Corrupted Spirit

In the dim passage, the party moved slowly forward.

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

"Don't talk about the cold. It's actually stiflingly hot."

Tione surveyed the environment of the passage, her hand fanning continuously beside her cheek.

"Finn, is this really..."

Riveria looked at the scenery of the 59th Floor, vaguely visible in the passage not far ahead, and spoke in a low voice.

"That's right. What is about to reveal itself before us is the [Unknown] that even the gods have never seen!"

Following Finn's words, the dim passage around them began to brighten, and the party stepped out from within.

Outside the passage, white mist permeated the entire 59th Floor, and lush trees were visible everywhere; the sweltering climate was completely different from the Glacier Domain recorded in the books.

"A dense forest?"

Tione stood on the high platform before the exit, looking down at the 59th Floor, which resembled a tropical rainforest. In the dense forest, towering trees reached the ceiling of the 59th Floor, their massive canopies looking truly spectacular.

"Crunch—gulp!"

Just then, a massive chewing sound came from the depths of the forest, as if something were feeding.

"Advance!"

Finn glanced in the direction the sound came from, his eyes narrowing as he took the lead. Seeing this, the others hurriedly followed.

In the dense forest, the monster-like chewing sounds continued, yet strangely, aside from the trees, no monsters came to attack them.

The party grew even more vigilant at this anomaly, approaching the source of the chewing with caution.

Suddenly, the trees before them vanished, revealing a massive clearing.

"What is that?"

Tione stared blankly at the scene in the clearing, where a large number of New Species Monster Green Caterpillar were surrounding a massive, bizarre monster.

Every second, one New Species Monster Green Caterpillar was snatched up by the giant monster, shoved into its mouth, bitten in half, and swallowed after a few chews.

As the vines snatched up the New Species, the remains of the creatures, having lost their Magic Stone, instantly turned into black ash and vanished.

The giant monster showed no reaction to this, extending its vines again to snatch up another New Species Monster and swallow half its body in one bite.

"Has this 'Corpse King Flower' mutated, or has it been parasitized?"

Riveria watched the monster, which stood nearly fifty meters tall, its countless vines continuously snatching up the New Species around it.

"This guy is bad news!"

"It's eaten so many Magic Stone?"

"Is it an enhanced species?"

Bete and the others watched the creature, which resembled a Green Caterpillar magnified more than ten times, its lower body composed of countless vines and giant petals, while its upper body was like a mutated, giant Green Caterpillar. It continued to devour Magic Stone, its terrifying and bizarre aura growing ever stronger.

"!!!"

Suddenly, Ais seemed to sense something, her expression turning panicked as she looked toward the monster.

The giant monster stopped feeding after finishing the New Species in its grasp, its body beginning to tremble incessantly as its terrifying head turned toward the sky and let out a roar.

"Ah—ah—ah—"

As the monster's body shook, the petals on its lower half bloomed, while blue veins bulged on its upper body, followed by countless cracks appearing across its surface.

Bang!

With a cracking sound, the monster's upper body, which resembled a giant caterpillar, vanished, and from within emerged the upper torso of a massive woman. Her eyes lacked pupils, and her gray-green long hair danced and twisted behind her.

"Ah-woo-woo-ah-ah-woo."

After the upper body transformed into a woman, the monster's roar became even more shrill and terrifying. The sky of the 59th Floor darkened around the monster, and the previously lush plants began to wither and rot.

"What on earth is that thing?"

Tione covered her ears, looking in pain at the monster whose roar was becoming increasingly terrifying.

Beside her, Ais seemed completely unaffected by the monster's roar, only staring at the giant creature with an expression of utter disbelief.

It can't be! That is...

"Aria!"

At that moment, the monster ceased its roaring, its face—which had been turned toward the sky—looking down at Ais below, its bewitching face filled with surprise.

"Corrupted Spirit!"

Ais gazed at the giant monster looking at her, whispering in disbelief.

"That disgusting thing is a Corrupted Spirit?"

"It's quite different from the descriptions in the storybooks!"

The Tione sisters looked at the Corrupted Spirit in disbelief; this was completely different from the gentle spirit recorded in the books, beloved by nature and all living things!

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

The Corrupted Spirit looked down at Ais with a sinister smile, its tongue sliding across its teeth.

"Let me eat you, Aria!"

As the Corrupted Spirit spoke, the vines of its lower body snatched up a New Species Monster nearby. It plunged its left hand directly into the creature's body, and as purple blood sprayed out, it ripped out a dark green Magic Stone. It extended its tongue to coil around the stone and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Everything is just a means to make that thing grow!"

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

"Are even those New Species Monsters just tools used to deliver magic power and Magic Stones here?"

Finn finally understood why those New Species Monsters had been attacking other monsters on the 50th Floor and 58th Floor to consume their Magic Stones, and what the reason was for those New Species Monsters crawling toward the 59th Floor after devouring enough stones on the 58th Floor.

It turned out everything was just to facilitate the growth of this Corrupted Spirit!

"Interesting, so it's actually a Spirit Enhanced Species?"

Bete's mouth curled into a grin as he watched the Corrupted Spirit devouring the Magic Stone in the distance, his blood boiling with excitement.

At this moment, the Corrupted Spirit, having swallowed the Magic Stone, lowered its head to look at Ais, its voice filled with a mixture of desire and greed.

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

BOOM!

No sooner had the Corrupted Spirit finished speaking than a wall made of vines appeared behind the group, blocking their path of retreat.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"Finn, I'm going in first!"

A blood-red killing intent surged from Lu Qiming, overwhelming the area as it blanketed the Corrupted Spirit in the distance. Unable to wait any longer, his body transformed into a blood-red shadow and charged toward the Corrupted Spirit.

"The task is the same regardless—just take her down!"

Bete shouted, brandishing his magic sword as he followed Lu Qiming.

"Are you alright, Ais?"

Riveria looked at Ais beside her and asked.

"Yes!"

Ais nodded and drew her Despair Sword.

"Hmph!"

The Corrupted Spirit let out a mocking hum as it watched the group charge forward. The vines of its lower body lashed out, and the remaining living New Species Monsters surged forth like a tidal wave.

Thanks to Shadow of the Corridor for the monthly ticket, and thanks to Annoying Newbie for the monthly ticket.

I was busy visiting ancestral graves today and only had time to write after dinner, so the update is delayed. My apologies!