Chapter 845: Devourer of Offspring

How did Lorelei know?

There's only one answer: the revived core of Einnashe is right in front of her.

Wait, the core of the forest of Einnashe? Isn't it supposed to be the core of Child of Einnashe's? How did the forest of Einnashe come back?

This all started with a sudden appearance of a red shadow.

The red shadow appeared out of nowhere, moving incredibly fast. For a moment, no one reacted. It wasn't until the red shadow crashed into the core of Child of Einnashe's child and put it back in place that Arcueid let out a scream.

"Ah, that's—"

"FXXK, the Crimson Fruit!"

Shinji had the same expression and cursed without any pretense.

Indeed, the true form of that red shadow was the forest of Einnashe's real core—the supreme symbol of the Crimson Core, the Crimson Fruit, condensed from countless essences of flesh and blood. Earlier, due to the massive explosion, the crimson core had been blown to bits, and they hadn't sensed the presence of the Crimson Fruit afterward. Both of them assumed the fruit had been destroyed. Unexpectedly, it was still alive.

"This thing wasn't blown to pieces? And it just happened to show up here?—Not good! Arcueid, destroy it quickly!"

At this moment, the Crimson Fruit began to change—it sprouted countless vein-like lines, resembling blood vessels, which pierced into the surrounding blue crystals. In the blink of an eye, it drained the red liquid inside them.

Having absorbed the red liquid, the Crimson Fruit became even more vibrant, while the blue crystals lost all their luster and color as if all their energy had been exhausted.

"Is this... devouring? Devouring its offspring?"

Gray turned pale and covered her mouth.

Earlier, when Child of Einnashe appeared, Waver had given her a brief lesson. She learned that Child of Einnashe was born from droplets of liquid secreted by the Crimson Fruit—essentially, Einnashe's offspring.

A mother devouring her children? Such a thing wouldn't happen even among the most cold-hearted magus families. The scene before her shattered Gray's understanding.

In stark contrast to her reaction, Heartless' eyes sparkled as he eagerly analyzed the situation.

"The seeds come from the liquid secreted by the fruit and share the same essence. When injured or starving, they make the perfect nourishment. Calling them offspring isn't quite accurate; they're more like extensions. Satiate them to proliferate, starve them to devour the extensions—if this method were utilized, could we artificially create more—"

As the two spoke, Arcueid made her move. She no longer controlled her power with complexity but instead formed her fingers into claws and swiftly unleashed five powerful slashes through the air.

However, the Crimson Fruit, having devoured its offspring, was no longer a mere solitary commander. As the blood vessels penetrated the ground, the body of Child of Einnashe also fell under its control, transforming into a new Crimson Core. The shattered forest reassembled, with branches intertwining to block Arcueid's slashes.

By the time Arcueid launched her second strike, the Crimson Fruit had already withdrawn its roots and hidden beneath layers of protective ice.

No, it wasn't just ice; the ground and various types of vampiric plants were also involved. The forest of Einnashe's inherent ability to gather information from what it devoured allowed it to evolve using this as a template.

The icy environment previously created by the predecessor of Child of Einnashe, the black forest evolved over eight hundred years by Einnashe's main body, the crimson essence of the Crimson Core, and the King of the Land, a high-ranking phantasmal species it recently devoured—all these were manifested by the Crimson Fruit, now the core, and rapidly spread throughout the entire forest.

Initially, Arcueid could tear through the ice and trees in large swaths, but soon the newly reborn Crimson Core adapted to her methods. Not only did it expand to resist her slashes, but it even had the strength to counterattack.

"Mmph—! Shinji, everyone, get away quickly, I'm going to get serious."

The princess, frustrated by her stalled attack, showed clear impatience. Her red eyes fully transformed into a golden hue. Her delicate lips revealed sharp fangs, and her ten fingertips extended into razor-sharp claws.

This was Arcueid's true combat form. Eight hundred years ago, she had single-handedly slaughtered countless Dead Apostles and fallen True Ancestors in this state. Once she entered this mode, she would unleash all her power, obliterating everything around her.

Shinji had witnessed this form of Arcueid twice before.

The first time was when he glimpsed into her memories; back then, she had wiped out all the True Ancestors in the Millennium Castle Brunestud.

The second time was in Altera's chamber, where she fiercely battled against the vanguard of the Predatory Star.

Each time, it was a terrifying scene of earth-shattering destruction.

Immediately, he shouted:

"Everyone, get out of here as fast as you can, run as far as possible!"

However, as soon as he said this, he noticed that all the magi had turned pale.

Waver smiled bitterly and said, "How do we run? Our connection to the Greater Source has been severed, and it's hard to even use magecraft."

"I Forgot that we're already within the forest of Einnashe's domain—"

Hearing this, Shinji remembered the inherent characteristic of the Einnashe—to devour mana. Due to their massive scale and unique life forms, the Einnashe automatically drew mana from the Greater Source with far greater efficiency than humans, resulting in a weakened connection between magi and the Greater Source.

With Child of Einnashe, the weakening was about 30% to 50%. But with the forest of Einnashe's main body, the Einnashe's mana consumption reached 100%, completely severing the magi's connection to the Greater Source—even the Mystic Eyes Collection Train lost its link to the ley lines. The train, which drew power from the ley lines to create its tracks and travel across Europe, had stopped moving the moment the fruit appeared.

Unfortunately, most of those present were magi. Even someone as strong as Lorelei could only use basic spells, with her power reduced by more than half. As for the others, Luvia, who relied on jewel magecraft and had a strong physique, fared better, but Olga Marie and Waver were almost powerless.

"—Wait, then why am I not affected?"

As Arcueid gradually unleashed her power, she responded:

"Because my blood is supplying you with mana."

Arcueid, being the embodiment of nature, possessed infinite life force and energy. Her blood contained this power, and just a drop could create a powerful Dead Apostle, regarded by ordinary magi as a great mystery.

In a sense, Arcueid could be considered a personified, mobile Greater Source. By drinking her blood, Shinji had essentially opened a direct, unbreakable channel to the Greater source within his body, allowing him to draw mana at will. Even if the Earth's Greater Source were completely depleted, as long as Arcueid existed, Shinji's mana source would never run dry.

Understanding this, Shinji turned his gaze to the three train staff members: the acting manager, conductor Rodin, and Leandra. They weren't magi but beings associated with Dead Apostles, so they wouldn't necessarily be affected by the severed connection to the Greater Souce.

"You three, find a way to take four people with you. The rest will be left to me, Lord Barthomeloi, and Gray."