Chapter 360: The Countless Horrors Of Claymore, Genesis-AMALGAMATION!

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Riven couldn’t really say there was a single innocent person in these reactors, behind its guarded facilities, Claymore also experimented on kidnapped innocents, usually people from poor families or those who were homeless and unlikely to be searched for. Some soldiers had ignored the rumors. Others had seen enough to know they were true and had chosen to remain anyway.

"R-Run...!"

"RUN! Leave the machines behind!"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Some of them still had enough conscience, or common sense, to turn around and run, even if abandoning their posts meant being fired from Claymore. Scientists dropped their equipment, workers left supply crates behind, and several soldiers climbed out of damaged machines rather than continue fighting.

After all, were they truly going to risk their lives for a job that did not even pay them well enough for the hours it demanded? Facing punishment from Claymore was terrifying, but being cut apart within the next few seconds was far worse.

"They’re running away!" Daniela said, watching groups of workers and soldiers rush toward the remaining exits. She kept another weapon ready in her hand but did not throw it.

"Should we...?" Label asked. Her eyes followed the fleeing people as she waited for Riven’s decision.

"No!" Riven answered immediately. The Abyssal Blades shifted away from the fleeing groups, focusing only on the machines and soldiers that continued attacking. "We don’t kill pointlessly. If they’re not attacking us, let them go. They’ll be kicked out once I conquer the dungeon, and Claymore will lose control of this place anyway."

He tightened his grip around Atlas as another group of machines approached from the distance. "If it were up to me, I’d do all of this without any bloodshed. But I’ve already learned my lesson. Sometimes, it’s simply impossible to fight people like them without getting blood on my hands. And I’ve already made my choice, if this amount of sacrifices is enough to save the planet and humanity, then I will carry on without hesitation."

The girls swallowed hard after hearing those words. Riven was by no means a hero, he had decided to walk the darkest path necessary if that allowed him to save the planet, his home, his wife, and humanity.

The girls nodded, still clinging to Riven’s back as he blurred forward and entered the Spirit Reactor. Inside, enormous tubes surrounded the Spirit Core, each one filled with dark liquid and connected to the machinery through bundles of cables. Monstrous chimeras and experiments that were half undead and half alive floated within them.

The moment Riven crossed the chamber, red alarms flashed everywhere and the containment systems began failing. Glass shattered across the floor as several creatures broke free, dragging cables and pieces of their tubes behind them.

"GRAAAHHHHH!"

They rushed to Riven with uncontrolled violence, clawing over one another in their desperation to reach him. Before they could surround him, their bodies began fusing into a massive collection of flesh and bones.

Arms sank into torsos, exposed ribs locked together, and several heads disappeared beneath layers of new tissue. Genesis Cells pulsed inside the forming creature, forcing every separate experiment into a single, aberrant amalgamation.

"Another mutant?!" Daniela cried, tightening her grip on Riven.

"It’s a Genesis Clone!" Label warned.

"No, these were smaller experiments!" Riven answered as he watched their bodies merge. "There isn’t a large one here, but... they’re fusing into one!"

BA-DUM!

BA-DUM!

BA-DUM!

A massive heart formed at the center of the creature and pulsed constantly within its mass of flesh and bones. Each beat shook the chamber and pushed more blood through the veins covering its body. A giant skeletal jaw opened beneath the heart, releasing a distorted roar from several mouths at once.

Countless fleshy tentacles and bone claws rushed toward Riven, smashing through machinery as they advanced. Electricity spread between the limbs while foul-smelling poisonous miasma poured from the creature and filled the reactor chamber.

[Genesis-AMALGAMATION – B Rank]

"B Rank! Girls, get back!" Riven shouted as the creature’s energy surged.

Riven pulled both girls from his back and threw them behind him, using his tails to guide them away from the incoming attack. A massive beam of miasma erupted from the skeletal jaw before he could move aside.

He took it head-on, crossing his two Synergy Weapons in front of himself as the beam pushed him backward. His feet carved deep trails through the floor, but he refused to let the attack reach Daniela and Label.

Atlas and Azrael glowed brightly, releasing their immense power as the miasma struck their blades. Riven roared with all his might and pushed against the beam, forcing both weapons apart as he prepared his counterattack.

Abyssal energy gathered along their edges while he activated Abyssal Death Guillotine at full force, combining it with his Ki Compression Techniques to increase its power as much as possible.

"HAAAAH!"

RUMBLE!

SLAAAAAAAASH!

Genesis-AMALGAMATION screamed in agony, countless voices echoing from within its monstrous body as the attack cut through the miasma beam. The enormous slash continued forward and bisected the creature, splitting its heart and skeletal jaw in two.

Its separated halves struck the walls of the chamber, still twitching as the unstable Genesis Cells lost control. A moment later, explosions began surging from inside its bisected body, tearing apart flesh, bones, and tentacles before they could fuse together again.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

At the same time, the entire Spirit Reactor entered critical mode. Warning lights flashed across the chamber as pipes ruptured, machinery collapsed, and explosions spread from one section to another. Riven grabbed both girls before the reactor could fully detonate and leaped away from the danger.

He crashed through a damaged wall, rolled across the dirt outside, and immediately rose to his feet. Without stopping to recover, he ran straight toward the Mana Reactor while the structure behind them continued blowing apart.

"This is where the castle was!" Riven said, recognizing the broken foundations beneath the newer construction. The Mana Reactor had been built directly over the old ruins, hiding whatever remained below.

As he rushed inside, he ignored the soldiers and scientists running away from him. Most dropped their weapons and equipment as soon as they saw him, too frightened to defend the reactor.

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