She is a natural disaster.

Chapter 74 Burning Stars

The night was deep, and thick clouds hung low.

Near the toppled wrought iron gate, the standoff between two Cataclysmic Transcendent beings is escalating.

An elderly woman with white hair wanted to enter the manor, intending to kill the manor's owner, Bill Montagu, and end the night's conflict once and for all.

As both were victims of natural disasters, Anastasia naturally wouldn't let the old woman succeed. She not only blocked the old woman from entering the manor, but also verbally mocked the white-haired, aged woman.

Anastasia's first goal tonight is to stall the white-haired old woman.

Hunting down Lonkinswit, who had left the manor, was Anastasia's second target tonight.

The white-haired old woman may not know Anastasia's two goals, but she will not let the young man in front of her leave.

A free-roaming, roaming, cataclysmic transcendent is highly uncontrollable.

Therefore, the white-haired old woman had no choice but to confront the situation head-on.

The white-haired old woman, having made up her mind, suddenly gained momentum, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze in that instant.

Anastasia, on high alert, sensed something was wrong. A slight tingling sensation spread through her skin, and she could hear extremely faint cracking sounds.

Clearly, this was a prelude to the attack by the white-haired old woman.

Having made her decision, Anastasia didn't hesitate and leaped forward, heading straight for the old woman.

In the blink of an eye, Anastasia was already in front of the old woman, her slender, black sword thrusting with tremendous force toward the old woman's throat.

The slender sword missed its mark, and the white-haired old woman transformed into an arc of electricity and leaped far away. Anastasia's face instantly turned extremely ugly, her delicate features scrunched up in a frown.

Anastasia's thrusting sword failed to inflict any real damage, but the white-haired old woman who leaped away as an arc of electricity dealt her damage.

Anastasia felt as if she had been hit by a speeding carriage, or as if she had been stung by ten thousand wasps at the same time; the excruciating pain spread from the inside out.

"Young girls are just easily impatient."

The white-haired old woman giggled, her voice extremely grating, and faintly accompanied by a "chirping" sound.

Anastasia's right hand, holding the sword, trembled uncontrollably. The impact and stinging sensation had not yet subsided when a strong burning sensation surged through her.

Anastasia appeared unharmed, not even the hem of her clothes was dirty, but large tree-like engravings appeared on her delicate skin beneath the clothing, which were lightning-shaped marks caused by the electric shock.

"If Calvin were standing here, your sword strike might have succeeded."

The white-haired old woman didn't attack Anastasia's appearance, but she returned all the taunts she had just received. A tough mouth is no match for a tough hand.

Just as the old woman was making her sarcastic remarks, the rolling thick clouds pressed down lower and lower, creating a scene reminiscent of dark clouds looming over the city.

Immediately afterwards, lightning flashed and thunder roared, creating a scene resembling the end of the world.

The white-haired old woman casually waved her hand, and thunder roared down!

In an instant, sparks flew everywhere, and the area around the wrought iron gate was as bright as day. How insignificant humankind seemed in the face of the power of nature.

"They're quite fast!" the white-haired old woman said softly.

The moment the old woman waved her hand, Anastasia quickly dodged, thus avoiding the tragic fate of being struck by lightning.

However, although Anastasia dodged the direct strike of the lightning, the lingering power of the thunder still made her tremble uncontrollably, and her limbs shook violently.

This was not out of awe of the power of nature, nor out of fear of the white-haired old woman, but rather because Anastasia's nervous system had been affected. Fortunately, the effect was not too severe; she neither collapsed and convulsed nor lost consciousness directly.

"I'll see how fast you can run!"

As the white-haired old woman spoke, she waved her arm again, and the rolling thunderclouds responded to her call, with dazzling lightning crashing down.

Under the thunder, nothing is left unbroken; with overwhelming force, nothing is left unannihilated.

Every time the white-haired old woman waved her arm, a bolt of lightning would descend from the rolling thunderclouds.

