"Lightning Strike!"
Utaha opened the Devil Tome, and a cascade of azure lightning fell from the sky, crashing down onto Scorpio's black carapace!
Crackling!!
The black armor instantly turned red-hot from the extreme temperature!
Then, it was pierced clean through!
A rush of purple blood gushed out, splattering across the ground!
But the moment the tender red flesh was exposed, it began regenerating at a rapid pace, covering over the black carapace again.
Utaha's expression froze, and she muttered in frustration, "Completely ineffective…"
"This type of creature… even iron weapons can't suppress its regeneration speed."
Saeko pulled out the varanium sword she had embedded in Scorpio.
In less than a second, the wound had already healed completely.
Even someone like Saeko had no real countermeasure against such regeneration.
Fortunately.
They were only here to gain experience.
Lynn was still the main force.
So—
What followed was Saeko and the rest, who had been promoted to mid-class devils, unleashing all of their skills on Scorpio.
It wasn't until they were nearly drained of strength that Lynn pulled them out.
Huff… huff…
The girls panted heavily, tended to by Yuuko and the others.
Utaha, still catching her breath, said, "It consumed so much energy. And it's such a massive creature… we should earn a lot of experience, right?"
Kisara suddenly chimed in, "Is it possible to directly upgrade to a high-class devil?"
Utaha rolled her eyes at her.
You just became a mid-class devil a few days ago, and now you are already dreaming about high-class?
Saeko thought about it for a moment and said, "Since we weren't the main attackers, we shouldn't expect too much."
"But…"
Thinking back on the slaughter she had taken part in earlier, Saeko subconsciously licked her lips and smiled.
"We did kill a lot of Stage IV Gastrea. That should still result in a decent improvement."
Hearing that.
Utaha responded with a complicated expression, "Saeko, you'll be fine. You might even be ready to level up."
After all, before the last crusade, Saeko's stats were already close to the threshold.
And now?
Utaha bit her lip slightly, feeling a bit unwilling.
Saeko smiled without saying anything.
Her goal was to become Lynn's sharpest blade.
There was no time to waste.
In her daily life, if Lynn didn't give orders, she would continue to hunt and kill.
Not out of boredom but because she genuinely enjoyed it.
After all.
[Yearning for Killing] wasn't just the name of her skill.
Saeko Busujima truly yearned for killing.
"Hmph!" Hearing Saeko might be close to upgrading to a high-class devil, Kisara said with unwillingness, "I'm definitely going to become Lord Lynn's sharpest blade!"
"…?"
Saeko glanced at her with an odd expression.
Was this girl seriously stealing her lines?
But—
Hearing Kisara's words, she only responded with a gentle smile.
No matter what others said, it was just a metaphor.
Only she.
Saeko thought about her Devil Transformation ability… and the feeling of being gripped tightly in Lynn's hand.
Huff~
Unknowingly, her breathing quickened.
Utaha looked at Saeko weirdly, then turned to Kisara.
Do all swordswomen act like this?
Do they even share the same lines?
…
On the other side.
Lynn stood alone in front of Scorpio.
For some reason, Scorpio had stopped moving.
The visual contrast was just too overwhelming.
Facing each other from a distance.
But—
Something felt strange.
"Did Scorpio… stop?"
Why?
Their expressions were filled with confusion.
They had been locked in fierce battle moments ago.
Lynn himself was also a bit puzzled.
But—
Even though Scorpio's cry sounded mournful, there seemed to be a hint of intelligence within.
Still…
Lynn stared at the grotesque behemoth before him.
Sigh…
With that appearance, maybe it was better off being reincarnated.
He steadied himself and looked straight at Scorpio.
A behemoth like this was the most natural target for Lynn.
And it wasn't agile either. Lynn barely had to move, and Scorpio couldn't land a single hit.
Even Saeko and the others had remained unscathed thanks to their agility.
Aside from its regeneration and destructive power, it didn't have much else going for it.
Lynn spread his arms, clearly not intending to engage in a prolonged battle.
Buzz—
A black wide-area magic circle instantly expanded above Scorpio's head!
Its range was so vast that it engulfed the entire creature.
"Yiiiiiiii——"
Sensing danger, Scorpio let out another furious roar.
The next second, it fired a purple energy beam from its mouth.
Boom!
The beam struck the air in front of Lynn, but was blocked as though by an invisible wall of copper and iron.
A magic barrier.
Just a basic magic release technique.
But with Lynn's current strength, Scorpio's attack couldn't even scratch his barrier.
BOOM!!
The massive wide-area magic circle in the sky let out a sound that seemed to shake heaven and earth!
