Chapter 90: Tentacles That Only Corrode Clothes and a Lap Pillow

Tentacles That Only Corrode Clothes and a Lap Pillow

【A single finger bone from a first-tier transcendent can summon “Lefty” once. With each sacrifice, “Lefty” changes. It now has walking legs made of over ten fingers.】

【During the final summon, “Lefty” lingered longer. Its palm bulged into a large circle... like it was pregnant.】

【Spiritual beings also evolve.】

【If I summon “Lefty” outside the simulation, which form will it retain?】

【Using different materials for spiritual summoning results in spiritual beings related to the material’s properties.】

【This connection is particularly evident when summoning with first-tier transcendent corpses. Corpses from the same path and tier consistently summon different individuals of the same type of spiritual being.】

【The “recipes” for spiritual summoning are like potion formulas.】

【Is there a connection between the two?】

【Through multiple summons, I’ve gained some insight into communicating with them... but each summon consumes quite a bit of blood and spirit. Spirit is fine, but the significant blood loss is getting hard to bear.】

【The blood of dead transcendents and ordinary people doesn’t work. Does it absolutely have to be my blood?】

【If I sacrificed a transcendent alive, would I not need to use my blood?】

【Conserve some strength, try with Kitty’s corpse last... Have the black shadow gather her brain tissue and skull fragments first, keep it as intact as possible.】

A notebook filled with crooked Chinese characters lay in a pool of blood, its pages soaking, making the twisted script appear even more grotesque.

Ciel stared intently at the blood mist vortex and Kitty’s burning corpse before her.

Blood threads continuously peeled away from Ciel’s body, causing waves of dizziness from blood loss.

“Did I perform too many summons at once?” Ciel thought silently.

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Since it was a simulation, Ciel wasn’t overly concerned about her physical state.

If she could discover side effects, that would be even better, preventing her real self from making the same mistakes.

The black noise in Ciel’s head persisted. As the corpse before her nearly finished burning, she felt the entire ground tremble.

This summon has such a large effect?

Watching fine sand and debris fall from the ceiling onto Kitty’s burning corpse, Ciel was surprised.

This was the most powerful summon she had experienced, truly worthy of a second-tier corpse...

A “Missionary’s” corpse... what could it summon?

Would the Sadhana mark within Kitty’s body introduce any variables to the summon?

If “Sadhana” truly was some deity, sacrificing a corpse bearing his mark wouldn’t summon one of his offspring or something, would it...?

Fortunately, the things she summons won’t attack her, and basic communication is also possible. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

Perhaps due to their low tier, spiritual beings couldn’t engage in complex communication. Talking to them felt like interacting with cats or dogs—just vastly different in appearance.

The peeling of blood threads from her body stopped. The blood mist vortex before her finally stabilized.

Good, it didn’t drain me dry...

Just then, Ciel felt another distinct tremor, accompanied by sharp, wailing cries.

It was like thousands of people were mourning and howling inside her head. For an instant, she felt like her brain was about to explode!

This spiritual being... is wrong!

It might very well be Sadhana’s offspring!

Is “Judicator” Ciel destined to become a cultist too?

Ciel struggled to raise her left hand, clutching her head tightly, hoping the pain would keep her more alert.

Giant tentacles burst from the blood mist, latching onto the nearby walls. A maw like something from the abyss, pulled by the barbed tentacles, squeezed out from the blood mist vortex.

Its massive, millstone-like mouth connected to a gullet lined with rings of teeth like a sandworm’s, extending into bottomless darkness... The gullet before her seemed like a pathway to another world.

Going in there... could it really lead to the Other Side?

The black shadows beneath Ciel began to seethe, watching alertly, ready to strike at any moment against the terrifying creature before them that brought severe whispers to Ciel.

However...

Ciel noticed the ring of eyes around the giant maw. Some of them looked at Ciel, radiating obvious goodwill.

Gurgling sounds emanated from deep within its throat, sounding almost like purring. Even when these sounds reached Ciel’s ears, they caused no mental interference.

