"Aria"

"What... what kind of monster is this?!"

As one Man-Eating Flower monster after another crashed through the buildings and appeared in this dark alley, Lulune let out the same cry of alarm for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

She had never seen such a monster before. It didn't look ferocious or terrifying, but it made her feel physically uncomfortable and even made her feel nauseous.

In contrast, Leo, surrounded by Man-Eating Flower monsters, looked at them with a grim expression.

Although they look different, their colorful bodies, piercing cries, and familiar, unsettling appearance are exactly the same as the worm monsters that appeared on the 50th Floor and 51st Floor of the Dungeon not long ago, causing great trouble for Loki Familia's expeditionary force and forcing them to retreat.

Without a doubt, this is a new type of monster, and it is inextricably linked to those worm monsters.

Before setting off, they were worried that they would encounter those worm monsters again in the Dungeon. However, instead of worm monsters, these Man-Eating Flower that were clearly related to worm monsters appeared.

They were hidden in a safe floor where no monsters would spawn, beneath the lake on the 18th Floor, and appeared at the mysterious woman's summons, attacking the entire Rivira Town.

A grating, raspy voice echoed all around, and countless Man-Eating Flower, waving their tentacles, swarmed towards the surrounded Leo, creating a tremendous commotion with howling winds.

"Careful!"

Lulune was slumped on the ground, let out another gasp, but Leo had already acted before she could even utter a sound.

With the Dragon Fang Sword in one hand and the Emerald Staff in the other, Leo leaped into the air, dodging the countless falling tentacles.

"Bang bang bang----!"

Countless tentacles slammed into the spot where he had been standing, shattering the ground and sending dust billowing up.

Leo avoided this wave of attacks, but because he was in mid-air, he could no longer avoid the subsequent attacks.

Several Man-Eating Flower plants roared and charged forward, opening their mouths full of sharp teeth, vying to bite Leo.

"[Light of Heaven, Sword of Stars.]"

Leo extended his left hand, which was holding the Emerald Staff, and lit up the jewel on it.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

Several thick meteors rose from around him and flew toward the oncoming Man-Eating Flower.

"Boom!"

One of the meteors arrived first, striking a Man-Eating Flower on the head and blasting its entire skull to pieces.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"----

With a series of booming sounds, thick meteors either pierced through the bodies of the Man-Eating Flower or shattered them, turning them into ashes on the spot and dissipating into the air.

The remaining Man-Eating Flower were not intimidated by the death of their companion. Instead, due to the magic used by Leo, they reacted strongly to his Demonic Power, roaring as they continued to pounce and bite him repeatedly.

Although Leo was in mid-air, his agility was not diminished at all. He kicked the head of the first Man-Eating Flower that pounced on him, slamming it into its face, and used the force to leap away. Then he swung the Dragon Fang Sword another Man-Eating Flower behind him, drawing out a sword light and slashing sharply.

"Pfft!"

The Dragon Fang Sword successfully pierced the Man-Eating Flower's skin, causing green blood to splatter out.

However, the sword strike was far too shallow; it didn't even amount to a serious injury, let alone a fatal one.

The Man-Eating Flower seemed completely oblivious as one of its tentacles lashed out violently, striking Leo hard and sending him flying with a loud thud.

"It's really hard----"

1

Leo's entire body crashed through several buildings like a cannonball before landing on the ground, collapsing the ground beneath his feet.

He wasn't injured. Although the Man-Eating Flower's tentacles were powerful, they couldn't break through the Giant Battle Suit's protection and cause him any harm.

However, looking at the Dragon Fang Sword in his right hand and the shallow wounds on the Man-Eating Flower, Leo realized that his sword might not pose much of a threat to these Man-Eating Flower monsters.

Tiona and Tione were able to slay these Man-Eating Flower monsters with ease, firstly because they were Level 5, first-level adventurers with sufficient strength, and secondly because they were equipped with first-level special weapons, which made it easy for them to break through the Man-Eating Flower's skin, cut through their flesh, and cleave them in two.

