Eating it with the big mouth actually counted as absorption?
After regaining her composure, Mithra vaguely sensed that something extra had manifested within her core inspiration. This sensation was incredibly faint, seemingly ephemeral. If she couldn't immediately grasp it, the opportunity would undoubtedly vanish.
But Mithra quickly refined this vague feeling into sharp clarity.
A familiar resonance from beyond the mundane, a distinct symbol of Divinity inspiration, Mithra had encountered it more than once while practicing Hunter miracles.
Combined with the scattered experience gleaned from the big mouth during the earlier confrontation, Mithra directly distilled the knowledge.
["Resonance Leap": Also known as "Resonant Performance," a Miracle of Divinity. A specialized miracle derived from "Universal Hand." Upon casting, it allows the self to enter a specialized state for short-term high-speed traversal. Continuous use over a brief period will consume vast amounts of Senseforce. Following excessive use, additional limbs may spontaneously manifest.]
[—The genesis of this power lies in the desire to perform musical instrumentation.]
"Such profound insight," Mithra remarked, genuinely surprised by the concluding informational note.
This discovery, in turn, fueled her greater interest in "Universal Hand," this specific Wandering God.
It had managed to derive such a potent miracle simply from playing a musical instrument.
There was no time to waste. Mithra immediately took the initiative to test the technique herself. The big mouth, after all, provided only scattered insights.
…After actually attempting it, she concluded it would be far more efficient to have the big mouth utilize the miracle. At most, they would just need to coordinate their actions better.
This miracle possessed a peculiar prerequisite: it demanded a clear, resonant sound to be produced.
Thus, the previous constant "Rumble" emanating back and forth between the Multi-limbed Abomination and the big mouth wasn't just for dramatic atmosphere; it was a necessary component for activation.
The Multi-limbed Abomination's sound seemed to originate from specific hand alterations, while the big mouth, lacking cognitive function, knew it needed to generate noise but didn't know which sound to make, so it defaulted to imitating its own grotesque morphology.
If Mithra were to employ it, without achieving complete Sensory Synchronization herself, the designated transmission point for the miracle would need to produce that required sound.
"Without some genuine underlying strength, utilizing this method of rapid movement in this world is truly inadvisable," Mithra observed.
In this perpetually dim realm, other monsters possessed acutely powerful senses. Aside from their outrageous light-sensing capabilities despite lacking conventional eyes, hearing was their secondary crucial sense.
If she activated "Resonance Leap" here, she would effectively be leaving a trail of auditory beacons—"foot-eyes"—thereby broadcasting her precise location to every nearby monster.
After a grueling conflict, utilizing the Multi-limbed Abomination to temporarily create a vacuum zone in the vicinity, Mithra located a spot to sit down and recover for a brief period.
Her respite was not lengthy; in truth, Mithra was allowing her tattered garments to regenerate.
Unlike Mithra herself, who could recover simply by "bathing in the enemy's blood," the regeneration rate of her clothing was significantly slower and had defined limits. If she were to exert herself to the point of unconsciousness too often, Mithra feared she might only return from this expedition with a few scraps of fabric to present to Matsuri.
By the time her attire was fully mended, the ambient sounds in the surrounding darkness had shifted, growing more numerous and varied.
The echoes of the battle against the Multi-limbed Abomination were still quite loud, and monsters, unafraid of death, were continually drawn to the disturbance.
Mithra had no immediate intention of engaging in further direct combat.
Adjusting the Lantern to emit a focused beam of light, Mithra continued her search for a means to exit this realm.
She had lost track of how long she had been wandering—walking, resting, occasionally engaging with monsters to gather specimens for her "Eyes of Night" bestiary, and then resuming the practice of her core skills.
Until one moment, Mithra reached a relatively elevated, open plaza. She directed her Lantern beam into the distance.
"Hmm?" Under the far-reaching light, Mithra vaguely perceived the outline of the towering Xyrin City wall in the distance.
Right; if this Inner World was a complete replication based on reality, then the presence of a city wall was entirely expected.
With this thought, Mithra began to scan the structure for any break or breach in the city wall.
