*BOOM!*
When another earth-shaking explosion resounded from the Entertainment District, it was not only those observing from afar who reacted—even the members of the Freya Familia participating in the assault on the Entertainment District changed expressions one by one.
'W-What was that this time?!'
Perhaps this was the collective thought of everyone at this moment.
However, those closer to Belit Babili fell into an indescribable shock the instant the explosion occurred.
Because they saw something unimaginable.
"Guh… Egh… GAAAAHHHHHHH—!!!"
Accompanied by a roar that sounded both agonized and deranged, a massive figure rose from the ground.
It was a figure that was continuously swelling.
It was humanoid, with an enormous torso, extremely short limbs, and a toad-like face. Combined with its brown skin, anyone familiar with the individual would immediately recognize its identity.
Yes, the figure's true identity was none other than Phryne Jamil, the captain of the Ishtar Familia and the only First-Class Adventurer of the Ishtar Familia, whom Riezel had effortlessly defeated.
However, this toad-like giantess, whom Riezel had once crushed, was now rapidly expanding, transforming into a true giant while undergoing a horrifying mutation.
At this moment, vein-like patterns spread across her body, while vine-like tentacles sprouted from her flesh. Her body became grotesquely bloated, like a rapidly growing tumor—hideous beyond words—and the massive battle axe she held was covered by surging green flesh, merging directly with her short arms and transforming into a grotesque meat axe even larger than her already swollen body.
From within her body came nauseating sounds, like flesh and bones being stirred together, as her form was rapidly eroded and reconstructed at a terrifying speed. Her brown skin gradually turned green and swelled further, becoming a mass of bulging, pulsating flesh.
If the original Phryne had merely been ugly—so ugly that one could hardly bear to look at her—then the current Phryne was utterly revolting, enough to make one physically sick.
"What... is that...?"
Countless onlookers revealed expressions of horror upon seeing the swollen figure, as though they had witnessed the darkest monster in existence, their stomachs churning as they nearly fainted.
"S-Save… me… Ugh—AAAARRGGHHHHH—!!!"
Even in this state, Phryne seemed to retain a trace of consciousness, attempting to cry for help amidst unbearable pain, wailing as tears and mucus flowed uncontrollably from her face.
Yet the green flesh ignored her will—or rather, it seemed to revel in her suffering—continuously invading her body and transforming her into a monster.
Evidently, this green flesh was clearly different from the kind that had poured out of the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos, which only consumed life, devoured magical energy, and treated all living beings as prey and sustenance, rather than invading and altering the body in this manner.
But the green flesh emerging from within Phryne was different.
Rather than consuming her, it was parasitizing her, as though seeking a host.
Such parasitism, such invasion, such transformation—Riezel had only seen it in one type of existence.
"Jewel Fetus…"
At some point, Riezel had left the ground and appeared in midair, looking down at the scene as he muttered.
Yes.
What had happened to Phryne was the parasitism of a Jewel Fetus.
Phryne had been parasitized by a Jewel Fetus, just like the Titan Alm Demi Spirit and the Power Bull Demi Spirit, becoming the host of the Jewel Fetus and thus becoming a Demi Spirit.
"Enyo…"
Riezel, immediately understanding why this had happened and who had caused it, had a cold light flash in his eyes.
"UGUHGRAGWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Reduced to a sacrifice, Phryne let out a string of incoherent howls as her eyes bulged outward, her pupils bloodshot, becoming as grotesquely large and abnormal as those of the malformed Jewel Fetus.
Phryne continued roaring as her oversized, horrifying eyes rolled wildly before locking onto Riezel. In the next instant, she raised the bloated flesh axe fused to her arm high above her head and brought it crashing down toward him.
"Greater Teleportation!"
Riezel did not hesitate as he immediately activated teleportation magic and vanished from his position.
*BOOOM!*
In an instant, the same earth-shattering explosion rang out again, making it clear to everyone what had caused the previous one.
