The Glorious Evolution

Orr’Vekth, who got blown away into the distant, wasn’t given even a moment to breathe before finding his two wounds opening wider... blood flowing in thick streams!

With a twist of Shia’s fingers, the escaping blood changed course, snaking through the air toward Shia... then, it got mixed with her own floating sticky blood, going through a filtration system before it touched her.

It wrapped around the stump of her severed arm, forcing bone to reconnect, muscle to knit, and skin to close... Each drop it lost fed her instead, leaving his body weaker and paler as her own strength returned!

’What did she do to me! Why can’t I close my wounds! Why can’t I control my blood!’

When Orr’Vekth tried to stop his blood from gushing out, he found himself making it even worse... it was like every order he gave yielded opposite results.

He thought that he was tripping out, but in reality, it wasn’t really his fault... Shia’s newest ability, Blood Curse, was unlocked with her perfect evolution.

Just like Arthur... once perfect evolutions were involved, the Shadowlife seed didn’t unlock innate abilities from the current nightcrawlers’ library... but it dug through its own library of stored abilities and unlocked much better ones.

That’s why being a high Tier or rank didn’t matter as much when putting entities with perfect evolutions against those without.

In this case... Blood Curse wasn’t a simple slash and pull blood ability... It also inflicted a hidden curse that fed on the target’s desires to close the wounds.

The more he wanted them closed, the wider they got... creating a vicious circle, broken only once the secret was found.

When combined with another new ability called Total Blood Reformation, which fed on enemies’ vitality, it made Shia capable of healing from the worst wounds possible as long as she had access to the blood of others.

’God damn it! I need backup... I am going to die!!’

Realizing that his situation had gotten from worse to hellish... Orr’Vekth immediately called for his teammates to save him while creating a small water wave that picked him up and took him away from his enemies.

When Levi tried to pull him back, he found great resistance... the mini-tide was also mixed in, resembling a gluey slime.

This made it hard for him to separate the two... if he wanted him back, he needed to contain the tide as well with aether energy.

But Levi had no plans to do this... his spiritual vision showing him Kraev’Morr was about to make his move, while the rest of their teammates were fast approaching to offer help.

They had sent those three to torment and slow Heliodor’s Raiders down, but not in their wildest dreams did they expect them to get beaten this badly.

When they realized that the possibility of retreat wasn’t an option, they could only give up on their search for Blood Rites and come to salvage the situation.

’Shia, Arthur, Nurah, I will leave you the crab.... Jojo, hold down Kraev’Morr in the sky... we might end this without collecting a single Blood Rite if you stayed focused.’

In the Nocturnal Ring... tens of Rifters participated in a single game, each to their own... this made it impossible to ignore the game mechanics and go for a full wipe-out.

But, it was different in the CRS Platform... with teams consisting of six or ten at most, unless a game included multiple teams at once, games could very much end through brute force in less than five minutes.

After all, the game mechanics were respected only if both teams were even in strength... if one was stronger or had a much better strategy and powers, everything was possible.

’Got it.’

’On it.’

The moment everyone nodded in understanding, Orr’Vekth found himself able to move again... Stunned, he looked behind him and saw that Shia was sprinting so low to the ground, she resembled a thirsty hyena, the blood still staining her face.

When his vision focused behind her, he felt chills course down his spine at the sight of Arthur preparing to throw his bladed shield at him with the same wicked grin... what happened to Druv’Shaar played in his mind.

As for Nurah? She was nowhere to be found... a single blink, and she was gone.

’How come such a shitty region has three monsters not even at Warden rank?! And who the f*ck has such insane spiritual prowess? Is it that baldy?!’

The first question resonated across the minds of many viewers, who were watching a totally different game than the Drowned Court members.

Unlike them, Gamemaster Sparks had the authority to highlight Aether energy, making it visible to his audience.

Because of it, they saw the truth in the replay... how those three nightcrawlers were yanked from the water and manipulated like wooden dummies by Levi.

”What do we have here?! The Maestro has spared his prey from his aetheric chains! Is it mercy? Or...”

Gamemaster Sparks commented at the sight of Levi canceling his Aetheric Grasp, the green tether fading into nothingness... then, he summoned his staff and held it akin to a javelin thrower, aiming it at the sky.

