Chapter 7: A Strong Teammate

What's going on?

Why has a hidden main storyline been triggered?

And,

what is this "Escape and Kill Mode"?

The sudden turn of events made Leonard Churchill's first reaction to suspect that something had been concealed from him.

But a glance at his temporary ally

immediately dispelled that suspicion.

Even though she wore a gas mask, the trembling of the girl's body with the mechanical arm signified that she was extremely shocked by the change.

It turned out Leonard was not the only one confused; his ally was equally bewildered.

....

What is this mysterious invasion? It's like giving the monster a frenzy status. The most evident sign was the tag above the witch's head changing from a B-Level Catastrophe to "A-Level."

The spiritual energy field on its body's surface intensified as if a pebble had been thrown into a calm lake, causing invisible ripples to emanate throughout the room.

It was visibly more powerful!

The two of them found their previously smooth hunting plan becoming several times more difficult.

Just a moment ago, Leonard was barely able to maintain clarity, but now, facing the evolved catastrophe, his mind was like being struck with a blunt weapon, completely muddled.

Dangerous alerts flashed incessantly.

The data on his attribute panel dropped rapidly.

Death had never been closer.

Leonard did not understand what the change in disaster level signified.

But his ally evidently did.

The girl with the mechanical arm keenly sensed the monster's might and cursed under her breath, "Damn it, how did it turn into an A-Level mutant!"

Almost the instant the mutant power surged, the Calamity Witch's formless energy field churned, shattering the tightly bound spell chains with ease.

The barrier couldn't contain the monster any longer!

However, things were about to get even worse.

As the barrier disintegrated, the girl's cards turned to dust in her hands, and she herself was violently shaken by the backlash of her spent vitality and blood, as a crimson whip lashed out at her like lightning.

"Snap!"

There was no avoiding it; the whip struck the girl.

It cracked like a whip through the air, its concussive force shredding her cloak in a flash, before hitting her chest with full force.

The whip was so powerful that it deformed and twisted the metallic mechanical exoskeleton on her chest, leaving a gruesome wound on her flesh.

A spray of blood,

and she was sent flying backward.

She hit the wall with a heavy "thud."

On a closer look, the crimson whip turned out to be a centipede-like tail that sprouted from the monster's body.

At this moment, the Fallen Witch Sect had completely transformed into an unexpected monstrous shape, not only with a gaping maw but also a centipede tail and four spider-like limbs.

...

After spitting out a mouthful of blood, the girl with the mechanical arm's gas mask visor was smeared with a crimson blur that obstructed her vision; she yanked off the mask, gasping for air.

And just as Leonard had guessed, she was young. Her face was still covered with a bloodstained scarf over her nose and mouth, obscuring her features. However, her eye corners were tight, her brows delicate, with a pair of deep black pupils that were sharp and vivid.

Now fully revealing its monstrous form, the combat power of the Fallen Witch Sect surged.

It perceived the human behind it as an enormous threat and immediately redirected its hostility.

After the tail whip sent the mechanical arm girl flying, the monster no longer cared about Leonard, its "prey," as it used its four spider limbs to move rapidly across the ground. Despite its bulky body, it was astonishingly fast, and its spear-like limbs thrust forward in a flash.

The girl's eyes turned cold as she pulled the trigger of the steam pressure cannon mounted on her right arm.

A muffled "boom" filled the room as white steam instantly enveloped the space.

Shrouded in mist, the monster's massive form was propelled by the high-pressure air.

However, there was no repeat of the scene of the monster being blasted into a bloody pulp.

The girl's pupils shrunk sharply as she registered this change.

Her reaction was decisive; propelled by the recoil, she swiftly retracted, drawing several cards midair.

"Whoosh," "whoosh," the sound of slicing air.

The three cards flew out in a triangle formation, instantly transforming into swirling wind blades that cut through the mist.

Leonard watched amazed.

A few cards, flying then turning into wind blade flying knives?

The thought flashed through his mind.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

No sounds of slashing, but metallic clinks came from the mist, and the girl's expression drastically changed.

She had barely landed before a lethal crisis struck; she explosively pushed off the ground to dodge instinctively.

But even with such quick reflexes, she was still too slow!

Just as she was using her strength, a dark shadow whipped out from the mist again.

Unable to dodge, there was a sharp "bang," and the centipede tail shattered the protective magic shield around her, sending her flying against the wall once more.

This whip was several times more forceful than the previous one!

The girl felt a fiery sting in her throat and couldn't help but spew another mouthful of blood.

As the fog lifted, a new change had occurred to the monster.

Now, a ripple-like energy field enveloped its entity, with scales covering its body. On the centipede tail, three faint slashes were visible, marks left by the Wind Blade Card.

Unscathed?

Even an A-Level Catastrophe wouldn't be that resilient!

Witnessing this, the mechanical arm girl's expression shifted, and an unbelievable possibility dawned on her. Shocked, she exclaimed, "Secondary Mutation! How is that possible in a First Tier Catastrophe!"

....

The mechanical arm girl was now seriously injured after being struck again.

The tide of battle had turned sharply downward, and defeat seemed imminent.

No one expected the situation to turn out like this.

Not far away, Leonard Churchill on the bed was also affected by the high-pressure shockwave of the jet cannon, crashing heavily into the corner of the wall.

