The embryos of various sizes pulsed faintly, as if something alive was stirring inside them.
Ruminas knew exactly what kind of place this was, so she immediately entered a state of absolute silence. She moved carefully through the embryos, but she noticed no signs of the guardian monsters that should have been present.
"Strange, why isn't there a single monster around?" she wondered aloud.
"Perhaps they've gone hunting somewhere?" The Parasol Lady replied.
"Then staying here isn't safe at all…"
Ruminas thought to herself, quickening her pace. Suddenly, an embryo right beside her began to tremble more violently than the others, forcing her to turn back and watch it with heightened alertness.
"Is this… about to hatch?" she speculated.
As Ruminas had guessed, a hand soon pierced through the embryo's membrane, reaching outward. She spun around, ready to flee, but then she heard the sounds of the monsters returning from a distance.
"Are you kidding me?" Ruminas cursed under her breath.
"It seems fate loves to toy with you," The Parasol Lady chuckled.
Ruminas began to calculate her options. From the sounds, there were quite a few monsters, and this was their nest. If she stirred the hornet's nest, she'd likely be overwhelmed by a swarm of them.
Running back the way she came…
That wasn't even an option she considered.
"Could I use invisibility, maybe?" she thought.
"Are you sure?" The Parasol Lady asked skeptically. "There's still a chance you'll be discovered."
"Then what do I do now?" Ruminas asked, her mind racing. Then an idea struck her as she glanced at the hatching embryo and the monster emerging from it.
"Oh," The Parasol Lady grinned, intrigued by what was about to unfold.
Ruminas took a deep breath, tightening her grip on the dagger's handle.
She couldn't fight head-on.
She couldn't run.
"Then…"
She stepped lightly toward the hatching embryo, keeping her breathing steady.
Swish—
Another monstrous arm extended, tearing the membrane further. A distorted head, its shape unclear, slowly emerged from the cocoon. Its body was still coated in a slimy fluid, its eyes not yet fully open.
"Sorry, but you've lived long enough," Ruminas muttered.
Then she lunged forward, one hand clamping down on the monster's mouth while the other drove her dagger straight into its head.
Swish!
Thud!
The monster thrashed violently, but within a mere second, it went limp. The spark of life that had just begun to flicker was snuffed out by a single, clean strike.
Not a sound escaped.
Ruminas quickly pushed the corpse back into the embryo and then slipped inside the still-open cocoon herself. She turned it so the tear faced the ground, making it appear as though the embryo had never hatched.
"The perfect hiding spot."
The embryo was still filled with warm fluid, giving her an uncomfortable, sticky sensation. The space was cramped, especially with the monster's corpse inside, leaving Ruminas unable to move.
The stench began to rise, making her gag several times.
The Parasol Lady had already merged into her body.
At that moment—
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the space.
The monsters had returned.
Ruminas held her breath, not daring to move even a fraction.
Outside, the monsters moved back and forth. One of them suddenly stopped right beside her embryo.
Ruminas felt a shadow loom over her hiding spot, as if something was standing directly in front of her.
"Does it know?"
"Has it noticed me?"
"No way…"
Ruminas pressed herself closer to the cold corpse inside, the sticky sensation making her want to retch, but she forced herself to endure.
Outside, the monster sniffed, its senses probing.
Then—
It extended a long claw, lightly touching the embryo's membrane.
Ruminas's tension skyrocketed.
A small tear in the embryo leaked a bit of the slimy fluid, but the monster seemed to harbor no suspicion. It lingered for a few more seconds before finally turning and walking away.
Ruminas let out a faint breath, careful not to make a sound.
The noises of the monsters outside persisted.
Some had left, but a few still lingered, wandering nearby.
She couldn't wait forever.
The stench grew increasingly unbearable, making her head spin. Her body was starting to go numb from being crammed in the tight space for too long.
"I can't drag this out any longer. I need to get out now."
But the longer she waited, the more monsters returned to the nest. From the sounds outside, she estimated there could be as many as a hundred of them.
"It's too late for you to leave now," The Parasol Lady remarked.
Ruminas didn't respond—her body was completely paralyzed. Even if she wanted to escape now, she couldn't. The embryo seemed to be secreting even more slimy fluid, which now clung to her body, gradually hardening.
"Choosing to hide here was a mistake…" Ruminas thought bitterly.
She felt her body losing all sensation.
The slime coating her skin grew thicker, slowly solidifying, as if it intended to swallow her whole.
"It seems like it's trying to assimilate you," The Parasol Lady's voice echoed.
Ruminas heard it but couldn't react. She tried to move a single finger, but it was futile. A squelching sound filled the space as the slime thickened, encasing her body completely.
Outside, the monsters growled, moving back and forth.
No one had discovered her.
But she had no way to escape.
The Parasol Lady spoke softly, "It looks like this might be the end for you."
"No!"
"I can't end like this."
"I can't die so pathetically."
"There's still one last way…" Ruminas whispered. "…Evolution."
[Initiating Evolution Process]
The system's voice rang out, and Ruminas lost consciousness, slipping into a deep sleep—one she didn't know when, or if, she'd ever awaken from. But this was her final hope.
"Good luck, and don't forget our promise," The Parasol Lady's voice echoed.
Ruminas blinked one last time before sinking fully into slumber. As she began her evolution, a transformation started within the cocoon.
The embryo, sensing its prey had lost consciousness, no longer merely coated her with fluid—it began forcing its way into her body, starting to replace her internal organs.
It wanted to assimilate her completely!
But things weren't so simple. When it reached her heart, it encountered fierce resistance from a dark aura, which even retaliated, biting back at the embryo's fluid.
Left with no choice, the embryo gave up on that area and moved to other parts of her body. But when it reached her lower dantian, it met resistance again—this time from a golden aura. The resistance was weaker than the dark aura, but the golden aura seemed to possess a unique suppressive quality. The moment the fluid came into contact with it, the fluid was instantly destroyed.
There was no struggle or tug-of-war like with the dark aura—just unilateral annihilation. The embryo, terrified, was forced to abandon this area as well. Finally, when it reached her brain, it encountered another presence.
The place where The Parasol Lady resided.
"Don't overstep your bounds!" The Parasol Lady declared, unleashing a wave of icy energy that sealed off all paths to Ruminas's brain.
"Just sleep. I'll protect you," The Parasol Lady whispered.
Inside the cocoon, darkness still reigned.
The slimy fluid tried to invade Ruminas's body but was repeatedly repelled. Each time it was blocked, it sought another route, but every path was guarded.
The Parasol Lady protected her brain.
The golden aura guarded her dantian.
The dark aura resided in her heart.
The embryo was like a ferocious predator, but this time, its prey carried three deadly serpents within her body.
In the end, it began to retreat.
Not because it gave up—but because it was biding its time.
As time passed, its power would seep deeper into Ruminas's body, and when that happened, those defenses wouldn't be able to stop it.
Time flowed on…
A day? A month? A year?
Or just a fleeting moment?
No one kept track.
—Then, suddenly, something stirred.
A small crack appeared on the surface of the cocoon, followed by a surge of intense killing intent that startled the other monsters. They quickly surrounded the cocoon, but rather than attacking, they seemed almost… joyful.
They knew a powerful being was about to be born—one that would become their king, leading them to conquer far and wide.
Inside, Ruminas still hadn't awakened.
But her body was changing.
Her old skin began to peel away, flaking off piece by piece, replaced by a new layer—something no longer entirely human.
Crack…
The cracks on the cocoon grew larger.
Suddenly, a pair of eyes emerged from within the cocoon, striking terror into all the monsters, forcing them to recoil in fear!