Chapter 65: Hunting Dangerous Entities [1]

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This wasn’t the first time Louis faced Entities. When Soma had attacked the Capital, he had summoned countless Entities through his pact with the Abyssal Mother, each one monstrously strong. To defeat them, Louis had gone all-out, burning through every trump card he possessed to unleash his full power. Even then, he had failed to save his knights. Hundreds died because he could not stop the creatures in time.

Since that day, a deep, festering self-hatred had taken root in his heart. He despised his own inability to change fate. Though he had ultimately saved his country, he had been powerless to save its people. That failure only fueled his fury. He wanted, needed, to train harder, to become stronger than anyone.

And for that, he understood that training and cultivation alone were not enough. True strength demanded enlightenment forged in real combat, risking his life, putting everything on the line for even the smallest gain.

So as Louis faced the tsunami of black miasma, lethal even to the touch, he smiled. Despite the overwhelming odds and his earlier irritation, a fierce grin spread across his face.

He had secretly hoped this mission would be straightforward. Now he realized that in this world, nothing ever was. Everything carried a price. Every challenge arose from the creatures and phenomena invading Earth.

Entities were monstrous beings governed by alien laws of physics. None were weak. Even the smallest possessed some vile ability most people would dread facing.

And a giant like this one made it painfully clear: Louis had grown far too comfortable inside his castle.

Yet he still smiled.

Why?

Because, at last, he was tasting the raw insanity this world had to offer, beyond even Soma’s catastrophe.

“I better get used to this…”

With that thought, he stepped forward. Mana surged from his hands, spreading outward like a veil of blinding pale light laced with void. He seamlessly combined the Void Barrier and Light Mirror Spells he had prepared in the castle, a feat Sinners, so deeply attuned to Fantasium, could achieve after sufficient training.

“White Void Mantle.”

The Combination Spell formed instantly. The mantle enveloped everyone just in time, shielding them from the miasma’s corrosive downpour. But it could not withstand the Entity’s tentacles. Their sharp spines lengthened tenfold, striking the barrier and shattering it in an instant.

“Hah, that thing’s tough,” Louis laughed.

“Master Louis, your barrier…!” Zorba gasped. “You saved us!”

“Stop fixating on small things and get ready, Zorba! Unleash your biggest zombie, we have to kill this thing before it kills us!” Louis ordered. “Mirai, Anastasia, to the frontline with me! Catrise, use Purifying Light to cleanse the miasma around us and the monster. It seems to constantly produce black mud to move. It can’t advance across completely clean ground!”

“Understood!” Catrise nodded. She conjured multiple magic circles that rapidly expanded into a small Domain of Pure Light. The radiant energy began burning away the miasma and plant matter, though it quickly drained her Mana reserves.

“Holy Dragon’s Cleansing Breath!”

Her Spell Domain took shape, manifesting as a massive dragon of yellow and white light. It exhaled a sweeping wave of purifying brilliance that rolled outward like a shockwave. The miasma evaporated in its path, striking the monster and scorching its enormous tentacles.

“GRYYAAAH!”

The creature shrieked in pain. Louis, Mirai, and Anastasia surged forward at blinding speed, vanishing from their original positions and reappearing above the beast. Mirai struck first. Her hands transformed into long black claws covered in fiery red scales. She plunged them into the creature’s body. Vines wrapped around her legs, but they instantly ignited and burned away. Her infernal flames proved the most lethal.

The Entity writhed violently, thrashing across the swamp. Catrise contained it within her Domain, scorching the surroundings with holy radiance. Zorba steered clear of her purifying light while summoning his greatest creation, something he had hoped to save for later.

“Go, Hecatoncheires II!”

His shadow expanded violently. A towering four-meter chimeric zombie emerged, six arms, each belonging to a different beast. Two massive black hands, spawned from Entities once summoned by Soma, opened their red eyes and fired beams of destructive energy. Explosions erupted across the monster’s body. Hecatoncheires charged forward, slamming into the Entity and forcing it to the ground. Then it locked the creature in a crushing bear hug.

The Entity screamed in torment, vomiting miasma in every direction. The zombie remained utterly immune; indeed, it seemed to feed on the miasma like an Undead drinking blood. Seizing the opening, Louis and Anastasia attacked in unison. Their lance and sword pierced deep, unleashing their signature techniques.

“Holy Dragon Lance Style.”

“First Form.”

“Radiant Fang!”

“Glacial Sword Breathing.”

“First Step.”

“Icicle Blade!”

A blinding spear of light and a razor-sharp icicle blade tore into the monster simultaneously, freezing and burning it from within. Unable to hold its form, the creature shrieked and exploded into countless fragments of plant matter and black mud.

BOOOM!

Everyone was drenched in miasma. Pain and irritation flared across exposed skin, however, none of them died instantly as an ordinary person or low-rank Esper would have. Catrise swiftly expanded her Domain once more, cleansing them before the corruption could worsen.

“Is that it?” Mirai asked, exhaling in relief. “I guess we did it! That wasn’t too hard.”

“…? What are you even talking about? Don’t lower your guard,” Louis warned sharply. “That was just the first one. The rest are coming!”

“…The rest?!” Mirai shot to her feet from the patch of purified soil she had briefly sat on. Her eyes widened as four more massive silhouettes rose from the uncleared swamp.

“Mirai, this area spans several kilometers,” Louis said grimly. “There must be dozens of these things scattered throughout, without even counting the smaller plant monsters. But we’ll handle these four first, then rest. I brought VPI equipment designed to slowly erode Fantasy Fields. It should work just as well, perhaps even better, against Corrupted Fields, since they’re a lower-tier version.”