Phryne's massive meat axe slammed heavily into a half-ruined building, instantly splitting it apart and blasting the ground beneath it, causing sand and shockwaves to surge outward together like a sandstorm. Countless fragments of stone were thrown into the air, and even the air currents twisted like turbulent waves.
*Swish!*
Riezel's figure appeared behind Phryne, and immediately after, he shot forward, charging toward her.
"Thunderclap and Flash!"
As lightning erupted around Riezel's body, transforming him into a flash of lightning, he streaked past Phryne in an instant, drawing his sword as he slashed.
*Pu-chi!*
Riezel's high-speed lightning slash cut across Phryne's body, leaving behind a massive wound as flesh and blood sprayed outward.
"GAAAHHHHH—!!!"
Yet Phryne seemed completely indifferent, as the vine-like tentacles covering her body lashed wildly in all directions.
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
Carrying tremendous force, the tentacles struck the ground repeatedly around Phryne, shattering the earth with explosive impacts and once again stirring up sand and shockwaves.
Frankly speaking, each strike from those tentacles was powerful enough to instantly demolish a three-story building. As they lashed out in a frenzy, attacking everything around them, almost nothing could survive such a violent, rain-like barrage. Even the forty-story-tall Belit Babili had several sections of its outer walls smashed apart under the tentacles' sweeping attacks, collapsing directly into rubble.
Only the streak of lightning that Riezel had become darted through the storm of tentacles, weaving back and forth and changing direction sharply, leaving trails of lightning in his wake as he evaded every single attack.
*Gu-lu—*
In that moment, the green flesh on Phryne began to writhe again.
Under the wriggling of that green flesh, the massive wound on her body instantly healed, its regeneration speed so fast that even Riezel was surprised.
'So this time it's a specialization in regenerative ability?'
A translucent gleam flickered in Riezel's eyes.
After seeing through the movement of the muscles and the flow of magical energy inside the transformed Phryne, he immediately understood.
Because the Titan Alm Demi Spirit on the Dungeon's 59th Floor had been a magic-specialized type, she did not possess great physical strength, but under the protection of petal armor, massive vines, and a swarm of Virgas, she could continuously chant magic and destroy everything.
Meanwhile, the Power Bull Demi Spirit in Knossos had been strength-specialized, capable of easily destroying adamantite walls and orichalcum doors—simple and brutal.
And this time, the heteromorph giant formed from Phryne, who had been parasitized by a Jewel Fetus, appeared to be a regenerative-specialized type, capable of rapidly recovering from injuries with extraordinary regenerative ability.
Through the Transparent World, Riezel could even see that green flesh was continuously growing inside Phryne, endlessly regenerating and multiplying, causing new flesh to grow even when she was not injured.
In other words, the transformed Phryne would continue to expand, growing larger and larger.
"Tch, this is bad..."
Riezel's expression shifted slightly as he observed the condition inside the transformed Phryne and seemed to have already guessed the purpose behind the creation of this creature.
"Sacrament - Aurora!"
Riezel immediately activated the high-level offensive magic he had used not long ago. Countless orbs of light appeared behind him, transforming into a meteor shower that shot toward Phryne.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Amid the roaring explosions, the meteor-like orbs continuously bombarded Phryne's gigantic body, blasting chunks of flesh away and riddling her with holes as she screamed in agony.
*Gu-lu—Gu-lu—*
Yet, the green flesh on her body writhed once more, regenerating at an astonishing speed and rapidly restoring the flesh that had been blown away.
"Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters—my name is Alf."
Seeing this, Riezel narrowed his eyes, immediately canceled Sacrament - Aurora, and began chanting ice-attribute magic.
A massive magic circle unfolded beneath him, then—
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!"
Three blizzards surged out from the magic circle beneath Riezel, howling as they froze everything in their path while crashing toward Phryne and engulfing her.
*Ka-cha—Ka-cha—Ka-cha—*
A chilling, freezing sound rang out as Phryne's body began to ice over.
