she raised her blade since she started learning combat. The edge of the blade blocked the path of the tentacle exactly when it was about to strike upon Phyllis' body. Yet the tentacle sliced through the sword she grasped, Smash Like Rotten Wood. Accompanied by the extremely unpleasant, shrill wailing of the metal, Phyllis violently stumbled backward several steps backwards.
"Roar!"
She low-growled like a lion. From an extremely deep wound on her cheek, streams of scarlet blood were currently flowing. If she hadn't immediately discarded her blade and ran just now, her neck would've instantly been severed by that tentacle...
Something's wrong. This small thing is even more terrifying than those vigorous tentacles outside.
That piece of flesh retracted its tentacle and immediately stood up, preparing for the next attack. Phyllis' muffin-like ears slightly perked up. She cast a glance at the blade broken into two pieces on the ground, and glanced at the flesh preparing to attack in the distance. Following that, her gaze cooled slightly as she raised her hand to wipe the blood on her cheek...
Then, immediately without a backward glance, running on all fours she fled wildly towards the corridor at the rear. While running, she was also shouting loudly.
"Boss! Miss Heidelin! Fisher! Old Bal! Quickly come over! Here is an enemy! Someone wants to steal the True Ice!! Ahhhhhhh!"
The small piece of flesh controlled by Erwind had its raised tentacle stiffen in mid-air. He looked on as that Lion-kin escaped for her life. Baffled on the spot, he stopped for an entire second.
But quickly, he didn't bother to pay attention to that traceless running Phyllis. Hopping and bouncing, he arrived at the door storing the True Ice. He lifted his tentacle. Including the door and walls, they were all sliced apart, exposing the faintly gleaming True Ice inside...
Furthermore, inside the mechanism underneath the True Ice: four Sigils.
That flesh lifted its tentacle, yet it suddenly sensed the temperature behind itself steeply rising to the point that even this specially constructed Biological Weapon body with approx Tenth-Tier strength found it difficult to endure. It turned its head to look. Somewhat surprised, it looked at that Fisher grasping the Fluid Sword, staring at himself with cold eyes.
"Erwind. The eye confronting me earlier was merely your diversionary tactic, right?"
"Indeed. If my consciousness had actually been on that [Giant Flesh Tree] earlier, I wouldn't have been this surprised up 'til now... The speed of your growth exceeded my imagination. It's not limited solely to the effects of the Soul Completion Handbook, or else it is impossible for your body to be this sturdy. I suddenly got somewhat curious: what precious knowledge is recorded in that unknown handbook upon your person, capable of causing your Soul to deform to this extent whilst still maintaining rationality?"
Fisher raised the Fluid Sword, unfastening the Spells off his body one by one.
"Even though I don't know whether your talking is actually a hallucination or if you're really speaking; regardless, I'm going to blast this lump of rotten meat of yours to the skies now... Soon after, your main body won't escape disaster either."
"Hallucination?"
The lump of flesh possessed by Erwind faintly paused. Right after, an extremely evident mockery was brought forth in his genderless voice.
"It seems my judgement regarding you isn't entirely correct either. Haven't you already entered the door? We welcome your joining: a truth-seeking Searcher of Knowledge, Fischer Benavides."
Following this simple sentence, that small clump of Harmless To People And Animals tentacles suddenly expanded. The twisted and soft flesh continuously condensed and recombined. Only after becoming a giant of flesh and blood which was about to reach the room's ceiling did it barely stop. Upon the location of what could be called the giant's head, a ferocious eye abruptly opened, turbidly reflecting Fisher's image.
"Honestly, your actions against Pherone in the Southern Continent completely don't matter. His connection was merely unilateral with that mindless Artificial Intelligence. Even if you didn't act then, I would've headed to the Southern Continent eventually, killed him and seized the Soul Completion Handbook... Regrettably, Pherone had only obtained the Soul Completion Handbook not long prior. From him, I couldn't comprehend what the effects of reading Soul's knowledge would be. But right now, look at yourself: that robust yet twisted Soul is precisely the requisite item for me to accomplish my goal..."
"Post arriving at the Wutong and the Mythic, you shall Die Without a Place for Burial. Even a Death Rune bestowed by the Demon-kin won't be able to safeguard you."
Even if the creature before him was merely a creation onto which Erwind's consciousness attached itself, nonetheless, Erwind's mad will was still caught by Fisher without any detriment, as if wanting to devour him completely.