Chapter 117: True Ancestor Agatha 2
The True Ancestors resemble humans in form but are not human.
The reason they took on such beautiful human appearances lies in the ancestral memories embedded within their cells, memories which suggested it would make hunting humans easier.
Indeed, the appearance of a beautiful human works quite well in Ark.
If one appears lovely, people lower their guard during the first encounter.
If someone is an unparalleled beauty, humans tend to think that person cannot be bad, believing them to be virtuous and delicate.
Even Overseers and Hunters are no exceptions to being enchanted by universal beauty.
Thus, True Ancestors chose to adopt the appearance of beautiful humans.
Living within human society, they too became intoxicated by that beauty or developed their own aesthetic preferences.
It is quite ironic that, to lure humans and hunt them more easily, they immersed themselves in human society, adopting human values and standards of beauty.
Yet, True Ancestors are inherently free to alter their physical forms.
If they wished, they could mimic creatures from another realm or even demons.
When enraged, a True Ancestor could no longer maintain their human form.
[You, you, ah, agh, gyah, ah, ahhhhh!]
Agatha’s neck twisted unnaturally as her pupils turned entirely crimson.
Beyond merely reddening, blood began streaming heavily from her eyes.
True Ancestor Agatha, consumed by rage, had abandoned her human shape.
Her spine bent like a crescent moon, and spikes erupted from every vertebra.
Her once beautiful, model-like figure shrank in an instant, with bones protruding everywhere, forming a grotesque appearance.
What had once been angelic wings transformed into thousands of blood-spears, intertwined like a deadly tapestry.
Her pupils expanded bat-like in size, and her mouth split into a sharp grin.
The result was an unclassifiable creature—neither human, beast, nor monster.
However, one thing was certain: it resembled a monstrous mosquito.
This must have been Agatha’s optimal form for drinking blood and inflicting violence, having abandoned all aspects of human aesthetics.
“Wow, it’s literally just an old mosquito hag.”
[…You.]
When it opened its mouth, the ground trembled.
Mana in the air reached a state of supersaturation, and all mana in the vicinity began to obey her will.
[I will surely tear you apart aliveeeee!!!!]
-Bang!
A delayed sonic boom echoed through the air.
Agatha, now in her monstrous form, charged at Alice at supersonic speed.
Of course, Alice hadn’t been merely taunting her.
Theresa had already marked the trajectory of Agatha’s charge in her predictive combat paths.
Knowing the attack was coming, the next step was to set a trap.
【Set.】
【Redirecting power from the oxygen generator to the power spire.】
-Zzzt!
[…!]
Billions of volts of electricity coursed through the True Ancestor, striking from above and below.
Alice had already spread mechanical tendrils into the ground to channel the current, directing all nearby electricity into Agatha’s path.
[You fooliiiiiiish mortal!]
“Uh-oh.”
The issue was that this was Alice’s first time encountering a True Ancestor capable of retaining its shape.
Even as billions of volts surged through her, Agatha didn’t so much as blink before ramming straight into Alice.
-Kraaaash!
Alice had assumed that, even if she couldn’t kill Agatha, the attack would immobilize her for at least a few seconds.
But despite being struck by billions of volts, Agatha still tackled Alice.
At the same time, blood-red spikes sprouting from Agatha’s spine and tailbone impaled Alice’s body.
“…!”
The pain was intense.
The spikes were made from the True Ancestor’s blood, optimized for killing and torturing humans.
The moment they pierced Alice, hook-like particles spread like a virus inside her body, violently shredding not just the punctured area but the surrounding tissues as well.
【Activating pain-sharing synapses.】
【Human, are you okay?】
“Hah, I thought I was used to pain by now…!”
[Kya-hahaha! Are you about to start crying, huhhh?!]
Still, Alice welcomed the close quarters.
Mantis blades extended from Alice’s arms, aiming to slice the True Ancestor diagonally from both sides simultaneously.
But Agatha, moving faster than the speed of sound, had already retreated far away.
