I Arrived At Wizard World While Cultivating Immortality Chapter 648: Monster and Escape

Jie Ming had already confirmed that the individual orchestrating these events possessed intimate knowledge of the Association.

It was also clear to this unseen opponent that undue delays would inevitably lead to the arrival of Association reinforcements, thereby resolving the entire predicament.

Consequently, it was anticipated that the adversary's subsequent maneuver would manifest imminently.

As if responding to Jie Ming's very thoughts, the previously placid expanse of the sea erupted without warning.

An immense surge of power, originating from beneath the waves, propelled countless tons of seawater upwards in a violent eruption.

A formidable barrier of grayish-white water ascended into the dense fog, its cascading droplets catching the illumination lamps, briefly forming ephemeral arcs of light before impacting the embankment with resonant thuds.

A colossal entity then emerged from the watery deluge.

Its trajectory described a sweeping parabola, launching from the sea's surface and hurtling directly towards the wall of the derelict factory, bypassing any need for landing.

The creature, standing at an imposing height of five to six meters, carved a heavy arc across the nocturnal sky before striking the southern wall of the factory ruins like a projectile. Boom!!!

A tumultuous cloud of smoke, dust, and water vapor billowed outwards in all directions.

The monstrous figure plunged through the collapsing structure and into the factory's interior, abruptly interjecting itself into the ongoing conflict between Harding, Dirk, and the Shadow Thief. The entire abandoned industrial zone fell into a sudden, profound silence.

All eyes, without exception, were drawn towards the newcomer.

From both the Spirit Medium Association and the enigmatic black-robed figures, every individual instinctively shifted their gaze in that direction.

Their pupils contracted in unison as they took in the creature's appearance.

It was, unmistakably, a monstrosity.

Its five-to-six-meter frame, at first glance, bore a resemblance to a gargantuan shark fused with a human torso.

However, closer examination revealed a grotesque, forcibly amalgamated being of human and piscine origins.

The torso maintained a semblance of humanoid form—possessing shoulders, a chest, and robust limbs—yet the proportions were disturbingly skewed.

Its shoulders were unnaturally broad, the chest as solid as a bulwark, and its arms, exceeding a normal human's length by more than double, dangled precariously close to the ground. Dominating its head was the immense maw of a shark, its grayish-white skin stretching taut over a crescent-shaped mouth perpetually agape, revealing rows of inward-curving teeth.

Its eyes were abyssal black, devoid of any sclera, resembling twin glass beads embedded within their sockets.

Affixed to the right side of the shark's head, pressed unnervingly close to the gill area, was a second visage.

This was a human face, distorted and melted as if sculpted from wax.

Though its features were indistinct, the primal madness radiating from its gaze was chillingly palpable.

Its skin, a pallid gray-blue, was dappled with fine scales. From the interstices between these scales, a viscous, faintly luminous fluid seeped. Dorsally, fins protruded, not as a single, streamlined caudal fin, but as a chaotic arrangement of over a dozen fins of varying sizes, seemingly impaled into its back at random intervals.

It was an understatement to say that merely beholding this abomination induced profound unease.

“What in the blazes is that…?” Dirk’s voice, laced with unmistakable shock, echoed from within the factory.

Despite his extensive encounters with aberrant entities, nothing had prepared him for this.

While Spirit Mediums were known to commune with strange entities, their methods typically involved sealing arrays. The distinction between medium and entity, while blurred, was never entirely obliterated; deep integration was virtually always fatal.

The Spirit Medium Association had documented a tragic abundance of such cases. Individuals who over-indulged in the power of strange entities, leading to profound fusion, invariably devolved into mindless, instinct-driven monstrosities that attacked all indiscriminately.

Yet, the entity confronting them now presented a stark deviation.

Upon breaching the factory, it exhibited no frenzied onslaught characteristic of uncontrolled fused entities.

Its shark-like head tilted slightly, its obsidian eyes performing a swift, comprehensive scan of the factory, rapidly assessing the rudimentary layout of the battlefield.

Despite the palpable aura of madness it exuded, its actions still retained a discernible degree of sanity and intelligence!

Having concluded its assessment, the monster surged directly towards the sealing array node situated in the factory's southeastern quadrant.

Its speed was truly staggering. For a creature resembling a shark, its terrestrial locomotion was unnervingly swift.

