Saria, fully armed, advanced slowly toward Ifrit, who stood frozen in place.
The flames pouring out around her weren't entirely her own doing. The fragment of the Diablo inside her had been awakened, and its power was overwhelming, spilling fire uncontrollably in every direction. The shard demanded release.
Suddenly, Saria bent low, kicked off the ground with force, and closed the distance in a heartbeat.
"Sa… Saria…"
Ifrit murmured unconsciously. But Saria didn't hesitate. She knew—if she showed mercy now, that would truly doom Ifrit.
Her elbow drove straight into Ifrit's stomach.
"—Ugh!"
To her surprise, Ifrit crumpled instantly, clutching her abdomen, unable to rise.
Is it over?
Saria frowned, still on guard. She wasn't about to let sentiment cloud her judgment.
"No, no, Saria~"
Mobius's sing-song voice echoed from afar, where she and Silence were hiding.
"Don't you feel it? The temperature's still climbing."
---
So Silence's kindness has backfired.
Mobius glanced at Silence, who was staring tensely at the scene.
Without that pill, the experiment might have succeeded. The will inside the Diablo fragment had already been devoured by the Black Snake—Ifrit only needed to wrestle the raw power under her own control.
But Silence's drug had left Ifrit semi-conscious, unable to think, unable to learn how to vent the fragment's excess energy.
Fortunate, and yet not, Mobius had embedded the Black Snake's will inside the pill. It could help Ifrit purge the overflowing power before it tore her apart… or it could complete the possession, erasing Ifrit forever.
'My, my~ such a plump little beast, right at my lips. Should I eat, or let it go?'
Inside Ifrit's mind, a shadowy Black Snake coiled lazily around the Diablo shard. It was the fragment of will Mobius had hidden in the drug.
'Well then… first, let's bleed off this excess power.'
The serpent melted into a slick, black fluid, seeping into the shard itself.
I've no interest in inheriting a ruined corpse.
---
Meanwhile, Saria had shackled Ifrit's wrists and ankles with calcified bonds.
And then—Ifrit, still lying on the ground and clutching her stomach, suddenly stopped convulsing.
Danger.
Saria quickly leapt back, dodging the wall of fire rushing toward her.
The restraints had already burned away. Ifrit rose from the ground, her body wreathed entirely in flames—like a living fire itself. Even her clothes had been incinerated.
'The Diablo's power… not bad at all.'
Not quite as precious as a few of Kashchey's more sentimental vessels, but among his collection of bodies, its strength was certainly near the top.
The power's still pouring out. It needs to be vented, fast.
'Ifrit' turned her gaze on Saria.
'Guess I'll just land a few punches on her.'
Kashchey hadn't forgotten how this woman had pounded Mobius's body several times earlier. And Kashchey was nothing if not petty.
---
Strange. Ifrit's presence feels different.
Saria raised her guard, staring sharply at Ifrit.
Before, Ifrit had been little more than a beast lashing out wildly with raw power. But now, she gave Saria the impression of something else—something intelligent.
A true awakening of the Diablo?
That would make things troublesome.
'Forgive me, Silence… I can't hold back any longer.'
The Ifrit from before, Saria was confident she could restrain. But this Ifrit? The only way was to fight with her life on the line.
And she wasn't counting on anyone else for help. As things stood, she was the only one here who had any chance of stopping Ifrit.
Mobius? That woman was useless in combat.
"Immortals aren't masters of everything, you know~"
Saria recalled Mobius once saying that to her.
---
To avoid being caught in the crossfire between herself and Black Snake-possessed Ifrit, Mobius had already led Silence far away. The rest followed too—there was no data left to collect here, and staying only meant risking their lives.
But Silence struggled the whole way, desperate to rush back toward Saria and Ifrit's battlefield.
So Mobius finally invoked her Originium Arts—an illusion.
In Silence's senses, she was already far ahead of the others, running to her destination.
"Doctor Silence, I'll leave you in his care~ I need to go give Saria a hand now~"
Mobius handed the hallucinating Silence over to Parvis.
"…You entrust her to me so easily?"
"Hehe… truth is, I rather look forward to watching you clean house~"
Mobius's ever-enigmatic smile lingered as she slipped away.
"…You really saw through me."
Parvis muttered under his breath. Glancing at the rest of the group, all of them injured, he hoisted Silence onto his back and walked on alone.
"As a true scientist… I can't allow a gifted student to wither away before my eyes."
---
"Honored Professor Parvis… I've contracted Oripathy…"
"Child, science makes no distinction between the Infected and the uninfected. Don't worry—Rhine Lab will welcome you."
"Professor, this project…"
"You've done well, Silence. You're gifted."
---
"Age… makes one sentimental, it seems."
---
Meanwhile, Saria and Black Snake Ifrit had locked into a grueling battle.
This one is truly troublesome.
Saria thought grimly as she weaved around the rain of fire.
What, is it really that hard to just land a punch on her face?
Black Snake Ifrit thought in irritation, fending off every attempt Saria made to close the distance.
For the moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
Saria tried to close the distance, but a wall of fire erupted from Black Snake Ifrit, cutting her off.
Black Snake Ifrit quickly realized that her wish to land even a single punch on Saria's face was unlikely to come true.
Her opponent's combat skills and physical ability were far too refined. If the fight came down to close-quarters brawling, the one ending up with a fist to the face would almost certainly be herself.
Kashchey's battle instincts and techniques were formidable, yes—but Ifrit's body simply wasn't built for it.
The excess power has almost run its course.
Within her consciousness, a dozen shadowy Black Snakes chattered noisily.
But it wasn't truly a discussion—rather, Kashchey was weighing the pros and cons against himself.
"Take this vessel. Its strength is acceptable."
"But its lifespan is short. Hardly worth keeping. Better to return it to that child."
"Still, Rhine Lab has developed those life-support pods. The body could be stored away, ready for use whenever needed."
"But if Saria discovers that, it'll mean endless trouble. She has close ties with the General Supervisors. Best to avoid making more enemies when we don't have to."
"The body's strength is only passable. Nothing indispensable."
"As old saying goes: 'Without the accumulation of small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles.' Every achievement starts small. Without gathering bit by bit, would Black Snake have grown so strong?"
"Forget it. Seizing this vessel would only invite nuisances—those odd groups like the Maylander Foundation, the Demon King, the Sarkaz Royal Court. Not worth it, not worth it."
"Then we simply plant a sliver of will inside this vessel and leave it for the future."
"…That makes sense."