Leo, on the other hand, was no match for the Amazon twins. Firstly, he was only a Level 4, and his strength was no match for the Amazon twins. Secondly, the weapon he wielded was only a Level 3 special weapon, and its power was only close to that of a Level 2 weapon, far inferior to the Level 1 weapon in the twins' hands.

In other words, his slashes, in terms of both attack power and destructive force, were far weaker than those of the Amazon twins.

For him to be able to inflict wounds on the Man-Eating Flower is already a good performance, considering that the adventurers in Rivira Town can't even cut down these Man-Eating Flower.

"We still have to rely on the power of magic."

Leo did not sheath the Dragon Fang Sword, but the jewel on the Emerald Staff shone even brighter.

He continuously transformed his spiritual energy into Demonic Power, channeling it into the Emerald Staff, preparing for a powerful spell.

The Man-Eating Flower, which reacted strongly to the Demonic Power, naturally couldn't just stand by and watch. It continued its frenzied charge towards Leo, its tentacles flailing wildly and causing immense destruction to the surrounding area.

If it were another Mage here, they would definitely have to stop chanting and run away first, avoiding the onslaught of the crazed Man-Eating Flower.

But Leo doesn't.

With a whooshing sound, streaks of light shot out like flashes of lightning, hurtling towards the Man-Eating Flower.

Since there was no time to chant, Leo simply abandoned the chanting and activated the magic, sending countless meteors shooting towards the Man-Eating Flower.

At first glance, the scene looked as if those Man-Eating Flower were deliberately crashing into those shooting stars, one after another.

In the blink of an eye, the Man-Eating Flower from all directions were struck by the meteor.

"----The sounds of flesh being shattered rose and fell, causing a series of dazzling starbursts to appear one after another, dazzling to the eye."

Countless meteors either pierced through or shattered, killing the Man-Eating Flower on the spot; none could escape.

Within two short seconds, all the Man-Eating Flower monsters that had come here were killed, leaving even the Magic Stone behind, all turning into ashes and disappearing.

Leo was left alone on the scene, holding a sword in one hand and a staff in the other, just standing there, making Lulune, who had been watching the whole thing, swallow hard.

"You... you really solved it so easily?"

Lulune looked at Leo with eyes full of shock.

Was that magic really that powerful?

Is this the strength of a monster rookie who rose from Lv.1 to Lv.4 in just two months?

Can someone really become this strong in just two months?

"It really is a monster----"

Lulune had this one thought left.

Leo ignored her, looking instead in the direction Ais and the mysterious woman had gone before turning to Lulune.

"Where is that green gem?"

Leo's question startled Lulune at first, and then she quickly began searching around.

Soon, Lulune found the green gem in a corner.

"Here, right here!"

The dog-woman quickly ran over and reached out her hand to the pearl.

Just as Lulune was about to touch the jewel, suddenly, the fetus inside the jewel cried out.

It was an extremely unpleasant cry, so unpleasant that one began to wonder if it was someone screaming in agony.

"Not good!"

The mysterious woman, who was engaged in a fierce battle with Ais, heard the crying and her expression changed drastically.

Ais's expression changed, and she couldn't help but turn around to look in the direction from which the sound came.

"Boom!"

At the same time, as if remembering something, Leo's eyes narrowed, and he immediately raised his hand and shot out a meteor, sending it hurtling towards the green orb.

The fetus inside the green orb suddenly struggled to move, its tiny hands and head, with its eerie eyeballs buried within, screamed...

It pierced through the green membrane and emerged.

Its small body, seemingly propelled by some unknown force, leaped into the air like a ball, managing to dodge the incoming meteor.

As if Leo had been waiting for it, he fired a second meteor, which struck the creature and completely evaporated the green membrane surrounding it.

The fetus, dripping with fluid, rolled on the ground, its eerie eyes fixed on Leo, seemingly filled with venomous resentment, sending chills down one's spine.

