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"Tch!"
The red-haired woman clicked her tongue in frustration.
She shot a blade-sharp glare at Ryoji, only to be completely ignored, as if he were basking in spring sunshine.
Not an ordinary opponent.
A typical Level 3 or Level 4 wouldn't have been able to intercept her so precisely, not once, but twice. Now, the red-haired woman finally began to regard this boy as a serious threat.
"Ais, what are you doing?!" Ryoji paid no attention to the red-haired woman's killing intent and instead turned to Ais.
Seeing her nearly soulless expression, he couldn't help but frown.
"Why… would she know that name?" Ais didn't respond to him.
Her eyes remained locked onto the red-haired woman, filled with an intense urgency.
"OoohOoohoh oh, , !"
Suddenly, out of nowhere,
The jewel-like orb cradled in the red-haired woman's arms, the female fetus, abruptly opened its eyes and let out a piercing shriek.
The fetus squirmed within the orb as if struggling to break free. Its tiny hands and deformed, eye-ridden head began to swell, stretching out from the crystal.
"Don't lose control!"
The red-haired woman's brows furrowed as she let out a low growl at the fetus.
"Aaaahhh!!"
But the fetus ignored her completely. Who knew where that tiny body summoned the strength, but it suddenly broke free from her arms and leapt toward Ais with terrifying bounce-like agility.
As soon as the fetus sprang into action, Ryoji didn't hesitate.
He instantly activated his Absolute Divine Speed, lunging forward at a speed even greater than the fetus's.
He didn't know what that thing was, but he knew nothing good would come of it.
Before Ais could even snap out of it, Ryoji had already tackled her out of the way.
The two of them rolled together down the rocky slope of the mountain path, tumbling more than twenty meters before finally skidding to a stop.
"Have you forgotten everything I taught you?"
Ryoji sat up, staring straight into Ais's eyes as he subtly moved his hand away from her chest.
This is a total misunderstanding. Please believe me.
"Meditate. Don't lose to your own mind. We're still in the middle of a battle. Any questions can wait until after we've survived!"
Ryoji had no idea why a single name could cause such a reaction in Ais.
But he knew the difference between what must be done now and what could wait.
This was Clear Mirror, Still Water.
"If you want answers, then beat her and get them yourself!"
Ryoji pointed toward the red-haired woman in the distance and shouted, "Capture her, and everything you want to know will be revealed!"
A flicker returned to Ais's eyes.
Ever since seeing Ryoji's ability stats, she had been in a mental spiral for days.
For several nights now, she'd been dreaming of her childhood, dreams of her parents that reignited deep longing and sorrow.
Her cherished memories of them, once a source of warmth, had become a breeding ground for emotional weakness.
"...You're right."
Ais slowly stood up, the confusion in her expression melting away.
"Thank you. I'm clear-headed now. I'll get the answers out of that woman myself!"
Whew.
Ryoji let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Honestly, the thought of facing someone who was at least Level 5 alone gave him tremendous stress.
"Oh ohoh ohoh ohoh oh!!"
Just then, a powerful roar filled with pressure echoed from the distance.
The two of them looked toward the sound,
"What the hell is that?"
"...No idea."
They focused their gaze.
It looked like one of the man-eating flowers that had wreaked havoc in the town earlier, but twisted.
Somehow, the jewel fetus had embedded itself into the man-eating flower's body, like an engraving. The two had fused, and now the mutated monster was letting out a death-wail as its body swelled rapidly.
A very bad feeling rose in Ryoji's chest.
Chapter 177: The Faceless Female Monster (Part 2)
So, he decided to strike first.
Ryoji pulled another sword piece from his waist pouch and, at blinding speed, hurled it toward the Jewel Fetus.
"Clang!"
But in that instant, his vision blurred,
The red-haired woman, sword in hand, appeared in front of the monster and blocked the sword piece with a crisp metallic clang.
"Hmph, I was waiting for you."
A defiant smirk curled at the corner of her lips.
No way, sis. You caught that?
That was a supersonic sword piece!
"Your opponent is me!"
Ais stepped forward voluntarily, her expression brimming with fully restored fighting intent.
"Interesting."
The red-haired woman sneered, utterly fearless.
"Since the jewel has already parasitized, I'll have to take you back. Otherwise, this whole trip would've been a waste."
Their gazes locked,
In the next instant, it was like teleportation. Both of them vanished from sight, leaving behind only afterimages too fast to track and a continuous barrage of clashing steel echoing in the air.
Whether by intent or instinct, their battle quickly moved further and further away from the open ground.
"Oh ohoh oh!!"
The Jewel Fetus roared once again.
Boom! Several more man-eating flowers emerged from the crystal walls. As if drawn by some unknown force, they squirmed toward the fetus and began to merge into the swelling mass of flesh.
Moments later, it reached its limit,
The Jewel Fetus, like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, began to shed its outer skin, revealing a humanoid shape. A female body burst forth from the monster's flesh.
From a distance,
The monstrous body looked like a giant octopus, each man-eating flower having transformed into a writhing tentacle. The creature was at least seven meters tall, with an even more massive width. Even with its tentacles retracted, its diameter exceeded ten meters.
And above those dozen wriggling limbs was an upper half that bore female features, brightly colored, grotesquely beautiful.
But there were no eyes or nose, only a gaping maw of razor-sharp, shark-like teeth.
A faceless horror.
"Looks like you're my opponent, then."
Ryoji stood atop the rocky hillside, looking up at the grotesque, mutated monster.
No matter how you looked at it, the creature was revolting, and its overwhelming pressure was very real. It was probably on par with a Level 5.
But he wasn't afraid.
"Doesn't seem intelligent either… won't be able to get any useful information from it."
Ryoji once again pulled three sword pieces from his waist pouch.
His instincts told him, the upper half, the faceless female form, was its weak point.
He clenched the sword pieces between his fingers and then poured all the remaining Magic Power from his body into the small shards, causing them to emit a brilliant silver glow.
He shifted his stance and opened his arms wide.
Unlike Sword Step, which was a movement technique used for dodging and required immediate explosive speed, often injuring the ankles due to the strain, Sword Throwing didn't have those limitations.
You could add Divine Speed right as you released the throw, meaning it wouldn't damage your hands.
Who knew how long he had trained in secret to master the precise timing between the two?
(To be continued...)