As Vera and her companion ventured deeper into the area, the air grew increasingly thick and viscous.
Ines, who was leading the way, suddenly spoke, her voice calm.
"My lord, have you eaten yet?"
Vera paused for a moment, then gave a brief reply:
"I've already eaten, is there a problem?"
Ines didn't turn around; her voice was steady.
"I hope you don't eat much."
Before Vera could ask a question, Ines stopped as she rounded a large rock.
"Why have you stopped?"
Ines did not answer, but stepped aside to give way to the view ahead.
Around the corner, a headless corpse hung from a protruding rock.
Its arm was forcibly twisted, pointing towards the depths of the stone forest.
A malicious "road sign".
Vera's breathing hitched slightly, and her hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of her sword.
Without a word, Ines continued to lead the way.
However, this is just the beginning.
As they ventured deeper, more "landmarks" appeared in all sorts of bizarre and unbelievable forms.
The ways people die are varied and bizarre, but the one thing they all have in common is the extreme pain frozen in the moment of death.
These terrifying road signs, each written with lives, together form a "welcoming avenue" leading to the depths of hell.
Vera's forehead veins throbbed uncontrollably, and her breathing became heavy.
She leaned against the stone wall beside her and closed her eyes slightly.
Ines turned around and looked at her, asking softly:
"Do you need to take a break? Or... shall we try a different direction?"
"Need not!"
Vera opened her eyes abruptly, her voice forced out through her clenched teeth.
"I... can't wait to see that bastard!"
The two quickened their pace, Vera forcing herself not to look at the twisted corpses, but they were placed in places she would inevitably see every time she turned a corner.
The density of the stone forest began to decrease, but the surrounding atmosphere became increasingly oppressive.
Finally, the two emerged from the stone forest, and a wide-open space appeared in front of them.
However, what replaced the open view was a thick red fog that almost solidified into a tangible substance.
The two stopped at the edge of the red mist, and Vera's expression became strangely calm.
"Let's go back."
Ines paused slightly, taken aback.
Vera didn't look at her and continued:
"By the way, tell Hedley and the others to stay away from this stone forest from now on."
As soon as she finished speaking, she walked straight towards the red mist.
The slender figure was instantly swallowed by crimson, only the voice remained clearly audible.
"Next..."
"It'll be quite a commotion."
Ines stood quietly for a few seconds, then turned around without hesitation to relay Vera's orders.
"May you... have great success in your military campaigns."
Before my eyes was a dim mist, to my nose was the stench of blood that I couldn't cut through, and under my feet was a sticky sensation.
Vera stopped and spoke in a cold voice.
"You like darkness and dampness so much... are you Vampire, or a rat that can't stand the light?"
No one answered, but the approaching shadows were the answer.
The world before her eyes suddenly slowed down, Vera clearly caught sight of the sharp crystalline clusters attacking from behind.
Without turning around, the Void Sword had already slashed out, precisely shattering the threat.
The instant the crystal cluster shattered, the shadows in the mist simultaneously pierced the slender figure in the center from different angles.
Vera did not dodge; the end of her staff slammed into the ground.
Centered on the touchpoint, the time-stopping Domain Expansion.
The stabbing attack, the lunging black shadow, now resembled insects encased in amber.
Vera looked up, and a ghostly light flowed across the Void Sword. Black gravitational waves began to contract around it, dragging the surrounding figures and red mist along with it.
He gripped the staff with both hands and swung it like a war hammer.
The body twisted instantly, forming a violent still image in mid-air.
[Time begins to flow]
The suppressed sounds were suddenly released: the explosive crack of bones shattering, the dull thud of bodies crashing to the ground, and the howling of the air being stirred.
Several figures were sent flying backward at an even faster speed than when they attacked. The red mist was cleared of a small gap by this sudden violence, and then quickly closed up again.
However, after the fog closed in, no new dark shadows appeared.
After a brief silence, a voice rang out.
"It seems this guest doesn't appreciate my carefully prepared welcome ceremony..."
The voice was unexpectedly clear and melodious, with a touch of magnetic charm.
"Mingming, I've already tried my best."
Vera's response was crisp and efficient.
"All I see is a psychologically twisted, tasteless pervert polluting my eyes with disgusting garbage."
"Trash... that's not entirely wrong."
The red mist rolled away to both sides, revealing a straight and wide passage, like the curtain of a theater being drawn back.
At the end of the passage, a figure came into view.
His hair was as white as frost, his eyes as red as blood, and he was indeed handsome. A warm smile played on his lips, and his posture was elegant and relaxed.
If one ignores the hellish surroundings, he truly resembles a poet about to recite a poem.
"They're all useless weaklings, not even worthy of being companions. Calling them trash is truly fitting."
There was no response, so Vera walked toward him along the passageway.
Blood Butcher was taken aback, then his smile deepened.
"What an enthusiastic lady, so eager to be with me..."
[Time Stop Sound Effect]
"What's so funny...?"
Vera did not use the Void Sword. Instead, she gripped her staff tightly with both hands, channeling all her strength, along with the surging rage within her, into her arms.
"You bastard..."
The staff, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, slammed down hard towards that hypocritical smiling face.
What do they take life for?!
[Time resumes its flow]
"Pfft--!"
His handsome features shrunk inward, and warm blood splattered violently in a radial pattern.
Blood Butcher's neck snapped with a crack, snapping backward at a 90-degree angle. His feet left the ground, and he flew back at high speed along the path he had come from.
"Boom--!!!"
Blood Butcher slammed solidly into the stone wall at the end, and from the point of impact, blood spread out like blooming red flowers.
His body slid down the rock face, leaving a long trail of blood on the rough surface, before finally collapsing to the ground, motionless.
