Chapter 1103: Corrupted Ashcoil

A familiar opponent. But that was it.

As Alice dove through the portal and saw the malformed beast that awaited beyond the veil, her face immediately twisted in displeasure seeing the different energies intwined into one body.

The clashes, the fights. The way its vessel screamed out in pain as it distorted and mutated in order to hold itself together.

A sealed Lord, now freed, had been corrupted by both Eldritch energy and Nightmare energy.

None of the dignity that he held during their first meeting remained.

Even now, Alice could still remember the danger she felt at first contact. However...

This thing before her couldn’t even be called alive anymore.

Sections of its body would pulse, splatter and explode with disgusting wet explosions every few heartbeats.

Chunks of flesh would be thrown through the air and before they could even hit the ground, eyes and limbs would mutate and collapse within that lump.

*THUNK

Landing beside a dying beast that was unfortunately caught in an earlier attack, countless malformed fingers sprouted from the lump of flesh like a mushroom before hooking down, digging into the beast’s chest.

Tendrils of flesh lashed onto its body, one strand at a time before eventually swallowing the beast whole. Flesh melted, bones softened. Organs turned to black liquid that pooled beneath the beast before being swallowed.

Its screams of agony merging with the painful symphony that was the endless chorus of bestial cries from the depths of the Ashcoil’s body.

It laughed, it cried. It reared its head to show off its form before it melted, only to be reabsorbed by the corrupted beast.

Alice couldn’t tell whether it was beast or parasite by this point.

The Ashcoil roared. A head emerged from its shoulder before biting down on its own jugular. Another head split open its spine. A set of wolf jaws while enlarged serpent fangs breached its skin, biting down on his back.

Antlers broke through its ribs while a thousand eyes blinked into existence from its wounds.

"ARGHHHH!!!!" A cry of pain.

A mix of beast and man yet neither at the same time. Something that resonated with the soul. A sense of rejection and discomfort that came from deep within.

A sense that this ’thing’ should not exist.

This... discomfort.

’Hybrid?’ Alice’s eyes trembled as she realised that the Ashcoil must’ve been caught by the Zenia family.

Countless bestial features melted from its body before being gathered together once more. Flesh knitted itself together while bone dissolved into a pool of sludge. Tentacles burst out of that pool like a violent spray of water before wrapping around its body.

A constant shifting form paired with pained cries desperately seeking help.

She couldn’t be sure if it was trying to fight the elves around it or its own body.

Its form spiralled out of control like a hazy memory one couldn’t quite remember. The drug induced hallucinations of a madman trying to recall what was beast and what was man.

Reality refusing to let it anchor down a single form, thus resulting in this ever mutating mass of agony.

The howls of dozens, the cries of several. The bellow of dragons, the hissing of serpents. The shriek of birds and the guttural cries that echoed from the pits of its stomach.

Some begged, some cursed and some cried. All overlapping at once.

One thing was made abundantly clear however.

It was in pain.

Tears sizzled and disappeared before it could even roll down its cheeks. The land itself dying from its presence.

The trail of destruction and death it had left behind, the rapidly spreading mutations reaching far and wide.

A frown hung on Alice’s lips as she wasn’t even sure how far this had spread nor was she certain of how many victims had been dragged into this mess.

However, what must be done is certain.

"How confident are you with fighting this thing?" Solana asked seriously, omitting the grim talk she would usually mention.

"Fighting? I think I can kill this guy." Alice replied confidently.

It wasn’t false confidence or underestimation.

But rather, the first time they met she was hiding her identity. If not, the world would have one less Lord.

Even if he’s been mutated or tainted by Nightmare energy, these were things Alice had methods to counter.

Raising an eyebrow at her response, Solana glanced towards the destruction being caused.

While she too was rather... certain she could kill this thing. Handling the strange energy in its body was going to be a large concern. But if Alice was confident then she didn’t see why not.

"Let me know if you need any support. Careful about being infected or giving them ways to track you into the Realm. Remember, any fights near the World Tree could be disastrous. Just call my name if things get out of hand." Solana explained as Alice nodded her head.

Since she was going to be the main target, she had to ensure the others won’t follow after her.

"Helena dear, can you take care of all the stray piles of flesh? Make sure they don’t reach any of the others and isolate the beast. Leon, give her some support if you need but focus on tracking down anyone trying to breach the World Tree’s defences. Let me know if anyone is stalking the situation." Alice flicked her finger as both weapons hovered near her before floating away.

