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"I WILL CRUSH YOU LIKE A WORM!"

She unleashed even more psychic power, ten times stronger than before. A massive invisible palm slammed me into the ground, forcing me to vomit blood as my body screamed on the verge of bursting apart.

"Aaaaaaggh!"

"Master!"

"...!"

Mongrel and Paragon, who had been battling her swarm of Nightmare Plant monsters, rushed toward her and attacked. Mongrel grew gigantic and unleashed dozens of red beams that pierced her body, leaving burning holes. Paragon channeled all my Fantasium without restraint, swinging his sword as it elongated ten times over and desperately split her apart.

SLAAASH!

"Ugh?!"

She groaned in irritation, far from defeated. She swiftly regenerated and kicked them both away while giant vines surged toward us.

This felt even more hopeless than the bat. This bitch was far too strong! Yet... it was not impossible to defeat her.

I just had to burn everything, right?

BOOOM!

I exploded into thousands of bats and flew away, merging my cloak ability with stealth to slip free of her grasp while my familiars distracted her.

The moment I escaped, I activated the power of my ring.

Sovereign Roar of Venom!

A colossal bat erupted from my aura, screaming and roaring with such force that the Nightmare Plant Lord trembled and her entire body shuddered in terror.

"His presence— What did you do to him?!"

Shock created the opening I needed. I immediately conjured Cruel Flame Garden repeatedly, spreading constant flames across her body. I fused those flames with Origin Flames and Harmony, then used my Mana Manipulation to compress everything into a single towering pillar of fire—an endless inferno that devoured everything in its path.

"BURN!!!"

"GAAAHHHHHHH!"

She screamed in agony as more than half her body burned away. But her eyes flared bright red. The surrounding plants vanished, revealing a hardened wooden core within her.

A massive ten-meter tree, so dense and tough that my flames could not consume it, emerged. It gleamed with a metallic sheen.

"What the...?!"

While I stood stunned, she roared. The giant tree—her true body—radiated immense psychic force, seized me, and slammed me through the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"M-Mongrel! Paragon! Kill her! Cut her down!"

The two charged at my command. Paragon’s slashes left only faint marks on her steel-like surface, while Mongrel could not damage her at all.

"Nothing’s working— Aaagh!"

"...!"

Giant steel-hard wooden branches pierced their bodies and hurled them to the floor.

"Damn it!"

I rushed to defend them, pouring every ounce of my aura outward and rapidly combining Harmony and Chaos within my soul once more.

Miasmic Veins!

I spread my Miasmic Veins across the area, absorbing surrounding Nightmare Energy to strengthen myself. I drank one elixir and dropped another onto Mongrel.

He absorbed it as I raised shields and barriers to protect us from her relentless assault. Sharp steel-like branches and psychic hands hammered us without pause.

Harmonious Chaos Reversal—Venom of the Eternal Night, Minor Curse, Nightmare Curse, Lesser Demonic Aura...

I instantly reversed every negative curse into its opposite and layered them upon us.

Venom of the Eternal Night, a soul-corroding poison that induced hallucinations, became the Elixir of Celestial Light, healing soul damage and restoring essence.

Minor Curse, which slightly weakened those not immune to it, transformed into Minor Blessing, boosting our stats, regeneration, and even luck.

Nightmare Curse became Sweet Dream Blessing, clearing our minds with restorative dreams that healed mental fatigue, restored mana, and granted temporary buffs.

Lesser Demonic Aura became Seraphic Holy Aura, radiating a majestic holy light that inspired us, raised our morale and stats, weakened demonic or evil beings, purified the surroundings, and bestowed holy blessings.

With all the blessings stacked, shimmering golden auras surged around us. My stats skyrocketed. Though the power was temporary, I finally felt strong enough to fight back.

I wielded my Dragon Spirit Claws, activating their ability once more and letting them guide my hands as I clashed against the incoming psychic force and steel-like branches.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

My claws barely kept up. I focused harder, channeling Knife Throwing to launch dozens of blades infused with Harmonious Origin Flames, but they barely scratched her.

