Chapter 314: The Monster's True Nature!
The Fight Begins
The snow continued to fall, the huge flakes melting instantly on Joshua's body. The water flowed down his skin, giving his purplish-brown complexion a sleek, oily sheen.
"I am not here to fight. If possible, I am willing to exchange some things for the meteorite."
Joshua was extremely earnest, his gaze direct, carrying a subtle air of regret and apology, like a nobleman offering an apology.
Purely in terms of etiquette, his performance was flawless.
Linda blinked, saying strangely, "Hey! Did I get it wrong? Is he really the Parasite?"
Luke Shaw stood silent in contemplation. The Joshua before him was nothing like the horrifying descriptions in comics or on TV. However, remembering the creature's true ability, his confusion instantly vanished.
No matter how gentle he appeared, it didn't change his essential nature as a devourer of life.
A wolf eats meat; it can't change its diet simply by wearing sheep's clothing.
"Test his strength. Don't hold back."
The girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She clenched her fist, and a milky-white aura spread from her palm.
"Void-Rending Punch!"
She struck with her right fist. The air boiled, and a nearly tangible energy blast shot forward, slamming heavily into Joshua's chest.
Boom!
His chest exploded, and energy fragments scattered everywhere. Joshua's face twisted in pain. Unable to withstand the impact of the punch-cannon, he crashed through the balcony railing and plummeted straight toward the beach.
Linda pressed the attack. A chilling roar echoed in mid-air as an energy blast even larger than the first materialized above the beach. The energy fragments formed a vortex, and the howling wind and snow plunged down like a tornado.
Boom!
An explosion ripped through the sand. Joshua was engulfed by the energy blast, crashing to the ground and leaving a crater several meters wide on the beach.
Dust flew up, settling only after a long moment.
Linda hovered above the crater, a milky-white energy shield surrounding her—a unique defensive barrier she had developed by refining the Inner Breath technique.
Luke walked to the railing, watching impassively.
Linda was different from Clark Kent; having mastered the Inner Breath technique, she possessed a variety of potent long-range attacks and did not fear the opponent's life-draining ability.
After the dust cleared, Joshua climbed out of the pit, his chest bleeding profusely, practically pierced through.
"What a terrifying woman. What a powerful energy blast."
He muttered to himself, his eyes filled with intense vigilance. This woman was incredibly strong, nearly comparable to Superman.
"Human. I wish to know your name."
"Stop wasting time!"
Linda snorted, raising her hand to deliver another punch.
A roar erupted, and snow swirled madly as an energy blast hurtled down from above.
Joshua dared not be careless and instantly flashed aside. The energy blast grazed his body, leaving a gigantic crater in the sand.
Linda hovered in the air, quickly throwing punches, launching energy blasts one after another, raining down like mad.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground exploded repeatedly, leaving countless large pits on the flat sand.
Joshua blinked rapidly, using his enhanced senses to evade one blast after another. But the stray energy fragments still caused him significant damage. More troubling, as time went on, his body began to feel fatigued. Along with the fatigue came intense hunger and greed.
The parasite's true nature was awakening, slowly destroying his human reason.
...
The Soul Never Lies
This guy is a freak!
Luke knew it the moment he first saw him.
A normal person has only one soul-phantom inside. The stronger the soul, the more solid the phantom. But Joshua was different; he had two.
One phantom had a human silhouette, which must be the human host. The other was a red, tentacled shape, resembling a leach with countless feelers.
The red, tentacled phantom was only the size of a bowling ball, yet its energy fluctuation was several times greater than the human one. The most shocking thing was the innate sense of pure evil it radiated—filled with lust and greed, like a rabid corpse crawling out of a mire, its crimson eyes fixated solely on the desire for life.
Luke didn't know how he managed to overcome the influence of the red phantom, or if it was all a ruse, but he knew one thing: the soul never lies.
No matter how hard Joshua tried, he couldn't change the greed emanating from the depths of his soul.
He was nothing but a monster!
...
Transformation and Defeat
"AOOOOOOO!!!!"
A deafening roar exploded in the sky!
The constantly dodging Joshua stopped, clutching his head, and let out a painful, furious bellow.
The pupils in his eyes vanished, replaced by a solid, bloody red light. His clawed hands tore at his head. His face twisted and struggled, like a beast teetering on the edge of madness. The roars rolled out like sound waves, churning the ocean and vibrating the air, shattering all the glass in the villa.
Luke's expression changed slightly. His down jacket transformed into his black, form-fitting armor to resist the sonic shockwave.
Linda also stopped her attack, her expression extremely serious.
The frenzied figure clutching his head gave her an intense sense of unease, as if she were facing a truly terrifying monster.
"Linda, do not have physical contact with him!"
The girl glanced back and nodded slightly. The defensive barrier surrounding her body solidified further.
Joshua began to transform, or rather, revert to his true form. His body stretched taller and taller, his limbs swelled, and countless black, bone-like growths, faintly glowing, erupted from within, covering his entire body.
His finger joints elongated, their tips sharp as blades.
Two large, fleshy lumps burst open on his back, and two skeletal wings covered in purplish, bloody membrane drilled out.
He unfurled his wings and let out a final roar that swept outward like a hurricane.
"He truly is a monster!"
Linda sneered, clenching her right fist. An energy blast shot through the air.
Joshua swung his claw, neither dodging nor defending.
Boom!
The claw collided with the energy blast, releasing a circular shockwave. Joshua launched himself off the ground like a cannonball, rocketing toward the sky.
His height now exceeded three meters, like a giant, yet his speed was astonishingly fast, especially with those wings, each flap generating massive air currents.
Linda wanted to engage in close combat, but recalling Luke's strict warning, she swallowed her annoyance. She dodged, maneuvering him around while looking for an opportunity to attack.
Energy blasts fired one after another, most of them missing. The remaining few that hit failed to inflict serious damage.
To use a contemporary term: the attacks were minimal in damage but highly insulting.
Joshua was being led around like a mad dog, and his already ferocious state intensified. His back ripped open again, and another pair of wings erupted. With four wings flapping, his speed soared. He flashed like a streak of light right in front of Linda.
"Die!"
His right claw, covered in black, bony protrusions, swung with all its might. The girl snorted in anger and punched out.
Bang!
Blood sprayed across the sky. Joshua's right arm was gone, shattered into a bloody pulp by the fist wrapped in white energy, leaving only a bare shoulder.
Linda dismissed him with a sneer, ready to finish off this foolish monster. Suddenly, a profound sense of weakness washed over her. Her eyes widened, and she looked down in confusion.
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