Cecia’s attack style was quite strange.
At least, that was how it appeared to Potato.
Even though Cecia was casually strolling through the tide of monsters, the Starfolk acted as if they couldn't see her at all, continually passing right by her side.
Whenever a Starfolk drew near, she would brandish her exquisite silver knife, Starhunter.
The silver blade struck against the falling rain, scattering brilliant splashes of water.
Then, she plunged it straight into a weak spot in the Starfolk's carapace.
Blue juice spurted out.
Immediately after, mana surged into the wound, igniting in a fierce blaze.
Boom—
And just like that, a Starfolk died.
Cecia’s other hand wasn't idle either, wielding her wand to clear away the debris.
Like an artist conducting a choir, she lightly waved the silver short wand in her left hand.
The silver wand, inlaid with blue gems, burst with dazzling light, sending forth a torrent of flames in an instant.
Cecia directed the roaring fire to burn through the Starfolk remains that Lan had chopped to pieces.
Boom—
Yet another monster's corpse was turned to ash.
If Cecia knew how to spin her blade, she wouldn't have minded showing off a spin right now.
It would have looked seriously cool.
Lan, charging through the frontline, didn't stop for even a single moment.
To her, slaughtering those Starfolk was as effortless as chopping vegetables.
Her pure white long blade whistled through the air, sending a huge swath of Starfolk flying.
A biting cold wind ripped through the curtain of rain as her long sword trembled faintly.
With their seamless cooperation, the two forcefully tore a gaping scar through the tide of Starfolk.
Mia was somewhat astonished.
For the moment, she couldn't offer much help at all.
Miss Lan had entered a state of complete self-forgetfulness, tempestuous sword energy continually raining down onto the surging Starfolk.
Miss Cecia was far too composed. Even on a rainy night when the environment was thoroughly unsuited for flames to burn, her attacks possessed such destructive force. It was hard to imagine she was merely a Rank Zero assassin.
The densely packed Starfolk had never managed to land an attack on Cecia.
Or rather, they had never even seen her.
Even on the rare occasion when a few Starfolk noticed her, Miss Cecia would vanish with a quick movement to dodge them.
Her strength was truly terrifying.
In a blur, Cecia vanished from Mia's sight once more.
Whether she had actively boosted her skill's power or something else entirely, Mia could no longer see Cecia at all.
Next, Mia turned her gaze toward Miss Potato, wondering if she needed any help.
Miss Potato had been very quiet ever since leaving the church.
Quiet, serene, and full of etiquette, she seemed like a completely different person from the reckless, food-obsessed child inside the church.
That was until a massive Starfolk—one that had clearly undergone continuous growth and evolution to reach a higher tier—locked its sights on Cecia.
Several long tentacles silently began to creep forward.
From beneath the ground, through the corpses of its kin.
Lying in ambush, hunting.
Shaking off Cecia's influence, dozens of tentacles suddenly unfurled, rising up and lunging straight for Cecia’s back.
Just as Mia was about to open her mouth to warn her, Potato struck first.
“Miss Nightingale, behind you.”
A pitch-black shadow wrapped around the frenzied Starfolk's heels, locking its ten tentacles frozen in midair.
Potato possessed the ability to manipulate shadows.
In that split second, Cecia's 【Shadow Moon】 activated instantly.
Her figure moved like a ghost as she twisted around, thrusting her short dagger straight into a gap in the Starfolk's carapace.
Golden flames detonated inside the Starfolk's wound.
Boom—
The Starfolk shattered into fragments that blasted outward in all directions.
The entire process happened so quickly that even Mia couldn't react in time.
Cecia smiled at Potato. “Thanks, Potato.”
“You're welcome.”
With the white cloth wrapped around Potato's face, it was impossible to discern any expression beneath it.
Now, Miss Potato swiftly joined the battlefield as well.
She took a step forward, and the shadow beneath her feet seamlessly merged into the rainy night.
She couldn't avoid the notice of the Starfolk like Cecia did.
The ink-black shadows acted as Potato's claws and fangs, their combat strength fully capable of intercepting the Starfolk that leaped toward her.
At the same time, Potato didn't stop assisting Cecia.
With a hook here and a trip there, she exposed the Starfolk's vulnerabilities.
The slender, soft tissues hidden beneath their thick carapaces were brought out into the open.
Naturally, Cecia wouldn't pass up these exposed targets—landing critical hits and stealing kills were essential skills for an assassin.
Having someone willing to set up setups for her was more than welcome.
For some reason, Cecia felt that Potato possessed exceptional vision. Potato could accurately observe blind spots that Cecia couldn't see.
It was as if no information within a five-hundred-meter radius could be hidden from her eyes.
Whether it was a visual blind spot or places where light couldn't reach, Potato understood it all clearly.
It was almost like an omniscient bird's-eye view.
Cecia had no time to ponder these thoughts further, as the Starfolk continued to swarm toward them endlessly.
Gradually, the diversity of the Starfolk grew as well.
Corals, shells, sea anemones, starfish, kelp, sea snakes—though all were radial creatures shaped vaguely like stars, their forms were entirely distinct.
Some of these marine creatures had grown wing membranes, wobbling as they took to the sky.
Others had sprouted horse-like legs, sprinting forward at high speeds.
Even more sickening were the humanoid Starfolk with featureless, blurry faces that made one feel deeply contaminated just by looking at them.
Scales of shiny silver hovered around them, swallowed up to serve as nourishment.
Those abominations filled one with disgust.
The surging tides of Tide Town continued to tumble, delivering even more Starfolk.
Lan was already lost in a bloodlust of killing, the fluid leaking from the Starfolk staining the sea into a grotesque palette of colors.
This seemed to be her method of cultivation.
The number of Starfolk Miss Potato's shadows could intercept grew fewer and fewer.
Cecia's mana was running lower and lower as well.
The rain kept falling, and Cecia could feel the salty, damp sea breeze.
The night deepened.
Amidst the relentless slaughter by the patrol squad, the Starfolk began to sing.
As if driven to fulfill a singular purpose, they began evolving mouthparts all over their bodies.
Whether intact specimens, severed tissues chopped into pieces by Lan, or the charred remains Cecia hadn't fully burned to ash—
All of them strove furiously to evolve mouthparts.
And then, they began to sing.
There were no articulate words, only a thick, heavy melody.
The singing sounded like the sticky scraping of fish scales against each other.
This melody caused Lan’s blood-red eyes to return to normal, but her movements lost their former agility, no longer swift as the wind.
She gradually slipped out of that heightened state, her body growing feeble. Like a marionette with cut strings, her footsteps stumbled.
Like a sleepwalker falling from a balcony.
Lan had lost her senses entirely, stepping blindly toward those gaping, tooth-filled mouthparts.
Mia's fingers gripping her staff began to tremble; the singing invaded her nerves, causing her hands holding the staff to shake uncontrollably.
She had virtually lost the ability to fight.
Cecia's condition was even worse.
Flowing through her ears and into her bloodstream, the song actually stirred up the Abyss Erosion inside Cecia—which had remained dormant ever since she entered the Spirit Realm Excursion.
Tadpole-like patterns surfaced along the veins across her entire body.
Ah—ah—ah.
The agony was unbearable.
The reignited Abyss Erosion felt as if it had come alive, relentlessly driving the Abyssal power within Cecia.
Invasive to the bone, invasive to her very soul.
Cecia nearly slumped down, completely drained of strength.
Rate on N.U.
