Chapter 43 Fallen Witcher VS Superpowered Individuals 6
I looked in astonishment at the spot where Zhuang Cheng had fallen.
The decapitated corpse lying on the ground burst into flames without warning, as if an invisible person had poured gasoline on it and set it ablaze while I wasn't looking. Not only that, but the pool of blood and splattered brain matter on the ground also began to burn fiercely, just like gasoline.
Incredibly, even though the body was engulfed in flames, the burned corpse, along with its blood and brain matter, remained unburnt and undamaged. More than undamaged, upon closer inspection, these substances didn't seem to be ignited; rather, they appeared to be transforming into the flames themselves.
Yes, it is transforming into flame itself. I'm not quite sure what I'm saying either, but these tangible biological tissues seem to have originally been transformed from flames, and are now gradually returning to their original form.
Then, something even more unbelievable happened, making me doubt my own eyes.
The headless body, which had gradually become as ethereal as flames, actually rose slowly right in front of me, the murderer, as if nothing had happened.
He touched his non-existent head in a daze, paused after finding nothing, then bent down, found and picked up the head that had fallen to the ground, and held it in his arms.
He—he can still move?
The unexpected scene left me speechless: "You, you..."
He was resurrected? No, he was never killed in the first place?
To survive having one's head chopped off—what kind of superpower is that, immortality? But isn't he a fire user? How does this ability relate to immortality?
He slightly adjusted the direction of the head in his arms so that it was facing me, and the terrifying face with its eyes slashed and destroyed seemed to be staring at me.
The intact mouth then moved, uttering a sigh: "I lay on the ground thinking about it for a while, and finally figured it out... So you've been acting all along. Are you the mastermind behind it all?"
How does he manage to speak with his head and body separated? His vocal cords must be completely unable to function properly.
No, calm down, Konda. Although this is the first time I've encountered a superhuman who can still function after having their head chopped off, in this world, this level of immortality isn't surprising. Their power doesn't seem to be the manipulation of fire, but some other mysterious and unpredictable ability. But so what?
There are countless mysterious and unpredictable forces, and most agents and witchers, no matter how unwilling, must confront strange powers they cannot understand. Real combat isn't like a mind-bending comic book; there's no logic in needing to unravel the mystery of an enemy's abilities to win. To gain an advantage on an unpredictable battlefield, there's only one method, and it's the method I've always used—
Strike first, strike hard!
Without hesitation, I transformed into my monster form and charged forward, my arm now a blade. There were no superfluous words, no unnecessary movements. In a mere instant—a moment that would be too quick for an ordinary person to even blink—my strikes landed one after another, relentlessly striking Zhuang Cheng's body.
Previously, the slashes unleashed during partial transformation were merely stealthy ambushes with concealment as the highest priority, and power was secondary; but now, the slashes unleashed during full transformation pursue extreme destructive power.
If Zhuang Cheng thinks I only know physical attacks, he is sorely mistaken. My monster form's slashes can not only destroy physical bodies, but also annihilate spiritual beings.
In other words, I possess the power to directly attack the soul.
Especially now that my heart is filled with murderous intent, and my only thought is to attack souls, the magic power concentrated on the blade is even more devastating. Ordinary people without any magic power would be annihilated simply by being grazed by it, and most superpowered individuals who do not possess soul-related powers would meet the same fate.
All the slashes hit their mark, and Zhuang Cheng was instantly torn to pieces. I, having completed my charge, braked behind him, ending my attack.
I won...
Just as the thought reflexively crossed my mind, Zhuang Cheng's voice came from behind me: "Physical attacks are useless against me."
As the voice rang out, my right hand and both legs simultaneously burst into flames, and the intense pain made me scream involuntarily.
I can understand my right hand burning; it still has Zhuang Cheng's blood and brain matter on it. Since the biological tissue he splattered elsewhere would burn, my right hand would naturally do too. But why are my legs burning out of thin air? He's not even looking at me!
Why didn't he die before that?
As I screamed in agony, I twisted and fell to the ground, and his figure came into view.
He was standing there unharmed, the head he was holding still talking to me: "This form was originally meant to be shown to you earlier, but if you hadn't suddenly fired... I see, so that demon that attacked from behind was testing whether I could sense what was behind me..."