[Ahahaha! Still not crying? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you cry for a long, long time!]
-Bang!
Agatha’s form disappeared once again.
Crimson afterimages split in every direction.
Despite her massive figure adorned with spiked wings, Agatha’s speed was undeniably difficult for Alice to track with her eyes.
-Kaang!
A spike grazed past and embedded itself in Alice’s shoulder.
Even though she noticed it, her reaction was too slow.
The particles from the True Ancestor’s spike were damaging Alice’s internal neural network.
Even though she had an android body, a single hit from a True Ancestor’s attack rapidly worsened the damage to both human flesh and metallic bodies alike.
If she were a pure human, she would have already passed out from the agony of necrosis and rotting flesh.
‘She’s fast. Not just fast—so fast that even with Theresa’s predictive combat paths, reacting is almost impossible.’
Having forcibly consumed the lives of countless humans and using their vitality as fuel for her strength and speed, Agatha was draining the equivalent of dozens of people’s worth of blood even now to overpower Alice.
-Puk!
“Urgh!”
-Pak! Puk!
【Body damage rate: 14%.】
【Lower limb veins nonfunctional.】
【Severe damage to right arm.】
【Mainframe compromised by pain.】
【Commencing pain partitioning.】
Now, even Agatha’s form was impossible to see clearly.
-Pueok!
The surroundings were filled with nothing but blurred crimson afterimages, and every time Agatha’s hand touched Alice, a skewer-like blood spear was driven into her body.
-Pak!
The more blood spears embedded themselves, the slower Alice’s body became.
It wasn’t just her arms and legs.
Spears struck her chest, neck, thighs, abdomen, and even one of her eyes, causing her to stagger.
[Ahaha, still holding on?]
To be honest, even Agatha found it surprising.
Agatha had believed the battle was over the moment her first attack landed.
Once a blood spear struck, it gnawed away at the body from the inside.
For an ordinary human, death would be immediate, and even awakened beings would only survive a little longer before succumbing to similar devastation and pain.
While a first-class Overseer might require multiple hits to kill, Alice, a mere third-class Overseer, hadn’t fallen to her knees or begged for mercy yet—a fact Agatha hadn’t anticipated.
[Kihyahah! Quite unexpected. Honestly, I thought you’d scream and cry from just one hit!]
The strength of a True Ancestor is typically determined by the properties of their base virus and their personal will.
Agatha’s power was rooted in pain.
She reveled in inducing suffering and enjoyed seeing humans beg for death, surrendering to their agony.
Her True Ancestor particles were armed with spikes and jagged hooks that tore through flesh and organs at a microscopic level upon contact.
For a human, it was only natural to scream in torment and plead for a quick death.
[But to endure this much… even I didn’t expect that!]
A total of 17 blood spears had pierced Alice’s body.
While Agatha remained full of energy, Alice could barely remain standing.
This wasn’t just pain—it was agony severe enough that even first-class Overseers or S-class Hunters would beg to be killed.
[Oh, do you think if you hold out even a little longer, those lower-tier humans behind you might survive?]
Agatha sneered at Alice.
With 17 spears embedded in her, Alice looked pitiful and miserable.
[Kahahah! Don’t worry! I’ll hunt them all down and make sure they know it was because of you before draining every drop of their blood…]
“What nonsense are you spouting, idiot?”
-Puk!
At that moment, Alice’s figure disappeared, and something pierced Agatha’s chest while she let her guard down.
It was one of her own blood spears.
The very spear she had driven into Alice.
A desperate final move?
Truthfully, Agatha had noticed Alice’s movements and intent.
But Agatha remained unconcerned.
[Puahahaha! Did you think I’d feel pain just because you hit me with a piece of my own body?]
Agatha burst into laughter, spreading her arms wide in a relaxed manner.
“Go ahead and stab me more if you want.”
No matter what you do, my stored vitality is infinite.
Every single human in this lower world is a feast, a source of power, and fuel for me.
Even now, it seems difficult for you to land a proper attack on me.
