"Take your eyes off me, you ugly freak!"
Before the words had even fully left her mouth, a crimson fireball tore through the air and slammed directly into the Extraterritorial Creature's pupil.
Boom!
Flames exploded outward in a shower of sparks.
"Awooo!!!"
The creature let out a shrill, distorted scream. Thick blood burst from its shattered eye while scarlet light flickered wildly within the darkness of its body. The grotesque sight made several nearby survivors gag on the spot.
"Hmph. That's what you get for staring around carelessly. Here, have another one... cough cough..."
Liu Xiyue raised her hand again, gathering flames at her fingertips.
But just as she was about to fire, her expression suddenly froze.
Her face turned pale, and a violent coughing fit erupted from her throat, forcing her body to bend forward uncontrollably.
At the same time, an invisible wave of chaos crashed through her mind. Her Special Ability surged violently inside her body like boiling magma, and even the flames around her fingertips began flickering erratically.
"What is..."
Drip.
Something cold slid down the edge of her ear.
Liu Xiyue instinctively raised a hand and wiped it away, only to see scarlet blood staining her fingertips. Under the dim lights, the blood reflected an eerie sheen.
Her pupils narrowed slightly.
The screams from earlier.
The corpses bleeding from all seven orifices.
The strange whispers.
Everything connected instantly inside her mind.
"So it isn't just the mist…"
The massive flesh creature lunged at her again. Its disgusting mouthparts opened wide as though trying to swallow her whole.
Liu Xiyue immediately retreated. Blazing heat erupted around her body, instantly vaporizing the incoming crimson barbs before they could even approach. The melted residue splattered onto the floor as foul-smelling bloody sludge.
"Damn it. So this thing itself is a moving source of contamination."
Only now did Liu Xiyue fully realize the problem.
The creature's existence alone carried mental pollution. Even hearing its voice for too long caused abnormalities.
No wonder the evacuation had been such a disaster.
Everyone inside the Anime Convention had already been contaminated the moment the creature appeared. Ordinary people simply had no resistance against this kind of corruption.
Even Liu Xiyue herself was struggling.
"If only I could lure this thing away…"
Fireballs continuously shot from her hands as she retreated. Explosions echoed across the venue while flames scorched the flesh creature again and again.
Through repeated attacks, she finally noticed something important.
Its regeneration was not limitless.
The charred portions of its body healed far slower than the rest. As long as she had enough time, she could eventually burn it down completely.
Unfortunately, time was exactly what she did not have.
Every extra second meant more casualties.
The best option would have been dragging it high into the sky before using Flame Heart to vaporize it completely.
For some reason, this disgusting thing seemed fixated on the Anime Convention itself. The moment she moved too far away, it immediately stopped pursuing her.
As if something here was anchoring it in place.
"Tch. So noisy."
The constant whispers scraped against her nerves like rusted blades. Irritation burned through her chest.
Then, suddenly, a strand of hair slipped past her shoulder.
Liu Xiyue froze slightly.
Her black hair was slowly turning crimson.
Flames flickered within her ruby-red pupils.
Without hesitation, she condensed another enormous fireball.
But this time, she did not throw it.
The flames twisted violently in her grasp, compressing and reshaping themselves again and again.
First into a rough blade.
Then into a massive sword.
A gigantic crimson greatsword nearly the size of a truck appeared above the battlefield.
Heat distorted the surrounding air. The ground beneath it cracked and blackened instantly.
This was the move Liu Xiyue had secretly practiced after losing to Yunli in Muyun City.
Even she had not expected to successfully complete it.
"I'll split you in half and see if you can still regenerate."
Her voice fell coldly.
The flaming greatsword descended.
Slash!
The Extraterritorial Creature was cut cleanly in two.
Its body split apart like soft flesh under a butcher's knife. Organs and black-red slime splattered across the ground while a disgusting stench filled the entire venue.
Liu Xiyue breathed heavily as she stared at the remains.
Seconds passed.
Neither half moved.
Finally, she let out a small sigh of relief.
Her mental state was already nearing its limit.
Even Level One Mental-type Ability Users would struggle to influence her mind normally. Yet after less than ten minutes against this thing, she was already bleeding from the ears.
Looking around the venue, only a few hundred survivors remained from the original massive crowd.
And that was without the creature actively hunting civilians.
If something like this entered the city center…
The casualties would be unimaginable.
"What a waste of an Anime Convention…"
Liu Xiyue rubbed her forehead tiredly.
"I need to help Meng Meng quickly."
Fortunately, Meng Xingyao's Special Ability possessed extremely strong mental resistance. Otherwise, Liu Xiyue would never have allowed her to face such danger.
But just as she turned to leave…
The whispers returned.
Squish.
Squirm.
A wet, disgusting sound echoed behind her.
Liu Xiyue's body instantly stiffened.
Slowly, she turned her head.
Then her pupils shrank violently.
The two severed corpses on the ground were moving again.
New flesh rapidly grew from the severed sections. Muscles twisted together while black-red tissue expanded like cancerous tumors.
But instead of reconnecting…
The two halves separated further.
Another complete body formed from each half.
One became two.
The newly formed Flesh Worms writhed grotesquely as corrosive slime dripped onto the floor with sizzling sounds.
Liu Xiyue felt her stomach churn violently.
"This thing can duplicate itself?!"
At the same time, the mental pollution doubled instantly.
Blood began flowing from her nose.
Then the corners of her eyes.
The remaining survivors throughout the venue collapsed one after another.
"Damn it…"
Liu Xiyue clenched her teeth.
She no longer had the luxury of worrying about collateral damage.
Just as she prepared to release everything she had left…
A gentle force suddenly flowed into her body.
The chaos clouding her mind eased slightly.
A lazy voice echoed beside her ear.
[Who told you heroes have to shoulder everything alone?]
[You're already at low health and only now thinking about using your ultimate?]
[Honestly, your gameplay is painful to watch.]
Liu Xiyue's eyes widened.
"Who's there?!"
[Relax.]
[Because something big is about to arrive.]
"What are you talking about—"
Her words stopped abruptly.
As someone extremely sensitive to heat signatures, Liu Xiyue immediately sensed it.
A terrifying source of heat was descending rapidly from the sky.
Her expression changed instantly.
The next moment…
RUMBLE!!!
The roof exploded apart.
Fire descended from heaven like a meteor.
One of the Flesh Worms was caught directly in the impact.
Before it could even scream, its entire body disintegrated into ash.
Liu Xiyue stared blankly at the blazing crater before her.
Her pupils trembled violently.
"What… is that?"