Transformed into Kanna in Terra

The convoy passed through the canyon and stopped at the exit on the other side.

Outcast stepped out of the vehicle with the remaining operators, listening to the report from the scouts who had left earlier while considering how to set up a defensive line.

Just as Kanna had warned, they were being followed by an armed convoy moving directly toward them. It was obvious to anyone that they had hostile intentions.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the enemy convoy was filled with excitement. Their mission was to intercept and eliminate a medical company's transport and extract a specific target.

When they first received the assignment, the mercenaries celebrated. The employer was offering a generous payment, with only one condition—the target had to be kept alive if possible.

To them, this was easy money. After all, how strong could the security of a medical company really be? Their team was composed of experienced mercenaries, veterans of countless battlefields, and even included several Sarkaz. They believed that as soon as they surrounded the convoy, their targets would surrender without even putting up a fight.

On the other side of the canyon, Touch silently stepped out of the vehicle and walked over to Outcast, patting her on the shoulder.

She then tightened her grip on her staff and began walking back toward the canyon.

Everyone froze upon seeing her actions. After all, as a medic operator, stepping past the defensive line alone looked no different from suicide.

"You're a doctor now! There's no need to do this!"

Touch raised her hand dismissively. "Precisely because I'm a doctor, I must do this."

With those words, she disappeared into the canyon.

"Captain, should we follow her?" one of the operators asked Outcast, the backbone of their team.

Outcast glanced at her subordinates, who were visibly tense, and shook her head.

"Follow her? For what? To die? Just stay put and wait here." Unlike these new recruits in Rhodes Island, Outcast knew exactly how strong Touch was. Anyone who had survived for months on the front lines of the bloody Kazdel civil war was not someone to be taken lightly, and Touch was one of those survivors.

Outcast picked up her communicator. "Recon team, listen up. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to go down into the canyon. After this is over, return by following the ridgeline. I repeat, do not enter the canyon."

Upon hearing the captain's command, the operators, both those preparing defenses and those scouting ahead, were left bewildered. The order was too strange.

"There's no need to be confused. Once you witness Touch's true strength, you'll understand—I'm doing this for your own good."

With that, Outcast stopped setting up defensive positions and instead leaned against a tree, closing her eyes as if taking a nap.

The team members were left at a loss by their captain's unusual behavior. In the end, they followed their instincts and hastily set up a simple defensive perimeter, anxiously watching the canyon.

Kanna tugged on Feilin's hand and walked over to Outcast.

"Grandma, do you have any candy?"

Seeing Kanna, Outcast, for once, smiled. "Of course, here, two pieces of candy." She pulled two hard candies from her pocket and handed them to Kanna.

Kanna unwrapped one and held it up to Feilin's mouth.

Feilin flinched at first, wary, but after seeing no danger, she cautiously stuck out her tongue and took a small lick.

"It's so sweet!"

Feeling the taste on her tongue, Feilin couldn't help but exclaim.

"Of course! Rhodes Island's candy-making skills are top-notch. We even have a sister who's amazing at making desserts. When we get back, I'll take you to try them—those sweets will linger on your tongue for days!"

Kanna patted her chest proudly.

Perhaps it was Kanna's innocent demeanor, but Feilin finally let her guard down. As she carefully savored the candy, tears began to well up in her eyes and stream down her face.

Kanna hurriedly wiped Feilin's cheeks. "Hey, don't cry! Tears are bitter, and if they get on the candy, it won't taste good anymore."

"Okay! I promise I won't cry!" Feilin's tear-streaked smile was heartbreakingly beautiful.

Just as Feilin finished her candy, Kanna's ears twitched. Seeing that Feilin had eaten most of it, she took her hand and led her back into the vehicle.

Shortly after Kanna and Feilin boarded, Touch returned from the canyon entrance. The operators, still unaware of what had happened to the enemy, were puzzled—until the reconnaissance team emerged from the ridgeline with pale faces.

The moment they saw Touch, the scouts instinctively stepped back.

"What happened? Where's the enemy?" one of the confused operators asked.

At the question, the scouts' expressions twisted, and they staggered to the side, violently vomiting.

Their disheveled and sickly appearance frightened the rest of the team, who could only glance nervously at Touch as she silently boarded the vehicle and shut the door behind her.

Outcast opened her eyes, unimpressed by the state of the scouts. Clapping her hands to refocus the team, she gave the order.

"Since the enemy has been dealt with, everyone board the vehicles. We're leaving immediately."

Inside the vehicle, once the scouts had recovered somewhat, they finally spoke in trembling voices, recalling what they had witnessed. But calling it a "battle" would be an exaggeration—what they had seen was nothing short of a massacre.

The enemy convoy had entered their line of sight shortly after they had retreated to the ridgeline. At the time, they were still amazed by how Outcast had known they were being followed. But their shock turned to horror when they saw Touch standing alone in the middle of the canyon road.

The enemy convoy didn't stop. Instead, they accelerated toward Touch, attempting to ram her down.

What happened next was something the scouts would never forget.

With a single stomp of her staff against the ground, a horrifying phenomenon unfolded. Everything within a certain radius—everything except the stone ground—began to dissolve.

The first casualties were the incoming vehicles. Right before the scouts' eyes, the entire vehicle, like plastic under intense fire, rapidly melted into a strange, unrecognizable substance.

The people inside suffered an even worse fate. Within moments, their bodies liquefied into puddles of meat and blood, which then dried up almost instantly.

As scouts, they had sharp eyes. That meant they saw it all in excruciating detail—the full process of a human being dissolving from the outside in, their flesh, organs, and bones turning into a formless mess.

Among the enemy were several "powerful individuals" who had attempted to resist using Originium Arts. Their efforts only slowed the dissolution slightly, making their deaths even more prolonged and agonizing.

By the time Touch turned and walked back toward her convoy, not a single living thing remained in the canyon.

The scouts, paralyzed by fear and disbelief, had hesitated before reluctantly following her back at a distance, unable to erase the horrifying scene from their minds.