Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 121 - 117 VS Weirdo Maker 5

Chapter 121: 117 VS Weirdo Maker 5

Despite the one-sided nature of the battle, the Weirdo Maker did not show the slightest hint of despair. Not to mention anything else, I must say I deeply respected his nonchalant response to being burned again and again.

And now, seeing the confidence on his face, as if he was certain of his victory, I couldn’t help but take him more seriously. He did not seem like someone who would insist he was winning when clearly facing defeat.

He indeed had a plan for victory, which was why he stayed to fight me.

Amidst the cycle of death and resurrection, he spoke to me.

"You’ve already lost, Zhuang Cheng," he declared from a superior position, "Having the ability to manipulate such immense mana and elementalize at will is nearly the act of an Immortal or a God. Even considering the lengthy history of demon hunters, you are one strong enough to leave your mark. But ultimately, you’re not a true Immortal."

"Indeed, I am neither an Immortal nor a God," I said, my curiosity piqued, "But how is that related to my impending defeat?"

While speaking, I hurriedly probed his consciousness network.

Zhu Shi said his power was the same as Lu Youxun. Could he actually be Lu Youxun, and the appearance I saw before was a result of his disguise through special means?

If he wasn’t Lu Youxun, could the reason he was able to use "possibility avatars" be that the Human Bureau had decoded Lu Youxun’s power? Then, did the other monsters also have such technical traces?

Thinking it over, all the monsters I’d encountered shared one thing in common: their power was related to the concept of "clones."

Agent Kong, who turned others into his clones; the Undying Monster, who transferred injuries to his clone; the Shadow Swapping Monster capable of exchanging places and consequences with his clone... And now this Weirdo Maker, suspected to be a monster himself, their superpowers ultimately all revolved around the theme of "clones." And in the past, after Lu Youxun realized the connection between the monsters and the Human Bureau, he also seemed to have had an intriguing reaction to the monsters’ use of cloning powers.

The earliest nation-wide monster-related cases could be traced back to eighteen months ago, a year and a half. The capturing of Lu Youxun by the Human Bureau happened two years ago, which seems to fit in time.

Unaware of my thoughts, the Weirdo Maker casually answered my question.

"Since you are unaware of how close to death you truly are, let me enlighten you as a parting gift before you fall into Naraku," he said generously, "A human body restricts its soul while also serving as protection. Once the health of the body is lost, the spirit weakens significantly because its natural shelter becomes leaky. Your choice to abandon your human form and take fire as your vessel cannot be without consequence.

"Understand that fire is an offensive force, not a defensive element. Since your soul resides in the fire, it’s as if a soldier goes into battle without armor, bare-skinned, armed only with his weapon against an onslaught of enemy arrows and swords.

"I can see that you have the power to turn your spirit, or soul, into fire, and your soul itself has the nature of ’flame that mimics the soul.’ But even you cannot truly convert all your spirit and soul into fire in practice or even avoid your enemies’ soul attacks in this way. It’s like you can raise your own fist, but cannot lift your entire body.

"You always have to divide yourself into the ’controlling entity’ and the ’controlled power.’ Even if you forcefully convert your entire soul into fire, the cognitive structure of your human consciousness will lose control as it turns entirely into energy and dissipate as a natural phenomenon between heaven and earth. The only ones who could do this without consequence are the true ’manifested spirits,’ the real Immortals.

"And you cannot be a ’manifested spirit,’ otherwise your usage of power would not be so crude."

Hearing his words, I found some sense in them. Although I had never tried to convert all my consciousness into fire at once, and didn’t know if doing so would really kill me, it would be too late if it did.

It seemed he wasn’t just enduring the burns; in our brief encounter, he had seen through most of my abilities, even deducing that "my fire is my consciousness."

And I, too, began to gain a clear understanding of his trump card.

"So... you aim to destroy my soul?" I asked.

"Do you think I’m incapable?" he replied calmly, "Indeed, you have a very strong soul, and ordinary soul attacks would probably only graze you at best. But don’t underestimate me," he said dispassionately, "I didn’t expect you to break free from my Black Fog Chains in that manner, but my methods don’t end there. Considering the possibility of a fight with you, I’ve prepared extensively."

Saying this, he extended his finger towards the sky.

At the same time, towering white pillars of light rose from the ground hundreds of meters away from me in every direction.

And just tens of meters around me, twenty or thirty ghostly illusions appeared, resembling grim specters. Looking closely, they were all illusions of the Weirdo Maker, each suspended in the air, bearing the appearance of being burned to death, and gazing at me with resentful eyes. I realized these were all the possibility avatars I had killed, now come to claim my life.

The illusions were like afterimages left on the retina; as soon as I saw them clearly, they vanished.

