Chapter 17: Shadows at the Summit and the Core Harvest

[Evelyn’s POV]

At the very peak of the high cliff, a vast plateau stretched out before the woman standing at the edge. She wore an off-shoulder blue dress that accentuated her smooth arms and legs. Her straight hair, a gradient of black and blue, whipped in the wind as her piercing blue eyes scanned the scenery before her.

She was Evelyn Grace, Princess of the Starlight Kingdom.

She walked across the barren expanse, the sharp click of her heels echoing against the stone. A bitter, chilling wind hammered against her body, making her shiver, yet there was nothing here but a thick fog that obscured her vision.

Then, she noticed them—dark, black stains smeared across the rocky ground.

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. She scanned the empty plateau, but it was eerily silent. There was nothing.

Suddenly, from behind the shroud of fog, a woman emerged. She walked with elegant grace, dressed in a black off-shoulder mini-dress with dark stockings clinging to her thighs.

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed, and her body instantly stiffened in a defensive stance.

From the silhouette alone, she recognized her. The woman she had been hunting all this time. The source of the world’s devastation.

Velista Celestial.

"I didn’t expect you to come here, Princess Evelyn," the woman greeted, emerging from the fog with a coy, mocking smile.

"Velista. So, it’s true. You’ve been hiding in this rotten dimension," Evelyn replied, her voice flat, her expression cold and vacant.

Velista’s expression was the complete opposite, brimming with flirtatious disdain. "Princess Evelyn, why go through all the trouble of coming here?"

She stopped walking, tilting her head as if to dismiss her visitor. "You didn’t need to hunt me down to this dimension. It’s only going to backfire on you." Velista’s gaze was taunting, as if Evelyn’s very presence was nothing more than a suicidal errand.

"Velista... I know you are the mastermind behind the chaos tearing this world apart," Evelyn stated coldly.

"And?~~" Velista teased, her tone dripping with arrogance and challenge.

"I will kill you here, before you can continue to spread your chaos."

After saying this, Evelyn extended her hand, her sharp gaze locking onto Velista. In an instant, countless blue blades manifested from thin air behind her, hovering and aiming directly at Velista.

Velista burst into boisterous laughter.

"Oh, so you’re only here to kill me?" Velista murmured, strolling casually to close the distance between them. She stopped just ten meters away.

"Fine. I won’t let my guest’s efforts go to waste." She laughed with genuine enthusiasm, stretching her arms. "If Princess Evelyn is here to fight, I’ll play along." Her purple eyes glowed, fixated on Evelyn with a mysterious, sharp smile.

"So, what percentage of my power do you think you can handle, Princess Evelyn?" Velista mocked, her tone condescending. "You won’t even be able to withstand 0.01% of my power."

Evelyn’s brow furrowed in wariness.

Suddenly, the cliffside shuddered. The entire plateau trembled violently, forcing Evelyn to dig her heels into the ground to maintain her balance as small rocks tumbled down the cliff face.

From the black stains on the ground, a horde of C-Rank Aberrants surged forth. They rose from the dark, viscous sludge, forming into horrific, seven-meter-tall monsters. Each mutation varied, sporting jagged fangs and razor-sharp claws. They snarled, hungry for blood, quickly encircling Evelyn and cornering her at the edge of the cliff.

"Hahahahaha!" Velista laughed, reveling in the sight.

[Ren’s POV]

The group stopped, crouching cautiously behind the cover of the trees.

Ahead of them, the road was swarming with C-Rank Aberrants, blocking their path to the cliff plateau.

"There are quite a lot of them," Miku whispered.

"Do we have to fight our way through to clear the path?" Reika asked, peering from behind a towering tree.

"It seems so," Ryu replied.

"Yeah, we don’t have much of a choice," Liora agreed, knowing there was no alternative route.

Ren’s eyes lit up.

Earlier, the System had informed him that he could obtain Aberrant Cores in this dimension. With those cores, he could synthesize them to create his very own monster army.

"Good. This is a perfect opportunity." Ren drew his pistol from his shirt. "Let’s take them down," Ren said, his face glowing with calculated excitement.

They all nodded, preparing to strike the Aberrants that blocked their path. Ryu drew his sword from its sheath, Miku unsheathed her daggers, flames began to dance in Reika’s palms, and Liora’s hands crackled with a red, ominous aura. Ren gripped his pistol tightly.

With a silent signal, they burst from their hiding spot.

The battle erupted instantly. Ryu was a whirlwind of steel, his sword cleaving through the thick hides of the monsters with heavy, precise strikes. Miku moved like a blur, her daggers flashing as she exploited the joints and weak points of the creatures, dancing around their clumsy attacks.

Reika unleashed a torrent of fire magic, her palms glowing as she launched fireballs that scorched the Aberrants, followed by a flurry of high-speed kicks that shattered their hardened carapaces. Liora supported the frontline, her red aura flaring as she blasted back any monster that tried to flank them, her magic dismantling their formations.

Ren stayed back, his eyes calm and analytical. He didn’t waste a single bullet. He moved with tactical precision, waiting for the gaps in the monsters’ defenses.

BANG!

Every shot from his pistol was calculated to neutralize a threat before it could reach the others. He treated the chaotic battlefield like a chessboard, directing the team’s positioning while picking off the monsters that threatened to overwhelm their perimeter.

After minutes of intense combat, the last of the C-Rank monsters crumbled to the ground.

The team stood amidst the carnage, breathing heavily.

Ren stepped over the carcass of a monster he had just finished off. Just as he had anticipated, the creature’s chest cavity yielded a glowing, purple crystal core. Ren quickly knelt, reaching out to touch the stone while his companions were busy checking their surroundings.

As his fingers brushed the crystal, it dissolved into tiny, firefly-like purple particles that flowed directly into his palm.

[System Alert: C-Rank Aberrant Core successfully obtained.]

[Please check the ’Monster Forge’ feature and your inventory for instructions on how to use it.]

The system notification echoed in his mind.

Looking at the panel manifesting before him, Ren’s eyes sparkled.

"Finally..." Ren smiled, satisfied.