Chapter 0019: The Terrifying Alice

Spatial barrier!

The Evil Insect, with its low, hoarse voice, could not help but repeat this term over and over, its heart filled with horror. This sort of barrier, carved by the chasm of space itself, was the most unbreakable shield in existence. Even a true sorcerer would find it difficult to breach a spatial barrier as thin as parchment.

“Impossible, absolutely impossible!” the Evil Insect bellowed in a low voice, unable to restrain itself. “This barrier can’t be real! Otherwise, you’d be more powerful than the sorcerers themselves! Children, charge! Use your numbers to overwhelm our enemy!”

Driven madly by the Evil Insect, countless scorpion insects surged from beneath its cloak, forming vast armies of crawling creatures, winding their way toward the small girl trapped in the center. At the same time, the Evil Insect’s gaping maw, hidden beneath its hood, opened wide, releasing a swarm of mosquitoes and flies that billowed forth like a black cloud, descending upon the little girl.

The battle between two advanced apprentices left no room for the lesser ones to intervene. Thus, as soon as the fight began, Grim retreated slowly, wary of being caught in the aftermath of their clash.

From the looks of it, the Evil Insect’s side held complete advantage, trapping the little girl. If only they could find a way to break that hateful spatial barrier, the battle would end swiftly.

Yet in the next moment, the tide turned unexpectedly with the girl’s seemingly casual counterattack.

Surrounded by countless scorpion insects, the little girl’s face still wore a sweet smile, as if untouched by the writhing horrors around her. She gazed at the Evil Insect from afar, and the golden birdcage in her hand was finally raised again, shaken lightly in his direction.

For no apparent reason, a chill suddenly swept through the Evil Insect’s heart.

He had listened to Grim’s detailed account of the girl’s strangeness, so he was especially vigilant regarding her counterstrikes. Upon seeing her action, even though he sensed no imminent attack, the Evil Insect darted aside with the utmost speed.

A cry of agony erupted from his mouth.

His body had indeed moved away, but somehow, upon landing, he staggered and realized his right leg had vanished inexplicably. The next instant, that missing leg appeared soundlessly within the birdcage, looking unnaturally miniature and lifelike from afar.

The girl blinked in mild surprise—she hadn’t expected this opponent to dodge so quickly, evading her strike.

Before the enemy could do anything with his body, the wounded Evil Insect let out a furious roar. The tiny severed leg in the birdcage exploded into countless wriggling scorpion insects, which then turned to black smoke and disappeared. Meanwhile, the black cloak draped over him shuddered in waves, as innumerable scorpion insects clustered together, reforming a new right leg.

“Biological modification?” For the first time, the girl’s smile faded. Her tense, delicate face revealed a coldness ill-fitting her appearance. “So you’ve abandoned your human body, transforming entirely into an insect. Hmph, don’t think that makes you truly immortal. Today, I—Alice—will show you what true terror means!”

With that, the girl called Alice stretched out her fair hand and grasped at the Evil Insect through empty air. The next second, he unleashed a thunderous roar, clutching his chest and nearly collapsing. In her hand, a heart appeared out of nowhere, swelling and pulsating.

Had it been anyone else, this would have been fatal. But the Evil Insect’s body was deeply modified; he no longer possessed human vulnerabilities. Seeing his heart snatched away by sorcery, he let out another fierce shout.

With his low, sharp howl, the heart in her hand burst into countless tiny scorpion insects before dissolving into ash.

“You’ve certainly transformed yourself thoroughly!” Alice’s voice rose, sharp and shrill. “I don’t believe you’ve replaced every organ. I’ll find the core that sustains your insect body!”

After her outburst, she attacked relentlessly, her hands striking at the Evil Insect in turn. Some attacks he managed to evade, but under her barrage, one or two out of every five landed successfully. Each time she succeeded, strange, bloody, slippery objects appeared in her hands—impossible to tell which organs they belonged to.

Whatever organ she seized, it inevitably met the same fate: insect transformation and disintegration.

Her extraction was brisk and satisfying, but the Evil Insect was now seething with fury.

