BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

"What the fuck?"

What Erik was seeing was as horrifying as it was incredible. Vania almost got as powerful as the Cerulean bird, at least in terms of strength. Of course, her mana was a third of what the beast had. Nevertheless, it was incredible the jump in strength she just got. Vania turned by far into the most powerful human who ever existed.

Her power level had increased exponentially, surpassing even his own. The problem was that she likely lost all reason, based on what Erik was seeing.

<The readings are off the charts.>

Vania was dangerous before she got the serum, but now it was even worse.

[You still have essence flow. Even if she is faster than you, with the hydra's heads and infinite mana, you should be able to kill her.]

<That's if I can land a hit on her.>

Which was a variable. Vania had monstrous amounts of strength and dexterity, meaning Erik would have to try quite a lot to injure her.

<What kind of serum could transform a human into something this powerful?>

The blackguards really outdid themselves. The serum they made was already incredible, allowing them to get four additional brain crystal powers, plus those they had before; now this serum seemed to be doing even more of that based on the mana signatures.

[In theory, the mechanism is the same as whatever gave them three or four powers. The problem is that this serum gave her 15 neural links in all the powers. That's what prompted her to mutate. We need to kill her.]

It meant that if the blackguards didn't bite off more than they could chew, Vania would not be a monster now.

<I couldn't kill the Cerulean Bird, though.>

[That thing had almost 4000 energy points. It's different now; you can do this. Just do as I say.]

<Ok.>

[You need more hydra's heads, but don't make more than 10.]

The problem in this case was that too many hydra's heads, albeit powerful, would make Erik lose himself in the split personalities.

However, he did as instructed. He channeled mana into the hydra's head brain crystal power and created 6 more.

[Now put on your armor and use as much mana as you can.]

Erik nodded. He created multiple barriers, and his armor got pushed to the extremes. He created illusions and increased his strength.

However, Strength enhancer, absolute wall, and absolute castle worked up to a certain point, not because they didn't work, but because the mana drain got so high that even essence flow got severely reduced in effect. Aside from that, Erik had to use elemental lord and telekinesis, meaning he could not go too far with his powers' usage.

Vania tilted her misshapen head upward, four-part mouths closing as her eyes—now solid black—found Erik hovering above. Recognition flashed in those inhuman eyes.

A low, guttural sound—more animal than human—rumbled from her throat. Erik's analysis showed her intelligence had plummeted to just 3 points—at the same level as a mindless beast.

She dropped to all fours, her spine contorting unnaturally as she paced in circles, sniffing the air like a predator.

Drool dripped from her four-part jaws, sizzling where it hit the ground. The serum hadn't just mutated her body—it had completely destroyed her mind, leaving nothing but raw, primal instinct.

The thing let out a piercing shriek that had no trace of human speech or reason. Her eyes darted around, focusing and unfocusing, unable to process complex thought, but still searching for something to kill.

She was operating purely on predatory instinct now—a perfect weapon, but one that had lost all control.

Mana gathered around her clawed hands, blood from the battlefield below rising to swirl around her in spirals. The energy built until the air distorted, the ground beneath her feet cracking from the pressure.

Below, his clones moved into position.

"Do you think we'll make it?" Amber asked. She glanced at the others, her hands trembling as she channeled mana through her body.

"We can," Mira said, her eyes fixed on the Vindicators. "Erik's clones are already fighting the other blackguards, but those Vindicator bastards won't go down easily, even with our brain crystal powers."

Rick clenched his fists. "At least we don't have to hold back with essence flow..."

"But they have four powers, and we don't know what powers they have. Are we sure we can do this?"

"The neural links are what worry me," June cut in. "We don't know how many they have. The blackguards aren't exactly giving us that information."

"Doesn't matter," Mira said, stepping forward. "We've trained for this. As long as we stick together and coordinate our attacks—"

The area burned around them, columns of smoke rising into the sky. Blackguards and clones clashed, their powers lighting up the sky with flashes of energy.

Above them all, Erik faced the mutated monstrosity that had once been Vania, the First Division Commander of the Blackguards.

"We need to move now," Mira said. "Erik can handle her, but we need to take care of the rest."

Amber nodded. She then turned to her friends. "Aaron, Mickey," she said. "Focus on helping the clones."

The two nodded. Aaron was already making his slime and was ready to give them an ego. The same did mickey, who was already creating a swarm of flesh-eating bugs.

"I need you both to flood the battlefield," Amber said. "Unleash everything you've got."

"With Essence Flow affecting us, you can make them far more powerful than normal," Mira said. "Don't hold back."

The slime on Aaron came off his body and headed toward the battlefield. "How many should I create?"

"As many as you can control," Amber said. "We need to overwhelm them with numbers."

"My bugs will devour them," Mickey said, the insects in his palm multiplying visibly now, crawling up his arm.

Mira turned to the three warriors standing nearby. Gwen stood tall, her muscular frame already shimmering with the first layers of mana armor forming on her skin.

Benedict's halberd was taking shape. Allan's hands crackled with electricity, small arcs jumping between his fingers.

"You three are our melee force," Mira said. "Gwen, your mana armor combined with your strength enhancement and regenerative abilities makes you our main tank. Get in their faces and keep them occupied."

Of course, Mira was referring to the Vindicators.

Gwen nodded, the armor encasing her body growing thicker. The blue energy hardened into plates that covered her vital areas, leaving joints flexible for movement.

"Benedict, your mana halberd gives you reach. Use your armor defensively while striking from behind Gwen. You will act as off-tank."