Just as Leo was about to fire the third meteor, the fetus leaped and crashed into a Man-Eating Flower that had crawled out from the corner, clinging to it.

Then, the fetus merged into the monster's body and burrowed inside.

"Varied----?!"

Everyone present was taken aback.

Ais and Lulune, in particular, were taken aback by this sudden turn of events.

The mysterious woman's expression was extremely unpleasant.

"Damn it! Everything was for nothing!"

She looked at the green pearl with the same rage she had shown when she saw a precious gem defiled. She had previously held the green pearl in high regard, but now all that remained in her eyes was anger.

Leo wanted to continue casting magic to attack the Man-Eating Flower that was parasitized by the strange fetus.

As if sensing danger, the Man-Eating Flower howled in agony, spewing saliva from its mouth, and rolled on the ground in pain. Suddenly, red veins appeared on its body, causing its long and large body to swell.

Like a pupa, the part of the Man-Eating Flower where the fetus was parasitized began to protrude outwards, but what emerged from it was not a moth or a butterfly, but an upper body resembling a human.

A body with distinctly female features, an upper body that evoked a strong sense of déjà vu, emerged from the flesh and blood of the Man-Eating Flower monster.

"----Ahhhhh."

The next second, the woman opened her mouth and made a sound.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

The sound gradually turned into a piercing scream, whipping up the air and transforming into a sonic wave that swept around the monster like a shockwave.

Lulune was stunned, her mouth agape, unable to utter a complete sentence.

The mysterious woman's face was full of anger. She punched the crystal pillar next to her, shattering it. It was clear that this was a situation she did not want to see, and it made her feel very bad.

As for Ais, her golden eyes trembled violently as she looked at the female body that had grown from the Man-Eating Flower plant.

Simply because that appearance, that body, was exactly the same as the female monster she and Leo encountered on the 50th Floor.

At least, the upper body of that woman was exactly the same; the only difference was the lower body.

The lower half of the female monster on the 50th Floor was a giant worm, while the lower half of the female monster in front of us was Man-Eating Flower.

This made the female monster resemble a giant octopus, with huge tentacles extending from her body. These tentacles seemed to have become much more flexible than before, twisting, turning, and wriggling as if they had their own consciousness. Combined with her colorful body and female-shaped upper body, from a distance, she looked exactly like a half-human, half-octopus creature.

But the familiar female body made Ais think of even more things.

Realizing that this female monster had become like this because she had been parasitized by that bizarre fetus, even if Ais was slow to understand, she should have figured it out by now.

"Whether it's the one on the 50th Floor or this one, they all turned into female-shaped monsters after being parasitized by that fetus!"

The female monster on the 50th Floor is very likely born from another green orb parasitizing a worm monster.

The one in front of us was born from the green orb parasitizing the Man-Eating Flower monster.

"What exactly is that green jewel?"

Ais questioned the mysterious woman again.

The mysterious woman was already furious, and when Ais questioned her like this, she burst into laughter in her anger.

"Shouldn't you know what that is better than I do?" the mysterious woman sneered. "In a way, you're the same kind of people!"

Upon hearing this, Ais felt the same nausea she had felt when she saw the green orb return.

"Who is the same kind as things?!"

Ais strongly resisted this statement.

In response, the mysterious woman simply said one thing.

Stop deceiving yourself; the blood in your veins has already given you the answer.

"Don't you think so?"

"Aria".

"Aria".

When the name came out of the mysterious woman's mouth, Ais froze.

No, she's frozen.

Both body and mind were frozen in that moment.

The emotions that she rarely showed on her face were now more intense than ever before.

The Doll Princess's mask cracked open on her face, replaced by shock, astonishment, and disbelief.

"You----"

How did you know that name?

Ais's emotions were fluctuating wildly.

"Ais! Watch out!"

However, before Ais could even utter a trembling sound, Leo's loud shout woke her up.

Only then did Ais realize that the Man-Eating Flower female form had turned around and was staring at her.

"Iiiketukekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekeke" shriek like a roar, shaking the atmosphere.