Chapter 105 The Shadow Changer 8
Although I can now interfere with this cause and effect, this interference is different from the "grasp" I want to achieve; I can only "burn" it.
For this operation, this was a completely unprofitable outcome.
It's important to understand that the "Shadow-Shifting" ability of the Shadow-Changing Monster and the "Damage Transfer" ability of the Immortal Monster have a crucial difference.
Both can transfer negative karma that has happened to them to their clones, but the damage transfer ability transfers negative karma to a distant clone, while the passively triggered teleportation ability leaves the negative karma in place while the original body escapes by modifying the causal relationship, leaving the clone to bear the negative karma left behind.
In other words, the invisible abstract thing I am now sensing, which is escaping, does not symbolize "the fatal wound I inflicted on the Shadowswitch," but rather "the Shadowswitch itself."
Although it's always about cause and effect, I still don't have any objective evidence to prove that this is "cause and effect." I'm merely borrowing the term Zhu Shi used to describe the ability to teleport. At least subjectively, I feel that this does indeed symbolize the metaphysical concept of the teleportation monster's true form, and I really can't find a more fitting term than "cause and effect" to express this.
I want to suppress it under the pillar of fire. If the pillar of fire is my finger, what I'm trying to do is like trying to press dust that's been carried away by the wind under my fingertip. However, what's trying to escape isn't even dust, but air. No matter how hard I try to press it down, the air will only be squeezed out by my finger.
Yes, cause and effect, such an abstract concept, is as colorless and formless as air; even air exists on a different dimension. Therefore, it cannot be touched with the hand, let alone grasped in a physical sense.
Combustion is a physical concept, so I can't explain in words why I can burn it; in short, I can do it. The reason I can do this is because my superpower is combustion. If my superpower were telekinesis or telekinesis, I might be able to grab it, but unfortunately, I don't have that.
Or... although it's baseless, I feel that what I can't directly grasp is only "my current self." As long as my power continues to evolve... no, to be precise, as long as my understanding and application of my own power reaches another level, then wanting to overstep my bounds and "grasp cause and effect" will no longer be an unattainable thing for me.
Let's get back on track. The reason I feel I shouldn't burn the cause and effect symbolizing the Shadow Monster's true form is because our objective is to at least preserve the Shadow Monster's head.
As for this colorless and formless abstract object, my flames cannot distinguish between the head and the torso. It's like trying to burn a cotton ball the size of a fingernail with a gas stove; it would likely just burn to ashes. That won't do.
Rather than wasting time like this, it's better to let it escape first, then devise a new strategy, and track it down based on the thermal energy signature I left in its body.
Of course, it's not time to completely give up on this battle yet. At least Zhu Shi hasn't given up. Just as I decided not to burn away this cause and effect, a silver sword light followed closely, slicing into the massive pillar of fire. My flames don't harm my own people, so Zhu Shi wasn't burned at all even though he rushed into the pillar of fire. The sword light cunningly pierced the jaw of the Shadow-Changing Monster's head.
Her goal was definitely to destroy the Shadow Man's ability itself, but unfortunately she was a step too slow.
I clearly saw that the cause and effect symbolizing the shapeshifter's true form had flown away like a swift sparrow. Just as Zhu Shi had said beforehand, the speed at which the shapeshifting ability unfolded was far too fast for her. Her chances were at most 10%, so this outcome was to be expected.
However, I think a 10% chance is high enough, because we'll have countless more opportunities to pursue them, while the Shadow Monster would be doomed if it failed even once. After that, it's just a long, drawn-out process. The downside is that it's incredibly time-consuming, and Zhu Shi severing the monster's connection to the Heart Seed should only take a moment. If any part of the subsequent operation isn't executed perfectly, we'll still return empty-handed.
I withdrew from my fire elemental form and then released my power; the massive pillar of fire vanished instantly, like the flame of a gas stove whose valve had been turned off. Zhu Shi landed beside me, her cold, lake-blue eyes seemingly revealing her dissatisfaction with her own failure.
The monster's head, its jaw pierced, crashed to the ground nearby. Due to the alteration of cause and effect by the teleportation ability, the head had transformed from the original flesh and blood into a state where "the one attacked from the beginning was a shadow clone." Therefore, it gradually melted into black ink, about to be reduced to a pure shadow and disappear onto the ground.
I plan to try and sense where the Shadow Man's true form is now.
Just then, Ma Zao arrived late and looked down at the head on the ground.
Then, she did something unprecedented.
