The Corrupted Spirit

In the dim passage, the group slowly made their way forward.

At the front, Lu Qiming and Bete each carried a magic lamp.

"Forget being cold. It's even stuffy in here."

Tiona looked around the passage, fanning herself with one hand.

"Finn, this really is..."

Riveria gazed at the faintly visible scenery of the 59th Floor ahead and spoke in a low voice.

"That's right. What lies before us is something even the gods have never seen: the unknown!"

As Finn spoke, the dim passage around them began to brighten, and the group emerged from it.

Beyond the passage, white mist blanketed the entire 59th Floor. Lush trees were everywhere, and the muggy climate was completely unlike the Glacier Domain described in the records.

"A jungle?"

Standing on the raised platform before the exit, Tione looked down at the 59th Floor, which resembled a tropical rainforest. Tall trees rose all the way to the ceiling, their enormous canopies a spectacular sight.

"Crunch~~ gulp!"

Then, from deep within the jungle, came a loud chewing sound, as if something were eating.

"Move out!"

Finn glanced toward the source of the sound, his eyes narrowing, and led the way. The others hurried after him.

The sound of a monster chewing came from all around them, yet strangely, not a single monster came to attack them.

The group grew even more wary of the strange situation and cautiously moved closer to the source of the chewing.

Suddenly, the trees before them gave way, revealing a vast clearing.

"What is that?"

Tiona stared blankly at the scene in the clearing. There, a great many New Species Monsters—Caterpies—were gathered around a huge, bizarre creature.

Every second, the enormous creature grabbed one of the New Species Monsters, shoved it into its mouth, bit off most of its body, chewed a few times, and swallowed.

The remaining body of the New Species Monster dangled from the vine in the creature's grasp. Once its Magic Stone was gone, it instantly turned to black ash and vanished.

The enormous creature didn't react at all. It simply reached out another vine, grabbed a New Species Monster, and swallowed most of it in one bite.

"Has the Corpse King Flower mutated or been parasitized?"

Riveria looked at the monster, nearly fifty meters tall, whose countless vines kept grabbing the New Species Monsters around it.

"This thing's bad news!"

"It's eaten that many Magic Stones?"

"Is it an Enhanced Species?"

Bete and the others stared at the creature, which looked like a Caterpie enlarged more than tenfold. Its lower half was made of countless vines and enormous petals, while its upper half resembled a mutated, oversized Caterpie. As it continued devouring Magic Stones, its terrifying, bizarre presence grew ever stronger.

"!!!"

Suddenly, Ais seemed to sense something. She looked at the monster in alarm.

After finishing the New Species Monster in its grasp, the enormous creature stopped eating. Its body began to shake uncontrollably, and it pointed its terrifying head toward the sky and roared.

"Ah~ ah~ ah~"

As the monster's body shook, the petals on its lower half opened. The veins on its upper half bulged, then countless cracks appeared across it.

Bang!

With an explosive crack, the giant caterpillar-like upper body vanished, revealing the huge upper body of a woman. Her eyes were without pupils, and her gray-green hair writhed and twisted behind her.

"Ah, oooh, aaah, oooh..."

Once its upper body had become that of a woman, the monster's roar grew even more shrill and terrifying. The sky over the 59th Floor darkened, and the once-lush plants began to wither and decay.

"What on earth is that thing?"

Tiona covered her ears, watching in pain as the monster's roar grew more terrifying.

Beside her, Ais seemed completely unaffected by the monster's roar. She simply stared at the enormous creature in disbelief.

No way! That's...

"Aria!"

The monster stopped roaring. The face that had been turned toward the sky now looked down at Ais, its bizarre features brimming with delight.

"A Spirit!"

Ais stared at the enormous monster looking down at her and murmured in disbelief.

"That disgusting thing is a Spirit?"

"It sure looks nothing like the one in the storybooks!"

The Tiona sisters stared at the Corrupted Spirit in disbelief. It was nothing like the gentle Spirit from the stories, beloved by nature and all living things!

"Aria, I missed you so much! I missed you so much! Come and become like me!"

The Corrupted Spirit stared down at Ais with a strange smile, running its tongue over its lips.

"Let me eat you, Aria!"

As the Corrupted Spirit spoke, the vines on its lower half grabbed a nearby New Species Monster. It plunged its left hand into the creature in front of it, and as Purple Blood sprayed out, it tore out a dark green Magic Stone. Its tongue darted out, coiled around the Magic Stone in its hand, and swallowed it whole.

"Everything was just a means to help that thing grow!"

Riveria watched the Corrupted Spirit swallow the Magic Stone and spoke slowly.

"Even those New Species Monsters were just tools for bringing Magic Power and Magic Stones here?"

Finn finally understood why the New Species Monsters had attacked other monsters on the 50th Floor and the 58th Floor, swallowing their Magic Stones. He also understood why, on the 58th Floor, those New Species Monsters that had devoured enough Magic Stones had crawled toward the 59th Floor.

It had all been to help this Corrupted Spirit grow!

"Interesting. So it's an Enhanced Species of Spirit?"

Bete grinned, excitedly watching the Corrupted Spirit devour the Magic Stones nearby. His blood was already racing!

The Corrupted Spirit swallowed the Magic Stone in its hand, then lowered its head to look at Ais. Its voice rang out, full of longing and greed.

"Aria, Aria, I've waited so long for you. I've been waiting for you all this time! Hurry and let me eat you!"

Boom!

As soon as the Corrupted Spirit finished speaking, a wall of vines appeared behind them, blocking their escape.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"Finn, I'm going in first!"

A blood-red killing intent emerged from Lu Qiming, surging toward the distant Corrupted Spirit. His long-waiting body turned into a blood-red shadow and charged at it.

"We were going to have to deal with it anyway. We just need to take her down!"

Holding a Magic Sword, Bete shouted and followed Lu Qiming.

"You'll be all right, Ais?"

Riveria turned to Ais and asked.

"Mm!"

Ais nodded and drew the Despair Sword.

"Humph!"

The Corrupted Spirit gave a mocking snort as the group charged toward it. The vines on its lower half shot out, and the surviving New Species Monsters surged forth like a tide.

Thank you to Shadow of the Corridor and Annoying Newbie for the monthly tickets.

I was busy with ancestral rites today and didn't have time to write until after dinner, so this update is a little late. Sorry!