Chapter 41: Little Aunts?
"Ooh~ so this is the core of Mother's soul?"
"It's huge~"
Body Mind stared at the mountain-like silhouette of Mother, mouth agape in silence for a long time. A powerful mental pressure crashed over them, making the Parallel Minds feel a deep sense of suffocation.
Just kidding.
Heresy Nullification directly immunized them against all soul-based attacks. This place had essentially become their playground—no, it was more like a prime dating spot.
The four Parallel Minds who had just entered Mother's mental world soon found Shiro's Parallel Minds, who had arrived a step ahead of them. Currently, four pinkish little spiders were happily nibbling away at Mother's soul body.
"Ahem, ahem..."
A low dry cough caught the attention of Shiro's four minds. They stopped what they were doing and looked up warily at the sudden intruders.
"Oh, it's you guys." Recognizing the newcomers, Shiro's Parallel Minds waved cheerfully. "Come on over, Mother tastes great!"
Body Mind was the first to issue an invitation, and Shirazawa's Parallel Minds ran toward them without hesitation.
(￣▽￣～)
"Hello, I'm Body Mind."
"I'm the Magic Mind."
"I'm the Magic Mind 2."
"I..."
After a brief greeting, the groups immediately found their respective counterparts and merged joyfully. The air was filled with constant chattering and laughter; they didn't look like they were there to fight, but rather like they were holding a tea party.
As the saying goes: "When men and women work together, the work gets... well, more fun."
The paired-up Parallel Minds got down to business. Mother's massive spiritual body began to be cannibalized by the eight of them. In this world, the physical body is merely a vessel. The soul is what carries a creature's attributes, points, and skills.
As the Parallel Minds continued their erosion, Mother's various attributes were absorbed by them. Her stats, once soaring between twenty and thirty thousand, began to slide, making her weaker and weaker. Realizing things were going south, she tried to struggle, only to find it futile. Heresy Nullification was truly a god-tier skill, completely ignoring all of Mother's mental attacks.
The Queen Taratect, who had lived for countless years, felt the long-lost threat of death.
"ROAR—!"
She howled frantically, leading her army back into the labyrinth. Possessing high intelligence, the Queen realized that these two rebellious children with Spatial Magic weren't someone she could handle alone. She decisively contacted her own mother and locked down her entire mental world, preventing the Parallel Minds from returning to their main bodies with her stats to strengthen the enemy.
Feeling helpless, the Queen returned to the Lower Stratum and ordered her kin to kill the two at all costs. As for herself, she would wait for Grandmother to arrive and clean up the mess.
...
On the other side: the moment Mother locked down the mental world, Shirazawa and Shiro lost contact with their Parallel Minds.
"Heh heh heh..."
The corners of their mouths curled into wicked arcs. Under the glow of the surrounding lava, they looked exceptionally eerie and terrifying.
"Let's go."
Shirazawa took Shiro's hand, and they teleported away.
*Hummm—*
The magic circle lit up, and in the next moment, they appeared in the Upper Stratum. Their targets: those twenty Greater Taratects. These were massive experience packs. With Mother currently preoccupied, this was the best time to deal with their "brothers and sisters."
"Shiro, one each!"
"Got it!"
Shiro let go of Shirazawa's hand and flew excitedly toward the Greater Taratects. A brand new skill, Divine Thread Weaving—born from the fusion of Thread Control and Utility Thread—erupted from their abdomens.
They had clear targets, each selecting a Greater Taratect.
*Pfft—!*
The threads moved like ghosts. Two Greater Taratects were instantly ensnared by Divine Thread Weaving, unable to move. Immediately after, Magic Mind 4 activated the pre-constructed Teleportation magic. Before the other Greater Taratects could react, they watched their teammates vanish into thin air.
"ROAR—!"
They could only howl in impotent rage and charge recklessly toward the Middle Stratum.
*Splash!*
*Sizzle—*
With the sound of hitting water, the two captured Greater Taratects were dropped into the boiling lava pits for an intimate conversation with the magma.
"Wa-ha-ha-ha!"
"That's what you get for messing with us! Scared yet?"
Shiro stood on the bank laughing loudly, her expression one of pure satisfaction.
[Experience reached... Lv7 → Lv8]
[Attributes increased, skill proficiency increased, skill points obtained...]
"Don't get ahead of yourself, there are eighteen left," Shirazawa reminded her, seeing her gloating.
"Meh~ the rest are a piece of cake." Shiro waved it off, swinging her threads again to drag the "well-done" sisters out of the lava.
Now wasn't the time to eat. Storing the cooked sisters into his Space Storage, the two continued their factory-line execution.
*Pfft!*
*Splash!*
[Experience reached... Lv8 → Lv9]
*Pfft!*
*Splash!*
[Experience reached... Lv9 → Lv10]
...
After dealing with sixteen sisters, the duo's level jumped to Lv17. Just as they teleported to the Upper Stratum again to deal with the final four, they suddenly felt a jolt of heart-palpitating dread.
Danger!
The two spun around. A terrifying doll had suddenly descended behind them, radiating a cold, evil aura. The doll, like a spider, had eight limbs—but two were legs for upright walking, while the other six were arms, like Nezha. Each arm carried a sharp longsword flashing with a terrifying cold light.
"Hiss—"
The doll bared its sharp fangs, all six arms rising simultaneously to slash at them with brutal ferocity.
*Swish!*
Shirazawa flickered away, but Shiro was a fraction too slow. The doll slashed her two right legs, and blood sprayed. However, for the Shiro who was used to being covered in wounds every day, this small injury was negligible. Combined with Pain Nullification, her expression remained calm.
With Thought Super-Acceleration active, the Puppet Spider's trajectory began to slow. She calmly spat out silk and dodged the follow-up.
*Clang!*
The Puppet Spider's left sword slashed at Shiro's chest, and she leaned back to avoid it. But the Puppet Spider seemed to anticipate her move, changing the trajectory to sweep toward Shiro's waist, leaving her nowhere to retreat.
"Dammit, is this thing intentionally baiting me? It's too smart!"
Shiro cursed inwardly. Just as she was about to use Divine Weaving Thread, she realized with horror that the doll was faster—a blade was already inches away, poised to take her head.
"Shiro!"
Fortunately, Shiro wasn't alone. A thread quickly yanked her from her position, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
"Phew—"
She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she realized Shirazawa's side was even more dangerous. Five Puppet Spiders had appeared simultaneously. Zoro used Three-Sword Style; this was Thirty-Sword Style.
How the hell were they supposed to fight this?
Shirazawa was decisive, grabbing her and constructing a short-range Warp to flee. These Puppet Spiders weren't on the level of their sisters; they were on the same tier as Mother—direct subordinates of Demon Lord Ariel.
In terms of seniority, Shirazawa and Shiro would have to call them "Little Aunts."
"Curse it, sisters are so annoying! They can't win, so they called their parents!"
Shiro's mental state was crumbling. Were they being bullied because they didn't have a parent to back them up?
Well, they actually didn't.
*Sob, sob...*
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