Aggregate

"Roar—!"

The next second, Valentin's body began to swell violently.

Layers of black keratin formed over his skin, his nails surged into sharp hooked claws, and two enormous tumors bulged from his back, as though something were about to burst out of him.

The once-elegant nobleman instantly became a humanoid monster.

He did not use a weapon. He charged straight into the monster horde, his hands like blades. Wherever he passed, whether hounds or rats, all were torn to pieces.

Blood splattered across his face, making it impossible to tell for a moment whether he was human or Eerie.

"The power of Transcendence is truly terrifying."

Lu Yuan stood in the rear, sighing as he raised his Copper shotgun.

"Splash!"

The water surface exploded as a tentacle tried to ambush Valentin, who was in the midst of his mad slaughter.

"Bang!"

Lu Yuan pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The Copper pellets burst forth, instantly blasting the tentacle into a bloody pulp and forcing it to retract in pain.

"Nicely done, Doctor!"

Valentin turned back with a grin. His mouthful of sharp teeth made the smile especially terrifying.

With Valentin and Hans pushing through, the densely packed Aberrant Horde was finally cut open, creating a bloody path.

"Now! Seal the path!"

Hans roared.

Behind him, Gray did not hesitate to hurl a bottle of Mithril from his pack at the tide of rats flooding in from the side.

Toby threw another bottle toward the huge pile of corpses blocking the drainage outlet.

"Boom—!!!"

Two dazzling Silver Flames rose at the same time.

The rat tide turned to ash in the silver fire, while the Meat Mountain ahead was swallowed by silver flames.

Shrill howls echoed through the pipes, and the air filled with a pungent stench of burning flesh.

"Is it dead?" Ed panted, wiping the black blood from his face.

"Quit talking! If you don't want to suffocate, move!"

Hans grabbed Lu Yuan, who was still catching his breath, and signaled for everyone to retreat swiftly by the firelight.

However, things did not go as smoothly as they had imagined.

Just when everyone thought the Meat Mountain had been burned to death by the Mithril—

"Squish—"

A skin-crawling sound of writhing suddenly drowned out the crackling flames.

"Watch out!!"

Lu Yuan whipped around, his pupils shrinking.

The Meat Mountain burning in the silver fire had moved!

It was not dead!

On the contrary, that bottle of Mithril seemed to have only burned away a layer of its outer "cocoon."

Countless charred tissues were now peeling away, exposing fresh, bright-red flesh beneath.

Its massive body, which nearly filled the entire pipe, began to writhe violently as countless pale arms stretched out from its flesh.

Like some kind of insect, they frantically clawed at the walls, using them to propel it forward.

Its target was Valentin, covered in blood!

[Witnessed a high-tier Aggregate: Filth Body (Rampage State)]

[Traits: Possesses an extreme craving for high-tier Flesh; its outer layer has exceptionally powerful regenerative abilities.]

[Weaknesses: Blunt force, Flame, core]

"It's chasing us!!"

Ed muttered in disbelief. "The Mithril didn't kill it!!"

"It has its eyes on Valentin!"

Hans's expression changed drastically. He swung his greatsword backward, trying to sever an approaching tentacle.

But the tentacle was incredibly tough. The greatsword bounced away the instant it struck.

"Roar—!"

The Meat Mountain let out a greedy roar. Its massive body was like a derailed train of Flesh, rumbling as it crushed its way forward at a terrifying speed.

Everything in its path, whether the Corpse Moss on the walls or rubble on the ground, was swept into its gaping mouth.

"Run! Run!!"

How could anyone dare continue fighting?

"Damn it! Why is this thing so tough?!"

Valentin sprinted while turning back to tear at it with his hooked claws.

But the wounds he tore open were instantly filled with newly grown flesh. "No! My attacks aren't working."

The Meat Mountain drew closer and closer.

That nauseating, fishy stench was practically spraying against the backs of their heads.

"No choice! We have to kill it! Otherwise, none of us will escape!"

Hans stopped, a flash of determination in his eyes. "Toby! Do you have any Mithril left?"

"One last bottle!"

Toby, who had been running at the front, stopped abruptly and turned around. He clenched the bottle of silver-glowing potion in his hand. "But the last bottle did nothing. This one..."

"You just need to throw it in!"

Hans was about to order a direct assault.

"No!"

Lu Yuan, who had been silently observing all this time, suddenly shouted, cutting off Hans's command.

"Don't throw it blindly! Its regenerative ability exceeds the power of Mithril."

Everyone froze.

At this life-or-death moment, all eyes instinctively turned toward Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan did not explain.

Because beneath the gray-white prompts, he could clearly see that deep within the wildly writhing Meat Mountain—

A black sphere of light was pulsing violently.

That was its core, the source of all its power.

But the core was hidden too deeply, wrapped in thick layers of corpses.

"There is most likely a core inside this kind of Aggregate!"

Lu Yuan stared fixedly at the sphere of light, speaking rapidly. "We have to expose the core for the Mithril to work! Follow my command!"

"Valentin! Can you tear it open?"

"I can!" A savage grin appeared on Valentin's beastlike face.

"Good! Watch for my signal!"

Lu Yuan took a deep breath. Even as his Sanity frantically warned him, he did not look away.

The Meat Mountain had already charged before them, and countless arms were about to seize Valentin.

"Now! Above its abdomen! That wound that's healing! Tear it open!"

Lu Yuan sharply pointed at a spot on the Meat Mountain's upper middle section.

It looked unremarkable, but in Lu Yuan's eyes, it was the best route to reach the core.

"Die for me... open up!!!"

Valentin did not hesitate in the slightest.

With a beastly roar, he advanced rather than retreated, charging into the sky-filling tentacles.

His sharp hooked claws, driven by an unyielding resolve to kill, plunged viciously into the spot Lu Yuan had indicated.

"Riiip—!"

Accompanied by a teeth-grating tearing sound, Valentin exerted both arms and forcibly ripped a huge hole into the Meat Mountain's belly.

Blackish-green fluid gushed out, but he held the wound open with all his strength, not taking a single step back.

And deep within that mangled Flesh, a black tumor still pulsating madly was finally exposed to the air!

"Toby! Throw it!!!"

At the same moment Lu Yuan shouted—

Toby, who had long been poised to strike, used all his strength to hurl the last bottle of Mithril into the hole, smashing it precisely onto the tumor.

"Retreat!!"

Valentin kicked off the Meat Mountain and launched himself backward with the force.

"Boom—!!!"

The next second—

An unprecedentedly brilliant silver light exploded from within the Meat Mountain.

Without its outer layer's protection, the vulnerable core was instantly vaporized by the Mithril fire.

Then, the Colossus that had been frantically pursuing them froze.

It let out one final howl, its most miserable howl yet.

"Aah—!!!"

The sound carried an invisible Mental Shock that swept over everyone.

Apart from Hans, whose strong physique allowed him to barely drop to one knee, everyone present instantly lost their balance.

Ed and Gray rolled their eyes and fainted on the spot, blood gushing from their noses.

Valentin, still in his berserk state, was hit even harder and spat out a mouthful of black blood.

His body shrank, and he crashed heavily to the ground like a kite with its string cut, his fate unknown.

"Ugh..."

Lu Yuan only felt darkness fill his vision as warm fluid flowed from his nostrils.

But Lu Yuan gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay conscious.

[Witnessed the death howl of a high-tier Aggregate]

[Sanity II assessment in progress... Assessment passed. You have mastered a certain method of aggregation...]

[Forbidden Studies—Seeker: +5]

"Go... hurry..."