She was uncertain if this Inner World maintained any connection to the outside reality. After all, the actual Xyrin City wall was compromised much closer to the epoch when this Eternal Night world manifested.
But if she could locate the breach point, she might ascertain her entry location within Xyrin City.
Temporarily unaware of the exit mechanism, searching for the corresponding geographical location within the Inner World might yield a clue.
After all, many underlying narrative settings functioned on such principles.
To her significant satisfaction, Mithra located a breach in the city wall.
But there was no time for elation, because under the faint illumination of her distant Lantern light, something appeared directly above that breach.
They were countless living, breathing, pulsating masses of flesh, their skin tones a grotesque mix of red and flesh-color, appearing alarmingly fresh.
These fleshy masses were scattered across and adhered to the breach in the city wall, which in the real world corresponded to the location of that sunny village, as if the city wall's injury was being parasitized by these grotesque accretions.
They were all "Chrysalis" Cursed Beings.
Chrysalis in this world?
Wait a moment.
Wasn't the Wandering God that previously breached the Xyrin City wall that same "Chrysalis" entity?
No wonder that faction of the Chrysalis organization had infiltrated Xyrin City.
Their destruction of the Sun Creation node also indeed included the description that "the node had once been breached and rendered ineffective." The Chrysalis operatives had infiltrated this specific world before—was it in pursuit of their Wandering God?
Mithra was deeply engrossed in thought, momentarily distracted, when she suddenly registered a muffled, unusual sound.
This sound originated from a truly immense distance, emanating from even higher up than the city wall itself...
Mithra unconsciously raised her Lantern beam, directing it toward the city wall.
Even someone as inherently composed as Mithra felt her breath instinctively catch in her throat for a moment.
It was a creature even larger than the city wall structure. The tall, majestic city wall resembled a child's toy in comparison to this entity. One colossal hand rested upon the city wall, while its head consisted of a network of undulating tentacles that spread out arbitrarily; its full form remained hidden in the encompassing darkness.
If it chose to move within Xyrin City, it could effortlessly demolish the entire metropolitan area, crushing everything beneath it.
["The Proclaimer of Eternal Night," Naitoduras: These are the beings summoned by the Eternal Night, those who offer supplication to the great entity that predates the Eternal Night. They are the silent upholders who maintained the Pillar of "The Night," and now rest in stillness within the Eternal Night.]
[—Do not disturb their slumber.]
Mithra stared blankly at the entity, and the colossal monster suddenly lowered its head; it had perceived the light source!
It seemed to have its attention drawn, and its enormous body began to move, leaning forward. A sturdy arm reached directly across a great distance and lunged toward Mithra.
Mithra extinguished the light.
When the Light-Bearing Lantern's illumination died out, everything returned to the aftermath of darkness.
The colossal monster vanished.
The heavy rumbling ceased, as if it were merely an illusion conjured within Mithra's mind for a moment.
But Mithra dared not reactivate the light for a short while.
"Creatures of the deeper darkness," Mithra had originally believed she had seen and recognized such entities from that prior description. She had initially assumed the Multi-limbed Abomination was one, but now she suspected she had misinterpreted its nature.
The moment she perceived the "Proclaimer of Eternal Night," her mind instinctively forced her to understand what it represented.
Then, when it noticed her presence, she instantly shut off the light.
Even if the official description didn't explicitly label it a "Wandering God," Mithra was certain it was likely not far less powerful than such an entity. In fact, the intelligence gleaned from the Eyes of Night mentioned "they"—plural.
There was more than one such immense existence.
"The primary antagonists are even more formidable than I anticipated," Mithra stated indifferently into the darkness after a brief silence.
Multiple existences of this caliber, and yet, ultimately, they were merely Anderet's "Pillar Bearers."
Although initially startled, Mithra quickly regained her usual composure.
Beneath her calm exterior, waves of intense curiosity swelled within her.
She was curious about the vistas those Pillar Gods once witnessed, and precisely how they ultimately met their downfall and were overthrown by humanity.
Mithra groped her way forward for a while, then relit the Light-Bearing Lantern.
Even though she was still utilizing the illuminating mode to navigate, she consciously avoided shining the light towards distant high points on the city wall, thus preventing herself from accidentally illuminating the Proclaimer of Eternal Night or similar entities.
