The tentacles were finally provoked.
The cocoon-like body at the center vibrated violently, and all the eyes within the gaps of the tentacles snapped open, staring in unison at the Arbiter.
Those pitch-black eyes held a trace of human-like rage.
In the next moment, the method of attack changed.
One massive tentacle swept across at incredible speed, whipping toward the Arbiter like a lash; the Arbiter raised its rotating saw blade to block, and a dull roar echoed as metal collided with flesh, its entire frame forced back half a step.
Before the Arbiter could regain its footing, the ground suddenly cracked open.
Tentacles lunged out from beneath its feet, launching an indiscriminate attack not only on the Arbiter but also on Lu Yuan and the others in the distance. Ed was nearly skewered, but fortunately, Leonard grabbed him and pulled him away, both of them rolling to the ground.
Sticky blue liquid began to spray from the surface of the cocoon-like object.
The liquid hissed as it hit the ground, corroding the ore into pitted hollows.
A few drops splashed onto Alice's arm; despite the Blessing of the Sky helping to resist the effect, she let out a muffled groan as her skin instantly turned red and swollen.
But she did not retreat.
Old Morgan's words before their departure still rang in her ears.
"If this truly involves the Deep Sea Church, you must find the source of the pollution."
Old Morgan had entrusted his badge to her. The moon and firearms emblem was linked to the wearer's life—if Alice died, the headquarters would receive a notification that "Old Morgan has fallen in battle."
At that time, at least one fifth-rank transcendent would arrive to investigate.
That was a combat power stationed at the provincial level.
Old Morgan had said no more, but Alice understood his meaning.
For a mission where Old Morgan was willing to gamble his own life, he had never intended for her to return alive from the start.
She had long since prepared herself.
Alice continued to swing her Thunder Warhammer, crushing the encroaching tentacles as lightning surged.
In the next instant, a tentacle as thick as a man's torso suddenly burst from the ground.
It was so fast it was almost invisible.
The tentacle coiled directly around the Arbiter's waist, tightening abruptly and wrenching the heavy frame off the ground.
The Arbiter was hauled into the air; though its runes flashed frantically, scorching the surface of the tentacle, the limb was too thick to be bothered by such minor burns.
It dragged the Arbiter toward the core of flesh at high speed.
More tentacles surged forward, entangling the Arbiter's legs, its saw-blade arm, and the injection needle.
The left arm, connected to the silver potion canister, was wrapped tightly by two tentacles and rendered immobile.
The Arbiter's saw blade spun frantically, severing the tentacles around its legs, but it could not reach its own left arm.
It was being dragged away.
"Damn it!"
Seeing this, Alice charged forward without hesitation.
At the same time, the blade-wielding Descendant moved as well.
The two of them lunged at the massive tentacle from both sides simultaneously.
Alice's warhammer slammed down as lightning exploded, leaving a visible charred crack on the tentacle's surface.
The Descendant's long blade slashed repeatedly, specifically targeting the two tentacles binding the Arbiter's left arm.
Splurt—
The tentacles snapped at the blow.
The Arbiter's injection needle regained its freedom.
It did not hesitate, thrusting its left arm forward and driving the injection needle deep into the massive tentacle.
The silver liquid was injected.
The tentacle trembled violently, festering from the point of entry as its flesh turned greyish-white, then rotted and sloughed off.
The binding loosened, and the Arbiter crashed to the ground, steam venting as it regained its footing.
But the Descendant was not so lucky.
The moment he severed the tentacles, his side was completely exposed.
A tentacle pierced through his abdomen from a blind spot.
There was no scream.
Only a muffled groan.
The Descendant's sense of pain had long since vanished along with his mechanical augmentation.
The tentacle was no longer obsessed with dragging him away; instead, it began to "absorb" him.
The Descendant's body shriveled at a rate visible to the naked eye, his skin collapsing and his flesh withering.
The mechanical arm continued to wave in an instinctive struggle, but its movements grew slower and weaker.
