[Psychokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 174 (Patreon)

After she was certain the guards didn’t know that an illusion had just washed over them, Astrid smirked, then erected a Mind Barrier over the door. The plan was simple–stop any noise from being emitted from the door opening.

She may be able to trick their eyes, but their ears were different. The only way she could do that was by utilising her Mind Barrier.

It covered the area behind and in front of the door, then she simply pushed it open. It was as she thought. Once the door was opened, she watched for the reactions of the guards–but they didn’t move. Not even a twitch or a suspicion that she had just entered the stairwell.

She then covered her team in her Mind Barrier and snuck up the stairs. They approached the guards face to face.

Brett looked like he was struggling internally, only for his inner thoughts to get the best of him. He took a step forward, right in front of the guard, and waved in front of his face.

Since the air was stuck inside the Mind Barrier, even if the guard was sensitive to the air’s movement–it was of no use.

They were about to move on, but the guards started to talk. All of them were wearing a cap, but the one in front of Brett was different. He was wearing a golden hairband that kept his long hair from falling down on his face. Unlike the other pirates, he was much younger than them. Just from the way he differed his style, it was clear he held some other rank.

Relative of Umair? Astrid made a guess.

Level 116 - ???

It was a surprisingly high Level for how young he was. He was no ordinary young man.

“Craig, how much longer do we need to be stationed here?” One guard with a moustache continued. “The sound of their groaning is going to haunt me in my dreams for a hell of a long time.”

The young man with the golden hairband leaned against the railing. “The pay is worth it, stop complaining. Besides, it won’t be for much longer. I hear my father and the king are going to be making a move soon.”

“A move on Re–”

Craig snapped his leg to the man’s chest as his face twisted into that of fury. “Keep your mouth shut and don’t forget your orders. If there’s one thing I despise, it’s incompetence.”

“Sorry.” The man cradled his chest, pain seethed through the gaps in his teeth.

Astrid frowned, then a thought crept into her mind. She used Mind Domain, sending the connection right into the man's mind.

The room was exactly the same, the only difference between the real world, and Astrid’s illusionary one was that she now looked identical to Craig.

Standing in the same spot, she thought about what his personality was like. Astrid took a breath as the others looked at her, or well, him.

“Well, it’s not like anyone can enter anyway.” Astrid leaned against the barrier. “But yes, we will be making a move. What do you think Kyle? To join them, or not?”

Kyle, still cradling his ribs, looked at Craig in confusion.

“Well?” Astrid turned her head and looked straight at him.

He looked around, making sure there was no-one around before saying, “Of course I want to join the force toward Rebirth. I don’t want to remain here a single second longer.”

Astrid nodded, then sunk her mind into Craig. Scouring his memories was so much easier than attempting it before. With her current strength upgrades, Craig’s mind was like a crystal ball. With a quick glance, she effortlessly made her way through the man’s history. Or more accurately, what is happening with the arc and the invading force they are preparing.

Images of people young and old being forced into the arc flashed into her mind in quick succession. A few moments later, she broke her Psych Domain, then flared her mana.

She latched onto all of their throats, then with a twitch of her mind, they snapped. Their bodies thudded to the floor as her team looked at her in shock.

“They are bad,” Astrid said, and without another word, she sauntered out the door.

The others looked at each-other before chasing after her.

Down the hallway and outside an enormous pair of doors, stood numerous guards.Eyes in the dozens snapped onto her like vigilant hawks. She counted fifteen before stopping. The number didn’t matter to her, only their crimes did.

Astrid connected to the mana container within her eye, then formed twenty or so bullets out of matter.

Seeing the prepared attack, the guards with shields shot forward, while the range users fired magic, or arrows. They tore through the air, obviously stronger than the typical adventurer. Of course she knew what they were protecting. If news got out what they were doing, the pirate king Umair would be hunted down to the other end of the world.

Astrid would make sure of it.

Their projectiles thrashed against her Mind Barrier, but they couldn’t even make a dent. Astrid responded in the next second. She shot the bullets forward and they pierced the air itself. A white trail was left behind in their wake as they reached the guards in the blink of an eye. They passed through their metallic shields and bodies so fast that the blood in their bodies hadn’t even seeped out yet.

Thanks to her extra range, they were also in eyeball pulling range. With a yank, she removed their eyes as brain, and bone, splattered against the walls like a modern painting.