The equipment Louis carried remained safely stored within his shadows. It had been specially crafted for VPI Agents to gradually dismantle Fantasy Fields by absorbing excess Fantasium, a key component of the “Reconquest Project” his father had developed over the past five years.

“Master Louis, they’re here!” Zorba called out as the four silhouettes drew nearer. “Hecatoncheires, take one yourself!”

“OOOHHH!” The chimeric zombie titan roared, smashing one creature aside and immediately grappling with it.

The remaining three ignored their fallen companion and surged forward. They looked identical, enormous masses of black vines studded with red eyes, long tentacles of tangled vines, metallic spikes, and bodies that constantly oozed black mud and miasma.

“Three at once… isn’t this too much?” Anastasia faltered, stepping back as fear crept into her voice.

“Didn’t you learn Druid Magic from your mother? What are you waiting for, Anastasia? Use it—now!” Louis commanded.

“Y-Yes!” With trembling hands, Anastasia pressed her palms to the clean soil. The ground quaked beneath her.

“Nature Spirit Soul Communion!”

“First Path of Twelve.”

“The Path of the Earth!”

RUMBLE!

The Twelve Paths of Nature Spirit Soul Communion was a foundational school of magic taught to most Druids. Anastasia, born with exceptional innate talent, had mastered the first three paths under her mother’s guidance during the past month, while still dedicating herself religiously to sword training. Louis had no intention of letting her become a pure swordswoman; he wanted her to develop into a hybrid fighter, sword and druid combined, to maximize her battlefield utility.

Three enormous hands of stone and soil erupted from the earth, slamming into the three Entities and halting their advance for a few precious seconds before crumbling apart. The spell was powerful, but these Entities were simply stronger. Louis would need a sample to confirm their exact Rank, but he estimated at least Rank 2.

Still, the brief delay was enough. Louis, Anastasia, and Mirai charged the nearest creature together. Louis pierced it with a blinding lance of light. Mirai tore through its vines with blazing claws. Anastasia drove deeper, striking the crystallized core and shattering it with her glacial blade.

BOOOM!

One Entity died instantly, efficiently dispatched. Louis smiled faintly, even as miasma coated him. He quickly cleansed himself with pale light and conjured skeletal wings, merging partially with his Necromancer Incarnation.

“Gravewalker—cover my back!”

The Gravewalker, now as strong as Louis himself, appeared burlier and more heavily armored. It intercepted an attack from behind, slashing with razor claws and shredding the tentacle into fragments.

Louis had learned that Incarnations responded to emotion, delusion, and insanity. Born from madness, they ignored cold logic and obeyed only primal desires. Thus, Louis channeled his emotions, infusing them with the despair of Ashen Frost, and projected them as an Aura. Through this method, he commanded the Gravewalker with near-perfect efficiency.

And speaking of Ashen Frost, he conjured it now. Pale frost spread beneath him, widening the gap between himself and the creatures. Icicles of Ashen Frost erupted across the swamp, embedding Ash Trap Runes that detonated by reversing the Ash Element into Light.

Multiple explosions rocked the battlefield, engulfing the remaining two Entities. Their regeneration allowed them to endure, but Mirai and Anastasia gave them no respite. Mirai soared upward with demon wings, descending like a blazing meteor. Her incredibly resilient body pierced straight through the creature, shattering its Fantasium Core and detonating it from within.

Anastasia pressed her assault. Three more Stone Hands rose from the earth, pinning her target in place. Her sword flashed with azure light as she prepared to strike the killing blow…

But.

CLASH!

“Ungh?!”

The monster suddenly exuded a strange Fantasium Aura. Golden spikes erupted across its body as its mass swelled dramatically. Anastasia’s attack was blocked instantly. A whip-like tentacle lashed out, sending her flying backward. She crashed hard into the ground.

“Is that one stronger than the rest?!” Mirai shouted, eyes widening as she noticed its red eyes had turned golden. “It is!”

“Yes—it must be a Mutated Entity,” Louis replied, dodging a flurry of attacks. “They often pretend weakness to lure you in, then strike when you least expect it! Gravewalker—attack that thing!”

“GRAAAAHHHH!”

The Gravewalker’s dragon-helm head split open, revealing a metallic jaw. It roared ferociously, charging the monster and trading blows, dodging while delivering vicious claw strikes that carved deep gashes through its plant-like flesh.

Louis turned his attention to Anastasia. She lay wounded, covered in gashes. Catrise was already healing her while Zorba’s zombies formed a protective ring. Satisfied they would hold, Louis spun back toward the Mutated Entity, only to be ambushed by three long tentacles that had rooted themselves stealthily into the ground and snaked toward him.

“…What?!”

He was caught off guard. The creature had cleverly extended its reach, not just toward him, but toward Mirai, Zorba, Anastasia, and Catrise as well.

“Clever son of a bitch.”

Louis wasted no time. He summoned a blade of Ashen Frost, purified it into Pale Light, and swung in a wide arc. The three tentacles fell, burning away at the stumps. He had to prioritize.

Help Mirai? Or protect Zorba and the others?

Mirai was tough, he trusted her resilience. He rushed toward the tentacles threatening the rest, severing them one by one while Anastasia continued to heal.

“Mirai! Can you handle the tentacles?!”

“I can!”

Mirai was an ally Louis could rely on completely. With blazing claws, she burned and sliced through the vines. Even when they coiled around her, she erupted with aura and incinerated them.

“Can she really handle them all alone?”

The thought flashed through Louis’ mind, but it shattered moments later. Mirai was gasping for breath. Miasma clung to her body, slowly decaying her Fantasium and inflicting headaches and muscle pain.

“She’s tough but she can’t do this alone. Zorba, assist her!”

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