"Arise, flames—"
Just as the ice and snow were about to completely cover and freeze Phryne, a familiar voice filled with delight emerged from within her pain-wracked body.
A massive red magic circle spread beneath Phryne, and an overwhelming surge of magical energy erupted outward as that voice rapidly chanted with a smile.
"Rage, rage, rage. Vortex of fire. The crimson wall. Hellfire's roar. May the ardor of the gale plunge the world into grief and misery. The sky shall burn. The earth shall ignite. The seas shall boil. The fonts shall churn. The mountains shall erupt. All life shall turn to ash. May the lives of the great ones serve as atonement for the coming choler and grief. Your envoy beseeches you, Salamander. Incarnate of fire. Queen of flame—"
A super high-speed chant, nearly impossible to achieve by anyone in the Lower World, allowed this extremely long incantation—normally requiring a great deal of time—to be completed within seconds.
"Greater Magic Shield!"
Riezel's eyes sharpened, and without hesitation, he activated his defensive magic, forming a protective barrier around himself.
"Firestorm!"
At the same time, the gleeful voice within Phryne completed its chant.
*BOOOM—!!!*
In the next instant, an overwhelming explosion of flames erupted like a volcanic eruption.
Crimson fire surged wildly outward, swallowing everything in its path.
At this moment, whether it was Belit Babili or the annex behind it, everything within several hundred meters of the suffering, roaring Phryne was reduced to a crimson inferno.
Clearly, this was different from the sea of fire created earlier during the Freya Familia's attack on the Entertainment District. It was not merely setting things ablaze—it was as if everything had been cast into a volcano and incinerated, as what remained was not a sea of fire, but a scorched wasteland.
Countless people were caught in the crimson flames, screaming in agony.
Countless objects were reduced to ash in an instant within this fiery hell, as explosions continuously echoed throughout the area.
Needless to say, this was an infernal blaze capable of destroying everything, a scorching wave of heat that could burn even the inanimate.
Within this crimson hell, even if the First-Class Adventurers of the Loki Familia had all appeared here together, they would have been wiped out in an instant.
It was nothing short of a nightmare.
Fortunately, within this apocalyptic blaze that could burn everything to nothing, the strongest magic swordsman, protected by his magic shield, survived.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, the completely unscathed Riezel burst out of the sea of crimson flames, transforming into a lightning bolt once more.
"Thunderclap and Flash - Eightfold!"
Amid thunderous sounds, the lightning bolt shot in from all directions, changing direction repeatedly as it streaked around the transformed Phryne. Each pass was accompanied by a lightning-infused slash striking her massive body.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
Each flash, each shift in direction, tore open her flesh, leaving massive wounds and sending blood spraying into the air.
Phryne howled in pain and roared in fury, then her massive flesh axe, along with her frenzied tentacles, slammed down again and again, shattering the ground, scattering the flames, and causing the earth to tremble repeatedly.
Unfortunately, she could do nothing to Riezel, who had become a bolt of lightning—or rather, she simply could not keep up with him, as every attack missed, none managing to land a hit.
Of course, Riezel could not deal with Phryne either.
Her regenerative ability was too terrifying.
Even if he cut off her head or pierced her heart, she would immediately recover and continue to expand, growing more bloated and more horrifying by the moment.
"Tch..."
Riezel finally clicked his tongue.
Only he could see that the flesh inside Phryne had already twisted into an incomprehensible state.
If this continued…
*Swish!*
*Swish!*
*Swish!*
Just as a bad premonition crossed Riezel's mind, several roaring gusts of wind surged into existence.
*Pu-chi!*
*Pu-chi!*
*Pu-chi!*
Several figures appeared in an instant before Phryne, swinging a massive axe, a large double-bladed sword, and a pair of kukri knives, severing her tentacles.
"Old man!"
Startled, Riezel shouted in surprise as he saw that the ones who had arrived were none other than Gareth, Tiona, and Tione.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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