Chapter 18: The Abomination

'I should check my stats first to see how much I'll gain later.'

[Status]

Cursed Energy (Magic): E-469 → C-674 (SSS-1500)

Endurance: G-201 (SSS-1500)

Power: G-289 (SSS-1500)

Agility: F-301 (SSS-1500)

Dexterity: G-209 (SSS-1500)

'Yikes, I've been slacking. I need to get way stronger than this.' I chastised myself for not training enough outside of energy control. My physical stats left much to be desired, but fortunately, my Cursed Energy practice was paying off!

"UAHHHHH!" The abomination screamed in pain, breaking me out of my thoughts. It was truly a disgusting thing all around! Shaped like a human, its right arm was a constantly reforming liquid-like substance that cycled through different types of arms repeatedly. Its chest had a small core in the middle, right where the sternum was supposed to be, and its eyes were a mix between a snake's and a human's.

The appearance wasn't that unusual considering this was a fantasy world where monsters and creatures of all types appeared. The worst part was the screaming souls that were constantly being entrapped and tortured within the small core in its body. They screamed in pain and fear, and it was clear that every single soul was conscious. However, the only thing they influenced was perhaps this thing's abilities and nothing else.

'Idle Transfiguration probably won't help separate each soul, but I could test cutting off the connection to the core!' I dashed in with this thought in mind and reached the strange thing in no time, reaching out for its body.

Fwoosh!

It struck at me with its right arm, currently in a slime form. Its arm lashed out in a horizontal sweep starting from the right, which was easy to read, so I ducked under it, but...

BANG!

"GUA!" It suddenly stopped its sweep and immediately smacked my body, knocking the wind out of me, but I couldn't tell how. It felt like I was being crushed by some behemoth's sheer weight! I recovered by rolling to the side and pushing myself back away from the abomination.

'A minotaur's arm? And the way it canceled its own attack to switch—it was seamless. I hadn't even seen any mana being used! Does that mean it's an intrinsic skill of its body? If so, this thing is more dangerous than I thought. To be able to switch its physical traits instantly means that at any moment, I could be facing a strange combination of attacks!'

I analyzed the thing from afar, realizing that getting close wasn't a good idea with its unpredictability. My next plan of action was either to overpower it, which would negate any progress in Idle Transfiguration, or find the limit of its physical changes.

I was sure there were other options, but these two were the only ones coming to mind. Later, in hindsight, I'd probably smack myself for missing something I wasn't currently seeing.

'I wonder if there's a good skill for situations like this? I could buy one real quick and just add it to the level-up list.'

[Megumi: Advanced Ten Shadows - 25 SP]

'I'm assuming this is what Sukuna showed in his fight with Satoru. Obviously, Megumi had the Ten Shadows, but Sukuna was way better at using or making use of the ability! However, in Megumi's defense, he wasn't 1,000 years old either.'

[Current SP: 40]

'Butttt do I really do it though? I mean, sooner or later I was going to buy this skill anyway. Megumi's path is the cheapest as well, at least compared to Suguru's 45 and then 10 for his other four skills. Yeah, screw it!'

[Current SP: 15] [Advanced Ten Shadows: (0/10)] [First Shadow: Divine Dog Totality (unlocked)] [Increase proficiency to unlock other shadows]

"Hah~ Figures." I sighed a little in regret and summoned my Divine Dog. A larger, bulkier, and even more intimidating version of the original two black and white dogs appeared! Its fur took on a dark, almost shadowy hue, with white streaks running along it. Perks of having the Advanced Ten Shadows: I didn't have to deal with the weaker forms of the shikigami and got their strongest forms. 'Well, Mahoraga might be a different story because of how it works.'

"Distract this disgusting thing! Be careful not to approach too closely." I ordered, and watched as the dog almost vanished from sight to reappear right behind the abomination. It attacked with its right set of claws and even damaged the thing—something I wasn't able to do. But it made sense, as this shikigami wasn't limited by physical stats but by my "Cursed Energy" stat, which was higher than the rest.

The only bad part was that I definitely couldn't maintain the summoning for long as my energy was getting drained quickly. A favorable estimate was about another 50 seconds, which wasn't long, but it also wasn't short.

I dashed in and synced my attacks with Divine Dog's, which gave me a perfect opportunity to finally try Idle Transfiguration. I activated the skill, and I could feel my imagination become more tangible as an outline of the abomination was traced into my soul.

I grabbed the outline and crushed its right leg, which...

Bang!

Completely disconnected and removed any semblance of it having that leg. It was like it was born with a deformity—the process was so clean! In the manga and show, it was so disgusting, but that was because Mahito was a sick person. 'A relatively morally upright and sane guy wouldn't use this skill the same way as such a sick person!'

"GRAUHHHHH!" The abomination screamed in pain, a scream so deafening that it made me regret not taking away its vocal cords! Its body deformed and reformed in a dance that was appalling to watch.

In a few seconds, the leg that had disappeared grew back like nothing had happened to it!

'H-how?!' I continued observing, but I still didn't understand how it was able to negate or fix the effects of the transfiguration.

"Tear its arms off!" I synchronized my attack again with the Divine Dog and used Idle Transfiguration to remove its arms, just as the dog tore them off. But again, and much faster this time, both arms reappeared!

I analyzed the process with much more focus than before and realized what was happening. It just took parts from another soul in its core and reconnected them to replace what was lost. However, I still didn't understand how it knew to do that so quickly or how it could do it at all!

"Tch. I don't have enough time either! Dog, destroy the core in th—No, disconnect the core and bring it here!" The Divine Dog went into kill mode, and just as quickly as before, it reached the core of the abomination and removed it with ease. It left a huge hole in the disgusting thing's chest, but the dog didn't care and followed my orders.

"Getting a closer look, this thing might be a good fit for Nexus! Now, what to name you..." I muttered to myself, wiping the core off with my clothing and handling it well in my hand. I turned my attention to my new dog but couldn't decide on a name. 'I'll leave it to Artemis or wait for sudden inspiration.'

I de-summoned the Divine Dog and left the dungeon.

---

[The Dungeon, A few minutes after Enkidu left]

Swooo~

A dark presence arrived at the corpse of the abomination. Normally, monsters would turn to ash or dust after their core was removed, but whatever this thing was—it didn't!

"What a strange being… and that dog was even stranger. That dog could be useful in my hands. However, its owner might be an even better option. I sensed that he wasn't a 'normal' lifeform. It's highly likely he belongs to a Familia, and depending on which one, things could get… annoying."

Swooo~

"My lord."

"What?"

"The core is gone."

"No shit."

"..."

"Hah~. Go find it. It's in the hands of that strange individual. Look for someone with sky blue eyes and light green hair. He has it!"

'He also mentioned something called Nexus... I should look into that. For someone as peculiar as him, this 'Nexus' is probably even stranger. It might even be like that dog in some way—perfect for research!'

The smaller presence vanished, and the "lord" followed suit after summoning a flame to incinerate the abomination's corpse, ensuring it turned to ash.

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AN: What should the name be for the divine dog. Also, I'm planning on finishing that auxiliary chapter tomorrow. I don't work as much now so I can actually do other things~