Stirring Malice
At the same time, deep within the Dungeon, far from the surface, in a wide cavern located in the deepest part of the 24th Floor, a conversation was also taking place.
The place was damp and foul-smelling, permeating the space like a rotting corpse. Although it was a corner of the Dungeon, no monster roars could be heard. It was as if it had been separated from the Dungeon, becoming a different place from this underground labyrinth.
In the dark and silent environment, the occasional sounds of footsteps moving about and restless conversations could be heard, along with the low, cracking sound of a gong, making the atmosphere feel like a den of demons and causing psychological unease.
In this dim space, a crimson light faintly illuminated a face with sharp eyes, green pupils, and red hair, matching the surrounding dim light.
The owner of the face was strikingly beautiful, possessing gorgeous limbs and a voluptuous figure, yet her expression was cold and exuded a sense of ferocity. Coupled with her unrestrained sitting posture, which was unlike that of a human woman, this person was completely out of place among the mainstream human race no matter how you looked at her.
If Leo and Ais were here and saw this person, they would definitely be able to recognize him.
She is the mysterious woman who appeared in Rivira Town on the 18th Floor, attacked Leo and his group, attempted to take away the Jewel Fetus, and even summoned a Man-Eating Flower monster, but ultimately escaped after failing in her attempt.
"Revis."
At one point, a person emerged from the darkness and called the woman's name.
This is a name known only to them; outsiders have never heard of it.
The mysterious woman, Revis, completely ignored the man who called her name. He was dressed entirely in white, wore a helmet made of monster bones, and his appearance was obscured by his attire. His tall figure was unarmed and exuded a sinister aura.
Until the other person said the next sentence.
"There's an intruder."
Only after hearing this did Revis react.
"----who?"
She spoke without any expression.
"An adventurer," the man dressed entirely in white replied with a cold laugh, "And a very influential one at that."
Before the mysterious woman, Revis, could react to these words, a group of people dressed in robes around her panicked.
How could there be an intruder?
"Isn't it said that adventurers' footsteps are all hindered by migrating monsters?"
"Damn it! We were found out after all!"
"It was so close—!"
They were quite uneasy, shouting at each other and running around in a panic, which made Revis look at them with disdain.
"They're just a bunch of adventurers, what's so special about them?" Revis said uninterestedly, "You guys handle it yourselves. I'll stay here and prevent something like last time from being stolen."
The red-haired woman seemed to look down on all adventurers equally, and showed little interest in so-called invaders.
She only cared about what remained here and didn't want to see something like what happened last time.
However, she didn't want to move, but the man in white seemed to want her to move.
"You should check who the intruder is before you speak."
As he spoke, the man in white pointed in a direction.
There, there was a wall of flesh.
On the fleshy wall, a patch of pale water, resembling the surface of the moon, formed, reflecting the figures of the adventurer group battling the Man-Eating Flower.
"Whoosh!"
Revis had initially shown little interest, suddenly stood up upon seeing the group of adventurers.
Her green eyes were fixed on the two people in the group, one wielding a black longsword and the other a silver military knife, who were cutting down the roaring, charging man- Man-Eating Flower monster with unstoppable force, displaying strength far superior to the other adventurers in the group.
Revis naturally recognized the man and woman.
This man and woman represent two people: one she swore to kill, and the other the target she has been searching for.
At this moment, the red-haired woman gave off a completely different feeling than before.
Like Hunter who has caught his prey and caught a glimpse of its back, he exuded a chilling killing intent.
The man in white was also watching the man and woman reflected in the water film, and clicked his tongue in amazement.
"What bad luck! They actually attracted the Loki Familia, and it's [Sword Princess] and that rumored monster rookie who came. Things seem to be getting a bit tricky."
Clearly, unlike Revis, who seemed to have no knowledge of the world and only a superficial understanding of the information about Leo and the others, the man in white seemed to have some knowledge of the information on the surface, and even seemed quite familiar with it.
Of course, that's not important.
At least for Revis, the identities and backgrounds of those two people were completely unimportant.
All she knew was that her prey had appeared.
"Leave them to me," Revis said without hesitation. "You guys take care of the rest."
After leaving those words, Revis left, completely ignoring the man in white and the others.
"So she needs someone to cooperate with her too?"
The man in white chuckled dismissively, then turned to face the group of panicked, robed figures.
"I'm leaving the Hermes Familia to you. I'll send the Man-Eating Flower with you."
After saying that, the man in white ignored the others and left on his own.
Only the group of robed men remained, looking at each other, and finally their eyes revealed the same emotion.
