Chương 85: Resentment

The dried corpse's face had already begun to recover a little fullness. It was likely the result of the life force it had absorbed from its victims. If it truly devoured enough vitality, perhaps it might really come back to life. Beneath the corpse lay a broken coffin. From the chaotic surroundings, this hollow was probably not the original tomb. The typhoon must have caused part of the mountain to collapse, dropping the sealed coffin down from above.

That was why Princess Anna had been able to struggle free of the seal. Biscuit looked at the corpse with a hint of pity. She had heard of Princess Anna's story as well. Anna was pitiful. But what stood here now was no longer human. It was only a mass of Resentment. After reaching this place, Biscuit could use Gyo to identify the core. Aura gathered in her eyes. The next second, she froze. If she was not mistaken, the shape of the gem was identical to the Great Sky Stone.

Because the conditions for forming a Great Sky Stone were extremely strict, every one of them had the same unique shape, a shape no ordinary craftsman could imitate. With Biscuit's sharp eyes as a Stone Hunter, she could tell at a glance that the black gem embedded in the corpse's chest had formed naturally in one piece. There was no trace of human carving. In other words, the black gem in the corpse's chest was very likely the Great Sky Stone. But the sky-clear color was gone.

The Great Sky Stone was not supposed to look like this. For a moment, Biscuit nearly broke down. She had come all this way, worked so hard, and accepted Aren's unfair bargain. And this was the result. The Great Sky Stone had been placed on Princess Anna's corpse. After being eroded by Anna's Resentment for hundreds of years, its original clear sky-blue color had turned into a blackness filled with hatred. It had also slowly become the vessel for Anna's Resentment.

"Ah!" The corpse stared at Biscuit with venomous eyes and released a shrill scream. Then the black vines extending from its body pulled out of the surrounding soil and shot toward her. Biscuit snapped out of it. Her expression steadied, and aura gathered around her body. Ken. Clang. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. When the black vines struck Biscuit, they made a sound like metal hitting metal.

"They feel weaker than the roots outside." Biscuit murmured after judging the strength of the attack. The vines had hit her body without causing even a hint of pain. In truth, most of the thing's power was concentrated in the roots outside. These black vines were not meant for direct attack. They were the medium it used to assimilate the mountain forest, like nerves in a human body. Their purpose was control and connection. Compared with the roots outside, their offensive power was almost negligible.

"Hey, Biscuit. What are you doing? Kill it already." Aren's impatient voice came from the entrance of the hollow. He was blocking the entrance, keeping the maddened roots outside.

"I know. Almost done." Biscuit answered him. Then she looked at the blackened Great Sky Stone with visible pain in her eyes. After taking a deep breath, her expression hardened. This Great Sky Stone was already ruined. Her only choice was to destroy it. Even if she brought it out, it would only become a disaster. Once Biscuit made her decision, she charged straight toward the corpse. The corpse's gaze grew even more hateful.

It screamed sharply and pulled every black vine free, making one last desperate struggle against Biscuit. Clang. Clang. Clang. The black vines struck Biscuit's body again and again. They failed to slow her down. When Biscuit reached the corpse, the hatred in its eyes suddenly turned pitiful. It seemed to be begging her not to remove it. Biscuit did not hesitate. Her fist, wrapped in thick aura, struck the black gem in the corpse's chest. Everything in the world had an opposite.

The more troublesome the black roots outside were, the more fragile the core was now. Biscuit did not even need Ko for this punch. It was only an ordinary Nen-covered straight punch. Chime. The collision between Nen and Resentment created a dazzling light, brightening the dark hollow. Crack. A fracture appeared on the surface of the pitch-black Great Sky Stone. Then the fracture spread across the entire gem. Screech. The dried corpse seemed to realize it could no longer reverse the outcome.

It raised its head and released one last defiant scream, as if cursing the unfairness of the world. Shatter. The black Great Sky Stone finally failed to withstand Biscuit's Nen and broke apart completely. As the stone shattered, Princess Anna's corpse and the black vines connected to it turned gray-white. Cracks spread through them. In the end, they collapsed into ash.

"Rest in peace." Biscuit looked at the ashes and sighed quietly. For all her physical strength, Biscuit still felt Anna's story hit her hard. Princess Anna's fate made her angry. If Frankfort's crown prince were standing before her now, Biscuit would have smashed his head into the ground.

"Yo, Biscuit. Done?" Aren leaned against the entrance at some point and looked at her with a teasing smile. When Anna's corpse withdrew the vines, the roots outside instantly lost power and returned to ordinary plant matter. Aren did not know what the Great Sky Stone looked like, but precious things were usually kept close to the corpse. If his guess was right, the black gem Biscuit had just destroyed was probably the Great Sky Stone. He glanced at her with obvious amusement.

"Master, who is this... auntie? Why is she wearing Bisky's clothes?" Because the scene of thousands of roots bursting from the ground had been too frightening, Neon had buried her face in Aren's arms and missed Biscuit's transformation. She looked at the muscular woman in confusion.

"Where did Bisky go?" Aren burst out laughing. If losing the Great Sky Stone had been irritating, Neon's innocent words stabbed Biscuit directly in the heart. She immediately returned to her small form, ran over, and kicked Aren in the shin.

"Enough. Stop laughing."

"Hahahahaha." Aren only laughed harder. Seeing Biscuit transform, Neon stared in open-mouthed shock.

"So Bisky can transform..."

"That's so cool..." After the Princess Anna incident was settled, Biscuit searched the hollow for other objects. Fortunately, she found several antique gem rings and necklaces. Compared with the Great Sky Stone, they were not worth mentioning. But at least she did not leave empty-handed.

"Enough. I already handled Princess Anna's tomb at Mount Helion. Send people to follow up afterward. That's it. I'm hanging up." Back in the motorhome, Biscuit hung up the Hunter Association call. As a veteran Hunter, she contacted the Association immediately after dealing with Princess Anna's Resentment and roughly explained the situation. But Biscuit was already irritated from failing to obtain the Great Sky Stone.

Faced with Beans asking one question after another, her temper finally snapped, and she hung up after barking a few lines.

"Biscuit," Aren said, eyes full of teasing, "you didn't get the Great Sky Stone, but our deal was only that I help you draw its attention. So don't forget. You still have to teach me Nen." He poked the sore spot directly. Others might fear Biscuit. Aren did not. If they fought seriously, he was confident he would not lose. A vein appeared on Biscuit's forehead again. She gave him a gloomy smile.

"Don't worry. How could I forget? I will teach you properly." Looking at her expression, Aren suddenly stopped laughing. He wanted to strengthen his basics, yes. But he was still afraid of pain and exhaustion. That laziness had followed him from his previous life into his soul. There was no cure.