A Tainted Existence

"Boom!!!"

It was a deafening roar.

That was a deafening roar, shaking the earth and mountains.

The enormous Man-Eating Flower, resembling a worm-shaped mountain range, not only shook the entire grain depot and stirred up billowing dust the moment it attacked, but also crashed into Leo and his group with a violent roar and shockwave.

Its impact was brutal and powerful, like a runaway train.

Its attack was terrifying and horrifying, like a landslide or earthquake.

"Rewind now!!!"

Asfi screamed at the top of her lungs, scrambling to the side with all the Hermes Familia, their desperate attempts not so much to escape a monster's attack, but to escape a natural disaster.

In fact, this is no different from avoiding natural disasters.

When the giant Man-Eating Flower rushed past everyone's location, the shockwave first spread outwards like an explosion, blowing everything away. Then, everything in its path was completely crushed, just like a mountain rushing past and blowing everyone away.

Even Leo, who leaped high into the air to avoid the Giant Flower's impact, was instantly blown away by the storm-like shockwave and nearly crashed into the ceiling of the grain depot.

"I----guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest guest, those members of the Evilus were not so lucky. They didn't even have time to escape the impact range of the Giant Flower. They were directly crushed by the mountain-like behemoth and fell into complete silence after a series of screams."

"Boom!!!"

The aftershocks of the Giant Flower's impact continued to spread within the large cavity, overturning a large number of Man-Eating Flower to the ground.

The ground was shaking, and the atmosphere was shaking too.

A single collision resulted in a horrifying scene of devastation.

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

Leo was still in mid-air, and before he even landed, he witnessed this astonishing scene. His expression hardened, and without hesitation, he began to chant a spell.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

A magnificent magic circle unfolded on the ceiling, its scale unprecedented in history. Countless meteors descended from within, forming a beautiful Meteor Shower that swept down towards the earth.

Meteors streaked across the sky one after another, eventually landing on the Giant Flower monster.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom -!!!"

The terrifying firepower was unleashed upon the Giant Flower monster, exploding continuously on its surface, turning into countless dazzling starbursts, until the Giant Flower monster's body was covered in blood, and colorful flesh flew everywhere.

However, such widespread firepower and bombardment, enough to turn thousands of monsters into dust, failed to elicit even a single painful roar from the Giant Flower.

As if bitten by countless ants, it ignored its injuries, brandished its enormous tentacles, and attacked Leo in mid-air.

"Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom"

Tentacles came whistling in one after another, striking the ceiling and shattering it amidst a series of explosions, scattering countless dust particles and pebbles.

Leo was in mid-air, was originally doomed to be attacked, but before the tentacles could reach him, he unhesitatingly chanted another spell of his.

"[ -Comet Dash.]"

Brilliant Starlight burst forth one after another on his body, enveloping him completely.

At that moment, Leo transformed into a true comet, hurtling away at an astonishing speed, dodging the relentless onslaught of tentacles.

The comet darted back and forth between the enormous tentacles, moving with incredible speed and agility. Even as the Giant Flower monster relentlessly swung its tentacles in pursuit, it still couldn't catch up.

"That magic—"

Asfi, who was checking on the casualties of her team members, saw this scene and froze on the spot.

"It's that flying spell!"

Lulune recognized her immediately.

Leo had used this magic in Rivira Town on the 18th Floor, Lulune remembered it vividly, so she couldn't possibly not recognize it.

"Flight magic?"

Upon hearing Lulune's words, Asfi couldn't help but look at her.

"Yes, it's a magic that allows flight. I saw him use it on the 18th Floor. It's the same as your Flying Shoes, Asfi; both have the ability to fly!"

Lulune quickly explained to Asfi.

"Unexpectedly, he actually flew into the sky using the power of magic!"

Asfi looked at the comet in mid-air, and her eyes changed.

She was able to fly because of the power of magical artifacts, while Leo flew into the sky using his own power; the two are completely different.

Moreover, Asfi could also tell that Leo's magic was probably not just limited to the ability to fly.

The evidence was that the comet hurtling through the air was getting faster and faster, so fast that even the Giant Flower monster's tentacles couldn't keep up, and even their sight was almost failing them.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-

As the enormous tentacles repeatedly struck the comet, only to be repeatedly flung behind and hit the ceiling, walls, and ground behind it, the magnificent comet accelerated continuously, finally disappearing in a flash in mid-air.

Trailing a long, luminous tail, it traced a famous and beautiful path of light, and after completely shaking off the Giant Flower's tentacle attack, it swept straight toward the white-haired man who was still recovering his physical body.

"Varied----?!"

The white-haired man's expression changed drastically. He tried to react, but it was too late.

"Bang!!!"

The dazzling comet struck the white-haired man directly, sending him flying.

Hengweiweiweiwei,"

Before the white-haired man could regain his footing as he flew backward, the comet traced a series of beautiful trajectories and crashed into him again and again, causing him to be constantly battered from all directions in mid-air, flying around in all directions in a disheveled state.

"Puff!"

The powerful impact caused the white-haired man to cough up a mouthful of blood, appearing almost delirious.

"Enough!"

He was furious, he was enraged, he tried to fight back, but he couldn't catch up with the comet that was still accelerating.

"You like bumping into people? Then try it yourself!"

Leo's voice rang out, and the comet once again streaked across the sky, crashing into the white-haired man.

"Bang!!!"

With a powerful impact, the white-haired man slammed into the Green Flesh wall, shattering it into pieces.

"Gaa----!"

The white-haired man, who had crashed into the wall, let out a series of incoherent screams of pain, his body covered in blood.

