Saitama scratched his bald head. "Oh, sure. Since we're already here, we might as well solve the problem before going back to eat." His answer was as simple and direct as always.
Doctor Strange also said solemnly, "Guardian, we have a duty to help. Please tell us what to do."
A relieved smile appeared on Guardian Kmaal's face. The crystal-topped staff in his hand shone even brighter. "Then follow me. Time is tight—we must find the 'Heart of Pure Light' before the 'Shadow Tide' fully erupts."
Under the protection of the gentle white glow from Kmaal's staff, the ghost monsters known as "shadow fiends" kept their distance, unwilling to come close. The three quickly left the central hall, heading deeper into the lower levels of the ruins along a narrower corridor that slanted downward.
The stone walls on both sides were covered in more unactivated black runes. Like sleeping venomous snakes, they radiated a chilling aura. Beneath their feet were slick moss and shattered stone slabs. The air reeked of staleness and faint sulfur.
"Heart of Pure Light?" Saitama asked as he walked. "Is that the thing we need to find?"
"Yes, powerful warrior," Kmaal answered from the front, his staff lighting the path. "It is a crystal containing pure light power—one of the ancient sages' core components used to build the seal here. Only with it can we neutralize and purify the leaking dark energy, and provide an energy source to repair the seal."
Doctor Strange studied their surroundings, brows slightly furrowed. "The spatial structure here… is strange. The flow of magical energy is distorted, and my senses are heavily interfered with. Guardian, where exactly is the Heart of Pure Light?"
"In the 'Hall of Echoes,'" Kmaal replied. "That is the heart of the ruins, and the hub of the sealing array. But the path there is filled with trials and defensive mechanisms set by the sages, to prevent accidents. Stay close to my footsteps, and do not touch anything suspicious—especially…" He pointed at the black runes on the walls. "…these 'Dark Erosion Marks.'"
As soon as he finished speaking, as if to prove his warning, a stone slab under Saitama's foot suddenly sank soundlessly!
Click!
A faint mechanism sound rang out.
"Careful!" Kmaal and Doctor Strange shouted at the same time.
In the next instant, dozens of pitch-black spikes flashing with metallic cold light shot out from both walls! They were incredibly fast, launched at vicious angles, completely covering Saitama's position!
But Saitama was faster. He didn't even look at the spikes. He simply raised both hands casually, swinging left and right.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A dense series of crisp impacts—like rain hammering banana leaves! The black spikes that could pierce steel plates shattered like fragile glass the moment they met Saitama's fists. Black fragments exploded outward in every direction.
"…Oh. A trap." Saitama shook his hands, as if he'd only dusted off some dirt.
Seeing Saitama's inhuman strength and reflexes, Guardian Kmaal's eyes flashed with shock again. Doctor Strange, already used to this sort of thing, only warned, "Saitama, watch out for the fragments!"
The broken pieces of the black spikes didn't lose their activity after falling to the ground and walls. Like living things, they rapidly melted into pools of viscous black liquid, releasing an even stronger dark aura. Wherever the liquid spread, the stone walls sizzled with corrosion, moss instantly withered and turned black, and even the air became foul and tainted.
(End of Chapter)
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