The black robe collapsed inward, leaving only a withered corpse and broken mechanical parts inside.
No one went to save him.
Marcus only spared a glance before looking away.
The other Descendant continued to collect blood, his movements never pausing.
The Arbiter continued its assault as if nothing had happened.
Lu Yuan watched this scene with a clear heart; this was the Ascension Society.
With the death of one Descendant, the battle became increasingly desperate.
The Arbiter's offensive was fierce, but the tentacles' regeneration was equally startling; severed limbs grew back, festering flesh healed, and the cocoon-like body grew even larger than before.
Alice was covered in wounds, and her lightning began to lose its stability.
Philip's holy light grew weaker and weaker.
Only Marcus remained standing in the rear, motionless, his mechanical eye scanning continuously as red light flickered.
Lu Yuan followed his gaze; he wasn't looking at the mutated entity.
He was looking at the altar, at the three grey-cloaked figures standing upon it.
Lu Yuan frowned and looked there as well.
The grey-cloaked figures did not participate in the fight; from beginning to end, they stood at the top of the altar, watching from a height.
But their hands were moving.
Trembling slightly, their fingers traced some invisible trajectory while their lips moved as if chanting something.
Whenever their movements accelerated, the mutant's attacks grew more violent.
Whenever their movements slowed, the mutant's offensive weakened.
Lu Yuan understood.
The grey-cloaked figures were controlling this thing.
And their eyes were fixed on the passage behind the altar.
What were they waiting for?
Just then—
The heartbeat changed.
It was no longer a low rumble, but a thunderous boom.
Thump!!
It was as if something had awakened.
All the ores lit up simultaneously.
Blinding blue light filled the entire space; Lu Yuan instinctively closed his eyes, but the light penetrated his eyelids, stinging his eyeballs.
When Lu Yuan forced himself to open his eyes despite the discomfort, the surrounding ores had changed, becoming transparent.
Those blue crystals that were originally only translucent were now as clear as glass, exposing everything they encased, save for this towering underground temple.
Lu Yuan's gaze pierced through the ore toward the back of the altar.
There was an upward-winding passage there, which had previously been obscured by layers of ore and hard to see clearly.
But now, at the end of the passage, where the blue light was strongest—
A heart.
A massive heart.
A heart comparable in size to that cluster of gathered tentacles!
Wrapped in countless blood-red tentacles, it floated at the end of the passage, beating violently.
With every beat, the entire temple vibrated.
With every beat, the blue light of the ores grew brighter.
With every beat, Lu Yuan's Sanity dropped further.
【Warning: The pollution source is awakening. Please leave immediately, otherwise, essential mutation will occur.】
Although Lu Yuan had never seen this heart before.
In his Strange Dreams.
He had heard this familiar heartbeat countless times.
This was the source.
The source of the Strange Dreams.
The source of everything.
【Sanity: -3... -3... 50/70】
"That is..." Alice's voice trembled.
"The Mother," Philip's face was deathly pale. "The heart of the Mother... worshipped by the Deep Sea Church."
Upon seeing this, the grey-cloaked figures fell to their knees on the altar, their expressions fanatical as they chanted madly.
They were no longer controlling the mutant—they were welcoming it, worshipping it.
The tentacles' attacks also weakened.
That mass of flesh composed of tentacles seemed to feel something, and all its eyes turned toward the direction of the heart.
It too was waiting.
Waiting for the Mother to awaken.
Just as everyone was awestruck by that heart—
Marcus moved.
His mechanical eye flashed frantically, gears spinning at high speed with a piercing screech, and steam erupted from the seams of his body, shrouding him in a white mist.
His face—that half which was still human—bore an expression Lu Yuan had never seen before.
A pure, burning, nearly mad zeal.
"That's it."
Marcus's voice was trembling, but not with fear.
It was excitement.
"That's it!!"
He took a step forward.
Toward the heart.
This leader of the Ascension Society, who had always hidden in the back as a cold observer.
Finally, he revealed his true purpose.
Rate on N.U.
