Chapter 48

The gemstone solution, imbued with magic, was poured generously onto the ground. Under special techniques, the faintly glowing gemstone solution flowed along a certain trajectory, forming a large magic circle with a radius of several dozen meters. Xunxin stood in the center of the magic circle. Seeing that the magic circle was complete, Xunxin closed his eyes, and a magical aura began to emanate from his body. The magic circle beneath him emitted a dazzling light. Although it looked like a formidable and mysterious magic circle, in fact, it was just a large-scale search magic circle. However, due to Xunxin's extravagant use of materials, its effectiveness became extremely terrifying. As Xunxin put it, "I can even distinguish the gender of an ant five meters underground with this precision." If Tokiomi saw Xunxin waste hundreds of kilograms of gemstone solution, he would probably kneel in despair.

The magical energy in the magic circle surged sharply, but Xunxin still frowned. The hidden ability of the Consciousness Annihilation Body was truly astonishing. No matter how Xunxin scanned, he could not detect any fluctuations of the Consciousness Annihilation Body near the town. According to the Infinite Heart, the Consciousness Annihilation Body has an extremely strong desire to destroy Infinite Heart contractors like Xunxin. Once it detects an Infinite Heart contractor, it will lurk around them, waiting to devour the world's information and then manifest to eliminate the contractor. On the other hand, the Consciousness Annihilation Body cannot manifest its 'nothingness' without eliminating the current world's Infinite Heart contractor. This means the Consciousness Annihilation Body would not be too far from Xunxin. Another failed search left Xunxin somewhat anxious. Magical energy surged again, and the magic circle emitted an unprecedented magical aura. The overworked magic circle finally took effect. In just a few seconds, Xunxin finally sensed the location of the Consciousness Annihilation Body, deep in the sea, near the town's only port. Immediately after, the magic circle exploded due to the excessive magical energy Xunxin poured into it, even though a large amount of gemstone solution could not withstand it, sending Xunxin flying out of his basement in the suburbs.

"Ah, cough, cough, cough, fortunately, I put on my windcoat and activated the defensive spell at full power, otherwise, such an explosion would have left me either dead or severely injured," Xunxin kicked away the beam that had fallen on him and climbed out of the rubble. Extending his hands, he retrieved two katana from the spatial passage connected to Tengen Tofu Shop. A spatial passage large enough to accommodate a person appeared in front of him, and only a faint blue afterimage remained in the air.

At the town's port, a fierce battle was taking place. The shockwaves from the weapons' clashes tore apart the surrounding debris and blew them away.

The Cannibalistic Conditioning Method, with a triangular spearhead at the front, had two large hammers at the end of the spearhead. It was first discovered in 1900 in the home of a serial killer in the United States. The police found it, and the killer used it as a tool for human conditioning. It changed hands many times and possessed the ability to cut through human bodies. What was originally a single attack became dozens of attacks, even suppressing Fia and forcing her to retreat. Meanwhile, Yachihara Shizuki, who was being held hostage, finally managed to escape by rubbing his hands until they were slick with blood, freeing himself from the ropes. He then brought Kuroe, who was bound by the Beautiful Self-Harm Mirror, to Fia and This Leaf.

"Next is a group battle. Well, well, it's fine. The Beautiful Self-Harm Mirror is a cursed tool that transcends reality. It has three main abilities. The first is a basic ability to make the owner very beautiful. This is something all women in the world dream of, but I don't particularly like it, sorry. The second ability is 'The Inverted World in the Mirror'—I've already used it on Kuroe-sama. The third and most powerful ability is about to be demonstrated." Alice held the mirror with one hand and whispered to it.

"The Double Image in the Mirror."

Instantly, another Alice appeared beside her. If it were just two people, Shizuki's side still had four combatants. However, the Beautiful Self-Harm Mirror could replicate multiple selves, not just people but even cursed tools. Although the duration was only ten minutes, and replicating over twenty Alices seemed to be the limit of the Beautiful Self-Harm Mirror, Alice used the most repulsive thing to the two cursed tools currently being unsealed—flesh oozing blood and internal organs. Even though they were fake, the bodies left behind after being attacked felt no different from real flesh. This Leaf and Fia almost instantly lost their combat ability, and Tsubaki, who was supporting them, tried to break the Beautiful Self-Harm Mirror with 'Kurokawa Reika,' but Alice's Cannibalistic Conditioning Method was not easily penetrable. Tsubaki was instead pulled by Alice's clone. Seeing the two cursed tools on Tsubaki, Alice, with genuine joy, used the Cannibalistic Conditioning Method to slice open Tsubaki's abdomen before the cursed tools could repair, reaching into the wound and stirring Tsubaki's internal organs. Tsubaki struggled in pain, and if she were a normal person, she would have died from such injuries. However, with the curse of the cursed tools, Tsubaki would not die from external injuries, meaning she would not die no matter how much she suffered. Tsubaki's eyes slightly opened, and saliva dripped from her mouth. Shizuki, who tried to help, was also sent flying by Alice with a casual move.

