Once she attacked with the blood-fueled biological flames of the T-Veronica Virus, her slender body would turn to ashes in an instant, like a moth flying into a flame.
However—
What Javier and the others probably didn't know was that Hilda, Manuela's mother and the aquatic monster Dragonfly Larva, had already set her sights on them and was catching up at an incredibly fast pace.
"Is this…?"
"Is this the Laboratory Father often stayed in? What kind of magic is here, and Bio-weapons? Is it really allowed for such things to exist in this world?"
After the burning of the ether flames subsided, Javier and his group continued to advance. The deeper they went, the closer they got to the Laboratory. The surrounding walls turned a stark white, as did the corridor underfoot. Everything was filled with a technological aura, but the pungent smell of disinfectant still made Manuela uncomfortable.
Touching the wall with her delicate hand, feeling the extremely cold and lifeless environment, Manuela was inexplicably silent. She somewhat didn't understand what her father was truly pursuing.
Birth, aging, sickness, and death—
These should naturally take their course.
Manuela could understand her father's pain of not wanting to lose her and her mother. If it were normal treatment, that would be one thing, but he absolutely should not have touched the lives of innocent girls her age. A life for a life was already cruel enough, but her father, Idalgo, had actually massacred over 50 innocent girls.
This was an unbearable transgression for Manuela.
She couldn't let her father continue to make such mistakes—
However…
"Thump, thump, thump—!!!"
"Thump, thump, thump—!!!"
While Manuela was lost in thought,
A rapid rushing sound clearly came from a distance. Although no figure was visible in the entire corridor, the sound of rushing was so clear, indicating that the opponent's speed and explosive power were incredibly fast, causing the sound to propagate so widely.
"…?"
"What is that sound?!"
Krauser and Leon paused, their eyes suspiciously scanning the corridor. They immediately raised their AKM assault rifles in a state of high alert. Manuela, her thoughts interrupted, suddenly looked up. A familiar sensation was approaching her. Who was it?!
"Something is coming,"
"Everyone, be on guard. Manuela, Rebecca, you two get behind us."
Javier also felt the clear movement and quickly pulled Rebecca and Manuela behind him. At the same time, he calmly loaded three times the normal amount of portable explosive arrows onto his crossbow. With the infrared aiming activated and the night vision scope turned on, the green lens revealed everything in the corridor.
Javier held the explosive crossbow, quietly aiming at the empty corridor. Any creature that dared to appear would undoubtedly be met with the most fatal strike.
And it wasn't just Javier;
Even Rebecca hastily pulled out her last two ether explosive grenades, holding them in her hands, ready to react. But Manuela alone, her gray-blue eyes complexly gazed at the empty corridor.
She could feel it; this was the same aura as the monster in the aquatic church, and this aura… was undoubtedly her mother, who had been with her for so long.
Do not doubt,
This was not some superpower,
But the simplest form of telepathy, or perhaps intuition. When two are reunited, this wonderful feeling appears—
However,
Manuela did not want this feeling to appear now. If it did, it would mean… she might have to say goodbye to her mother. After all… her mother was a "monster," and that was an unchangeable fact. Her mother had eaten many people and committed unforgivable sins.
All the mistakes,
Manuela had to personally end them. From matricide to patricide, she was involved in everything. Perhaps in some ways, she was ridiculed as a greatly filial daughter, but only Manuela herself knew that helping her mother and father end their lives was one of the best ways for them.
"Thump, thump, thump—!!!"
"Thump, thump, thump—!!!"
And at this very moment,
The rushing sound grew closer and faster, making everyone involuntarily widen their eyes and stare intently ahead.
The next second,
"Whoosh—!"
"Roar, roar, roar—!!!"
It appeared.
Accompanied by a low roar, a massive blue-black figure suddenly shot out of the corridor, like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Its webbed feet moved rapidly, and one could even feel the slight tremor of the ground. Its glowing crimson eyes were extremely conspicuous in the darkness.
Its four pairs of spring-like clawed mandibles opened, coupled with its skull-like head, appearing extremely terrifying in the dark.
