The City's Dark Period
"Bang!" "!" "!" ----
The death knell-like explosions continued to ring out, causing this hellish scene to expand ever further.
Watching the black-robed figures who recklessly set themselves ablaze, rushing forward in an attempt to drag them down with them, only to be engulfed by the explosive flames and left with nothing but broken limbs or charred bodies, not only Asfi and the others, but even Leo's expression couldn't help but change.
They all knew what the Evilus was.
That was a radical clan of gods who called themselves "evil gods," a faction that once existed in Orario, openly rejecting order and yearning for chaos.
The main purpose of the gods descending to earth was to relieve the boredom and tedium brought about by eternal life.
They grew tired of the monotonous, unchanging life in the Heaven, tired of the divine existence brought by eternal life, and having experienced all sorts of thrills over the long years, they could no longer tolerate the unchanging daily routine. That's why they didn't hesitate to seal away their divine power and come to the Lower World with abilities no different from ordinary people. They treated life in the Lower World as a game, seeking entertainment, seeking thrills, and even more so, seeking the unknown that even they, with their omniscience and omnipotence, had never experienced.
Among them are gods like Loki who find joy in nurturing their families and are satisfied when they achieve success, as well as gods who enjoy chaos, destruction, and evil for their own amusement.
The latter is what is commonly known as an evil god. The clans they formed were not for adventure or business, but simply to create chaos, wantonly destroy, and enjoy tragedy. Calling them radicals is actually giving them too much credit.
In the past, these Evilus, following the instructions of the evil god, have repeatedly disrupted order, carried out destructive actions against Orario, and disturbed the peace of the city.
Before the two strongest clans led by "God" and "Goddess" fell into decline, they were somewhat restrained. However, since fifteen years ago, when these two clans, which enjoyed the strongest reputation for millennia, failed to fulfill the commission of the three adventurers who had longed for the world, they declined. Their remnants were even driven out of Orario by the Loki Familia and Freya Familia. These evil forces lurking in the shadows of the city have finally risen up, bringing chaos to the Labyrinth City known as the "center of the world".
Thus began the Dark Period for the Labyrinth City of Orario.
The rampant thugs have brought the city to its knees, turning it into a chaotic and sinful metropolis. Powerless ordinary citizens bleed and weep every day, living in constant fear for their lives, yet they are still inevitably drawn into vicious incidents, resulting in heavy casualties.
Orario during that period was a veritable Purgatory, where even many exploration-oriented Familias who actively explored the Dungeon suffered repeated persecution and lost their lives one after another.
Therefore, the guilds, having reached their limit, joined forces with the various clans to fight against these Evilus, including the Loki Familia.
In order to eliminate these Evilus, the Loki Familia even took the lead, fighting alongside the Guild and many other Families, and finally wiped them all out five years ago.
One by one, the members of the Evilus were purged and almost all of them were defeated. Even the evil gods were sent back to the Heaven, where they could no longer Lower World commit evil.
These black-robed figures before me are the remnants of those Evilus from back then; they are either survivors or those who have inherited their will.
Those who worship evil gods are all dangerous individuals, mired in darkness, having abandoned their lives; they are evil and insane.
But no one could have imagined that they would go to such extremes.
They were willing to sacrifice their lives for their god, and even self-destructed to drag their enemies down with them; they were nothing short of fanatical believers.
Even Leo, who already knew about their madness from the original story, was still somewhat shocked to witness them shouting wildly and then rushing over to self-destruct.
Ultimately, he was just an ordinary person not long ago, and for the past three months he had been fighting monsters. He had never witnessed the death of others so closely before, let alone such a frenzied death.
We can't let them get any closer.
Seeing that the members of the Evilus were still rushing towards them, and the flames of the explosion were getting closer and closer, Leo finally made up his mind.
He raised his hand, palm facing the black-robed figures, his spiritual power transforming into Demonic Power, preparing to blast these fanatics away with magic.
However, just as Leo was about to make his move, the ground beneath his feet suddenly became abnormal.
"Puff puff puff puff puff puff----!"
Without any warning, green guns suddenly shot up from the ground, forming a forest of guns that rapidly approached Leo from below.
The Green Gun's true form is tentacles.
One by one, the Man-Eating Flower tore through the Green Flesh ground, emerging from underground, waving their tentacles, transforming into a forest of spears, piercing through the enemy.
Leo had to cancel the spell he was preparing, leaping backward repeatedly to avoid the green spears that kept piercing the ground, and putting distance between himself and the Hermes Familia.
"Get out of my way, Leo Eligos."
The white-clad man standing beneath the quartz pillar spoke, his mask swaying.
"None of you, including you, will escape this place alive."