As she neared the breach in the city wall, Mithra felt a sense of physical malaise.
She paused and shone the Lantern upon one of her hands, discovering that dense fur had sprouted there at some point.
Her eyes flickered slightly, oscillating between slit pupils and normal vision several times, before finally stabilizing back to their customary state.
"Unconsciously, I'm beginning to transform into a beast. Is this the influence of this world?" Mithra murmured softly to herself.
She lowered her hand and looked ahead again. It seemed she could no longer afford to wander so leisurely.
But the time was almost right. She gradually became familiar with the layout of the structures around her. She had entered Xyrin City's Southwest District. The buildings here were low and sparsely distributed. The Lantern's beam swept across vast open fields, where lively monsters could be seen chasing and playing with one another.
She realized that reaching this point had been far from easy. Even after confirming her desired direction, Mithra had still taken numerous wrong turns along the route.
Due to her habit of getting distracted, her spatial awareness had diminished, and she seemed somewhat directionally impaired—a fact she found slightly embarrassing.
Instead of immediately heading toward the Sun Creation node, she took a few more steps and arrived at the city wall's breach.
Upon reaching the gap, she observed an insect-like creature, composed of flesh and blood, sprawled out right there.
As she approached, the flesh-and-blood insect suddenly twitched, then generated limbs and began to crawl upward. It even sprouted ordinary human eyes and fixed its gaze towards Mithra.
It possessed sight, and reacted to the Lantern's light?
Mithra briefly averted the light, but the sound of the insect rapidly crawling continued to register in her ear; it was clearly not one of the entities of profound darkness.
When she shone the light forward again, the monster immediately lunged at Mithra under the illumination.
Mithra directly slapped the ground with her hand, and an earth spike suddenly shot upward, piercing through the flesh-and-blood insect.
["Fertile Ground": Miracle of Rock. A miracle capable of altering the physical form of ground mud and rock to a certain degree. It is ineffective against specialized materials, and the more ordinary the soil and stone, the more easily it can be cast.]
[—— "Earth and stone are merely earth and stone; the meaning they carry is inherently impure. This is their purity."]
The insect on the ground struggled against the spike, while Mithra, pulling out her hammer from behind her, forcefully brought it down on its head. The sheer force, greatly augmented by Vitality, was enough to completely shatter the insect's head from its body.
Its head was smashed into a pulpy mess by Mithra, yet the insect's body still retained its activity, wriggling and moving. From the severed neck, large areas of fleshy buds sprouted, extending tentacles.
Seeing that the earth spike formed by "Fertile Ground" was starting to give way, Mithra, after applying Ignition to her hammer, proceeded to repeatedly strike the flesh-and-blood body.
Flames still exerted a suppressive effect on this level of active flesh. All the vibrant fleshy masses quickly turned into charred meat.
Mithra observed the insect, quickly utilizing her eyes to gather information related to "Chrysalis" Cursed Beings.
She looked up at the fleshy masses clinging to the city wall, confirming her suspicion that these things were indeed linked to Chrysalis.
Unlike the real-world sunny village, which was simple yet imbued with a sense of angry vitality, this sunny village within the Eternal Night Phantom World had transformed into a breeding ground for Chrysalis Cursed Beings.
Various active fleshy masses here completely violated biological structure, growing into whatever forms their underlying "memories" dictated.
Insects, humanoids, quadrupedal creatures... all types were present.
The imitations were crude at best, only vaguely resembling their intended forms. One could say they grew arbitrarily within the darkness of this location.
Exploring here was also somewhat different from other places, because if these fleshy masses were illuminated for a sustained period, they would develop eyes and actively attack Mithra in response to the light.
This also seemed to suggest that the fleshy masses here were distinct from other Lightless Dwellers.
Mithra attempted to navigate and climb using the path imprinted in her memory.
Suddenly, on an upward-sloping staircase, Mithra detected footsteps and looked up.
On the level above her, through a gap in the wooden planks, she saw a walking figure. The figure moved with a distinct limp, as if its leg was inconvenient, or perhaps it was still clumsy from just learning to walk.
