blueteamnovel Chapter 77 Beetle Vs... Beetle? (edited)
Chapter 77 Beetle Vs... Beetle? (edited)
As the Beetle foamed at the mouth, the hill trembled once more. This time, it seemed to shift a bit as something began to burrow out of it.
A glossy horn, as black as the Beetle's carapace, poked out from the hill. In comparison, both of their horns were roughly the same size, albeit the one coming out of the hill was just a tad bit longer.
The surface of the hill then continued to expand before exposing a human-like face just like the Beetle's.
The difference was that it was covered in thin, narrow roots that infested it like throbbing veins.
The place where its eyes would be was replaced with thick branches with limp roots at the end.
Its teeth were jagged and decayed, supposedly over a long period of time.
And lastly...
Lillian stared at what seemed to be another beetle exiting the tall dirt mound with a shocked expression.
She then shifted her gaze at the familiar stump situated on its back with thick roots digging into its shell.
She then shouted:
"Huh!? Another?!"
Marionette rested her chin on top of Lillian's head with a curious and interested expression as she gazed at it.
"It would seem so... and the tree seemed to be its parasite..."
"Wait... how would it have gotten its body then? Did it kill it and then take over its body?"
"That would be the only answer from what I believe. Or it could have taken over when the beetle naturally passed on beside it." Marionette said while shrugging, "Either way, pay attention. I doubt you'll see these types of scenes often in the academy."
"Eh..."
Lillian held a strange expression, which she decided to put away. She would rather not say right now and be questioned about future events.
She stared forward and watched as the Parasitised Beetle slowly approached the foaming Beetle. Its movements were clumsy, almost as if it wasn't used to moving.
After reaching it, it paused before raising its head, tapping its horn against the Beetle's before rearing back its head and swinging it down.
BAM!
The Parasitised Beetle was then suddenly knocked back, having its back slam harshly against the dirt mound.
The Beetle that had been dealing with the effects of the poison had swiftly recovered.
It pushed forward, slamming its horn into the Parasitised Beetle once again..
The Beetle then shot it a hateful look that seems to have taken root in its very existence—specifically at the dark red eye situated at the bottom of the Parasitised Beetle.
Lillian and Marionette watched as the resentful Beetle kept ramming its horn into the Parasitised one—each hit making holes that oozed blood, which had a greenish-yellow tint.
"Who do you think might win? Because It looks like the damn Beetle is beating the other one's ass..." Lillian inquired grimly. She really wanted the tree to win.
She also wanted to be the one to kill the Beetle, but she doubted she would be able to unless the tree finally stepped up its game.
Marionette thought for a moment before answering, "Hard to say when we haven't seen what the tree could really do... but..."
Despite these harrowing and brutal injuries, it was still alive, albeit incapacitated.
However, this sight would've left others concerned and cautious about the other Beetle. She was not.
In fact, she was ecstatic.
"Hey Marionette, do save me if that parasite attacks me," Lillian stated, shuffling out from Marionette's arms, who stared down at her with a perplexed expression.
Her eyes then widened slightly in realisation before nodding, "Alright. Let's see if you get lucky enough to get an Item—"
Before she could even finish her sentence, Lillian had already dashed towards the twitching Beetle with a revengeful look in her eyes.
"Lucky~ lucky~ lucky~..." Lillian hummed, sticking out her hand to the side and constructing a near-perfect replica of the Sonata of Revenge, albeit made out of water.
Her aquatic blade reflected the light, giving the appearance of the familiar gleam her rapier would have occasionally.
As she rapidly approached the incapacitated Beetle, she caught the intimidating sight of a swarm of roots darting towards her.
They swerved in the air like birds and wiggled like sea snakes swimming through water.
They eventually lost their liveliness once Marionette appeared swinging her trusty battle axe, which she seemed to be quite fond of using.
'She definitely has a weapon, right?' Lillian thought curiously before raising her hand and grabbing onto the edge of the Beetle's shell.
After pulling herself up, she made her way past its legs and towards its face, glancing at the devastating wounds in its body and staring inside at its internal organs that began to shift in colour visibly.
What she believed to be a healthy red was now turning into a gruesome but beautiful shade of purple.
After reaching its repulsive face, which caused her face to wrinkle, it was a pain-filled expression, and her eyes had lost most of their colour and had begun to go cloudy.
She also couldn't help but sense it was feeling a sense of sorrow at the fact it couldn't kill the parasitic tree.
Her eyes closed, her face becoming thoughtful.
She then smirked and opened her eyes, "Heh~ too bad, so sad."
Lillian then pulled back her arm and stabbed her rapier into its brownish face, gripping the hilt. Then, she began to inject more of her mana into her rapier.
The Beetle's face began to bloat slightly, expanding as small streams of water left through its pores and mouth.
"I wonder how this feels for you... is it painful? Or are you already in too much pain to realise it?" Lillian sat on it, continuing to inject water into its face.
"I'm kind of like a reverse mosquito, aren't I?" Lillian snickered, staring at its now bloated face before kicking at it and watching it wobble.
"I really didn't have to do this. But think of it as revenge for breaking my arms, huh~? No hard feelings?" she said before stabbing through its eye and injecting its skull with water until...
[You have slain a Savage Maw, Carapace Hunter]
The Jester's satisfying notification chimed in her mind. It brought her comfort, knowing she had killed the cursed Beetle.
Not only that... but another notification resounded in the Jester's voice.
This time, it had an ominous echo to it.
[You have received a Shard of an entity's past.]