But just as a tiny silver portal was about to take shape—
ZAP!
A shrill, ear-splitting noise erupted, as if space itself was being torn apart!
The silver light on the activated beacon flickered wildly, then died out abruptly!
Clink!
The beacon crumpled into a useless lump and fell to the dark red ground.
The moment the beacon failed, the air seemed to freeze.
That sharp cracking sound hit everyone like a sledgehammer to the heart.
"What the hell?!"
Lucas blurted out, panic flashing across his face.
"The beacon... it failed?"
Mara whispered, her voice laced with disbelief.
The flicker of hope they'd felt was snuffed out instantly, and a wave of terror began to spread.
"Everyone, stay calm!"
Ethan's voice remained steady, even though his heart was just as shaken as everyone else's.
He knelt down quickly, picked up the lifeless beacon fragment, glanced at it, then pulled another beacon from his ring without hesitation.
"The interference might be temporary—or that was just a fluke! We still have forty-two beacons left—we can try them one by one!"
His words acted like a shot of adrenaline, temporarily quelling his teammates' panic.
Ethan channeled mana into the second beacon.
Hum...
Silver light flared to life again, and spatial energy began to converge once more.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the swirling silver glow.
ZAP!
The same ear-splitting noise rang out. The same wild flickering of light.
And in the group's growing despair, the second beacon exploded and died out as well.
"It seems the interference isn't going away anytime soon," Ethan said, his voice cold and calm as he stowed the two shattered beacons.
"Don't use the beacons on your person lightly. We'll try activating one every hour to avoid unnecessary waste."
Despair hung in the air like a tangible weight, pressing down on everyone's shoulders.
Their only escape route was cut off—they were trapped in this dungeon, corrupted by the power of a Demon God.
"T-then... what do we do?"
Talia's voice trembled, thick with tears, as she instinctively moved closer to Mara.
Ella tightened her grip on her blade, still stained with the wolves' blood:
"What else can we do? If the beacons don't work, we've only got one option left—find the dungeon boss and take it down! Otherwise, we're all going to die here!"
Her words were blunt, even brutal—but they jolted everyone awake.
She was right. They had no other choice. Either resolve the crisis, or die trying.
"Ella's right," Amy took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm as she analyzed the situation.
"And we have to move fast. If the boss devours enough of these mobs, its stats will skyrocket—and we'll stand no chance against it!"
Ethan looked at the group and added, "The communicator still has intermittent contact with the outside."
"Major Frostburn, do you copy? We're going to continue exploring the dungeon's interior to attempt completing the mission."
Only static answered him from the communicator:
"...Be careful... Support..."
Ethan stowed the communicator away:
"The signal interference is severe—we can't rely entirely on external support."
"Let's move out. Maintain formation: Lucas, frontline. Mara, Talia, center. Ella, Amy, flanking support. Sam, Aaron, wing guards. I'll cover the rear."
With their backs to the wall, the eight-person team steeled their resolve and pressed deeper into the oppressive, blood-red wasteland.
The ground beneath their feet was soft and sticky, and the air reeked of iron and decay—a sickening stench that made their stomachs churn.
The farther they went, the thicker the stench of blood and rot became, almost solidifying in the air and gnawing at their nerves.
"Stay alert. Something's nearby," Ethan murmured, his spirit senses sharper than anyone else's—he could faintly detect something amiss in the surroundings.
At the same time, he cast several Mass Heals toward the areas he suspected were hiding threats.
[Corrupted Earthbind Tentacle (Elite)]
[Level: 22]
[HP: 11,000] (Current: 22,500 ↑)
[Attack Power: 800] (Current: 1,200 ↑)
[Defense: 50] (Current: 75 ↑)
[Skills: Ambush Strangle, Corrosive Slime]
[Talents: Earth Shun (Can burrow underground but cannot move; reduces damage taken by 50% while burrowed), Flesh Curse * Initial (10x attribute cap)]
[Status 1: Corrupted by Flesh Power. All attributes are increasing slowly...]
[Status 2: Burrowed underground. Immune to 50% of incoming damage.]
"Over there! And there! And there..."
Ethan pointed to seven locations in quick succession.
Ella's figure blurred into motion, her blade still tinged with the residual killing intent from Blood Burning, and she struck down hard!
Slash!
A tentacle was severed cleanly, spurting thick, stinking dark red fluid from its stump.
The severed tentacle thrashed wildly on the ground for a moment before melting away, seeping into the earth.
Within minutes, all the tentacles had been cut down, melted, and absorbed into the ground.
Silence fell once again.
But Ethan sensed an inexplicable flow of energy surging toward the northwest.
When he mentioned this feeling to the group, Ella spoke up immediately: "Then let's head northwest!"
Everyone nodded in agreement and set off in that direction.
They encountered several more waves of beasts along the way.
With their previous experience, the team's coordination grew more seamless with each battle.
The moment they spotted a monster showing signs of devouring a corpse, Ella would activate Blood Burning without hesitation, delivering a killing blow with overwhelming damage—denying the monster any chance to strengthen itself further.
The deeper they ventured, the more bizarre the environment became.
Battles grew increasingly frequent and intense, draining the team's stamina and resources.
Fortunately, Ethan's mana was virtually limitless, and his healing and shields never ceased.
Coupled with the large stockpile of recovery potions they'd brought from the military base, they just barely managed to keep the team on their feet.
But everyone's nerves remained stretched taut, ready to snap at any moment.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of nonstop fighting, they emerged into a canyon surrounded by jagged, rib-like mountain ridges.
