Chương 353: Horror Crawled Out Of Its Box

The creature that had risen out of the blood ocean was a horrid one–Several of the people who had been fighting the Blood Squid just before were currently using spells to see what was going on in better detail, and the thing that had made them run away was truly a horrific entity. Jartscol, who could see the best, was particularly aware of the details of the creature's body… In essence, it looked like a human-sized doll or puppet, the kind with a hard but soft body.

The sort of thing that would be put on strings, or so was his assumption until he noticed that it seemed like the lower half had been added on afterwards due to the presence of a roughly made sewing mark. It was as though this thing was never supposed to have anything other than a chest, arms, and a head… Regardless of the truth on this matter, the monster looked as if someone had been forcefully stuffed inside of it, ripping out the cotton and whatever else was inside the original object before shoving someone in.

As a result, its entire body wasn't completely even or symmetrical. Certain parts were torn, revealing flesh peeking out, but that was far from it. The more Jartscol attempted to analyse the creature, the more grotesque it appeared. His first thought was that it was a creature of flesh and blood inhabiting some sort of doll–Akin to a spectre possessing an object to anchor itself into the corporeal world. It seemed less and less likely to be the case…

"That thing, it's… It's alive…" He muttered to himself, almost as if he needed to hear it aloud to believe his own conclusion. In a sense, of course it was alive, but Jartscol didn't mean it in the most literal of senses. His initial thought had been that it was just a parasitic entity using a mere doll as a host, but the more he observed, the clearer it had become that the doll itself wasn't just a mere shell. It was pulsing with life, as if the fabric itself had sprouted from the flesh within.

He had no idea what he was looking at anymore, or how it made any sense that an entity of such a nature could be here. The only explanation was that it came from the outside. It made no sense for any entity to take on such an appearance inside the underground or blood ocean. Regardless… That thing's head, which had looked like porcelain at first, was actually made out of bone.

It was entirely made out of bone, and it cracked as it opened its eyes or mouth wider–Which would respectively reveal dark purple eyes backed by black sclera and several rows of human-looking teeth alongside the lack of a tongue, gum, or anything else. Just teeth arranged like those of a shark. This skeletal head also had hair growing out of it. There weren't many, but enough to be noticeable. Long, raven-black hair wet with blood.

"Dark purple eyes…" Jartscol almost wanted to curse. Looking closely, this thing did have a somewhat feminine shape, not very noticeable, but definitely obvious once you noticed it. Though this was enough to pretty much confirm it–The damned boogeywoman that had been everywhere yet nowhere for so long had actually shown up right in front of him, and she did so in a horrifying form.

"Well… Is it really her?" The appearance was simply way too different from what he had heard to merely accept it, but he could feel it in his bones–This was Mara Maeve Maya Nebulo in person. As a mage of his calibre, he had thought that if he ever, somehow, ran into her, he would fight. He had plenty of spells, deep mana reserves, and years of experience. He was a mage, but he had always leveraged his great demonic physique and rarely stayed as a backliner.

He liked to call himself an expert in point-blank spell casting, but every ounce of his being was telling him that engaging her would be a terrible idea. Jartscol felt like he should tell his allies to do the same, but most of them had clearly accepted the fact that they would be mere spectators. Meanwhile, Holgod was just shaking his head. He knew firsthand that the appearance most people knew Mara by wasn't all that she could be.

He had seen her become a mountain of molten steel, after all, but even he wouldn't have expected that she could take on such a hellish form. This was what he imagined devils to look like. At the very least, the presence she projected was definitely the sort of stuff a devil would have… Despite all of this, both Jartscol and Holgod were unwilling to stop observing.

This was precious intel about a blight many were already calling the modern version of various infamous historical figures, with some even believing that Mara Nebulo was actually a monster queen, and that monster waves would soon plague the continent. It certainly felt harder to deny what those people were saying when witnessing the monstrosity before their eyes…

Nara had tried to speak with the unconscious Mara, but 'Revenant Jack-Out-Of-The-Box' didn't seem to hear her at all. As such, she could only hope for the best and study this newfound form. At the very least, since the revenant itself was in charge, it meant that it would know its kit to perfection, and looking at it, Nara felt quite bad for its opponents… Those poor bastards were inherently at a disadvantage. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Some sort of deformed, crimson-coloured merman surged out of the blood, trying to tackle the revenant and presumably push it down into the blood–Nara knew that this was a mistake. The merman's head was blasted to pieces as the Jack-Out-Of-The-Box delivered a backhanded strike, killing the merman instantly without even breaking a sweat. Other nearby monsters backed off slightly upon seeing this. They hadn't been expecting such strength from a creature with such a small frame. Naturally, they couldn't have known.

They couldn't see the list of innate abilities it had like Nara could… Hateful Flesh: Unlike what its thin frame might indicate, this form possesses excessive brute force, but trades it by removing all finesse from you. There is no need for tactics. Simply tear and smash until nothing remains This was literally the first innate ability listed.

