Behind Olivia, Raymond stood there, though she hadn't noticed when he had arrived.
Raymond was in a strange state; his expression was vacant, his mouth hung open unconsciously, and saliva dribbled down. It seemed some kind of mutation was occurring within him.
"Raymond, what's happening? Can you still control yourself?" Olivia asked in a heavy voice.
Had he been affected by the corpse powder so quickly and turned into a corpse monster?
No, it shouldn't be this fast.
The previous bartender, waiters, and even the guests must have already undergone some changes due to the corpse powder in their systems; they only needed a trigger to explode. Raymond had only just come into contact with the corpse powder. He shouldn't have become a corpse monster in the blink of an eye.
Hearing Olivia's voice, Raymond's expression shifted slightly. His mouth trembled as he forced out a sound.
"I... I don't know. I feel... terrible."
A look of struggle appeared on Raymond's face, tinged with agony.
He hadn't turned into a corpse monster yet; he was still in the middle of the mutation process.
But what could be done to interrupt it?
Olivia couldn't help but look toward Vanessa, who possessed purification abilities, only to find her lying on the ground in the distance, seemingly unconscious.
She looked toward the others, but before she could see clearly, a roar erupted from right in front of her.
Losing control, Raymond suddenly lunged at her. His massive frame carried a terrifying sense of pressure, as if a giant bear were charging her.
Olivia retreated hastily, simultaneously causing the Cross Grace in her hand to rapidly enlarge. It transformed into a massive, thick cross, serving as a blunt weapon.
She swung the heavy weapon hard against Raymond.
Thud!
The impact was so strong that Olivia's hands went numb.
Raymond was also knocked back by the collision.
A look of pain crossed his face. "Sorry, Olivia... I don't want... don't want to attack you... but I can't control it. If... if I really become a monster... then kill me!"
Olivia felt an extremely dense surge of pain energy radiating from him.
He was clearly falling into agony because of the corpse powder, but because of their brief collision, this pain energy had become something she could absorb?
"Roar!"
His moment of self-control didn't last long before Raymond charged again. This forced Olivia to swing the giant cross once more, shaking him off.
After both sides retreated again, Raymond regained a brief moment of clarity.
"Sorry... I... I don't want to hurt you."
Raymond let out a low growl in his rare moment of lucidity, then turned and bolted in another direction.
Olivia's expression was grim. She watched Raymond's retreating figure and then looked at the others, realizing that people in Raymond's condition were now everywhere.
Aside from the two Sensates, Ronan and Gray, the other Pilgrims were all undergoing obvious mutations under the influence of the corpse powder.
Even Ronan and Gray were struggling immensely. They were forced to sit still on the ground, attempting to use their own methods to resist the physical mutations.
"Roar!"
Someone else let out a low growl and lunged at Olivia, their face distorted and terrifying.
Olivia swung the cross, sending the person flying with a loud boom, their face contorting in pain.
"Sor... sorry."
Leaving behind those words, the clergyman also retreated quickly, his entire body trembling as he did his best to control himself.
At this moment, only Olivia, relying on her Body Control ability, could ensure her own safety.
With a tense expression, she muttered silently in her heart.
'Magic mirror, magic mirror, how can someone affected by corpse powder who hasn't yet turned into a corpse monster be restored?'
【By being placed in an area free of corpse powder and being exposed to sunlight or soaked in clean water, the corpse powder that hasn't fully taken effect can be neutralized.】
Doesn't the premise of all that require leaving this place first?
But Olivia felt that the people before her might not last until then.
'Magic mirror, magic mirror, is there any way to delay the onset of the corpse powder?'
【If a person experiences intense emotions, it can raise their sanity to a high level, thereby delaying the effects of the corpse powder.】
Olivia became thoughtful.
She thought back to the people she had hit; they had all regained temporary clarity. Was it because her attacks made them feel pain, causing a certain emotional shift?
Pain was, naturally, a type of emotion.
So, she just had to keep hitting these people? But if she did that, she wouldn't have a free hand to escape this area. The final result would still lead to tragedy.
And if she wanted to free her hands while still making people feel pain... that seemed like something that could be accomplished through the pain spell.
But she hadn't mastered that ability yet.
Olivia placed her hand on her chest, feeling the growth of the pain seed. After several days of absorbing pain energy, this seed had grown increasingly robust, but it still lacked a significant amount of pain energy before it could bloom into a flower.
'That's right. When I attacked Raymond and the others just now, they provided me with a massive amount of pain energy. It was far more than what I usually harvest. If I can continue to obtain this much pain energy...'
Olivia was deep in thought, knowing what she had to do.
She had to make the pain flower bloom today, right here and now. Only by completely mastering the pain spell could she ensure that no one mutated and that everyone could survive.
Before that, she needed pain energy!
Olivia kicked off the ground and charged forward, reaching a clergyman's side. She swung the massive cross directly, sending the person flying with a loud crash.
A massive wave of pain energy was transmitted to her.
That was only the first one. Olivia continued to strike, sending person after person flying. Regardless of who it was, once hit by her, they would regain clarity for a brief moment.
"Using this method to keep us awake? It's useless. It's only temporary; it won't last," Raymond said during a brief moment of lucidity. "If you can ensure your own safety, then you should leave first."
Olivia didn't speak. She simply raised the cross high and brought it down directly onto Raymond's head, slamming the tall man face-first into the ground.
Afterward, Olivia turned around, her scalp tingling slightly. "Are you two... unable to hold out as well?"
Ronan and Gray had both stood up.
Their states looked very wrong. Their expressions were becoming similar to the previous corpse monsters; saliva flowed unconsciously, and their eyes were a dull grey as they approached Olivia.
Rate on N.U.
