"For Lord Thanatos!"
Crazed shouts rang out as figures clad in white robes burst onto the battlefield, their garments concealing the bombs strapped tightly to their bodies.
Without hesitation, they threw themselves forward... detonating one after another in violent explosions.
Some even charged directly at the Loki Familia, fully intent on taking their enemies with them in death.
In response, Finn and the others reacted instantly, scattering and leaping back.
Avoiding the blast radius as shockwaves tore through the ground where they had stood moments before.
"These bastards... they're all insane."
Bete clicked his tongue in disgust, his muscles tensing as yet another one of them charged at him.
He didn't even hesitate... his boot lashed out, sending the fanatic flying backward before the man could trigger the device.
The explosion followed a heartbeat later, engulfing the spot where the body had landed in a violent flash of crimson light.
"This is sickening... this is one of the tactics they used in the Dark Age."
Riveria's voice was tight as she watched the scene unfold.
One after another, the fanatics continued their mad rush.
"Forgive my sins, Sophia!"
"Reina, I clear my debt with this!"
"Julius, with Lord Thanatos' blessing, I can finally meet you in the afterlife!"
Consecutive explosions continued to ring out, plunging the battlefield into even greater chaos.
As a result of the fanatics' interference, the fighting across the area came to a complete halt, and the enemies seized the opportunity to retreat and regroup.
Revis craned her head as a shadow loomed over her figure. She stared briefly at the armored man before finally lowering herself to one knee.
"Dammit... dammit... those Loki Familia bastards... dammit."
Olivas cursed over and over under his breath, his eyes already burning red with fury.
Beside him, the masked woman clasped her hands together as magic power began to resonate in the air.
Suddenly, the shadows beneath their feet wriggled and twisted, as if they had come alive, slowly crawling upward to envelop their figures.
Seeing this, Finn's eyes widened in realization.
"They're getting away!"
He activated his skill [Command Howl], ensuring his voice thundered across the battlefield.
Ais turned her head, and her golden eyes trembled when she saw that Revis was among them.
"Revis!"
She shouted and immediately charged forward.
When Ais saw that the shadows had nearly swallowed them whole, she grit her teeth and began chanting her magic.
"Tempest!"
A burst of emerald wind wrapped around her body, propelling her forward in a sudden surge of speed.
At that moment, the shiny green orb in Revis' hand stirred violently.
The fetus within snapped awake, reacting sharply to Ais' spirit magic.
With a shrill screech, the fetus shot toward Ais at blinding speed.
'What is that?!'
Ais twisted her head aside just in time, the flying fetus narrowly missing her.
Instead, the fetus slammed into one of the Violas and latched onto it, burrowing into its flesh like a parasite.
Even Revis was stunned by this development.
"What...?"
The Viola let out a shrill, distorted screech as its body convulsed violently.
Veins of sickly emerald light spread outward from the point where the fetus had burrowed into its flesh, pulsing in time with a grotesque, rhythmic throb... as if a second heart had begun beating inside it.
The plant monster's form began to warp.
Its vines thickened unnaturally, swelling like overgrown muscles as cracks of light split across its bark-like exterior.
The leaves lining its body blackened and withered, only to be replaced by crystalline growths that jutted out at jagged angles.
Thump.
Thump.
THUMP.
The sound echoed unnaturally across the battlefield, loud enough that even the surrounding adventurers froze in place.
"W-What the hell is happening to that thing...?"
Bete muttered as he backed away.
The Viola let out a roar... no longer the screech of a plant monster, but something far more terrifying as its body rapidly expanded.
A core of blinding green light formed in its chest.
The jewel fetus had fused completely.
"It's... evolving...?"
Riveria whispered as she observed with narrowed eyes.
A distorted howl shook the surroundings.
The transformation reached its climax... it was no longer a Violas, but had completely turned into a Demi-Spirit.
With a thunderous crack, the Demi Spirit's form stabilized... reaching over dozens of meters tall as it towered over the battlefield, its upper body vaguely resembling that of a giant woman, while its lower half remained a mass of writhing roots and vines.
...
Because of the chaos brought on by the rampaging Violas and the monstrous Viscum, the streets of Orario were engulfed in the sounds of battle.
Steel clashed against flesh, magic detonated in bursts of light, and desperate shouts echoed between buildings as the city was forced into a state of emergency.
Citizens barricaded themselves inside their homes, peering out through cracked windows and shuttered doors, while adventurers rallied in the streets.
Under the command of the Ganesha Familia, organized units pushed back the monsters, forming defensive lines to protect the residential districts.
"What kind of monster is that?!"
"Where did something like that even come from?!"
"It's huge... it's even bigger than the Goliath!"
"Hey... wait, that's the direction of the Twilight Manor! What the hell is happening over there?!"
Yet even amid the widespread fighting, all eyes were inevitably drawn toward a single presence.
Visible even from the opposite end of the city, the Demi-Spirit towered above Orario like a looming calamity.
People froze mid-step, fingers pointing skyward as their faces drained of color.
...
"Shit... all that effort to retrieve that thing, and it amounted to nothing."
Revis clicked her tongue in irritation before shifting her gaze toward Ais.
"Aria... if you make it out alive, go to the fifty-ninth floor."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"It's pretty interesting down there. You might even find the answers you're looking for."
Before Ais could respond, darkness coiled around Revis and the others, engulfing them completely before they vanished without a trace.
Ais reached out instinctively, her hand closing around nothing but empty air.
"They got away..."
The words left her lips hollowly.
She stared at the space where her enemies had disappeared, her fingers slowly curling into a tight fist.
It wasn't until the thunderous roar of the Demi-Spirit shook the air that her awareness snapped back to the chaos raging around her.
"Finn..."
Riveria spoke quietly beside the pallum captain.
"There's nothing we can do if they managed to escape. Even if we tracked them down... defeating them wouldn't be easy."
Finn lifted his gaze, eyes narrowing as he took in the towering abomination looming over them.
"Then we focus on what's in front of us."
He spun his spear in a sharp motion, deflecting a massive vine that lashed toward him, and surged forward without hesitation.
"We bring that thing down first."
And with that, the subjugation of the Demi-Spirit began.
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