Calum grimaced at the bloody sight. But he remained strong. He remembered why he was wanting to get stronger–for revenge. Without asking why, he stood by Astrid’s side, just like everyone else.

Just as she was about to continue onward, the doors swung open, and more guards exited. However, these ones were different. She could feel the strength radiate from their bodies. It wasn’t anything she was worried about, but if she could feel their power, then they were no ordinary people.

“The king’s elites–why are they here?” Daniel stepped forward.

“I don’t know why you are doing this, but you will go no further.” A man growled. He waltzed into the middle of the hallway, stomping over the dead bodies as if they were nothing but bugs.

The man had wild hair, and scars covered his face as if they were grotesque worms. They squirmed along with the muscles on his face. He was wearing a black tank top, and just like Brett, his arm was severed. Although not for long.

A red glaze covered his eyes and a pale blue arm emerged from his flesh. It clearly wasn’t a human arm. A long fin travelled from the wrist, up past the elbow, and continued past his shoulder. Long claws grew from the dirty fingernails. Strange liquid dripped from their points.

That must be Craig’s father–Ragan. Astrid recalled Craig’s memories.

“Corrupted.” Daniel turned serious as multiple lines flashed within his iris.

It wasn’t just Daniel. At his words, and the sight of the corrupted arm, everyone prepared themselves for a tough fight.

Astrid still had the image of Prince fresh in her mind. If it wasn’t for her Mind Domain, she didn’t know if she would have the confidence to beat him in a head-to-head brawl.

Level ??? - Ragan.

It was as she thought. There was no point in checking. She would find out if she could beat him on her own.

Once again, her blood boiled. It wasn’t the same feeling as when she faced Avemoth, but at least he would be a decent opponent. It wouldn’t be a quick death. It wasn’t what he deserved.

Astrid spawned a clone of herself. The more she created, the weaker they became. But with only one clone, it was even stronger than herself thanks to the eye of the Tree King.

“I’ll help you fight with the others, while my clone deals with the leader.” Astrid announced.

Daniel nodded. He was well aware that right now, Astrid was the strongest amongst them. It was her duty to take the brunt of their attacks. Thankfully, her clone helped them considerably.

“Monsters,” Ragan stretched out his arms as he addressed his team. “Descend.”

In his words, strange body parts grew from his team. Whether it was Spawn-like arms, monstrous tails that grew from the bottom of their spines, or their faces changed completely–they underwent a diabolical evolution. Each and everyone of them were Corrupted.

And it was clear that they didn’t have the same mental fortitude as Ragan did. The moment they descended into their corrupted form, they instantly lost their rationale. From a human, to something lesser. Or maybe to them–something more powerful.

They rushed forward in a mind altered fury.

Daniel took the lead alongside Astrid. It was difficult to use her attacks from behind her team in a corridor, so she simply created a sword of her own making, and charged for the corrupted.

However, Ragan wasn’t going to allow them to simply cut through his team. He shot forward, each booted step causing the floor to warp under his might. In only a matter of seconds, he had rampaged past his team, and swung his fist at Daniel.

As he did so, his corrupted arm grew. Like a balloon, it expanded to triple its regular size. Veins bulged like squirming snakes as the air tumbled from the incoming fist.

Because Daniel was next to Astrid, the fist struck her Mind Barrier. Two layers shattered under the might of the hit, and the third trembled.

Astrid witnessed the lines within Daniel’s eye to flash, just like she had seen many times before. He slashed his sword through her barrier, slicing past the weakness of its structure as if he could see it with his own eyes. It continued through, then cut into Ragan’s mutated arm.

The blade managed to reach a few centimetres into the flesh, but it wasn’t enough.

However, unluckily for Ragan–Astrid was not an onlooker.

Unlike Daniel, she thrust her sword forward. Explosions fractured the air behind her Psychokinetic blade and caused it to streak forward at an unnatural speed.

It struck at his suspended fist, and entered the bone.

Noticing the pain, he growled, and took a step back. But all that awaited him was a sudden explosion at his back. Astrid had [Crashed ] the air behind him, causing him to stumble forward.

It wasn’t something she could always use as her opponent had to be caught unaware for it, but as a surprise, it was enough. Her blade shot through the man's heart.

She was expecting him to fall to the floor. But there was no notification of her kill. The only change that occurred was his eyes. From a bloodshot red, to an all consuming scarlet.