Chương 355: Chapter 348 - The Calm Before the Storm

Under the pull of their waves, the massive doors groaned open, grinding against ice and the heavy stones that had half-buried them. Alonso flinched as the stench hit first—rot, blood, and something far fouler. Then his eyes lifted… and he froze.

"This…" The words slipped out before he could stop them. It was huge—an obscene monument of flesh and ruin. The thing looked grown, not built, rising from the earth like a tumour feeding on the dead. Countless corpses were fused into its surface—Beastmen, Ajnal, and Azcoyatl alike—melded together in a grotesque spiral of bone and muscle. Rib cages curved outward like roots clawing through the ground, while faces stretched from the walls in silent screams, half-formed, half-swallowed.

The entire mass pulsed faintly with a sickly crimson glow, red and purple veins running beneath the skin-like surface, feeding toward its centre. And there, embedded within that heaving amalgamation of flesh, stood a cocoon-like structure—two meters tall, slick, and alive. It pulsed rhythmically, like the heart of some slumbering beast, each beat shaking the air around them. As they stared, glowing numbers flickered into existence above it, their cold digital light jarring against the grotesque scene.

97: 45: 13 The digits ticked down in silence, clear in their meaning.

"So we made it with more than four days left," Lukas said, hands tucked into his coat pockets.

"Not bad." His gaze wandered, and then he smiled—spotting what he'd been searching for. A staircase. Pristine white, fading into light halfway up, the end invisible.

"It took a while, but here we are—once more at the finish line." Alonso nodded. This stage had felt like forever—over three months in this world. From fighting dinosaurs, to his time with the Ajnal scouts, to the days trapped in the underground Xayen lab, then the beastmen, the reunion, his time as an Ajnal General, and finally the battle with the Overseer—everything had led here. So much had changed, and yet, at the end… just one more set of stairs.

"Well… what now?" Ayu muttered, eyes narrowing at the cocoon.

"Can we blast that thing first before going up?" It wasn't really a question. Her gaze lingered with restrained fury on the beastmen's twisted faces melded into the mass, their expressions frozen in agony. Her gut burned. Such rotting evil. Lukas stayed quiet for a moment before answering.

"I believe the timer's there for a reason. If we could destroy it just like that, The Tower wouldn't have bothered to show us the countdown."

"So what—an optional boss? Timed event?" Alonso asked.

"In gamer terms… yes," Lukas said with a grin, stepping closer.

"There's a barrier around it—resisting our EM scans—but I've got a hunch…" He reached out, pressing his palm to the air just before the cocoon. The field flickered—then the countdown surged, the numbers spinning rapidly, minutes vanishing faster than seconds. Lukas pulled his hand back, and the timer slowed to its normal pace.

"Well, I won't say I expected that," he laughed lightly.

"But it seems The Tower's giving us a choice. We can start the challenge whenever we're ready."

"So the seven-tail's the final optional boss… like the two-tail from the last stage?" Wang asked.

"All signs point that way," Lukas replied, smiling faintly.

"And honestly—it only feels right for this stage to end with the number seven." Alonso focused on the cocoon made of flesh, its pulsing like a heart unsettling to watch. Though his waves could not penetrate the barrier, wind and heat did—and he could feel something beyond it… something with a will of its own. He was aware, as were the others, of how strong that seven-tail should be. But he also knew how strong they had become—and how valuable the rewards from slaying such a creature could be.

"Well, then… I guess we've got one more fight left," he said calmly. Lukas glanced at Chiara from the corner of his eye, and after seeing her expression, he turned back to the timer and the creature.

"I believe we do."

"Since we have time… I'd like to ask that we delay the fight. I have something I need to finish first," Imani said, his deep voice steady as ever. Lukas nodded.

"Of course. No rush. Finish what you have to do—same for everyone. This will be our greatest fight yet, so let's prepare accordingly." Each of them moved off, most heading outside toward the giant mecha and the nearby vehicles where their workstations were set up, including Imani's forge. But Alonso stayed where he was, his eyes fixed on the cocoon—drawn to it somehow. Was it the challenge… or something else? That feeling wasn't fear. It was closer to—"Fascinated with the specimen?"

came a familiar voice beside him. She stood next to him, her gaze forward as well.

"In a certain way, yes," he admitted, then glanced at her.

"Nice dress, by the way. Looks great on you." Chiara smiled.

"Well, thanks. However, if we're talking about looking great," she threw him a knowing look, "aren't you the lucky man, Alonso?" Alonso chuckled.

"Indeed I am. Though, to be clear, I was even before the change."

"Absolutely," she said with a small laugh.

"Still," she sighed in mock defeat, "I could've really used one of those DNA enhancements myself. What a shame the Azcoyatl didn't have one. Quite unfair, to be honest. But well, I'm truly glad for Ayu. Her path has grown tremendously under that mysterious Makoh." Alonso nodded.