Its immense power propelled it forward with each stride, the ground trembling under its weight as the cacophony of crushed bricks reverberated through the cavernous structure.

“Stop it!”

Harding’s command pierced the air as the storm of pursuit commenced.

However, it was demonstrably too late.

The monster, with sheer, terrifying force, obliterated the capture team member attempting to impede its progress. Its massive arm, thick as a utility pole and resplendent in gray-blue scales, swept outwards in a violent arc, impacting the rune-inscribed stone slab in the southeastern corner with devastating finality.

The stone slab fractured. The runes sputtered briefly before extinguishing.

A breach formed within the sealing array’s luminous ring. The Shadow Thief, which had been confined to the center, immediately perceived the alteration. Its dark, shadowy membrane began to writhe towards the opening.

Harding found himself compelled to focus his energy, pushing it back.

Dirk had no moments to spare for contemplation. He thrust out his hand, launching dark tendrils towards the monstrous entity.

The potent energy of the Shadow Serpent erupted from his palm. In its aerial trajectory, the tendrils bifurcated into multiple strands, ensnaring the monster’s limbs and body.

The creature, bearing a shark-like head, shifted its attention to Dirk. Its entirely black eyes fixed upon him for a measured duration.

Subsequently, its left arm ascended, its palm splayed open. A layer of dark crimson luminescence manifested within its grasp.

This light coalesced into a sphere, then detonated, unleashing a dark red wave of impact that obliterated Dirk’s Shadow Serpent threads. Upon witnessing this, both Harding and Dirk’s eyelids involuntarily twitched—for their Shadow Serpent threads had been “annihilated.”

The threads of the Shadow Serpent were not corporeal restraints but rather energies designed to bind. Mundane physical assaults were utterly incapable of affecting them.

Yet, the dark crimson light emanating from the monster’s palm exerted a direct influence on the energetic level, dismantling the very structure of the threads.

There was no opportunity for them to dwell on this anomaly at present.

Subconsciously, Harding withdrew additional power, reinforcing his own defenses.

The Shadow Thief on the opposing side seized this opportune moment to amass its power, aiming to breach Harding’s tempestuous blockade and abscond through the gap in the sealing array.

Jie Ming stood elevated on the construction tower, observing the unfolding conflict within the factory confines.

There remained no question—the piscine monstrosity served as a guardian for the Shadow Thief. Its initial act upon arrival was to dismantle a node of the sealing array, thereby forging an avenue of escape for the Shadow Thief.

After discerning a specific aura emanating from the creature, the Shadow Thief refrained from engaging it. Instead, it proactively drew its dark shadow membrane inwards, incorporating the monster within its “demarcated safe zone.”

“Oh?” Jie Ming expressed a degree of astonishment.

His gaze descended upon the monster. Deep within his pupils, the All-Purpose Eye emitted a subtle radiance.

His vision penetrated the creature’s integument, musculature, and skeletal structure, probing directly towards its core—the nexus where human and aberrant entity were forcibly merged. At this juncture, Jie Ming’s eyes illuminated.

“Intriguing…”

During this preceding timeframe, he had been assiduously studying the sealing methodologies of the Spirit Medium Association. The complete aberrant entity he had procured via auction, the diverse array of sealing components acquired through clandestine market conduits, and the intelligence pertaining to the Association’s sealing arrays, painstakingly gathered from his daytime psychic energy scans… All of this had progressively furnished him with a mastery of this realm’s fundamental techniques.

The technological signature exhibited by this monster incorporated elements that were foreign to this plane.

Jie Ming could discern these distinctions with absolute clarity. The specific “texture” of that dark crimson luminescence, the oscillatory pattern at the energetic stratum, and indeed, the logical arrangement governing the structure’s core all bore a striking familiarity to him.

Wizardry technology.

This was unequivocally not the indigenous techniques of the Spirit Mediums in this world; rather, it was the biological augmentation technology hailing from the wizarding world. It was patently evident that the progenitor—or perhaps, more accurately, the architect of modifications—responsible for this creature possessed knowledge originating from the wizarding world.

Jie Ming’s contemplation deepened.

It appeared that the individual—or the entity operating behind the scenes—connected to this monster harbored associations with a certain wizard. Regardless of the specific circumstances, this implied that the prevailing situation was considerably more intricate than his initial assessment had suggested.

