Heart

The tentacles were finally provoked.

The cocoon-like body at the center trembled violently, and all the eyes in the gaps between the tentacles opened, looking at the Judge.

Those dark eyes held a hint of human anger.

The next moment, the attack method changed.

A giant tentacle swept across with incredible speed, lashing at the Judge like a whip. The Judge raised his saw blade to parry, and the metal collided with Flesh, producing a dull thud. His entire body was knocked back half a step.

Before the Judge could even get his footing, the ground suddenly cracked open.

Tentacles suddenly shot out from beneath their feet, indiscriminately attacking not only the Judge but also Lu Yuan and the others in the distance. Ed was nearly pierced through, but Leonard pulled him away, and the two rolled to the ground.

A viscous blue liquid began to spray from the surface of the cocoon.

The liquid fell to the ground, hissing and smoking, and corroded the Ore, creating pits.

A few drops splashed onto Alice's arm, and despite the Blessing's help to protect her, she still groaned softly, her skin instantly turning red and swollen.

But she did not back down.

Old Morgan's last words still echoed in my ears.

"If it is truly related to the Deep Sea Church, the Source of Pollution must be found."

Old Morgan handed her his badge. The crest of the moon and a gun would be linked to the wearer's life—once Alice died, Headquarters would receive the message "Old Morgan has fallen in battle."

At that time, at least one Fifth Order Transcendence being will arrive to investigate.

That's a force stationed at the provincial level.

Old Morgan didn't say more, but Alice understood what he meant.

The mission that made Old Morgan risk his life meant that she was never going to return alive.

She had been prepared for this for a long time.

Alice continued to swing her warhammer, its lightning-enhanced power crushing the approaching tentacles.

The next moment, a tentacle as thick as a person suddenly shot out from the ground.

It was moving so fast that it was almost invisible.

The tentacles wrapped around the Judge's waist and tightened suddenly, pulling his heavy body off the ground.

The Judge was rolled up, and although the runes were flashing wildly and scorching the surface of the tentacles, the tentacles were too thick to care about the burns.

It dragged the Judge toward the core of Flesh at an extremely fast speed.

More tentacles surged forth, binding the Judge's legs, his saw-blade arms—and the injection needles.

The left arm, which was connected to the silver potion jar, was tightly wrapped by two tentacles and could not move.

The Judge's saw blade spun wildly, severing the tentacles that were wrapped around his legs, but it couldn't reach his left arm.

He is being dragged away.

Damn it!

Upon seeing this, Alice rushed forward without hesitation.

At the same time, the Born the blade also moved.

The two men, one on the left and one on the right, simultaneously lunged at the tentacle, which was as thick as a person.

Alice's warhammer slammed down, sparks flying, and a noticeable charred crack appeared on the surface of the tentacle.

The Born's long blade unleashed a series of slashes, specifically targeting the two tentacles that were wrapped around the Judge's left arm.

"Pfft--"

The tentacle snapped off instantly.

The Judge's injection needle has been freed.

Without hesitation, he thrust out his left arm, the injection needle plunging deep into the tentacle, which was as thick as a person.

Silver solution injected.

The tentacles trembled violently, and began to fester from the point of penetration, the Flesh turning grayish-white, then rotting and falling off.

The entanglement loosened, the Judge landed heavily, steam billowed out, and he regained his footing.

But those Born were not so lucky.

The moment he severed the tentacle, his side was completely exposed.

A tentacle pierced his abdomen from a blind spot.

There were no screams.

There was only a muffled groan.

The pain experienced by the Born has long since disappeared due to the transformation.

The tentacles stopped trying to drag it away and began to "absorb" it.

The Born's body shrinks at a visible rate, the skin collapses, and the Flesh shrivels.

The robotic arm was still waving, as if in a subconscious struggle, but the movements were getting slower and weaker.

The black robe collapsed, revealing only a mummified corpse and broken mechanical parts inside.

