Chapter 150: Time To Eat, Devouring Genesis-05!

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"You’re saying the Yokai Serum was actually made with an alien’s cells?" Kagehisa asked, his expression a mixture of shock and relief. "Thank god I never drank that crap then... You guys haven’t either, right?"

"No," Hinata answered firmly.

"We would never consume such a dangerous drug," Goki added with clear disgust.

"Our own Ninjutsu has always been enough for us," Ren responded calmly. "However... I am fairly sure Lady Label... has used it, correct?"

"..." Label sighed quietly. "Yes. In my moment of desperation I used the remains of one of those creatures to create a serum of my own. But I never consumed a pure sample directly... It’s... complicated. That thing... it talked to me. I think a psychic link was established between us."

"Shit..." Riven clicked his tongue, growing genuinely worried about her condition. "I’m really sorry, Label. I was the one in charge of taking care of you. I shouldn’t have let any of this happen... Maybe I shouldn’t have brought you along to begin with."

"No..." Label shook her head and hugged Riven’s arm tightly. "You didn’t do anything wrong, Riven. You’ve been helping me this entire time... This day has completely changed my life! It’s all thanks to you... What happened... well, it probably cannot be reversed anymore. But... when that creature tried to force its way into my mind, I fought back. I think I can do that again if needed... Maybe because I created the serum myself using my own methods, it never gained complete control over me."

"!!!" Riven’s eyes widened in surprise. "Really?!" He felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Right... you did fight back against it, didn’t you?"

She nodded firmly. "Yes. And the moment I resisted, Genesis-05 became furious and attacked me directly. I believe all of the offspring created from Genesis share the same deep desire to reunite into a single being — to return to their ’mother’ in some twisted way... Those who take only small quantities of the modified cells through serums might become something like their mindless pawns. The creatures can control them with their minds and use them as extensions of their own will. But my serum was different... I made it with my own power and knowledge, so maybe... it somehow allows me to resist and even manipulate this force instead of being controlled by it? Perhaps... maybe I could eventually learn how to truly tame this power and make it my own."

"Huh..." Riven never would have imagined that Label of all people would end up bonded with Genesis Cells, let alone that she might be able to "tame" them and turn them into a personal strength. "You’re not grossed out by the fact that they originate from aliens?"

"I-I’ve already seen plenty of disgusting and horrific things, Riven! Do you really think this is going to intimidate me at this point?" she sighed and crossed her arms. "I’m fine! Don’t worry so much about me."

Riven nodded after a moment. "Well, alright then. That’s actually relieving to hear. Maybe you should try to gain better control over these new powers. Or at least learn what the hell they actually are and how they work."

"Hm," Label agreed. "For now I really am not feeling any active influence anymore. Maybe if I face someone who carries a high concentration of Genesis Cells in the future, I will be able to learn more about this ability."

Kagehisa and his ninjas continued watching the two of them talk when they suddenly noticed the giant corpse beginning to stir. It started with a faint trembling that grew steadily louder and more violent.

RUMBLE...

"Riven," Kagehisa said warily. "What’s going on with that thing?"

"..."

Riven stood up immediately. He watched as the flesh inside the split-open monster began to slowly squirm and shift on its own.

"It’s regenerating," he said in shock. "I killed it completely, and yet its cells... they’re so full of residual vitality that they’re attempting to revive themselves?"

"What?!" Hinata gasped.

"It lacks the necessary mana to succeed," Ren observed carefully. "I’d say these are just final contractions — one last, futile attempt. Like when you cook a freshly caught fish and fillet it within seconds. The muscles will still twitch in response to the heat of the oil and the pan. It doesn’t mean the fish is still alive. Its head is long gone."

"That’s... a surprisingly good allegory," Riven nodded. "I forgot you guys are Japanese... Anyway, I should probably just eat this thing."

"Eat it?!" all four of his allies gasped in unified disbelief at his words.

Riven nodded without hesitation. "There’s no other damn practical way to get rid of this massive corpse than by eating it! If we try to burn it down to nothing, it will take ages and still leave dangerous residual cells behind."

"B-But..." Label looked worried. "What if you end up turning into a monster yourself?"

"I’ve already been consuming these cells without realizing it," Riven explained. "I ate the mutated yakuza who had taken the serum packed full of Genesis material, and nothing bad happened. My power... it can consume and completely suppress any foreign force that tries to take over my body. I think I’ve tested this ability enough times by now to be more than sure of it."

"Well, if you say so..." Label sighed in reluctant acceptance. "Just be careful."

Riven nodded and looked out across the battlefield. Corpses of various sizes still lingered everywhere. He began absorbing and devouring them all without discrimination — bones, flesh, lingering soul essence, and blood. Everything was consumed and fed not only into his Predator Class but also into the multitude of other skills and abilities he possessed.

His Aura transformed into gigantic jaws of swirling red and black energy. When combined with his Jaws of Gluttony, the devouring power of his Aura intensified to a tremendous degree. The forty-meter-tall titan that had been Genesis-05 began to rapidly disappear as a swarm of spectral jaws and a dense black-red fog completely consumed it.

The massive corpse tried to fight back with faint residual movements, but every lingering cell was eaten all the same. With its main brain already completely destroyed, it had no real way to resist.

As Riven absorbed the concentrated power of this mutant abomination, his own strength rapidly began to skyrocket. A new skill awakened deep within him, making every single cell in his body stir as if they had suddenly gained a form of self-awareness. At the same time his mind expanded outward beyond the limits of his physical body, while his stats continued climbing higher and higher — first by hundreds of thousands, then by millions.

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