While darting about to avoid her uncanny, mysterious ranged attacks, he frantically drove his scorpion insects to assail the girl. Yet no matter how cautious he was, he could not fully evade her sorcery, which showed not the slightest sign, nor any elemental fluctuation.

His normally unstoppable insect swarm was helpless before the impregnable spatial barrier, unable to find any opportunity to strike at her true body. At this rate, despite his confidence in his modified form, he feared that against the terrifying Alice he would surely lose.

Just as the Evil Insect began to consider retreat, Grim’s shout rang out from afar.

“Master Evil Insect, attack the back of her head—!”

What? Attack the back of her head?

The Evil Insect was infuriated. He’d already tried sending his scorpions to attack the wretched girl from every position and angle—even from beneath the earth. Yet that paper-thin spatial barrier neutralized every attack. No matter how he searched, he could not find a single weak spot in the transparent shield.

Yet to his surprise, when Grim’s shout reached Alice’s ears, her expression froze. Her large violet eyes shot daggers at Grim, who was hiding in the distance, her face twisted in silent fury. Though her tense features betrayed little, the Evil Insect caught a flicker of panic in her gaze.

Could that really be her weakness?

Though still somewhat skeptical, the Evil Insect, having suffered so long from her attacks, was now filled with pent-up rage. Without hesitation, he launched his most direct close-range assault.

Soundlessly, his body collapsed. The black cloak drifted softly to the ground, revealing not a trace of flesh within.

At the same time, a black figure stood up behind Alice.

This figure was formed entirely of countless scorpion insects—a humanoid shape, with arms and head writhing slowly, its face vaguely resembling the Evil Insect.

No sooner had it risen than the insect-man lunged forward, pressing its entire body against the seemingly insurmountable transparent barrier. The scorpion insects transformed into a torrent of black, violently battering the area behind Alice’s head.

For no apparent reason, the spatial barrier, usually still as death, shimmered with a ripple the size of a fist—right where the scorpions struck.

That section was not spatial barrier, but a small air barrier perfectly embedded within it.

The Evil Insect’s eyes widened in ecstatic disbelief. The enemy’s defense did have a flaw, and that flaw was the air barrier.

Spatial barrier and air barrier differed by only a single word, but their sorcerous properties were worlds apart.

Spatial barriers were powered by the highest order of space magic—renowned as the strongest defense within the planes. Air barriers, however, were merely a mutated use of wind element particles, vastly inferior in protective capability.

If no one pointed it out, a fist-sized “backdoor” hidden within a 360-degree spatial barrier would be nearly impossible to notice. But when the Evil Insect focused all his might on that spot, the only unstable factor within the barrier was detonated.

With a shattering, heart-stopping crack, the black tide of scorpion insects broke through the “mirror,” flooding madly into the barrier’s interior. Alice’s petite, adorable figure was instantly engulfed by the writhing insect swarm.

A piercing, shrill scream erupted. Within the mountain of black insect flesh, a terrifying aura exploded, shattering the space within fifty meters of the epicenter.

Severed scorpion limbs flew in all directions; dreadful spatial fissures spread like webs. Every insect touched by the cracks had its body silently severed, no matter how thick its carapace. The cutting power of spatial rifts was unmatched, as this scene demonstrated.

The sonic blast scattered the once-clustered swarm, then the rampant spatial fissures shredded them into blood and debris, finally revealing the trapped Alice at the center.

Amid the eruption of spatial fissures, Alice’s hair streamed, her body suspended in midair, her neck arched as she unleashed a scream of furious rage.

To use space as a weapon—to destroy an enemy’s space was to destroy their body. This little girl, with her extraordinary spatial talent, revealed a terrifying power when angered. Grim, lurking a hundred meters away, felt a chill run through him.

The gap between advanced and junior apprentices was truly this vast? Though he reminded himself repeatedly that even among advanced apprentices, Alice must be among the very strongest, he could not shake his fear and awe. These monsters were far too abnormal!

After all, they were not formal sorcerers—not even candidates. Yet they already wielded such terrifying might!