Chapter Fifty-Nine: Insects (2) Unknown Creature

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“Monster, aaahhh!”
“What the hell is that?!”
“Is this a joke? Some kind of magic item illusion?”

In the very center of the crowd, the man’s skin had already split open, revealing a blood-soaked chitinous shell beneath. Four limbs, each jointed and bristling with vicious barbs, sprang outward from his sides. Before everyone’s eyes, a bug-man monster nearly three meters tall, armored all over with a beetle-like carapace, stood revealed!

The insectoid opened its jagged, razor-sharp jaws and let out a chilling screech. Several people nearby collapsed to the ground, fainting from the sheer terror.

In the next instant, the bug-monster’s reverse-jointed legs tensed and it leapt toward the stage. All four of its arms, ending in scythe-like hooks, spread wide—aiming straight for Mark and Braniel!

Everyone onstage panicked and tried to flee, but it was obvious their reaction speed was far too slow…

Just as the razor claws were about to reach Mark and Braniel—less than ten centimeters away—several golden beams of light flashed past their faces and waists, slamming into the monster’s chest and abdomen!

With each blast of golden light, the creature was knocked back, sent flying and crashing through a makeshift display table before landing heavily on the ground.

“Thank goodness we made it in time. Is everyone alright?” Zhao Tianhe and Artoria stepped out from the runway exit, calling to the crowd.

Artoria’s hands gripped the Holy Water Gun and the Sword of the Lake—the golden beams had erupted from the water gun as blessed projectiles.

“We’re fine, we’re fine—thank goodness you were here. But how could a monster appear in the outside world?!” Mark was still gasping for breath, clutching his knees, his legs weak with fear.

“Who knows. And…” Zhao Tianhe turned to Artoria. “That thing isn’t dead. Use the Holy Sword.”

Artoria nodded, her swimsuit instantly transforming into shining knight’s armor.

Not far away, the bug-monster, though its carapace was shattered and leaking ooze from the holy water gun’s blasts, was still bursting with life. With a sudden kip-up, it sprang to its feet, its wounds closing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

“Hero… save me… aaahhhh!” The bug-monster let out a strange, warbling cry—then, losing all reason, charged straight at Artoria once more.

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But having seen that this monster’s defenses were high and it showed no fear of light-based attacks, Artoria could not be bothered to toy with it any longer. A searing flow of magical energy surged around her; in the next instant, she flashed behind the creature in a blur.

The bug-monster was cut clean in half at the waist, yet even so, it propped itself up on four limbs, dragging its spilling entrails as it crawled rapidly toward Mark and the others.

Artoria’s armor shifted back to a swimsuit, and she unleashed a volley from the Holy Water Gun, utterly shattering the monster.

Half an eyeball flew and struck a female reporter, who shrieked, tore off her jacket, and fled in terror. Her scream was the final spark: the crowd’s panic erupted and everyone desperately fled the hall.

Mark and the other organizers, as well as most staff, did not run, but they were all sickened by the dense, nauseating stench of blood and flesh at the scene.

No wonder I thought the smell was familiar… it’s the stench of bugs, kind of like the fire beetles of the Withered Ash Swamp, Zhao Tianhe mused, expressionless, as he strode forward. A short sword shimmered into his hand, and he cast a wind-based sharpness enchantment to boost its cutting power.

“Mr. Zhao…?” Mark watched as Zhao Tianhe reversed his grip and stabbed the short sword into the remains of the insect-monster, his eyelids twitching nervously. “What are you doing?”

“An autopsy. Something is very wrong with this thing. It was originally human, disguised perfectly… No, to be precise, it really was human moments ago, but some abnormal transformation had already begun…” Zhao Tianhe tried cutting a few times but couldn’t get through the tough carapace. He beckoned to Artoria for assistance.

“Is that really necessary?” Artoria didn’t mind dissecting corpses, but she wasn’t keen to dirty herself.

“My instincts tell me something’s off,” Zhao Tianhe replied. “Trust me—I actually know what I’m doing. Well… even if I haven’t graduated yet.”

Zhao Tianhe was a forensic medicine student at Capital Medical University. Though he’d died young in his freshman year saving someone, in a parallel world he might have become a legendary forensic scientist. He would have developed countless practical techniques and theories, greatly improving the resolution rates of major crimes worldwide. He’d even participated in epidemic prevention, and his exploits and image would inspire biographies, detective novels, movies, and TV dramas, earning him fame in both history and legend.

“I can still sense danger from this thing. I’ll use full tactile mode to guide how you apply force.” With that, Zhao Tianhe grasped Artoria’s hands with one of his own, the other hand on the Blade of the Lake, guiding her to drive the holy sword into the monster’s remains.

Though the monster was long dead, its vitality was so strong that some nerves hadn’t died and were actually regenerating. As the sword pierced its carcass, the remains twitched reflexively, thudding the ground.

Zhao Tianhe felt none of Artoria’s gentle softness; his mind was utterly focused, sensing the faint pulsations in the monster’s body through the sword.

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“The core is still alive…” Guided by Zhao Tianhe, the Sword of the Lake sliced out the central organ.

“It’s dangerous for me to touch it. You do it,” Zhao Tianhe said, pointing at the quivering lump of flesh on the ground. “Just use your armor for protection and take whatever is inside out.”

Goatee and the others watching from a distance all felt a sudden urge to punch Zhao Tianhe—after all, Artoria was their goddess!

But the problem was, she actually listened to this bastard. And none of them could hope to defeat Artoria!

The organ, still twitching and writhing, was crushed and torn open under Artoria’s powerful grip. In the end, she yanked out a revolting bug—its abdomen the size of a fist, bloated and grotesque, wings on its back atrophied.

“So this is the Evil Head?” Artoria frowned at the hideous insect. “Can I kill it now?”

“Yes. Go ahead. I think I understand what’s happening.” Zhao Tianhe kicked aside the bloody flesh with his shoe, examined the structure, and nodded.

Without hesitation, Artoria threw the bug to the ground and stomped it flat!

“You have killed ????? (The Hero System Network does not have a record of this monster. You may name it.), you gained 100 experience points.”

“This is troublesome…” Zhao Tianhe muttered, frowning. “It’s a brand new kind of monster. And it’s parasitic—the victim even retains some awareness…”

Zhao Tianhe couldn’t forget that trembling cry for help…