Chapter 145: Exploding Combat Power!

Yes, Vane’s eyes did not deceive her. When the massive vortex ceased to draw in the surrounding magical elements and the surrounding energy clouds dissipated, Catherine’s true form was revealed. Anyone could easily tell that she had turned into a giant!

To call her a giant was not entirely accurate, though. Unlike Ling Mo’s combat postures that easily scaled to tens of meters tall, Catherine stood at approximately five meters high. This was roughly a threefold enlargement of her original height of one meter seventy. Her physique did not transform into the bulging, exaggerated muscles of Ling Mo’s style; instead, it resembled a proportional magnification. Even now, Catherine could still be described as having long legs, full hips, a slender waist, and a large chest—magnified to giant proportions, of course.

Even without that explosive musculature, Catherine’s current appearance carried enough visual shock to overwhelm anyone. Just by looking at the blank expressions on the faces of the dark apes before her, one could fully comprehend the profound shock gripping their hearts. An opponent they could previously look at eye-to-eye now required them to strain their necks upward just to see her face. Even her calves were thicker than their entire bodies, a realization utterly demoralizing to behold!

Paralyzed by shock, the two young dark apes forgot to maintain the "Shadow Bind" they had cast. Catherine, having just completed her transformation, also forgot to dodge, allowing two dark energy spheres to strike her squarely in her chest, and then...

And nothing happened. Two dark energy spheres, bearing the destructive power of at least a tier-four spell, hit Catherine’s body like stones sinking into the sea. They didn't even stir a ripple before vanishing without a trace.

Witnessing this, the stunned young apes finally snapped back to reality. The two beasts exchanged glances, reading only deep despair in each other's eyes. Even though this hairless, mutated human had killed their husband and father—leaving them burning with a thousand-fold fury of vengeance—could creatures like themselves truly triumph over a monster comparable to their own chieftain? For a moment, they were utterly bewildered, having no idea what to do next.

Catherine, meanwhile, chose not to attack. On one hand, she was still deeply immersed in the joy and astonishment of her successful advancement. Having no experience in operating her newly enlarged body, she didn't know what to do and simply remained frozen. On the other hand, the reason was rather embarrassing: she could clearly feel that her bra and panties had snapped.

Yes, snapped.

Because she had grown three times larger, her body naturally stretched her garments outward. Her black leather outfit was made from the hide of a Night Panther, and her chastity shorts from the skin of a Dark-Spotted White-Patterned Exotic Snake. Although uncomfortably tight, they remained intact on her body. Her undergarments, however, had been purchased from Victoria’s Secret as ordinary clothing; their elasticity was nowhere near triple their original size, and so they had snapped. Well, that was thoroughly magical and entirely logical.

Logical my foot! Magical my ass!

Though maintaining a blank expression on the outside, Catherine was already channeling her inner roar, screaming madly in her mind. Damn it! What kind of nonsense was this? Transforming to display an imposing presence meant to intimidate enemies wasn't a bad idea, but did reality have to be so cruel and heart-wrenching? Right now, she could feel her bra digging tightly into her back and her panties pressing firmly against the sides of her thighs. With even a slightly larger movement, they were bound to slip down her skin. She was broadcasting live right now! If her underwear suddenly dropped halfway down while she was walking, the scene would be explosive in its embarrassment!

It shouldn't be like this! In the movies, when villains, magical beasts, or monsters were wreaking havoc, an ordinary Western journalist would emerge from some corner, transform into a righteous superhero clad in a dazzling battle suit, defeat the monster, and still have his suit perfectly intact afterward! Why did things turn out so completely different when it was her turn to transform? Did superheroes secretly strip off all their clothes in hidden corners before putting on their battle suits and pulling red briefs over their pants, only to sneak back to those same corners after the battle to change back? Thinking about it like that, didn't superheroes sound like complete perverts?

While these chaotic thoughts swirled in Catherine’s mind, the expressions of the two despairing apes slowly hardened. They faced each other and exchanged a slow, solemn nod. The ape with both hands severed struck its own chest fiercely with its stump, and instantly, a burst of purplish-black ominous light pierced through its heart!

The maimed ape involuntarily let out a agonized shriek. Staring fixedly at Catherine, imagining gods-know-what in its mind, its scream carried an eerie sense of gratification despite the unimaginable pain it suffered. A vortex of pitch-black energy spun at high speed over its heart, and in the blink of an eye, it burst straight out of its body, sucking the ape entirely into itself. It tore the creature to a thousand pieces and ground its bones to dust, converting it directly into pure dark energy!

The dark vortex absorbed this energy and grew even more formidable, its rotation accompanied by faint sounds of wind and thunder. The surviving ape formed complex hand seals, desperately manipulating the massive energy vortex and hurling it directly toward the chest of the giant Catherine.

Under normal circumstances, Catherine would have been scared out of her wits by the terrifying momentum of this dark vortex and scrambled to dodge. But at this moment, an inexplicable wave of confidence surged within her. She felt that this energy vortex—which rivaled a tier-five spell—was... terribly weak.

Weak.

So weak.

Too weak.

So weak that she only needed to reach out and gently pinch it to easily crush it to pieces!

And then, she actually did it. With neither evasion nor defense, nor even invoking the flames within her body, she simply extended a giant palm larger than a winnowing basket and flicked her fingers at the incoming energy sphere. The menacing energy vortex was batted away, reversing along its original trajectory at an even greater speed to smash fiercely into the completely paralyzed young ape!

The dark energy instantly enveloped the young ape, forming a thin film of energy across its body. Having already exhausted all its physical stamina, the ape was utterly incapable of resisting the terrifying compressive force within the dark vortex. Its half-uttered scream cut off abruptly. Following that, a teeth-setting sound of tearing muscles, grinding joints, and snapping bones echoed. In less than two seconds, the young ape was crushed by its own technique, compressed into a standard, tightly packed ball of meat that dropped to the ground with a thud. After bouncing twice like a real rubber ball, it came to a complete standstill!