“What? Is this… a battle?” Rosalyn exclaimed in shock.

“It appears so,” Yvette responded gravely, nodding her head.

From the abyssal base to the vast Ish Island, Yvette had spent enough time observing aberrations to conclude they were solitary creatures devoid of social structure, initially acting much like a human infant in a brutal landscape. As a result, their chaotic behaviors could not threaten her peaceful existence on Ish Island, provided she didn’t act recklessly.

However, if war were to break out, the situation would be entirely different. Such a development would indicate a shared intent among them, whether through the individual will of higher aberrations or a hive-like consciousness, which could significantly alter their social structure, knitting them together into a cohesive force, ultimately posing a threat to her and Rosalyn.

And then there was that Dual Blade Demon, which seemingly belonged to a higher tier, possessing intelligence comparable to a human—it had to play a pivotal role in this aberrant war…

As the frontline advanced, the Grayport faction was being pushed back continuously.

After Yvette piloted their floating vehicle into an inconspicuous corner, Rosalyn and she effortlessly reached the most profound part of the battle zone.

Standing atop a tall building, they witnessed a massive entity, primarily submerged beneath the earth but with a petal-like structure protruding from the collapsed ground. This grotesque, bloodish creature, with a semi-transparent crimson skin veined by thick red vessels, appeared to harbor a massive, eerie embryo within.

“It looks like a kind of ‘Mother Nest.’ The aberrations surrounding it are either attacking it or guarding it, indicating that this entity is the ‘leader’ of both factions,” Yvette noted, furrowing her brow. She hadn’t visited Grayport in many years; for her, that span of years might be fleeting, but it had undoubtedly provided time for aberrations to evolve to the point of developing a nest. She found it troubling that the long passage of time left her sense of urgency somewhat skewed.

“What should we do about it?” Rosalyn asked.

“Nothing; it’s too dangerous,” Yvette shook her head, her gaze shifting to the corner of the ground below.

There, a giant scorpion, approximately the size of a small truck, lay in wait. Disturbingly, dozens of humanoid eyes were embedded in the thick black armor on its back, peering out from the gaps in its carapace, surveilling everything in a 360-degree radius.

Seeing its ominous yet perfectly intact form, lying in the shadows and showing no reaction to the ongoing battle, Yvette couldn’t help but suspect that this too was a third-stage aberration, akin to the Dual Blade Demon, possessing considerable intelligence, designated specifically to guard the Mother Nest.

“Teacher, over there… the Dual Blade Demon!” Suddenly, Rosalyn tugged at Yvette’s sleeve.

Yvette turned to see a figure with four wings, blackened and facing away, peering down at the battle from inside a nearby building.

In a moment, the creature seemed to sense a gaze from the opposite side, slowly and eerily turning its head, the muscles around its mouth twitching unnaturally before curling into a slow, sinister grin.

But before it could reveal that nightmare-inducing smile Rosalyn had dreamed about, several blue-white rune circles ignited beside Yvette, launching multiple bolts of “Rage of Thunder” toward it.

The speed of this attack was beyond that of ordinary spells, and the blue-white lightning struck before the Dual Blade Demon could react.

Realizing the overwhelming potential of this assault, the creature’s grin vanished as it swiftly retreated, twisting in the air like a mosquito evading a fly swatter, desperately darting away.

Eventually, after narrowly evading an electric strike and sustaining damage to one of its wings, the Dual Blade Demon shot Yvette a deep glance before vanishing into the crevices of the ruined buildings.

…

By evening, the war among the aberrations had temporarily ceased. After ceasing to observe, Yvette and Rosalyn returned to Ish City using their floating vehicle.

The outcome of the conflict was somewhat unexpected; ultimately, the embryo within the Mother Nest had emerged.

What stood before them was an enormous, rotund giant about four to five stories tall. Its bloated belly housed a massive maw filled with numerous thick tongues capable of swallowing dozens of aberrant tide insects in one gulp for rapid digestion.

Utilizing this war giant’s presence, the Grayport faction barely managed to reverse their decline and forced the tide insect army to retreat.

In addition to the giant scorpion lying next to the Mother Nest, which acted as a sentinel, two new third-stage aberrations were now chronicled in Rosalyn’s notebook, aptly named “Gluttonous Giant” and “Hundred-Eyed Scorpion Demon.”

“That’s terrifying—the speed at which these aberrations evolve…” Rosalyn said uneasily as she settled at the dining table.

“If it’s a Mother Nest, then the Ish Mountain Range and the furthest Rua City must have had them for some time. However, the Mother Nest in Grayport City likely appeared only in recent years,” Yvette lowered her gaze, contemplating their current situation.

“What should we do, teacher? Shouldn’t we take action?” Rosalyn asked nervously.

“Tomorrow, we’ll investigate the Ish Mountain Range and the area around Rua City to ascertain the situation,” Yvette replied. “If there’s a significant power disparity, we can consider getting involved at the edges, supporting the weaker side to maintain their balance of power.”

This was the best course of action she had discerned. After all, based on third-stage elite aberrations, Rosalyn could probably be compared to one elite, while Yvette might be able to take on three or four at once. Though it sounded promising, the risks to their lives were considerable. Rather than taking massive risks, it was wiser to pursue the route of maintaining equilibrium.

However, just as they were about to finalize this crucial survival strategy—

Yvette abruptly turned her head, her icy gaze shooting toward the manor outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathed in orange light.

Following her line of sight, Rosalyn’s heart stopped.

From the shadows, a tall, dark figure with broken four wings emerged slowly, silently positioned at the interface of light and dark.

The Dual Blade Demon!

Why was it here?

Almost instantaneously, Rosalyn reached for the alloy blade nearby, while Yvette narrowed her eyes, moving toward the front door, already preparing for a spell bombardment.

But to their astonishment, the Dual Blade Demon displayed no signs of aggression. Instead, it stood still, waiting quietly.

As the two approached, it slowly opened its mouth; bizarre, choppy words in a guttural tongue—reminiscent of a child just learning to speak—fragmented and spilled from its lips:

“Human… Mage…”

“The Lord… is about to be born…”

“If you don’t hurry… we…”

“We all will die…!”

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