No one went to save him.

Marcus only glanced at it before looking away.

The other Born continued collecting blood without pausing.

The Judge continued to speak, as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this scene, Lu Yuan understood immediately; this was the Ascension Society.

With the death of one of the Born, the battle intensified.

The Judge's offensive was fierce, but the regeneration rate of its tentacles was equally astonishing. The severed tentacles grew back, the festering Flesh healed, and the cocoon-like body became even larger than before.

Alice was covered in wounds, and the lightning began to become unstable.

Philip's Holy Light grew weaker and weaker.

Only Marcus remained standing at the back, motionless, his mechanical eye constantly scanning, flashing red light.

Lu Yuan followed his gaze; he wasn't looking at the Mutation creature.

He was looking at the altar, and at the three grey-robed figures on it.

Lu Yuan frowned and looked in that direction as well.

The grey-robed men did not participate in the battle; from beginning to end, they stood atop the altar, looking down and "watching."

But their hands were moving.

His fingers trembled slightly, tracing unseen lines, and his lips moved as if he were chanting something.

The faster their movements, the more ferocious the Mutation attacks.

Whenever their movements slow down, the Mutation's offensive weakens.

Lu Yuan understood.

The gray-robed man is controlling this thing.

Their gaze remained fixed on the passageway behind the altar.

What are they waiting for?

Just then--

The heartbeat sounded different.

It was no longer a deep rumble, but a deafening explosion.

Thump!!

It was as if something had awakened.

All the Ore lit up at the same time.

The blinding blue light filled the entire space. Lu Yuan subconsciously closed his eyes, but the light still stung his eyeballs as it penetrated his eyelids.

When Lu Yuan forced himself to open his eyes again, the surrounding Ore had changed and become transparent.

Those blue crystals, which were originally only translucent, were now as clear as glass, revealing everything they contained, except for the majestic underground Temple.

Lu Yuan's gaze pierced through the Ore, looking towards the back of the altar.

There was a winding passage leading upwards, previously obscured by layers of Ore, making it difficult to see clearly.

But now at the end of the passage, in the place where the blue light is strongest.

Heart.

A huge heart.

A heart comparable to those tentacles that have coalesced into a mass of tentacles!

Enveloped in countless blood-red tentacles, it hovered at the end of the passage, pulsating violently.

With each thud, the entire Temple trembled.

With each pulse, the blue light of the Ore brightens a little more.

With each heartbeat, Lu Yuan's rationality diminished by one point.

[WARNING: The Source of Pollution is reviving. Please move away immediately, otherwise you will suffer a fundamental Mutation.]

Lu Yuan had never seen this heart before.

In Strange Dream.

Yet I've heard that familiar heartbeat countless times.

This is the source.

The source of Strange Dream.

The source of everything.

[Rationality: -3...-3...50/70]

"That's..." Alice's voice trembled.

"Mother." Philip's face turned deathly pale. "The heart of the Mother worshipped by the Deep Sea Church..."

Upon seeing this, the gray-robed men knelt on the altar, their expressions fanatical, chanting frantically.

They no longer control the Mutation beings—they are welcoming them, they are worshipping them.

The tentacles' attacks have also weakened.

The mass of Flesh made of tentacles seemed to sense something, and all its eyes turned towards the heart.

It is waiting too.

Waiting for my mother to wake up.

Just when everyone was stunned by that heart--

Marcus made a move.

His mechanical eyes flashed wildly, Gear spun at high speed with a piercing sound, and steam spewed out from the gaps in his body, enveloping him in White Mist.

His face—that half of it still being human—revealed an expression Lu Yuan had never seen before.

Pure, burning, almost insane fervor.

"That's it."

Marcus's voice trembled, not with fear.

It's excitement.

"That's it!!"

He took a step.

Towards the heart.

This was the leader of the Ascension Society who had always remained hidden in the background, observing coldly from the sidelines.

Finally, his true purpose was exposed.