Countless viscous streams of dark energy connected the [Heart] to the surrounding rock walls like blood vessels.
The originally brilliant Evernight crystal veins embedded in the rock walls now resembled polluted arteries, with turbid, black-purple light filled with a violent aura coursing through their interiors.
And the tentacles that had attacked them earlier were precisely extensions protruding from this massive dark heart!
“This… what is this?!”
Lucia’s voice brimmed with shock.
Clearly, the scene before her eyes exceeded her cognition.
The pressure and terrifying mana emanating from the massive dark heart even caused the mana within her body to stagnate involuntarily.
Bai An’s twin pupils stared fixedly at the throbbing dark heart.
Her eyes were likewise filled with shock.
But after the shock came unbridled ecstasy!
“This is the vein core… but it’s mutated!”
Her voice carried a faint tremble.
Clearly, she was exceptionally agitated.
“It wasn’t man-made destruction!
It’s the vein itself!
It… it’s ‘alive’!!”
Bai An’s eyes widened.
Her tone could scarcely conceal her excitement.
“It’s instinctively absorbing, converting, and… excreting these violent, chaotic energies!”
The previous black tide eruption had been the newborn vein core’s initial “awakening”—or perhaps a response to intense stimulation—resulting in an uncontrolled venting of its vast energies.
And the deterioration of the surrounding environment was merely a byproduct of the core “breathing,” inhaling and exhaling as it attempted to purify and adapt to the chaotic energies.
As for the tentacles that had lashed out at Vivian and Lucia, they were the vein core’s instinctive self-defense and predatory reactions, striking at anything that drew near and might pose a threat.
And those final memories of the victims were everything the vein core had captured and recorded in its nascent moments of consciousness.
“It’s just like a… an embryo in gestation, ignorant and violent!”
Vivian gazed at the distant, still-throbbing heart.
Her eyes were filled with vigilance.
But more than that burned an irrepressible excitement.
Lucia stared at the heart with flickering eyes as well.
After a long moment, her voice carried an uncontrollable, excited tremble.
“Isn’t this… the perfect heart?!”
“This is… the perfect heart!”
Bai An exhaled slowly.
She gazed at the core before her.
She didn’t so much as blink.
“Giant beast embryo?!”
Lucia sucked in a sharp breath.
“Then… what do we do?
Destroy it?”
She eyed the slowly throbbing dark heart, which emanated a terrifying pressure.
Her scalp tingled with numbness.
Subconsciously, she voiced the thought.
“Destroy?”
Vivian turned her head.
Her tone held a trace of mockery and doubt.
She looked toward the Frost Banshee before her.
The corners of her mouth curved into an almost mad arc.
“No!
Lucia!
This is… a heaven-sent treasure!”
As a player, Bai An had actually seen similar things before.
In various Let’s Play videos and text breakdowns.
In the game’s lore, this thing was called the [Placenta of the Demon God].
It was an extraordinarily rare special item in the late game.
Often used as material for forging the most powerful weapon of the current version.
Its drop rate was abysmal.
Worth a fortune.
But in truth, this thing could genuinely gestate life.
Though no player knew exactly what it would birth.
Combining it with the Evernight Demon Lord’s current knowledge, however, she knew the [Heart] before her could even spawn another existence on the level of a Demon Lord!
And before that, the thing itself was a terrifying energy furnace!
It could absorb and convert violent, chaotic dark energy.
In doing so, it would gestate unimaginable high-purity, high-energy-density Evernight crystals all around it.
Its value was beyond measure!
Though it was now causing the environment to worsen, that very fact proved it was attempting to function normally!
“This vein core… is a heaven-sent treasure!
As long as I can guide it—even… tame it—it can become the greatest purifier and stabilizer for the entire mine pit, or even all of Evernight Town’s leyline floods!
Future mining won’t be an issue anymore.
Efficiency could far surpass what it was before!”
Even fully developing and arming the entire mine pit wouldn’t be a problem!
If this core—this [Placenta of the Demon God]—could be controlled by Vivian, then the whole Blackrock Mine Pit would become the most terrifying war fortress imaginable!
Any invader would have to face a “living” vein core with its own consciousness, capable of mobilizing vast dark energies to strike!
In time, it could even gestate a brand-new life from within—one with strength comparable to a Demon Lord, or even greater!
She had no idea if Lucia’s power was what had activated the vein core, or if the thing had simply slipped in from somewhere else.
But the game’s world progression was already in shambles anyway.
Vivian had grown used to such anomalies—
Lucia, meanwhile, was stunned by Vivian’s ideas, bold to the point of madness.
“Tame it?
Demon Lord, this is far too dangerous!”
Lucia’s eyes widened.
Her face was full of disbelief.
“It’s like a bomb that could explode at any moment right now!
And it’s brimming with chaos and aggression!”
Don’t you know the bigger the fish, the more precious it is?
Danger and reward go hand in hand!
Vivian’s gaze locked unyieldingly on the throbbing heart.
As if beholding a peerless treasure.
“Indeed!
It’s incredibly chaotic and violent right now, like a newborn beast!
But it’s also ‘growing,’ ‘learning.’
After the black tide eruption, it’s clearly trying to control its power—otherwise, the entire mine pit would have been obliterated long ago!
This proves it has instincts for ‘survival’ and ‘stability’!”
“Then, I have a chance to subdue it!”
At that moment, as if sensing the approach and prolonged scrutiny of two powerful “foreign entities,” the massive dark heart suddenly contracted.
Its throbbing intensified abruptly!
“Boom—!”
An energy burst erupted from the heart’s center.
Far more ferocious, several times over, than before!
At the same time, dozens of tentacles—each several times thicker than the previous ones—emerged from the darkness like colossal pythons.
They lashed out madly, coiling toward Vivian and Lucia!
Even on the tentacles’ surfaces, illusory faces twisted in agony flickered into view.
Emitting silent screams!
“Careful!”
Lucia cried out.
She poured all her frost mana into action.
In an instant, she erected several thick ice walls before herself!
“Hmph!
See?
We’ve been pegged as invaders!”
Vivian’s eyes sharpened.
She showed no sign of retreat.
Instead, her demonic flames surged wildly!
She charged forward.
A dark-purple magic array unfurled instantly before her!
“[Shadow Grasp]!”
Dozens of shadow chains—condensed to the point of solidity—burst from the array.
They intercepted the oncoming giant tentacles with flawless precision!
The chains and tentacles collided fiercely, entwining.
Harsh metallic screeches rang out, mingled with the explosive booms of clashing energies!
Darkness clashed against darkness in a furious struggle!
“Lucia, freeze its connection points!
Those ‘veins’ linking to the rock walls—don’t let it fully mobilize the mine’s power!”
Vivian bellowed the order sharply.
Even as she strained to maintain the chains’ bindings.
She hadn’t brought Lucia in here just to have an extra spectator!
With her strength yet to recover to its peak, every ounce of power was indispensable!
“Got it!”
Lucia understood at once.
She flicked her hands in rapid succession.
Beams of extreme cold shot out with pinpoint accuracy.
Toward those “veins” connecting the dark heart to the rock walls!
Wherever they struck, thick layers of black ice rapidly formed on the “veins'” surfaces.
The energy flow within them slowed to a crawl in an instant!
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