Chapter 119 VS Monster Maker 6
The creator of this weirdo is unlikely to heed my advice.
No sooner had I finished speaking than he moved again. He flapped his wings, retreating rapidly, while simultaneously waving his arms, creating another dozen or so "possibility clones" in all directions. He hadn't made any pointless struggles so far; perhaps he had some kind of backup plan this time as well.
I didn't give him another chance to struggle. Instead, I ignited his body with my gaze and teleported to him through the flames. I reached out my right hand and pressed down on the silver mask he wore. The flames on his body then formed a chain-like structure, just like the black chains he had used to bind me earlier. This time, I used flames to tightly bind his entire body, rendering him unable to move.
Now I'm starting to understand things a bit. His soul attack wasn't entirely unsuccessful, nor was it as weak as he boasted. The truth is, my soul's defenses are likely far stronger than I thought. As for the specific reason—whether my soul itself is inherently very strong, or whether my flames, as a vessel for my soul, provide extraordinary defense, or perhaps both—I have no idea.
However, considering the current situation, I might have experienced soul attacks before, but I just didn't feel it. After all, if even a "soul attack that surpasses that of a Witcher" can only cause me a scratching sensation, then an ordinary soul attack might not even make me feel anything.
I'm not quite sure how much difference there is between "the Witcher who surpasses the Witcher" and the "Great Impermanence" described by Zhu Shi, but if the Great Impermanence really appeared in front of him, the monster creator wouldn't think he could handle a monster that could destroy a country single-handedly.
Furthermore, although he treated me as a so-called "super Witcher," it came with the premise that I had "no soul defense." This shows that if the soul attack he just used were really used against a proper "super Witcher," it wouldn't have been enough to completely obliterate his soul.
Even so, the fact that I was able to withstand that attack unscathed clearly shocked the monster creator, whose retreat just now showed obvious signs of panic.
The decision to retreat was correct, but he lacked the strength to do so. The moment my palm touched him, the battle was over.
I closed my eyes.
Through previous exploration and the clear information provided by Zhu Shi, my mental perception finally broke through the last veil and made contact with his consciousness network.
It was like seeing a black mist, even denser than darkness itself, in the darkness after closing your eyes. This black mist condensed into countless threads, forming a vast, interconnected network within the darkness.
Every node on the network seems to correspond to a "possible clone." This is true of the dozen or so "possible clones" appearing around us, and it's also true of the monster creator before us. The latter differs from the other clones in that he seems to be multiple nodes tangled together, practically a tumor on this network. Perhaps it's because he previously merged with many other clones.
The network seems to have many additional lines connecting to even more distant nodes, and there are quite a few of them. Clearly, he has "potential clones" active elsewhere. I can't determine in reality where those additional nodes correspond based on the metaphysical distribution of nodes; they could still be within the city of Xianshui, or they could be in other provinces or cities.
I should have been able to grasp this consciousness network much faster, but unlike when I sensed the cause and effect of the Shadow Man, this time the process was more difficult and strenuous than I anticipated. It seems my mind was somewhat hampered, perhaps related to the black mist's ability to suppress supernatural powers. However, in the end, it only took me a little more time.
His true form should be within this network. I can't pinpoint the exact node, but as Zhu Shi suggested, destroying the consciousness network itself is sufficient. As for whether doing so might reduce the monster creator to ashes, preventing us from retrieving the "spoils"—that is indeed a risk, but I've decided to ignore it for now.
The reason is simple: the power he's displaying now is excessive. Don't be fooled by how easily I dealt with him; he'll find it just as easy for him to deal with Asahi and Shushi. Therefore, I won't think, like I did with the Shadow-Switch monster in the past, "It's okay to let him escape for now." If I'm going to kill him, I'll do it now.
Even without him, it doesn't mean the clues related to the apocalypse have been cut off. We can still track down the Humanitarian Division, and with Asahi's jinxed nature, there's no need to worry about not finding clues about the Humanitarian Division.
Under my "gaze," the entire network of consciousness suddenly burst into flames.
