"Spreading knowledge about pollution strengthens it, and when a [Cognitive Barrier] is broken, the pollution is greatly intensified."
"Once a transcendent being's [Cognitive Barrier] is broken, it becomes even more terrifying. Not only is the pollution strengthened, but it can also easily trigger an outbreak."
"And all the Banshees present at the time counted as transcendent beings. They had only a very superficial understanding of pollution before, and I effectively shattered every one of their [Cognitive Barriers] in an instant."
"An outbreak of that magnitude would normally have seen all of them devoured by pollution on the spot, turning into monsters like the one Monica became."
"Luckily, their... was it called Flesh Magic? It successfully isolated the pollution and prevented it from invading them."
"But Monica was already contaminated. Flesh Magic only blocked it off. In that instant, the pollution within her erupted a thousandfold, directly breaking through the Flesh Magic."
"Then, with the outbreak caused by the shattered [Cognitive Barriers] having nowhere else to go, it ultimately converged on Monica, making her stronger and stronger..."
Nora sighed.
"Do you know? If not for the [Burier]'s unusual ability to forcibly 'bury' her at the cost of death, your Banshees alone would never have been able to deal with her."
"The amount of pollution gathered at that time had already reached a terrifying level. No matter how many times you killed her, the pollution would revive her, and she would only grow stronger and stronger, eventually swallowing all of Stukart and becoming a second eye of the storm upon the Storm Ocean—an eye of the storm made of pollution."
Theus's eye twitched.
"Then if you hadn't said anything about pollution, would it not have erupted?"
"Yes." Nora sighed. "I'm sorry. That was why I intended to bury her as well. After