Even if Alice somehow manages to kill me, I’ll just consume blood and revive.
[True Ancestors are particle organisms and viral entities!
These spears, my body—everything is essentially me, particles of my being.
Even if you stab me with one of these spears, it’s just absorbing a part of myself, so I’ll feel nothing, a-ah… wh-what…?]
Huh?
At that moment, Agatha felt a searing heat.
No, it wasn’t just heat.
It burned, melted, ground, froze, shattered, split, tore apart, and was then salted—an unbearable pain struck her head all at once.
[A.]
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts?
It hurts….
[K-k-kyaaaggghhh!!!!!!]
Impossible!
Impossible!
How am I taking damage from my own spikes!?
What is this pain!? Why, why am I feeling such agonyyyyy!!!
[Kyaaaarghhh!!!]
-Pokokok!
Though Agatha was writhing in pain and thrashing, Alice’s tendrils pierced her body before she could react further.
[Aaaargh! How, how, hoooow!?]
Earlier, Alice’s mechanical tendrils couldn’t even penetrate Agatha’s skin during their clash, but now they tore through her flesh with ease.
Alice’s mechanical tendrils, precisely piercing Agatha’s arms, legs, waist, and neck, had turned an ominous crimson.
[You, youuuuuu!! What did you dooo!!! How are you moving so normallyyyy!!!]
“What do you think is the strongest form of life?”
Ignoring Agatha’s words, Alice spoke while pulling out one of the blood spears embedded in her neck.
Even amidst her agony, Agatha glared at Alice as though to ask what nonsense she was spouting.
“Is it a monster with the sharpest fangs? Wings that can soar through the sky?
Perhaps a beast with enormous muscles?
Or maybe a being with a brilliant mind?
Sure, those all make sense, but…”
-Crunch!
Alice casually pulled the blood spear out of her eye and smirked.
“I think the strongest lifeform is the one that adapts and survives.”
[W-what kind of nonsensseee!!!]
-Puk!
Without hesitation, Alice drove the blood spear she had just removed into Agatha’s abdomen.
[K-kkuhh…! You, y-youuu! Are you seriously claiming that you’ve adapted to my attack, to my blood, to my viruss!?]
“If it were a normal lifeform, of course, they couldn’t copy you. They wouldn’t adapt, and besides, you’re not even a proper natural organism, you mosquito scum.”
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts so much.
What is this!?
Why do I have to feel pain from my own spears!!!???
“But Gaia’s life carries the trait of ‘adaptation.’”
Gaia’s avatar, simply by observing Alice’s combat methods, adapted and replicated them flawlessly.
If Gaia had retained even a shred of rationality in the underground laboratory of Ernest Rail, it would have copied and mastered all of Alice’s and the Undead Girls’ techniques, making victory far harder to achieve.
Adaptation to everything.
That was Gaia’s essence.
By merging with Gaia, Alice gained the trait of adaptation, enabling her to adapt to Agatha’s blood.
“Thanks. If it were just one spear, it would’ve taken a long time to analyze, but with 17 spears embedded in me, I had plenty of samples to adapt quickly.”
Alice stretched her back and snapped her fingers, as if too lazy to pull out the remaining blood spears one by one.
The crimson obsidian-like spears melted simultaneously and began flowing into Alice’s grasp.
[I-i-impossible. Impossible! How can mere humans imitate ussss…!]
“And yet, ta-da. Nothing in the world is absolute, is it?”
Alice spoke playfully, having already fully reconstructed her body.
Her empty eye sockets and neck filled with blood, returning her to her original form, thanks to Gaia’s trait of “adaptation.”
At that moment, Agatha realized something.
My power has been stolen.
That brat Alice can use my power.
This is…
This is absolutely intolerable.
If she has stolen and adapted to my power and particles, she could do the same with other True Ancestors’ powers.
And that means…
‘That brat… that brat can kill us. She can kill the True Ancestors!’
No matter how much vitality we’ve gathered.