Flame is also a kind of matter, a physical existence. The meaning of flame appearing on a metaphysical level is somewhat unclear. In short, I ignited the other person's consciousness network, and it burned quite fiercely. It was like throwing a torch into gasoline; for a moment, I almost couldn't sense the other person's consciousness network itself, only seeing the raging flames.
The crackling, burning network of consciousness seemed to emit a pitiful howl, and almost simultaneously, like a leg jerking up after being hit in the knee, a large number of incredibly familiar gray objects surged from within the network of consciousness—
It's the "gray fog" of the misty dream world!
The gray mist instantly blocked my "vision," and for a moment my metaphysical vision was shrouded in a gray haze, making it impossible to continue projecting flames into the other party's consciousness network. Not only that, my perception of the flames themselves also became drastically blurred.
Yet, on the other side of the gray mist, I could still hear the uncontrollable screams of agony from the consciousness network, and the sound of its complete collapse. It merely halted my pursuit; the damage I inflicted at the start was far from negated. More importantly, I had infused the flames with a destructive will.
In the instant before my perception of the flames was completely blocked, I clearly felt that my consciousness network had been burned to ashes.
At the same time, I felt the gray fog, like a rising tide, was constantly pushing me away from this metaphysical level of perception. I couldn't bear to watch the subsequent changes any longer.
The problem still lies in this gray fog.
The creator of this strange entity is indeed connected to the Misty Dream Realm, or perhaps to the fragments of the Divine Seal. I don't believe he is any of the characters who have already appeared in the Misty Dream Realm, so if nothing unexpected happens, he likely possesses other fragments of the Divine Seal, or at the very least, something related to the Divine Seal.
However, once the divine seal is involved, many seemingly predetermined judgments become unreliable.
I reopened my eyes, and the creator of the monster before me, along with the dozen or so "possibility clones" around me, were all in irreversible decay. They all seemed to have become terminally ill patients, life draining from their eyes and skin. It seemed that the metaphysical collapse had affected them in the real world.
The freak creator raised his arm toward me, but slowly lowered it, as if his days were numbered.
I wondered if I might have a chance to recover his complete body, but unfortunately, the situation didn't end there. He had implanted self-destruct programs to prevent information leaks into the hearts of those strange people, and it seemed he had done the same to himself. I saw extremely dangerous white light emanating from his body and the surrounding "possibility clones," as if they were about to self-destruct.
With Zhu Shi and Ma Zao no longer around, I couldn't stop him from self-destructing.
Just as I was about to throw him down, the space around me distorted and fluctuated, and a familiar figure appeared.
It's morning!
As soon as she appeared, she pointed a finger at the monster creator who was about to self-destruct.
“Return!” she murmured.
As the words fell, the white light of self-destruction emanating from the monster creator abruptly receded, and even he, who seemed to be on the verge of death, seemed to have a final burst of energy, uttering a surprised sound: "Huh?"
However, the possible clones around them did not enjoy this treatment; they all self-destructed at the same time.
Asaho couldn't fly; after she appeared, her body plummeted downwards before landing smoothly on the ground. I extinguished the sea of fire in the distant street and, grabbing the monster maker, also landed back on the ground. Strictly speaking, this wasn't the ground yet, but rather the rooftop of a low building.
The creator of the strange man lost his balance and fell to the ground in a sorry state.
His brief moment of lucidity seemed temporary; I could feel his body temperature rapidly decreasing, his heartbeat weakening, and everything that could be considered a "sign of life" was rapidly diminishing. Asaho pointed at him again, using her blessing power on him, but it was like adding water to a bucket with a large hole—not only was the amount insufficient, but she herself also showed signs of strain.
"Did you sever my connection with the consciousness network..." The monster creator muttered to himself in a daze, then spoke to me, "You killed the original body?"
"I don't know if you're referring to a specific individual on the consciousness network, or the consciousness network itself... Yes, I killed them all." As I spoke, I exited my fire elemental form and took out the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring.
I put the ring on my left hand, then plunged it into his chest, seizing his increasingly weak heartbeat.
He now has to answer my questions and can no longer remain silent.
"Don't you share consciousness with your original self?" I asked this question first.
"I was offline before, but now I'm offline. In a sense, I'm only now truly born as an individual."
