[Pyschokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 184 (Patreon)

Disintegration has reached the requirements for [ Stage 2 ]
| Evolving Disintegration to [ Stage 2 ]
| Disintegration [ Stage 2 ] - Viral Annihilation: From breaking down dead matter, and destroying corrupted cells, your control in the skill has reached a new stage. You can now cure certain diseases that are within your realm of understanding.

Cure diseases? Astrid thought in wonder. Did that mean she could rid the corruption in its entirety? Astrid stood rooted to the spot. If she had received it earlier, then instead of killing hundreds of corrupted; she might have been able to save them instead.

But she shook her head. There was no way of knowing that it was possible beforehand, but still–it stung.

More screams were aimed directly at her, but now she no longer had her crazed sense of battle. Instead, the thought of curing them all entered her mind. She couldn’t change her previous actions, but she could try and help the rest.

With the fresh plan, Astrid hoisted the corrupted in the air, but another group followed closely behind. They charged straight for her, attempting to rip her into pieces. But like a mother cat picking up their litter, Astrid pulled them all up just the same.

She could feel a tough strain on her mind, but it wasn’t something she couldn’t handle. Even twenty of the lower Levelled corrupted were lighter than the explosion tyrant she had faced just moments ago.

Thankfully after the second, the screams in the distance became ever more distant. She didn’t know if they somehow knew she would annihilate them, or if there was a new target altogether, but no more were approaching her in a maddened frenzy. However, one thing was certain–the number of them had lessened considerably. No longer could she see an ocean of red hearts approaching.

Finally earning a few moments of peace, Astrid decided to try out her new Skill. After all, she couldn’t forgive herself if she wantonly killed them knowing she had a chance at curing them.

Just like with the other, lesser corrupted in the fake arc back on Mount Hullbeck, she sunk her mind into a young woman’s body at a microscopic level, and scoured it.

Her eyes widened at the corruption. The spots were so large and thick that she almost mistook them as boils raised on their flesh. They were countless times larger than the infected back on the arc, and a lot of them had seeped into their muscle fibres. It was going to take a lot of work, but thanks to Viral Annihilation the knowledge of how to accomplish it was far clearer than before.

She assaulted the spots of corruption, but it was a lot more difficult than the previous time. She attempted to clear the corruption like how she had done before, however, it proved to be impossible. Whenever she cleared a spot, the disease would just reverse what she did.

Astrid floated, suspended in air in thought. It lasted only a moment before her new skill showed her the way. Since she couldn’t defeat it on the surface, the only thing she could do was annihilate it at the source. The brain. Their bodies would still have the corruption, but at least they will have their minds. Besides, maybe she could work on the disease ridden flesh once she had rid the main culprit.

With her mind made up, she headed straight for the brain. It was a lot easier to find it this time, mainly because of its size. Like the corruption spots under the flesh, it was huge, but more than that, it felt alive. It pulsated. It squirmed. It looked straight at her.

Heartbeat rising, Astrid could feel the… thing react. The body thrashed, but since it was suspended in the air, it was a pointless attempt to break free. But Astrid knew it wasn’t trying to. No, it was wanting to kill the host. As if Astrid peering at it was worse than death itself.

Feeling like the thing was about to do something irreversible, Astrid immediately set out to work. She cornered the wriggling mass of disease, and instead of having to experiment with it, she simply used Viral Annihilation instead. In a storm of liquid mana, it encased the living organism, and then a terrifying energy that she was well familiar with, threatened to devour it.

It was the power of the void.

Even the strange organism seemed to understand what the power was. Or maybe it didn’t, but the fact was–it was terrified. Its energy grew, and a mist of putrid green swarmed out from its core, but Astrid’s power of the void had already made its move. And it was unstoppable.

Her skill engulfed the mist and destroyed each particle that made up its existence before encapsulating the lifeform. In a mere moment, it erased the existence of the corrupted mass.

It took a few moments, but Astrid could see that the young woman’s brain waves returned to normal function. Well, it was slowed. But it should return to normal capacity after a period of rest–she hoped.

Thankfully, her eyes fluttered open as a groan left her mouth. She looked around in horror at the corrupted around her, and let out a harrowed scream filled with terror. Goddess only knows what she had suffered, or had committed under the control of the disease. The young woman gazed down at her hands as thick tears fell down onto her mottled flesh. Then her vision settled on the floating Astrid.

“You–did you… cure me?” She asked with hope and trepidation. She still looked at her surroundings, as if making sure it wasn’t a dream.