In the next moment, it was as if the sky itself was falling.
Black lightning poured down on Scorpio like a torrential downpour!
The terrifying lightning seemed to turn the entire sky pitch black!
The sheer power unleashed from Scorpio could've leveled all of Tokyo!!
Endless shockwaves surged out in all directions!!
Utaha and the others stared blankly at the scene before them, overwhelmed by the miracle-like spectacle, subconsciously swallowing hard.
It was the first time they had seen Lynn unleash this level of power.
Saeko clenched her fists tightly.
She wasn't worthy of being held in their master's hands just yet!
"Master, you're truly incredible."
Mahiru's eyes were unfocused, fixed only on Lynn's silhouette.
Yuuko clung to Saeko's shoulders tightly, afraid she'd be blown away by the overwhelming force of the blast.
"So cool!!"
Hana's eyes sparkled like lightbulbs.
She grabbed Miko by the shoulders and shook her excitedly, stars practically bursting from her gaze. "Miko! Miko! Will we be as strong as Master Lynn one day?!"
Miko, shaken out of her daze, replied helplessly, "I guess… maybe?"
After all, they had the Blessings system.
"Alright, yeah!"
Hana leapt up with excitement after getting the answer she wanted.
She wanted to be just as cool as Lynn!!
Thanks to Hana's innocent outburst, the others also snapped out of their shock.
They then looked at Lynn's back in admiration.
This was their master.
After a while.
The pressure from the black lightning finally dissipated.
Lynn let out a breath.
Releasing a wide-area lightning strike like that still drained a significant amount of magic.
But—
The result was worth it.
Lynn looked ahead at the now-empty battlefield.
Scorpio had been completely annihilated.
Down to the molecule.
Lynn stood still and opened his personal interface. He tapped on [Evil Piece] and checked the changes in [Apoptosis Genome].
> [Apoptosis Genome] (Incubating)
• Factor Collection (Acquired: Mole Factor, Hedgehog Factor…)
• Factor Fusion (Dual Factor Integration)
• Factor Assimilation (Can parasitize other lifeforms and implant the Apoptosis strain, turning them into puppets controlled by the host)
• Zodiac: Scorpio
---
Lynn narrowed his eyes.
Zodiac?
Scorpio?
What the hell is this?
A Stage V Apoptosis creature got stuffed in?!
Suddenly, the [Evil Piece] flickered.
Unable to resist, Lynn tapped it, only for a startled voice to ring out.
"Master, that hurt~!"
Lynn: "????"
Confused, he watched as a petite and slender figure emerged from the vast starry void.
As the image solidified, Lynn could make out her appearance.
Her tail was a gradient of deep night-black fading to violet, with a wisp of wine-red hair at the crown of her head.
Her hairstyle was an asymmetrical double spiral ponytail, with the right side tied in a barbed gothic ribbon.
Her eyes shimmered like liquid amber, and within her pupils were scorpion-tail-shaped patterns.
Lynn blinked. "Are you… Scorpio?"
"Yes~, Master."
Her voice was sweet as she blinked and gazed up at Lynn.
Lynn: "…"
No way. Did the system really just give him a zodiac-themed companion?
"Y-You…"
"Stella O'Brien~"
"Master can just call me Stella."
Lynn rubbed his temples. "So, what's the situation right now?"
With a playful tone and a finger to her lips, Stella replied,
"Hmm~ Master just signed a contract with me~"
"Contract?"
Lynn was even more confused.
But after listening to her explanation, he looked at her speechlessly.
It was basically the same as the contract system used in his Peerage.
"So, what abilities do you have now?"
Stella thought for a moment, then smiled. "For now… I can summon a phantom of Scorpio?"
Lynn: "…That sounds useless."
Summon a phantom to hit people?
Stella pouted. "It'll be different once my sisters arrive!"
Lynn's mouth twitched. "…You expect me to collect the rest of the zodiac too?"
Stella blinked. "Master doesn't want to?"
Lynn paused.
Well, he did want to.
Mainly because of his collecting obsession.
The skill clearly listed the zodiac… and right now there was only Scorpio?
It made him feel unbearably itchy. His OCD was acting up hard!
Stella giggled and said, "Master, Master~ I have another function~"
Under Lynn's curious gaze.
Stella turned into a rainbow beam and floated high into the starry sky.
Lynn was stunned for a moment, then rubbed his chin and muttered with a strange look: "So… there'll be a Scorpio in this starry sky from now on?"
He turned to glance at the other empty spots.
Gemini, Virgo, Aquarius…
It really was empty…
Also…
Wasn't there a missing sun?
So…
Where would the sun go?
(To be continued.)