The figure beneath the robe suddenly moved.
Mithra swiftly dodged as several insect-like limbs, tipped with serrated blades, slashed wildly.
Mithra deflected several of the closest strikes before raising her sword.
The eyes on the blade briefly opened, flickering towards the figure before quickly closing again.
Hunting Blade!
The figure, startled, felt a gust of wind as half its body was severed!
Mithra leaped into the air, catching the flying torso and sweeping her leg into its head.
Crack!
The figure's neck snapped.
Having achieved her sma;; objective, Mithra was about to pursue when she heard Leo Duncan shout, "Mithra! Behind you!"
Too late.
Swish!
Several limbs sliced across Mithra's chest, the claws leaving bloody gashes.
Mithra turned to see grotesque eyes sprouting from the severed lower half. It even opened its mouth, revealing uneven, sharp teeth. Those eyes greedily stared at Mithra. Its mouth opened and closed before lunging at her face.
"Roar!"
As Mithra's head was swallowed, a bestial roar erupted from her mouth.
The creature formed from the Sheng's lower half convulsed violently.
A blue sword energy sliced through it, dismembering the creature and freeing Mithra.
Mithra, spitting blood, coughed violently, expelling a large amount of blood.
Leo Duncan quickly supported Mithra, his hands swiftly forming the Water pattern. He supported her with one hand while pulling the claw from her body with the other.
[Clean Water: A Water miracle. A healing miracle using purified water; a natural power.]
Mithra felt a wave of coolness wash over her, accelerating her regeneration.
Leo Duncan stared in disbelief as the claw was removed, and Mithra's body instantly healed; the holes in her clothing were even shrinking and mending!
He had clearly overdone it with the Clean Water.
"You can self-heal? No, wait, what kind of self-healing heals clothes, too?" Leo Duncan, despite having seen many strange things, was genuinely shocked.
Mithra coughed up more blood, unable to speak for a moment.
Leo Duncan didn't press further, helping her sit down to rest.
Mithra quickly activated Stabilize.
Ding.
The blood she was spitting up wasn't hers; Mithra hadn't lost that much blood.
When the lower-half monster bit her head, Mithra, turned her head into beast form, had bitten back, taking a bite before being bitten herself.
Mithra's beast form hadn't held back. It had eaten its fill. But the rapid shift back to her human form was causing intense nausea.
And, she seemed to have eaten something disgusting.
[Event —— "The 'Chrysalis' Curse"]
[You have consumed something disgusting. Choose one of the following solutions.]
[Naflay's Gift: A second mouth that can help you consume impurities. Price: You must feed it, and you may use your own flesh.]
[Lebaance's Gift: Your body will become immune to the corrosive effects of external miraculous powers (excluding our powers). Price: Your regeneration ability will decrease, and the side effects of regeneration will be removed.]
[Please choose.]
"The first one," Mithra chose quickly, after five seconds of consideration.
It wasn't that Lebaance's gift was bad, but regeneration, while unpleasant, was powerful. Without side effects, other miracles would also be difficult to learn.
Pain was pain. She would thank Lebaance later.
[Lebaance's signature: Heh.]
Suddenly, Mithra felt an itch on her chest. Before she could investigate, an intense hunger overwhelmed her, but the nausea from consuming the lower-half monster quickly vanished.
Mithra covered her chest and looked up.
"Feeling better?" Leo Duncan asked.
Mithra nodded. "What about those guys?"
"They ran off while you were distracted."
"Tch," They escaped again.
Mithra considered learning Flesh Transmutation, but she already had her beast and Stranger forms, and her mental state was excellent. Adding another seemed excessive. She decided against it for now.
Nearby, the dismembered pieces of the monster were still twitching.
["Chrysalis" Cursed Creature: High-concentration "Chrysalis" beings. Severed limbs remain active. With sufficient flesh, they can coalesce into cursed creatures. With insufficient flesh, they lose their activity over time, becoming ordinary flesh.]
After dismembering the remaining pieces to ensure no more cursed creatures would form, Mithra and Leo Duncan finished cleaning up.
"Looks like the 'Chrysalis'," Leo Duncan said, conjuring water to wash his hands and then cleaning the blood from Mithra.
"You know about the 'Chrysalis'?"
"Of course. They're famous on Planet Blue, terrifying organizations formed by believers. With miracles, that kind of thing is bound to happen," Leo Duncan said confidently.
"Tell me," Mithra said.
"A bunch of Flesh Transmutation fanatics who think they've found a shortcut to power. They've expanded their influence on Planet Blue and Dreamland, but they're not a major power."
"Are the members Flesh Slimes?"
"What's a Slime?"
"Moving excrement that can change shape at will."
"Yeah, something like that... Precisely. They're obsessed with Flesh Transmutation, freely altering their bodies, resulting in this form," Leo Duncan said, glancing at the rapidly weakening flesh on the ground.
"What else do they do?"
"I don't know. Who knows what terrorists are thinking? But the 'Chrysalis' organization rarely makes big moves. Sun City hasn't been attacked like this in a long time. This isn't a good sign," Leo Duncan commented.
As they talked, the Sun City Guard Corps arrived.
"Mithra and Crab?! What are you two doing here?" Nie Hong, in simple guard uniform, saw them amidst the debris and called out.
"What happened here?" Mithra ignored the wary guards, noting Nie Hong's clothes and Leo Duncan's simple attire.
Leo Duncan calmly explained their field trip to Mithra.
Mithra nodded. It sounded like a different kind of military training.
The Sun City Guard Corps surrounded the area. A leader stepped forward.
Leo Duncan held Mithra back, stepping forward to speak with them.
After a while, Leo Duncan returned to Mithra's side. "It's not going to be easy. Even though we've explained our identities, they still want to investigate. We've caused some trouble. I'm fine because I'm a Planet Blue student, but your returnee status and your presence at the scene might be problematic."
"It's fine. I'll cooperate."
Leo Duncan nodded and followed the guards, leaving the scene.
Suddenly, he turned back to look at the scene.
Strange...
Were there fewer pieces of flesh on the ground?
Unseen by him, Mithra touched her chest. A rumbling sound echoed.