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301 - Henshin; Metamorphosis [Cherno]

Before Krahe even left the safehouse, she had eaten more than her fair share from her test-run pie; as good as ekarone was, in its similarity to both pineapple and forest strawberry, the very thing that made it delicious also made it physically painful to eat after a while. This was not the case ...

300 - Sorcerer's Hand Pt.2 [Cherno]

Krahe explained the Sorcerer’s Hand and the reagents she required for its creation. Once she was done, she added: “If it is permissible, I intend to use the hand from one of Aldritch’s accomplices for the base material. If not, I would simply purchase a donated hand for the purpose.”

299 - Sorcerer's Hand [Cherno]

While they spent some time simply reading and discussing the matters of the hunt, Casus eventually departed for a checkup. Krahe, after finishing the volume of Rampage she had been reading, returned to work, delving back into the preparations for her Zor’Aguhastra expedition.

Among the Wi...

298 - The Tracker, Shavren Pt. 2 [Cherno]

“Alright. Say I do take option C — you get claim on eight large plates plus an organ, in exchange you spare no effort or expense. Do you want first-pick on the organs?” Krahe asked.

Shavren thought it over for a moment, perhaps trying to decide if that specific wording was acceptable,...

297 - The Tracker, Shavren [Cherno]

“G’day. I am to take that you are my clients for this hunt?” the saurian asked, glancing between the two of them as he approached. His voice didn't entirely match his rather humanlike appearance, sounding very much unlike a human, and more akin to the rumble of a crocodile modulated into sp...

296 - Finding Renzo [Cherno]

Actually finding where Renzo lived proved to be easier than she had expected. Zastreon wasn’t exactly an information civilization, which meant that, on one hand, a person could go under the public radar fairly easily. On the other hand, people weren’t always on-guard about their pers...

295 - Wrought in the Pit [Cherno]

What she managed to wrench out of the two wasn’t quite as helpful as she’d hoped for, but it was enough. Krahe left the Society and, following Glasses’ directions, found the store without issue. That mural truly did look stupid, and the redheaded, armored-bikini-clad warri...

294 - Licht Equisetus [Cherno]

Krahe re-read the Wizard’s memslate several times, taking notes in the effort to fully parse what he was saying. It wasn’t the guidelines that gave her pause, but the actual ritual patterns, which, compared to a standard full dive ritual, were eye-wateringly complex. This was in large part du...

293 - The Zor'Aguhastra Guidestone Fragment [Cherno]

Meanwhile, Krahe was pressing on in her experimentation. She had yet to discern a method to impart lingering incendiary properties onto a high-propagation explosive — that is to say, to develop a “burning smoke” effect. It was not for lack of trying, she could almost hear the creaking of he...

292 - Trismegistos [Cherno]

A/N: This one is shorter. The next one will be longer.

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Casus had begun the Three Virtues Ritual as he had done several times since Favonia had introduced him to it. The goal, just as with every prior attempt, was to glean critical insights i...

291 - Piling up burned corpses to reach the heavens [Cherno]

Casus awaited at the safehouse, but beyond a silent welcome-back nod, he didn’t pay her much mind. His eyes were closed, but the Third Eye sat open, thrumming with a solar blend of yellow and orange, lazily tracking Krahe as she passed him by. A warmth, akin to the rays of the midsummer sun, sp...

290 - !!!ARCHETYPE EVOLUTION DETECTED!!! [Cherno]

Based on the last number ticking down by the second, she surmised the first number was for hours. Krahe observed for a few moments more, and thereafter decided to smash apart the calcified layer so she could take-with the scornbeast’s synthetic components. The substance crumbled remarkably easi...

289 - What does an omniphage do when its host dies? [Cherno]

A/N: Added Solomon Howitzer thaumaturgy creation/finalization poem to end of ch288.

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Krahe crawled out from under the monstrosity before the ensuing waterfall of viscera could splash down onto her, let alone before the scornbeast pr...

288 - Scornbeast Pt. Final [Cherno]

One after the next her tracers set off to hound the creature, their already dark appearance darkened further still by black salt. Krahe completely bottomed out her tolerance solely to unleash the biggest tracer salvo possible, and as they spiraled through the air, she felt a familiarity. Surely t...

287 - Scornbeast Pt. 2 [Cherno]

The Cinder Flash’s range was far too short for this use case, but peppering the monstrosity with Cinder Gatling shots proved remarkably effective in slowing it down. This was not because of their firepower, but because she salted them, rendering the orange beams into dark streaks, with only the...

