What's going on?
Why did the hidden mainline trigger?
And what the hell is this "Escape Mode"?
The sudden change immediately made Ji Xun think that he had been kept in the dark about something.
However, a glance at his temporary teammate cleared his doubts.
Even though she was wearing a gas mask, the slight tremor in the mechanical-armed girl's body signified that she, too, was shocked by the change.
So it wasn't just Ji Xun who was bewildered—his teammate was just as clueless.
...
This mysterious force was essentially an enhancement that pushed the monsters into a berserk state.
The most obvious change was that the Fallen Witch's classification shifted from a B-grade disaster to an A-grade one.
Her mental field, which previously felt like a faint ripple on calm water, now erupted in force, sending waves of invisible pressure throughout the room.
Her power had visibly skyrocketed!
This instantly made the hunt they had planned so carefully many times harder.
Just a moment ago, Ji Xun was barely holding onto his sanity. But now, facing the evolved disaster, his mind felt like it had been struck by a hammer. It turned to mush, confusion flooding his thoughts.
Danger alerts flashed rapidly.
His attribute panel showed rapid decline.
Death was closer than ever before.
Ji Xun didn't understand what the change in disaster level meant.
But his teammate clearly did.
The girl with the mechanical arm understood the creature's newfound power. She cursed under her breath, "How could it become an A-grade mutated form?!"
Just as the Fallen Witch's mutation took effect, the invisible energy field surrounding it surged. It immediately shattered the sealing chains of the spell that had held it in place.
The barrier couldn't control the creature anymore!
But that wasn't the worst of it.
The cards in the girl's hand turned to dust as the barrier collapsed. Simultaneously, she was hit by a backlash of energy, and before she could react, a crimson whip shot out toward her.
"Crack!"
She couldn't dodge in time. The long whip landed across her body with a thunderous crack. The force was so strong that her cloak ripped apart, and the blow landed squarely on her chest.
The strike was so powerful that even her metal exoskeleton was deformed, and a gruesome wound was left across her flesh.
"Ugh!"
Blood spurted out as her body was sent flying across the room.
The heavy thud of her body crashing against the wall echoed through the room.
Looking at the creature, the Fallen Witch had fully morphed into an unexpected form. In addition to the massive blood-red maw, it now had a long centipede-like tail and four spider-like legs.
...
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, the mechanical-armed girl tore off her gas mask, gasping for air.
As Ji Xun had guessed earlier, she was young.
Though her face was partially obscured by a bloodstained cloth covering her mouth and nose, her skin was taut around her eyes, her brows elegant and sharp, and her deep, black pupils were full of intensity and spirit.
Now that the Fallen Witch had fully transformed into its monstrous form, its combat ability skyrocketed.
It realized that the human behind it posed a serious threat, and the hatred shifted instantly.
After slamming the girl with its whip, the witch paid no further attention to Ji Xun, the "food," and instead used its spider-like legs to move quickly, its enormous body now unnaturally fast.
Before it seemed slow and cumbersome, but now its speed was terrifying.
In the blink of an eye, its blade-like spider leg was already piercing through the air toward her.
The mechanical-armed girl's eyes narrowed, and she raised her right arm, firing the steam-powered high-pressure cannon at the witch.
"Boom!"
The muffled sound of the blast echoed as white steam filled the entire room.
In the mist, the witch's gigantic body was blown back by the force of the steam.
But what Ji Xun noticed was that the creature didn't explode into a bloody mess like it had before.
Her pupils constricted. She quickly detected something unusual.
Reacting quickly, she used the recoil to leap back, drawing several cards from her pouch mid-air.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" The sound of cutting air echoed.
The three cards she threw flew through the air and transformed into vortex-like wind blades, cutting through the mist toward the witch.
Not far away, Ji Xun watched this in astonishment.
Those were just cards. Yet as they flew, they turned into sharp wind blades?
A flash of thought crossed his mind.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
There was no sound of the cards slicing through the air, but instead, a metallic clinking came from the mist, and the girl's face instantly changed.
She hadn't even landed before another deadly threat was already bearing down on her. Instinctively, she pushed off the ground and tried to dodge.
However, even with her swift reactions, it was too slow!
Almost the moment she moved, a shadow shot out of the mist again.
She didn't have time to avoid it. With a sharp "crack," the centipede tail whipped across her, shattering her magical shield and sending her flying back into the wall.
This strike was even more powerful than the last!
The girl felt a sharp pain in her throat and couldn't stop herself from spitting out another mouthful of blood.
As the mist cleared, the creature had once again changed.
Now, it was enveloped by a mental energy field, and its entire body was covered in tough, scale-like armor. On the centipede tail, Ji Xun could see three faint scratches—marks left by the Wind Blade Cards.
