On an open space not far from the Great Graveyard, a huge pool was constructed from several large pieces of frozen death crystals. The pool was filled with green mucus and grayish-white maggots, and the death aura emanating from it made people tremble just by looking at it.
However, at this moment, all the maggots in the pool seemed to have lost their vitality. From the initial constant tumbling and squirming, they gradually slowed down, until now, they had become countless floating objects, completely filling the surface of the entire mucus pool.
“Splash—”
An unusually viscous watery sound suddenly came from the pool, which seemed to have fallen into silence. The originally flat layer of floating matter also slowly bulged up at this moment, and finally, a human shape stood upright from within.
“Lei, how much time has passed?”
Kazumi brushed off the maggot corpses clinging to her face, and her voice, as clear and cold as usual, came from the humanoid creature completely enveloped by mucus and maggots in front of her. However, the tone of her speech made the young girl herself feel a bit unnatural.
“Reporting to Lord, you’ve been lying in there for an hour and a half.”
The Lich Governor, who had been waiting by the side, dutifully came to his Lord’s side and respectfully answered the young girl’s question.
“An hour and a half? Then it should still be time.”
After hearing Lei’s reply, Kazumi’s worry in her heart eased a little. She Cangya had also briefly explained the situation of the entire blood sacrifice array to her. She had lured away the heroes on duty in the defense area just to release some key parts, and overall, it required a longer deployment time.
While slowly clearing away the maggot corpses that clung to her body as if wearing clothes, Kazumi also began to try to feel the condition of her body.
It had to be said that the previous situation was indeed too dangerous. Perhaps Kazumi’s current approach to dealing with it might not have been the optimal solution, but it was the only way she could think of to break through the situation at that moment.
[It’s indeed a bit strenuous to directly confront the frontline heroes at this stage.]
Kazumi shook her head helplessly, and only now did she have the time to think and reflect on the situation at that time. In fact, strictly speaking, even though she had used some tactics to successfully make the opponent step into her trap, the opponent still managed to escape using their abilities.
Therefore, she hadn’t even managed to inflict a single bit of damage on this powerful [Word Speaker], and when the opponent made a move, it was a ruthless killing blow.
[Whether it’s at the tactical level or the ability level, I was completely suppressed. It seems I still have a lot to learn…]
Kazumi forcefully scraped off the green mucus mixed with maggot corpses, like a sandwich, from her right hand with her left hand, and silently tried to review the previous battle in her mind.
But the next moment, the scene that entered the young girl’s sight directly interrupted the progress of her thinking.
Because what Kazumi saw at this moment was not the slender and fair hand she was familiar with, but a monstrous, twisted, and entangled object made of grotesque flesh, as large as a swollen cactus.
“This… is my hand?”
A bad feeling flashed through her heart. Kazumi tried to shake her right hand, and the incredibly disgusting white flesh in her sight perfectly received the command from its owner and shook up and down twice.
“Is it due to the flaw in the maggots’ healing ability? Or is it also due to insufficient preparation?”
In just a few thoughts, Kazumi instantly understood the reason for the change in her body. After all, Da Bai was only a C-rank Mother Worm type troop. Although it had a certain healing ability, it couldn’t be expected to have healing abilities far beyond its rank, as it wasn’t a specialized healer.
Even to be able to save herself after half of her body was blown off was the result of her extracting the Mother Worm’s potential without regard for the cost.
The corpses of tens of thousands of small maggots in a pool were enough to prove how great the cost was this time. After all, under normal circumstances, a maggot could repeatedly secrete recovery mucus for healing.
And this level of healing ability had indeed saved her from the brink of death as expected.
But, that was only to save her.
Whether it was the degree of control, mobility, or aesthetics, it was definitely not as good as her original body. To put it abstractly, it was more like a swollen body built from decaying flesh. Apart from providing the necessary support and protection, it served no other purpose.
[Wait!]
Kazumi stared blankly at her arm, a flicker of annoyance inexplicably rising in her heart. As if she had thought of something important, she didn’t even bother to clean the mucus off her body and rushed to the edge of the ice crystal pool.
Using her death power to clear away the disgusting mucus attached to the ice crystals, the large ice crystal with a single cut surface served as a transparent mirror.
What then appeared completely in Kazumi’s eyes was her usual cold and stern little face, and the other half of what could be called a head, built from white rotten flesh.
A single eyeball, without any adornments, was abruptly embedded in the disgusting rotten flesh. The other half of her mouth was like a broken gate, and one could still see the uneven teeth inside. The entire face had no hair or pores. In such a scene, even if you said that half of a ghoul’s head had been sewn onto her face, Kazumi would believe it.
Her heart, which had calmed down due to her body’s recovery, plummeted to the bottom at this moment. It seemed that at this moment, Kazumi had already foreseen the outcome.
Perhaps it was the physiological discomfort caused by the damage to her complete body, or perhaps the unexplainable bodily changes would cause many changes to her plans, or even affect her original school life.
But more importantly, it was the look of disgust that the boy she cared about most might show, hidden within the young girl’s unwilling acknowledgment of her worry.
She punched the ice crystal fragments beside her heavily. Even Kazumi herself didn’t know why her mood was so complicated and low at this moment.
Battle damage was also entirely within the young girl’s own calculations. For Kazumi, who always put her own interests first, any battle damage that did not affect her combat effectiveness was not considered battle damage.
And for Kazumi at this moment, surviving such serious injuries should be a cause for joy. Then she should carefully consider how to safely complete the next mission and obtain the reward promised by She Cangya, as well as an increase in her hidden status within the organization.