Wherever the thunder struck, houses collapsed, vegetation was destroyed, and the lightning and firelight illuminated the night sky, turning the manor's front yard into a living hell.

Anastasia dodged repeatedly, not daring to be careless in the slightest. She didn't want to be struck by lightning. A sudden cardiac arrest was a minor matter; what if she developed epilepsy from then on?

When lightning passes through someone's body, the nervous system is the most severely affected. Symptoms such as epilepsy, amnesia, and speech disorders may occur. The high temperature of lightning may even cook the brain directly, turning it into brain tissue and causing permanent brain damage.

In short, Anastasia didn't want to be struck by lightning, so she could only rely on her agility and speed to dodge and find gaps in the lightning strikes.

At this moment, the white-haired old woman, who had the upper hand, had a somber expression and felt a strong sense of unease.

The old woman casually summoned lightning, which sent Anastasia flying in disarray, seemingly unable to cope. This was not the level expected of a Calamity-level transcendent.

Those who have transcended to the age of an old woman with white hair have all experienced great trials and tribulations. Even if they are not extremely cautious, they still have basic awareness of self-preservation. The old woman did not believe that Anastasia's abilities were limited to this.

"Come on, let me see your hidden talents!"

As the white-haired old woman spoke, she quickened her pace, and the drooping thunderclouds responded to her call once more.

As the white-haired old woman waved her arms frequently, the speed of the lightning strikes increased significantly, and the frequency of the strikes also increased, with lightning bolts falling one after another.

The area around the wrought iron gate was already engulfed in flames. The buildings near the gate were either consumed by the fire or collapsed into ruins after being struck by lightning. Even the ground was scorching hot, and the air was filled with electrical charges.

At this moment, Anastasia had nowhere to hide and nowhere to escape; there was nowhere left for her to go around the wrought iron gate.

"Then I'll show you."

Anastasia gave a sharp shout and raised her slender, jet-black sword.

In an instant, the world lost its color, lightning dimmed, and even the mighty thunder had to yield to this sword strike.

The white-haired old woman stared wide-eyed, her arm, which had been summoning lightning, frozen in mid-air. She couldn't catch a glimpse of Anastasia; she could only sense the boundless darkness.

The boundless darkness was not a real existence, but a feeling from the bottom of the white-haired old woman's heart, as if she were looking up at the boundless night sky from ancient times, without stars or moon, only eternal and unchanging darkness.

"What...is this...?"

The white-haired old woman was shocked. Since stepping into the natural disaster, she had never realized how insignificant she was.

The white-haired old woman boasted that she had mastered the power of nature, but when she faced the boundless darkness, she suddenly realized that she had never truly mastered the power of nature.

The white-haired old woman had no idea what would happen next. All she could do was raise her arm. The thunderclouds above the manor churned violently, and bolts of lightning gathered in front of her, creating a deafening chirping sound like a thousand birds.

Suddenly, a glimmer of light appeared in the boundless darkness, like a star that burns eternally in the night sky.

The people in the Montague Manor were all drawn to this sudden phenomenon, stopping what they were doing and completely forgetting that they were fighting for their lives.

The lightning in Calvin's hand went out, and the boundless darkness left him stunned in place; the housekeeper collapsed weakly to the ground, her clothes badly torn, her body covered in tree-like patterns from electric shocks, the boundless darkness making her forget her fear of death.

Dulles's long hair no longer flew wildly. He stared in fear at the only starlight in the darkness, the fear of the unknown urging him to flee. The old butler, shirtless, knelt on the ground, a cryptic smile on his aged face. He looked at the starlight as if he were watching a grand performance.

Outside the manor, the group of investigators from the Bureau of Anomalies who were just about to intervene militarily all stopped in their tracks.

They didn't know what would happen next, nor did they want to know; all they wanted now was to escape this endless darkness.

Mr. Stone stared in disbelief at the tiny point of starlight, an unprecedented joy welling up in his eyes. He instinctively raised his arm, wanting to grasp the starlight that was so close yet so far away.

