The Cursed Pupil! The Gaze Curse

Almost immediately upon hearing the system prompt, Lynne distinctly felt a change in the demeanor of the hunter in front of him. Compared to its earlier mechanical gaze, its eyes now radiated a cold and sagacious aura.

"Not good!"

A wave of intense danger surged over him.

"Left hand, be careful!" Lynne shouted. He instinctively began to retreat, but the hunter swiftly raised its head and darted towards him at lightning speed.

The left hand rapidly opened its gaping maw, resorting to its tried and tested strategy. Sharp tongues lashed out, surging towards the incoming hunter.

"Transform! High heat! Intense thermal attribute!"

The pupils of the hunter instantly radiated with the glow of scorching heat. The mantis blades on its arms began to flow with an intensely hot luminescence, emitting a shower of sparks.

Slish—

A loud sound echoed.

Amidst the chaotic whirlwind, the superheated blade made its slash. The left hand's extended tongue was neatly severed in the face of the extreme heat.

With a loud yelp, the left hand quickly recoiled, with only a smoking half of its tongue remaining.

"My tongue's gone!!" It (〃′皿`) exclaimed to Lynne.

Lynne, stepping back, asked sharply, "Can you regenerate it?"

The left hand (〝▼皿▼) flailed its remaining tongue and began to regenerate.

"It's growing back!!"

Almost instantly, the hunter appeared before Lynne like a lingering shadow, the blade, shimmering with its thermal aura, slashing toward him.

"I got this!"

The left hand (〝▼皿▼) instantly grabbed a boning knife wrapped around one of Lynne's tentacles.

Clash—

A fierce burst of light erupted.

The arm stretched out like a snake, and the left hand, wielding the knife, clashed blades with the hunter. Clearly, the resentment from having its tongue severed earlier was erupting in full force.

Clang—

Clang—

Blades met, sparking a myriad of fiery bursts.

Lynne could instantly discern that the hunter before him was different. It seemed like it had changed into an entirely new entity, with profound combat experience. Every strike and parry was masterful and calculated.

On the other hand, though Left Hand's assaults were fierce, they lacked finesse and structure, resembling a brute force wild slashing technique.

"Hidari!" Lynne quickly raised his weapon, relentlessly firing shots at the hunter's flank. "Where's the power you showed against the flesh puppet?! Weren't you so brave yesterday?"

While slashing, Left Hand (〝▼皿▼) retorted, "That was because I devoured it from the inside! Now, it's external! Even if I wanted to eat it, it could seriously harm me!"

Lynne shouted, "I am a healer! If it injures you, I'll stitch you up!"

Left Hand o(≧口≦)o exclaimed, "But there's no opportunity!"

Lynne swiftly retreated, his gaze darting around in search of a plan. Truly, this was a world where death could strike at any moment.

Opportunity?! Alright! I'll create that chance for you!

Lynne swiftly reached into his coat, pulling out a grotesque black eyeball, covered in bulbous growths.

[Cursed Pupil]

[Type: Cursed Object]

[Ability: When used by a flesh puppet, it can activate the 'Gaze Curse'.]

[Restrictions: Needs to fully integrate with the body before activation.]

[Description: The cursed eye of the Type 3 Blood Flesh Puppet. When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back. This eye is filled with malice and grudges. Everything that comes into its view dissolves, everything melts, everything crumbles…]

This eye was what he had extracted from Left Hand's stomach. And during his earlier ambush, he had studied it meticulously. One could say that for any other creature, this eyeball would be useless. But he was different! With the Flesh Catastrophe ability, he could integrate this eyeball into his own body.

In that case…

With a swift, grimacing motion, Lynne dug his fingers into his right eye socket.

[Ding! Your health is depleting!]

[Ding! Your health is depleting!]

In the very next moment,

Splurt—

A bloody eyeball was gouged out from his own right eye socket. He blew on it, gritting his teeth as he took out a small vial from his chest, placing his eyeball carefully inside. Then, with determination, he took the monstrous eyeball in his hand and, with one forceful push, lodged it into his own socket.

"Ah! Damn, that hurts!"

Blood streamed from Lynne's right eye as he swiftly activated the power of the Flesh Catastrophe.

Swish swish—

A multitude of neural tissues quickly enveloped the [Cursed Pupil].

[Ding! You have connected a new organ: Cursed Pupil!]

[Ding! Warning! Warning! The power level of the Cursed Pupil is too high, your control over additional limbs has significantly decreased!]

Swish swish—

The two tentacles behind him instantly withered and disintegrated. But it was enough! Because…

"Left hand!! Move away!!"

Lynne shouted, his face contorted in pain, clutching his bleeding right eye. The immense burden from the eye made him hunch over in agony.

Hearing the shout, the left hand retracted immediately. And upon seeing Lynne's right eye, it expressed sheer surprise.

"You used the puppet's eye?!!"

Almost immediately after its words ended, Lynne abruptly raised his head, his expression fierce, as he fixated his gaze upon the hunter.

Gaze Curse! Activate!!

Vrrrr—

A sound akin to a snapping string resonated. Lynne's right pupil contracted sharply. Countless intricate black lines rapidly converged at the center of his pupil. The hunter quivered instantly, sensing a sweeping tide of impending peril.

In the briefest moment, he instinctively ramped up his speed to the maximum, so swift that afterimages appeared. But the curse had already been cast.

Screech—

It was like the sharp wail of a tortured spirit. Wherever his gaze traveled, whether the surrounding walls or the stone bricks underfoot, they melted at an unimaginable rate into a viscous sludge. And this was an open space, there was nowhere to hide.

Even with the hunter's unparalleled speed, in this vast expanse, his body was instantly affected, with bubbling corrosion appearing all over its surface.

"The Cursed Pupil?!" The face of Mech-Demon controlling the hunter darkened drastically. "How can this be!"

At this very moment, he came to a certain realization. Even if his flesh puppet wasn't slain by this young man, he was undoubtedly connected! This man must be eliminated!