Genetic Ascension-Chapter 1921: Pounce [Bonus]

[Bonus thanks to BobTheEngineer <3]

Maybe in some ways, Sylas had always known that there was something quite special about his brain. However, the Omnimous never told him directly what it was because it had decided not to. As for Sylas himself, it was hard to truly understand the connections and differentiations between the Will, matters of the soul, and the brain.

The separation wasn't so clear, and it wasn't even clear if there was this so-called "soul" in the first place. Will was, for all intents and purposes, about as much of a soul as one could actively expect it to be.

It acted independently of the body, it was illusory, and it could survive at least for some-beyond the destruction of the body.

However, Sylas was someone who would have been capable of reconstructing his body from top to bottom had he been in the F-tier. He couldn't do so now because his Infinite Void Mastery was not of the E-tier, but this understanding was still enough for him to grasp the fact that the complete destruction of his brain shouldn't have affected him this much.

If his brain truly wasn't as important as one might assume in comparison to his Will, then the fact it was damaged so much shouldn't have mattered. Yet, Sylas felt as though he had lost everything just now.

One whispered word from the Hydra and he could feel it...

He was dying.

The world was truly black now. Not just splotches at the edges and corners of his vision. No, it was well and truly a sea of blackness. Not the sort that came from closing one's eyelids, but instead the sort that came from all manner and sort of sensory perception being snuffed out in an instant.

Something deep within Sylas' mind, something hidden away in the only part of his brain that was a semblance of intact, churned.

Hidden away in his brain stem, the most primitive part of the brain, it roared as though it had been provoked.

"Whoa, whoa," the Hydra's voice almost seemed to take a step back. "Relax, I didn't try to kill him. Is it my fault he's so fragile? Let's just share this space, hm?"

The roar came more violently and half the Hydra's Will seemed wiped out in an instant.

"Fuck me. Is this Madness? Why is it so strong on a little E-tier. Calm down, calm down. I really didn't try to do this

— "

The Will roared again.

"FUCK! Fuck you, do you think I'm just some easy to crush little flower bed? If you want me to kill this kid, I will! We'll just die right here together. Try me, bitch! I was already prepared to die before, don't think I'm desperate just because I came here!"

The roar came again with hardly a pause and the Hydra was cut down in half.

And then it was cut down in half again.

The grinding of the Hydra's teeth continuously spilled out into what was left of Sylas' senses, but he didn't have the brain function left to deduce them as anything clear and concrete.

His body seemed to have entirely given up on him, but Sylas, too, could sense that primal urge.

"Hey, wait, this isn't entirely the kid. Someone's been poking around in here. You've made an enemy of quite a powerful Madness Disciple."

The Hydra was cut down by another half, but it didn't seem panicked. It hadn't been lying when it said it didn't fear death. Just because it had come here didn't mean it had any intention of laying down all its Pride.

From its perspective, it wasn't relying on Sylas, it had taken from Sylas what could have been his own. If it wasn't for the fact he had no desire to be a human, he would have just wiped Sylas' Will out and then taken over this body for a short while.

Of course, that would also make Sylas' body explode, but details, details. It had its ways. The fact Sylas somehow had False Infinite Will gave it some more breathing room to do some things, though not for long given his actual body was far too weak.

What the Hydra was more fascinated by, though, was the fact that, somehow, Sylas was still... sane.

From what it could see, someone who was of at least the B-tier had left an imprint in his brain. It was designed to encroach and slowly erode his Will away until he was a mindless zombie puppeted by them.

Somehow, Sylas had ignored that effect. In fact, the effect was so restricted it hadn't even been able to leave the most primitive part of Sylas' mind.

The only time it had the chance to advance at all was when Sylas was extremely tired, but even then it had only made small percentages of the improvement it should have.

If the Hydra had to describe it, it was almost like the hidden trap was in a different time reference or timeline entirely. It was moving at millions, maybe even billions of times slower than it should have.

At this rate, by the time it had any real effect on Sylas, it would have been far too weak to cause any real damage to the boy. But what was most baffling about this was that Sylas hadn't even realized it was there in the first place.

And now, the thing meant to ruin his life was actually protecting him on instinct.

This wasn't because it had mutated beyond its original purpose. Instead, it was like a parasite that felt its host's body was being encroached upon. As such, it was protecting its territory.

Although it was a Will just about the B-tier, because the Hydra was so weakened now, it could actually affect him. If things continued like this, the Hydra would die.

However, the Hydra seemed to be waiting for something.

It halved in power, and then halved again. A seeping cancer began to worm its way into the Hydra as well.

And then it pounced.