Right now, it felt like a golden retriever trying to get through a door with a stick in its mouth, getting stuck, and just wagging its tail, looking pitifully at her.

Can’t get out... Not enough materials? Missing corpse parts? Not enough blood?

These weren’t Ciel’s immediate concerns.

Because, reflected in the purple, malevolent eyes on the side of the giant maw, she saw some familiar figures.

So it was them...

No wonder my head felt like it was about to explode... Why did they bring so many people?

If they don’t quiet down soon, my sanity really won’t hold.

Ciel pressed her left hand to her head and slowly turned around, looking behind her.

Their mouths seemed to be shouting something. The people following behind them stared at her in terror. But Ciel couldn’t make out what they were saying at all.

“So noisy...”

Can’t you be quieter?

Before she could utter the next sentence, several agonizing screams echoed in Ciel’s mind. She saw a few of the transcendents standing further back clutch their heads and start to flee in panic.

And Nia, the third-tier “Crown Guard,” had already raised her sword and shield, blocking Avena, the silver-white shield emitting a faint blue glow.

What’s going on? Why is the sword pointed at me?

Ciel hesitated for a second.

Me, fight a third-tier? Seriously?

Oh, right...

Ciel suddenly remembered the rather unpleasant-looking spiritual being behind her. They must have been frightened by this monster.

Whoosh—

A series of whistling sounds whipped past her ears. While Ciel was trying to figure out how to explain the situation, the giant maw, sensing a threat, had already shot out all its tentacles, rushing straight towards the four people who hadn’t fled.

Whoa, stop!

Ciel quickly raised her hand and pressed down on a nearby tentacle, making it freeze in response to her action.

But she could only stop one tentacle.

Over twenty more tentacles, like a sky-obscuring swarm, surged towards the group.

-

The giant maw, originally stuck halfway out of the blood mist vortex, completely gave up trying to emerge. It retracted its mouth, leaving only a small portion of the outer skin with eyeballs to observe. The remaining space was now densely covered with tentacles.

“Clang—!”

With the others fleeing, the whispers in Ciel’s mind and ears subsided slightly. She faintly heard the clang of metal on metal, a sound so loud it made the entire ground vibrate.

Through the gaps between the writhing tentacles, Ciel saw Nia at the entrance, a golden honeycomb-patterned light barrier shimmering before her. Each hexagonal segment had small gaps between them, yet they firmly protected Nia and Avena behind her.

The seemingly terrifying tentacles and barbed spikes had no effect on Nia’s shield.

Numerous tentacles covered the shield. Although they couldn’t penetrate it, the suckers continuously secreted green slime, which flowed down through the gaps in the light barrier, coating the entire shield.

Uris, feeling the terrifying spiritual alarm in her mind, instinctively gathered all her white shadows before her, severing the incoming tentacles. Purple blood splattered from the severed ends, nearly drenching her.

Adele’s situation was more direct. The single white shadow Uris had left couldn’t determine the attack direction because the alarm sounded from all sides—tentacles had already surrounded Adele.

As a result, the defenseless first-tier Adele was instantly ensnared by four tentacles and pulled back.

“Wuwuwu.” Adele was bound by the tentacles, dangling beside Ciel.

Taking advantage of this moment, Ciel turned to the few eyes remaining in the blood mist vortex behind her, glared fiercely, and mentally roared, “Stop attacking!”

Ciel couldn’t issue complex commands. Through previous experiments, she knew spiritual beings likely couldn’t understand intricate instructions.

The purple, malevolent pupils swiveled, then slowly retracted the tentacles, arranging the remaining ones along the edge of the blood mist vortex.

At this time, the blood mist vortex began to shrink, apparently reaching its time limit.

Having dealt with the spiritual being’s attack, Ciel felt the intensifying whispers pounding her head, causing excruciating pain. She turned to look at Adele, still suspended in mid-air by several tentacles.