"I need to put more power into it!"

I began combining the knives rapidly, stacking dozens upon dozens while enduring her onslaught alongside my familiars.

Until—

"Take this!!!"

With a thunderous roar, I hurled a gigantic ten-meter-tall Eclipsing Blade formed from over a hundred fused knives, perfectly balanced with Harmony and Chaos.

CLAAASH!

The blade sliced cleanly through the psychic waves, disrupting the Nightmare Beast Lord’s mind. It plunged deep into her metallic body and detonated inside.

BOOOMMM!!!

"GAAAHHHH!"

The entire metallic tree exploded. For a moment, it seemed the Nightmare Beast Lord had finally perished. Metallic wood fragments rained down through billowing smoke.

"To think a pitiful being like you would push me this hard!"

"...?!"

As the smoke cleared, we stared in horror. She was still alive. A brilliant light had emerged from the ruined tree—her True Core. An ethereal being made entirely of Nightmare Energy and Psychic Power now hovered before us, sharp vines spreading from her form. She glowed purple and pink, her silhouette that of a woman whose flowing hair consisted of long, tentacle-like vines.

"A-Are you kidding me?!" I gasped.

"I-Impossible! She has nearly transformed her core into a True Nightmare...!" Mongrel gasped. "But she’s desperate—she hasn’t fully evolved yet! Elizabeth, we must kill her right now before she completes it!"

"As if I would ever let you interrupt me! DIE!"

In a fury, she unleashed her full power. As I feared, it was overwhelming. A single invisible wave of psychic force slammed into us, shattering the walls and hurling us out of the Nightmare Nest into the snow outside, leveling an entire pine forest in the process.

CRAAASH!

"Gaaahaa?!"

I coughed up blood, my body shattering. My arms burned with nightmare flames, crumbling into cinders, while the rest of me could barely move.

Using my tail, I pierced my own skull and injected venom through the ring’s effect, converting it into Elixir of Celestial Light. I flooded my fading mind with as much restorative energy as possible.

"Nnnggh...! GRAAAHHH!"

I roared and forced myself to stand as she hurtled toward me like a comet of purple and pink light.

My mana and divine power were nearly gone. The last thing I could do was inject the elixir directly into my brain.

I faced her, trying to grab another elixir, but my hands had shattered and my claw weapon lay destroyed.

"Haaa... Haaa..."

As she closed in, another crushing wave of invincible psychic power descended...

"E-Elizabeth... run..." Mongrel muttered weakly from the ground in his smallest form.

"..." Paragon still lived. His armor had been destroyed, revealing a strange nebula-like being inside.

"...I can’t," I muttered. "I have to save my aunt... and I have to overcome this..."

As I closed my eyes and gasped for breath, I sensed something stirring within the empty vessel of my body—something the clamor of my earlier powers had drowned out.

Only now, in this life-and-death moment, had it begun to awaken.

And my brain...

The elixir I had injected straight into it somehow triggered that dormant power.

"T-This is...?!"

A strange, invisible force began gathering around my hands.

"DIE!"

The Nightmare Beast Lord reached us, her psychic force blazing with nightmarish intensity as a giant hand descended to crush us flat.

BOOOM!

For a moment, everything went black.

In that endless void, I saw small white stars—once too distant to reach—drawing closer.

A connection to somewhere else formed. The power within my brain awakened all at once.

FLAAASH!

Bright white light surged from my body. My hands slowly regenerated as this new power flooded my mind.

Blood streamed from my nose and eyes while I pushed my brain to its limits, nearly melting it. Yet the regenerative elixir held it together—just enough to save us.

RUMBLE!

"W-What?!"

The Nightmare Beast Lord recoiled in shock as I pushed back. A giant white hand emerged from my body, radiating the same type of energy she wielded.

"You’re an Esper as well?!"

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