When everyone was ready to abandon the exploration and return, Nathan held up a research document, his eyes shining: "I'm so curious, what exactly did he do? Fusion monsters... what a reckless concept."
The tiny alchemist was fascinated by all knowledge. If monsters could be fused, what kind of loot would they yield? What new uses might there be?
Verdine slapped his muscular chest and laughed: "We've come this far, we won't sleep well if we don't see it through. Don't worry, I'll protect everyone if danger strikes. I'll put my life on the line!"
The troublemaker had once again chosen the riskiest path. The group hesitated.
For casual players, going further didn't feel like a burden instead, the thrill of pioneering new territory was exhilarating.
Yuuki, ever composed, suggested: "How about we scout ahead first? You all wait here. If we don't return in 10 minutes, go get help."
Nathan protested: "Why should you go alone? I won't rest until I see that fused monster with my own eyes!"
Verdine gave a thumbs up: "Nothing can stop a man's resolve to uncover the truth!"
"Stop trying to frame everything with your nonsense, Verdine!"
"Hahaha!"
Though reckless, they weren't foolish. Lefiya and Alisa retreated from the cave while the rest pressed deeper into the cavern.
After passing through a tunnel that pulsed like blood vessels, the group reached the secret realm's core.
Thump, thump, A biological heartbeat echoed through the final chamber.
Black Cat clung to the rock wall, slowly peering around the corner. When she saw what lay inside, she trembled with fear.
A fiery cocoon blazed with scorching flames, bound by eight green vines that acted like umbilical cords, drawing power from the cocoon itself.
"What is that?"
"An altar?"
Nathan's hands shook as he sketched frantically in his notebook, despite his own nervousness.
Verdine's eyes went wide: "I saw it!"
"What are you on about now?"
"I mean it! There's a person inside that fire cocoon, a woman!" Verdine's sharp eyes had spotted the truth.
Everyone looked closely. Sure enough, a naked woman floated inside, knees drawn to her chest. Her fiery eyebrows were tightly furrowed, as if in agony.
"What do we do?"
"This is way beyond us. Let's go back first."
No one wanted to linger but it was already too late to leave.
The ground beneath their feet pulsed like a heart, vibrations surging outward like ocean waves. Countless green growths burst from the floor, walls, and ceiling, turning the room into a twisted hellscape!
"Lefiya?!"
"Idiot, she's not here!"
"Oh no!"
Without the mage, the team's offensive power was severely weakened, and they were nearly trapped by the writhing green flesh.
Sanae Dekomori swung her twin hammers at the growths, splattering viscous purple fluid but the flesh quickly wriggled back to its original form.
"We don't have enough strength! Everyone attack together!"
Yuuki's figure flashed, layers of purple sword light slicing through the blockade as Dekomori's strikes cleared a path. Verdine and Nathan joined in, widening the passage just enough for everyone to squeeze through.
Enraged, the green flesh morphed into a dozen snake-like tentacles that wrapped around Yui's ankles.
"Ugh~ So annoying!"
Yui clutched her skirt and fell.
Yuuki paused, drew her sword, and darted back in a zigzag pattern, weaving through the sea of vines. With a flurry of clashing steel, she severed the tentacles binding Yui but as Yui landed, five more coiled around her.
"Curse Black Wind!"
From a distance, Black Cat stretched out her arms. A foul-smelling, corrosive black whirlwind swept through the passage. Where it touched the green flesh, white smoke hissed and the tentacles recoiled in fear.
"Run!" Black Cat shouted, pulling Yui away.
At that exact moment...
BOOOOM!
A scorching wave of air exploded from the cave, sending everyone flying.
"Aaaaaaahhh—"
A terrifying, pained scream ripped from the altar's center.
"Ughhhhhh—"
The green flesh burst into flames and turned to ash, replaced by blistering heat and steam hot enough to boil seafood. Now they knew where the mist outside had come from.
"This... this..." Nathan stammered, his glasses fogged over completely.
The cave rumbled, rock walls crumbling and collapsing.
"Quick, run! Something's about to break free!"
Thump, thump, thump—
The group stumbled and scrambled toward the exit as if flying but before they reached the top, a massive explosion sent them hurling outward.
Desolate moonlight cast silver-gray light over the mountain's dark, cratered rocks. A woman's body wreathed in flames, with carnivorous plants wrapped around her neck and limbs roared in agony at the full moon.
Lefiya's eyes widened: "That's... a fairy?!"
The fairy was breathtakingly beautiful, with crimson eyes and hair that flowed like flames. If not for her twisted, pain-contorted face, she would have rivaled even the gods in beauty.
Lava-like stripes shimmered along her meridians, countless tendrils coiled within her flesh. A seven-colored magic stone, wrapped in more tendrils, was embedded in her chest as if trying to burrow deeper, only to be blocked by a crimson energy barrier.
"That's horrific! Those people are monsters!" Nathan gasped, disbelief etched across his face.
Alisa's expression grew grave: "What do you mean?"
"They... they fused a monster's magic stone with fairy essence! My god not just monster-to-monster fusion, but attacking humans and fairies too! What will they do next?"
The answer was obvious.
Lefiya gripped her short staff tightly, her voice weak: "If this research was so important, why did they abandon it and leave?"
The answer came quickly:
"Isn't it obvious? Because Professor Leon is here!" Alisa clasped her hands together, her face glowing with admiration.
The leader of the Baldr Familia one of only two Level 7 adventurers in the world, possibly even stronger than the "Strongest in the World" Ottar had suddenly arrived in Sword City. The researchers had been forced to flee in a hurry.
"Right! Professor Leon will know what to do! Let's go find him now!" Everyone's faces lit up with relief.
But before they could move, the fairy bound and twisted by the monster's influence let out another wail...
"Fall, blazing fiery demise! In the name of the Agent, I command I am the spirit of fire, the embodiment of flame, the queen of conflagration—"
The fairy chanted with clear resolve...
Huge meteorites, each two meters in diameter, plummeted from the sky.
"What what is this?! Supersonic chanting?!"
"It's fairy magic!"
"Oh no, we're done for!"
"Run!"
"No, too late, we can't escape!"
Everyone screamed in terror, all except Dekomori, who stared at the cataclysmic falling rocks with shining eyes.
"That's so cool, death!"
None of them could sense the truth: every spell was aimed directly at the fire fairy herself...
She was trying to kill herself.