Chapter 252 (1): No Turning Back

“What did you do to me?”

Senna raised her trembling hands, her face as pale as a sheet of paper. While her body was still her body, and her bloodline remained, she could feel that she was no longer pure—Wayne had changed her thoughts and body.

“A gift for mutual trust.”

Wayne smiled. He had given the gift once—to Filomina. That time, Wayne had corrupted her accidentally, and as soon as he realized that something wasn’t right, he stopped himself.

The gift made Filomina’s golden triangle more balanced and washed away the grey taint in her body, allowing her thoughts to remain efficient and rational, as well as making her mana almost flawless.

Senna was different. Wayne had let go and changed her more thoroughly. Due to his lack of experience, he hadn’t foreseen how Senna would have changed. Now that he saw the result, he had to say that it turned out well!

Senna had become his shape!

The transformation shouldn’t have been so complete. Wayne lacked experience, and after accidentally changing Filomina, he had only ever seen his corruption as an offensive skill. Virgil, Cerci, and Dorrin, for example, had lost their minds due to his corruption and turned into mindless ghouls.

Senna was to blame for presenting her thoughts to him without reservation, allowing him to mold her freely. If she had pulled back even a little, Wayne wouldn’t have been able to convert her so fully; at worst, she would’ve become mindless like his previous victims.

Now...

Looking at Wayne’s evil, meaningful smile, Senna felt chilled to the bones. Her eyes glinted viciously as she transformed one hand into a dragon claw and charged at him.

She was so quick that the naked eye couldn’t catch her motion. There was the sound of flesh tearing, and then her arm pierced through Wayne’s chest. Her draconic claw penetrated his back and protruded out, her entire right forearm buried in his body.

Wayne was still smiling. The gaping wound in his chest wasn’t bleeding at all.

Looking at his face from a close distance, Senna, hit with an even greater terror, attempted to extract her arm and make a run for it. After a few struggles, though, she realized to her horror that her arm had become one with Wayne’s chest.

White tissue writhed. Her right arm gradually melted before breaking at her shoulder.

Senna staggered back, staring at her severed arm. There was no blood or exposed bones, and she didn’t feel any pain.

Bone-chilling fear overtook her. She trembled, thinking of the corruption of an Astral Beast’s flesh. She couldn’t be more scared in this moment.

Wayne observed the naked woman missing an arm. He pulled out the severed arm that had gone through his chest and kneaded it into a clump like dough, tossing it at Senna’s face.

The white flesh melted into Senna’s body. Her missing arm regenerated from the stump, her delicate hand fair and flawless with five long, slender fingers, beautiful like a porcelain artwork.

Splash!

Suddenly, her body crumbled into a pile of white foam. She attempted to reshape her body with her thoughts, but all she could manage was to conjure a single tentacle, unable to turn into a bipedal human.

During the corruption—no, the evolution process, Wayne hadn’t instructed her to remember her human form.

Wayne jumped off the altar and towered over the tentacle pile. He transformed into a pale, faceless figure standing three meters tall. His chest split vertically to reveal a massive eye. Four tentacles reached out, intertwining with Senna’s randomly swishing tentacle like a mockery of handshaking.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Senna had lost control over her body, and without a mouth, she could not talk. Her fear threatened to drive her mad, but due to Wayne’s modification, the insanity threshold of her thoughts had been increased so much that she couldn’t even go insane.

This is nasty!

Even Wayne found himself nasty. He spread his thoughts through his tentacles to help Senna reshape her form, permitting her to remember how to be human. She returned to the stunning woman she was, her large blonde curls running down her shoulders.

Senna stared at the white monster in fear, taking two involuntary steps back and turning away from the evil eye. She said through clattering teeth, “What are you? You can’t be human. Are you a trespasser from the Astral Plane?”

“Quite the contrary, I’m a pureblooded human, the purest type.” A tentacle extended from Wayne’s back and wrapped around Senna’s neck twice. The tip opened up to form a pale mouth with no teeth. “The original bloodline and the first humans—a descendant from gods.”

Senna was stunned. She turned around reflexively to look at Wayne, but as soon as she saw the massive eye, she hurriedly turned away.

Her body and thoughts had developed an instinctual fear of the eye. It stemmed from Wayne’s ability to dominate her thoughts and body. If he wanted to, he could manipulate her like a marionette while she could only watch, unable to even resist.