However, the young girl couldn’t be happy at all. Although her ideal mind kept telling her that what she should be doing now was to go out and rendezvous with She Cangya, and assist her in completing the blood sacrifice array, the various consequences of her monstrous appearance being seen by Sato Shinichi kept appearing in her mind.
“Is it the influence of troublesome physical conditions again!”
This was probably the emotional drawback of having a female body. While for men, scars were like symbols of honor, women would physiologically dislike ugly scars on their smooth skin.
She punched out again in annoyance, wanting to dispel the bad images in her eyes, but the result was that those scenes became more and more real, just like her tactical deductions, they were things that would definitely happen after confirming the information of both parties.
However, such thinking was not a problem. After all, no matter how much you liked someone, you wouldn’t want to accept that your other half was a monster that couldn’t even be considered human.
Like a mental suggestion, as this thought emerged in Kazumi’s mind, more advanced scenes repeatedly appeared before her eyes.
In the images, the young man, whether apologetic or malicious, ultimately resulted in proposing the breakup he had always wanted, with the… monster in front of him!
“As expected, this is a man’s nature!”
Even though she knew that the images in her mind were just her own imaginings, Kazumi, who was originally male, understood men better than anyone.
Love, in the final analysis, was just a hormonal exchange. Many factors could affect the release of these hormones, and appearance was one of the most direct manifestations.
In fact, Kazumi could understand. If it were herself in her previous life, she wouldn’t be willing to choose to be with someone of the opposite sex whose appearance was like a stitched-together monster.
However, understanding was understanding, but just thinking about that guy saying those words to her with that tone and expression made the dissatisfaction within her heart spread out to a terrifying extent.
It was so terrifying that she wanted to kill him with her own hands!
“If that’s really the case, then it’s better to kill him!”
She retracted her right hand, which was smashed to a bloody mess, and a strange smile appeared on the corner of her lips. A hint of cruelty appeared in her eyes, as if she was contemplating some dangerous outcome.
“Lord, if you are troubled by your physical condition, then because your body is relatively weak, it is also possible to recover using the maggots’ healing ability. The current situation is likely caused by insufficient energy preparation.”
Just as the young girl was moving forward on the path of “kitchen knife” (killing intent), a familiar low voice came from the side.
Seeing that her Lord seemed to be in a strange state due to her incompletely repaired brain damage, Lei quickly stepped forward and offered his suggestion.
Although he had died once, Lei didn’t want his soul fire to be extinguished again. Moreover, he quite enjoyed living in the current territory. He could do what he was best at, planning and research, and he didn’t have to worry about attacks from high-level undead.
“What did you say!”
Like a drowning person finding a lifeline, the young girl’s rotten-fleshed arm erupted with terrifying strength, grabbing Lei by the collar and asking with hope.
“Lord, repeating the previous action can help you recover to your original body state. Although your current body has strengthened, it is very unfavorable for the overall control of Death Energy.”
Without regard for Kazumi’s actions, the soul fire in Lei’s eyes flickered a few times, and then he answered earnestly.
“Well, then do as you say.”
Lei’s words seemed to draw Kazumi out of her previous state. She gently put Lei down from her hand, lowered her head, and calmly issued a new order.
“However, Lord, the maggot mother is already in a weakened state due to the forced production before. If it is not helped to recover with Death Crystals, forced production in a short period of time may lead to the death of the mother worm.”
“Then let it die.”
Cold words came from the young girl’s split lips. The two completely different cheeks gave off a strange sense of oppression, but even Lei, who was an undead creature, could clearly perceive the icy killing intent in her dark eyes.
“Stop all production work in the territory. Prioritize Death Energy for the recovery pool, and also, move the pool to the room in the Graveyard Hall.”
Controlling Little Black to bring over the outer clothes from the side, Kazumi issued her orders with extreme calmness. Or rather, after the moment of madness just now, she had never felt so unrestrainedly calm.
“Lord, you are facing a battle now. If you stop all production work, your abilities and troops will be…”
Even though Lei knew that his Lord’s condition was not quite right, he still responded seriously.
As the responsible Governor, even if it meant halting the overall development of the territory, he was willing to obey the young girl’s instructions. But now, Kazumi, who was facing battle, actively stopped the territory’s production, which was equivalent to putting herself in danger. This was definitely a scene that he, as a subordinate, did not want to see.
“Bang—” “Crack—”
The sound of hard objects colliding, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking, sounded by the recovery pool. The skull of the Lich, who was originally looking down, was crushed onto the dark ice crystal by the girl’s sturdy right arm. The previously repaired skull broke again at this moment, revealing the precarious blue soul fire within.
The girl’s cold face was replaced by bloodthirsty madness at this moment. The ghoul’s half-face leaned towards Lei’s soul fire, and she opened her mouth cruelly.
“My orders are never repeated. You can choose to obey, or die.” “Also, if there isn’t enough energy, you will be the second to be sacrificed after the Mother Worm!”
Finally, casually throwing Lei’s half-skull on the ground like trash, Kazumi took the human skin cloak that Little Black brought over and put it on, then took a heavy step towards the exit of the territory’s teleportation gate.
Perhaps Kazumi knew that her actions were a bit willful, but this was something she absolutely had to do.
Because,
A dog is never allowed to show a disgusted expression to its master, no matter what.
Not even in imagination!!
(PS: I feel like I’ve written something weird. Kazumi is missing half her brain, and I’m missing half my brain. It’s really strange.)
(PS again: 4k super chapter, please vote for me, brothers QAQ.)
