"What kind of monster is that?"
"Could it be a floor boss from even deeper levels?"
For some unknown reason, a female-looking monster had suddenly appeared within the horde. It looked like both an animal and a plant at the same time.
However, aside from a very small number of people present, no one had ever seen it before, nor did they know what kind of monster it was.
"Aaahhh!"
"Aeria is right ahead!"
The female monster roared as it charged toward the adventurers, looking as if it were about to attack them.
And even as it rushed forward, the tentacles on its body continued to fulfill their role, devouring nearby monsters one after another to strengthen itself.
However, only Elise and Ais knew that this monster had only one target!
"How is this possible?"
A spirit?
A connection from her bloodline immediately allowed Ais to determine the true nature of the monster before her.
It possessed the same... spirit bloodline as herself!
But why would a spirit become a monster?
Not only that, the appearance of this monster also brought many doubts to Ais' mind. Panic even appeared on her face as her steps unconsciously retreated half a step.
But very quickly, Ais snapped out of it, clenched her teeth, and stood her ground.
"I won't let you move forward!"
This is the dungeon—a battlefield for adventurers!
"Elise said that on the battlefield, you must never hesitate!"
"Even if you are of the same kind as me, I absolutely won't let you do as you please!"
"Sweep through!"
Ais raised the sword in her hand toward the spirit monster in the distance. Determination filled her eyes as her magic, Ariel, was immediately activated.
However, upon seeing this, the monster revealed an extremely delighted expression.
"Hahahaha!"
"It's the wind! It's Aeria! You've come to find me!"
"Let's be together forever, Aeria!"
The monster spread its arms and charged toward Ais.
"Not good! Be careful, Ais!"
Seeing the monster rapidly approaching Ais, the members of the Astraea Familia all showed nervous expressions.
No matter what, Ais was only a newly registered Level 1 adventurer. That monster was something even they found extremely troublesome!
Unless...
Boom!
At that moment, an enormous beam of light descended from the sky, blasting a massive crater into the ground and forcibly halting the monster's advance.
Seeing this, a trace of cold sweat appeared on the monster's forehead as it nervously looked upward.
What... is that?
Within its line of sight, another golden figure appeared before it—someone who looked incredibly similar to Aeria.
"Ais is a child of our Familia. We won't hand her over to you."
So this is the corrupted spirit from the original story? Seeing it in person really does feel strange!
Elise slowly descended from the sky and landed beside Ais, shielding her behind.
And unlike ordinary monsters, this one could speak. Perhaps she could extract some useful information from it?
"Aeria? There are two Aerias?"
For a brief moment, confusion appeared on the corrupted spirit's face, but it quickly shook its head and cast those thoughts aside.
"No, you're a fake! You're not Aeria!"
"Aeria has wind. There's no way you could possibly—"
Just as the corrupted spirit was about to continue, the same turquoise wind began to swirl around Elise, just like Ais, making it even harder to distinguish between them.
"What are you talking about?"
Elise's calm tone instantly made the atmosphere awkward.
The corrupted spirit: "..."
Perhaps unsure of what to say, the corrupted spirit fell silent for a moment before its expression gradually twisted into something ferocious.
"I won't let you go, Aeria!"
"No matter how many of you there are, I will devour you all!"
"Aaaahhhh—!"
After shouting these words, the corrupted spirit let out a loud roar and charged straight toward Elise and Ais.
Seeing this, Ais understood that the battle with the corrupted spirit was about to begin. Without hesitation, she stepped forward, ready to fight.
However, her movement was stopped by a hand.
"Ais, I know you must have many questions right now, but for now, listen to me and go help the others, alright?"
"Leave this monster to me!"
Ais opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something.
But looking at the ferocious corrupted spirit, she understood that with her current strength, there was no way she could defeat it!
This wasn't the first time Ais had realized her own weakness, but this was the first time she felt so unwilling to accept it.
Perhaps it was because there was a corrupted spirit of the same kind nearby, or perhaps because Elise—someone like a mother to her—was here.
Her usually calm heart began to tremble violently.
"Mm..."
Ais, who usually clung to Elise and wanted to talk to her more, only gave a soft reply this time before heading toward Alise.
Although the corrupted spirit had devoured many monsters, this was the dungeon—monsters would continue to spawn endlessly.
As long as the adventurers did not withdraw, the battle could continue indefinitely.
"Alright, Ais has left..."
Elise noticed the expression on Ais' face as she left, but in the next moment, she refocused entirely on the corrupted spirit.
"Now it's your turn!"
However, the corrupted spirit paid no attention to anything Elise said and simply continued its attack.
"Aeria!"
"I will definitely obtain you!"
Countless tentacles burst out from the corrupted spirit's body and surged toward Elise.
They intertwined, gradually forming a massive net capable of covering the entire floor, descending upon everyone present.
Whether it was the adventurers or the Evilus members trying to escape, all were enveloped within this attack.
"What kind of monster is this? It actually has such power?"
"Don't worry. With the Astraea Familia here, nothing will happen to us!"
Yes, just as those adventurers believed in the Astraea Familia, they truly had the strength to ensure everyone's safety. However...
"As for the safety of Evilus, I don't think I need to guarantee that, right?"
Leaving one or two alive to learn the location of their base would be enough. As for the rest of the Evilus members, they could vanish beneath the jaws of the very monsters they had created.