“I erased where the corruption took hold of your brain,” Astrid continued. “When it comes to the mind, I seem to be able to clear it a lot easier than the rest of your skin.”

The young woman rolled up her sleeve and gazed at the scaly flesh in loss. Her eyes hazed over, as if stuck in thought, before looking at her once more, and said, “But you can get rid of it all?”

“With enough time, and with the core gone, yeah, I will.” Astrid said, however, the girl’s next words caused her to almost take a step back in surprise.

She looked at her arms, and flexed them, then shook her head, and said, “Then I don’t want you to do it.”

“Huh?” Astrid asked with a frown.

“This power… This strength. If I had this before the corruption started, I would have been able to fight against it.”

“I’ve only learnt how to cure it,” Astrid continued. “Hell, I don’t even know if it will come back worse. You may completely fall to the curse.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” She said. “Now I can fight stronger monsters, gain more levels. So I can protect my family.” She bit her lip and continued, “If they are still alive, that is.”

Astrid sighed. Of course. For her family, she would most likely chase every avenue there was to power. Well, she was already doing exactly that.

“It’s your choice. If it does get worse, it would be of your own doing.” Astrid left it at that and got to work ridding everyone’s corruption from their brains.

It didn’t take too long; only around fifteen minutes or so. Then she was left with a huge group of muddle headed individuals that all looked like they had merged with some sort of fish. Of course, they still looked human, and only had certain parts, and small patches of scales to match. Parts like tails, pincer hands, horns, or webbed feet. However, what they all had in common was power.

The vast majority of them were of the same mind of the young woman who Astrid found out her name was Veronica from the other survivors. They wanted to keep their new strength. Astrid thought it was insane, but they had clearly made up their mind, so all she could do was turn a blind eye.

“Right now we have a detachment of my team heading towards the shopping district.” Astrid nudged her head in the direction, but they were well aware as to where it was located. “I’ll take you there, and hopefully we can find others on the way. I need to stop them from killing.”

With her words, she immediately set off toward her destination. The others managed to keep up with her surprisingly well. Although she was going slow on purpose in fear of losing them.

Thirty minutes later, and over fifty people now following her like a train, the shopping district appeared in view. Unlike the previous area, the buildings were still mostly whole. Of course, there were holes smashed into the walls, and even some had crumbled completely, but it told her there wasn’t another one of those explosion tyrants ahead.

It seemed the survivors had erected huge walls with the help of earth mages, but it was being bombarded by an assault of corrupted. All were levelled around the mid hundred mark, but she could feel numerous powerful entities within. As if they were biding their time. They were most likely just as strong as the tyrant, if not even more powerful.

She shot forward as the fighting had become intense. People were dying by the second, and Astrid could stop it.

***

Captain Malone had been fighting on the wall for weeks now. Everyone to the left and right of him were utterly exhausted. They had spent all their energy to fight, but when they glanced over their shoulder, they summoned what was left burning inside them to continue the defence.

Daughters, sons, elderly. They were all residing within the shopping district.

Thankfully a few familiar faces showed up to save them from their dire predicament. Daniel and his team were faces he had seen quite a few times. Not only that, he remembered their parents–the Severing Paths. A tremendous adventuring force that had vanished off the face of the earth.

Malone grit his teeth, and summoned a blade made of concentrated, vibrating water. It split a leaping corrupted in half before he focused on any others that could jump.

However, it was the young woman standing in battle-maid outfit that caused his heart to stir. Were the Sinwens back? But that shouldn’t be the case. If they were, Lord Sinwen would have decimated them all by now. No, she was clearly the maid of the youngest Sinwen; Astrid.

“Daniel, I appreciate the help, but what the hell are you doing here?” Captain Malone spat at the young ex-Wayfarer. “You’ve just condemned yourself to death.”

“I have a flying supernatural artillery cannon, what is there to fear?” Daniel said as he split another corrupted in half.

“What are you–” Malone stopped what he was saying as he powered a blade that was stronger than all the others he had done before. His heart gripped with fear as an intense mana surged toward him like a primal storm.

He had only felt such a grand mana when he was out with the other high nobles, although it wasn’t quite as strong, the aura it held was many times more terrifying.

Releasing his attack on instinct, it shot through the air as beadlets of water vapour chased it from behind. Just as it was about to slam into the wave of corrupted, it impacted against… nothing.

Well, it wasn’t nothing. He could see various cracks in a translucent shield. Then, a golden haired young woman arrived. Floating in the air, two eyeballs floating behind her shoulder, and the mask on her face displayed a feverish grin.