After illuminating it briefly, the figure suddenly stopped, threw itself down forcefully, and pressed its face against the wooden plank. On that contorted face, a bulging, swollen eye stared directly at Mithra.
"You're not..."
Before Mithra could finish speaking, the figure began to violently strike the wooden plank. The flimsy wood naturally could not withstand the assault and shattered, causing the figure to tumble down in front of Mithra.
"Ugh, ugh…" The figure crawled up amidst the dust, emitting an unpleasant groan.
But as soon as it managed to rise, the purple light before its eyes suddenly intensified, completely filling its vision.
Mithra had already closed the distance, launching a preemptive strike, swiftly thrusting her sword through its chest. Then, pivoting with the impaled creature, she pushed forcefully. The Ki totem in her hand flashed simultaneously, a red glow enveloping the twisted man's chest, carrying him along with the straight sword as she sent him flying off the high platform, suspended in mid-air.
With one hand, she utilized Object Manipulation to control the straight sword, and with the other, she raised the Lantern to carefully confirm the opponent's face.
"Hmm, although I'm directionally challenged, I'm not face-blind. You were indeed one of that previous group, the one I hit with two hammer blows," Mithra nodded and confirmed.
The face of the entity before her was one Mithra had seen when she encountered the "Chrysalis" contingent. Of course, now obscured by blurry, flesh-like growths and swollen eyes, it was truly difficult to recognize.
"Ugh…"
But now, the opponent couldn't even articulate a complete sentence.
There was virtually no difference from those other Cursed Beings. Looking closely at its body, it had actually lost much of its unique structure, appearing as if it had just been separated from another mass of flesh.
However, Mithra recalled that the count of individuals in that group had been complete when she encountered them the second time.
"Are you a copy, or were you genuinely left behind here?" Mithra questioned.
"Ugh…"
Naturally, the monstrous entity before her could no longer offer Mithra an answer.
So, Mithra used Object Manipulation to launch the sword.
The monster fell from the height, plummeting straight down, hitting the darkness below with a dull thud. Mithra looked down, saw it splatter into a fleshy mess, then averted her gaze and continued forward.
She retrieved the straight sword, pulling out a wide tongue to wipe the bloodstains and strange fluids from the blade, only then returning it to its sheath on her person.
It would be too wasteful not to utilize a "handkerchief" when one was readily available.
Besides, the wide tongue indicated it had no objections to the task.
"Hungry…"
Mithra arrived at a narrow, suspended bridge-like passage she had previously complained about.
Midway across, another figure materialized ahead, similar in appearance to the twisted person from before—also one of the Chrysalis five-person cohort.
But this one seemed more "complete" than the previous entity, exhibiting no obvious impediment in its movements.
As before, upon spotting Mithra, it swiftly moved to close the distance.
Mithra took out her hammer this time, but just as she prepared to advance, an unusual sound registered from the passage behind her.
Another twisted person emerged from the darkness behind, effectively blocking Mithra's retreat path.
Both entities, one in front and one behind, trapped Mithra on the narrow, suspended bridge.
Mithra's eyes narrowed: "Why does this inexplicable scenario give me such a strange sense of déjà vu?"
The two twisted figures approached Mithra in the center of the bridge. Their legs had transformed into insect-like appendages, aiding their grip, while their hands had both mutated into ragged, blade-like lacerations.
The twisted figure in front moved first, extending its arms like whips, transforming them into blades that swung and chopped.
Mithra, with the Lantern secured at her belt, swiftly swung her hammer, striking the two blades. A whooshing sound also came from behind her.
"Hungry…"
The wide mouth promptly extended its tongue to intercept the threat.
Whoosh!
Then the soft tongue was easily severed, causing Mithra to be impaled in the back by the blades. And those two blades, after penetrating her flesh, immediately shifted, twisting and burrowing deep into Mithra's tissue, continually boring inward.
"Cough, if you're not planning to exert yourself, don't bother emerging," Mithra muttered in a low voice, suppressing the violent pain in her body, which felt as if she had been struck by two stakes simultaneously.
"Hungry… Oof…" The wide mouth retracted its still-bleeding tongue.