With that thought, Elise no longer intended to hold back. She would deal with the corrupted spirit immediately!
"Aaahhh! This is bad—that thing is going to eat us too! Run!"
"We're the ones who created you! What do you think you're doing?!"
Seeing this scene, the members of Evilus fell into panic.
Some began to flee, while others hurled curses at the corrupted spirit, hoping it would obey them.
But how could their plan possibly succeed?
As the massive net descended, the people were quickly seized by the tentacles hidden within it and dragged toward the corrupted spirit.
"Give me your power!"
The corrupted spirit opened its mouth. What had once been a mouth no larger than a human's suddenly expanded—large enough to swallow several people at once!
Not only that, its mouth was filled with teeth. From the perspective of the Evilus members, it was nothing less than a gateway to hell!
"Don't eat me!"
"I'll give you food—just spare us!"
Those captured immediately showed expressions of terror, struggling frantically.
But with their strength alone, how could they possibly resist a corrupted spirit with the potential of Level 6?
They could only be swallowed whole...
Swish—
Compared to the chaos on Evilus' side, Elise dealt with the massive net effortlessly. With a simple wave of her hand, the entire net was shredded into countless fragments, leaving only scraps to fall to the ground.
This wasn't magic, nor any kind of skill. Elise had simply relied on her raw physical ability to accomplish it.
After all, as a Level 5 adventurer, her ability values had long surpassed ten thousand. In terms of pure physical capability, she was not inferior even to a Level 10 in this world.
As for this corrupted spirit...
Heh.
It wasn't even enough to make her take things seriously.
In that instant, Elise merely raised the hand holding the Sacred Demon Sword. Above the adventurers behind her, countless flashes of sword light appeared, severing all the tentacles attempting to ambush from the shadows.
"Since you want it so badly, then I'll grant your wish."
With that, Elise began walking toward the corrupted spirit, step by step.
"But my power is quite overwhelming."
"Can you handle it?"
Chomp, chomp!
After devouring the humans it had captured, the corrupted spirit underwent a visible transformation.
From the outside, it seemed to become more human-like?
Although its skin and hair remained green, a glimmer of intelligence now shone in its eyes. It no longer resembled a mere ferocious beast.
"Aeria... so powerful!"
"But it doesn't matter—I'll grow even stronger!"
"I will definitely devour you, Aeria!"
Hearing the emotion in its voice, Elise even suspected that it could gain the power of the beings it consumed.
But that was as far as it went.
"Embodiment of lightning—the Queen of Thunder!"
A shocking scene unfolded before the adventurers. Not only could this monster speak, it could also chant magic.
They couldn't help but worry about Elise's safety. Only the members of the Astraea Familia remained completely calm.
Because they knew—their captain was invincible!
"Lightning—Radiant Arrow!"
With the final chant completed, countless bolts of lightning appeared around the corrupted spirit, gradually forming massive arrows aimed at Elise and the distant adventurers.
The energy contained within this attack was immense. Even Ryana, as a mage, judged that she could not produce magic of this level.
As the corrupted spirit swung its arms down, the lightning arrows shot forward toward Elise.
"It's useless..."
Elise casually flicked her hand, as if swatting away flies, dispersing the massive lightning arrows with ease.
"Today, there is only one outcome for you—your death here."
Her steps remained light and unhurried, as if she were not in battle at all.
"Tch!"
The corrupted spirit gritted its teeth and began chanting again.
It had more than just that—it wouldn't be underestimated!
"Embodiment of flame—the Queen of Fire."
"Embodiment of lightning—the Queen of Thunder."
"Embodiment of light—the Queen of Radiance."
With this sequence, the corrupted spirit unleashed more than three different elemental magics, each one incredibly powerful.
If an adventurer possessed such magic, they might even surpass Riveria and become Orario's greatest mage.
But...
It still did not possess the power to threaten her!
Elise had already made that clear.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Like casually flicking open a nail clipper, Elise lowered her Sacred Demon Sword and extended her little finger.
Before everyone's disbelieving eyes, she flicked away each spell as if crushing ants, extinguishing them one by one.
Afterward, she even rubbed her little finger lightly.
"At this level, you don't even qualify to be my nail clipper."
The scene was so terrifying that even the previously domineering corrupted spirit was shaken.
It hurriedly tried to retreat, only to find an invisible wall behind it, completely sealing off its escape route.
"No... Aeria..."
"Don't...!"
It wanted to flee, but it was already too late. Elise had no intention of letting it go.
Though still some distance away, she continued walking toward it step by step.
Each step was light, producing only the faintest sound—but that very sound filled the corrupted spirit with a terror akin to death itself.
"Aaahhh!"
At last, unable to endure it any longer, the corrupted spirit swung its fist and charged at Elise.
Boom!
Elise caught the punch with a single hand. At the same time, her other hand moved toward its chest.
"Purify."
"Ugh—Aaahhh—!"
In the next instant, the corrupted spirit let out an earth-shaking scream as a pure white light radiated from its body.
Within that beautiful light, its form gradually dissolved into particles, disappearing into the air.
At the moment of its disappearance, it might have been an illusion—but Ais, in the distance, seemed to see a golden figure flash briefly within the light.
Having finished everything, Elise turned her gaze back toward the adventurers across the battlefield. Her thumb and index finger slowly parted, leaving a gap of about one centimeter...
"Looks like I was just a little bit stronger than it."