Tiona and Tione stood with the healers of the Dian Cecht Familia, led by Amid, protected behind them.
Bete, Riveria , Finn and Gareth and the adventurers of the allied familias had all assembled.
In their field of view were roughly ten people.
The others remained stationed at key points to completely secure every checkpoint on this floor.
However, no one underestimated this mere group of ten. Every single one of them was the elite among elites.
Not to mention Barca alone, even if you gathered all the remaining Evilus remnants together, without some kind of trump card to overturn the situation, they wouldn't stand a chance.
Everyone stared at Barca, watching him raise the cursed tool in his hand ...
"???"
The next second, he stabbed that cursed sword straight into his own body without hesitation.
Everyone, even Fron, who had just finished cleaning up the battlefield, was stunned. How had he been fine moments ago, only to suddenly kill himself now? This twist was way too abrupt.
Given Barca's abilities, even if captured by the allied familias, the final outcome would never have been death.
His abilities alone were extraordinary, and the value he carried was terrifying, ranging from being the builder of the Knossos to being the holder of "Mystery." Each alone was worth a fortune.
No one would let Barca die before extracting every last drop of value from him.
And yet this guy actually committed suicide!?
But, that wasn't the end.
What shocked everyone even more was just beginning!
Barca kept pulling out cursed daggers, one, two, three…
One after another, he drew more of these "cursed" short blades from his waist and repeatedly stabbed them into himself, countless times.
Tiona, Tione, and Fron, who were standing with the others, all froze in shock.
Finn and Amid widened their eyes.
Everyone's minds crashed in that instant, his actions were beyond comprehension. They couldn't understand why he was doing this.
"Puh… cough cough ... "
Blood gushed from Barca's stomach, shoulders, legs, arms. Even though he avoided the vitals, it was obvious, judging by the blood loss, every strike was enough to be fatal.
And with the cursed nature of the weapons, the consequences were even worse, his blood instantly turned pitch black the moment it sprayed out.
That was the color of a curse.
"Heh… heheh... Just as you said, we've lost. We've completely lost. Evilus, including me, will soon be wiped out here."
Even though death was already close and his whole body was covered in wounds, Barca's tone remained steady, cold, and emotionless.
The visual impact, combined with the oppressive aura his will exuded, almost suffocated the Level 2 and 3 adventurers. The less experienced adventurers even felt suffocated.
In this atmosphere, with his head slightly lowered and his life force so weak that a breeze could extinguish it, Barca slowly raised his head, revealing his bloodshot eyes!
"But Knossos, the miracle created by the Daedalus, will not rot!"
Fron narrowed his eyes, he sensed something was wrong from Barca's actions.
And sure enough, in the next moment, Barca took out a green jewel from a pouch at his waist, something everyone present recognized instantly.
Their expressions changed drastically!
"W… what? That's..."
"The Jewel Fetus!?"
Asfi shouted in surprise.
"What is that?" Amid and the others had never seen such an object.
Fron took a deep breath and explained to Amid:
"That green jewel is what we call the 'Jewel Fetus.' But its true name should be the Seed of the Fallen Spirit. As you might guess, yes, by parasitizing onto a monster, no, onto a living being, it transforms into a 'monster.' And if it's fed enough energy, like magic stones, it will grow again, eventually evolving into a Fallen Spirit."
After speaking, Fron stared fixedly at the green jewel in Barca's hand.
Even from a distance, he could see it was different from the ones he had seen before.
It was larger, with strange red veiny patterns pulsing across its surface.
The moment the jewel appeared, the fetus inside opened its eerie, bloodshot eyes and stared at the adventurers.
Everyone felt their hair stand on end, struck by a chilling sense of dread.
"Hehehe... cough... The six 'seeds' placed below have already been released. As for this one, well, I should say my luck was good. This was an extra prize, the one your Hermes Familia offered as a blood sacrifice in the Pantry on the 24th floor."
Barca spoke as blood dripped from his lips.
Faced with his provocation, the Hermes Familia members bristled with killing intent.
Asfi raised her hand to stop them.
Fron merely frowned, waiting for Barca's final declaration before death.
"Hahahahahahaha! Adventurers! Remember this! The great wish of the Daedalus will not fade. Our obsession will never be severed. For the wish my ancestor dreamed of… let me at least take one more person with me!"
This was the final scream of the man named Barca Perdix!
Then exactly as Fron thought Barca pressed the jewel womb into his own chest.
"Get back!!" Finn reacted instantly and shouted for everyone to retreat.
"Ggh AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
"Gagagaga--"
With those twisted screams and noises, under everyone's gaze. The man fused with the Jewel Fetus.
"Impossible... the Jewel Fetus actually fused with a human? That's doesn't make sense at all!"