chapter 117: Complete Adaptation
Meanwhile, deep underground.
"Damn it! What on earth is going on!"
Inside a secret room made of all-around insulating Materials, a tall woman with a hot, curvaceous figure snapped her eyes open; her glasses fell to the floor with a crisp thud.
With her messy long hair scattered around her waist, the woman's exquisite face now bore a look of terror, her eyes filled with disbelief.
She was the one pulling the strings behind Gyoro-Gyoro, the secret controller of the entire Monster Association, and the creator of Monster King Orochi—Psykos.
But at this moment, Psykos was filled with suspicion and uncertainty, an ill omen budding in her heart.
"Why has the plan exceeded my control... what is going on..." Recalling the cold and crazed gaze of Monster King Orochi in the final moment before Gyoro-Gyoro's Puppet was torn apart by the energy storm, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
First, the The Strongest Man on Earth, King, suddenly broke into the Monster Association and casually killed all of its mid-level combat forces. Moreover, if nothing went wrong, the Dragon-Level Executives were either dead or had fled.
King's strength far exceeded Psykos's imagination. She had originally thought that even the legendary The Strongest Man on Earth would, at most, be able to contend with the strength of Monster King Orochi.
Psykos had always possessed a mysterious self-confidence, just as she believed her Psychic Power could rival Tatsumaki's.
She thought that as long as all the Dragon-Level Executives attacked together, combined with the power of Monster King Orochi, even King would have no choice but to flee with injuries.
But the result far exceeded Psykos's imagination.
With just a casual strike from King, almost all the Dragon-Level Executives were so terrified that they turned and fled.
As the secret controller of the Monster Association, Psykos had already deployed a large number of Clones within the association's lair and had witnessed the scenes above through the shared vision between the Clones.
After seeing the extremely fast Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame killed in a single punch, and Gouketsu, whom Psykos had high hopes for, also being blown apart in one blow, she fell silent.
She wasn't just shocked by King's strength; during the process of watching, Psykos also saw the conjecture she was most unwilling to believe in her heart.
Three Dragon-Level Monsters were killed, yet Monster King Orochi, the strongest one present, didn't even move, watching coldly from the side the entire time.
"As expected! That guy Monster King Orochi has betrayed me! Just when did he start defying my will!"
As the ultimate biological weapon she had created through countless experiments, Psykos thought she had completely mastered Monster King Orochi, or at least could make him follow her every command.
But only now did she discover that Monster King Orochi had only been feigning compliance on the surface, while actually plotting for a deeper purpose.
It wasn't until her Clones transmitted back all of Monster King Orochi's words that Psykos finally realized.
"So that's how it is!"
Only at this very moment did Psykos finally understand for the first time what Monster King Orochi's true purpose was.
Just then, the entire secret room began to shake. Rubble from above kept falling, and the ground started to vibrate violently as if hit by a magnitude ten earthquake.
Psykos understood that the reason for such a phenomenon was that King and Monster King Orochi had begun to fight above.
Her shared vision was destroyed as a result, and she could no longer see more of the situation because her Clones were destroyed by the aftershocks of the battle between the two.
Psykos raised her hand to prop up a Psychic Power shield. While blocking the countless falling rocks from above, she moved towards another secret base.
While running, her beautiful brows furrowed tightly, and countless thoughts surged in her mind.
"Wait... something feels off..." Relying on the shared vision of her Clones, Psykos stared closely at Monster King Orochi as he prepared to battle King, her heart feeling that something was wrong.
Having spent so much time with Monster King Orochi, his aura had always been on the boundary between chaos and tyranny, with almost no change.
But when he spoke just now, Monster King Orochi's aura changed. It became cold and aloof, almost like... a God... "Gaia Cannon!"
After absorbing a massive amount of terrestrial energy, Monster King Orochi's most powerful attack to date was instantly unleashed. A crimson beam covering the entire underground space swept in all directions.
Facing this strike, King's figure flickered and vanished from the spot, reappearing right in front of Monster King Orochi.
He was still in the state of the Gate of Shock and had not chosen to open the Death Gate.
For some reason, even though he was facing a weak Dragon-Level or above Monster like Monster King Orochi, King still had an ominous premonition in his heart.
The intuition of the strong is often worth believing. Therefore, King chose to preserve his strength to avoid being subjected to other unexpected attacks while in the weakened state after opening the Death Gate.
Just as he was about to land a punch on Monster King Orochi's head, Monster King Orochi reacted in time. Dozens of dragon-shaped tentacles opened their bloody maws, and fierce flames instantly engulfed his figure.
King could have chosen to dodge, but he chose to free-fall in mid-air, subsequently being roasted continuously by the massive flames.
Opening his eyes, everything within sight was a sea of red. King felt as if he were currently in an ocean of flames, with violent tongues of fire licking his body to their heart's content.
He dropped most of his defenses, allowing the flames to scorch his body, letting his skin begin to carbonize at an extremely slow speed.
This carbonization lasted for less than three seconds. As if triggering some kind of mechanism, the carbonization of King's skin stopped instantly, and then brand-new skin grew back at an extremely high speed.
In the face of the newly grown skin, the flames could no longer cause any damage; he had completely adapted to them.
"Is this the so-called adaptation..." After feeling it out, King discovered that he had now become more attuned to these flames. In the endless sea of fire, he felt as comfortable as if he were in a swimming pool, able to swim freely.
The flames that originally made him feel a hint of heat had now, in his perception, turned into a hot spring soaking him from all sides, making his body feel warm and cozy...