He should be thankful, because due to his excessive speed, Leo couldn't swing his sword while activating [Comet Pursuit], or rather, his sword-swinging speed would be much slower than his flight speed. This caused him to crash into his target before he could swing his sword. So, whether it was the white-haired man or Revis, they were just knocked away by him. Otherwise, with his flight speed, he could have easily cut off the heads of these monsters with his first strike and won the battle.

Of course, with the speed at this level, unless the gap is too large, victory is only a matter of time.

The white-haired man received this treatment.

"Pfft!"

As the comet hurtled towards him, scattering its brilliance to reveal the figure of Leo within, the white-haired man barely had time to raise his head before a black longsword pierced his chest.

The white-haired man's face froze, his eyes wide open, as if he couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes.

Leo stood before him, looking down at him with no emotion in his eyes.

The black longsword in his hand had already pierced deeply into the white-haired man's chest, penetrating his flesh that had barely recovered, and finally piercing through the colorful Magic Stone in his chest cavity.

"Slap-s..."

The Magic Stone shattered inch by inch with a cracking sound, creating countless fissures.

Since the white-haired man possesses a monster's body, he naturally also has the same weaknesses as monsters.

The Magic Stone is the foundation of his survival, the core of his existence.

Monsters die when their Magic Stone are destroyed, and these strange beings are no exception.

"No—no—!"

The white-haired man refused to believe that his life was over. His face contorted with rage, he reached out a trembling hand and grasped the black longsword that had pierced his chest.

"How could it end like this? How could it just end like this?"

The white-haired man cried out hysterically.

"I haven't fulfilled 'her' wish yet!"

"I haven't let 'her' see the sky yet!"

How could this second life, which was sustained because of "her," end just like that?!

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Upon hearing this, Leo simply stared at him expressionlessly for a long time before finally saying something.

"How can a defiled being, even if it was once holy, be worthy to see the sky again?"

Upon hearing this, the white-haired man looked up in astonishment at Leo.

"You----you----"

His expression was as if his biggest secret had been ruthlessly exposed; he looked completely unexpected.

Do you think I really don't know who "she" is?

Leo gave a cold laugh and said that.

"Just wait, Ais, the entire Loki Familia, and I will one day personally send 'her' to her death."

After saying that, Leo exerted force with his sword-wielding hand, completely shredding the Magic Stone inside the white-haired man's body.

"Bang!"

The colorful Magic Stone shattered completely inside the white-haired man's body, losing all its luster.

The white-haired man opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a word.

Like all monsters that have lost their Magic Stone, he turned to ashes in an instant and vanished completely.

Leo witnessed the entire process, and only after confirming that the other party had truly vanished into thin air did he turn around and look in the direction of the Giant Flower monster.

The Giant Flower monster had already attracted the attention of the Hermes Familia and was attacking them with its enormous tentacles.

Each attack of the tentacles would unleash a whirlwind, shattering the earth with terrifying force. Not to mention the Giant Flower's occasional ferocious charges, crushing everything like a walking mountain, making it even more terrifying than the floor master.

Asfi had already activated her Flying Shoes. A pair of strangely shaped sandals with wing patterns embroidered on the sides sprouted small wings, carrying her into the sky. She then continuously dropped explosives from high above, causing them to explode on the Giant Flower.

Unfortunately, even Leo's powerful magic could only tear its skin apart, unable to completely eliminate it. Asfi's explosives were even less effective, unable to do anything to the Giant Flower monster, and could not even cause much damage.

Leo wanted to help her, but then froze, turning his gaze to the quartz pillar emitting a red glow.

At its base, the green Jewel Fetus still turned its large eyes, gazing maliciously at everyone on the battlefield.

Noticing Leo's gaze, the Jewel Fetus also looked at him.

That gaze wasn't fierce, but it was extremely wicked.

That look wasn't scary, but it was extremely eerie.

Leo began to understand why Ais had reacted so strongly when she saw this thing.

Even he felt uncomfortable, let alone Ais shared a bloodline connection with this thing.

So, Leo leaped down the hole in the wall that the white-haired man had smashed open, and in a flash, he arrived at the base of the quartz pillar, in front of the Jewel Fetus.

The Jewel Fetus seemed to sense some danger and began to struggle, as if trying to escape.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"You shouldn't have been born."

Without hesitation, Leo thrust his sword forward.

"Pfft!"

The tip of the black longsword pierced through the entire green orb and penetrated the fetus inside.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

At this moment, both the Giant Flower monster and the Man-Eating Flower monster let out mournful, broken roars.

The other two Giant Flower monsters, which had been quietly absorbing the nutrient solution while wrapped around the quartz pillar, also awoke. They roared in terror as they struggled to break free of the pillar and crashed down on Leo below. Leo had no time to think about anything else. He drew his sword and dodged, his whole body radiating Starlight as he transformed into a comet and streaked away at an astonishing speed.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

The two Giant Flower monsters crashed heavily to the ground, raising a loud noise and dust.

"Bang!"

At the same time, an explosion suddenly occurred in a corner of the wall of the Great Hollow, creating a loud shattering sound that attracted the attention of everyone inside the Great Hollow.

Inside the hole, a figure flew out with astonishing force, trailing several plumes of smoke. Like a cannonball, it violently crashed through the wall, flew into the grain warehouse, and finally landed hard on its back, carving a trench in its wake. It only came to a stop after flying dozens of meters.

"Cough cough----!"

Shortly after, the figure struggled to his feet, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.

Her body was covered in wounds, especially sword wounds, which were so gruesome that blood almost covered her entire body, making her hair as red as her hair.

This person was none other than Revis.

Her face was still fierce like a beast, but the crimson longsword in her hand had become tattered and broken, just like her.

Ais also jumped out of the hole and entered the battlefield.

He was completely unharmed.

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