Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)-Chapter 1102. Corrupted Denizen Cleanup

Sin and Wai were right.

A sea of Corrupted Denizens swarmed past with the unstoppable force of a broken dam. The Converted Drones, which were hornet-like creatures, flew overhead as a collective as Templars hacked away pieces of the Milinid Leg in their path.

The groups spilled out from the hole in the leg moments before it retreated into the skies, unleashing a terrible wave of Corrupted upon them.

Templars, the knights.

Devoted, the puppets.

Converted Drones, the hornets.

Jugglers, the jester apparitions.

And the Deserters.

Each filed into their own ranks. The drones smothered the skies. The Templars marched forth as the vanguard, swinging crescent-shaped blades at whatever moved. Jugglers remained in the back, hurling explosive orbs at the frontlines. Simultaneously, the strings of the Devoted converted fallen Act X members into their own.

And finally, the Deserters, who detached from the main army to flank.

There was no space that wasn’t infested with Corrupted Denizen. The air was thick with intangible Nex, all stemming from a single Affinity.

Unyielding Purpose. The Corrupted sought nothing but to enact what their main Corrupted commanded. Each swing of the Templars was designed to slay. Each corpse puppeted meant to repurpose. Each being converted into another Converted Drone to assimilate. The Jugglers yearned for nothing but destruction, and the Deserters aimed for the very thing they wished to protect.

The twins.

The place where the twins were kept was invisible to the naked eye. But the Deserters weaved through the shoulders of Templars, and rode on the backs of Converted Drones towards the center where they instinctively knew their target hid.

They moved through the legs of their ranks and sprouted claws that dragged along the marble. Their intentions were made clear, and the spines on their backs vibrated. This vibration stirred other Deserters to follow the path it had taken, and when it pounced at the boundary of the Isolation Sphere–

“They called me a madwoman for insisting Act X was hiding more than they were willing to admit.” Horus contemplated.

–Dark chains ran through its body.

This same chain extended to others who had followed it. Then, another fourteen more chains appeared in the space surrounding the Isolation Sphere. The chains held them in suspended stasis, some floating, and others frozen mid-pounce.

Horus held out her sheathed katana in a reverse grip. She then slammed its hilt, as though to seal the undrawn blade. The chains suddenly stretched infinitely thin. Space was spliced into fifteen segments, and the chains finally shattered.

With them, the bodies of the Deserters were cleanly cut. Their bodies did not bleed, nor did they move. The world itself had not yet recognized what had occurred. Seconds passed, and their bodies tumbled upon one another before black blood sputtered out.

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This was [Chained Theocracy: Dimensional Blade (Sealed). She had not even used the edge of her blade to cut them. It worked by severing space with the scabbard to deliver damage. Had she used its refined edge…

“Acedia~ Forgive me, but didn’t the Head say something about her words being law?” She casually called, replacing her pipe with a smaller, thinner cigarette of a luxurious brand. “Something something she can pardon us?”

“Mother’s are absolute. It’s human nature to wish to expand one’s limbs when it has not been neglected.” Acedia, who held the face of a Herald between her palms, spoke with a vertically split mouth. “Atrophy should be avoided. But your sin is anything but an enabler of neglect. Do you like what you see, Herald? Does it make your heart race?”

Since Acedia could not savor the taste of her prey, she savored the stench of their emotions. As a being who did not understand human emotions, and had recently understood fear and pain, she wished to see how it affected others. More so, those who were… less human by her standards.

Such as the Insectid.

The tip of Horus’ katana touched the ground. A sudden ripple ran through the marble, and a faint glow filled her sunset eyes.

“Then it technically wouldn’t be a contract violation to let loose. The stakes are higher than the Ghost Site. CogitO isn’t watching either~ Never let them operate on my noggin.”

She held the blade behind her as she assumed a sprinter’s stance. She stretched forward, one hand on the handle, and the other on the sheath. An energy wave pulsed from beneath her boots as the symbol of an orange eye was projected inches from her face.

“But let’s face it, Acedia. I’m too lazy to tame this baby. It stays sealed.”

The same symbol appeared over the heads of every Corrupted Denizen in her line of sight. The light in her eyes extended to her blade like lighting. An orange trail formed before her. Only she could see this, and all she had to do was follow it.

[Disruptor’s Slash V]: Mastery Skill: [Blink].

Her body was propelled forward like a bolt of lightning. She became an orange trail. Dimensional chains shot from the ground and tears in space, sealing swaths of Corrupted. Horus threw herself into the air when every target had been chained. At the apex of a somersault, and as she fell with her head facing downwards, she tapped the hilt of her blade.

Hundreds of slashes tore through space. Pieces of Corrupted scattered across the battlefield as the chains exploded. It was a spectacular showing of her might as a Color. On a battlefield against humans, they would have already lowered their arms in surrender.

However, she was facing Corrupted. These beings did not relent. They saw her defenseless descent as an opportunity. The Jugglers hurled bombs her way, and the Converted Drones threw themselves at her with their needles primed.

The smirk on Horus’ face never left. It only widened as she witnessed holes form along the bodies of these encroaching Corrupted Denizens. Bullets rang out. They did not belong to her.

“Were you worried about me~?”

“Silence Color. Tsk. Your fighting style is too flamboyant to be effective.”

In the distance, she saw pale magical circles surrounding Wai.

They were a ring of interlocking circles, and they sprung with each bullet that was shot, as if to compensate for the recoil. Bullets were unleashed upon the hoard. Exactly twenty-five of these magical circles hung around her, reminiscent of the magical circles Justica Arms used to unload bullets.

Wai had no Skill nor Ability that allowed her to do this.

What she had used was indeed a Justica Arm rather than her low-tech rifle.

“Is the Justica Arm more effective than yours?” Sin questioned. She was engulfed in a sea of flames born from [Inferno], and she spewed [Liquid Fire] to create a defensive line.

No Corrupted Denizen could dream of surviving such a flame. A single touch was enough to incinerate them, and the slag born from [Liquid Fire] made it too treacherous for the Templars to advance. They had to reroute, only to lock horns with Alcina’s Constructs.

“Whiteout is excellent for single targets. It fails against a horde. Less, when you’re out of position.” She eyed a platform in the distance. “A vantage point will change that.”

“It didn’t occur to me that you were conversing with Beholder Galia.”

“Anything but. A Sacral Appraiser and a representative of the 3rd Branch issued me this gift on behalf of Frost."