Return from the Other Shore: Song of Creation·407 (Part 2)

To salvage my plummeting ranking on the monthly Monthly Votes charts... I've written another chapter, working myself to the bone! If I can reach eleventh place, I'll immediately add another chapter!

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"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

A Revolutionary Army soldier lay convulsing on the ground, his mouth agape as he let out a pitiful wail, blood gushing from his mouth and nose. His clothes were completely torn, and something could be seen writhing beneath the skin of his abdomen, like a large, tangled mass of snakes.

"Help... help me... it's inside my stomach...!"

Some knelt on the lichen sprouting from the ground, retching; some screamed at their hands covered in red rashes; some frantically plucked their overgrown body hair. He choked back tears, pleading for help from others, but no one answered him. Although his condition was particularly serious, his comrades were in no better shape. Nearly collapsing, he picked up the military knife that had fallen beside him and, screaming wildly, slashed open his abdomen.

"Eeya ya ya ya awoo..."

A gurgling sound came from his ruptured stomach. In the next instant, a grapevine emerged from his red and black internal organs, followed by cabbage, mushrooms, and bloated roundworms. But he did not die. His internal organs healed as soon as they were destroyed. Meat scraps, plants, fungi, and parasites mingled together, forming an extremely disgusting symbiotic organism.

Starting with him, one revolutionary soldier after another, their bodies ruptured by leftover food scraps, or their skin covered in moss and fungal patches, initially felt only comfort upon hearing this beautiful song. They were even more surprised to discover that the song could heal their wounds. Not only their wounds, but also the acne scars and freckles on their faces, as well as old injuries and ailments on their bodies, all disappeared. If they weren't atheists, they would almost shout that God had manifested His power.

They couldn't understand why such a moving song would become a poison that tormented them, making them wish they were dead. But one thing was clear—they absolutely couldn't listen to it anymore! Everyone immediately covered their ears, and some even ruptured their eardrums on the spot, but all resistance was in vain. The Song of Creation was a resonance of the soul, a resonance of life; all living things were affected, regardless of whether they could hear it or not.

"Everyone calm down! This must be some kind of enemy attack. Don't panic!!!"

Facing the chaotic army, Saleh roared at the top of his lungs, but of course no one listened to him. Even Saleh himself could not remain calm, and he felt increasingly uncomfortable. He feared that he would soon end up like that himself.

At first, when Nid ordered them to retreat, he thought Nid was overreacting. But just a few minutes later, he was utterly impressed by Nid —they'd barely left before a massive battle erupted. Every attack from behind easily destroyed an area; Gloria's skyscrapers were being blown up like crazy. Finally, exhausted, they reached the outskirts of the city, only to have the monster, through some unknown means, crush that vast expanse of space. If they had been any slower, they would have been annihilated...

Just when things seemed to be finally stabilizing, what's with this new stunt!?

"Where were you, Nid, at such a crucial moment?!..."

"Shut up!"

Saleh was struck hard on the head. He turned around and saw Nid, who had appeared behind him at some point. Ned was covered in wounds of all sizes, including many burn marks, but overall he was not seriously injured. Next to him was a large bubble that had disappeared halfway, from which a girl, a loli, and a toddler crawled out.

"You... you escaped successfully? I thought..."

"I'm still far from death, no, I should say..." Nid looked at his hands, the wounds on them were healing at a visible speed, and even the calluses from years of wielding a sword were slowly thinning.

"... It should be said that you can't die even if you want to."

"Stop with the nonsense, order a retreat immediately!"

Saleh roared in frustration, feeling intense discomfort within his body, but Nid remained calm.

"What's the rush... Let me let our distinguished guest out for some fresh air first."

Nid opened the large iron box that was usually used to store weapons, and a pile of bloody and fleshy pieces fell out, along with a girl with lifeless, vacant eyes; her elfin beauty had now lost all its vitality.

"This is..."

"The man who could have been my closest brother and the woman who should have been my sister-in-law."

"... ha?"

"Well, forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you, would you?"

Nid squinted at Yu Jie's remains, as if anticipating something. Sure enough, under the influence of the Song of Creation, the pieces of flesh began to combine on their own and recombine into a human form.

Although my body has recovered, my heart is empty.

"... As expected, miracles don't happen; the dead don't come back."

He sighed softly, then looked at the still dazed spirit, and the trio of girls, lolis, and young girls screaming in terror at the rapidly growing creature, before finally glancing at the soldiers struggling in agony.

"... scope."

"Um?"

"The area is expanding, seemingly centered somewhere in Gloria, and its effectiveness diminishes the farther away it is... All troops, listen to my command!"

Although the voice wasn't loud and the volume didn't drown out the Song of Creation, every soldier who still retained basic mobility looked at him without prior arrangement.

