Chapter 49: Farewell, Body Brain
The sounds of violent explosions, accompanied by Shirazawa's constant screams, echoed relentlessly through the mountain forests.
"Whoa! Girls shouldn't be this violent!"
*BOOM!!*
"Ah—it hurts!!"
*BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—*
"Crap, I was wrong! I surrender!"
"..."
Shirazawa's face was a mess of humiliation and tears. His body was repeatedly blasted into scraps, only to be restored to its original state thanks to the continuous level-ups. He was playing a game of chicken on the edge of death, praying that Body Mind would hurry up and merge with the Demon Lord.
The intervals between levels grew longer as the required experience increased. Shirazawa knew he couldn't keep this up. Ariel's speed was simply absurd; he couldn't escape the range of her Dragon Scale Barrier to construct a teleportation spell.
[Experience has reached a certain level. Individual: Zana Horowa has risen to Lv 29.]
Another level-up gave Shirazawa a fresh start.
"Magic Brain 4, our SP is almost gone. If this continues, even if you keep leveling up, you won't have the strength to run. So..."
"So what?"
"Give up. Face death like a hero."
"Screw that!" Shirazawa cursed. "I don't want to be a five-second hero! Think of something else!"
Magic 4 went silent. What else could be done in this dead-end situation? Just wait for death.
"Hmph! I want to see how much longer you can hold out!" Ariel's cold, ruthless voice came from behind. A terrifying fist-wind, laced with chilling murderous intent, surged toward Shirazawa.
"I'm cooked." Shirazawa wailed inwardly. This was a guaranteed death trap. Just then, several familiar voices appeared in his mind.
Magic 1: (Yahoo! We're back!)
Magic 2: (Did you miss us?)
Magic 3: (Good grief, we walk right into this mess? We're doomed, doomed!)
Magic 4: (I think we can still be resuscitated.)
Information: (It's time to show off some real skill.)
With the return of the Parallel Minds, one-quarter of Mother's power flooded into Shirazawa's body. In this world, skills and attributes are the power of the soul. Devouring Mother's soul meant devouring her skills and status. In an instant, his attributes skyrocketed to 20,000, and a hoard of powerful skills appeared.
Feeling the sudden surge in power, the corner of Shirazawa's mouth hooked into a wicked arc. "Demon Lord Ariel, let's go!"
*BOOM!*
His body turned into a bolt of lightning, flying out to collide with Ariel's fist.
*Pfft—*
The collision produced an earth-shattering sound. The terrifying force turned the trees within hundreds of meters into nothingness. However, the result was Shirazawa being sent flying by a single punch, blood spraying from his mouth like a fountain.
"Sorry, sorry... my bad..." Shirazawa struggled to crawl up, wanting to slip away, but Ariel's next attack fell.
*BOOM!*
Shirazawa was driven into the dirt like a cannonball. He struggled out of the pit, spitting out sand. Two punches—that was all it took for his health to hit zero.
[Experience has reached a certain level. Individual: Zana Horowa has risen to Lv 36.]
"Eight levels at once? Did Shiro finish off Mother?" Wiping the blood from his mouth, Shirazawa's health bar hit full again. That was the benefit of having "Triumph." However, his SP was now completely empty. He had no strength left to run.
Ariel, radiating a powerful aura, paused. She sensed that her connection with the Queen Taratect had vanished. This meant the Queen was dead. Ariel looked at Shirazawa in the pit, her gaze growing colder. A lowly ant had actually killed her most loyal subordinate. She was furious.
"Damned insect, you dare kill my servant? You seek death!"
Looking at the immobile small white spider, Ariel began constructing magic. This time, she would use Abyss Magic to erase him completely. As the highest tier of magic, Abyss Magic required significant time to construct. She only had the chance to use it now because Shirazawa couldn't move.
Shirazawa lay powerless on the ground, silently waiting... Just as the magic was about to be completed, a strange ripple suddenly emanated from the ground.
Ariel's body trembled. she whispered in disbelief, "No... how is this possible?!"
In the next moment, under her shocked gaze, another white spider erupted from the earth. Instantly, she grabbed Shirazawa and unfolded a brilliant spatial teleportation spell.
*Whoosh—!*
The two figures vanished instantly, leaving behind a ravaged wilderness.
*I was waiting for my wife; what were you waiting for?*
This time, they had truly escaped.
"AHHHHH!!" Ariel couldn't help but roar at the sky, her voice full of hatred and killing intent. "Unforgivable! I will tear you both into a million pieces!"
With a sharp shriek, her figure vanished from the spot.
...
On the other side.
"Shirazawa... Shirazawa..."
Amidst his daze, a gentle call drifted into his ears. Shirazawa slowly opened his eyes and saw a hideous spider face inches away. He froze. "Shiro, don't get so close next time. I'll have nightmares."
"Huh? You dare insult my beauty?! I'll bite you to death!!"
Before her fangs could touch Shirazawa's neck, she stopped, instead giving his face a light peck. Then, she let go, her smile sweet. "Fine, I won't hold it against you this time."
"You..." Shirazawa touched his cheek, looking completely bewildered. "I think you can 'hold it against me' a few more times~" he said with a grin.
"Hmph!" Shiro gave him a flirtatious glare. "In your dreams."
Shirazawa: "..." Did this little spider just blush? Though Shiro tried her best to hide it, he caught the detail. A spider blushing... was actually pretty cute.
No, no, no. Shirazawa shook his head. He couldn't have these stray thoughts. Other people get turned "gay"; I'm being turned into a spider. This isn't good.
By the campfire, the two spiders recounted their experiences. Compared to Shirazawa's tragic ordeal, Shiro's side—though not as dire—was still a fierce battle. Even in an extremely weakened state, Mother's horror exceeded imagination. Shiro almost died there. If not for the sudden return of the Parallel Minds, it was hard to say who would have won.
Fortunately, the results were brilliant. They had finally dealt with their lingering worry. With Mother dead, Ariel could no longer use the mental link to track their location. This meant that without teleportation, Ariel had completely lost her grip on them.
Regrettably, the Body Minds would never return. It was an unavoidable sacrifice. If they hadn't killed Mother, the Demon Lord would have hunted them forever. Even if they could revive infinitely through consciousness transfer, the Demon Lord would eventually figure out the weakness—using Abyss Magic for a sneak attack.
They had to kill Mother to cut off the trail. Without Mother as a bridge, Body Brain was permanently trapped inside the Demon Lord. Now, they just had to wait for the souls to merge, and the threat of the Demon Lord would be solved.
Thanks for your contribution, Body Brain.
Information: (A moment of silence for the heroic sacrifice of Body Brain!)
Magic 1: (Farewell, Body Brain!)
Magic 2: (Farewell!)
Magic 3: (Bye!)
Magic 4: (Later!)
...
Body Brain: (You bastards, I'm not dead yet! Stop mourning me!)
...
Farewell, Body Brain.
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[Total Bonus Chapters Achieved: 1]
Fighting!
[Ptreon.cm/Prince_of_LanLi for 50 adv chs. 20% discount right now. Throw spirit stones to this humble one *dogeza*.]