The engagement within the factory premises persisted. Although one node of the sealing array had been compromised, the remaining three continued their operational function.

Harding rapidly executed a strategic assessment. Should the Shadow Thief succeed in escaping through this aperture, its subsequent recapture would be an endeavor fraught with far greater difficulty. He could not permit its departure.

However, there was an undeniable certainty: the monstrous entity, having just obliterated the sealing node and now directing its focus towards them, would not facilitate his objective without significant resistance.

“Dirk, what is your remaining capacity?” Harding’s voice remained steady amidst the cacophony of the battleground.

“Thirty seconds,” Dirk responded through clenched teeth.

As he articulated this, Dirk commenced the exertion of releasing his strange entity. His countenance began to wane in color, venous engorgement appearing on his forehead. The potency of the Shadow Serpent surged through his physique like a malevolent snake straining against its confinement. His command over this entity was imperfect; even the partial liberation of its power was already taxing his utmost capabilities.

“Then, strain every sinew to impede this monster. I shall endeavor to seal the Shadow Thief within that timeframe,” Harding declared. He inhaled deeply, partially disengaging the second tier of restraint upon his Storm Eye. Previously, he had only unleashed a fraction of the Storm Eye’s might—sufficient to subdue the Shadow Thief without inflicting excessive collateral damage. Yet, with the intrusion of this formidable monster, the emergence of a breach in the sealing array, and the Shadow Thief’s desperate bid for freedom, he had no alternative but to escalate.

The Storm Eye unleashed its power presently.

The tempest raging within the factory intensified instantaneously.

The earlier tempestuous winds and downpours seemed insignificant compared to the current onslaught.

The dark clouds were no longer merely gathering within the factory; the entire structure was now engulfed by them.

Dense, black clouds billowed forth from Harding’s form, rapidly suffusing every inch of the space.

Thunder became a ceaseless barrage, its unremitting claps akin to ten thousand drums pounded in unison next to one's ears.

The raindrops morphed into hailstones.

Fist-sized hailstones plummeted from the oppressive clouds, striking the ground, machinery, and walls with deafening, percussive impacts. The shark monster, which had been advancing for an attack, immediately adopted a defensive stance without hesitation.

It brought its arms together in front of its body. A shield of dark red light materialized around its form, deflecting the assault of the hail and gale.

Seizing the moment Harding provided, Dirk finally unleashed his unique entity.

He recognized he couldn't maintain the struggle for long, thus requiring this strike to be executed with maximum force.

The Shadow Serpent’s power surged through his body, erupting simultaneously from both his palms and transforming into two serpent-shaped energy constructs, as thick as arms and entirely black. These two dark serpents crossed paths in mid-air, their mouths agape, lunging toward the shark monster.

"Oh?"

Jie Ming, observing from the tower, detected the potency of this attack and slightly raised an eyebrow.

The power variance emanating from this strike had already exceeded the upper threshold of the Hazard level.

There was no question that the peculiar entity contained within Dirk had surpassed Hazard level.

He hadn'p expected that the seemingly youthful and inexperienced Dirk harbored an entity of this magnitude sealed within him.

The Disaster level.

Its intensity already dwarfed that of the Strange Graffiti. To this point, apart from "Night," Jie Ming had not truly encountered any anomalous entities beyond the Hazard classification. It appeared that due to the incomplete nature of the seal's release, Dirk’s Shadow Serpent had not yet manifested any distinctive abilities.

However, even its raw power alone exerted overwhelming dominance on the present battlefield.

The biting strength, the penetrating capability, and the destructive energy output of those twin black serpents far exceeded the upper limits defined by the Hazard level.

"Regrettably, this power is too immense. The youngster cannot fully command it at his current level," Jie Ming couldn't help but shake his head.

Dirk’s command over this power was indeed incomplete.

Jie Ming could clearly discern that the flight paths of the two black serpents were erratic, and energy was continuously dissipating from them.

This indicated that even without external opposition, Dirk himself would struggle to sustain their forms for an extended duration.

Should he achieve complete mastery over the Shadow Serpent’s might, the effectiveness of this strike could potentially increase by a minimum of thirty percent.

Yet, even in its current state, it sufficed.

The two black serpents struck the shark monster simultaneously.

One latched onto its right arm, the other onto its left ribcage.