286 - Scornbeast Pt. 1 [Cherno]

“Well, Rocinante, our first giant has come,” Krahe uttered, grinning at the patent absurdity of her own words. She drew in a breath as the monstrosity climbed at last toward the surface, and ignited the Implosion Furnace, funneling the first of its energetic bursts into her left arm. A mass o...

285 - Sword of Six Maxims [Cherno]

There was no doubt in her mind that she had stirred up the Astral Gulf. No matter how real the mindscape of her Soul Furnace appeared from her perspective, Krahe had no doubt that the pillar of red-lit smoke that rose from her as a consequence of her work would be visible to anyone with eyes to s...

284 - THE MAJESTIC STRUGGLE [Cherno]

Back in Megacity Gamma, especially the more desolate sectors, even a smalltime subsector lord could muster hundreds of borged out bodies hopped up on half a dozen stimulants, not even in an attempt to kill her per se, just to inconvenience her, just to try and annoy her into leaving him to his ca...

283 - The Second One [Cherno]

Eventually, after five or perhaps six rounds, she came to a rest near the very platform from which she had disembarked those months ago. It had collapsed into the pit since then. In fact, she could swear Jas’raba’s edge was in a far worse condition than before. Large boulders had crashed down...

282 - Rocinante Pt. 2 [Cherno]

Krahe and Casus settled down in the safehouse, both resting for their own reasons. Krahe, for one, had a stomach far too full to do anything, and could feel herself slipping nearer and nearer a food coma with every passing minute. Casus didn’t exude an immediate sense of exhaustion, but it was ...

281 - Rocinante [Cherno]

The following hours passed remarkably quickly. Favonia spoke at length of her battle with Skullhead for Casus’ benefit and of a number of other exploits for Krahe’s, and though Krahe paid close attention and committed them to memory, she didn’t feel entirely present in the conversation. Thi...

280 - St. Gauna's [Cherno]

Krahe raised an eyebrow, not sure if this was a result of Favonia being at a stage where money begins to lose its value. Nonetheless, she began the process of opening up her kenoma sack. Infuriatingly, as if reading her thoughts, Favonia looked over her shoulder, adding: “Bet it seems like too ...

279 - Crucifixion Upon the Pyre Tree [Cherno]

Finally, Krahe saw her window of opportunity. She lit a cigarette, rolled her shoulders, and began leisurely walking towards the fray, knowing full well that any stray strike, any  near-invisible sword-wave could kill her on the spot. She had means to protect herself, but these two were figh...

278 - Skullhead [Cherno]

“I won this flesh in a fair duel agreed-upon by both parties,” the skull-headed man said, smugly.

Favonia gave him a hard stare. With a measure of controlled, yet seeping disgust in her voice, she spoke.

“How many before him did you bait into duels they had no chance of...

277 - Seekers Pt. 2 [Cherno]

“Nine years. He’s been evading the church for nine years, killing and feeding, mostly through semi-legitimate duels,” Favonia said. “By this point he is strong enough to operate in the open, but also smart enough to know he is better off not doing so. No living soul has come to that shrin...

276 - Seekers [Cherno]

“You can say that twice,” Krahe agreed, “Can’t help but expect roundabout mystical solutions or pitfalls placed for those without secret knowledge.”

“Not necessarily an incorrect mindset. One must only be careful to also consider the path ahead,” Favonia said. 

Krah...

275 - Mutatis Mutandis [Cherno]

“Awake and aware? Good, because it turns out we’re encroaching on a local martial society’s scheduled time, so it would be best to go over this quickly. I’ll start with your movement technique, since it’s the easiest one,” Favonia said, wasting no time from the moment she saw Krahe aw...

274 - Hexenmesser Pt. 3 [Cherno]

Favonia was unharmed. She struck out with a fist that would have sent Krahe flying, just as before, had the woman not skimmed straight through her. A simple kick — a pivot of the body on one leg, barely engaging in proper generation of power — ought to have caught that evasion, but again, Kra...

273 - Hexenmesser Pt. 2 [Cherno]

Slowly, painstakingly, Krahe picked herself up, dusting the black grains from her scraped skin. Not long ago, she would have taken this moment to catch her breath, but that was no longer a limitation she needed to work around. Akin to a bird’s lungs, the Dead Man’s Root provided a continuous ...

272 - Hexenmesser [Cherno]

Contrary to what she had claimed earlier, Favonia actually took them to a shrine some distance from the safehouse, circumventing two shrines that Krahe knew for a fact had underground seclusion-gyms. The shrine was large enough to be in some ways considered a small temple, but lacked some of the ...