It was unharmed?
Even an A-grade disaster shouldn't be this resilient!
The mechanical-armed girl's expression shifted, and she seemed to recall something. Shocked, she blurted out, "A second mutation?! How could that happen in a first-tier disaster?!"
...
The girl had been hit again, and the situation had turned for the worse. Things were spiraling out of control, and it seemed like they were heading for total annihilation.
No one had expected the situation to take such a drastic turn.
Ji Xun, lying in the corner, had been thrown off balance by the blast from the steam cannon and crashed into the wall.
Thankfully, this corner provided more protection.
The monster's attention was fully focused on the girl, and Ji Xun, having regained some mental clarity after being knocked down, began to calmly observe the battle.
The creature had easily broken out of the barrier they'd worked so hard to set up, and it was clearly far stronger than they had expected.
Without any other options, it seemed like they were doomed.
But Ji Xun didn't believe his temporary teammate had only this much to offer.
He looked at the girl, who had been struck twice and spit blood, and muttered under his breath, "She has a trump card... now's the time to use it."
From the start, the mechanical-armed girl had only shown the strength she wanted others to see.
But Ji Xun's instincts told him that she had been hiding her true abilities.
As for Ji Xun himself, even in the midst of this dangerous situation, his thoughts remained crystal clear.
Fear?
If death was inevitable, those negative emotions would only cloud his judgment, so they were completely unnecessary for him.
...
Sure enough!
At the brink of death, there was no time for hesitation.
The girl's gaze hardened, and it seemed she had made a decision. With a quiet command, she shouted, "Release!"
Ji Xun's pupils dilated.
At the sound of her command, it felt like some mysterious force was unleashed. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped sharply.
He knew—his teammate was about to unleash her ultimate ability.
At the same time, with a loud crack, the witch's whip shot forward again.
This time, it moved even faster!
Clearly, the creature had been further empowered by the mysterious force described in the prophecy, and it was continuing to grow stronger.
Had this strike come before, the girl would have been severely wounded again.
But what happened next shocked everyone.
The whip lashed out faster than ever, but the girl, covered in blood, showed no fear in her eyes. She didn't attempt to dodge.
Instead, she stood tall, her hand raised lightning fast, and the long centipede tail suddenly stopped in mid-air, just an inch from her hand.
It was as if an invisible force surrounded her hand. With a fierce squeeze, the tail writhed like a snake caught by the neck, struggling but unable to escape.
Looking at the girl, her aura had completely transformed.
Silver hair swirled around her, and the air around her radiated an intense, freezing aura. Even the acid sprayed by the monster's tail was blocked by this field.
A strange, semi-transparent figure hovered behind her.
In this instant, she looked like a demon descending from the heavens.
Ji Xun, with only a brief glance, felt a cold shiver crawl up his spine.
So strong! What kind of power is this...?
He couldn't tell whether it was his imagination, but it felt like the energy coming from this teammate of his was far more demonic than that of the witch.
...
Her aura suddenly shifted. Now, she was no longer dodging the creature's tail. Instead, her fists, enveloped in a fierce frost, surged forward, pummeling the monster relentlessly.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The room resounded with thunderous bangs, as if the very walls were shaking.
The girl, fearless of the mental
corruption, battered the creature with fists surrounded by icy mist. Each punch froze a large part of the monster's armor, forcing it to retreat.
However, it was still an A-grade disaster, and despite the overwhelming offensive, the battle was far from decided.
Ji Xun, watching from the corner, squinted his eyes and muttered, "It's still not enough."
Originally, he hadn't expected to use his own minimal combat abilities, but looking at the situation now, it seemed that he had to do something.
...
In this world, "disasters" could roughly be understood as bosses.
This silver-haired girl could stand her ground against an A-grade disaster, which meant her strength was top-tier even among those of the same grade.
But clearly, it still wasn't enough.
The Fallen Witch was a mental-type monster, and its physical combat ability was weak.
But its body was incredibly tough, and killing it would be extremely difficult.
Looking at the girl, who had gained the upper hand, Ji Xun realized that despite the advantage, it would still take a long time to defeat it.
That wasn't the real problem, though.
The real issue was the noise they were making in their fight.
This alternate dimension wasn't home to just one monster.
Outside the door, Ji Xun could already hear the sound of gunfire. Clearly, someone was fighting other monsters.
They couldn't afford to waste any more time.
Ji Xun made up his mind.
He extended his hand and made a tactical gesture, mimicking the action of holding a gun.
His teammate, ever observant, clearly saw it.
...
She saw it, but there was a hint of confusion in her eyes. What could this guy possibly do to help?