"All those who are still able to move, immediately march in the opposite direction of Gloria under the command of the division commander! The priority now is to save as many people as possible; do not attempt to treat those who are incapacitated! Execute immediately, or face military law!"

Blood was gushing out.

It's not outside, it's inside.

The blood flow washes every cavity in the body clean, leaving no residue; the high temperature kills all microorganisms that may exist inside and on the body, whether harmful or beneficial; stay away from any place that may show signs of life, because even a moment of carelessness can determine victory or defeat!

Even so--

"Gah... Ugh... Ahhh..."

It hurts so much.

A torrent of blood gushed from her body, forming a giant blood hand that roared towards the lady. Transparent sound waves exploded beneath her feet, propelling her forward and causing my Blood Hand to miss its target. Her pale lips parted slightly, and powerful sonic waves blasted me away as I tried to approach. Although the Blood Crystal Shield blocked most of the impact, the close contact with the ground still made my insides churn.

"A Ye!"

Givinia dashed past me, and one compressed Air Bomb after another appeared in her hand. The moment the bombs were launched, the lady activated her sonic shield to defend herself. The opposing forces shattered the ground several meters above us.

How tragic.

At first, a casual strike could level several city blocks, and a powerful blow could wipe out half a city.

Now, all we can manage is this level of combat, at the level of mere fodder.

My strength seems to have plummeted back to the days of the Imperial Capital. Givinia is also unable to use projection due to exhaustion. Fortunately, the Lady can only launch attacks at this level. She has difficulty even using the most basic mental interference, and at most, she can only launch the simplest sonic attacks with a hoarse voice like this.

"A Ye, you still--cough cough cough!"

"I told you not to move around... gurgle..."

I struggled to prop myself up with my legs that wouldn't obey me—and "wouldn't obey me" is no exaggeration; they were truly out of my control. My muscles and nerves were repeatedly expanding and contracting violently, and I would completely lose control if I wasn't careful.

I reacted very quickly, taking action the instant I noticed the abnormality in my body. I thoroughly flushed my body, especially my intestines and skin, with hot blood to remove any possible food residue, bacteria, or fungi. Thanks to this, I was able to minimize the initial impact.

But that's not enough, far from enough.

The power of the Song of Creation is practically a super-wide-area version of the Serpent's Egg.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

I couldn't help but scream—the overwhelming vitality, the excessive growth, every cell in my body was out of control; it was a complete replay of the horrific scene when I devoured the Serpent's Egg! My bones were cracking, my muscles were writhing and proliferating into other tissues, and my hair and nails were growing at breakneck speed. If I hadn't burned them off with my Blood Flame in time, I probably would have been strangled by my own hair! My internal organs were gurgling and writhing, growing larger and larger, pressing against each other as if they were about to burst out of my body! I had to focus a great deal of energy on using my blood to suppress the rampage in my body!

"A Ye!"

"No, don't worry about me! Go deal with the madam!"

Having endured the continuous blows from both Givinia and me, and having to unleash the Song of Creation, the lady is now weaker than ever before!

Givinia's situation is similar to mine, but fortunately, her current body is the one I just reconstructed. Even a newborn baby's body isn't as clean as hers, and I can control her blood to help suppress her rampaging body. In some ways, she's stronger than me now.

Because my true enemy lies deep within me, in that sea of Lycoris radiata.

Each Lycoris radiata is the result of devouring life; it is the manifestation of the vast amount of life within me.

If the Song of Creation directly impacts life itself, then...

So this song, without a doubt, is my nemesis.

All the Lycoris radiata are now growing wildly, their immense energy surging back and forth, threatening to destroy everything if I'm not careful! Interfered with by the Song of Creation, I've almost lost control of them; they've gone from my greatest asset to billions of ticking time bombs! If I'm using half my energy to fight and half to suppress my own and Givinia's bodies, the remaining ninety percent is spent trying to control the Lycoris radiata!

The dual pain from inside and outside my body almost tore me apart, making it extremely difficult to even stand. Meanwhile, the battle between the lady and Givinia was still fierce, with waves of sound and air nearly blowing me away! All three of us were now at our limit, each movement sustained only by sheer willpower. My condition was the worst, and the other two weren't much better off!

This is a death race, a high-stakes gamble where lives are at stake. If we can survive the Song of Creation, we will win; otherwise, the lady will win!

"What... happened... to my so-called... daughter?"

The lady narrowly dodged another Air Bomb, and then immediately launched several rings of sound waves to surround Givinia.

"Your movements are so... slow! Why... why don't you just admit defeat already!"

"Dream on!"

As the sonic ring tightened, Givinia used the recoil from the Air Bomb to lift herself off the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Her Air Bomb were no longer as powerful as before. What used to be an attack that could easily destroy a small mountain could now only destroy a human body at most. She was holding on, enduring the pain of walking between life and death, but she was unwilling to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill the lady!