A vast lilac swamp stretched beneath them, overgrown with tangled weeds.
Above it, soaring through the air, Leinas held tightly onto the grooves of the Archangel Flame's armor with her left hand. Her right hand rested on the black spear slung across her back as she scanned the surroundings with a tense expression.
No one in the entire Rockbruise Territory knew this swamp better than her.
And even she had never dared to venture this deep.
This madman!
Leinas turned her head slightly to glance at Sakeer. Sitting casually on the arm of his summoned angel, his priest's robe billowed in the wind as he remained eerily calm.
She gritted her teeth.
If he weren't here to help lift her curse, she would never have agreed to take this risk.
"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
A shrill cry pierced the air.
A gray-feathered carrion bird, its call eerily similar to a frog's croak, circled them from above.
Then another.
And another.
A growing flock of them hovered around Sakeer and Leinas, eyeing them hungrily, their wings cutting through the humid air.
But none dared to dive in.
Not with the Archangel Flames' burning swords gleaming in the sunlight.
Leinas scowled.
"Damn these bald freaks," she muttered, clenching her teeth.
Individually, carrion birds weren't a threat.
But their incessant calls?
They would attract worse things from the swamp's depths.
She instinctively reached for her weapon—only to curse under her breath.
Too far to reach them.
Click.
Sakeer flipped open the pocket watch hanging from his chest, glanced at the time, then snapped it shut.
"We're landing there."
Leinas followed his gaze and saw a patch of dry, earthy-brown ground below.
The Archangel Flames' time limit was up.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The two summoned angels angled downward, their wings slicing through the air.
As they neared the ground, they slowed their descent, landing gracefully.
Leinas wasted no time—
She swung her legs over and leapt off, landing in a crouch on solid ground.
She exhaled.
Good. It's stable.
Step.
Sakeer touched down moments later, scanning the area with a calm but watchful gaze.
The Archangel Flames still had time before they disappeared.
But Sakeer didn't need to wait for that.
He waved his sleeve—and with a flick of his wrist, the two archangels dissolved into glowing embers, vanishing.
Then, as effortlessly as before—
Two new ones materialized.
Leinas narrowed her eyes.
"…You have more?"
Of course he did.
Sakeer had over thirty copies of the Archangel Flame summoning scrolls.
For the past month, he had been making them relentlessly—averaging one per day while keeping a reserve of his magic.
He wasn't worried about running out.
"You really plan to go further in?" Leinas asked, gripping her spear.
Sakeer looked at her curiously.
"You're certain the monster that attacked you wasn't from this swamp?"
Leinas nodded without hesitation.
"I might not know every creature that lives here," she admitted. "But that thing? It wasn't born in this swamp. I'm sure of it."
Sakeer's curiosity deepened.
Monsters with cursed energy shouldn't be weak.
And yet—
At her current Orichalcum Level, Leinas wouldn't have stood a chance against anything past Level 20.
So how did she survive?
Rustle.
Leinas's shoulders tensed.
Something was off.
"…Something's coming!"
She immediately raised her spear, her voice sharp and alert.
Sakeer's gaze snapped downward.
The soft ground beneath them—
It was shifting.
Bulges began to form, rippling across the muddy earth.
And then—
They started moving toward them.
"!!!"
As Leinas prepared to strike, Sakeer acted first.
With a simple thought, the two Archangel Flames surged forward.
"This kind of thing—just let the summons handle it."
His voice was calm but firm.
"It's best to conserve your strength until we know exactly what we're dealing with."
Leinas hesitated, then lowered her weapon slightly and nodded in agreement.
Ssssshhhhh!
The instant an Archangel Flame's sword pierced one of the moving bulges on the ground, a shrill hiss erupted from below.
A second later—
A greenish-brown, centipede-like creature with eight legs and a tough, chitinous body was lifted out of the swamp, writhing in agony.
Its thick hide cracked around the wound, spraying foul-smelling green liquid into the air.
The monster struggled briefly, but the flames consuming the sword quickly reduced it to a smoldering corpse.
Leinas narrowed her eyes.
"That's a scavenger worm," she said, her voice edged with caution.
Her grip tightened on her spear.
"Be careful. If there are scavengers, there's probably a Purple Worm nearby."
Experience Gains
『XP Gained: 12』
『XP Gained: 13』
The Archangel Flames continued their assault, cutting down wave after wave of these wriggling creatures.
Sakeer glanced at the constantly updating XP notifications and smirked.
This swamp wasn't so bad.
Over the past few weeks, he had discovered an interesting quirk—
The experience gained from monsters his summons killed was slightly reduced compared to what he'd earn from slaying them himself.
But the trade-off was well worth it.
Instead of wasting time clearing low-level creatures one by one, he could focus on more important battles.
And right now—
A real battle was about to begin.
Rumble!
Without warning, the ground beneath them erupted.
A massive creature burst out, sending mud and debris flying.
The Purple Worm.
Over two meters long, its dark purple, barrel-like body was covered in rough, segmented armor.
It lunged with its enormous circular maw, aiming to swallow Sakeer whole.
Leinas reacted instantly.
With a sharp thrust, she drove her spear upward, piercing the worm's chin.
Its jaws snapped shut as it let out a guttural screech.
Bang!
"Get lost!" Leinas growled, swinging her spear with force.
The worm's massive body was flung back, crashing into the swampy ground.
At that moment, one of the Archangel Flames swooped in.
With a single, blazing slash—
The Purple Worm's head was severed, its body twitching violently before going still.
『XP Gained: 101』
『XP Gauge: 4302/10000』
Leinas exhaled sharply.
But the danger wasn't over yet.
A sharp cracking sound exploded behind them.
Swoosh!
Out of nowhere, a thick, muscular tail shot out of the mire—
Slamming into the back of an Archangel Flame with terrifying force.
Boom!
The impact sent the summoned angel flying dozens of meters, its armor caving inward from the blow.
The tail retracted into the swamp, vanishing beneath the bubbling sludge.
Then—
The entire quagmire began to shift.
Massive bubbles burst at the surface as something huge stirred beneath.
Boom. Boom.
The first thing to emerge was a pair of massive, clawed feet, rising from the swamp.
Then, a monstrous form slowly pulled itself out of the muck.
A beast resembling a crocodile, but far larger and more menacing.
Its jaws were lined with dagger-like fangs, capable of crushing stone.
A row of jagged, bony spikes ran along its back, cutting through the layers of moss and thick swamp filth coating its skin.
And as it stood fully revealed—
The air fell into dead silence.
It was a six-meter-long monstrosity, its sheer presence suffocating.
Leinas's expression darkened.
Her heart pounded as she instinctively backed toward Sakeer.
"…Swamp Jaw."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"A Rank 60 nightmare in the Adventurer's Guild records."
Her grip tightened on her spear.
(End of Chapter)