Ruminas's gaze became a little more serious. She immediately used her appraisal skill to examine the monster again.
[Manducater]
[Completion level: 99%]
[Description: This creature is very close to perfecting itself. If it succeeds, it will be the first of its kind, and another disaster will befall humanity if it survives and continues to develop]
[Features: It's not that different since it's still unfinished so it doesn't have any special abilities but don't underestimate its power. Other abilities are greatly increased]
[Weakness: Destroys its entire body]
"Really…"
Ruminas couldn't believe what he just read.
This monster failed to copy the 'qi' and was severely injured, but somehow it was still able to succeed in continuing to evolve and perfect itself.
"With this terrifying ability to adapt and learn, I'm afraid that if it is allowed to perfect, it will become, as the system said, a disaster for humanity!"
"I must destroy it now!"
Ruminas said so but she didn't rush forward, it had successfully evolved and although it didn't have any special abilities, if she looked down on it then she would be the one to pay the price.
The monster's body was now a bit bigger than before, it stood upright on two legs, on its body now there were only two eyes on its head and a giant mouth.
Its tentacles also gathered on its back and there were six of them in total, around the outer skin there were also sharp spikes.
"There's nothing special about its appearance, but what's important is how far its intelligence has developed…"
Ruminas clenched her fists, thinking this battle was about to end but the monster could always evolve in time to save itself but this would be the last time.
She will not let it evolve again!
Ruminas charged forward, the aura surrounding her body like an invisible blade, each step crushing the ground. She swung her arm, her fist filled with aura striking straight at Manducater's chest.
The punch landed, but unlike before, the monster did not retreat, but only paused slightly. Its skin had become much tougher, and it seemed its physical strength had also increased significantly.
The Manducater counterattacked immediately, its arm swinging down, a terrible weight pressing straight into the spot where Ruminas was standing. She leaned to avoid it, but at that moment, one of its tentacles whipped across like a sharp whip.
"So fast!"
Ruminas reacted in time, using her elbow to block, but the impact still sent her sliding across the ground.
With no time to rest, the Manducater continued to charge, its massive body incredibly fast. It turned around, using its spiked tail to attack in a horizontal trajectory, forcing Ruminas to jump to avoid it.
At that moment, the six tentacles on Manducater's back simultaneously swung out from multiple angles.
Ruminas spun in midair, aura exploding around her body, each strike shattering the incoming tentacles. A powerful kick helped her gain distance, landing safely on the ground.
But the Manducater didn't give her a chance to breathe, it stomped on the ground, shattering the floor, then charged forward at terrifying speed.
Ruminas clenched her fists, jumped up, and charged forward. The two fists collided, a shockwave from the intersection exploded, the earth and rocks shattered, and the air shook.
The Manducater roared, the muscles in its arms bulging, pushing forward with redoubled force. Ruminas stumbled back a little, but she refused to let the odds fall in its favor. Qi pooled in her palms, she leaned away from another punch, then countered with a straight jab to the Manducater's gut.
The blow caused the monster to double over for a moment, but it showed no signs of pain and only grew more ferocious. Two tentacles wrapped around Ruminas' arms, tugging her off balance, while a kick from the Manducater struck her square in the ribs.
The impact was so strong that Ruminas was sent flying, her body spinning in the air before she used her qi to stabilize herself and land in a solid position. A sharp pain radiated from her side where the blow had been applied, but she didn't let it affect the flow of the battle.
The Manducater had evolved, but it was not yet completely overwhelming. She knew clearly that if she made the slightest mistake, her end would not be good.
"These monsters are really annoying!"
The Manducater roared again, its eyes filled with murder. It charged, and this time, its speed was faster than before.
But Ruminas was used to this pace. She dodged each blow, moving like a shadow, each step was absolutely precise. She counterattacked relentlessly, each blow hitting Manducater's vital spots.
The battle continued in extreme tension, every blow, every movement carried killing intent and destruction.
Neither side shows any signs of backing down.
Both of them understood that this battle could not end right now.
The battle had destroyed areas within a radius of nearly a hundred meters, but showed no signs of stopping. Every time they collided, there would be a cloud of dust and smoke, and both sides would be thrown far away.
It wasn't just about normal fighting, the two were also constantly trapping each other, using tactics and constantly figuring out each other's moves. Sometimes Ruminas couldn't even keep up with Manducater's changing speed.
Suddenly, in the middle of the fight, a headache struck Ruminas, causing her to freeze for a split second and immediately receive a punch from the monster that sent her flying dozens of meters away.
"What the hell…"
Ruminas slowly crawled up from the rubble and she noticed that some strange black lines had appeared on her arm, she didn't know what they meant but they were still spreading.
Already-
She felt her strength suddenly increase even more while she did nothing.
"What is it…?"
But before Ruminas could think for long, Manducater continued to charge.
Out of options, she had no choice but to temporarily put the matter aside and continue fighting.
During that process, the strange lines continued to spread, from her arms and then started to spread to other parts of her body, on her face also appeared a few lines spreading from her eyes and suddenly a severe pain hit her heart causing her to lose concentration.
Manducater immediately took advantage of that and gave Ruminas a series of attacks that left her only able to passively defend, but the pain from her heart still did not stop.
Ruminas finally coughed up blood and was sent flying once more.
The surrounding 'qi' wavered slightly, when Ruminas looked closely she discovered that the yellow 'qi' that represented her fighting talent was gradually decreasing and being invaded by black 'qi'.
"What the—"
Before she could investigate, she suddenly received a notification from the system.
[The Heroic Queen is very surprised by your current state. She asks you if you used the demon heart?]
Ruminas had a bad feeling but she still answered honestly.
[The Heroic Queen sighed. She gave you an explanation that the demonic heart is not an ordinary thing, it gives power to the user but also gradually takes away that person's will. Your current state is called 'erosion' and once this process ends, you will completely lose your mind]
[The Heroic Queen advises you to temporarily stop using this power to let the patterns slowly disappear]
"No!" Ruminas replied immediately.
"If I stop now, this monster will crush me."
[…]
Ruminas ignored it and continued into the fight. Although her current condition was quite critical, her strength was gradually increasing, making her gradually regain the advantage.
[The Heroic Queen respects your decision. Therefore, she suggests that you focus on developing your special abilities and not let that evil power take over any further.]
"I got it!"
The main goal is to make the yellow qi more abundant.
"But how does one develop a fighting talent? Isn't it fighting? And that's what I'm doing!" Ruminas wondered.
Thanks to the increased strength, she was no longer under too much pressure, so she started to distract herself to think about this problem. The black lines were still spreading and almost covered her arm.
"Indeed, there is no power without a price…" She sighed softly.
"My natural fighting talent is the ability to fight flexibly, quickly and strongly, but I'm doing all of those things, but the golden threads of energy continue to gradually disappear…"
Suddenly, while Ruminas was thinking, she got a headache, a voice appeared in her head and told her that it could give her even more power but she had to give her body to it.
"Evil!"
Ruminas quickly cleared her thoughts, currently thinking that the voice would appear again, she decided to focus on the battle at hand.
"Just finish quickly and it will be fine!"
Thinking so, Ruminas increased her strength and attacked the monster more and more fiercely, its body was beaten to the point of being mutated but it was still holding on.
"It's as tough as a plate!"
Ruminas' eyes flashed with a gloomy light, she didn't realize that her golden pupils were also gradually turning black.