Helena flared her engines as crackles of energy appeared across her body.

Raising into the air, countless tiny fragments detached from her body. Then with a loud hiss, streaks of energy cut across the battlefield, severing and burning any tendrils extending from the body.

Then, without wasting a single moment, several fragments linked up and formed a cage that forced the beast to take a step back.

Shifting her heel, Alice flew low to the ground before pulling back with her body.

Fusing the glove in her hand with a few fragments from Helena, Alice created several energy threats that sizzled against the beast’s body as she pulled as hard as she could!

Veins bulged on her arm and neck as Alice narrowed her eyes.

"Climb Ruby! Fast as you can!"

*BANG!!!

Responding to Alice’s command, several compartments across Ruby’s body snapped open as Tiamat’s Sigil started to hungrily suck in ambient energy to fuel its ascent.

The Ashcoil dug its claws deep into the ground as several tendrils of flesh latched onto the ground in an attempt to hold on. It refused to let Alice drag it away after making so much progress!

However, its resistance was futile as Helena assigned several fragments to slash away at chunks of its body.

With its anchor now removed, the beast fell backwards as Alice began to drag the Ashcoil away from the World Tree’s entrance.

Realising that it was being dragged away, its jaws split into four as a spray of black sludge shot towards Alice.

Without any instructions, both Leon and Ruby burst into action as Ruby diverted her energy into creating a barrier to defend Alice while Leon fired a single shot that cut across the world in an instant. A flash of light that pierced the Ashcoil’s head, causing his attack to be diverted, making it easier for Ruby to defend against.

Seeing the kids work together so seamlessly, Alice felt a sense of pride in her heart.

Perhaps this was what Allura felt everything she saw her accomplish something unbelievable.

Regardless, if her children were working so hard, how could she be slacking off?

Absolutely not!

"I’ll attach Helena’s fragments onto you momentarily. Keep restraining the beast or get Helena to help you okay?"

Ruby ’nodded’ by tilting her trusters back and forth as Alice gave her a pat on the head.

Attacking Helena’s fragments, Alice released the lock on her feet and spun around before diving down head first.

Feeling the wind whip against her hair, Alice curved her lips up into a grin as the Ashcoil activated his authority as several bestial heads appeared across its back.

Energy gathered as Alice’s eye shifted.

First Resonance!

Twisting her body, a spiral of blood expanded as countless spider lilies fell from the sky.

Since the Ashcoil was dragged away from the others, Alice wasn’t afraid of the consequences of what she was about to do.

She brought her fingers together and snapped.

*BANG!!!

All of the spider lilies burst into an array of violet flames as a spiralling cage landed atop the beast.

The Abyssal energy gathering in its mouth was extinguished!

With its counter attack foiled, the Ashcoil’s eyes turned bloodshot from rage.

Both Eldritch and Nightmare energy bubbled beneath its flesh but Alice simply laughed.

She was already familiar with both and how to counter them!

*CLANG!!!

Golden chains whipped out, latching around the Ashcoil’s neck as the flow of Eldritch energy was immediately restricted.

As for Nightmare, Alice had a different method.

"Leon dear!" Alice shouted, landing on the ground.

She pulled the golden chain back as a blue ring appeared around her left eye.

"Target locked. Nightmare Tether located. Fire!" Alice shouted as a torrent of energy slammed into the back of the Ashcoil.

"ARGHHH!!!"

The howl of countless voices echoed out as the flesh across its body bubbled and coiled.

Bone and organs was exposed as the beast wanted to crawl away but found itself unable to do so.

Helena cut off its paths of retreat. Ruby restricted its body. Golden chains and Violet Fire cut off the flow of energy while Leon severed its connection to the Nightmare.

The Ashcoil had been completely isolated from all sources of its power.

Defenceless and unable to supply its body with energy, the beast started to melt under the pressure of its own power.

However, to make sure that things are dealt with properly, Alice narrowed her eyes and took aim with her finger.

The Abyssal relics resonated as Cayla’s power was boosted to the limit.

Filtering through the countless strands of energy, she located its core.

"Target core located. Physical and Soul attack arrangement. Make sure nothing is left and clean up the corruption."

Since all three weapons are linked to her, whatever she wanted to cast, they’ll assist!

Exhaling softly, Alice activated her Sigils one after another.

Above the beast, all three weapons formed a circle as energy converged to form a single ring.

"All safety off. Fire." Alice ordered.

A pillar of energy connected heaven and earth as the Ashcoil was drowned in the light.