Her feelings were complicated, though. Outside of the fear and rage of becoming someone else’s plaything, she also felt yearning, admiration, and an awe she did not understand, as if this monster was her only faith. Even the goddess was secondary now.

Senna knew that her thoughts had been modified. With her wealth of knowledge, she quickly connected the dots and said, “This is the vitality domain of a demigod. You’ve turned me into your follower. You are no Wayne Lando, but a demigod returning from the Astral Plane.”

Demigods were beings that had surpassed legendary mages. Their vitality field had evolved into a vitality domain, and their powerful thoughts allowed them to influence all things and grant others their power, making them their followers.

Power was knowledge. After acquiring knowledge from their master, a follower would find their existence increasingly resembling that of their master, their body and thoughts morphing.

Senna thought of the universe hidden in Wayne’s body and then of the transformation she had undergone. Given how Astral Beasts came to be, she deduced that Wayne had once been a Forgotten One, having lost his sanity. After becoming part of the Astral Plane, he regained his rationality. Then, he became a demigod.

“Demigod...” Wayne blinked. “Although I would like to fool you into believing that, we’re now in the same boat. I don’t mind telling you some truth. After all...”

“You can’t resist me!”

“Kekekeke—”

Another three tentacles reached out to wrap around her thigh, waist, and chest, dangling her before the massive eyeball.

“When you suggested giving me the dragon blood, I knew for certain that Master hadn’t told you the truth.”

Senna couldn’t help but widen her eyes, meeting the evil eye’s gaze with terror. The four tentacles opened into mouths at the same time, whispering to her slowly, “I was lucky enough to meet an ancient god. Their majestic existence is beyond verbal description, and Their power exceeds all. My original bloodline has evolved in the direction of the ancient god, giving me this form.”

“Dragon blood is beneath me. You can never change my evolution path!”

Original bloodline, ancient god, and a more advanced evolution path... Senna sorted through her thoughts and finally realized what mistake she had made. She bit out, “Silvia, that bit—”

Before she could finish, the tentacle around her neck tightened. The tip dove into her mouth, making her slim neck bulge visibly.

She kept her eyes open despite the pain, slowly losing her ability to breathe. Soon, she realized that she didn’t have to.

“Watch your mouth. If you weren’t my master’s master, I would’ve killed you for what you did,” Wayne said bluntly. “What if she lied to you? You should thank her!”

He extracted the tentacle and pinched her chin, saying maliciously, “And I’m not Veronica’s biological brother. We didn’t visit the church’s headquarters to become the Holy Maiden...”

“You fancy yourself a smart woman, always mocking Master’s intelligence, but how many times has she managed to fool you? Let me count.”

Face dark, Senna opened her mouth to curse, but reflexively shut her mouth when the tentacle reared up.

It didn’t help. Her mouth fell open without her control, allowing the tentacle to dive back in.

“You can only speak when I allow you to speak. Without my permission, you don’t even have a mouth. Understood?”

Wayne stomped on her pride and said sarcastically, “In the end, you only have your hubris to blame for ending up like this. You can’t blame Master or anyone but yourself.”

The tentacles scattered. Wayne returned to his normal human form. Both hands propping herself up, Senna crawled on the ground and retched nonstop.

She vomited nothing.

She looked at her hand and extended her thoughts. Fine white scales surfaced, proving that she still had the bloodline of great dragons, available to her when she needed. However, she knew that she could no longer do anything without Wayne’s permission.

She had gone from his master’s master to his follower. Naturally, she felt such a resentment for him that she wanted nothing but to—

Splash!

Senna’s body turned into a pile of white foam with swinging tentacles once more, unable to maintain its balance. Panic overtook her murderous feelings. She had to reshape her body with her thoughts to become human again.

Her forehead was covered in sweat. She realized with despair that Wayne had left layers upon layers of shackles and bindings in her thoughts, making it impossible for her to even maintain her autonomy.

“You’re only allowed to think when I permit it. Without my permission, you don’t even have a brain. Understood?” Wayne looked down at her, speaking in a regretful tone. “Compared to this timidness, Senna, I prefer your prideful look. Unfortunately, there’s no turning back. I’ll get used to this, and you should, too.”

Senna let out a silent, miserable laugh. That was easier said than done. How was she going to adapt to her life when it had suddenly plunged to rock bottom?

Wayne now addressed her by her name; he wouldn’t even call her ‘master’!