"Well," she continued, "let's get straight to the point that brought me here. Not that I hate a bit of small talk with you, but preparations come first."

"I see… so, that point is?"

"Not to bring old wounds back, but do you remember our first encounter in the Oasis?"

"That time you beat the crap out of me? Yeah, how could I forget," Alonso said, genuinely surprised Chiara had brought that up.

"At that time, I affected your senses using my EM waves—something similar to what we had to do back in the early white rooms. Every brain feedback is neuron-based, which means it relies on EM transmissions. If you can alter the input, you can hijack a person's—or a creature's—perception of reality. Sight is perhaps the easiest, but it can be pushed further: sound, smell, pain, even EM perception." Alonso frowned. Yeah… that sounded scary. But what was she—oh.

"I guess you're bringing up that skill you used against the Overseers? Cognitive Mirage, wasn't it?"

"Precisely. But that is only one approach—one I developed. I can assume there are other variations out there that work under similar principles."

"And the fact you're bringing this up now… do you think the seven-tail could have such means?"

"Could? Yes. It's a natural method for those who follow the Pillar Path to counter those on the Body Path, for example. It feels like a logical progression moving forward. So even if the seven-tail doesn't, I'm certain entities in higher stages will." Alonso narrowed his eyes. Perception alteration. He could see how such a method could be the bane of those who focused on the Body Path, their EM defences weaker.

Still, his own defences against such interference were solid—he was no longer the naïve fighter he'd been back then.

"Alright, so I take it you want to teach me how to defend against it?" The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Yes." Alonso smiled.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. We're a team," she said, her tone calm but focused.

"So, first, I'll try to use my skill on you—to affect your perception. I want you to try and defend against it."" Finally! I've been waiting for this moment my whole damn life!" Alonso heard the familiar voice echo in his head." Houston…?"" Sit back and chill. Don't resist it. Let us handle this one," came the reply, far too smug for his liking. Alonso frowned. Us? As in Darius too? What the hell were those two cooking in there?

Now that he thought about it, Houston did have that old anti-Chiara protocol from when they'd had their 'little' feud… looked like it still hadn't fully faded. Still—he'd involved Darius too? Yeah, that didn't sound good.

"So?" Chiara asked, catching his distant look.

"Ehm, well… sure," he said finally, forcing a faint smile.

"Let's give it a shot." Alonso closed his eyes, but he didn't build any EM interference barrier, nor did he use Path of Shards. He just… waited, trying to focus on what exactly Hou—"Ah!" He opened his eyes at the sharp sound and saw Chiara covering her face with her hand. What the… He stepped forward to help her.

"Are you okay?" And inside: " Houston, what the hell did you do!?"" HAHAHA… it worked! I'm a genius." Alonso frowned. What just happened?

"Chiara…" She slowly raised her head, and he saw blood trickling down her nose.

"It's okay, I'm fine, just… wow." Her eyes widened as she looked at him in disbelief.

"That was…" she paused, searching for the word.

"Yeah, well… you absolutely don't need to worry about this, then. I don't know what you did, but that was the most ruthless firewall system I've ever seen." She smiled faintly.

"Could've warned me, though. Not very gentlemanly of you." I… what…" Houston?"" Heh, she just said it herself, didn't she? I'm keeping you safe, m'boy!" Alonso shook his head. Chiara frowned, noticing his confusion.

"If you don't mind me asking, that backlash pulse—it felt like… like a sword strike that used my own signal route to hit me back. That… wasn't you, right?" Huh?

"Is it related to your Awakening?" she asked. Alonso sighed. Pretty obvious when that smug bastard doesn't coordinate with me… whatever.

"Yes. It is," he admitted.

"Well, that's good. One less thing to worry about," Chiara said as she took a handkerchief and wiped the blood away.

"I guess I'm lucky you're on our side."

"Oh, here you are." Alonso turned to see Lukas approaching.

"Didn't know you two were the type to enjoy the local aroma." Alonso chuckled.

"Not that it's much better outside."

"True enough. I've got Mecas handling the clean-up and orb collection. The Wardens don't give much SP now, but a hundred or so should still give a decent boost, so might as well make use of it." He gestured casually, then paused as he noticed Chiara's face.

"You okay?" Chiara nodded.

"Yeah, just running some tests with Alonso." Lukas's brow lifted slightly as his gaze flicked to the faint smear of blood on her nose, but he didn't press.

"Alright. Take a breather. We've got time—and Imani was looking for you, by the way."

"Imani? I'll see what he wants. I'll leave you two to it," she said with a light smile before dissolving into the shimmer of the Dark Stars and vanishing. Once she was gone, Lukas turned back to Alonso.

"Right. Quick one—I wanted to check my link with you now."

