Nino gathered his forces and prepared to act.

The incident was sudden. Although he had sent out a call for help, reinforcements from other districts would take time to arrive, and given Sun City's current state, they couldn't afford to wait. They had to take matters into their own hands.

He asked Mithra to join them. She agreed. She had to catch Sheng this time.

There wouldn't be a third time.

Mithra went to the Guard Station. There were many injured: Sun City guards, believers, Planet Blue citizens, and refugees seeking shelter.

Not many Planet Blue citizens frequented the Southwestern District, so those present were unlucky.

She heard several Planet Blue citizens complaining as she walked, while Sun City residents worried about their families.

Approaching her destination, Mithra heard an argument.

"Leo Duncan! I heard you caused this! Those monsters almost killed me!" A bandaged man shouted angrily at Leo Duncan.

Leo Duncan ignored him. The man, enraged, lunged at him, only to be stopped by a red light – Immobilize.

Nie Hong stood nearby. "Calm down. We're just trying to help. The cause of this incident isn't Leo Duncan's fault,"

"I almost died! How can I be calm?! What help could students possibly offer? You're just causing more trouble! I heard Leo Duncan was almost killed by that Chrysalis person. He's just trying to save face!" the man continued his tirade.

Leo Duncan didn't look at him, simply lowering his head.

Nie Hong frowned. "Shut up and leave. Don't think you're so special just because you're a year older." He wasn't known for his patience.

He unleashed a wave of Ki, pushing the man back.

Bang!

The man collided with a solid chest.

He angrily turned to confront Nie Hong, but a hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up and met a pair of cold, dark eyes, his anger seeming to vanish instantly.

"You, you're..."

"How many lives do you have left?" Mithra asked curiously.

The man's mouth opened and closed. He had a feeling that answering would be a mistake, and he angrily stormed off.

Nie Hong sighed in relief, then turned to Leo Duncan. "See? Your usual arrogance causes trouble, you damn crab. Now you've got people complaining."

"He was probably sent to provoke me. He saw death, and that anger needed an outlet. Someone who dislikes me gave him an opportunity," Leo Duncan said, his usual arrogance diminished.

"Easy for you to say," Nie Hong muttered, then turned to Mithra. "Are you alright?"

"Are you asking me? Shouldn't I be asking you?" Mithra countered sincerely.

Nie Hong was speechless. Sometimes, Mithra was even more annoying than Leo Duncan.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"It's good that you're fine. Just stay here until things are resolved," Leo Duncan nodded and sat down on a chair.

"What happened?" Mithra asked, turning to Nie Hong.

Nie Hong shrugged. "They took the pregnant woman to the Sanctuary. I heard about this incident on my way back here. He's probably beating himself up over it,"

"Bullshit," Leo Duncan scoffed.

"What's with this 'Schrödinger's negativity'? Are you having a tantrum?" Nie Hong asked.

Leo Duncan sighed. "I wasn't wrong. The problem was with the pregnant woman. My eyes gave me clues, but I was too focused on the initial anomaly I saw on her hand."

Leo Duncan leaned back against his chair, defeated. "Mithra severed that transformed believer. If it couldn't regenerate its lower body, then its ideal disguise would be a child, including an unborn child. I subconsciously overlooked that possibility."

"Even if it was the unborn child, I should have noticed something with my eyes, but I didn't realize the significance, so I missed it,"

"I was also defeated in my first fight with Mithra because I relied too much on my eyes. Clearly, I didn't learn anything from that,"

Leo Duncan chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"Even if you had realized it was the unborn child, you couldn't have changed the situation," Nie Hong said, trying to comfort him.

The unborn child was connected to the mother. Even if they had known, it wouldn't have been easy to resolve, and the mother's fate would have been the same.

"But I could have tried to save her, even if the chance was small. No matter what, this was my fault. Right now, I'm not worthy of these eyes," Leo Duncan said coldly.

"Done with your self-reflection?" Mithra asked suddenly.

Leo Duncan and Nie Hong were startled, turning to look at her.

"We're organizing a team to clear out the cursed creatures. You can volunteer. Figure it out yourselves," Mithra said, then turned and left.

If they weren't going to gouge out their eyes as penance, they had to do something.

Mithra left without hesitation. The two were strong and capable; she didn't need to interfere, and she wasn't good at comforting people.

Nie Hong looked at her back, then smiled at Leo Duncan. "Crab, are you in?"

Leo Duncan lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up, determination in his eyes. "I'm in."

...

"Confirmed sighting of the Flesh Transmutation believer, the wielder of the Chrysalis Heart, the Enchanting Land citizen Sheng. He's approaching the breach in the Southwestern wall!"

Mithra had just returned when she heard the report.

Nino was wearing a new set of Sun City Guard Commander armor, his aura powerful. Mithra could even see a faint, shimmering light emanating from him.

Safin's notes had mentioned that this flickering light indicated a believer whose spirit, mind, and body were in peak condition, their faith resonating with their sense.

Believers in this state could briefly access greater power.

He was fully prepared to use all his power to eliminate the monster threatening Sun City.

He nodded a greeting to Mithra as she approached.

Mithra considered this. "The Southwestern breach, Sunshine Village?"

"Yes, but I don't know why he's going there. If he wants to escape, the Southwestern gate would be closer, though it's heavily guarded, but in his current state, he likely wouldn't consider that an obstacle," Nino replied, also puzzled.

Mithra glanced at the map, noting the locations of the teleportation points within Sun City.

"Because that's where a rift is; he's trying to access a teleportation point," Mithra said.

"We considered that possibility, since he's from the Enchanting Land," Nino said seriously, but then added, "But there's no teleportation point in Sunshine Village."

"There is. A recently opened teleportation point. It's closer to the breach than the nearest known point within the city. So they opened that point as an escape route," Mithra realized why the five hadn't used the existing teleportation points in Sun City but had opened a new one.

"Report their location again!" Nino frowned and issued another order. The scout quickly returned with an update.

The suspect was close, almost at the breach!

"Inform the Planet Blue Embassy! We're moving out! Frontline units, engage and slow them down! The counterattack begins!" Nino shouted.

Mithra activated Stabilize, her gaze drifting towards the smoky sky.

…

Under the smoky sky, Sheng fought off the occasional attack. Layers of flesh formed a protective armor around his small body, making him appear larger and more imposing.

Several fireballs bombarded him, but he charged through the flames, each step leaving a deep imprint in the ground.

The breach in the wall was just ahead.

He had to bring the god's heart to Planet Blue!

There, the god would have a better environment for its revival.

And he could finally escape this grotesque body, becoming perfect!