Tendrils around it flailed wildly, shattering countless pieces of the wall whenever they struck it.
Its skin was covered in slippery spots, seemingly no different from an eel's skin, but it was covered by a transparent protective membrane that could easily withstand most physical attacks.
The venom glands in its abdomen writhed, and its large, bloated tail swayed up and down with its running speed. Hidden within was a white poisonous needle, like a long spear, capable of piercing through five-millimeter thick steel plates, with power comparable to a sniper rifle. Most importantly, the venom hidden within.
Once the flesh was pierced,
The paralyzing and necrotic neurotoxins inside could instantly cripple half of a person's body. In the original story, Krauser's arm was hit, leading to its complete incapacitation. Even returning to a high-level medical center in the United States couldn't restore it; the nerves had all died. This was also the final factor that led to Krauser's mental transformation, the last straw that broke the camel's back.
And this was the aquatic monster Dragonfly Larva, Hilda—
A Bio-weapon BOW, superior to the Licker and fluctuating between the Tyrant. Although its destructive power was indeed not as outrageous as a Tyrant with its limiter unlocked, its combat instincts were smarter than a Tyrant's. Coupled with its numerous attack methods, it was much more difficult to deal with than a Tyrant.
If a Tyrant and Hilda fought,
There's no doubt the Tyrant would be stronger, but while you can say the Tyrant has greater combat power, you definitely cannot say Hilda is easy to deal with. A Tyrant, that kind of hard-headed brute, can be subdued easily. Hilda, on the other hand… is far more troublesome and Tricky than imagined.
"It's here!"
"Fire! The monster's weakness is the area behind its head. Do you see those brain-like folds? Concentrate fire there…!"
The moment he saw Hilda charging towards them, Javier gave the order and warned them.
And without Javier's reminder, Leon and Krauser reacted quickly. Both AKM assault rifles instantly pulled their triggers. Amidst the "da da da" of gunfire, sparks flew, and a barrage of bullets rained down on Hilda's head and neck.
On the head and neck of the Dragonfly Larva, Hilda, there was an exposed gap, where the flesh inside looked like a brain, covered in wrinkles. That was Hilda's flaw, not yet fully evolved, and it was the key to her retaining her human sanity.
If this flaw were to be completed,
She would become incredibly powerful, but also completely turn into a monster. Perhaps it was because of this contradiction that Hilda's weakness behind her head and neck was presented without reservation!
Just as the saying goes,
If you don't have a sword in your hand, you can't protect you; if you always hold a sword, you can't embrace you. The same was true for Hilda, this mother. Her body's rationality told her to evolve perfectly, but in order not to forget the memories of her daughter and husband, she still chose to retain her flaw!
"Bang, bang, bang—!!!!"
And the moment the rifle bullets hit Hilda,
The imagined splatter of blood did not appear. Instead, it was as if they had all sunk into a quagmire, only muffled thuds echoing on Hilda's skin. Upon closer inspection, Krauser and Leon realized that Hilda's outer shell had a transparent membrane. It looked thin, but even bullets couldn't easily penetrate its defense.
It seems…
"Boom—!"
"Whoosh—!!!"
A sound of something cutting through the air rang out.
Since Hilda's membrane shield couldn't be penetrated, they had to take similar action. Javier quickly removed the arrow with three times the explosive charge, replaced it with a normal explosive arrow, and then quickly pulled the trigger to fire the crossbow.
The black arrow flew through the air at high speed.
Facing Hilda's membrane shield, Javier didn't choose to instantly fire the arrow. Instead, he hesitated for a moment, timing a quick detonation. After all, Hilda was now full from feeding and in an extremely enraged state; her strength was far greater than before.
If the AKM assault rifle couldn't penetrate her defense, then the power of his crossbow alone would likely also be difficult. But he had portable explosives. If the arrow couldn't penetrate the defense, then what about an instant detonation? Not utilizing the crossbow's power, but purely utilizing the explosion's power.
There's a grenade throwing technique called instant detonation.
The principle is to delay the grenade's 4-6 second fuse time, detonating it instantly upon reaching the enemy's face, giving the target no reaction time. This is called instant detonation, a very advanced technique.