The dark red shield fractured under the piercing force of the serpent fangs before shattering completely.

The black snakes’ venomous fangs burrowed deep into the monster’s scales and musculature. Dark energy flooded into the creature’s body through these wounds.

The shark monster’s body convulsed violently.

Its shark-like head opened its maw, emitting a roar laden with both pain and fury.

Concurrently, the distorted human face contorted and opened, releasing a starkly different, shrill sound reminiscent of an infant’s cry. The confluence of these two distinct vocalizations generated a sonic wave that sent shivers down one’s spine.

Every individual within the factory ruins who heard the sound experienced a searing pain in their heads, as if they had been struck by a massive hammer.

Dirk, as the primary target, bore the brunt of this effect.

He managed to remain standing, but the unique entity’s power under his control had begun to spiral into lawlessness.

The shark monster’s right arm swiped forcefully, flinging the black serpent constricting its limb away.

The detached black serpent tumbled through the air, impacted a wall, and disintegrated into fragments of energy.

The other black snake remained clamped to its rib area. The monster seized the serpent’s form directly with the claws of its left hand, tightening its five digits and crushing the black snake. Dirk's body shuddered violently. His complexion shifted from pale to ashen.

Blood trickled from the corner of his lips. His legs grew weak, nearly forcing him to his knees.

Having already endured significant mental duress from the earlier sonic assault, and now witnessing the annihilation of the power he wielded, the Shadow Serpent’s energy surged uncontrollably and rebounded within his physique. His veins bulged beneath his skin, resembling dark earthworms writhing just below the surface.

"Withdraw!" Harding’s voice resonated with an unmistakable command.

Simultaneously, he had no alternative but to retract the power directed at the Shadow Thief and erect a ferocious wind barrier before himself and Dirk, intercepting the counterattacking shark monster.

Gritting his teeth, Dirk desperately forced the Shadow Serpent’s power back into his own body.

The dark veins that had protruded from his flesh gradually receded. His complexion shifted from an ashen hue to a deathly pale, yet at least the deterioration halted. He slumped to the ground in a seated posture, drawing in ragged breaths. Sweat mingled with the falling rain, coursing down his face.

However, the creature's objective had been achieved.

The breach in the formation had widened sufficiently. Previously, Harding's focus was sidetracked, affording the Shadow Thief the opportune moment to break free from his containment. The shadowy membrane flowed outward through the opening, akin to a pool of ink rapidly disseminating across the concrete floor. In an instant, it dissolved into the external darkness beyond the factory confines.

The shark-like monstrosity made no delay.

It pivoted and fled without a second thought, enduring a direct assault from Harding's storm.

Harding's barrage of hail and gale struck its form, inflicting numerous fine fissures upon its scales. A dark crimson ichor seeped from these cracks, dripping onto the ground and emitting sizzling, corrosive sounds.

Nevertheless, it turned, bracing its still-intact left limb against the earth.

Like a primal beast, it charged towards the wall it had previously breached, moving on all fours.

Its speed was astonishing.

The colossal body, stretching five to six meters in height, exuded an intense aura of pressure as it ran. The ground reverberated with its steps, sending shattered stones flying in all directions. The members of the capture team were utterly incapable of intercepting it.

It burst through the massive aperture in the wall, disappearing into the night and making its way towards the sea.

Harding's feet poised to give chase, but an instinctual turn of his head halted him.

Dirk was slumped on the ground, his body exhibiting a slight tremor. The residual effects of the Shadow Serpent's power had not fully dissipated; faint, dark patterns continued to writhe beneath his skin. He required assistance to stabilize his internal power, lest these patterns re-emerge violently and shred him from within.

Harding paused.

He cast a look at Dirk, then towards the direction the monster had vanished into the night, and finally toward the escape route of the Shadow Thief. Without hesitation, he redirected himself, crouched before Dirk, and placed his palm flat against Dirk's chest.

The potency of the Storm Eye transmuted into a steady current of energy, slowly infusing Dirk's body to aid in quelling the Shadow Serpent's violent backlash.

“Do not speak,” Harding commanded in a hushed tone. “Stabilize your core. I will assist you in retracting the power.”

Dirk shut his eyes, clenched his jaw, and sensed Harding's power flowing through his being.

That power methodically smoothed out the chaotic energy of the Shadow Serpent, strand by strand, forcing it back into the s