Nara didn't know just how strong 'Revenant Jack-Out-Of-The-Box' truly was, but since it seemed to gain incredible brute force partly by converting Mara's inherent fighting skills, then it had to be quite strong since Mara was a very skilled fighter with knowledge of quite a few weapons and a strong grasp of unarmed martial arts. It might even convert battle intelligence, which would fit with the theme. In this form, tactics and deep thinking weren't allowed.

The goal was merely to catch hold of the enemy in the simplest manner possible and tear them apart. As such, if Mara was awake, this form would certainly be weaker, as she wouldn't allow herself to turn into an utter fool like this, but since she was asleep, this form could show the full extent of its potential in this regard. … It laughed quite joyfully as the corpse of the merman hit the blood and began sinking, making the surrounding monsters back off a little bit more.

This was certainly the effect of its second innate ability… Tyrannical Regina: Your presence seeps with the weight of all the lives you took and the very affection for brutality you hold within. All of those that can feel your presence, hear your howls, or that meet your gaze shall feel a taste of the terror your past victims experienced This was what the mostly-demonic group had experienced when the revenant had first manifested.

Nara knew that the description didn't actually do justice to the horrors of this innate ability. It wasn't just the terror that it made others experience. It was the sensations of being hurt and killed as well. If the revenant's presence could be controlled and directed toward a single target as an attack, it could certainly harm someone's mind within seconds. The revenant didn't seem to be willing to do this, or perhaps it didn't know how. Regardless, even as normal, this innate ability was quite impressive.

It forces enemies to either constantly waste energy protecting themselves from its effect or force them to endure it head-on. Whatever they chose, it would be to Mara's advantage. The third ability was one that Nara didn't believe would come into play at all during the fight. Mara would probably wake up before it could show any of its effects, but it was nonetheless one that Nara found to be rather interesting… Corpse Kingdom: Your tainted humanity drips into the terrain around you.

With enough time, it will become a breeding ground for fleshy lifeforms with nothing but hatred for all else that bears a form of existence. The non-corporeal without a physical vessel shall find it difficult or impossible to leave the tainted grounds From what Nara could tell, this was an ability that required a lot of time to take effect, but it was definitely the sort of ability that would make people even more certain that Mara was, in fact, the second coming of any infamous historical butcher.

The Blood Squid and alligator-shark lookalike didn't hesitate much longer. The Blood Squid demonstrated its talent as a spellcaster by turning the inherently blood-attribute mana coursing through its body into basic mana, using it to cast a rather mundane spell en masse. Countless mana missiles were formed, some coming straight for the revenant, and some arching toward it from all sides.

Meanwhile, the alligator-shark monster couldn't display such refined magical techniques, so it instead gathered and condensed as much of its blood mana into its maw, using the power of its jaw to crush the wild spell and force it to surge toward its target–The squid took care of the front and sides, while it targeted the back. It was a classic but effective tactic. Even if their opponent seemed capable of devouring blood mana with ease, it shouldn't simply be able to do so in such a scenario…

Or if it could, it would distract it enough for the mana missiles to reach their mark. The 'Revenant Jack-Out-Of-The-Box' turned around to face the attack originally aimed at its back, merely raising one arm to intercept it… At the same time, flesh sprouted out of thin air in the path of the missiles. It was easily torn apart, but it regrew faster than the spells could destroy it, resulting in nothing hitting the Jack-Out-Of-The-Box at all.

The smile on its face grew so wide that it almost looked like its head would split in half. A platform of flesh appeared beneath its feet, and it subsequently stopped hovering, using the solid ground to leap into the air–Straight through the Blood Squid. Its reaction speed was more than enough to erect two separate barriers in front of its body, but it wasn't good enough to make them out of regular mana. It used blood mana, and the revenant thus went right through them as if they didn't exist.

The squid had a hole blasted right through it. Its body subsequently fell apart and was drawn to its killer. No traces of it were left behind. This thing is so inefficient… Is it trying to brag by pausing after the kill or something? If this were Mara piloting such a powerful form, the alligator-shark would already be dead as well, and perhaps even the bundle of limbs that had done absolutely nothing but observe so far.

Nara supposed that it had the right to brag, considering that it had used another of its abilities to great effect and without effort. Ruler Of The Devoured: You can consume stocked flesh to manifest fleshy constructs at will A simple ability that finally gave a use to the mountain of flesh Mara had stocked over so long. Once the revenant was done acting cool, it rapidly manifested a giant hand made of nothing but muscles, grabbing the poor alligator-shark as it was trying to dive away.

With a single thought, it squashed the monster, propelling its intestines and organs out of its mouth before devouring it whole in a matter of seconds. Although not explicitly stated anywhere concerning this form, it seemed like its ability to consume flesh had been severely improved, whilst probably severely reducing its ability to consume anything else. The 'Revenant Jack-Out-Of-The-Box' placed its attention on the bundle of limbs, not immediately attacking.

Nara didn't know what it was up to, but she merely kept on checking its innate abilities–It had four more that she needed to go over…