Chapter 552: Rank 7 Predation & Talent Explosion
Between a potential short-term power boost and a transformation of her own awakened talent, Liora knew how to choose.
Instantly, her suppression of the nine Rank 8 talents was strengthened.
On the other hand, the suppression on Predation vanished pletely.
Unfortunately, things did not go exactly as expected.
Just like before, Predation did not pounce on the world’s core.
Although it showcased its overbearing momentum and bloodthirsty size, it still shrank back, like a wolf cub growling at a fully armed human.
The parison was extremely apt.
“Predation is only a Rank 6 talent after all.”
“Although the rhombus was left behind by the Human Emperor and cannot call upon his power at the moment, its nature is terrifyingly high, reaching the Ancient Devil stage.”
In simple terms, Predation was akin to a Greater Devil trying to devour an Ancient Devil. Given the gap in life levels between them, this was certainly impossible.
Thankfully, Liora had already anticipated something like this and had long thought of a solution.
Just like the previous times Predation was lagging behind; she chose to rely on the System’s power.
With a thought, the familiar System panel shimmered into existence before her.
Her eyes briefly scanned over it before settling on the techniques column, focusing on the Cosmic Devouring Technique.
As she noticed the ( ) button flicker behind it, she showed no hesitation.
Her mind moved, and she pressed on it, using the entirety of the Evolution Points she and her descendants had accumulated during this time.
Information instantly flooded into her mind as the Cosmic Devouring Technique’s circulation grew even more intense.
For her current self, the Cosmic Energy devoured was barely better than nothing.
Yet this was not the most important change in this technique’s upgrade.
As she closed her eyes and digested the information, the Predation talent gene broke out.
The vortex in its sky, which had remained inplete for so long, finally materialized.
It looked somewhat similar to the World Core prototypes in her other talents, with the difference being that it was not shaped like a rhombus, but like a giant vortex.
The membrane surrounding the illusory world trembled, and its already massive size began to expand even further.
A few moments later, its advancement was finished.
After the nine SSS-Rank talents, the Unknown-Rank Predation had also managed to reach Rank 7.
Under normal circumstances, that would have been the end of everything.
But an Unknown-Rank talent was obviously different.
Its advancement appeared to have given it enough confidence. Predation was no longer as docile as before.
It rumbled violently.
In the outside world, countless black tentacle-like threads shot out from Liora’s body, striking at the space around her like giant whips.
Within moments, Predation’s tentacles had covered the entire dark void, drilling into its walls, ceiling, and even the space itself.
Liora’s figure was enveloped by them.
For a moment, they seemed to be the only remaining thing within the void, besides the floating rhombus at its center.
The tentacles stopped their expansion briefly. They seemed hesitant to draw closer to the World Core, like an ordinary animal that was facing a fire.
After several seconds, however, they seemed to have received a mand from above.
Their hesitation fully vanished.
As though they had gone truly out of control, the tentacles all lashed out at the World Core.
Their sharp tips penetrated its indestructible surface like spears and entered its interior.
Then, like mouths that were drinking water, they began to extract its very essence, sucking it away bit by bit.
The World Core attempted to resist. The faith around it tumbled, and a majestic aura of humanity erupted.
Unfortunately for it, its efforts proved futile.
If anything, its struggle made the tentacles even more ferocious.
They writhed, lashing out like monsters.
A vast amount of essence was extracted from the World Core and channeled back through their bodies.
There, Liora sat with her eyes closed.
She seemed oblivious to what was taking place around her.
In reality, Liora knew very well what was happening.
It was not that she was unwilling to pay attention to these changes, but rather, that she was doing her best to regulate her out-of-control power.
Under her gaze, the many talents she had extracted began to converge under Predation’s influence following its advancement.
It was as though Predation had transformed into a black hole, bringing the hundreds of other talent genes near it.
Then…
Bang!
A deafening boom rang out in Liora’s mind.
Predation, which was previously expanding and advancing like an ordinary talent, suddenly exploded.
Its membrane appeared unable to hold its own against the vortex’s power. Cracks appeared before it fully broke apart.
Liora’s face was drained of its color.
Both her physical body and her mind faced backlash from her talent’s self-destruction.
Ordinary Awakeners would have died under such an impact. Even if their physical bodies were able to withstand the backlash, the loss of their talent would make them go berserk.
However, Liora quickly forced herself to calm down.
She continued to regulate the surging energy within her, using her consciousness to gather the fragments of the talent gene together.
Liora didn’t believe that Predation had really been destroyed. The System had never failed her before, and the same held true for this Unknown-Rank talent.
She was waiting for some kind of change. Something that would give meaning to everything that had happened.
Sure enough, moments later, that change finally came.
The fragments of Predation began to glow like shards of glass.
As if they had been infused with an external power, their aura surged before they transformed into a dark, bluish mist.
That mist quickly spread through Liora’s body. For a moment, it seemed that her physical vessel was no longer a body, but a sea of mist.
Her skin, muscles, and bones had disappeared. Only the mist transformed by Predation remained, together with the rest of her talent genes.
They glowed softly, like tiny stars. bined with the blue-ish mist, everything looked much like a starry sky.
The sight was beautiful.
Yet before anyone could admire it, another deafening boom echoed.
The stars, the mist, and something in Liora’s soul space resonated.
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