Chapter 361: The Results Of The Cruel Experiments Of Doctor Cid Windfallis, The Mad Esper Attacks!

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Riven’s Spiritual Power surged as he activated a Spiritual Art, manifesting enormous hands above the chamber. The hands closed around the huge core at its center and smashed it from both sides, shattering its protective shell and breaking the core into pieces.

Crack, crack...!

CRAAASH!

This time, something inside the nearby tubes reacted to the destruction. A massive bird-like creature broke through its containment and emerged from the falling glass, roaring directly at Riven. Its sudden appearance forced him to stop.

"?!"

The monster had layers of colorful feathers and a long golden beak, but countless eyes opened between the feathers and followed every movement in the chamber. Pieces of exposed bone covered its wings and chest, forming armor around its unnatural body.

"W-What is that thing?!" Daniela asked, raising another weapon as the creature spread its enormous wings.

"Another Genesis experiment?" Label asked. She prepared several potions at once, unsure which one would work against it.

Both girls attacked before the creature could move. Daniela hurled several explosive weapons toward its chest while Label launched her potions between its wings. The explosions engulfed the massive bird and pushed it against the remaining tubes, but they only made it angrier. It roared with fury and released an immense Spiritual Shockwave from its entire body.

The force swept across the ruins, flattening what remained of the castle and tearing through the Mana Reactor. Its damaged core ruptured a moment later, causing another huge explosion that turned everything white.

BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

Daniela and Label groaned as they slowly pushed themselves up from the ground. Their ears rang, and for several seconds, they could barely see through the dust and white light. Then, they realized that a barrier made of Psychic Power and Spiritual Energy had formed around them, protecting both girls from the worst of the explosion.

At the center of the destroyed reactor stood Riven, holding the barrier in place while clashing against the mysterious bird’s immense Spiritual Power. The creature’s multicolored wings stretched across the ruins, scattering sparks of energy with every movement.

Behind it extended a long, snake-like tail covered in feathers, scales, and several blinking eyes. Riven planted his feet into the shattered floor and continued resisting, refusing to let the pressure reach the girls behind him.

"R-Riven?!" Daniela cried. "What’s going on? What is that thing?!"

"..." Riven’s eyes narrowed as he clenched his teeth, constantly wrestling against the beast with sheer psychic power and spiritual energy. It was the only way he could hold it back, as this being was vastly superior to him in every other way. His temples throbbed, and thin streams of blood slid from his nose. "This is how terrible my luck is...! This thing is an Esper!"

"Esper?!" the girls asked. Then Label remembered something, and her face suddenly paled. "Huh?! Espers, as in... THE Espers?!"

Daniela stared at them, completely confused. "What are Espers?!"

"Powerful Spirit Gods from another dimension," Riven explained, his gaze never leaving the creature. "They’re also known as Fallen Gods or Divine Spirits. They usually govern their own Spiritual Realms, though some originate from Gates! They’re intelligent beings capable of reason, and some can even cooperate with people, but humanity’s greed goes far beyond such petty things... As you can see, they must’ve tricked this benevolent Wind Spirit God, imprisoned him, and turned him into a monster while extracting nearly all of his magic power...! What remains is only a shadow of what he used to be. This thing must’ve been much stronger in his prime...!"

He dug his heels into the broken ground as another wave of pressure struck him. "Willheim isn’t the only one here. A scientist named Cid Windfallis works on Esper bioengineering and the creation of Magitech Soldiers...! So we’ve finally stumbled upon one of his wonderful works of art, as he would call it!"

A bitter memory from the future flashed through Riven’s mind. Cid Windfallis had been a notorious scientist who captured, tortured, and reduced powerful beings known as Espers into fuel for his experiments.

The first prototypes of the Mana Reactor and Spirit Reactor had been built by abusing their powers, draining them until almost nothing remained. Riven had seen the results before, the empty husks that could no longer even remember who they were anymore, turned into berserk monsters even though they once were wise and often peaceful spiritual deities.

"CRAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

The massive, majestic bird roared furiously. Its cry swept across the wasteland like a violent storm, shattering Riven’s barriers one after another. The final barrier burst apart, sending him and the girls flying across the ruined ground. Daniela struck the earth shoulder-first and rolled several times before stopping.

Label barely managed to shield her face from the fragments of stone cutting through the air. In the distance, dozens of people ran in panic, only to be flattened into blood and minced flesh within seconds by the Esper’s vengeful presence. Riven forced himself back onto one knee, horrified by the destruction unfolding before him.

[Quetzalcoatl, the King of the Skies (Mutated) – A+++ Rank]

"Quetzalcoatl?!" Riven was shaken. Even in the future, he rarely heard that name spoken without fear. "He must’ve been brought here from the South American group of Spirit Realms...! He was once feared as an SSS Rank, but now he’s only A Rank...?! Did humans trick and enslave him? Did they drain his power and turn him into this mutant?"

His expression twisted with anger as he looked into the creature’s maddened eyes. Beneath that rage, he could still sense a faint lingering will. But it wasn’t struggling anymore, it had given up completely to his madness. "What a sad fate...!"

Riven took a step forward and began evolving, mutating himself even further. Flesh, scales, armor, and foreign tissue shifted across his body as he combined his genes and skills into a towering form. Half titan, dragon, alien, and everything else he had absorbed. Bones cracked into new positions beneath his skin, and enormous wings tore free from his back.

"I’m sorry," he said, his voice strained but steady.

"I’ll put an end to your suffering."

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