Although this move often appears in games and movies, it is surprisingly rare in the real world, mainly because grenade explosions are too dangerous. If the timing is miscalculated, then the explosion would be on oneself.
Therefore, there is no need to use such a low-tolerance technique, especially in an era where human lives are more expensive than equipment, and on a battlefield where it takes an average of eight to ten thousand rounds to kill one enemy. It's not worth sending oneself to heaven for an instant-detonation grenade.
Therefore, it is rarely used.
But rarely used, and difficult to use, does not mean it cannot be used.
This situation was very suitable now. If arrows and bullets couldn't penetrate the defense, then only a precisely timed instant detonation could harm Hilda.
So…
After counting down one or two seconds in his mind,
Javier fired the arrow. The timed portable explosive ticked as it flew. Just as it was about to reach Hilda's membrane shield, a scorching flash of fire suddenly exploded ten centimeters away from Hilda's membrane shield.
"Bang—!"
"Boom—!!!"
It succeeded.
With the instant detonation of the portable explosive,
Hilda, who had been maintaining her rushing speed, suddenly paused. Her massive body swayed, almost hitting the wall. The explosion instantly shattered her membrane shield. The slippery shell disappeared, replaced by actual flesh that could be harmed.
"Defense broken,"
"Attack now! Do not let her membrane shield recover,"
Seeing Hilda's membrane shield successfully broken, Javier quickly reminded Leon and Krauser beside him. Immediately… with the cooperation of the three, a barrage of assault rifle bullets burst forth again!
"Pfft… Pfft, pfft, pfft…!!!"
As expected,
Hilda, having lost her membrane shield, finally took damage from the assault rifle bullets. Splatters of blood suddenly appeared on her body. Although the bullets still couldn't penetrate Hilda's body, only embedding in the surface of her skin, being able to hurt her was enough!
After all,
Their true source of damage was definitely not assault rifle bullets, but the explosive arrows Javier had already prepared—!
"Boom—!"
"Whoosh… Pfft… Drip, drip, drip…!!!"
Another sound of something cutting through the air.
The arrow carrying three times the explosive charge was fired at a slow flight speed, but its sharp arrowhead still embedded into Hilda's skin. The barbed arrowhead was firmly stuck in the epidermis and couldn't be shaken off, while the ticking countdown to explosion was quickly approaching its critical point!
"Buzz… Rumble—!!!"
An even more terrifying explosion struck.
A massive fireball appeared on Hilda's body. Her huge body seemed to be struck by a heavy hammer, and her entire body violently crashed into the corridor wall, creating shattered spiderweb cracks. Debris fell, and a bloody hole was forcibly blown open in her blue skin, with a large amount of blood flowing out uncontrollably.
"Roar, roar, roar…"
Hilda couldn't help but let out a painful wail.
She struggled on the ground for a few moments before managing to stand up again, her crimson eyes still fixed on Javier and the others… No… it should be Manuela behind them.
As a mother, no matter what setbacks or injuries she suffered, she had to bring her daughter back, and she would not allow these American monkey human traffickers to abduct her daughter!
"Mother…"
And perhaps sensing Hilda's gaze,
Manuela, hiding behind everyone, felt a tremor in her heart. Looking at Hilda, who had fallen to the ground due to the powerful explosion of the arrow, yet stubbornly and shakily stood up again, completely disregarding the large burn wounds on her body as she continued to advance,
Manuela felt an inexplicable pang of heartache, and at the same time, she couldn't help but murmur such a sentence—
As the title suggests, my friend came to visit, so I didn't have time to write. That's it. I'm very sorry.
If Manuela wasn't entirely sure before…
Then at this moment, it was absolutely certain.
The Dragonfly Larva monster in front of her was her mother, Hilda. Manuela could say this with absolute certainty. It was intuition, it was love, it was the bond of kinship guiding Manuela.
At the same time, Manuela finally understood why her mother had disappeared back then. It turned out she had become this monster. She had never dared to believe it, but when the truth was truly laid bare before her, Manuela had no choice but to accept this cruel reality.