As Shakti slid across the ground, she caught sight of it—a small yet pulsing Magic Stone contracting within the bulging muscles of the Operator.
'Much smaller than ordinary Magic Stones.'
Her body slipped free from the monster's attack range, and she immediately rose, eyes narrowing on the spot where the muscles seemed to wrap around the foreign object.
'It's at the spine.'
'Looks like a Magic Stone was implanted.'
'So this person… was an experiment?'
The realization sent a chill through her.
But the mutated Dwarf gave her no time to think. Consumed by a ravenous hunger, it lunged toward her.
"You are mine!"
The sound that escaped its mouth was like the distorted buzz of a broken radio. Drool poured from its lips, dripping down in strings as if it had found a meal too tempting to resist.
Shakti's expression hardened—she'd clearly been singled out as its prey.
'So it grows stronger by devouring flesh.'
The moment she saw the Magic Stone, she understood why this creature possessed such monstrous power. It had eaten people—and not just any people, but capable Adventurers.
'Not Xenos. They'd never do something like this.'
'Then… is it an Evilus experiment?'
But another, far more unsettling thought struck her.
'Could the Grand Casino already be under Evilus' control?'
Taking a deep breath, Shakti spun her spear, channeling the force of the rotation into a sharp, powerful strike aimed at the monster's ankle.
"Clang!"
The moment her spear hit, thick vines erupted from the creature's skin, instantly blocking the attack.
The metallic screech echoed through the air, and Shakti's heart sank.
'It can do this too!?'
Before she could recover from the stiffness of her swing, the creature stomped down on her spear. Its massive, human-sized hand lunged toward her face with terrifying speed.
"Luminous Wind!"
A barrage of countless wind orbs struck the mutated Dwarf's back, each impact bursting small, bloody craters across its flesh.
Ordinary magic might have barely affected it, but Luminous Wind wasn't an ordinary spell—it concentrated hundreds of wind spheres into rapid, relentless strikes.
Each blow alone wasn't powerful, but their sheer number overwhelmed the creature. And since the Magic Stone was embedded in its back, the high-frequency barrage disrupted its movements completely.
"RAAAAGH!!!"
The pain made the Dwarf falter, forcing it to turn its attention away from Shakti.
Seizing the opportunity, Shakti twisted her spear, prying it free from the creature's grip. Without hesitation, she lunged forward, spear poised to strike.
The monster began to turn, exposing its back—and the Magic Stone buried within.
Shakti's eyes flashed. She accelerated.
A sharp gleam of steel pierced the air.
"Clang!"
Her spear tip struck the exposed Magic Stone dead-on.
"Crack!"
Magic Stones were fragile by nature; when struck with enough force, they shattered instantly.
The crisp sound of breaking crystal echoed through the casino hall. The mutated Dwarf froze, its strength vanishing in an instant. Its aura withered to almost nothing—yet, unlike ordinary monsters, its body didn't crumble into ash.
From the corner, the deity who had been watching the scene suddenly leaned forward, his eyes alight.
'It didn't die!?'
A monster's Magic Stone was always its fatal weakness—once destroyed, the creature's death was absolute.
But this time, something unprecedented had happened.
The appearance of the Magic Stone alone confirmed his suspicion beyond any doubt: the Grand Casino's Operator had indeed been chosen as an experimental subject by the Spirit.
That shattered Magic Stone was the most direct evidence.
'It wasn't an ordinary Magic Stone, but a special variety. It seems the Spirit made specific modifications.'
That Magic Stone, no larger than a thumb, clearly wasn't something a normal monster would possess. However, the deity quickly deduced the reason behind using such a unique variant.
"Ordinary Magic Stones couldn't be grafted into human bodies, so they used this special type instead?"
What astonished the deity most, however, was that after the Magic Stone shattered, the subject hadn't turned to ash like a monster would. Instead, they had merely lost their power temporarily.
This confirmed that the Spirit's line of research was indeed correct.
"I never expected you'd still be scheming behind my back."
"I thought the reversed Spirit's mind was consumed entirely by hatred. I didn't imagine it still retained this level of intellect."
It far exceeded the god's initial expectations. Yet it also revealed that the Spirit had never truly cooperated with the gods. From the very beginning, its goal had been to utterly annihilate all deities and seize complete control of the world below.
The current experiment was the Spirit's answer to that intent.
'You've solved the production issue and the energy supply problem. All that's left is to find those special species to mass-produce Level 5 soldiers. You even found a way to make them stronger through feeding. You really did find a solution.'
Special species monsters might be difficult to locate in the Dungeon, but not impossible. Finding a dozen or so shouldn't be out of reach.
Once the Spirit confirmed that these soldiers could grow stronger by devouring like special species, Evilus would become useless.
And once the Spirit's army reached critical mass, the first to perish wouldn't be Orario—it would be them.
The Spirit's hatred for the gods spared no one.
To the Spirit, every god was an enemy. Even if cooperation existed for now, they were merely foes to be eradicated later.
"Seems we'll need to manage our relationship with the Spirit more carefully."
The deity made that silent decision within.
"Huff..."
Shakti released the spear in her hand, her breathing finally beginning to steady.
She stared at the monster before her, its head pierced through by her weapon, yet felt no sense of relief at all.
"Ryuu, you should leave too."
Shakti didn't linger. Instead, she addressed the old friend who had come to her aid. Even disguised, she had recognized her at first glance.
But she didn't attempt to reminisce. Ryuu was a wanted criminal in Orario—Shakti couldn't risk being seen with her by too many people.
If too many witnessed it, even though Ryuu had helped her, Shakti would have no choice but to fight her old friend.
Ryuu understood her own position. She simply gave a faint nod before turning to leave.
On one hand, she had no desire to clash with Shakti. On the other, she hadn't forgotten the true purpose of why she had come here.