He seemed unmoved by his interrogation, simply raising his hand to remove the silver mask, revealing his true face.
He seemed somewhat sentimental as he said, "This is Lu Chan's black rope heart-locking ring, isn't it? What do you want to know?"
"Is your original body really dead?" I want to find out the answer to this question as soon as possible.
“If you destroy the consciousness network, then you are naturally dead,” he said.
“So, what do you know about ‘Doomsday’ and ‘Fragments of the Divine Seal’?” I asked.
Ma Zao didn't interrupt rashly, entrusting me with all the interrogation authority. When I asked this question, she showed a very serious expression.
“I don’t know that much when I’m offline.” The creator of the monster’s voice grew weaker and weaker. “Besides, if you’re asking me where the secret outposts of the Humanitarian Division are, I can’t answer any of them. Don’t waste your time.”
It doesn't matter if he can't tell me the location of the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau's secret base; those clues can be used by Asahi to investigate his body later. Now I must ask about other, more important things.
He said he "didn't know that much" about the apocalypse and the fragments of the divine seal, but he didn't say he knew nothing at all. While the black rope heart-locking ring could certainly prevent someone from remaining silent and force them to tell the truth, it didn't necessarily preclude them from telling only part of the truth. I wanted to press him further.
"You really have no recollection of 'Doomsday' and 'Fragments of the Divine Seal'?" I asked. "When I destroyed your consciousness network, I saw a gray mist, which should be the power related to the Fragments of the Divine Seal."
"My knowledge of the apocalypse is limited to the prophecies circulating in Luoshan, and as for things like the fragments of the Divine Seal, it's all just hearsay. As for the gray mist you mentioned..." He paused, seemingly pondering deeply, before saying, "I see. You believe that my true self obtained the fragments of the Divine Seal... But unfortunately, I have no further information. My true self certainly knew more, but he's already dead, so discussing those things is pointless."
"And what about Lu Youxun?" I pressed. "Did he have an affair with you?"
“No,” he said. “Lu Chan and I, as well as the Humanitarian Division… are absolutely irreconcilable enemies. At least on the grounds of fighting against us, he is more stubborn than any of you. It’s better to kill him than to have him cooperate with me.”
The black rope heart-locking ring was still functioning normally, and he seemed to genuinely believe it.
“I’m dying, you can ask me one last question,” he said.
He is no longer a clone, but more like an independent individual; even he says he's practically a newborn. Yet, he's watching himself die.
Seeing this man, who was so arrogant when he first appeared, now displaying such a carefree attitude, seemingly indifferent to life and death, and even showing no resentment or anger at having to be interrogated after his crushing defeat, I changed my mind. I pulled my hand away and asked, "Do you have any last words?"
"Last words..." He seemed to think very seriously, then looked at me deeply, and finally nodded, saying, "I lost, and I admit defeat."
After saying that, his head lolled to the side, and he died.
Then, white light emanated from his body again, attempting to shatter the corpse.
"Stop—" Asahi pointed at the corpse again and cast his blessing.
This time, however, it seemed to touch a wound in her soul; her face turned pale, and her body swayed precariously.
Even so, she managed to activate the power of blessing. A wave of distorted space enveloped the monster's entire body, focusing particularly on its head.
A flash of white light followed, but no large explosion occurred. The torso and limbs of the monster creator were torn apart in mid-air, while the head remained intact and rolled to the ground.
I quickly steadied Ma Zao, who was about to fall.
Just then, a figure landed on the rooftop; it was Zhu Shi.
“I’ve checked the surrounding area, and there are no new monster creators or black mist appearing.” She said as she walked towards us. “How’s the situation here? Did you get the head? I just observed from a distance that Zhuang Cheng’s flames seemed to have reached a level that didn’t belong to the material world. He must have destroyed the monster creator’s consciousness network, right?”
As she spoke, she looked at the head that had rolled to the ground, then nodded and said, "Looks like it was a success..."
Before she could finish speaking, she froze on the spot, staring incredulously at the head's true face, which was not hidden by a mask.
"--dad?"
She uttered this one word.
(End of this chapter)
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