Deep in the Living
Chapter 312 - 300: Just One Step Away

Chapter 312: Chapter 300: Just One Step Away

Just as with Spine’s Open Spine, a Monk saturated with metal within their body can undergo "Demon Ascension,"

manifesting their sins perfectly through the metal inside them,

Agatha’s majestic and robust body indeed suited the appearance of an Iron Pillar Nun, it also invoked a very direct and intimidating presence.

But the true purpose of the body was not to exert strength, but to serve as a "reserve of energy."

At the moment of Demon Ascension,

channels of special metals would form between Agatha’s body and the metals,

like metal straws inserted between the flesh, sucking the muscles and adipose tissues as if they were nourishing liquids.

The originally Nine Dragon Injection matured physique gradually shrank, became very natural, and transformed into the dimensions of a normal person, fitting Agatha’s delicate face even more.

The condensed body shone with a metallic hue, and the Monk’s leather clothes immediately shrank, wrapping tightly around the post-Demon Ascension body.

Not only that,

Agatha’s back had grown exactly thirteen Iron Pillars, each performing piston movements at various frequencies.

A small,

metal-constructed Gate seemed to appear inside Agatha,

with metal ducts extending from the [Gate] connected to internal organs and muscles.

It seemed that every time Agatha underwent rigorous training or gained physical growth from slaying enemies outside, the Gate inside her would become more complete.

...

Boom!

The loud noise and vibrations erupted simultaneously in the sewer area, dust scattering and filth spreading wildly.

In the green dust, a strange silhouette rapidly crawled out, half the length of a regular human body, apparently with a series of fragmented items trailing behind it.

The half-shaped figure was the Wanted Criminal - Kuleon.

Half of his body was gone,

from the coccyx down, everything was severely damaged,

the Marrow Liquid, which symbolizes the essence of life, flowing continuously from the fracture, with the wound also covered in tiny Iron Pillars. Even so, despite such heavy injuries,

Kuleon was still able to crawl at an extremely fast pace, trying to maximize the distance to buy time for recovery.

Such injuries would have been fatal for any ordinary Spine,

but Kuleon’s spine, covered in dragon scales, seemed to have an unimaginable vitality,

during his crawl, he forcibly ejected the small Iron Pillars from the break and continued with the Regeneration process, reminiscent of a lizard’s tail regrowth.

The completely pulverized lower body also began to push out Iron Pillars, attempting Regeneration.

However, the speed of Regeneration was significantly slower.

Kuleon suddenly felt a surge of blood and spurted out fresh blood, mixed with metal debris.

"This Monk... is close to Demon Ascension like me, and has a very high level of Demon Ascension as well."

Amidst the dust,

white-haired Agatha gradually revealed herself,

with the Monk’s leather outfit enclosing her metallic body, and the region below her neck, mouth, and nose completely metalized, as if wearing a custom metal mask.

Holding a large iron rod in one hand,

she struck the ground, creating a terrifying pit, and even damaging the sewer, triggering the alarm. Within minutes, the tumor folks’ troops stationed at Navel Port would arrive.

Even so,

Kuleon had no intention to flee; his gaze turned to the Underground chamber he had lived in for seven years, placing all his hopes in it.

The current situation no longer allowed him to complete the final skull pieces, even if incomplete, he could only proceed with a forced Demon Ascension.

Nevertheless, there was one piece of good news.

Driven into a corner, Kuleon seemed to be one step closer to the Gate; he could now glimpse beyond the door, not the prescribed path for the Spine, but a brand new route he forged for himself.

Even with his lower body not fully Regenerated, he still could rely on his hands to crawl rapidly, still faster in terms of speed than his two opponents.

However, he suddenly discovered that the strange young man had disappeared again, with no trace of him in the entire sewer.

An invisible, grey-tinged pressure constantly assaulted him, enveloping his brain, making him unable to ignore the other’s presence.

His crawling speed also gradually slowed down; Luo Di could suddenly emerge from any Corner.

Even a primal emotion began to stir within his heart,

Kuleon had lived in these sewers for seven years,

amidst the darkness,

amongst the rotting insects,

and between the corpses,

he lived alone.

He had never felt any Fear, only dreams of the future and a pursuit of the Gate.

Now, he felt a gray worm called Fear crawling through his brain, constantly drilling, burrowing deep into his thoughts.

"Where is he? Where is that guy hiding? Why can’t I smell anything?"

Being chased by Agatha, Kuleon had no choice but to speed up.

With only twenty meters left to the secret room... Ding! Despite smelling nothing, his body collided with some kind of fine thread.

Suddenly,

a row of Hook traps dropped down from above, fiercely.

Even with his semi-paralyzed body, Kuleon’s reflexes were still quick, as he swung the black knife in his hand to fend off the Hooks... but, caught off guard and due to the dense number of Hooks, some still managed to slice through his body and pierce into his arms.

Argh!

The pain brought by Punishment Room’s metal was even worse than ordinary metal.

Right as he let out a scream and spat out a mouthful of thick blood,

a mask suddenly appeared on the wall beside him,

a gray mask made of writhing tentacles,

a mask themed after a Murderer.

Upon close inspection,

fear infiltrated further through the Hooks embedded in his flesh.

Kuleon’s muscles all began to slightly quiver,

still, he instinctively swung his knife immediately, striking towards the location of the mask!

Ding!

A clang of metal resounded,

what appeared was the same Crystal Tower Shield; its nearly flawless crystal only left with some slight scratches on the surface, wholly unaffected by the strike.

The shield repelled the attack,

Luo Di immediately swung the Crystal Slaughter Blade in his other hand.

Clang! Just as the blade was about to hit, it was still blocked by the opponent.

Luo Di couldn’t help but frown, "This guy... even with his body injured to this extent, his spine broken, and his mind invaded by Fear, his movements are still not much slower."

For some reason, Luo Di felt a slight reverence for the Wanted Criminal who had ambushed him before.

The opponent’s strength was so formidable that Luo Di had to abandon the fighting style of the Murderer, using traps, Agatha’s brute strength, and relying on the sword and shield to slowly wear down the enemy.

Ding ding ding!

The continuous sound of metal collision echoed in the sewer.

Although Luo Di was using a shield for the first time, he got used to it quickly, engaging in frontal combat with his opponent in Open Spine state. After a slight delay, Agatha promptly arrived.

One from the front and one from behind,

the two worked together to corner Kuleon, whose lower body had not fully regenerated yet.

...

Two minutes later.

Boom! The door to the secret room Underground was once again broken through.

Something rolled down the stairs rapidly,

with only three fingers remaining, still tightly clutching the black Hook, and the blade was also full of notches.

Kuleon was no longer partially paralyzed,

but rather, his whole body was nearly bereft of any intact parts.

His thoracic vertebrae were completely smashed,

his intestines, swollen with tumors, were sweeping across the floor like a mop,

his lower jaw sheared off, his tongue nowhere to be found,

still, he continued to crawl,

to drag his mangled body forward with an unknown strength, crawling towards the skull apparatus that he had poured all his efforts into building, crawling towards the Gate of Demon Ascension he was about to reach.

Even if it exhausted everything,

even if every part of his body was crushed, he had to crawl to the device.

Just as his fingers were about to touch the foremost part of the skull, he could no longer move; the last remaining cells in his body also stopped their activities.

At the top of the Underground secret room’s stairs

Luo Di leaned against the wall, slowly walking down,

the Crystal Shield in his hand had actually been broken through, his body cut in many places, even having a clear decapitation wound around his neck.

"... Such a strong Spine."