The nano beam blade was incredibly sharp, able to slice through metal like butter. It could easily cut through armor, and not even Nihilister's thick plating could withstand it.
In the earlier battle, Mo Chen had used this very blade to slice Nihilister in two.
This time, his target was the core at the center of Nihilister's chest.
"Clang—!"
A sharp metallic clash rang out and brilliant sparks exploded from the impact!
The nano beam blade was blocked!
It was Nihilister's right wing—shielding her core just in time.
Mo Chen's blade dug five centimeters into the black armor, but could go no further, as if it were being obstructed by something.
"Hahahaha…"
"Human, did you really think I'd fall for the same trick twice?"
Nihilister cackled wildly, her wings flaring open as twin high-energy particle cannons locked onto Mo Chen's head—blasting forward the very next instant.
"Boom—!"
A scorching beam split the sky!
Mo Chen's figure reappeared fifty meters away.
In the split second before he was struck, he had triggered a teleport jump just in time.
But even so, smoke billowed off his armor. The nano film had melted, leaving a gaping hole, and parts of the suit had been scorched and partially liquefied by the extreme heat. After all, the nanosuit was weak against fire, and under such high temperatures, it began to destabilize.
Mo Chen suddenly spoke up.
"Chatterbox… you absorbed him, didn't you?"
Nihilister, who had been about to attack again, actually froze for a moment. Her massive crimson eyes locked tightly onto Mo Chen, heat hissing from her jagged maw.
"What, trying to stall for time now? Hoping you can scrape out a few more seconds of life?"
Mo Chen said, "What? Can't even talk now? Or are you… afraid of something?"
"Clicking your tongue won't work, pathetic human," Nihilister sneered. "But since you're not escaping anyway… I'll tell you before you die. That's right—Chatterbox was indeed devoured by me."
Just as he thought.
Mo Chen's earlier suspicions had been confirmed.
If it were the Nihilister from the original material, she definitely wouldn't be this powerful.
This surge in strength likely came from devouring Chatterbox—triggering an evolution.
The principle was likely similar to Rapi and Red Hood.
After entering her Red Hood mode, Rapi single-handedly defeated Chatterbox, Indivilia, and Nihilister—easily. She didn't just win; she absolutely thrashed them, to the point where they could barely fight back and were blasted from the Ark all the way to the surface.
If Red Hood was that powerful to begin with, Mo Chen didn't really buy it.
That left only one other possibility—the collision of two cores generated power far greater than either alone, possibly by several times. The original source material hinted at this, albeit subtly.
Like Guillotine, who wasn't particularly strong at first and got steamrolled by Chatterbox. But once connected to a Nikke core, she could twist Chatterbox's head off and play kickball with it.
If that's the case, Nihilister's strength made a lot more sense.
But Mo Chen also had another theory—the unknown virus.
These thoughts flashed through Mo Chen's mind in an instant. But Nihilister didn't give him time to dwell on it. Her jagged maw opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs.
"But really, the one who actually killed Chatterbox… was you, wasn't it, human?"
Before she finished speaking, Nihilister suddenly opened her jaws. Twin fireballs burst from her dual dragon heads—swelling rapidly until they looked like blazing red suns, emanating a horrifying heat.
She was charging up!
"Die, you idiotic human!"
At the same time, an entire barrage of missiles appeared in the sky above—dense, countless, blotting out the sky as they rained down toward Mo Chen's position, leaving no room to escape!
Turns out, the cunning Nihilister had already launched them earlier.
With this density, not even teleportation could dodge them all.
But Mo Chen didn't plan to dodge.
He slammed his foot down, shattering the ground, and using the momentum, shot into the sky like an arrow fired from a bow, rocketing straight at Nihilister!
"Can't wait to die, huh?" Nihilister was slightly confused by his sudden charge. Her crimson eyes narrowed. "Since you're so eager, I'll be merciful and make it painless… just one strike—hahahaha!"
In that moment, the fireballs at her twin maws exploded! Two overwhelming beams of energy burst forth like twin swords, tearing through the sky with devastating power—heading straight for Mo Chen!
He was mid-air, nowhere to run!
Mo Chen summoned his system backpack.
"Hss—!"
The ultra-high-temperature particle beams—were blocked!
It was vibranium!
What stopped the beams was vibranium!
Vibranium was unbelievably tough. Its unique molecular structure made it nearly indestructible—it didn't conduct heat or kinetic energy due to its relatively inert molecules. That allowed it to absorb heat, energy, and impact.
Even Nihilister was caught off guard.
She clearly hadn't expected that.
But Mo Chen didn't stop there. He took it further—drawing back his arm, charging power tenfold, and delivered a crushing punch into the vibranium!
"Boom—!"
The chunk of metal was launched like a bullet.
The blocked particle beams, now compressed, scattered in all directions like a weakened firework, losing most of their force.
Even so, the vibranium began to melt under the beam's extreme temperature.
Mo Chen chased right behind it, raising his hand. A strange weapon materialized—a chainsword!
"Boom—!"
Just as Nihilister's claw swatted the vibranium chunk aside, a figure appeared in front of her. From above, diving like a comet, Mo Chen gripped the chainsword in both hands and brought it down on one of Nihilister's dragon necks!
Nihilister didn't even bother dodging. Her crimson eyes were filled with contempt. She sneered, already imagining how she'd rip his heart out the moment he got close.
"Clang—!"
"Zzzzzzzzz—!"
The chainsword slammed into her neck!
"Usele—AHHH!!!"
Nihilister let out a scream of agony!
Even the nano beam blade had only managed to cut five centimeters into her armor. But the chainsword? It cut straight through!
Clean in half!
The enormous, grotesque dragon head spun through the air!
Her massive body reeled backward, letting out a thunderous roar of pain. From the severed stump, torrents of fire and lava spewed violently!