Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Hill groggily opened her eyes in the darkness. Confusion and disorientation filled her mind, making her thoughts sluggish and her spirits dazed. She tried to raise her hands, but found her limbs bound and weak. She blinked hard and realized she was lying on a hospital bed, her hands, feet, and part of her torso wrapped in layers of bandages, and in casts and splints.

"Hill! You're finally awake!"

She heard her companion's excited voice from the side. She turned her head slightly and saw Akame's face, which was suppressing her joy.

"Akame...?" She opened her lips, uttering a weak word. "How could you..."

She heard Akame let out a soft sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness, Hill, you still remember me.” Akame gently grasped the uninjured part of Hill’s left arm, her red eyes filled with relief. “You were badly injured. That woman… Arya said you might have lost a small part of your memory… Do you remember what happened before?”

—What happened before?

Hill frowned slightly, her mind struggling to process her earlier memories—she remembered being in the town's central mansion with that woman, Arya… or rather, Alice, setting up a temporary base, chatting about trivial matters. Then came the ambush, the killer bugs, the self-destruction, and as she was being treated for her injuries, the bugs' true killing move suddenly appeared, and then…

Then everything was plunged into deep darkness.

“I…I don’t remember.” A slight throbbing pain suddenly shot through her head, her brain’s self-protective mechanisms kicking in, forcing her to look away from the subject. “I just remember we were attacked, the six killer insects self-destructed, and then…”

Her pupils contracted sharply. The words Alice had spoken to her before the attack suddenly came to mind.

Is it... because of my fault?

Because of my mistake, I've... become so bad at being an assassin!

"Where is Miss Alice?" She tilted her head to look at Akame, her eyes filled with an unprecedented seriousness and urgency. "Miss Alice... how is she!? Is she alright? Did I...?"

Have I properly fulfilled the responsibilities Najenda assigned to me?

Her gaze was terrifying, her tone urgent. This unprecedented seriousness made Akame almost uncomfortable—Akame opened her mouth, but words became difficult to form. She blurted out instinctively—

"...That woman was slightly injured. It seems she was poisoned, but not infected by the insects... She locked herself in the large house in the very center of town before Brand and I returned. She doesn't see anyone, only managing affairs through those dangling puppets. Even the leaders of the auxiliary forces who arrived later were only given instructions through the walls... I'm not quite sure what her current situation is, but it seems..."

Akame frowned, and after thinking for a while, she gave a descriptive adjective.

"...This is not good."

"Is that so... Miss Alice didn't escape the assassination attempt safely..." Hill's eyes dimmed. The meridians in her body, which had been tense to suppress the discomfort, gradually loosened. As if she had lost some support in an instant, she lay limply on the hospital bed, her whole spirit and energy greatly diminished.

Did I fail?

"Hill?" Akame looked at her with some concern.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Hill shook her head gently, smiling, her long, loose purple hair falling softly over the edge of the hospital bed. "I'm just a little tired. But since Akame and Brother Brand are here, there shouldn't be anything to worry about."

“Yes, leave it to us, Hill.” Akame nodded emphatically. “Brand is already guarding the area near that woman… Alice’s room. The surrounding ground has been thoroughly cleaned, and the puppets have even laid steel plates under the building where Alice is resting. She’s not coming out, probably because the injured and poisoned parts are a bit inconvenient.”

She tilted her head and glanced out the window. The silvery moon hung high in the night sky.

"The supporting legion arrived two hours ago and is currently assisting these puppets in building walls and fortresses north of the town. They probably plan to stay here for a while... It can't be helped, given that Commander Alice is injured. However, I'll have a good talk with her tomorrow to see if I can persuade her to send a troop south to continue reconnaissance..."

“Station? What about those people trapped in the southern border…” Hill trailed off, stopping mid-sentence.

"...Was it because I messed things up that the army couldn't advance south? If... I hadn't said I wanted a quiet place, hadn't let Alice move those guard puppets... if I had been stronger, hadn't been burned by those flames... then..."

Akame shook her head.

“BOSS… Brand and I have actually given up hope. You’ve seen it all along the way, and you’ve fought those insects. You should know very well how strong they are, and you should understand how intelligent and resourceful they are.”

"In a one-on-one situation, even a commander-level officer at headquarters would find it difficult to gain the upper hand in a direct confrontation with those melee insects. Not to mention those insects with bizarre abilities and even greater strength and physique. Only Imperial Arms users can suppress the elite units among those insects. But Imperial Arms... there are only forty-nine of them, including all known and unknown ones. Yet the number of those insects... is in the tens of thousands."

The girl sighed softly, her voice filled with frustration.

"When Brand and I went out to scout ahead, we encountered more than a dozen giant insects that were stronger than ordinary soldier-level creatures. They were all hidden in the forest, lying in ambush very well, even evading Brand and my senses. I didn't realize it until they made their move."

Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly, the impact of the battle she had just witnessed still lingering in her mind.

She was very wary.

