NOVEL WEB Chapter 1446: Demonic Embryo
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"Your regeneration is amazing…!" Erdrich said in surprise.
"Yeeaaah, it's among the only things I'm good for, a good punching bag," Patricia sighed, looking up. "What the…?! I recognize those faces…! So the cultists all got eaten by the crystal?!"
"Looks like it!" Erdrich said. "And it seems that thing wants to eat us now."
"Shit!" Patricia saw dozens of tentacles rushing towards them, alongside the stretched arms of the cultists, all aiming for them.
"Comeeeeee!"
"It hurtsssss…!"
"Paaaaain…"
"Aaaaahhhhh!"
They constantly groaned monstrously, Erdrich released his blazing asura aura, burning through the tentacles as they got closer, while Patricia cut through any of them with her great swords, imbuing them with her demonic aura.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Both of them kept making their way through, Erdrich punching and kicking his way through while Patricia followed his movements and advanced rapidly, their Auras combining into one as they reached the crystal.
"Almost there! I'll shatter it instantly! Patricia, stay behind me and cover my back!"
"Yes!"
"NOOOOO!"
However, before Erdrich could touch the thing, a scream echoed, the fleshy heads merged into a single, monstrous and agonizing head as giant fleshy hands appeared from the walls and ceiling, embracing the crystal to protect it, while more hands appeared, punching Erdrich away, and then attacking him from left and right! Patricia was able to barely endure the blows with his Aura helping her grow stronger, alongside her own Iron Slimes reinforcing her body to their limits.
BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!
"Uuuggh! They're so persistent!" Patricia said. "Erdrich, go all out like before!"
"If I do that the entire ceiling above is going to fall over us!" Erdrich said. "And that won't guarantee the crystal will shatter, even more, it will worsen things if its miasma expands further!"
"Damn it!" Patricia said, as her swords merged into one and then she unleashed her Skills.
"{Berserk's Wrath}!"
Her strength suddenly skyrocketed as her own blood started boiling rapidly, she swung her massive sword down, cutting through and cleaving the hands coming at her, opening the way for Erdrich.
"Go!"
"Thank you!"
Erdrich nodded, making his way through as Patricia was kept close to him so he could protect her, his fists blazed, as he suddenly released his [Asura's Wrathful Aura] Skill, a giant asura emerged from his aura, punching and pulverizing its way through.
As they got closer to the crystal again, the monstrous head screamed, only to be greeted by Erdrich's techniques, magic, and skills combined into a single point, a sphere of black and red color.
"[Heavenly Demon Battle Arts]: {Demonic Ki Nova}!"
The sphere was launched, impacting the ceiling and unleashing a powerful explosion, but a controlled one as Erdrich used his [Demonic Energy Manipulation] and [Mana Manipulation] Skills to control the range of the explosion!
BOOOMMM!!!
He covered Patricia with his body as the explosion was unleashed, consuming the fleshy tendrils and the monstrous hands and head, disintegrating them as they burned through his powerful flames.
The water and miasma beneath also evaporated instantly, leaving behind the crystal and the black tendrils resembling wood attached to it, the ceiling, and the floor…
"Did that do it?" Patricia asked.
"Yeah, let's shatter it now!" Erdrich rushed towards the crystal with Patricia, only for the crystal to respond.
TRUUUM!
A shockwave of demonic energy sent them back, only for them to rush forward again, the shockwave intensified more and more, constantly trying to stop them.
"That thing's sentient?!" Patricia asked.
"No, but probably whatever is inside might be!" Erdrich said, gritting his teeth.
"So that's what's down there, huh?"
"Eh?!"
"What?!"
Suddenly, out of Erdrich's shadows, Blake appeared.
Yes, it was Blake himself!
Or well, not completely.
"Blake? That's you?" Erdrich asked.
"Yes and no, this is a Shadow Clone created using my Umbral Crimson Aura…" Blake explained
What he had truly done was, by using the Umbral Crimson Divinity, fragment large and powerful pieces of it and leave it within the shadows of all his friends and allies.
Although it would remain dormant and not really spy on them or anything, whenever they felt there was danger, they would activate and let Blake use his mind to control these fragments, which would take his faint shape.
They weren't as strong as he was at all though, but he could channel his mind into them and also he had recently upgraded them using [Abyssal Nether of Calamity], making them stronger by default.
"Why didn't you help before when I was in literal hell?" Erdrich sighed.
"I lost connection," Blake explained. "But it seems you survived, so I'm glad for you."
"Blake, what can we do against that thing?!" Patricia asked.
"It's a powerful Composite Crystal formed from four different Archdemon Cores, the cultists were not only using it to empower Demonic Beasts, themselves, and the Demonic Gate, but as incubators…" Blake analyzed it instantly. "There's four more of these around the city, but my Vampire Spirits are already taking care of them, two of them had already been destroyed."
"Really?!" Erdrich asked.
"Yeah, with each one that is destroyed, the Demonic Gate above the skies became smaller and weaker," Blake explained. "This one seems to be similar to the rest, although it has gone a little unstable, killing its own cultists and feeding off them, intriguing."
"There's a shockwave that won't let us get through, even if I unleash my full power, I think I'll still get pushed back…" Erdrich said. "Damn it!"
"Don't worry, that's easy to destroy using your own Domain, Erdrich," Blake said. "I'll offer some support, that thing inside must be a Demonic Embryo, they're trying to give birth to a powerful Demon from within the core, let's destroy it before it's even born."
Blake's Clone pointed into the crystal, shadows and blood combining with void, nether, and the destructive power of calamity, expanding into several tentacles around the crystal, beginning to pressure it, the energies it exuded were being devoured.
"Now!"
As Blake gave the signal, Erdrich and Patricia nodded, rushing forward, the shockwaves the crystal released became weaker, allowing them to get closer faster! However, the crystal trembled, as its Aura was exuded tremendously.
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