*Whoosh!*
As the howling of the wind echoed through the air, Ais was running at full speed.
When she came to her senses, she realized she was already running—like a gust of wind, dashing through the battlefield dyed red by flames, ignoring everything else as she sped toward the towering quartz pillar.
Her target was the creature attached to that pillar—the grotesque fetus.
"Ais?!"
At the same time, through the flames, someone called out her name in shock, clearly not expecting her sudden action.
Meanwhile, the enemies also seemed startled and hastily summoned more monsters.
"Viscum!"
Seeing Ais's action, the man in white shouted from somewhere unseen, causing one of the two remaining Viscums on the pillar to stir.
*Rumble—!*
With a rumbling quake, it detached itself from the pillar and fell to the ground, just like the one before.
*SCREEEEEECH—!!!*
With a screech strong enough to stir a storm, the Viscum opened its massive, fanged maw like a snake lunging for its prey and snapped at Ais.
In an instant, Ais was engulfed in its storm-like bellow—her long golden hair whipping wildly in the raging wind.
Ais already knew that the gaping mouth before her could swallow ten of her whole body, while the silver sword in her hand was no more than a toothpick before this enormous monster—striking it would barely leave a mark.
Therefore, to reach her target and destroy that forbidden life as fast as possible, she decided to unleash her true power.
"Ais! Don't!"
Riezel, who could wield the same power but hadn't yet used it even while burning one of the Viscums with ease, seemed to guess her intent and shouted to stop her.
But Ais—her eyes fixed solely on the fetus—released her true strength without hesitation.
"Awaken..."
In an instant, Ais's figure began to distort.
"Tempest!"
The most exceptional enchant-type magic was invoked.
The atmosphere trembled.
The winds raged.
The airflow wrapped around her body like invisible armor, pushing away everything nearby.
Facing the enormous monster closing in, Ais amplified Ariel to its maximum output and infused it into her beloved sword.
*SCREEEEEECH—!!!*
As expected, the Viscum reacted violently to the sudden surge of magical energy.
Nonetheless, with roaring winds swirling fiercely around her, Ais still soared forward fearlessly, unleashing a flash of sword light that cut cleanly through the air.
It was cold.
It was immense.
Ais swung her sword, Desperate, unleashing an overwhelming, sweeping slash that carved through the air like a raging storm—the slash itself howled with immense power as it tore apart the Viscum's jaws, shredded its petals, and finally split its head apart.
*SCREEE—*
In that instant, the monstrous screech ceased abruptly—even time seemed to stop for a moment.
Just now, the strongest swordswoman, known as the Sword Princess, had struck with her full might—her divine-speed slash, born from the miracle of wind, was faster, sharper, and more merciless than Riezel's wide-area annihilation magic, cutting down a monster even larger than a Monster Rex, something that a mere blade shouldn't have slain.
"Wha—"
A faint, disbelieving gasp escaped the man in white, echoing through the cavern chamber.
Ais herself found it hard to believe.
Ever since she reached Level 6, this was the first time she had used her wind magic, Ariel.
She could clearly feel how much stronger it had become—far beyond what it had been before, outrageously powerful.
Back when she was Level 5, her magic alone had earned her the title of the city's strongest swordswoman, giving her power on par with Level 6 adventurers.
Now, as a true Level 6, her magic had grown even more extraordinary, even more terrifying.
Along with mastering Wind Breathing, her Ariel had advanced further, while the strain it placed on her body had reduced.
In terms of pure ability, her enhanced state now surpassed even Finn and Gareth, the pinnacle of Level 6 adventurers.
Now, she was sure of it—she could easily defeat foes like Udaeus, whom she once had to fight to the death to overcome.
'I can do this.'
Holding onto that conviction, Ais's sharp gaze fixed on the fetus clinging to the quartz pillar, but when she truly looked at it, her eyes widened.
At this moment, the fetus was staring back at her, and its expression had changed.
What was once dark had become bright.
What was once cold had turned joyful.
What was once violent now seemed yearning.
Like a child seeing its long-lost treasure or its other half, the fetus turned its eyes toward her and let out a piercing cry.
"AAAAAAHHH—!"
It sounded like the first cry of a newborn, yet the voice was manic, violent, and shrill, shaking her eardrums and rattling her skull so hard that Ais nearly vomited.
"DAMMIT!"
Seeing the scene, the man in white's frantic shout echoed out.
"No! Don't come out! It's not time yet!"
Ignoring his desperate plea, the fetus struggled and wriggled within the jewel, trying to escape like a hatchling breaking free from its shell.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH—!"
As the fetus broke free and flew straight toward Ais, its cries turned into full-blown screams.
"!!!"
Overcome by nausea, Ais quickly dodged, letting it brush past her like something repulsive, but then the fetus wailed like a tantrum-throwing child, shrieking as it chased after her relentlessly.
"Lightning."
A bolt of lightning suddenly shot through the air, striking the fetus with pinpoint precision and blasting it away.
"Riezel!"
Ais turned to see Riezel standing amid the flames.
