After filling her stomach, Mira returned to her treehouse.
Of course, she had to start preparing—how exactly was she going to fight tentacles?
If those demons were anything like what she feared... they probably had limbs resembling octopus or squid tentacles—long, slimy, and strong enough to crush or bind.
First thing first: she had to imagine the worst-case scenario.
That is… being caught and toyed with.
"Ugh, no thanks," she shuddered, hugging herself. Just picturing it made her skin crawl. That kind of fate? Not happening.
Now… could she fight back using her Arcane Modification – Red blessing?
Fortunately, yes. She began analyzing the core advantages of her ability:
1. She could freely create solid Arcane Red structures, completely under her control.
2. Those structures were fueled by her own starlight energy, which meant faster, real-time manipulation.
With these two strengths, Mira began to form a plan:
Full-body armor.
If tentacles were going to try and grab her, then they'd have to go through layers of reinforced red crystal armor first.
She pulled out a piece of parchment, sat at the wooden desk in her room.
Mira began constructing her defenses with precision and focus.
1. First, she created a full-body armor structure, designed from Arcane Red crystal. It included a fully enclosed helmet with layered protection and proper air ventilation. For mobility, she engineered the joints using a flexible combination of arcane chains and rotating rings, allowing smooth movement at the elbows, knees, and hips.
2. For extra safety, she layered a second shell—a thicker outer plating over the base armor. It acted as a shock absorber, designed to withstand crushing pressure and slashing attacks.
3. To deal with the tentacles directly, Mira added external blades and spikes, jagged and sharp. These were not just decorative—they could move like scissors or saws, slicing through anything that got too close.
She tested the armor in the clearing behind her treehouse. The spikes moved and rotated with lethal grace. The grinding sound of crystalline blades was strangely satisfying.
But she didn't stop there.
Not even close.
On a whim—and a flash of inspiration—she extended the design further.
From the back of the armor, she summoned eight mechanical spider-like legs, crafted from Arcane Red. Each one was connected to her star energy, fully controllable like her own limbs.
The top two legs were tipped with crescent-shaped blades, functioning like giant arcane pincers, meant to clamp down on even the slipperiest tentacles.
The lower three pairs featured long piercing blades, ideal for leaping, crawling, or slashing at enemies while in motion.
With this, Mira had achieved something terrifying and elegant: a beautiful elf wrapped in a crimson suit of razor-edged death.
Still deep in thought, Mira sat quietly inside her treehouse, her blue eyes scanning the armor she had just finished. It was nearly perfect—deadly, defensive, and mobile.
But something felt... lacking.
"Defense and melee are covered," she muttered. "But what if those tentacles strike from a distance?"
She imagined herself surrounded by countless tentacles, some attacking from afar—whipping, snaring, or launching projectiles. Her close-range weapons wouldn't reach them in time. She needed something fast, sharp, and versatile.
A ranged weapon.
First, she considered spears. Then arrows. Both had penetration potential—but Mira knew that without striking the core of a tentacle, just puncturing it wouldn't be enough. The wounds would regenerate too quickly. She needed something more brutal—something that could slice or sever.
That's when inspiration hit her.
A giant shuriken.
She began forming it using Arcane Red—four razor-sharp blades shaped into a spinning star, with a small hollow ring at its center. But that wasn't all. From the ring, she connected a thin, flexible Arcane Red chain—one that extended several meters long.
The chain wasn't just to reel the weapon back—it was an extension of her will.
She could guide the shuriken mid-air, curve its path, pull it back, and launch it again—all using her star energy.
But most importantly: with centrifugal force and her enhanced spider legs, she could spin and hurl the shuriken at terrifying speed—like a crimson meteor.
She tested it in the forest clearing.
Spinning in place, she launched the Arcane Shuriken. It spun with deadly velocity, slicing clean through a large tree trunk before returning to her hand with a sharp flick of the chain.
"Perfect."
"Even if those monsters stay at a distance, I'll cut them down one by one."
With her armor forged and a plan in place, it was time to find out where the Tentacle Demon Kingdom was located.
But as night fell over the elven capital, Mira sighed and returned to her treetop house.
"Ugh… no internet, no phone... I was hoping to record this and upload it to VWorldVassel."
Lying on her bed, Mira finally understood what Kenji had once complained about during his mission in the world of Hercules—the loneliness of being cut off from the modern world.
