Chapter 64: The Enemy Rises Like a Phoenix

****

Diana held two vials in her hands, one red and the other green. It took her many long days, but she felt it was worth it.

The sacred fruit had stopped affecting her, but the addiction persisted. To satisfy that addiction, she had to somehow recreate the effect of the fruit.

"Around 40 fruits, this should be enough," she said aloud as if she were mad, looking at the small branches of the tree behind her.

Since that cursed resistance group didn't destroy all the advanced equipment in the lab, she had managed to bring it with her to the upper island and use the fruits that grew daily for her experiments.

Unlike a certain unfortunate someone, she had an ample supply of fruits for her tests and highly advanced tools for concentrating and separating the liquids.

She didn't need anything like the {Transformation} skill; her knowledge learned from her grandfather and the advanced tools were enough for her.

"It will be extremely painful, but I must endure… I will consume one of these concentrates daily after all," Diana continued to speak aloud as she wandered around the tree's branches.

"Its effect will encompass all my bones and muscles, but I will be on another level when I wake up…" After sitting down with her back against the giant tree trunk, Diana drank both vials consecutively.

Not a second had passed before she started screaming loudly, but she didn't writhe around.

The more intense the pain became, the stronger her will for revenge grew, and her thoughts about Cassian became stronger.

"You will feel more than this when I catch you!" she gritted her teeth, thinking.

Unnoticed, a giant mutated insect was watching her from a distance, with a terrifying glint in its eyes…

***

Half an hour had passed since the pain disappeared, and I began to feel my body rejuvenating, but I did nothing. I just refilled the tub and relaxed in it. 

Using the ambrosia had reduced the pain by about 70%, but I still felt like the process had affected my mind. If I had to endure the full pain, I would either go insane or stay paralyzed forever.

I panted as I looked at the ceiling, my chest rising and falling, greedily taking in air.

'I will never do something like this again in my life…' I thought as I looked at my status screen.

{

Name: Cassian StarHold

Title: -

Class: Swordsman

Legacy Skill: Beast Form

status: Cursed

Level: B-

Stats:

Strength: B-

Speed: C

Endurance: B

Intelligence: -

Senses: C

Wisdom: A-

Luck: G-

Charisma: B-

(Note: Charisma and Luck stats are not included in level evaluation)

Skills:

Skills:

Mind Improving: F

martial Arts:

 Commandment of Sloth (1/5): 91%

 Sword basics: 99%

]

All my physical stats had increased by one rank, except for strength, which increased by two ranks. Wisdom increased due to the ambrosia's effect, while my luck slightly decreased.

Intelligence remained the same, and charisma probably increased due to one of the ambrosia's effects as well. I let out a long breath, then stood up immediately.

'Loana… Darian… I will end it with you quickly,' I began drying myself off, then immediately put on my clothes.

"A week is all I need to reclaim what is mine." When I finished wearing the beige coat, I immediately exited the bathroom.

Jin and the others were waiting for me there, some of them looking at me strangely.

They didn't hear the screams of pain… did they? I began to doubt the soundproof walls for a moment.

[It's about you staying in the bathroom for eight hours] Jin explained the matter through telepathy, which reassured me greatly.

I should clarify things to them to maintain my image, but I felt a lack of desire to do so. I threw myself onto an empty couch, looked at the control panel in Killian's hand, and asked, "When will we arrive?".

He quickly answered me, "Not long, you can see for yourself." He handed me the panel before finishing his sentence.

'We should arrive at any moment now…' I thought as I looked at the city walls through the panel, feeling nostalgic despite the dangers lurking there and the little time I had spent.

Among Mountain of Fog, the Black Temple, the Puppets Society, the Eastern Sea, and the natural places of the human nation, this place was the safest.

With a strong team protecting me, Jin, Killian, and Daristan, there was no need to be constantly on guard.

I looked at myself and recalled my previous memories. The pain of healing my body was more than I expected, and even the ambrosia didn't completely remove it.

But I endured it and made a promise to myself. After this inheritance war ends, I must take a long rest...

****

"That was difficult…" Diana panted as she looked at the blue sky. The pain she felt had completely broken her mind, and she no longer knew what to feel. Even the previously irresistible addiction now seemed trivial.

She stood up, and the aura around her took on a completely new form.

She wanted to look at her status screen, but something interrupted her. A strange insect appeared in front of her out of nowhere, with a disgusting and nauseating appearance.

Its appearance was enough to make madmen tremble in fear and disgust, but Diana had a different reaction. The insect's head was a mixture of ants and beetles, red in color. It had a long horn and small sensors.

Its body was a mix of mosquitoes and bees, with four small legs and a very large stinger at the end. Everything about it was ugly except its wings, which were like butterfly wings.

What was more astonishing about this insect were two facts:

First, its size was comparable to Diana's, a giant insect.

Second, it had pairs of giant sacred fruits growing on its antennae and horns.

The true form of the sacred fruits, an alien being created from a concept beyond the human scope.

'A superhuman being… I want to become like it,' these were Diana's thoughts as she approached it, her eyes filled with love for this creature.

It became clear now how much her mind had turned upside down.

***

A month had passed since that encounter, and many things had changed. Diana continued to consume that concentrated dose daily, which affected her in three ways:

First, her mind was completely and irreversibly broken due to the pain.

Second, her body reached the limits of humanity.

Third, she was no longer human.

After "bonding" with that insect closely, she found herself the mother of many strange creatures.

Her offspring, who were born from her womb in less than an hour, much faster than humans who need nine long months.

Initially, they were just insects like the original, but with each iteration, a change occurred.

Since a week ago, they started to grow more human-like. Two legs, two arms, and one face.

Their features still indicated they were insects, but it was only a matter of time before that changed. Some of them even developed the intelligence of a dog recently, capable of understanding simple commands at least.

"Kill him," Diana ordered one of her children to kill the other, which happened immediately. Clearly, these creatures had no emotions either.

They also started at rank B upon birth, and Diana could birth one of them every hour as long as she had the energy for it.

She could potentially increase the number if she overexerted herself.

And the last thing, each one of these creatures could produce an infinite amount of sacred fruits without dying.

"Destroying the Puppets Society… is a mere joke…" If this creature had emerged long ago, people would have needed to bring the armies of all five races before daring to do anything to them.

But the appearance of this insect – her mate – required several conditions.

First, to "bond" with it, one must be female, regardless of form.

Second, to endure "bonding" with it, one must have endurance at rank S at least. After Diana broke through to rank S- a month ago, she met the requirements and her mate appeared before her.

"Come…" she spoke softly, and within a moment, four insects at rank S- stood before her.

There wasn't a drop of mana in their bodies; they attained this rank by developing their physical capabilities alone.

Their stats were:

Strength: S-

Speed: S-

Endurance: S-

Intelligence: -

Senses: S-

Wisdom: -

No need to mention anything about charisma or luck…

Diana discovered an additional thing; her offspring could not exceed 50% of her "rank" strength (not total strength) no matter what. To achieve that, she would have to exhaust herself to give them the necessary talent.

The more she increased her offspring's talent, the longer she had to rest.

Therefore, rank B+ was the maximum her offspring could reach if she didn't exhaust herself. To birth these four rank S- insects, she had to lose 90% of her total strength for four days.

Her offspring could also reproduce, but the maximum strength for her grandchildren would be 50% of 50%, i.e., rank E. This limit could only be overcome by her offspring exhausting themselves just like she did.