Towards the end, he seemed lost in thought and muttered to himself.
How is this possible? My blade clearly sliced through his body, so why aren't there any new wounds? More importantly... the soul attack had no effect! And that's not all; he didn't even realize his soul had been attacked!
No, I must deal with the flames on my body first!
I quickly swung the blade in my left hand, severing my right hand and both legs. The intense pain was excruciating, but it was bearable compared to letting the fire spread to my torso. Given time, the monstrous body could regenerate my right hand and legs.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. For now, I don't plan to continue trying to kill Zhuang Cheng. Fighting an opponent I can't kill no matter what I do is a waste of effort. If all else fails, I'll find a way to assassinate him later. I'm going to escape, using the power of shadow to teleport!
Under my conscious control, the surrounding shadows surged in like a tide. I had to escape as quickly as possible; Zhuang Cheng's attack speed was not slow, and its power was unparalleled. If I was even a fraction of a second too late, I would be burned to death on the spot.
However, I was a second too slow, and Zhuang Cheng's flames arrived instantly.
I still couldn't see where the flames were coming from, and this time they weren't even starting to burn on my body's surface. I felt a terrifying heat rising from deep within my chest and abdomen, as if someone were pumping a large amount of boiling water into my stomach. The excruciating pain and internal pressure caused me to involuntarily open my mouth.
Suddenly my vision went dark, and I couldn't hear anything. Then I felt something rushing out of my mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.
No, I understand, it's flames... Flames appeared directly inside my body and shot out from the inside out!
At the same time, it seemed as if all the muscle tissue in my body had been destroyed, leaving me completely immobilized, with only one thought remaining in my mind—
He was actually able to summon his own flames directly from inside my body? That's outrageous!
But… I’m not dead yet. Logically, with his firepower, I should have died instantly. In fact, I feel like I’m about to die anyway; even my consciousness is ravaged by the excruciating pain. But I’m not dead yet; he showed mercy. That was his biggest mistake.
The surrounding shadows were still following my previous instructions. As flames spewed from my seven orifices, the shadows on the ground opened a portal, causing me to fall into it against gravity.
"Shadow Transfer" was successfully activated, and I entered the world of shadows directly.
Unlike the vibrant real world, the shadow world is devoid of light and sound, a place like the deep sea. This isn't just because my eyes and ears are burned out; it's simply that monotonous. You can't even perceive up, down, left, right, front, or back; you can only barely sense that you're moving somewhere.
Those without the necessary abilities cannot even think or survive here, as there is no concept of time or space. Even for me, the user, this place is extremely dangerous; a slight misstep could lead to getting lost and never being able to return to the real world. The only places I can travel to through the shadows are locations I have previously visited in the real world.
Zhuang Cheng once mentioned that he had a spiritual connection with his flame. However, this spiritual connection was severed at one point beneath the cave in the fifteenth-floor room.
The reason for the break is obvious: the cave is located in an alternate dimension that does not exist in reality.
The spacetime entered through the shadow teleportation is also an alternate dimension that does not conform to the norms of the real world. Here, no form of radio wave signal can reach, and the connection between Zhuang Cheng and his own flame must also be like this. As evidence, the flames burning in my body quickly extinguished after I entered the shadow spacetime. My tormented consciousness finally regained some calm.
I concentrated my magic power on my eyes and ears. Before long, I felt that I had regained my sight and hearing, and then I emerged from this shadowy space as if surfacing, and arrived at the place I had been before.
This is the abandoned construction site that Zhuang Cheng and I investigated before. I moved directly to the upper floors of the unfinished building. Due to the halt in construction, the upper floors of this unfinished building are just a skeleton. Looking up from the ground where I am, the upper floors have no ceilings or walls, only a gray skeleton formed by layers of reinforced concrete.
Having escaped here, I should be safe now... I breathed a sigh of relief.
The shadows materialized into three-dimensional matter, forming prosthetics. I gained temporary replacements for my right hand and legs, enabling me to stand up.
Suddenly, a surge of magical energy appeared near me.
(End of this chapter)
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