Vera stood still, slowly retracting her staff, which was dripping with blood.
"Ouch, that really hurts..."
A sudden sound came from the limp humanoid figure, and the blood, as if possessed by life, began to flow backward, returning to that twisted body.
At the same time, accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound, the twisted flesh rapidly regenerated as if a video were being played in reverse.
Blood Butcher steadied his still slightly tilted head and twisted it sharply—
"Snap!"
After a chilling cracking sound from his joints, he turned to Vera again.
"That's an amazing speed..."
Blood Butcher stretched his neck, making a soft cracking sound.
"An ordinary opponent would have been finished after that last move."
As he spoke, the shadowy figures that Vera had previously knocked to the ground rose again one by one.
"I admire you. Come and be my companion, just like them..."
Blood Butcher laughed, opening his arms.
By this time, the shadowy figures had moved out of the red mist, Vera was finally able to see their appearance clearly.
Tall, short, strong, thin... they varied in physique, but without exception, they all possessed the characteristics of powerful warriors:
Bloated muscles, numerous scars.
Judging from their physiques alone, they were undoubtedly battle-hardened and exceptionally strong.
But...
"Interested in them? Without exception, they were all once-renowned mercenaries..."
Blood Butcher's voice was proud as he pointed to the silently approaching figures around him.
"Rockbreaker: Can tear through armor with bare hands; Ghost Shadow: Best at killing silently in one's sleep; Iron Wall, his shield has withstood half an hour of magical bombardment..."
"Everyone was once a legend, but now they've all become my companions..."
Vera did not respond to the other party, her gaze sweeping over the bodies of the mercenaries.
Twisted blood writhed at the wound, and white bone pierced through the skin, protruding like a deformed weapon.
Adding to this the fact that they were previously severely injured and twisted by Vera, yet were able to recover quickly...
Vera's face grew colder and colder, her breathing trembling slightly with anger.
Blood Butcher remained oblivious, continuing to extend the invitation in his melodious voice:
"Someone as powerful and special as you... is qualified to join us and become one of my eternal companions."
"You--"
Vera finally spoke, her voice brimming with boiling hatred.
"You call these... companions!?"
Seeing Vera's undisguised hatred, Blood Butcher was slightly taken aback, then a look of realization dawned on him.
"Ah~ You're worried about your appearance, feeling it's not presentable enough?"
Blood Butcher waved his hand, and the bone spikes and blood tentacles quickly retracted into his body.
In the blink of an eye, the surrounding monsters turned into normal people.
"Don't get me wrong, they're not corpses."
Blood Butcher's voice remained gentle, as if explaining an amusing misunderstanding.
"They are all alive, breathing, their hearts beating, thinking... they have everything. They even retain their complete consciousness, memories, and emotions—"
He paused, then his smile deepened.
"Isn't this the perfect state?"
Vera stared intently at the person closest to her, whose right eye shifted slightly.
He wasn't looking at Blood Butcher, but at her.
It was just a glimpse, as fleeting as an illusion.
But beneath that bottomless numbness, an emotion flashed by—it was...
Pleading.
"Creak..."
Vera gritted her teeth, raised her Hex Staff high, and a dazzling purple light shimmered on the crystal.
[Time Stop Sound Effect] x3
Sensing Vera's undisguised hostility, Blood Butcher sighed.
"Why bother? Your attack is futile."
The surrounding red mist churned violently, and more figures emerged from it.
Their numbers far exceeded anything they had seen before, completely sealing off all of Vera's possible escape routes.
"This blood mist is an extension of my Originium Arts; here, I will never die."
[Time Stop Sound Effect] x6
"They are all my proudest creations. Each of them, while being enhanced by me, has retained their original Originium Arts."
[Time Stop Sound Effect] x10
"I have given them new life; they no longer have to suffer. Join us, and you will share in this glory!"
[Time Stop Sound Effect] x14
Vera remained silent, glaring angrily at Blood Butcher. Faced with this cold violence, Blood Butcher finally abandoned his composure.
What's with that look in your eyes!?
Blood Butcher grabbed his "partner" and ripped his flesh apart.
"Are you angry for them? For a group of mercenaries who have killed countless people?"
Do you know what they've done? Do you know what kind of people they used to be?!
[Time Stop Sound Effect] x19
I don't care.
Vera's voice wasn't loud, but it instantly drowned out Blood Butcher's excited echo.
Whether they are saints or scum, it's none of my business.
What I saw was just a pervert immersed in a distorted world of self-deception.
Vera slightly raised her chin, her disdain reaching its peak:
"Your work, like you, is worthless."
"[Vampire's profanity!] You have absolutely no taste...!"
"Besides..."
Before the excited Blood Butcher could finish speaking, Vera interrupted him.
"You said you wouldn't die in this blood mist, right?"
Boom...
A strange noise came from nearby, Blood Butcher, while cautiously observing his surroundings, couldn't help but taunt.
"What? Now you want to beg for mercy?"
"Shut up."
Vera's voice sounded somewhat weak for some reason, and she looked at Blood Butcher as if she were looking at a dead man.
"Someone as filthy as you..."
"It should be burned to ashes."
Rumble...
The strange noises grew louder and louder. Blood Butcher raised his perception within the blood mist to the limit, but still couldn't sense anything.
"What exactly did you do?!"
"What did you do...?"
Vera finally withdrew her staff, leaving behind a single sentence before disappearing in a flash of light.
Have you ever seen a meteor shower?
Before he could even process Vera's sudden disappearance, Blood Butcher suddenly felt the air vibrate.
Moreover, the roar grew louder and louder until it drowned out all other sounds.
The surrounding light had dimmed at some point, and Blood Butcher's pupils contracted as he looked up at the sky.
Catastrophe--
Descending here