She missed it—just a little.
Sleep came fast.
---
The next morning, Mira bathed, dressed in her elven clothes, and went out to explore. She bought a few light meals—crisp fruits, roasted nuts, and a sweet, soft bread unique to elves.
Then, she wandered.
All morning, she walked through the capital, searching for any information about the Tentacle Demon Kingdom. But despite her efforts, she came up with nothing.
The elves were cautious and secretive.
All she learned was that this continent was dominated by elven nations, surrounded by countless villages. The capital was the center of it all. Behind the forested lands was the sea. Beyond that—a foreign, mysterious kingdom.
By midday, Mira found herself sitting quietly by the central fountain, deep in thought.
"No clues... no leads… just rumors and vague directions."
Suddenly—
WEEEEEOOOOHH!!
A loud alarm echoed throughout the treetop city. The peaceful hum of birds and wind vanished—replaced by frantic shouts.
"We're under attack!"
Mira's eyes snapped open.
Without a second thought, she jumped up and scaled a nearby tree, climbing to the highest vantage point.
And then she saw it.
A horror unlike anything she had imagined.
Dark, grotesque creatures—masses of black flesh with glowing red eyes—were slithering, crawling, and surging through the forest toward the city gates.
Tentacles. Dozens. Hundreds. Maybe thousands.
Some were as thin as ropes, others thicker than tree trunks. They wriggled and thrashed, tearing through the underbrush, dragging broken trees and crushed animals behind them.
Mira watched in horror as several elves were ensnared by the monstrous tentacles. Despite their valiant efforts—firing enchanted arrows laced with fire and light—their attacks barely slowed the creatures.
Their magic wasn't enough.
Mira didn't hesitate.
She summoned her full-body Arcane Red armor, the segmented plates locking into place. Her eight mechanical spider legs extended from her back, the upper pair tipped with crescent-shaped blades.
With terrifying speed, Mira lunged forward, her armor gleaming in the sunlight. She pierced straight through one of the creatures' crimson eyes, and the massive tentacle beast let out a shriek—its body convulsing before falling still.
"The eyes… that's the weak point."
She dove into the writhing swarm of tentacles.
Though the creatures had learned to guard their eyes, wrapping themselves in layers of slimy appendages, Mira hacked and slashed with relentless precision. Arcane Red chains lashed out like whips, slicing limbs clean off.
From the corner of her eye, she saw captive elves—slimy tendrils wrapped around them, their bodies limp, clothes partially melted away by the acidic mucus coating the beasts.
A chill crept down Mira's spine.
"This goo can dissolve armor and clothing… that's horrifying."
More elven troops arrived. Elemental arrows—flaming, frozen, crackling with lightning—rained down from the trees. But the tentacles adapted quickly, using other limbs as shields to protect their vital cores.
"It's not enough!" Mira shouted.
With a sharp twist of her body, she summoned her giant Arcane Red shuriken, its core tethered to her by a glowing chain.
She spun—once, twice—then hurled it with deadly precision. The blade flew through the air, slicing through rows of tentacles like butter. Even the most defensive creatures couldn't withstand the force.
But there were too many.
Mira was alone on the frontlines, and despite her armor and technique, the sheer number of enemies caused her to falter. The battlefield swarmed with shadows. Her body trembled—not in fear, but from adrenaline.
Reinforcements arrived: both male and female elf warriors joined the fray.
But the tentacles overwhelmed them too. Dozens were knocked out, their bodies left twitching on the forest floor—drained of star energy. Mira gasped as she passed fallen soldiers, their skin pale, eyes vacant. Their clothes had dissolved, but worse, their energy cores had been drained.
Then came the voice of an elven general, echoing from a magical speaker:
> "Do not get caught! The tentacles feed on your star energy! If they take your core, it will cripple your cultivation!"
Mira's expression darkened.
Now she understood—these weren't mindless beasts. They were energy predators. They didn't kill. They devoured potential.
With renewed determination, she whispered to herself:
"So it's not about corruption… it's survival. But I won't let them take anything from me or from these people."
With a surge of courage, Mira dove back into the horde. Her armor—reinforced with spiked defenses and automated blade mechanisms—sliced through anything that tried to grab her.
And for every tentacle she felled, she grew more confident.