“Brand shielded me from the attack, and then we fought those things together. It was two against five, two against fifteen, and it took us more than two minutes to barely win… Those insects could resist the curse poison on Murasame and could even damage ‘possessed by evil spirits.’ This battle… was not easy for us.”

“Brand and I should be among the stronger Teigu users. But even so, we can only barely suppress this number of elite insects. As for the others…” The girl stroked the Teigu 'Murasame', a look of worry or frustration appearing on her face.

"The chances of anyone still alive at headquarters are actually very low. But we can't give up on our comrades and companions. That's why Najenda tried her best to persuade Alice to lead the army south, just to gamble on that last sliver of hope. At the same time... she probably also hoped that the Tranquil Path would take these insects in the south more seriously."

Akame lowered her eyes; there were still some things she didn't understand. For example, why Najenda insisted on getting Alice to lead the army south—the insect's remains were indeed convincing, but convincing didn't mean Alice had to risk her life.

What truly mobilized the army was Najenda's eloquence and certain undisclosed exchanges of benefits. After all, anyone with eyes could see that the entire Tranquil Road was practically Alice's personal fiefdom. As for the Night Raid assassins and their group's stance during this southward march... she couldn't quite make a judgment.

—'Nageta probably had some deeper meaning behind doing this.'

Akame thought to herself.

However, in the brief moment when she lowered her eyes and immersed herself in her own thoughts, she failed to see the fleeting sadness on Hill's face.

[As expected, I've let everyone down again... Akame says she doesn't care, but she still wants Alice to continue the campaign, and she might even set off herself. So... there must still be people alive at headquarters.]

It's all because of me...

"Anyway, Hill, just get some rest." Akame opened her eyes, looking at Hill with a relaxed smile. "The army shouldn't be leaving this base for a while. Just focus on recovering from your injuries, and leave the rest to Brand and me."

"Mm." Hill nodded gently, a slight blush rising on her pale cheeks. "I'm leaving everything to you."

"Don't worry," Akame promised, standing up to straighten the thin blanket covering Hill, which was slightly disheveled from her earlier movements. "With Brand and me here, everything will be fine."

She turned around and left the ward where Hill was.

—And Hill watched her leave for a long time.

My luck really isn't very good. Everyone's in so much trouble because of me. And...

Akame never mentioned my Teigu from beginning to end, and she's not usually this talkative... So, it seems 'Ecstasy' is broken?

Even if I recover from my injuries, I will no longer be a Teigu user.

She sighed softly and turned to look at the other side of the window.

The moonlight, as clear as water, spilled onto the windowsill, turning it silvery white. But as she gazed out the window, a tiny object on the windowsill caught her attention.

It was a hairpin, a violet hairpin.

The petals were already damaged, and the few leaves that adorned the flower were torn to pieces in the previous battle. Only the slightly more resilient flower stem remained, stubbornly supporting the two or three remaining broken, pale purple petals.

Pale purple flowers, withered flowers.

It's useless and has no value anymore. Even if it's just placed on the edge of a windowsill, where it won't affect other objects, its very existence is an eyesore.

【………………】

Hill slowly turned her head, staring blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling directly above her. A few seconds later, she gently closed her eyes.

................................................

[This implies the item has taken effect. Now that the seed has sprouted, there's no need to worry too much; just wait patiently for the outcome.]

Alice sat on the sofa in the central mansion, stretching out her hand and carefully examining her slender fingers from top to bottom. The soundproof room originally intended for the Teigu users was now available for her use, and when she unleashed her senses in the silence, she could monitor every movement within a radius of several hundred meters.

The soundproofing was very effective, but the naturally cautious witch wouldn't utter a single unnecessary word, even when alone. She wouldn't normally, and she certainly wouldn't now—her presence here was due to a significant advancement in her plan, a advancement large enough for her to temporarily set aside the Hill she had just begun preparing.

Yes, a major breakthrough.

She was neither injured nor poisoned. While the seven assassination insects were troublesome, they were far from being a major problem for her. If she hadn't originally intended to further provoke Hill, she could have handled the seven alien creatures on her own.

Yes, all by myself.

When she abandoned her original plan and snapped the puppet strings, instantly tearing the killer insect that attacked from behind into hundreds of uneven pieces, Hill looked at her like a prehistoric monster that had suddenly appeared in the city. And it was precisely for this reason that she had to use a memory erasure spell on Hill, directly destroying the corresponding memory area in the other's brain and then allowing the wound to heal immediately.

She didn't want to do it, but she knew she had to. Because...

Alice gently clenched her fist.

[Unlocking the Genetic Lock, Stage One]

Almost the instant her thoughts shifted, her eyes went blank! In a flash, her slender, petite body was filled with immense power—she could feel her senses sharpening, her muscles and bones functioning more efficiently. And the energy within her was diminishing at an incredibly rapid pace.

[Duration...Under no power restrictions, this body can last for a maximum of four minutes.]

[As expected, compared to Zheng Zha, that muscle-bound gorilla, close-range burst damage isn't my forte... or rather, it's not this body's forte.]

