Chapter 7: Is He Really Human?
With a thud, the forearm hit the ground. Laster was stunned, raising her half-bare arm, where the back of her hand had been severed by half.
"Thread?"
Laster focused her gaze, vaguely spotting a metal wire in the air.
The fallen forearm rapidly decomposed, turning to ash that scattered in the wind.
Red electric light flickered at the wound on Laster’s severed arm, and a new arm regenerated in less than two seconds.
The homunculus had incredible regenerative abilities. As long as the Philosopher’s Stone energy within her body wasn’t depleted, she could keep recovering.
There were two ways to kill a homunculus. One was to destroy the Philosopher’s Stone inside them—difficult, as while it seemed fragile, its hardness surpassed diamond.
The other method was to severely wound the homunculus, exhausting the energy of their Philosopher’s Stone.
Destroying the Philosopher’s Stone was faster, and Su Xiao decided to try it.
He stomped the ground, and spiderweb-like cracks spread across the stone floor of the church.
Dragon-Slashing Flash cut through the air, letting out a terrifying howl.
A flash of blade light appeared in Laster’s eyes. She felt a numbness in her neck, and then her vision began to spin.
With one slash, Su Xiao severed Laster’s head. He stepped forward, his left hand wrapped in a crimson bracer, thrusting it like a blade straight into Laster’s chest.
Laster’s physical strength wasn’t high—only slightly better than an ordinary person. It was her tenacious regeneration that was troublesome.
The metal-wrapped hand pierced into Laster’s chest. Her head had already regenerated.
"Ah~!"
A scream rang out. It seemed homunculi could feel pain. That made things much easier.
"You bastard."
A fierce gleam appeared in Laster’s beautiful eyes. All the fingers on both hands transformed into blades—slightly curved, with razor-sharp tips.
This was Laster’s ability: the Strongest Spear, capable of piercing most substances.
With a swish, the blades on Laster’s hands extended. In an instant, the blades formed from her fingers stretched to three meters long.
Su Xiao tilted his head, narrowly dodging. A wound appeared on his cheek, and blood slowly seeped out.
Among the seven homunculi, Laster had the strongest offensive power.
He couldn’t let himself be hit in the torso. Even the graze just now triggered a death judgment, and the notification from Reincarnation Paradise left him shaken.
[You have been attacked by ‘Strongest Spear.’ Judgment in progress.]
[Attack location: skin. Death judgment failed.]
These two prompts revealed one thing: the homunculus was stronger than in the original story.
Su Xiao clenched his hand, which was still inside Laster’s chest, and forcefully pulled it out.
"You’re going to..."
Laster’s body gradually turned to ash, and a Philosopher’s Stone appeared in Su Xiao’s hand.
The surface of the Philosopher’s Stone rapidly grew a mass of muscle, which wrapped around Su Xiao’s hand. Laster’s body reformed.
"Suddenly grabbing a lady’s chest—is that gentlemanly behavior?"
Laster smiled seductively at Su Xiao as the Strongest Spear formed from her fingers stabbed toward him.
Pushing off the ground, Su Xiao leaped backward, sliding to a stop after a short distance.
Zzzz~.
The sound of metal wire tightening came. Laster stumbled forward a few steps uncontrollably.
"The Philosopher’s Stone is caught."
The Realm Severing Thread had embedded itself into Laster’s chest, one end wrapped around the Philosopher’s Stone.
Su Xiao tightened the Realm Severing Thread, and Laster staggered.
He rushed forward, slashing off Laster’s arm in one stroke. Without pausing, as she tried to counterattack, he backhandedly severed her other arm.
Pfft.
A head flew up. Not only that, but Su Xiao also cut off both of Laster’s legs.
The more body tissue that needed repair, the faster Laster’s Philosopher’s Stone energy was consumed.
Azure Steel Shadow was fully activated. Su Xiao’s mana had recovered to 750 points, consuming 30 points per minute. He could maintain Azure Steel Shadow for a total of 25 minutes.
Each slash burned 50 mana points, dealing 50 points of true damage, accelerating Laster’s death.
Laster’s body gradually regenerated. Su Xiao stood nearby, blade in hand. Whenever her body reformed, he immediately stepped in to deliver another slash.
This was his first time fighting this type of enemy, so he remained vigilant.
Laster’s arm slowly regenerated. A flash of blade light, and the newly formed arm was severed.
Laster’s regeneration stopped. It wasn’t that the Philosopher’s Stone’s energy was depleted, but she realized that continuing like this would mean death.
The masked man before her reminded her of someone—Lust (Wrath).
Laster halted her regeneration, as if preparing something.
Su Xiao stood still. If the enemy didn’t move, he wouldn’t move. He didn’t dare approach Laster recklessly while she was regenerating.
Who knew which part of her body she would regenerate first? If a new arm suddenly appeared and he happened to be in its attack path, it would be dangerous.
Laster’s body trembled. Su Xiao instinctively wanted to step back, but it was too late.
Laster suddenly underwent ultra-high-speed regeneration. In less than a second, her severed head and limbs were all restored.
"Ten Thousand Spears Piercing the Heart."
Laster extended both hands forward, and the spear-blades formed from her fingers stabbed out rapidly.
The ‘Strongest Spear’ thrust was incredibly fast, arriving almost instantly. Su Xiao sensed the danger, but his body couldn’t dodge.
Watching a lengthened blade approach his forehead, Su Xiao tried desperately to turn his head, but it was too late.
A transparent shield appeared around Su Xiao. The Strongest Spear struck the shield, which shattered on impact. Though it lasted only a fraction of a second, it gave Su Xiao enough time to react.
Pfft.
Blood gushed out. A deep, bone-deep wound appeared on Su Xiao’s temple.
Blood streamed down his cheek, but his eyes didn’t blink.
He had just activated the shield attached to [Mikasa’s Resolve]. After [Mikasa’s Resolve] was enhanced to +5, the shield became more powerful. He rarely used it, only in critical moments.
Sanctuary (Active): Quickly generates an invisible shield to block attacks. Shield durability equals 80% of the holder’s maximum health. Lasts 30 seconds.
80% of maximum health. With Su Xiao’s current stamina attribute of 35 points plus the 274 health from Spirit Shadow Constitution, the Sanctuary (Active) shield could block a considerable amount of damage.
Even so, when the Strongest Spear struck the shield, it shattered immediately. If it had hit his head, Su Xiao would have died—there was no doubt about it.
He absolutely couldn’t let this woman hit a vital point. No, being hit in any major organ might trigger a death judgment.
Tightening the Realm Severing Thread, Laster felt a chill in her heart. Her core Philosopher’s Stone was entangled; she couldn’t escape even if she wanted to.
Laster’s finger-blades slashed at the Realm Severing Thread.
Ding.
Sparks flew. The Realm Severing Thread was unharmed, but blood gushed from Laster’s chest.
Laster spat out a large mouthful of blood, her eyes widening.
"At this rate, I’ll die. Is this guy really human? I have to escape immediately."