Black Hands moved incredibly fast—almost in the blink of an eye. On top of that, the incident had happened so suddenly that even Bella failed to dodge.
The Witch's feet and arms were the first to be seized tightly by the Black Hands. But that wasn't all. More Black Hands reached toward Bella's head, face, waist, and other parts of her body.
"What is this!?" Bella was both shocked and frightened. This was the first time she had ever experienced tangible contact while in soul form. Pay attention—tangible contact.
Yes, the sensation the Black Hands gave Bella was as though she had truly been grabbed by the flesh.
It was far too bizarre!
The soul was the most mysterious and unpredictable domain. Even Bella, who had conducted the most research in this area, had only seen magic that could attack souls, or, at most, destroy them.
But there was no doubt about one thing: Bella had never seen anything like this. These things didn't harm her soul in the slightest. They were simply dragging away the power of her soul.
However, that wasn't what made Bella panic the most.
What truly made Bella's expression change was the instant the Black Hands touched her. An ancient whisper from the dark abyss, cold and evil, seemingly mixed with countless negative emotions, began to echo madly through her mind, washing over her spirit.
"Shadow Wolf!"
Bella gritted her teeth. The Witch's powerful will kept her from losing herself in those chaotic whispers right away, allowing her to activate magic and resist.
Two gray wolves were summoned. They obediently followed their master's command, utterly fearless as they tore at the two Black Hands gripping Bella.
However, these Shadow Wolves, which had caused the Second Personality immense trouble before, were completely ineffective against the Black Hands.
No, it wasn't merely that they were ineffective.
The moment they bit into the Black Hands, as though they had sensed other living beings, the two Black Hands began to split apart. Countless smaller hands emerged and seized the two Shadow Wolves as well.
Whimpering cries of pain immediately rose from the two wolves. Then, the change that followed was even more chilling.
The two Shadow Wolves convulsed violently on the ground. Their wolf heads twisted frantically, and their four limbs contorted irregularly, as if they were enduring unimaginable agony.
Immediately afterward, there was a loud bang.
The heads of the two Shadow Wolves exploded.
Was that the end?
Not even close.
Liao Zixuan's wolf eyes were fixed on the headless corpses of the two Shadow Wolves.
Within seconds—
Sure enough, a horrifying scene identical to the "Abyssal Fall" in Liao Zixuan's memories unfolded.
Smack!
The legs of the two headless Shadow Wolf corpses suddenly rose high, then slammed heavily back down onto the ground, marking the beginning of their resurrection.
Despite having no heads, the corpses seemed to come alive again. They began writhing nonstop, drawing closer to each other until they finally became entangled.
Like a stitched-together monster, the new body formed from the two headless Shadow Wolves merged into one and staggered to its feet.
Then, from their empty necks, countless tiny Black Hands sprouted like fleshy buds—so densely packed that anyone with trypophobia would have dropped dead at a glance.
Those fleshy-bud-like Black Hands intertwined and twisted together, gradually forming the outline of a brand-new head!
But unfortunately!
Boom!
I don't know if you've ever seen those videos of cockroaches being burned.
But this was more or less the same.
Roaring black flames instantly ignited the Black Hands growing from the base of the stitched wolf's neck. They had already evolved from fleshy buds into tumor-like lumps.
Plop.
The corpse fell for the second time. This time, it truly fell and did not rise again.
"Run!"
Just as Liao Zixuan finished dealing with the Shadow Wolves contaminated by the Black Hands, Witch Bella's weak, urgent voice came from the other side.
In less than a moment, Bella's body had been wrapped in Black Hands. They dragged her onto the body of the Magic Tyrannosaurus beneath the mysterious ritual at the center of the nest.
The Black Hands were like blood vessels, connecting Bella and the Magic Tyrannosaurus. Their powers were forcibly fused together.
The greatest change occurred in the Magic Tyrannosaurus.
The magical beast's skin began to peel off rapidly, revealing the bright-red muscles beneath. Then those muscles began to shrink and wither at an astonishing speed, until ultimately only a skeleton remained.
Yet the Magic Tyrannosaurus did not die. Or rather, it had already died, but was reborn in another form of life.
Freed from the restraints of flesh and blood, the skeleton began expanding and multiplying wildly. Sharp bone spurs spread across its surface, while blade-like bone wings extended recklessly from its back.
Level 20. Level 30. Level 40.
In the eyes of Liao Zixuan and the players, who possessed the game system, the Magic Tyrannosaurus's level rose like a rocket. No—it should be called the Corrupted Bone Dragon now.
But why was it still not moving?
The answer was that Bella, the Corrupted Bone Dragon's new soul, had not yet been corrupted and fallen to the Black Hands. She still retained a few wisps of reason.
Of course, only a few wisps remained.
"Damn it. Cough... We were... ambushed by those bastards."
"Go to Huodian City. Take this. Hurry and find the Fire God Cult, the K-Knight Order. This power doesn't... doesn't come from this... world."
"This matter must be reported... reported to the God of Fire as soon as possible."
A streak of light shot out from Bella's soul and landed at Vivian's feet. It was a small plaque engraved with a complex flame crest.
Although the Witch had always been at odds with the Nine Gods, the sort who would seize every opportunity to cause trouble for them—
it had to be admitted.
When a truly massive crisis arose, finding the Nine Gods was definitely more reliable than finding anyone else.
"Go!!"
As if she had exhausted the last trace of her strength, Bella's mouth was covered by Black Hands the moment she shouted those words. They even burrowed inward through her throat, disgustingly wrapping around Bella from the inside out like a dumpling.
It seemed that the corruption of Bella was finally complete.
This allowed the Black Hands to divert their power and turn their attention toward the remaining people present.
Whoosh!
Two or three black palms carrying an evil aura shot rapidly toward Vivian and the others.
"My other self—"
Vivian didn't need to say anything more. The Second Personality, which had been sharing her vision in the mental space all along, instantly took over the girl's body.
She snatched up the Fire God Token from the ground, then performed a classic backflip in midair, effortlessly dodging several Black Hands reaching for her.
Then, with one hand on each side, she picked up the two Outlanders beside her—the players—as easily as carrying chicks.
Liao Zixuan leaped onto the girl's shoulder and gazed at the Claw Nest gradually receding behind them.
The Black Hands seemed to be restricted to the area of the nest. Once Vivian left the cave, they stopped pursuing her.
However, the aura of evil corruption was not restricted in the same way. Instead, it spread through the forest like a plague, with the Claw Nest at its center.
Things had
gotten serious.
As if confirming Liao Zixuan's words, two system notification chimes rang in his mind.
Ding The current area you are in has triggered the SS-Class Emergency Mission "Demon Tide Incoming." Please decide within 30 minutes whether to participate in defending Huodian City. 00:29:59 Ding You have accepted Witch Bella's commission to deliver news of the terrifying mutation occurring in the depths of the Claw Forest, within the Claw Nest, back to Huodian City. Current remaining valid time: 24 hours 23:59:59
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