A strong premonition surfaced in my heart—the next strike he launched would be inescapable, regardless of where I fled; I would have to face it head-on.

Meanwhile, I continued to burn the Weirdo Maker, and he could resurrect every time, his emotions still completely unaffected by death.

"Luo Mountain classifies demon hunters into four levels: ’achieved,’ ’remained,’ ’ruined,’ ’emptied’..." he continued to speak methodically, "among them, the ’achieved’ level is known as the limit of a demon hunter, and breaking through this limit means becoming a demon hunter who transcends the usual standards, which the Human Bureau calls a ’Super Demon Hunter.’"

"But what we call it isn’t important. What is important is you, Zhuang Cheng. Your power undoubtedly far surpasses the limit of a demon hunter, and it’s not an exaggeration to declare you as a demon hunter who has transcended."

"However, no matter how powerful a demon hunter is, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to strip away all their defenses on the battlefield, leaving their soul completely defenseless and exposed to the enemy’s sight. As much as it’s a pity to kill you just like that, I unfortunately don’t have the means to capture you alive; I can only study your remains afterward. It’s better than not getting anything at all."

"Prepare to embrace death, Zhuang Cheng—"

"The next strike will completely shatter your soul hidden amidst the ethereal flames. Even if you are a demon hunter who transcends, you shall be smashed to pieces, soul and spirit!"

As his words ended, he swung his arm toward me.

And the massive pillars of light surrounding me spun, rapidly collapsing inward, transforming into a terrifying Light Vortex which swallowed me whole in one bite. Although it seems like there was time to react based on my description, the actual speed of transformation was akin to the speed of light. The moment I realized the pillars of light were closing in, I had already been thoroughly hit.

The soul attack I feared most devoured my entire being!

At that moment, I felt a genuine sense of crisis, as well as an indescribable anticipation.

Although I truly felt that I couldn’t escape this attack, from the beginning to the end, I never thought about running away. At first, I wasn’t fully conscious of it, but at this moment, I finally tasted my true desire. I likely wanted to face this attack head-on.

Up until now, the only thing that truly brought me a life-and-death crisis was the basement of the fifteenth-floor room.

Even though the confrontations with the past monsters were not without challenge, throughout I was in a position where lying on the ground made me unkillable by the enemy, and just with the notion, I could easily kill the adversary. The difficulty largely revolved around conditions like "finding the hidden enemy" and "leaving the opponent’s full head intact in coordination with teammates," which was different from the adventure I sought.

Honestly, I think those kinds of challenges aren’t bad either, and I wouldn’t mind facing them a few more times. They are, after all, uncommon experiences, and I haven’t grown tired of them yet.

But still, I wanted to test my limits, to know where my full capabilities lay, to seek true danger and thrill.

This is my weakness and my folly. But it seems that’s the person I am. I have long accepted this, considering it an essential element of my personality. Even if it leads to death, I would gladly accept the outcome.

Without "danger," how can one call it "adventure"?

Amidst my unspeakable anticipation, the attack that was said to have cost a huge effort and even a Super Demon Hunter could not withstand, lunged directly at my soul—

...

...Did it enter?

I was somewhat hesitant. Everything around me was a vast expanse of white; the Light Vortex seemed to have simply swallowed me, and then nothing happened. My body was not destroyed, which means this was likely an attack that did not include any physical damage. After all, it’s reasonable that a soul attack would concentrate all its energy on soul damage. But what about the changes that should have followed?

What exactly does being soul attacked feel like? The soul should lack pain receptors, right? Moreover, certain diseases and disabilities are often at their most severe stage when one cannot feel pain. Pain is a neurological warning signal; to not feel pain means the damage has worsened to a point where warnings are meaningless. So it’s possible that my current situation is beyond hope, to the extent that I’m bereft of pain.

No, if I had to describe it, it’s not that I don’t feel anything—there’s an itching and tingling sensation all over my body...

But that shouldn’t be from being attacked; it’s more likely a precursor to an imminent attack, isn’t it? Just as electronic devices malfunction when something with a strong magnetic field approaches, I think this sensation of being tickled should be similar.

Could it be that being swallowed by the Light Vortex is just a preparatory stage of the soul attack, with the main act to come? Isn’t this preparation time a bit long? Even if they think I can’t dodge, it shouldn’t be like this.

Just as I was wondering whether to step out of the Light Vortex to ask the Weirdo Maker outside, the brightness around me suddenly began to decrease, the Light Vortex was fading away.

Within two seconds, under my bemused gaze, the Light Vortex completely vanished.

The Weirdo Maker remained suspended in the air, his expression under the mask indiscernible, he silently looked at me, motionless.

Since he didn’t seem inclined to speak, I took the initiative to break the silence.

"Shall we try again?" I asked.

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