Beyond the canyon lay a vast basin.
And at the center of that basin, beating faintly like a living thing, was a colossal—dark red heart!
The heart was as large as a small hill, its surface crisscrossed with thick, writhing blood vessels that burrowed deep into the earth.
Every time it pulsed, the entire basin trembled, and a wave of sickeningly dense bloodlust washed over the group.
Above the heart, a swirling vortex of concentrated flesh energy churned—this was the unstable energy source of the dungeon, the root cause of the monster tide that had drawn creatures from the outside world.
"W-what... what is that?"
Mara clapped a hand over her mouth, barely suppressing the urge to vomit.
Everyone was frozen in place, horrified by the sight before them, a primal fear shaking them to their very souls.
[Dungeon Core Discovered: Mutated Heart (SSS)]
[Warning! Divine Power Contamination from the Lord of Flesh detected! The core has undergone irreversible mutation!]
[Warning! Any living creature within 10 meters of the Mutated Heart will suffer continuous and severe erosion from the Flesh Curse!]
[Warning! The Mutated Heart is growing stronger by the minute. In 30 days, it will break free from the dungeon and descend into the real world!]
A flurry of warning messages exploded in everyone's minds!
This was a divine organ of the Demon God, nurtured by the dungeon's very rules!
Destroy it?
Merely getting close would mean contamination by the Flesh Curse!
Leave it be?
It would only continue to absorb power, growing stronger and stronger until it finally shattered the dungeon's barriers and unleashed catastrophe upon the real world.
As the group stood transfixed by the terrifying sight of the core, disaster struck without warning!
The colossal heart suddenly pulsed violently!
Thump!
The sound was like a war drum, deep and thunderous, shaking the air.
Cracks split open across the heart's surface, and a surge of crimson light gathered within them, accompanied by the sickening sound of flesh squelching and twisting.
Three figures were birthed from the heart, crashing heavily into a pool of blood at its base.
They were humanoid monsters, roughly shaped like men but composed entirely of writhing, distorted flesh.
Thick blood dripped from their bodies, their arms twisted into massive bone blades, and their faces reduced to nothing more than gaping maws lined with sharp fangs.
The energy emanating from them dwarfed that of any monster they'd encountered so far!
Without a second thought, Ella charged forward, her blade flashing as she beheaded one of the Mutated Blood Guardians in a single strike.
Ethan had no choice but to spam heals on her, keeping her alive.
Thankfully, she knew better than to get too close—she stayed at least 20 meters away from the Mutated Heart.
Within minutes, all three monsters lay dead at her feet.
But it wasn't long before the decapitated Blood Guardian rose again, its body reforming right before their eyes.
"Resurrection? Let's see how many times you can come back from the dead!"
Ella scoffed, swinging her blade and beheading it once more.
But the three Blood Guardians seemed to possess infinite regenerative abilities—no matter how many times Ella killed them, they just kept rising again, unharmed.
Ethan signaled for Ella to fall back, then cast a Mass Heal on one of the newly revived monsters.
He refused to believe such an overpowered ability came without a catch.
[Mutated Blood Guardian (Elite)]
[Level: 30 (SSS)]
[HP: 9764/30000] (Current: 31480 ↑)
[Attack Power: 3000] (Current: 3112 ↑)
[Speed: 1000] (Current: 1104 ↑)
[Defense: 500] (Current: 601 ↑)
[Skills: Flesh Regeneration, Frenzy Slash, Roar Echo, Moonlight Combo]
[Talents: Flesh Curse * Advanced (All attributes increase slowly, up to 100x the original limit), Symbiosis (Bound to the Mutated Heart)]
[Status 1: Corrupted by Flesh Power. All attributes are increasing slowly. Immune to mental control. Devouring its flesh will inherit part of its attributes, but will also cause corruption by Flesh Power.]
[Status 2: Symbiotically linked to the Mutated Heart. Cannot be killed as long as the heart survives. Cannot move more than 100 meters away from the heart (range increases as attributes grow stronger).]
"Shit! Fall back! Now!"
The moment Ethan saw the Blood Guardian's stats, he abandoned all thoughts of attacking.
These were unkillable elite monsters that just kept getting stronger—fighting them head-on was a death sentence.
But just then, a notification popped up in his mind—the last thing he wanted to see right now:
[Trait 2 Activated Successfully! You have obtained the talent Flesh Curse * Advanced!]
Ethan's eyes widened in shock!
Why did this trait have to activate now of all times?! It never worked when he needed it before!
An indescribable, violent energy surged into his body, threatening to tear his flesh and soul apart, to reshape him into something inhuman!
A faint red haze clouded his vision, and countless maddening whispers echoed in his ears.
[Demonic God Energy Detected. Talent Grace is upgrading. Current Progress: 10/100.]
Another notification chimed in his mind, cutting through the chaos.
The red haze cleared from his vision, and the maddening whispers vanished without a trace.
Talent upgrade?!
This talent can even level up?!
Is it because I absorbed the Demon God's energy?
Ethan's heart leaped with joy.
He checked his status panel again and found that the newly acquired Flesh Curse had completely disappeared.
One Flesh Curse * Advanced had given him 10% of the upgrade progress.
If he could farm more of these curses, he could fill the progress bar in no time!
He looked at the three Blood Guardians writhing back to life in the pool of blood—and the pulsing Mutated Heart behind them.
These weren't monsters.
They were free experience points!
A bold, even insane plan began to form in his mind.