Battling the Multi-limbed Abomination had depleted a significant portion of its power reserves. It had intended to conserve its newly accumulated strength, but these two twisted individuals were proving more challenging than anticipated, and it wasn't entirely its fault.
Before Mithra could speak further, a sudden pulling force originated from behind, attempting to drag her backward.
However, Mithra utilized Vitality to forcefully anchor her legs, pushing forward, resisting the upward pull from behind.
Concurrently, the double whip in front swung again.
Mithra simultaneously released Object Manipulation with both hands, drawing another sword from within her body. A hammer and a sword danced under her controlled movements, not attempting to block the double whip, but aiming directly for the opponent's head.
The double whip managed to land on Mithra's shoulder, its blades piercing her flesh and growing barbs, yet failing to take deep root. With a powerful yank, it tore two chunks of tissue from Mithra's shoulder.
At the very same moment, the hammer and sword struck the twisted person in front.
One sword pierced the neck, one hammer crushed the head.
Bang!
The twisted person's head was severed and smashed instantly, yet its body merely staggered and did not fall. It even managed, with virtually no break in momentum, to swing its double whip again, slashing toward Mithra's legs.
Seeing this, Mithra immediately relinquished the struggle behind her. Her legs went slack, and her body was jerked upward by the force from behind, just managing to avoid the twin whips.
Simultaneously, three sword blades burst forth from Mithra's back, plunging deep into the chest of the twisted person behind her, impaling it.
Object Manipulation controlled the three swords, maneuvering her body, twisting forcefully several times.
In an instant, this twisted figure was violently dismembered into several pieces.
With two blades still stuck in her back and gore splattering onto her, Mithra landed lightly without a trace of hesitation. After stabilizing herself, she flung her cloak aside, retrieved her sword, and immediately crouched low, charging forward once more.
The headless, twisted entity surged toward Mithra without any lapse in aggression.
Just as the two were closing in for engagement, Mithra suddenly leaped sideways, dropping directly off the suspended bridge.
The twisted entity's fleshy whip swung horizontally, hitting empty air. Before it could process the movement, Mithra had already fought her way clear from beneath the bridge's far side. A faint blue light flashed across her body. Her hands transformed into savage beast claws, still gripping splinters of wood and muddy Stone Shards. She drove directly through the twisted entity's body, tearing it violently into two halves.
"Hungry…"
The wide mouth opportunely extended its tongue.
Mithra remained silent for a moment, then conceded. It was too bothersome to deal with the remaining living parts; it was far more efficient to let the wide mouth completely digest them.
The flesh-blades that had been lodged in Mithra's back were also claimed by it and eaten clean. It appeared the twisted entity had attempted to introduce foreign material into Mithra's body when its blades pierced her, but with the wide mouth present, such concerns were nullified.
Observing her beast claws gradually reverting back into human hands, Mithra flexed her fingers, then reapplied Calmness. She retrieved her hammer and sword, and with the Lantern held high, continued her ascent.
Climbing the steps again to the very apex, she regretted that at the pinnacle of this dark realm, there was no distant scenery to behold, only absolute pitch blackness. Of course, she could always illuminate it with her Lantern again; perhaps there would be an "unexpected surprise."
This was the location where she had first detected the largest mass of flesh when scanning the distance—the top of the city wall of the Flesh Village.
However, upon reaching the crest, she discovered that within the enormous mass of flesh, large sections were actually putrefied, almost entirely decayed and hollowed out.
The outer flesh still exhibited weak signs of activity, but it was clearly in a state of terminal decline.
Penetrating into the fissure within the fleshy mass, she encountered numerous strange, incomplete limbs inside, most of which were no longer showing signs of movement.
When she reached the deepest cavity, she found a section of severed, tube-like structures, resembling immense blood vessels and meridians, hanging limply.
"This is where many Cursed Beings were originally generated," Mithra judged. "And it seems there should have been a core-like artifact here, but it has been removed."
Turning her head, on the adjacent fleshy wall, Mithra found a vaguely forming face.
"...So it's me," Mithra stated indifferently.
These were concentrated masses of flesh imitating the forms "they" had previously observed. It seemed the twisted people she had encountered earlier were indeed mere copies.
