Even Contamination Feels Fear

Theus was nothing more than a mortal of flesh and blood; the moment Nini flung him away, he felt as if he had been struck by a semi-truck.

His entire body ached.

But immediately, a torrent of vitality surged through the Symbiotic Pact, and before he had even landed from the air, his injuries had already healed.

The monster that Monica had transformed into spotted him, but the attack was blocked by Ash, who successfully charged in and was about to make contact with the monster's body.

Yet, before he could touch it, the corruption surrounding the monster sought him out first, making contact with his body.

The hearts of the Banshees leaped into their throats.

"It's happening! Let's see if my hypothesis is right or wrong!"

Theus, however, felt not a shred of nervousness; he reached out without hesitation to touch that massive cluster of black corruption.

Everyone looked up, staring fixedly at Theus.

"You have to succeed..."

The corruption swallowed Theus in an instant.

Theus felt as if he had fallen into water; the sensation was strange. Although the black corruption was boiling and churning, it felt cool and refreshing when it touched his skin.

It was like diving into the ocean, slowly sinking to the bottom.

Overlapping voices rang in his ears, as if someone were desperately trying to convey something, but the sounds were too chaotic to be understood.

The jumbled whispers carried a sense of madness; even though it was quiet enough to hear his own heartbeat, he suffered from the hallucination of noise, as if his soul were standing in a bustling marketplace.

Theus closed his eyes, remaining unmoved.

Outside the corruption, the monster stopped moving abruptly after Theus charged in, and the Banshees looked anxious, not daring to move a muscle.

They were waiting.

Theus had just given them instructions: if he failed, they would continue to maintain the Flesh Magic to delay the monster, and Ash would take the opportunity to pull Theus back.

With the Symbiotic Pact, there was a high probability that Theus would survive.

But if Theus succeeded...

How could he possibly succeed? That terrifying corruption was something even the Flesh Magic could barely withstand for long, yet he had charged in with nothing but his mortal body!?

How on earth was he resisting the corruption?

And how would he save Monica?

If the Banshees were not so loyal, they would never have agreed to carry out such an order.

Ash bit her lip, staring fixedly at the spot where Theus had crashed in.

She would rather fight the monster alone than endure this torment.

Her hands were trembling; she knew she could not waver, but she could not control the wild thoughts running through her mind.

"He will succeed."

Ash glanced behind her; it was Nini speaking.

"He told me his plan... believe in him, he will succeed."

Ash did not speak; she gripped her shield tighter.

Would he succeed?

Not far in front of the monster, Theus was surrounded by corruption.

Feeling the state of his surroundings, Theus suddenly revealed a smile; he had succeeded.

"As expected, although I don't know why—"

"This corruption in the deep sea is afraid of me."

Everything had to start from a short while ago—when Monica had suddenly lashed out, knocking Nora away, and Ash had blocked that strike for him.

The attack had not landed on him, but the black corruption had splashed all over him.

At the time, Theus had instinctively wanted to take off his outer garment to minimize contact with the corruption.

But before he could even move, that corruption had rapidly dissipated.

Like snowflakes falling into a pot of boiling oil, the corruption wailed as it tried to escape, but it was to no avail.

A moment later, there was not a trace of corruption left on him.

What was going on!?

Theus was full of suspicion, but he had no time to investigate; a life-or-death crisis was right before his eyes. As he dodged Monica's attacks, he had felt a faint sensation in his heart.

This corruption was afraid of him.

The corruption that had been roaring as it surged toward him had originally been trying to devour Theus.

But the moment they touched him, those stains suddenly wailed and fled back at an even faster speed.

It was as if they had encountered some natural predator or nemesis, fleeing in a frenzy. A thought suddenly emerged in the minds of those who witnessed this scene.

"The corruption is... afraid of him?"

Nini, lying on the ground, muttered in disbelief.

As the corruption receded, Theus suddenly discovered the monster's true form right before his eyes.

Everything happened too fast; the attack from the monster that Monica had become had just been blocked by Ash, and Theus had already arrived right in front of it.

The massive cluster of corruption that had originally surrounded it dissipated in an instant, like a pricked balloon, exposing its true appearance. At this moment, it had only just managed to turn around.

Theus looked up to see a swollen and ugly body. It somewhat resembled her form as a Banshee or one of The Cursed, yet it was far more twisted than that; the corruption had rendered Monica's flesh completely unrecognizable.

Before him was nothing more than a bloated Flesh Mountain.

There was not the slightest sign of sanity remaining upon it.

Could he really still save Monica, save that little Banshee?

Theus's eyes flickered as he recalled what had happened not long ago.

He had reached his hand into the seawater, and the Banshees signed the Symbiotic Pact with Theus one by one. Soon, the sea was empty, with only one last Banshee remaining in the water.

Looking at the hand Theus extended toward her, she wore a hesitant expression.

"My lord, I was just eroded by the corruption a little."

Her abilities were relatively weak, and when Monica had erupted just now, she had been hit head-on. Her Flesh Magic had developed a momentary flaw; although she hadn't exploded and died, she had been unable to stop the corruption from eroding her body.

Even though the amount was small and the impact minor, but...

Would it spread through the Symbiotic Pact and corrupt the others?

Theus's eyes flickered as he remembered how the corruption had dissipated at high speed earlier. He did not hesitate and grasped the Banshee's hand.

The pact was signed, and vitality surged.

"The corruption... disappeared?!"

The Banshee looked at her own hand in disbelief; the blackness that had just been coiled around her arm had vanished completely.

What had happened!?

Theus felt the anomaly transmitted through the Symbiotic Pact, and surging emotions churned in his heart. When he had just signed the pact, he could clearly feel the corruption existing within the Banshee before him, and that corruption had even tried to travel along the pact to reach him.

But the corrupted vitality, upon touching him, was instantly purified by an inexplicable power. This purifying force even traveled along the pact to the Banshee, purifying the corruption on her side as well.

It seemed he really was the nemesis of corruption!

Theus returned to his senses, looking at the "Monica" before him.

The previous Banshee had only been subjected to extremely minor corruption, which he could purify, but Monica before him...

She had completely turned into a monster.

In a trance, Theus felt as if he had returned to the pier once more, where a strange fish had weakly begged him for help.

It was the same twisted, ugly, swollen, and disgusting sight.

Theus reached out his hand without hesitation, just as he had in the past.

(Please keep up with the latest chapters. If the follow-read count for a new book isn't high enough, it will be eliminated. I trouble everyone to please scroll to the very end every day. Many thanks!)