“Don’t cry!” Ciel placed her right index finger to her lips. She tried her best to sound calm, but her tone still carried a distinct threat.

Hearing Ciel speak, Adele froze for a moment, then quickly clamped her mouth shut, though tears still streamed down her face when she blinked.

“Put her down.” Ciel waved her hand, instructing the tentacles to release Adele.

Standing where she was, Adele looked at Ciel, her legs feeling somewhat weak, but she still didn’t dare run away, afraid of being caught again.

“Adele? Adele, where are you?!”

“Milady, are you alright?”

“I... I’m fine...”

Ciel glanced towards the entrance. It was chaos over there; she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

She turned back to Adele beside her and asked, “Why did you all come here?”

This time, Ciel speaking directly finally brought Adele gradually back to her senses.

After confirming she wasn’t hallucinating, Adele sniffled and asked, “Ciel... you... you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

Ciel frowned and said, “I just can’t hear you guys very well now, Uris was the same earlier, she ran off for no reason.”

“...Huh?”

Adele blinked, stunned, murmuring, “They said you drank a first-tier potion and a second-tier potion within 24 hours... and went mad...”

“My ‘Avenger’ potion wasn’t consumed within 24 hours.” Ciel shook her head. “I just have hidden methods, you misunderstood.”

Adele: “Huh?”

Adele: “Then... what about that monster?”

Adele could sense that Ciel was currently rational and capable of coherent communication, but she still couldn’t comprehend the evil sacrificial arrays Ciel had set up or the terrifying monsters she had summoned... These were clearly the methods of a cult.

“Some cultists were performing a sacrificial ritual here before fleeing. When I regained consciousness, I happened to come over and deal with it,” Ciel casually made something up, then mentally commanded the spiritual being to return.

As the tentacles retracted, the blood mist vortex slowly shrank until it vanished completely.

Even the purple blood, slime, and severed limbs left behind by the tentacles began to disintegrate, dissolving into faint blue motes of light.

Adele clearly believed Ciel’s explanation, her tearful face clearing up. The whispers in Ciel’s mind immediately lessened considerably.

However, the whispers emanating from the entrance continued to assault Ciel’s brain.

“Help me explain to them,” Ciel said to Adele. “Also, tell them my head is full of chaotic noise right now. If they maintain their fearful emotions, the whispers will only get worse.”

“Mm-hmm.” Adele nodded vigorously and ran towards the entrance.

At the entrance, once the purple blood and slime disappeared, the group reorganized themselves, watching Ciel warily.

Except for the unharmed “Crown Guard” Nia, Uris and Avena’s clothes had large holes corroded through them, barely covering essential parts of their bodies.

They were stunned to see Adele running towards them unharmed.

Only after Adele relayed Ciel’s words did Avena and Uris look towards Ciel with suspicion.

Ciel’s explanation was full of holes... but for now, they could confirm that Ciel hadn’t been assimilated by the potion and still retained her sanity.

As their mindset shifted, the ringing in Ciel’s ears gradually subsided. The dizziness from massive blood loss hit her fully at this moment, making her sway unsteadily.

Noticing Ciel’s unstable condition, Adele and Avena rushed towards her, with Uris and Nia following closely behind.

Just as Ciel’s legs gave out and she uncontrollably pitched forward, Avena stepped forward and caught her. Together with Adele, they gently lowered Ciel, letting her head rest on Avena’s now bare thigh.

“Hang in there, Ciel.” Adele had been panicked earlier, but now that she was calm, she could immediately recognize Ciel’s state of extreme blood loss.

She quickly took out a vial of deep green potion, shook it slightly, uncorked it, and held it to Ciel’s lips.

Already severely thirsty from blood loss, Ciel took the bottle and drank it all down.

As the cool potion entered her mouth, warmth began to spread from where the liquid flowed, restoring feeling to Ciel’s cold, numb limbs.

But the soft surface her head rested on, combined with her exhaustion, brought waves of overwhelming sleepiness crashing over Ciel.