Or more precisely, at Kraev’Morr, who was battling Jojo in mid-air... seeing the battle between these two getting way too heated, Gamemaster Sparks switched the stream to them excitedly.

’This is the good shit I am talking about!’

He didn’t expect Levi and his teammates to bring this much heat, which left him wishful that maybe his appeal would work if this game turned out to be a hit.

Meanwhile, Kraev’Morr completely forgot about helping Orr’Vekth the moment Jojo entered his radar... his murderous intent for her trampled everything right now.

”You foul-mouthed abomination!! Die!!”

Kraev’Morr roared, his body twisting mid-air as sharp jets of pressurized water shot from his palms in Jojo’s direction.

Jojo evaded the jets easily by falling from one prayer bead and catching the other, leaving her hanging in mid-air.

She spun around and stood back up on it with one foot and the other raised, watching calmly as Kraev’Morr restored his balance with his jets... since he was using them to fly around, he was as uncomfortable as possible.

His battle-habitat was the great ocean, not the sky... and it was clear to all that the best decision for him to make was to regroup with his allies, not fight in the air like this.

But, just when rationality flickered inside his rage-consumed mind, the whispers returned... she is there... she is right in front of you... You have dreamed of erasing her from existence for the humiliation she put you through... You can’t? Maybe, she was right... You’re nothing but a useless, disregarded exper...

”AAAAAAA!! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!”

Kraev’Morr roared into the heavens, the crimson moon bathing under his unfiltered rage... seeing him losing his marbles, Jojo raised an eyebrow in surprise, ’Levi’s spiritual abilities sure are demonic.’

Before they met their opponents, Levi had given the team a heads-up that he was going to target the weakest one mentally in their team... in this case, it was Kraev’Morr.

Even cursing him in the Game Hall was part of the long game Levi was playing... he wanted to set enough enmity between Kraev’Morr and his friends... Jojo, being the menace of the team, took the role of breaking his mental.

All of this to make it easier for Levi to plant Whisper of Influence!

Levi had done so the moment he used Aetheric Grasp on him... he just needed a spiritual connection to plant the seed, and Aether energy acted as an amazing medium for spiritual attacks.

However, since the Whisper of Influence didn’t force obedience but gently nudged decisions, created hesitation, or shifted focus, it couldn’t be used on just anyone... the moment it was detected as a spiritual attack, it was as useless as a wet napkin.

The higher the difference in spiritual prowess, the more likely the influence was to take effect and go unnoticed... weakening one’s mental also helped greatly.

Right now, Kraev’Morr was thinking he was the one deciding to stay behind and trade blows with Jojo, but he had no idea that he had fallen into Levi’s web fifteen days ago.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Jojo was there to collect the benefits; each movement of her fists or kicks sent her prayer beads whipping outward, colliding and ricocheting all over the place around Kraev’Morr!

One bead slammed into another, bouncing to the left, then downward, creating an unpredictable storm of strikes... This left Kraev’Morr incapable of predicting her attacks, forcing him to eat multiple prayer beads in the face, the back, the stomach, and the limbs!

Ting! Ting! Ting!

Such a peculiar fighting style was only possible due to Jojo’s single tiny horn mutation. It was flickering nonstop, which sent spiritual signals constantly, making her see the exact locations of her prayer beads... In addition, it made the prayer beads seek each other without Jojo needing to be manually involved in the process.

So, the moment Jojo kicked or punched one using her martial arts skills, the prayer beads ricocheted off each other, before returning to Jojo once their momentum died out... just to have her kick them back again.

Kraev’Morr was left in the center of this chaotic barrage; his body and soul were groaning so much with each hit... Jojo’s prayer beads were embedded with spiritual energy, which would make anyone get crippled from pain at such a barrage.

Yet, Kraev’Morr still held strong, his body twisting mid-air while using the jets of pressurized water to break through the formation.

Two beads were knocked off their path, but Jojo was already moving... her heel catching a third bead, sending it whistling back into orbit to close the gap.

Tiing!! Arghh!!!

”You b*tch!”

Kraev’Morr held his bloody nose after the prayer bead sneaked through his defenses and landed straight on his face, boinking his giant hammer-like nose.

”What? You ain’t interested in a facial surgery?” Jojo sneered, ”I thought I was doing you a favor.”