Fortunately, this corner was safer.

And as the monster's attention was drawn to the girl, Leonard was flung away, regaining his wits and control of his body within that abnormal mental state, calmly observing both sides of the battle.

The monster easily broke through the previously prepared barrier, obviously possessing an overwhelming combat power.

Without any other means, the two of them were almost certainly doomed.

But Leonard did not believe that his temporary teammate had only that much in her arsenal.

He watched his partner, who had been sent flying and spitting blood twice, and murmured, "You've got a trump card, now would be the time to use it."

From beginning to end, the Mech-Arm Girl had only shown the strength she allowed others to see.

But intuition told Leonard that she was holding back.

As for Leonard himself, even in such a perilous moment, he remained utterly calm.

Fear?

If death was certain, those negative emotions that only hindered thought were completely superfluous to him.

*******

Sure enough!

At this moment, teetering on the brink of death, there was absolutely no room for hesitation.

With a ferocious glint in her eyes that came and went in a flash, the girl seemed to make a decision and exclaimed, "Release!"

Leonard watched as her pupils suddenly constricted.

After that exclamation, it was as if some mysterious force had been unleashed, and the temperature in the room abruptly dropped significantly.

He knew his teammate had unleashed her Big Move.

At the same time, there was a "pop" of an explosion as the Witch's tail whip came at them for the third time.

Faster than before!

Clearly, the monster was being contaminated by that mysterious force mentioned by Enlightenment and was continuing to grow stronger.

This whip, if it hit like before, would likely cause the girl severe injury again.

However, what happened next was unexpected.

The whip moved so fast it left a shadowy trail, and the girl, though bloodied at the chest, showed no signs of panic—nor any intent to dodge.

She stood up, raised her hand effortlessly, and the centipede-like tail whip stopped dead just a foot away from her palm.

As if an invisible force field swirled around her hand, she clenched tightly, and the tail, like a snake trapped by the neck, struggled fiercely but could not escape.

A second look revealed a sudden shift in the Mech-Arm Girl's aura.

Her silver hair moved on its own without wind, exuding an intimidating cold aura, and a layer of frost-flame-like cold energy field swirled around her body, blocking off the Corrosive Acid Liquid sprayed by the monster.

And behind her, a bizarre, semi-transparent Illusion appeared and disappeared intermittently.

At this moment, she was like a Demon God descending.

Leonard caught only a glimpse from the corner of his eye, feeling as if he were being watched by a Demon God, sending chills down his spine: "So powerful!"

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that at this moment, his teammate's energy felt more demonic than the Witch.

*******

His temporary partner's aura had suddenly changed, becoming unfathomably deep.

Leonard watched without much surprise, pondering, "She needs material from the Witch to unleash her power; turns out she has Mental-series abilities. But what is this, telekinesis? And the Ice Power isn't just normal cold aura..."

He had been curious before, why his high Mental Power was still affected by the monster, but his teammate seemed unfazed all the time.

If it wasn't the resistance effect brought on by equipment, then her own Mental Power score must also be very high to be immune to the constant Mental Pollution spread by the Witch.

Now it was clear, her Mental Power was exceptionally strong.

And her prior display of Mechanical equipment, Cards, and melee skills were clearly just a front—the real trump card was her incredible Mental Power and Ice Ability.

"No wonder she's been so secretive; those powers are quite identifiable."

Leonard, although not very familiar with this world, could tell from the way she released her Big Move that such identifiable abilities couldn't possibly be common.

But they were hidden, likely indicating that her identity was not to be revealed in the open light.

However, now wasn't the time to think about these things.

The Mech-Arm Girl's aura had suddenly changed, no longer dodging the monster's tail whip. She clenched both fists and with fierce cold energy surged forward, unleashing a frenzied assault on the monster.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"..."

The room echoed with the sounds of dull impacts, like a bell striking.

The girl, fearless of Mental Pollution, with fists enveloped in Frost Flame, struck the monster's body hard.

Each punch encased more of the monster's Scale Armor in ice, forcing the monster to retreat beat by beat.

But after all, it was an A-Level Catastrophe, and under the pressure of tiers, it was difficult to determine a winner for a while.

Leonard squinted from the corner, murmuring to himself, "It seems to be lacking something."

He had thought that his own meager combat power would not be needed, but seeing the situation now, he had to do something.

*******

In this world, "Catastrophes" could basically be understood as bosses.

This silver-haired girl, being able to go head-to-head with an A-Level Catastrophe, one could imagine her strength was top-notch in her own tier.

But obviously, it wasn't enough.

The Fallen Witch Sect were Mental-series monsters with not very strong melee capabilities.

But their exoskeleton was very tough, making them very difficult to kill.

Watching the girl gaining the upper hand, but actually determining the outcome could be quite difficult in a short time.

This was not the key issue.

The problem was that the battle between the human and the monster was very noisy.

There was more than one monster in the Alternate Dimension.

Gunfire had already been heard outside the door, obviously someone was engaging other monsters.

They couldn't drag it out any longer.

With that thought, Leonard made a decisive decision.

He stretched out a hand, making a tactical hand signal mimicking holding a gun.

Clearly, his teammate noticed it sharply.

*******

She saw it, but a hint of disbelief surfaced in the Mech-Arm Girl's eyes: How could this guy be of any help?