Elsewhere among the ruins, other adventurers were also beginning to talk to the Xenos nearby.
Prompted by Leon's words and driven by a gnawing curiosity, they asked questions—personal ones.
And to their astonishment, some of the Xenos also began to speak of dreams. Dreams of unfamiliar places. Dreams of streets, shops, homes—places they'd never physically been to.
Most of the buildings were unremarkable. Ordinary. Easy enough to dismiss. But one particular Xenos, born only a few years ago, described something else entirely.
His dream wasn't just about a building, it was about a battle. A scene that had taken place with a specific adventurer team. And as fate would have it, the adventurer who asked him was a surviving member of that very team.
The dream that Xenos described perfectly matched the events that had happened on the 10th floor during a skirmish years ago, down to the last detail.
No one outside their team knew about it, not even the Guild. There was no way it could've been faked.
Word of the incident spread quickly throughout Rivira.
What had begun as cautious curiosity exploded into stunned amazement. At first, Leon's claim had seemed like just a convenient story.
But now…
Now there was evidence. Something undeniable.
If it had only been vague memories or dreams of buildings, they might have brushed it off. But this real, emotional, and shared memory, was proof. Proof that the Xenos might truly be reincarnated souls of adventurers who had died in the Dungeon.
Suddenly, the tension between the adventurers and the Xenos melted. The suspicion, the fear, it didn't vanish entirely, but it was dulled.
The ruins of Rivira buzzed with a renewed energy. The atmosphere, once heavy with pain and distrust, became alive with chatter, questions, and something no one had expected.
Hope.
The Xenos had seized the opportunity Leon had gifted them and they had not wasted it.
If Leon had seen what was happening here, he would've smiled, maybe even given a silent thumbs-up.
Because the Xenos had done it. They had taken the first step.
So long as this moment was shared and spread among the adventurers of Orario, the day would come when Xenos would no longer be seen as enemies.
As for how to distinguish Xenos from normal monsters?
That was simple. Red eyes marked a regular monster. Xenos, on the other hand, had eyes just like humans, eyes filled with emotion, awareness, and depth.
And while Rivira's reconstruction was moving forward, while conversations between adventurers and Xenos sparked like flames in the rubble…
Leon had already reached the 21st floor, leaving behind a town on the cusp of a new future.
Asterius followed close behind Leon, his heavy footsteps barely audible in the eerie silence of the deep Dungeon.
Leon didn't mind. In fact, he had already anticipated it. He could more or less guess what was going through the Minotaur's mind.
Asterius was a battle maniac. His obsession with becoming stronger wasn't just intense, it was borderline pathological. Fighting powerful foes was his way of life. It was how he grew. It was how he lived.
The moment he heard more demi spirits were on the way, Leon knew Asterius wouldn't let such an opportunity slip. Still, it was only speculation but it didn't matter.
The important part came moments later when they encountered the next wave of demi spirits. This time, they weren't scattered or separate. They came together.
There were eight of them. Eight demi spirits, all at once.
Leon narrowed his eyes. It was unclear whether the previous two had appeared early by chance or were scouts, but these eight had clearly arrived together, like a coordinated attack force.
The new demi spirits were all parasitized, infesting powerful monsters. Leon didn't recognize their original forms, which meant they were likely monsters from the 59th floor or deeper.
In front of them stood a bizarre line-up: multiple dragon-like figures, a colossal giant even bigger than Goliath, a snarling white wolf with eerie eyes, and a monstrous lizard radiating hostility. These were all animal-type.
And then there were four plant-type demi spirits—so grotesquely altered by their possession that Leon couldn't even begin to identify what they once were.
The moment they appeared, all eight demi spirits locked onto Leon and Asterius.
They didn't need to search. The overwhelming auras of the two were too conspicuous, like beacons in the night.
With a roar, the demi spirits lunged simultaneously.
The giant, the white wolf, and the lizard all charged toward Leon, their massive frames barreling forward with terrifying momentum.
The dragon heads each began condensing elemental energy—wind, fire, thunder, earth, while the four plant-type demi spirits started chanting simultaneously, their incantations unnaturally fast and discordant. Their voices echoed ominously through the tree labyrinth.
"I'll take the wolf!" Asterius roared, hurling himself forward with reckless excitement. He tossed the declaration over his shoulder and sprinted with thunderous force.
Leon didn't argue. With a blur of movement, he vanished from sight, appearing in an instant before the chest of the giant demi spirit that had just started its charge.
Shiiing—!
The clean sound of a blade unsheathing sliced through the air. A scarlet line bloomed across the chest of the towering giant.
An instant later—splat!
Blood gushed out in torrents. The upper half of the giant seemed to realize it had been severed only after it was already turning to ash. The lower body stumbled forward a few steps before igniting and disintegrating into glowing cinders.
Without sparing it a second glance, Leon flicked the magic stone into his system storage and pivoted sharply, locking onto the lizard-type demi spirit next.
Hissssss—!
A flash of cold light. Another clean cut.
The lizard demi spirit didn't even have time to snarl before it was bisected cleanly.
Asterius, still in mid-charge, saw the entire thing. His massive bull-like eyes twitched.
"…This guy…"
There was no time to gawk. The magic that the four dragon heads had been condensing was now complete.
Four torrents of elemental force surged forward—wind, fire, lightning, and earth, merging into a cataclysmic barrage aimed straight at Leon and Asterius.
BOOOOOOM!!!
But the two didn't even flinch. With a swing of a sword and a cleave of an axe, they cut through the magic storm like it was mist.
Leon burst through the blast zone, sword blazing, and lunged at the four-headed dragon demi spirit.
Asterius, on the other hand, barreled toward the white wolf.
Leon's assault was over in a flash. All four dragon heads fell—severed cleanly.
Their grotesque bodies collapsed and disintegrated, unable to comprehend the speed of their own destruction.
Asterius, meanwhile, had entered a brutal melee with the white wolf demi spirit. It was faster and more aggressive than expected, but Asterius met it with unrelenting force and a wild gleam in his eyes. He was clearly enjoying himself.
Leon, however, didn't pay it any mind. The moment he finished off the dragons, his gaze shifted to the remaining threat.
The four plant-type demi spirits were still chanting but something was wrong.
Leon's eyes narrowed. The magic they were forming wasn't offensive in nature. Instead, golden light began to spread from their bodies like ripples on water, washing over the battlefield.
Even though Leon specialized in light magic, the sheer radiance of it forced him to squint.
His light veins expanded instinctively, piercing through the blinding glow, and what he saw made his expression tighten.