No matter what power we possess.
No matter how many times our bodies are torn and destroyed, we True Ancestors, who only need to fuse our viruses to be effectively immortal, can be killed by that brat Alice!
She must be killed here and now!
[Kyaaaahhhh!!!]
Agatha’s body swelled explosively as she spread her spiked wings wide.
She intended to fire those spikes everywhere.
Even if she had to exhaust all her vitality to do so, the spikes she created would target both this entire section and Alice.
Her determination to kill Alice here, no matter the cost, was palpable.
However, Alice looked at Agatha’s massive wings and smiled brightly.
“Wow, thanks. I’ve always wanted some wing gear.”
-Puk!
[Kugh!?]
At that moment, mechanical tendrils spread across the area pierced through Agatha’s limbs all at once.
The tendrils, now dyed red like Alice’s skin, easily tore through Agatha’s flesh as if it were tofu.
[K-kuh… cough…! M-my power… it’s being… drained…!]
Agatha, who had returned to her human form from her grotesque monstrous shape, gasped for air while bleeding from every hole in her body.
The pain was unbearable.
It wasn’t just from the impaled wounds; Alice’s copied and adapted particles were devouring Agatha’s body in real time, tearing it apart while simultaneously stealing the power and vitality infused into the True Ancestor’s body.
[K-kyaah, ah… it hurts. It hurts so much…!]
Alice walked over, her heels clicking, and placed a hand on Agatha’s face.
Her expression and touch seemed as though she intended to comfort the suffering Agatha, but Alice soon grinned wickedly and tore off Agatha’s spiked wings.
[Kyaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!]
“Haha! A rare item!”
The blood-covered spiked wings adhered to Alice’s body, slowly transferring to her back.
The spikes grew and transformed, appearing more like steel than crimson obsidian.
Following the nature of Alice’s android body, ash-gray spiked wings began sprouting from her back.
These were new spiked wings, imbued with both metallic and life-like qualities.
“Wow, they’re amazing.”
Alice admired herself, marveling at the sight of her new wings.
Wings, after all, were a symbol of style, romance, and dreams.
She didn’t know what she could do with them yet, but they were already visually satisfying.
Even if they served no purpose, that was fine.
“You… you’re… already dead….”
Agatha wheezed in pain, but Alice, unbothered, looked at her with a face that seemed to say, “So what?”
“You’ve messed with us, our kin. Our mistress. She won’t let you go…!”
Hearing those words, Alice fell silent for a moment.
“All the True Ancestors will track you down! We’ll all come to kill you…!”
“Then let me ask you something in return.”
Alice smirked, grabbing Agatha by the hair and pulling her face close to hers.
“If your so-called kind and caring mistress cherishes you and the True Ancestors so much, why isn’t she here?”
“That’s because I came alone, on my own, to… ah.”
At those words, Agatha’s mouth shut tight.
“Ahaha, I see. Thanks for the honest confession.”
Indeed, Agatha had come here alone, unilaterally and without informing any of her kin.
True Ancestors, as a species and a calamity, are highly individualistic by nature.
Unless the entire species of the True Ancestor virus was at risk of extinction, they had no reason to convene or assist one another.
In other words, even if someone noticed Agatha’s lone actions, no True Ancestor would come to her aid.
The sun?
While the sun was admittedly bothersome to True Ancestors, they wouldn’t die even under natural sunlight, not just artificial light.
Their regeneration far outpaced the rate at which their flesh burned, and they could simply carry portable sunshades.
Agatha, seeking to taste the humans of another district, had left the edge of the abyss, where the artificial sun irritated her eyes, and impulsively chased Alice.
In short, if any other True Ancestor were going to arrive, they would have done so already.
No one would come, and killing Agatha wouldn’t lead to her kin seeking vengeance or recording it as a grudge in their annals.
Agatha’s face twisted in despair.
“…If… if you spare me….”
Alice’s spiked wings pointed toward Agatha.
“You’ve lived long enough to get sick of it. Isn’t that enough?”