Inside and outside the manor, everyone, friend or foe, was drawn to this inexplicable phenomenon, except for one person.

Anastasia Angel.

In the chapel of Montague Manor, Catherine Capulet suddenly appeared out of thin air.

"Anatasia Angel," she repeated softly, then looked at Bill Montague, who was standing in front of the icon.

Da da da!

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed between the walls of the chapel.

Bill Montague composed himself and looked at the woman in white walking towards him.

"You're Catherine Caplette?" Bill asked. "I knew you'd come tonight."

"You arranged this meeting with Lonkinswit, and everything tonight, just to lure me here, didn't you?" Catherine Caplet said.

Catherine Caplette suddenly stopped and said coldly, "Bill Montague, you've gone too far."

The moment the words fell, a single star in the darkness suddenly burst forth, and a dazzling light replaced the boundless darkness, illuminating the entire night sky.

The boundless darkness was not real, but the dazzling light was visible to the naked eye. The sudden burst of light was like a rising red sun, spreading outwards from the Montagu Manor as its origin.

Montague Estate was as bright as day, followed by the winding, still river, and then the brightly lit uptown... Wherever the strong light reached, it was as bright as day!

In the center of the magnificent and intense light, Anastasia thrust her sword towards the white-haired old woman, towards the lightning gathering in her palm—

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no shockwave that leveled everything, and no flames that seemed to rise into the sky and turn the night sky orange-red; there was only this one sword between heaven and earth.

The lightning in the white-haired old woman's palm vanished instantly, and a slender, jet-black sword pierced through her palms.

The white-haired old woman's eyes were bloodshot with rage. She endured the excruciating pain, and her blood-soaked palms once again gathered chirping arcs of lightning, which surged toward Anastasia.

Anastasia's sword momentum did not diminish. Her slender, jet-black sword once again extinguished the roaring lightning. The three-lobed blade pierced through the old woman's palm, and the sharp tip even penetrated into her chest.

The white-haired old woman was now facing a life-or-death crisis. She could no longer care about anything else and could only use all her strength to activate her mutated power to get through the immediate life-or-death crisis.

The surging thunder gathered once more, covering the white-haired old woman's entire body, its chirping sound like a thousand birds singing deafeningly.

An even more powerful surge of lightning flowed along the blade of the slender sword toward Anastasia, pouring into her body and wreaking havoc on her organs and nervous system.

Anastasia, with her white hair, gritted her teeth. Her fair, jade-like skin was covered with large, shocking tree-like carvings, and her delicate features were contorted in pain. Her eardrums had already ruptured, and she couldn't even hear the thunder that was right next to her.

Anastasia's sword wounded the white-haired old woman, and the old woman's lightning also severely injured her.

The two Cataclysmic Transcendent beings unleashed their full power: one was a devastating thunderbolt capable of annihilating everything, and the other was a star eternally burning in the boundless darkness.

"I'll kill you."

Anastasia, who had been clenching her teeth, suddenly spoke, and her contorted features relaxed.

Her voice was cold, colder than the ice of hell, and devoid of any human emotion.

Then, the shocking tree-like carvings on Anastasia's body disappeared at a visible speed, and her skin became fair, smooth, and rosy again.

Immediately afterwards, the slender, jet-black sword suddenly crackled with lightning, arcs of electricity crackling across its blade, and even the right hand holding the sword seemed to be infused with lightning, turning a dazzling blue-white.

The white-haired old woman was horrified. She didn't know what had happened in that instant. All she knew was that her mutation power could no longer invade Anastasia's body. She felt the power that the mutation power had given her was backfiring on her.

No, this can't go on!

If they continue to entangle themselves, even if they are not killed, they will be devoured by the power of the mutation and turn into demons.

At this moment, the white-haired old woman, filled with fear, dared not fight any longer. All she wanted was to escape Montague Manor and get as far away from Anastasia as possible!

As fellow Calamity-level Transcendent beings, the white-haired old woman shouldn't have been so cowardly. It was only because Anastasia's sudden change was terrifying that the old woman suspected she was sliding into the abyss.

