Aberrant Beasts usually built nests only in safe environments.
To gather enough materials and supply sufficient mana, most Aberrant Beasts chose relatively hidden places with plentiful food before they began building their nests.
This was also the main basis Magical Girls used when hunting Pupa Stage Aberrant Beasts. They investigated locations where Pupa Stage Aberrant Beasts might build nests according to these criteria, then lay in wait there to eliminate those Pupas that had not yet had time to build nests and could not fully exert their strength.
However, there were always exceptions.
When too many Pupa Stage Aberrant Beasts were hunted because they could not build nests in time, when too many Pupas were eliminated by Magical Girls or even other Aberrant Beasts after leaving their nests, the law of natural selection took effect. Most of the Aberrant Beasts that survived and successfully matured possessed abilities beyond the norm.
And now, Cornflower realized that the one before her was likely such an exceptional survivor, a standout in the struggle for survival.
This Aberrant Beast was using slime gathered on the spot to build itself a temporary nest.
This was even Cornflower's first time witnessing the formation of an Aberrant Beast's nest.
The liquid flowing from the Aberrant Beast, rising from the buildings and ground, and even dripping from Cornflower and Nina's bodies all began flowing in the same direction as though alive. Mixed with the grime on the ground, it became a revolting yellow-green pus that spiraled around the block and rose upward.
The surrounding space seemed to stretch along with the endlessly circling liquid. What should have been an area with a radius of only a few dozen meters began to grow incomparably vast. The once-clear streetscape blurred as though covered by a filter; the buildings turned an