Chapter 83: The Corrupted Spirit!
The Corpse Flower, also known as the Titan Alm, was a giant plant-type monster from the deep floors.
Its habit of eating anything often caused trouble for adventurers.
However, that monster, which some adventurers considered even more troublesome than Valgangs, had now become the host body of a female-shaped monster.
It looked exactly like an ancient sacrifice.
The female-shaped monster was surrounded in the center by a large number of worm-type monsters and Violas.
With her enormous jaws, she ate the magic stones spat out by those two types of monsters.
The monsters that lost their magic stones turned into gray dust on the spot.
Only then did everyone realize that the ground beneath their feet was not gray earth at all.
It was the remains of those monsters piled up together.
An enhanced species?
No, this had already gone far beyond the scope of an enhanced species.
An ordinary enhanced species might eat a few dozen magic stones in its entire life.
Judging from the scale beneath their feet, the magic stones this female-shaped monster had consumed had long since reached the thousands, maybe even tens of thousands.
The adventurers' faces twisted when they realized this.
At that moment, another change occurred.
The female-shaped monster seemed to have realized something.
Her upper body began to tremble, and from the place where her mouth was, a joyful sound rang out, painful enough to make their eardrums ache.
"—Aah..."
Under everyone's shocked gazes, her ugly body began to swell.
Something inside her was about to tear its way out.
"—Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..."
After a scream, the place where her upper body had been was replaced by a woman's body with beautiful lines, almost like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon.
She straightened her upper body and looked toward the sky.
Her beautiful, glossy long hair fell down from her back with that movement.
From Torajirou Shiro's perspective, he could see that her beauty was no less than a goddess's.
Emerald-green hair, skin, and body.
She looked almost like the embodiment of nature itself.
However, her eyes were completely out of place with that beautiful appearance.
Not only did they have no pupils, but their golden color was also extremely dull.
It was not only her upper body that had changed.
Even the Corpse Flower she had been parasitizing had transformed, growing huge petals and countless tentacles.
After crawling out of her ugly body, she let out a cry like a newborn baby.
Everyone present covered their ears while staring at this strange scene.
Only Ais stood frozen in place.
Her heart was screaming, and her blood was boiling.
"Spirit..."
Her trembling lips spoke that word.
"How is that possible?!"
Tiona, who had read many heroic tales, immediately shouted in denial.
In the legends passed down through the lower world, Spirits had always been messengers of the gods.
They were beings sent by the gods to aid heroes.
How could something like this filthy thing be a Spirit?
Ais's golden pupils wavered.
She did not want to admit that this filthy monster was a Spirit.
But this feeling of being connected by blood could only be understood by one of the same kind.
So no matter how absurd the scene before her was, it was still a bloody reality.
The monster before them was undoubtedly what a Spirit looked like after falling into corruption.
While Tiona was still shaken, Finn suppressed the turmoil in his heart with incredible willpower and began thinking hard about the monster's traits.
The way the Violas and worm monsters offered magic stones to it.
The way they prioritized targets using magic attacks.
A terrifying thought appeared in his mind.
Could these monsters have all been collecting nutrients for this corrupted Spirit?!
At the same time, the ten-meter-tall monster also felt the resonance coming from deep within her blood, just like Ais did.
"Aria—Aria—"
She twisted her neck in delight, and the corners of her mouth split into a chilling smile.
"Aria—Aria—I missed you so much..."
Ignoring everyone else, she called out to Ais over and over like a newborn child.
"Let us become one. Let me... eat you, okay?"
It sounded like a question.
But in the next instant, every worm and Violas stopped moving.
Then they turned their attacks toward Ais.
"Everyone! Prepare for battle!"
Finn immediately gave the order.
There was no time to think too deeply anymore.
Whether the enemy was a Spirit or a corrupted Spirit, the most important thing was escaping from this swarm of monsters.
"Ha!"
The female-shaped monster laughed once.
With that as the signal, the worm monsters and Violas roared and rushed toward Ais.
"Finn, I'm going to the front."
"Anyway, it's the same as before, right? We just have to kill them."
Gareth and Bete took the lead and charged out first.
The unbreakable weapons in their hands swung out and crushed every approaching monster.
Looking at the overwhelming swarm before her and feeling her heart pounding violently, Ais suddenly shook her head and drove away the unease in her heart.
Then she raised Desperate and joined the battlefield.
Seeing this, Tiona and Tione immediately followed her.
"Lefiya, chant your magic! Raul, use magic swords to cover them from range!"
Finn gave commands in a calm and organized manner.
However, Riveria, who knew Finn well, could see the deep unease in his heart from the constant twitching of his thumb.
"Shiro, stay here and protect Lefiya for now. I feel like something is coming."
He entrusted the important task of protecting the mage to Torajirou Shiro.
Then he held his spear and focused on the corrupted Spirit's movements.
A hundred meters away, the corrupted Spirit used her tentacle-like vines to launch a rain of attacks at the people on the front line.
Facing the incoming vines, Tiona instinctively used her great blade to block.
The force transmitted through it made even her Level 5 arms go numb.
With a bang, she lost the contest of strength and was sent flying, crashing heavily into the ground.
"Each vine has at least Level 6 power! Don't block them head-on!"
Gareth cut off a vine from the side and shouted at the adventurers.
"You make it sound easy, old man..."
Tiona pushed herself up from the ground and grumbled.
Several vines were attacking each person whenever they tried to attack the monsters.
And those were only the ones they could see.
Just moments ago, when Bete kicked a monster away, two tentacles had actually burst out from beneath the ground.
Bete tried to place a magic sword beside his boots.
However, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook.
He instinctively dodged the vine that burst from below, then shifted his body and kicked away an approaching Violas.
Gareth, whose agility was not high, had become an even clearer target.
Under the storm-like attacks from the monster, he could only keep retreating.
"Finn!"
Looking at everyone fleeing in such a sorry state, Shiro shouted to Finn.
"Wait a little longer. It's coming!"
The pain in Finn's thumb grew even more intense.
As if responding to Finn's words, a smile appeared on the female-shaped monster's face.
The next second—
"Fire, come forth—"
A huge magic circle appeared beneath her feet.
"What?!"
A monster that usually acted on instinct was now showing high intelligence and chanting magic.
"Riveria! Deploy a barrier! Everyone else, use bombardment attacks to stop her chant!"
Finn's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Facing this unknown situation, he lost his usual calm and shouted with all his might.
"Fusillade Fallarica!"
After Finn shouted, the others also reacted.
Lefiya completed her magic, and Raul took out a magic sword, aiming it at the female-shaped monster.
Seeing countless attacks flying toward her, the female-shaped monster smiled.
Dozens of petals beneath her body opened and caught every magic bullet.
When the smoke cleared, the monster's body appeared once more.
Facing Lefiya's attack, which was comparable to Level 6, as well as several magic swords, she was completely unharmed.
…
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