In other words, the white-haired old woman believed that Anastasia's mutation was a harbinger of the collapse and that once a Cataclysmic Being turned into a demon, the resulting disaster would be irreversible. The white-haired old woman did not want to face such a cataclysmic disaster.

Just as the white-haired old woman was racking her brains for a way to escape, Anastasia, whose eyes were bloodshot, came to her aid.

Anastasia parted her lips slightly: "Explode."

Her voice remained as chilling as ever, devoid of any human emotion.

In an instant, the lightning that had been coiling around the slender sword and the white-haired old woman vanished once more, and the old woman flew backward like a bullet fired from a gun.

In an instant, a deafening explosion resounded through the sky, causing the Montagu Manor to shake violently. The vast ruins caused by the thunderous roar were once again impacted, and even the honey-colored main building, which was ablaze with flames, was not spared.

As the explosions rang in their ears, the people, illuminated by the firelight, snapped back to reality, dealing with the shockwaves while resuming their life-or-death struggle with the enemy.

Calvin gathered roaring lightning in his palm, grinned maliciously, and walked toward the exhausted housekeeper. The others followed suit and went toward the old housekeeper who was struggling to hold on.

The winners on Lonkinswit's side were about to win big, but Dulles stood still, looking terrified.

Outside the manor, the middle-aged captain, having regained his senses, looked at Mr. Stone, his eyes asking what to do next: continue with armed mediation or slink away in disgrace?

Mr. Stone suppressed his excitement and turned to the middle-aged captain, saying, "Where is Mr. Holden? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Inside the chapel, Bill Montague shook his head with a wry smile; tonight's events had somewhat exceeded his expectations.

Catherine Capulet's face remained unchanged, but a fire of anger burned in her eyes.

Where is the white-haired old woman who was sent flying at this moment?

Outside the wrought iron gate, on the bumpy driveway, a severely injured, white-haired old woman lay in a pool of blood.

The white-haired old woman was seriously injured. Her hands and arms were blown off, and half of her body was also blown apart, with her exposed skin covered in scabs.

Anastasia, holding a slender sword, walked out of the manor step by step, along the bumpy driveway toward the white-haired old woman. The tall hedges on both sides of the driveway had long since vanished, and could no longer block the moonlight from shining into the driveway.

Anastasia, with her white hair and red eyes, approached step by step. The heavily injured old woman struggled to get up. Her arm had been blown apart, and the cut was a bloody mess. The old woman could only use her head to push against the ground and struggle to get up from the pool of scarlet blood.

"It's disgusting... isn't it?" the white-haired old woman said weakly. "Half of her body was blown off, yet she could still hold on to her last breath. It's disgusting..."

Anastasia didn't speak, but expressionlessly raised her slender sword, intending to pierce the old woman's chest again.

"Who are you?" The white-haired old woman neither dodged nor evaded; she had no way to avoid the upcoming sword strike. "Are you human, or a demon?"

Anastasia raised her slender sword, but the sword did not fall for a long time. The crimson in her eyes gradually faded, returning to her original appearance, lively and charming.

"I am Anastasia Angel, and I am currently a private investigator."

Anastasia's hair did not return to its original color, but her voice was no longer as chilling as before, and she regained human emotions.

"Without a doubt, I am human," she said. "I have all human emotions; I can cry, laugh, feel hungry, and feel tired... Without a doubt, I am not a devil."

"No, you are the devil!" the white-haired old woman roared hysterically, "You are a devil walking among men, a devil in human skin!"

The white-haired old woman was very agitated, her whole body trembling. The scabs began to fall off as her body shook, revealing even more horrifying wounds.

"No, I am not a devil." Anastasia raised her slender sword again.

Just then, Anastasia suddenly froze, her slender, jet-black sword hanging in mid-air, unable to fall.

When Anastasia came to her senses, the white-haired old woman was no longer there; all that remained was a pool of crimson blood, scabbed remains, and the acrid smell of burning flesh in the air.