668. The New Phase of The Electric Fang!

668. The New Phase of The Electric Fang!

SALVATION CRITERIA

The Salvation Criteria had always existed like how people could always Corrupt. It either had never happened before or was kept behind closed doors. The latter seemed plausible. There could have been Moons, or normal people who had managed to enact Salvation unknowingly, granting them immense powers.

Craving Electric Wolf worked exactly how a Corrupted Persona would, unlike Ber’s which was unique as it was a fundamental part of herself that could be drawn out through heightening her emotions. In short, Cer’s version was a like a mask that could be worn and removed instantly, whereas Ber’s was an outfit that had individual pieces before it could fully manifest.

Thankfully, gaining a Corrupted Persona through Salvation rather than equipping it through the Eternal Library had its merits. Cer had gained a Unique Ability. It was exactly like how Frost was able to gain Abilities from the Corrupted, which brought what exactly devouring the Corrupted meant.

“Integration. I can’t see that being the whole thing, but it’s a start.” Frost commented, watching as Cer unleashed the power of Craving Electric Wolf. “… Also makes you wonder just what the Corrupted want if they have a Criteria that lets them merge with people.”

“Don’t think too hard Frost! Hahaha! This is AWESOME!”

The undersides of her hair glowed with an ultrabright blue, and her electrical attacks were enhanced by that same glow. The tip of her tail glowed like a fluorescent lightbulb, and her crimson irises carried traces of a blue radiance.

Most of all, Cer grew a few inches taller. Her height used to be 140 cm, but now she proudly stood at 150 cm. A far cry from her sisters who were over 170 cm, but she was quite close to Frost who was a bit over 160 cm.

Corrupted Personas were not known to transform people permanently. Rather, this was the result of the Unique Ability she had gained.

Defibrillation

It synergized with Cer’s power perfectly. In the most ideal of conditions, Cer’s output was doubled, making her indisputably one of the strongest Moons from this Ability alone. The 10-meter radius of her Ultracharged Field rose to 15, and the touch of her palm instantly erased trees, leaving nothing but splinters behind. Not even the roots were spared.

The maw of her Electric Fang Skill was also charged by the same azure light. This fusion of a second electrical aura was another permanent change that Cer revealed as she reshaped the landscape.

Birds fled from canopies as far as the mountains. When viewed from above, the devastation could be traced into the fractal-like pattern of lightning. Amongst her permanent changes, Cer was gifted with 4 Corrupted Skills; or 8 if one were to include their Instability counterparts.

Paralysis

One percent was a huge number. Of course, this depended on a person’s RESIST. Additionally, Paralysis would be removed as soon as it was applied. However, the fact that Cer could stack them before enabling the Paralysis meant that she was guaranteed to paralyze an opponent at some point.

“Incredible… This is going to change how you fight.” Frost called out, approaching Cer who wiped the sweat from her forehead with the hem of her shirt.

“Nah, I think it fits my fighting style already! I don’t always rely on my Skills. I got fangs and claws as a backup. It’ll be easy to recharge my Mana. The problem is if I deplete my Mana. Can’t use electric-based Skills without mana, and you can’t gain Mana back either without using them in the first place.”

“Just like how a defibrillator doesn’t magically ‘restart’ the heart when it flatlines. It still requires existing electrical activity. Weird.”

“What is? That I don’t have abs like Jury? Sorry, Frost. But you gotta make do with this.” She slapped her flat, exposed belly.

“No, I’m talking about… How do I put this nicely. You don’t smell like a wet dog anymore.”

Indeed. Instead, Cer had a much more mellow smell. It was sweet.

“Huh? Really? Frost – Are you serious!? That means… No baths –!”

“Don’t even think about it.” Frost [Cleansed] her, removing the grime and sweat from her body. “… I think we need to get you new clothes once we reach the Bellum Empire.”

“It’s a midriff now, and my pants are bit too tight.” Cer wagged her behind. “But what’s peasant-classed armor going to do for me? Protect my dignity?”

“It’d be a start.” Frost sighed. “But I’m guessing you already have that sorted.”

“Twenty steps ahead of you! Take a look at this!” Cer pulled out an array of different sized Suits, shirts, trousers, and ties. She proudly displayed them, her hands on her hips and her eyes closed, a face shouting out ‘praise me’.

There were at least 15 different sets, from one that only an infant could wear, to a size that was closest to Jury’s.

“Cer… You prepared clothes just in case you Corrupted? I’m impressed. Not a bad idea –”

“For every outcome! See this? I had this modified in case you ate one of my hands for some reason.”

Ah yes, for some reason…

“Another for my legs, or tail. One if my Corrupted form turned me into a tiny wolf or a blueberry pie!”

“Intriguing… I should prepare as well. Will a pie pan work? Maybe a baking tray. I do like cupcakes, so perhaps…?”

Nav, please. Don’t let her influence you.

“And this –!”

She held out the biggest set.

“– This is in case I grew as big as Jury, which can still happen by the way! The rest of these might as well be trash.”

“Please don’t throw them away. At least give them to the Receptionists or the Aspiring Moons.” Frost inched closer to Cer as she helped her pack the clothes away. She saw Cer’s eyes linger on the clothes, then on herself.

It was hard not to worry about her whenever Cer suddenly went quiet like this.

“Hey, does it bother you that you changed?”

“I’m happy, actually. But a tiny bit sad that I didn’t change more. I guess you can say that it’s kind of scary too. When I made these, I didn’t know which way I’d go. I knew what I wanted, but you know how this world works.” Cer softly spoke.

She unequipped her Corrupted Persona, the blue highlights, and the glow of her tail disappearing. She remained taller, and the sweet scent lingered.

“We rarely get a choice to begin with. You’re not immune to that either.”

“Yeah. No one’s spared by it. I’m glad you’re taking it well. We make the most out of what we have. And try little by little to change that. Still, this is the kind of world where it’s possible… I kind of get what you mean by growing.”

Frost looked down at herself, her lips in the shape of a wave.

“You want to get bigger?” Cer raised an interested brow.

“I wish.”

Suddenly, her tail began to wave violently.

“Like what – apples, oranges, mangos? Melons!?”

Frost did not know why she was excited all of a sudden. She tried her best to decrypt what Cer meant. After looking at Cer’s exposed belly, then down at herself, she thought that she must have meant muscle, or maybe height.

So, she answered with the most fitting fruit.

“Like a rock melon? Are we talking about the same thing?”

Cer placed both hands on her own chest.

“I’m talking about these puppies!”

Frost, with a grand sigh, began walking away.

“Hey! Rock melon isn’t a bad choice! I think that’d suit you! Frost, hey! Or you can stay like a grape! That’s fine too!”

As much as it annoyed Frost, she was happy that Cer wasn’t brought down by her encounter with Elysia. It did more good than bad, draining away her yearning to be eaten, and opening her heart further to gushing about how she truly felt.

Indeed, Cer’s antics didn’t die, nor could they. But that was not because of a shell, a mask, or a phase of the moon.

Rather, that was an integral part of the real Cer.

And as they ventured away from Cer’s village, wiping their hands clean from their latest Corrupted encounter –

– they heard a scream in the distance.