Chapter 449: Nine Death Spirits
Chapter 449: Nine Death Spirits
As fifty players entered the scenario...
In the city, on a certain street.
A sewer grate, parasitized by rotting matter, suddenly loosened. Then, a white, powdery substance began rising from the basement levels like steam.
At first, this "bone ash" merely flowed, but soon it erupted into a full-scale geyser. Within seconds, the grate was blown open, and a pillar of ash soared skyward, spreading like a storm across a radius of dozens of meters.
Where the ash fell, ghostly shadows flickered... and soon those phantoms solidified into nine grotesque beings.
"This truly is a place saturated with death energy..." A massive skull, wreathed in exotic flames, floated midair and murmured.
It was called the Soulstealer, a high-tier existence second only to the Four Pillars Deity.
Beside the Soulstealer loomed eight other monstrous figures:
The Curse Spirit, a male of Latino descent—tall and muscular, wearing a brown hooded robe. His appearance mirrored that of an ordinary human, except for his eyes, which lacked pupils and gleamed like amber.
The War Spirit, a humanoid female standing nearly three meters tall, her body covered in hardened biological scales and dragon wings sprouting from her back.
The Exiled Demon, a tangled mass of meat-like vines with indistinct limbs, its head a giant fleshy orb with no nose or ears. Two enormous compound eyes dominated its face, while a gaping maw bristled with double rows of jagged teeth.
The Invisible Demon, currently manifesting as a floating black stone about three cubic meters in volume. Its crystalline surface, irregular in shape, shimmered with gray and white patterns.
The Bloodlust Demon, eight meters long, with a green, fanged face. Its upper body bore three heads and six arms, while its lower body twisted into a serpentine tail. Its entire form was armored in ruby-like insectoid plating, radiating a sickening crimson.
The Penitent, a brown-haired woman in her thirties, clad in tight-fitting leather armor. Every exposed inch of her skin was stitched together, her eyes and mouth sewn shut with steel wire.
The Headhunter, a white woman in her twenties with red hair and a tall, athletic build, wearing flexible armor. Her face and right arm were encased in a metallic, bone-like plating.
The Seer, a four-meter-tall male giant with godlike muscles carved from flawless blue skin. His long white hair cascaded like a colossal’s tail, tied neatly behind him.
These nine grotesque beings were the Nine Death Spirits, elite servants of the Lord of the Nether Abyss.
"Death spirits are wandering everywhere..." The Penitent rasped, her voice weak yet guttural. Though her eyes were sewn shut, her sight remained unimpaired. "There must be millions..."
"And worse... a swarm of filth." The Seer added in his deep, rumbling tone.
"Should we purify them?" The Headhunter immediately asked.
"Not yet", the Soulstealer commanded, its leadership tone silencing any dissent. "This place feels... strange."
The Curse Spirit spoke next: "Travelers from beyond the veil, perhaps?" His amber eyes glowed brighter. "Hmm... I’ve never seen so many interdimensional intruders converge at once."
"Tch. They’re all trash anyway", the Bloodlust Demon growled darkly. "We’ll crush them all together."
As they conversed, an eerie white line suddenly tore across the night sky above them, its edges writhing with virtual data streams.
Seconds later, the line expanded, and an arm emerged. Then a head, followed by a torso... finally, a lithe figure wriggled free of the rift and plummeted downward, landing squarely among the nine monstrosities.
The intruder was a woman nearly 1.9 meters tall, her hair an eerie aquamarine. She was a derivative being of the Origin Organization—designated L2-Xue Lan.
Now, L2-Xue Lan scanned the nine creatures with icy indifference. To her, they were merely shifting matrices of white data, each analyzable through her programmatic essence.
Data Recognition:
——Firewall Breach
——Data Download
——Countermeasure Activation
External Identification Database Activated. Downloading... Writing/Reorganizing/Data Storage Complete.
[Name: Soulstealer]
[Faction: Lord of the Nether Abyss]
[Race: Death Spirit]
[Level: ???]
[Height: 0-139 cm]
[Weight: ???]
[Combat Method: ???]
[Skills Possessed: ???]
[Danger Level: Moderate]
Voice Recognition: Established.
Current Coordinates: Y-012
Tracking Function: Disabled
Control Status: Uncontrolled
Tactical Suppression Options: Calculating
This was the rough image displayed on L2-Xue Lan’s "tactical interface." As a mere Level 2 derivative being, she couldn’t fully analyze their data—portions remained locked, requiring real combat or intelligence gathering to decrypt.
"You are... what..." The Seer spoke again, his speech slow and clumsy.
"She bears neither the aura of the living nor the traits of the dead", the War Spirit stepped forward. "Interesting... are you an enemy? If so, that would be delightful."
"State your purpose", the Soulstealer, the highest-ranking of the Nine Death Spirits, commanded. Its intelligence far surpassed the others, and as one aware of derivative beings’ existence, it posed a reasonable question.
L2-Xue Lan had finished analyzing the nine death spirits before the Soulstealer’s sentence ended. She replied coldly, "My mission poses no threat to you. My superiors have no interest in this land. Leave me undisturbed, and there will be peace."
The Soulstealer paused. "So... your target is the otherworldly travelers?"
"Curiosity serves you poorly", L2-Xue Lan countered. Her two responses had revealed nothing substantial, yet she avoided outright hostility. Facing nine uniquely powerful data entities alone, engagement would mean certain retreat.
"Let me cut her down!" the Headhunter urged, practically vibrating with anticipation.
"No..." the Soulstealer decreed. After a beat, it added, "We’re leaving."
"What?!" The other eight Death Spirits expressed confusion (or what passed for it).
"No arguments", the Soulstealer snapped, its authority brooking no dissent. Moments later, it continued, "Scatter across the city and purge the trash. Avoid the interdimensional travelers... and any beings resembling her."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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