Upon hearing this, Leo's eyes turned cold, but his movements were swift. In the blink of an eye, he dodged all the green spears that shot out from the ground, the tentacles that came from all directions, and even the fangs of the Man-Eating Flower's large, open mandibles that came at him.
"[Meteor Dance]!"
During his leap, Leo finally activated his magic, unleashing a thick meteor.
However, the thick meteor did not shoot towards the men in black robes, but rather towards the man in white.
"Is the target?"
The man in white was somewhat surprised, but he didn't lose his composure. With a wave of his hand, a group of Man-Eating Flower swam over and blocked his way.
"Boom!!!"
The powerful meteor struck the Man-Eating Flower that formed a protective wall, unleashing a massive explosion that pulverized them, sending their limbs flying.
However, the white-clad man behind the wall of Man-Eating Flower plant flesh was completely unharmed.
Seeing this, Leo activated his magic again, shooting out several meteors, while the man in white continued to manipulate the Man-Eating Flower, forming a wall of flesh in front of him.
But this time, just as the meteors were about to strike the Man-Eating Flower wall, they suddenly changed direction, abruptly bypassing the wall and shooting straight at the white-clad man behind it.
"What?"
The white-clad man's composure vanished, and as he cried out in astonishment, he was struck by a series of incoming meteors.
"Boom boom boom boom boom----!"
With a deafening roar, the meteor struck the Green Flesh ground, shattering the dust and sending plumes of smoke billowing up with the shockwave.
The figure of the man in white also flew out from it, his hands raised in front of him, seemingly taking a defensive stance at the critical moment.
His white clothes were charred, and his helmet was cracked, indicating that he was seriously injured.
"Asshole!"
An angry voice came from his mouth; clearly, he had never expected to suffer such a blow.
"Call out!"
At that moment, a whooshing sound came from the air, causing the man in white to turn around abruptly.
The next second, Leo's figure expanded in his eyes, his black longsword already raised high, slashing down with unparalleled force.
Don't get carried away!
The man in white roared and threw a punch at the black longsword that was slashing down.
"Clang!"
A sound like metal clashing rang out as the white-clad man's fist unleashed astonishing power, deflecting the black longsword that Leo had slashed down.
After deflecting the sword, the man in white launched another attack, unleashing a series of crisscrossing palm strikes that seemed capable of tearing flesh and bones, aimed at Leo's entire body.
Leo immediately kicked out, aiming a hard kick at the white-clad man's hand.
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, the white-clad man's palm continued to unleash astonishing power, sending Leo flying.
"You weirdos—you're incredibly stubborn!"
Feeling the tingling sensation under his feet, Leo said this without expression.
The man in white remained silent, continuing his furious attack on Leo.
Leo, however, did not back down; instead, he advanced, closing in on him.
In an instant, countless black sword lights and white fist shadows flew out and clashed fiercely.
Sword light slashed like a storm, and fist shadows rained down like a downpour. The two sides collided countless times in just a few seconds, causing sparks and shockwaves to spread out.
Leo took steps forward, each step unleashing countless slashes. The slashes were sharp, swift, and continuous, forcing the white-clad man, who was trying to meet the attack head-on, to retreat repeatedly.
"Wrong!"
The man in white shouted angrily.
"This is not the level of a Lv.5 player you should have!"
The man in white finally realized this.
He believed that with his current strength, dealing with an adventurer who had just reached Lv.5 would be a piece of cake.
Let alone an adventurer who has just reached Lv.5, he is confident that he can defeat even someone like [Sword Princess] who has been at Lv.5 for many years.
But the strength that Leo displayed was not what an adventurer who had just reached Lv.5 should have, or even what an adventurer who had just reached Lv.5 should have.
Lv.6!
This has definitely reached Lv.6!
"Impossible!" the man in white exclaimed in disbelief, "How could you possibly be Level 6?!"
To this, Leo simply replied calmly.
"I'll consider whether to answer that question when you're lying on the ground, unable to get up again."
As he spoke, the black longsword once again transformed into a continuous stream of sword light, slashing towards the white-robed man's entire body.
"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"----
The man in white threw a punch to retaliate, but he was still struck by several rapidly slashing sword lights, leaving wounds all over his body that splattered with blood.
"Man-Eating Flower!"
Sensing danger, the man in white quickly called for help.
Among the countless flower buds existing at the top of the Green Flesh, one by one they bloomed, responding to the man's call, giving birth to Man-Eating Flower monsters, causing them to fall one after another.
Leo dodged the Man-Eating Flower that was about to smash into him, causing Man-Eating Flower to crash down in front of him with a loud bang.
"Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo----!"
The broken gong roared immediately, and Man-Eating Flower rose from the dust and began to attack him.