Lost in contemplation, Mithra brought her hammer down upon that face on the fleshy wall, ignoring its indignant shriek, crushing it thoroughly.
Such an unsightly thing! It bore no resemblance to her at all. Although she didn't consider herself particularly handsome, blindly sculpting an imitation like that was simply too insulting.
After thoroughly scanning her surroundings once more, Mithra lingered no further, retracing her steps.
It was evident that the Chrysalis five-person cohort had infiltrated this Eternal Night Phantom World, and subsequently removed a specific item. The importance of that artifact was self-evident. An object capable of generating and sustaining so many Cursed Beings was likely akin to the Night Hunter's Greatsword, also a component holding significant Chrysalis power.
And in their activities here, they themselves had been replicated by the Chrysalis Cursed Beings.
Mithra had encountered three of them. She had no way of knowing if the other two still existed.
It was clear that because the key item had been taken, the activity level of the surrounding Cursed Beings had significantly decreased, and they had started to rot. The initial twisted person she encountered earlier was likely so inefficient for this very reason.
The core of the investigation was largely concluded. This excursion into the Eternal Night Phantom World had proven unexpectedly rewarding. Mithra returned to the streets of the Southwest City District, preparing to proceed toward the Sun Creation node.
Since it was confirmed that the Chrysalis five had traversed this realm, they must have also entered and exited via the Sun Creation node located in the Southwest City District.
Mithra herself gained entry through Anderet's favor. How had they managed their entry?
Preoccupied with this thought, Mithra's silhouette wavered slightly, her eyes once again turning into rapidly flickering slit pupils.
Flump, flump, flump…
Suddenly, her vocalization emitted a deep, guttural growl, akin to a wild beast.
Mithra stopped, reinforcing herself with Calmness.
Ding~.
It was marginally better, but its effect was limited.
"Hiss, because this is Eternal Night, you are becoming very agitated, aren't you?" Mithra looked into the dense darkness ahead, speaking slowly.
No reply came. Mithra sighed softly.
She extinguished the Lantern and carefully placed it into her carrying bag.
"You aren't so easily handled, so I shall permit you to play for a while..." In the encompassing darkness, Mithra's voice deepened, quickly transforming into a bizarre mixture of human and bestial sounds.
"Roar—!"
A ferocious, wild roar suddenly echoed loudly. The previously placid darkness immediately became agitated.
Then, a hunt commenced.
...
Mithra walked through the streets of the real Xyrin City. Residents nearby cast strange, even fearful, glances, and everyone deliberately gave her a wide berth.
This was because her body was heavily smeared with dried bloodstains, many of which hadn't even fully dried. Coupled with her indifferent demeanor, she presented the image of a madwoman engaged in self-inflicted performance art following a brutal assault.
Mithra, of course, was not that type of individual.
After transforming into a beast before exiting the Eternal Night Phantom World, she had enjoyed the transformation for a short period. Then she briefly shifted into the Stranger persona to calm down the aggressive "wide mouth" creatures, and subsequently transformed back into her normal appearance to explain to the terrified wide mouth that she wasn't some bizarre creature, and that transforming into the beast and using the Stranger form were merely tactical errors. After applying Calmness multiple times, she located the exit fissure at the Sun Creation node site within the Inner World, finally teleporting back to reality.
To be completely honest, after undergoing such a cycle, she felt genuinely revitalized. She would certainly try it again if the opportunity arose next time.
What? The bloodstains on her person?
Isn't it normal for someone who engages in frequent combat to carry remnants of it? She didn't know how to use miracles to instantly cleanse herself. She was currently heading back to her temporary lodgings to clean up properly.
Finally, Mithra was escorted back to her quarters by a patrol team that had responded to the disturbance.
From them, Mithra learned that she had been missing for three full days. This meant that was the duration she had spent wandering within the Eternal Night Phantom World.
Initially, they had simply assumed Mithra had wandered off, and no one had paid much attention—after all, she was merely a visitor from the Enchanted Realm.
But now, returning so abruptly and visibly, Nino would likely come looking for her again soon.
Mithra also happened to have pressing matters to discuss with him, so the timing was convenient.
Therefore, she still intended to return and clean herself first.