That kind of emotion is called fanaticism, it's called madness.
An indescribable madness emanated from them, dangerous and terrifying.
At this point, the battle between Leo and his group and the Man-Eating Flower monster had reached a fever pitch.
"These monsters have high resistance to strike attacks but low resistance to slash attacks. They also overreact to Demonic Power, so rear-guard Mage should be careful when using magic!"
--
Just as the team was about to engage the Man-Eating Flower, Leo loudly informed everyone about Man-Eating Flower, allowing the team to quickly adapt after the initial panic.
"Vanguard, use your shields to block them! Midfielders, all use your weapons to roam and attack! Rearguard Mage, hold off on your magic! Use your bows and arrows!"
Asfi, wielding a short sword, took the lead, deflecting several incoming tentacles while issuing commands, enabling the entire team to move into action with disciplined efficiency.
Several shield-bearing orcs and dwarves stepped forward, bracing themselves to block the Man-Eating Flower's charge and keeping them outside their shields. Led by Lulune, the humans and Amazons leaped and bounded about, dodging the tentacled attacks while slashing at the Man-Eating Flower's bodies with their swords. The elven Mage abandoned their incantations, drew their bows, and unleashed a dense rain of arrows that pierced the Man-Eating Flower's heads, eliciting continuous screams of agony.
"What kind of monster is this? I've never seen this type before!"
Asfi observed the Man-Eating Flower for a long time, but she still couldn't determine the origin of these monsters.
Whether it's its colorful body, its bizarre attack patterns, or its inexplicable pursuit of Demonic Power reactions, these are all things that the monsters I've encountered in the past don't have.
Asfi could only calmly record their information and move at high speed with large movements, harassing the enemy while flicking her cloak to deflect several tentacles that attacked from the side.
The cloak was clearly custom-made; it was unclear whether it was armor or a magical artifact crafted by the [Perseus] himself. Even when struck by the heavy tentacles like whips, it was able to firmly block them, and the impact was completely transmitted to Asfi.
Using her cloak, Asfi ignored the countless tentacles that attacked her and charged towards the Man-Eating Flower monster, while taking out a small bottle filled with red liquid from her belt.
"Try this, monster."
As Asfi feinted, she tricked a Man-Eating Flower into opening its fangs and biting into empty air, then threw the small bottle into the Man-Eating Flower's mouth, where it exploded inside.
"Bang!!!"
The next second, an explosion occurred.
A sudden burst of fire exploded inside the Man-Eating Flower's mouth, blasting away its fangs and slime, and shattering the Magic Stone inside. Before the Man-Eating Flower could even scream, it was reduced to dust.
"Is that explosives?"
Leo witnessed this scene and observed it with great interest.
Explosives, as the name suggests, are explosive liquids. They are magical tools made by the [Perseus] using volcanic flowers growing near the crater in the northern part of the continent as raw materials. Essentially, they are liquid explosives and are combat magical tools that only Asfi can make.
This scarlet liquid explosive is quite powerful; just a small bottle can kill a mid-level monster, and with a larger quantity, it can even rival the power of Mage's full-force spell. Therefore, Asfi often carries a considerable amount with her, as it is one of her favorite combat methods.
While the rest of Hermes Familia were still fighting a fierce battle, Asfi was feeding bottles of explosives into the mouths of the Man-Eating Flower, causing Man-Eating Flower to explode with flames and smoke, either slowly collapsing or turning into dust.
Its combat power and lethality are already far superior to most Lv.4s.
"As expected of a master of magical artifact crafting, he can unleash power far exceeding his current level by using magical artifacts with different effects."
While he might not yet be able to rival a first-class adventurer, considering the legendary magical effects of the various magical artifacts he's supposedly developed, both Leo and Ais have reason to believe that once this [Perseus] goes all out in battle, he'll be no less formidable than a proper first-class adventurer.
"Pfft!"
While observing Asfi, Leo's hands never stopped moving. Each flash of his black longsword severed the head of a Man-Eating Flower, causing its long, enormous body to crash to the ground.
Compared to when he was in Rivira Town on the 18th Floor, Leo now deals with these Man-Eating Flower monsters with ease, and the number of man -Man-Eating Flower that fall to his sword is more than the entire Hermes Familia.
Of course, Ais was the same. Her silver military knife transformed into a cold sword light and kept slashing out. Each sword light could cut down a Man-Eating Flower monster, showing off her powerful strength.
Just as the group was steadily advancing their battle line and reducing the number of monsters, an unexpected event soon occurred.
Rumble--
Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from the ceiling, causing Leo, Ais, and Asfi's expressions to change drastically.