As the protagonist, Shizuki's luck was indeed good. Just as Shizuki was about to despair, several flashes of light cut through the air around Tsubaki, and the Alice clones restraining her were torn apart and disappeared in a white light.

"How could this be? The clones of the Beautiful Self-Harm Mirror were forcibly dispelled."

"Actually, I didn't expect the dispelling spell to work on the clones created by a cursed tool. I just tried it, and it worked."

Xunxin's figure appeared in the spatial ripple, various auxiliary spells shining on his body, and the overwhelming pressure made Alice retreat. The Cannibalistic Conditioning Method in her hand even began to creak under Xunxin's aura.

"Uncle Xunxin!" *5

"I didn't come here to deal with you, but since I encountered you, I might as well use you as an appetizer before the main course."

Xunxin didn't even draw his sword, walking towards Alice with his hands empty.

"Attack, 'us'." Several Alice clones activated the Cannibalistic Conditioning Method, and hundreds of small energy blades from all directions sealed off Xunxin's escape routes. The energy blades, which had once cut through thousands of lives, met their match this time. Dozens of layers of magical shields, elemental barriers, and holy light shields were compressed into a protective layer less than one centimeter thick under the spatial compression, but their defensive capabilities remained intact. The energy blades seemed to create cracks on the shield, but they couldn't even break through the third layer.

Xunxin glanced at Shizuki and the others, then turned his gaze to the Beautiful Self-Harm Mirror.

"Is that cursed tool the cause of this situation... It's indeed a good cursed tool, but..."

A short sword flying at three times the speed of sound pierced through the Beautiful Self-Harm Mirror in Alice's hand, shattering the mirror and causing it to fall and be completely destroyed. The moment the Beautiful Self-Harm Mirror was shattered, Kuroe regained her ability to move. The other clones were tightly bound by Kuroe's hair, unable to use the Cannibalistic Conditioning Method, thus losing their destructive power. The original Alice made a final struggle against Xunxin.

"Why, why can a mere human have abilities that surpass cursed tools?" Alice struck Xunxin repeatedly, but Xunxin didn't even move a step, blocking all of Alice's attacks with the protective magic on his windcoat.

"Humans, though fragile and foolish, are constantly evolving because of their weakness. Cursed tools, magic, qi, superpowers, countless abilities have been discovered by humans. The power of technology has given humans the ability to surpass cursed tools. If we are talking about transcenders as your family council does, then humans are the true transcenders."

Xunxin raised his hand, and dozens of fireballs, trailing purple flames, were launched at Alice. For a moment, explosions, screams, and the sound of metal breaking filled the air.

"Such a state should have left you unable to continue fighting. Surrender, Miss Alice." Alice, emerging from the smoke, was covered in burns, and the Cannibalistic Conditioning Method in her hand was destroyed by Xunxin's attack, but she did not panic, slowly retreating. Fia, seeing Alice about to reach the edge of the embankment, quickly warned her.

"If humans are transcenders, why did no one come to save me back then?" Alice threw out this question and jumped off the embankment.

"Wait, this is..."

Xunxin's eyes caught a fast-moving speedboat, and a well-dressed gentleman on it caught Alice as she fell from the air.

"Ah, dear, dear, Aabis. My beloved father. Indeed, the Cannibalistic Conditioning Method can't replace you. The feeling is so different."

"Ah, dear, dear, Alice. My beloved mother. Of course. Being away from you for a while and having someone else carry a different cross made me a bit jealous."

Aabis, the father of the family council, whose true form is a cross, has a curse that prevents the holder from feeling guilt, which is why Alice can kill with a smile without any remorse. However, this was no longer important to Xunxin. A familiar sensation was rapidly rising from beneath the sea. Even as Aabis and Alice were expressing their love for each other, it could not stop Xunxin's killing intent.

"I can't let that thing devour Aabis, so..."

Xunxin gathered all his magical energy, and a crimson beam with a radius of over fifty meters shot out from the magic circle in his hand, vaporizing everything in its path and heading towards the yacht where Aabis was.

"Turn to ashes, Aabis. Roar!"

Xunxin pushed his magical energy output to the limit. If Aabis were hit, even with the body of a cursed tool, the immense momentum and heat would reduce him to ashes in a second. Unfortunately, Xunxin was a step too late. Eight black tentacles extended from beneath the yacht, enveloping the entire yacht. The black mud became extremely hard and smooth, deflecting the magic beam and causing it to fall into the sea, creating a large amount of steam that obscured the view. The sense of nothingness and danger from the fog grew stronger...

PS: Reviews, recommendations, and collections are appreciated.

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