Her gaze refocused as her thoughts shifted, and in the next instant, a wave of weakness, from energy depletion to organ wear and tear, washed over her. She swayed slightly, but quickly regained her balance in her seat.

This is... her sixteenth unlocking exercise since she accidentally unlocked her genetic lock.

When her genetic lock was suddenly unlocked due to the attack of the seventh killer worm, she realized that this body, which was not her original form, would inevitably enter a period of decline after the lock was unlocked, and she had to take precautions before then. So she killed the killer worm herself, erased Hill's memories, sealed herself in the base, and summoned a large number of puppets for protection. All of this was to ensure that she would not meet with misfortune due to her weakened state after the lock was unlocked.

It's a crude solution, but it's very effective.

Although Alice was confident that she could overcome all pain with her willpower, she always avoided taking risks if possible.

And next, she will reap rich rewards from this cautious habit.

Chapter 50. I was so stupid, really.

"Unlocking the gene lock, second stage."

Patchouli examined her fingers closely—they appeared unchanged, still slender, white, and tender. However, the muscles and meridians within were fully activated, her blood and qi were boiling, and immense power surged rapidly within.

She picked up a small alloy nut from the workbench beside her, pressed the top with her index finger and supported the bottom with her thumb, and with a slight thought, the soft skin on her fingertip became incredibly tough. She exerted force with her knuckles, and with a firm squeeze of her fingertips, a soft, muffled sound was heard.

She released her grip, and a perfectly round, industrially standardized hexagonal washer appeared on the tip of her thumb—no threads, no deformation, not even the pressure marks that should appear on both sides of the washer. This small metal piece looked as if it had been freshly ground from a high-precision machine tool, without the slightest flaw, either on the outside or inside.

This was a high-grade processing of aviation-grade materials, which Patchouli accomplished easily with her physical strength alone.

"Muscles can exert force to the theoretical limit, and all muscles, organs, skin, and even blood and bone marrow can be fully utilized with an accuracy of about ten micrometers. This is comparable to the level of indestructibility and breaking through the void in ordinary martial arts. No... the simple second-stage gene lock has the defect of insufficient energy supply, and it is still slightly inferior when it cannot be kept open all the time."

"But once the energy problem is solved, the superiority of the gene lock can be perfectly demonstrated... Sure enough, without proper enhancement, the gene lock level alone is still slightly insufficient. My pure physical exertion is only equivalent to releasing the spells [Physical Enhancement] and [Super Physical Enhancement] in combination. It is still not as good as the higher-level [Deep Physical Enhancement], but the precision is much better."

Patchouli casually placed the newly made pad on the other side of the workbench, alongside a large pile of crooked, deformable pads—these were the simple tools she had used to familiarize herself with the power of the Gene Lock. Her control over the Gene Lock also rapidly improved, soon reaching a level of perfect precision.

The peach given to her by the Emperor... or rather, the Fruit of Wisdom, was even more effective than she had imagined. The first stage of her genetic lock opened instantly, and after she easily controlled the power of this stage, the remaining effects of the medicine accumulated in her body, and after the battle with the Senzhou team, it helped her open the door to the second stage of her genetic lock.

"My current level should be at the top of the second stage of the gene lock, still a little short of the third stage. However, it should only be a matter of time. I should be able to successfully unlock it in this world, and perhaps even in time for the final battle."

"Once the third stage is unlocked, I should be able to freely manipulate my brain without much mental strain. After all, replenishing mental energy is much more troublesome than restoring physical energy. Although the effects of various spells will not be greatly enhanced as a result, the actual consumption will be significantly reduced."

"But this should be enough for now. Tsk, I was originally planning to save this peach to directly advance to the fourth tier when the time was right. It seems I'm still not ready yet..."

She shook her head slightly and exited the second stage of the gene lock activation. Without her making any visible movements, numerous light screens quietly unfolded around her, and then a massive amount of calculation data appeared before her—these were all analysis reports that Alice had created during the first and second stages of the gene lock, and now they had all become Patchouli's resources.

I wonder how things are going with Alice? Has she reactivated her genetic lock?

Patchouli thought to herself as she browsed the analysis data related to the gene lock, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the cross-shaped machine to the side. Alice remained peacefully asleep inside the container, motionless, with only the temporary body serving as the container breathing faintly.

Reaching the level of transcendence is no easy feat. According to the witches' own calculations of the path to transcendence, the mind, soul, strength, and body must all undergo fundamental transformations to truly reach the transcendent level. While external equipment, temporary potions, or enchantments can indeed simulate transcendent power, a fake is still a fake. When it comes to the level of power, a counterfeit can never surpass the genuine article.

Alice lost her physical body, so she could only become extraordinary by proving her status as a Demon King through her unwavering soul. And to become extraordinary… leaving aside mystical methods of enlightenment, a certain amount of computational power is essential. To acquire a sufficiently high and stable computational capacity, she must reactivate her genetic lock to at least the third tier. And to activate the genetic lock, she needs a sufficiently compatible body.