Before this half-Hulk charged, I cast "Time Acceleration x7" on myself and leaped aside, barely dodging her lunge. Fast, very fast! Time to test her strength; I had suspicions.
As the even more snarling miss made another lunge, I summoned my artifact shield—Styx Command—bolstering it with spare souls, including a Pack Chieftain's, for extra durability.
I had to leap aside again, as my shield shattered from her headbutt! What mod had she added to "Poison Armor"!? It should max at junior Commander strength, not mid-level specialized in power under berserk!
"Such a slippery one! Come to mommy, I just want to hug you!" the MONSTER growled, teleporting nearly on top of me!
Boosting with Thanatos Stride boots and sacrificing a Servant soul, I barely dodged and countered with "Dimensional Teleporter," shifting ten meters away. Time to attack and stop testing. Sigh, she hadn't even properly used her poison yet.
Waving my hands, I cast my self-made fourth tier High level ice spell "Ice Minefield" around us. With her fast teleports, pinpoint spells weren't viable. Alongside, I dropped an "Ice Rose" of the same tier to mask ice mana from the mines and slow her slightly.
Boom! Coated in thin ice, she slowed enough to trigger a mine, freezing more and letting me play a trump card.
"Pikachu, I choose you!" After that pointless shout, a thick yellow lightning bolt struck from my body into her.
Deep-frozen, she couldn't cast or break free, taking heavy damage. A charred deep hole marred her chest—not through, but Gu Daiyu dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
"Master Gu Daiyu, I really came just to be your student. Let's end this pointless circus." I appealed to reason again.
No clue why she'd only used teleport and "Poison Armor" so far—not her strongest attacks—but her carelessness helped me. Such wounds would hinder her.
"Heh, I clearly underestimated you. This form usually suffices against most hunters, but slips happen. Sigh, didn't want to move again." Before I grasped her words, a massive poison cloud erupted from her, withering plants at stunning speed, detonating all ice mines, and reaching me.
Testing the poison, I exposed a corner of my spatial barrier—it corroded almost instantly! What the hell!? Had she tuned poison to devour space!? Why was ambient space intact?
Dimensional Teleporting farther, I eyed my foe grinning green-glowing. Nooo, what rotten luck! The odds!
"Mmm, tough break, cutie—I recently subjugated healing element stars. Like mommy's updated look?" she taunted, rising.
No trace of the wound on her chest, just torn dress proving it real. Man, "Blood Renewal" first tier High level healing spell handled heavy wounds excellently.
"Maybe we part in peace? I still hope to be your student." I tried diplomacy again.
"Still pretending? You've shown space, ice, summon—no poison element. No faint lab aroma around you, like us poison folk breeding new toxins. You're here to kill me." Gu Daiyu replied, flickering with micro-mana bursts. She was tweaking her poison cloud's composition while we talked.
"I have a talent letting me awaken extra elements, and no smell since I've never brewed poisons—other elements sufficed." I replied, proving with a third tier Initial "Poison Fang" into bushes. Basic poison, unmodified.
"Hm, doesn't change anything. I'll wring truth from you post-victory. And since you brought pet backup, fair if I do too." She grinned maniacally; a poison-colored spatial funnel appeared beside her.
Watching a swarm of colorful-winged toxic beetles emerge—Pack Chieftain level, led by three Commanders, one mid—I sighed wearily. Where did I screw up for higher powers to send this trial!?
Fully releasing Pikachu and summoning Bula, I ordered them to merge and handle the swarm. I'd be too busy for distractions. Though... Gu Daiyu wasn't interfering yet, so...
Casting fusion magic, I merged first tier High level summon "Horde Summon" with equal ice mana clump, opening a spatial gate from which Snow Wolves at Pack Chieftain level poured, led by a junior Commander. Man, not ideal vs. fliers, but they'd aid my pets.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Master Gu Daiyu." I addressed her, buying seconds for needed spells; spatial shield clearly wouldn't preserve my carcass intact anymore.
"No problem, mommy loved your tricks. Plus, my poison cloud spread nicely." She grinned predatorily; poison concentration around me spiked, burning my spatial barrier at mad speed!
"Ice Octopus!" I summoned the proven ice construct around me, halting the burn. Poison's downside: hyper-specialized like "Space Melter" won't affect other defenses...
But a minor hitch for her. Flickering weak poison mana bursts, she altered it to melt my surrounding ice as effectively as the barrier. Desperate measures needed!
Allocating two of three spatial slots to "Time Delays," I cast them sequentially on her; as she broke one, another trapped her, slowing for my attacks.
My spatial mana drained wildly, but prolonged fight wasn't my style—she'd tailor poison to any defense, ambient space saturated with her toxic mana meters around. She attacked more efficiently in her poison Sphere; attrition favored her, ignoring her quick defense-breaking. End it fast.
I dispersed "Ice Octopus," redirecting mana to "Ice Rose," chasing the first from my reserves. Reactivating artifact boots, I appeared before her instantly.
Spatial techs now risky—her poison might wreck transit constructs, freshly altered per my hissing, leaking barrier.
Drawing Hades Touch dagger, I aimed a stab at her shoulder, but poison wave burst anew. This had massive corrosion; my body decayed visibly. Stubbornly, I drove the dagger deeper, fueling with three Pack Chieftain souls for necrosis. Plus three max-boosted spiritual strikes.
But a solid High level armor appeared on her, absorbing most damage and crumbling to dust—as did my body—leaving her just two heavy wounds instead of disintegration. My spiritual attacks: one blocked by artifact, one by natural resistance, third briefly unfocused her gaze.
"Hah-hah-hah, it's been a long time since I last faced such a tough opponent. I even had to release a bit of my innate poison," Gu Daiyu muttered, collapsing to her knees and gasping for air as she canceled her "Poison Armor" transformation and began casting "Blood Renewal" to rid herself of the necrotic wounds on her body. She did it very slowly, though—the disorientation from the recent spiritual attack was taking its toll.
But then a powerful yet careful blow landed on her head, and her exhausted, no longer enhanced body simply couldn't withstand it. The century's greatest poisoner fell to the ground unconscious.
Standing behind her with his raised hand glowing with dark golden light was Mu Bai, the lower half of whose body was clearly emerging from the shadow cast by hers. A triumphant smile lit his face, like that of a magician who had just pulled off a perfect trick.