Behind him, while the scorched Viscum still writhed, he extended his finger, lightning crackling at its tip, making it clear that the unfamiliar magic had come from him.
"Behind you!"
Riezel, while slashing at the burning Viscum, shouted a warning.
Ais's heart jolted, and she spun around at once, raising her silver sword.
*Clang!*
Almost at the same instant, Revis appeared behind Ais, swinging a massive crimson sword that clashed against Ais's sword.
Now, Revis's sharp green eyes glinted with a colder light than before.
"So it really is this wind..." Revis said flatly, her gaze sharpened even more. "You are Aria."
As soon as Ais heard the name 'Aria,' it echoed in her ears, and her mind went completely blank.
It was an even greater shock than seeing the fetus.
'Aria...'
'Aria...'
'Aria...'
Revis's voice kept echoing over and over in Ais's head.
"H-How do you know that name?!"
When she finally came back to her senses, Ais was already shouting frantically.
If anyone from the Loki Familia had seen her now, they would have been stunned—
the ever-calm, emotionless Sword Princess was yelling like a frightened girl.
For Ais, this was a rare and grave lapse of composure.
*Whoosh!*
Fueled by her emotions, Ais's strength grew wilder—the howling wind surged as sparks flew, forcing Revis backward despite her monstrous strength.
"Tch..." Revis clicked her tongue with a grimace and muttered. "It's still difficult to fight you when you're using that wind, huh..."
In the next second, she swiftly released her sword and leapt back, using the momentum from Ais's wind.
"Wait!"
Ais wasn't about to let her escape, but—
"Viscum! Violas!"
Revis called out coolly, summoning new monsters.
In the next moment, the last Viscum detached itself from the quartz pillar and, along with the surrounding Violas, lunged at Ais.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHH—!!!"
Meanwhile, the fetus screamed as it rushed toward Ais, ignoring the man in white's desperate attempts to stop it.
*Pa-ta—*
Midway, the fetus attached itself to the Viscum and merged into it, causing crimson veins to spread across the Viscum's body like blood vessels.
*SCREEEEEEECH—!!!*
Suddenly, the Viscum roared in agony as its massive body swelled grotesquely.
At the center of the swelling, a humanoid form began to emerge—it was a woman-shaped body, colorful and faceless, with long hair.
Tubes extended from her head into the Viscum, making it look as though the monster had become her mount—under her control.
"AAAAAAAHHH—!!!"
Immediately after, the woman-like monster screamed, its voice a piercing blend of shriek and song that shook the entire chamber.
'I-Isn't that...'
Ais instantly recognized it.
'Isn't that the woman-like monster from the 50th Floor—the one Riezel defeated?!'
Yes, its upper body was the same as that monster from before—only its lower half was different. While the one on the 50th Floor had the body of a caterpillar, this one's lower half was a man-eating flower.
A flash of realization struck Ais like lightning.
'Could it be... the one Riezel defeated was also parasitized by the same fetus?'
Clearly, the similarities were undeniable.
Ais remembered that the caterpillar monsters on the 50th and 51st Floors that spat corrosive fluids were vividly colored, while the man-eating flower monsters on East Main Street and on this 24th Floor were also the same.
Meanwhile, while the 50th Floor woman monster had a woman's upper body and a caterpillar's lower half, this one had a woman's upper body and a man-eating flower's lower half.
Needless to say, this could only mean one thing—these colorfully patterned monsters likely shared the same origin.
Besides, the irregular monster outbreak on the 30th Floor also hinted that this wasn't the first time such an incident had occurred.
Could it be that below the 51st Floor, many of the same fetuses had been feeding on Pantry nutrients, breeding these colorful abominations—thus explaining their encounters with such monsters?
Did those so-called human-monster hybrids also cause the bizarre phenomena in the Lower Floors?
After the irregular monster outbreak on the 30th Floor, a Level 4 adventurer from the Ganesha Familia had taken something from its Pantry—was it another fetus?
Was that the reason why the adventurer was killed on the 18th Floor?
More importantly, why had that mysterious magus said that the thing the adventurer had taken shouldn't exist and must be destroyed?
Understanding this, Ais wanted to shout, to demand answers from the red-haired woman and the man in white.
What was their connection to the fetus?
Why were they doing this?
Unfortunately, the two had already retreated.
Realizing their failure, they vanished into the horde of Violas the instant the woman-like monster was born.
"AAAAAAAAHHH—!!!"
Suddenly, the woman-like monster shrieked and roared, extending countless tendrils toward Ais, lunging forward together with a horde of Violas, trying to devour her.
Just then, however—
"Maximize Magic - Reality Slash."
With a calm chant, Riezel, who had just finished off the burning Viscum, appeared and released an invisible slash.
*Swish!*
With a sharp sound, the invisible slash split the air.
It tore through space itself.
It cut through everything—clean and absolute—severing the woman-like monster's neck in an instant.
*Splurt!*
As the woman-like monster's head was cleanly sliced off, its upper body fell while blood sprayed toward the sky.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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