Gone? How did it leave?

Gripping her blade, Rosalyn gazed suspiciously toward the direction where the figure had stood, almost doubting whether it had all been a mere illusion.

Quickly surveying her surroundings, she turned to her magitek skateboard, unwilling to linger any longer in this spot.

But at that moment, an extremely faint rustling from behind triggered her instincts. She spun around, raising her weapon just in time to intercept a bone blade that struck against her alloy blade with a jarring metallic clamor and a shower of sparks!

Just as she suspected! The creature’s disappearance had been a ruse! It had stealthily concealed itself in the shadows below the rooftop, utilizing her urgency to escape as an opportunity to launch a lethal ambush!

With the sound of an electrical buzz, the effects of High-Frequency Oscillation and High-Voltage Current activated instantly. Drawing on that momentum, Rosalyn lunged forward, aiming to counterattack.

However, the assailant had no intention of engaging in a protracted confrontation. It retreated swiftly, creating a distance of several dozen meters while hovering above the rooftop on its dragonfly-like wings.

Lowering its head, it inspected the bone blades on its arms. The brittle gray-white bones evidently lacked the fortitude of her alloy blade, as even a brief contact had resulted in visible cracks.

Strangely, though, it retained that disdainful smile on its face, as if utterly unconcerned by the damage to its bone blades.

In the next moment, under Rosalyn’s watchful gaze, it transformed into a shadowy blur, barely perceptible to the eye, vanishing into the shadows of the ruined skyscrapers.

…

“Dual Blade Demon…”

Later that evening, Yvette set down her tea cup after reading her apprentice’s report about the unique humanoid aberration, her fingertip unconsciously tracing the smooth surface of the vessel, a frown forming on her brow.

Rosalyn had named the creature “Dual Blade Demon.” Given its distinctiveness, it warranted a dedicated name.

Yvette had long suspected that the aberrations on this island would eventually give rise to higher-level entities she would need to reckon with, and it had finally happened—though her own preference for staying within Ish City, seldom venturing into Grayport City or Rua City, had played a role. Had she taken the time to patrol the island more consistently, there might have been opportunities to eliminate such threats before they could escalate.

What a troublesome creature… she sighed inwardly.

If it were simply powerful, that would be manageable. However, the Dual Blade Demon was clearly an assassin adept at stealth and surprise attacks, combined with swift speed— posing a significant threat to a fragile mage like herself. While she could maintain “Crimson Armor” in a low-mana state while sleeping as a precaution, Rosalyn wouldn’t have that luxury.

Fortunately, on the way back, Rosalyn had implemented some counter-surveillance measures. Instead of returning directly, they navigated through the city’s underground waterways, which had transformed into natural ecosystems. Otherwise, should their location become exposed, a midnight ambush would not be out of the question.

“Teacher, I think that aberration might possess intelligence akin to that of a human. It attacked me and smiled… it was completely different from any I’ve seen before.” Rosalyn voiced her concerns, recalling the eerie grin she had witnessed during their encounter, already fearing nightmares that night.

She wondered if her teacher would permit her to temporarily move into her chamber for a night’s rest…

“Let’s classify it separately, a higher tier than ‘Evolved Type’—we’ll call it… ‘Elite Type’ instead. The most notable characteristic would be its higher intelligence and possibly strategic aptitude,” Yvette responded, contemplating for a moment, her tone serious. “Tomorrow, you and I will visit Grayport City to see if we can deal with it and investigate the tide insect anomalies.”

…

The following morning, the summer sunshine still bathed Ish Island in warmth, bright and cloudless.

But with the thought of the aberrant occurrences in Grayport City weighing heavily on their minds, both Yvette and Rosalyn had solemn expressions as they set out.

On the way, Yvette also elucidated information regarding the Ish Mountain Range and Rua City.

“Those are the two largest aberration nests on Ish Island,” Yvette explained.

“Nests?” Rosalyn pondered over the term.

“I haven’t been inside, so I don’t know much.” Yvette shook her head while driving. “But if aberrations are really capable of reproduction, then the source must lie in those locations.”

Years ago, after escaping the abyssal base hidden within a volcanic lake, Yvette had undertaken a circuitous journey around the island, primarily gathering important knowledge from undeteriorated texts and investigating the island’s condition to ascertain the presence of human survivors, along with the ecological details of various flora, fauna, and aberrations.

She discovered that the distribution and density of aberrations within the Ish Mountain Range and Rua City at the northernmost part of the island were substantially higher compared to the southern cities like Ish City and Grayport, as well as the ruin sites along the way, concluding that these two zones were among the island’s most perilous areas. Just the thought of the types of monsters inhabiting these areas was daunting.

Now, the strange aberrant activity in Grayport City stirred a feeling within her; something was subtly changing within the island’s aberration ecosystem. Yet the reason behind this change and the direction it might take remained uncertain.

…

Compared to Rosalyn’s previous exploration experiences, Grayport City was notably quieter today, with few aberrations encountered along the way. Instead, numerous wild animals seemed to have seized the chance to emerge from hiding, frolicking freely in the jungle-like streets.

After some time, they arrived near the port area. Following Rosalyn’s guidance, Yvette gradually approached the deeper parts of Grayport City, where they began to hear cacophonous sounds originating from the city center.

Continuing onward, they were greeted by an army of aberrant tide insects advancing across the intersection ahead, each measuring over a meter in length, numbering in the hundreds or even thousands.

What was particularly strange, however, was that despite their floating magitek car being five meters above, the tide insects appeared to be oblivious to their presence, allowing both of them to observe without any sign of aggression as they continued marching forth toward their destination. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel fire.net

“Teacher, what should we do?” Rosalyn asked, feeling perplexed. She had prepared to utilize her less refined long-distance spells for cover, but witnessing the tide insects’ indifference was bewildering.

“Let’s observe their purpose first,” Yvette replied, maintaining a distance of about a hundred meters as they followed on the side.

“They won’t attack us, will they?” Rosalyn asked, feeling nervous.

“I’ll take care of it.” Yvette’s calm demeanor reassured Rosalyn.

Hearing her teacher’s steady tone, Rosalyn felt her anxiety ease.

In truth, since acquiring the alloy blade and after three years of relentless training, her individual combat abilities had become quite commendable. Even when sparring with her teacher one-on-one, she had regularly been able to hold her own. However, her shortcomings lay in crowd control—facing a swarm of monsters overwhelmed her, regardless of the alloy blade’s impressive attack power, as she could only strike once at a time. Over the span of just a few minutes, she would easily become swamped.

On the other hand, a single snap of Yvette’s fingers could unleash a sweeping barrage of spells to clear away the monsters, epitomizing the elegant, archetypal mage she admired.

…

After soaring over several city blocks, the floating vehicle landed atop a skyscraper that barely remained standing, its structure entwined by massive tree roots.

Dismounting from the vehicle, Rosalyn and Yvette were greeted by a bizarre tableau of war unfolding below them.

On the streets, vast multitudes of aberrant tide insects flowed like a relentless red tide, advancing toward the city center.

At the same time, at the intersection heading to the city center, a ragtag army of various grotesque aberrations, numbering in the hundreds, roared in unison as they desperately fought off the tide insect onslaught—decaying worms spewed acidic secretions, multi-armed behemoths swung their fists, and multi-headed avians swooped down like a dark cloud to tear and slice.

Gazing at the chaotic, bloody, inhuman scene, Yvette narrowed her eyes.

Undoubtedly, this was a war among aberrations.