To clarify beforehand, I had asked both Mazao and Zhu Shi if they had any ideas on how to deal with the teleportation ability. However, seeing Mazao's troubled expression and silence, I assumed she had no idea. Furthermore, she didn't offer any further suggestions on the operation, which confirmed my judgment.
However, her current actions suggest otherwise.
She raised her right hand and pointed at the head on the ground, which was gradually melting and disintegrating into ink.
“All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows—” she recited.
The disfigured head vanished instantly, replaced by an intact Shadow Changer.
After doing this, Asaha seemed very tired.
Zhu Shi and I were stunned, and the Shadow-Switch monster seemed equally bewildered, standing there dumbfounded. I tried to sense it; the thermal energy markings were right there in the monster's body. There was no doubt that this was the Shadow-Switch monster in its true form.
Asa used her power of resurrection to capture the Shadow-Switch monster, who had disappeared to who-knows-where!
The Shadow Man immediately realized what was happening; I think he might be trying to use his teleportation ability again. Almost simultaneously, a silver sword light burst forth, piercing his chest and sending him flying.
Like a doll pierced by an arrow, his body was pinned to a distant tree by a sharp sword, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
I released flames centered on the thermal energy marks left in his body, and transformed them back into a giant hand, forcefully gripping and binding his entire body along with the tree trunk behind him.
He was unable to escape, and his teleportation ability seemed to have failed.
Zhu Shi's eyes changed from a cold, clear lake blue back to their normal black. She breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "Compared to a passively triggered form, an actively triggered teleportation ability is indeed much easier to destroy."
"Compared to this... Ma Zao, you actually managed to bring him back?"
As she spoke, she turned to look at Ma Zao, her face revealing undisguised surprise and astonishment.
“Well, now that we know he didn’t use the clone as a smokescreen to divert attention and let his main body sneak away last night, but instead used some strange power to directly switch the positions of his main body and the clone, I should be able to use the power of blessing to reset the results of his ability and swap the spatial positions of him and the clone back,” Asa explained. “However, I’m not confident about how much power I can use in my current state. I don’t know if I can do it before I actually try.”
"So that's why you didn't say a word before?" I said knowingly.
That being said, I think it's better to discuss these things beforehand. After all, Zhu Shi wasn't confident in his approach, yet he still voiced his concerns. When there's no foolproof plan, luck can be a tactical element. This kind of prior communication is also part of teamwork.
Compared to Zhu Shi, Ma Zao seems to severely lack teamwork skills. Actually, I'm just as bad, since I haven't even presented my own attempts. My attempts were less about concrete methods and more about vaguely exploring solutions, insufficient to be considered a viable plan. Ma Zao seems to be even more severely affected. Considering her inferiority complex about her "jinxed" personality, she probably used to actively avoid collaboration with others, and even the only person she had, Number Two Xiao Wan, wasn't a partner she considered equal.
Perhaps what she truly lacks isn't even teamwork; living in a post-apocalyptic world, she might not even possess a normal sense of social collectivism. In that sense, she does occasionally give me the impression of being like a wild animal.
Ma Zao hummed in agreement, then whispered, "Because I don't want you to be disappointed in me..."
"Hey, what about me?" Zhu Shi leaned over and asked.
"You clearly don't believe me." Ma Zao seemed to be bothered by Zhu Shi's doubts about the impending apocalypse.
The first reason she gave me when she left me last time, on the rooftop of the unfinished building, was that I outwardly believed in the apocalypse, but in reality, I hadn't even asked when it would come. It seems that although she always puts on an attitude that it's normal for others not to believe in her, she actually cares a lot about other people's doubts, whether subtle or blatant.
Zhu Shi showed the typical dejected expression of a cat lover who wanted to pet a stray cat but saw that the cat turned and ran away without hesitation, leaving him only able to reach out and grab at the air.
"Remember to tell me in advance next time," I reminded myself, and then said, "Let's deal with that weirdo first."
Mazao nodded seriously, then shifted her gaze. Zhu Shi, on the other hand, rallied her spirits and looked at the strange man in the distance with Mazao.
The Shadow Man was trying to break free of the fiery hand, but the sword pinning him to the tree seemed to not only disable his powers but also suppress his strength. His struggles were futile, failing to break through not only my fiery hand but also the trees behind him.
We walked up to him, and he was panting heavily, glaring at us fiercely.
In any case, he has been defeated. The battle with him is over, and what follows is a one-sided demand for intelligence.
Suddenly, he looked behind us.
An unfamiliar set of footsteps came from that direction.
(End of this chapter)
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