"Sure."

"Okay, so heads up," Lukas said, voice slipping into that relaxed, confident rhythm he had when explaining something complex.

"You know how my link can enhance one of three things—Pillar, Body, or Healing rate? Well, it never made much sense for someone like you, who's already fused Body and Pillar, to be limited by individual boosts. Running two at once would eat up two out of my three available link slots, which would leave only one for Chiara or Ayu—and that'd cut our team's efficiency by more than a bit." He smirked slightly.

"So, I've been working on a new variant—one that can directly enhance your Fusion State."

"Oh… damn, that would work wonders," Alonso said, nodding, genuinely impressed. If there was one thing that gave him confidence going into this final fight, it was Lukas' support. If he could link with Ayu, Chiara, and him at once… that would be incredible.

"Well, you lot have been busy coming up with fancy tricks and skills lately. I had to keep up somehow," Lukas said with a half-grin.

"Alright, I'll start the link now. Just move naturally—run drills, swing your blades, whatever feels right." Alonso nodded. Might as well. He unsheathed his swords, and in the next instant his form blurred. The air cracked with pressure. Path of Shards. Then he felt it. A connection—not quite in his body, not entirely in his Pillar, but threading through both. It crawled along his inner channels like roots anchoring into the pathways that bridged mind and flesh. And then— It hit. A rush.

Like caffeine slamming into his system. He felt alive. Stronger. Sharper. The world around him crystal clear. It wasn't quite like advancing a State, but it brushed close—close enough to show just how potent the enhancement was. And it was only one link. A grin spread across his face as he slashed through the air. The pressure of his movements sent ripples across the field. His body hummed—microcapacitors firing, EM flow surging like constellations reignited after centuries of dark.

The cavern itself seemed lighter, as though the world's resistance had eased just for him. He slowed, finally coming to a stop, breathing steady.

"Well… it sure works," he said, smiling.

"Great," Lukas replied, a bit of sweat beading on his temple. Alonso caught it.

"Drawbacks?" Lukas exhaled.

"If I link all three of you, I can hold it for a few seconds—no more. But that should be long enough to end the fight, right?" Alonso studied him, reading what Lukas didn't say. He knew those few seconds would burn him out completely. But still… they were all pushing themselves past the limit now.

"Yes," Alonso said quietly.

"We'll make it count."

Alonso stood before the new pair of swords, their black finish absorbing the dim light around them like liquid shadow. Each weapon was modelled after his familiar dual Miaodao, but these… these were in another league. He picked one up. The weight pulled against his arm immediately—heavier than before, the centre of gravity slightly forward, the balance tuned for speed and momentum.

When he tilted the edge against the light, it revealed an impossibly fine silver line running the length of the blade, like moonlight trapped in obsidian. He swung once, feeling the air split cleanly around it. The vibration carried down his arm—dense, powerful, and yet eerily smooth. The edge sang with potential.

"Sharper, heavier, and a damn lot more conductive," he murmured, rotating the sword to study its form. The alloy shimmered faintly, responding to his EM field with soft pulses of reflected starlight. He could almost feel it breathing back. He picked up the second one and crossed them together. The faintest spark flared where the blades met—contained, controlled. A grin crossed his face.

"Excellent work," he said, turning toward Imani.

"Really appreciate it." The towering man nodded, a faint smile flickering across his lips.

"It's mostly Warden-grade alloy, refined through Xayen methods—but I added a touch of Dark Stars from Chiara's reserves to boost conductivity." Alonso's gaze shifted toward Chiara standing in the back. She met his eyes and blinked once, a small pulse of energy flickering between them." You're welcome." He looked back at the blades. They were an upgrade in every possible way. He swung once, twice, feeling his body instantly adjust, his Understanding of Self aligning every motion, every angle.

The swords no longer felt new, they felt like an extension of himself. He took a slow breath and lifted his head. 42: 45: 13 Still some time left. But the air had already changed. He turned and met the eyes of his companions. Ayu stood ahead, shoulders squared, fire in her stance.

Imani loomed like an iron fortress, armour gleaming beneath the dim light. Wang adjusted his freshly tuned mech suit, the circuits humming in readiness. Mei waited behind them, silent and focused. And Lukas and Chiara stood side by side, the field around them pulsing with faint starlight from the Dark Stars that orbited in slow, deliberate motion. Outside, the rest of the team stood on standby—the traps set, Mecas deployed, the giant serpent construct hovering like a god forged of metal.

Snipers aligned their sights across the fractured horizon. Everything was ready. This was it. The end of the stage. The final battle. Alonso stepped forward, his boots crushing grit beneath them, and stopped beside Ayu. They shared a look—half grin, half understanding. Then, without a word, they stepped forward, crossing the barrier as the numbers began to spin down rapidly.