"Petrified? A tunnel?"
Kurose Akira stared at the message Xia Yu had sent him, a flicker of shock flashing through his eyes.
A powerful premonition surged up in his chest.The tunnel Xia Yu mentioned—the one located in the southern part of the swamp—was extremely likely the place where the snakewoman's heart was hidden.
"We move. Now."He made his decision instantly, ordering Wyvernis to transform into her dragon form and fly toward the location Xia Yu had indicated.
It didn't take long before they arrived.
The tunnel before them was utterly unremarkable. The entrance was only two or three meters wide, a pitch-black hole that seemed to devour all surrounding light.
Akira carefully observed the tunnel. It appeared to have been excavated recently, standing in stark contrast to the surrounding terrain. More importantly, he could feel a powerful magical presence spreading from within, distorting perception and interfering with detection.
"I can sense her aura," Mare Rhine suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. Her expression turned complicated.
"Oh?" Akira glanced at her. "What—are you telling me the Dragon of Destruction is afraid of the Medusa Queen?"
"How could that be?" Mare Rhine snapped back immediately, straightening her posture as she spoke. Her chest thrust forward unconsciously, proudly displaying an arrogant, snowy expanse. "There's no way I'd be afraid!"
From the side, Wyvernis watched her with open curiosity.
Mare Rhine wasn't even as tall as she was.There was no way those breasts were real, right?
They had to be padded.Otherwise, how could they possibly be that big?
"…Is that so?"
Akira merely smiled faintly at Mare Rhine's reaction, though a trace of concern lingered in his heart. He turned to Lucia and asked, "Lucia—do you have any magic that can prevent petrification?"
"Magic to prevent petrification?"
Lucia lifted a finger lightly. In the next instant, a layer of dazzling golden light descended over everyone present.
"I can't guarantee this spell will completely negate petrification," she said calmly, "but it should at least grant us one chance to escape."
Akira's eyes lit up with satisfaction. He took a deep breath and led everyone into the tunnel.
The moment they stepped inside, Akira immediately noticed a cluster of stone statues standing within.
His gaze swept over them—and among the statues, he saw one that was unmistakably Xia Yu.
Beyond the statues, at the far end of the tunnel, a multicolored glow drew everyone's attention.
Floating in midair was a heart.
It pulsed gently, beating as if still alive.
Akira locked his gaze onto it, and detailed information appeared in his vision.
[Snakefolk Heart (Epic): A heart infused with Medusa blood.]
"So this is the snakewoman's heart…" Akira murmured softly, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
They were only ten to twenty meters away from the heart. However, embedded along both walls of the passage were strange green gemstones, each resembling a tightly shut eye.
"Those gems are Medusa Eyes," Mare Rhine warned. "The moment you make eye contact with them, you'll be petrified. And once you step into their activation range, your mind will be overwhelmed by temptation—you'll feel an irresistible urge to look straight at them."
Akira frowned slightly. "Is there a way to break the petrification effect?"
Mare Rhine laughed confidently. "These are nothing more than traces of Medusa's leftover power. As long as they're not her actual eyes, they won't affect me at all. You stay here—I'll go destroy them."
With that, Mare Rhine strode toward the heart.
As she advanced, the Medusa Eyes embedded in the walls snapped open one after another, releasing eerie green light like countless gazes locking onto her.
Akira and the others immediately turned away, shutting their eyes tightly to avoid being petrified. Even though they weren't within the direct range of the Medusa Eyes, caution was still necessary.
Mare Rhine, however, was in an entirely different situation.
The instant she stepped into the Medusa Eyes' effective range, her body turned into stone, frozen in place.
But in the very next moment, brilliant crimson light burst forth from her body. The stone cracked away, and she returned to normal, taking another step forward.
Again and again, the cycle repeated.
Stone.Restoration.Stone.Restoration.
After hundreds of such cycles, Mare Rhine finally tore all ten Medusa Eyes from the walls and clenched them in her hand.
She then released a terrifying aura of destruction, forcing the Medusa Eyes to shut completely, temporarily stripping them of their petrifying power.
"All right," she said coolly. "You can open your eyes now."
Hearing this, everyone slowly opened their eyes.
When they saw that all the Medusa Eyes had been removed, they finally let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Well done," Akira said, nodding in praise.
Mare Rhine truly deserved her position as the guild's strongest combat unit—she could even shrug off the influence of Medusa Eyes with ease.
"Hmph. Medusa Eyes are nothing special~" Mare Rhine sneered coldly as she reached out to grab the heart.
But just as her hand was about to touch it, Lucia suddenly sensed something terribly wrong.
"Wait—!"
She tried to stop Mare Rhine—
But in that very instant, the heart erupted with blinding light, illuminating the entire tunnel.
Then, behind the heart, a pair of enormous eyes emerged from the wall, glowing with sinister green radiance.
"Damn it—those are the Medusa Queen's eyes!"Mare Rhine's brows knitted together instantly. She realized at once that these eyes were on a completely different level from the previous ones.
Before her words had even finished, her body began to petrify rapidly, stiffening until she was completely immobilized.
Meanwhile, Akira and the others were enveloped in Lucia's golden magic, their bodies radiating light as they resisted the petrifying force.
[You have resisted one abnormal status. The Blessing of the God of Light has dissipated!]
"Lucia really comes through when it matters…" Akira thought inwardly.
Mare Rhine was great when the fight was going smoothly—but in situations like this, it still came down to Lucia.
After lingering for a short while, the massive eyes gradually faded away. The tunnel dimmed once more, leaving only the heart, still emitting a faint glow.
After all, even though they were the Medusa Queen's eyes, this was merely a remnant of her power.
"It's safe now," Lucia confirmed.
"Good."
Akira nodded and walked toward the heart, glancing at Mare Rhine, who had already turned into a stone statue.
[Petrified: Remaining duration — 48h]
"Only forty-eight hours?" Akira muttered. "This dragon's body really is something else…"
He reached out and poked the petrified Mare Rhine.
To his surprise, her stone form didn't feel any harder than her body had before petrification.
After confirming her condition, Akira turned his attention back to the heart.
He carefully reached out and removed it. Even in his hand, the heart continued to beat, warm and alive.
What surprised Akira was that something seemed to be hidden inside it.
He immediately channeled magic, attempting to draw out whatever lay concealed within.
And the moment that mysterious object appeared before them, Akira's expression grew grave.
[Blood of a God (?): A single drop of blood from the Goddess of Love. Using it grants the ultra-rare modifier — Blood of the God of Love!]