Chapter 79: Clearing The Corrupted Domain [1]

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Grievance Vessels.

As their name suggests, they are vessels for a Grievance’s power and possess incredible strength far beyond that of the Entities found within a Fantasy Field or Corrupted Field.

They also typically serve as the Field’s Core, keeping the Field alive and acting as a direct bridge to the Governing Grievance that controls the expansion of these fields.

The Grievance absorbs energy from the land and then infuses it with its own essence, corrupting the designated area over time while further expanding its Dominion and growing stronger.

Thus, the key to weakening a Grievance is to destroy the Fantasy or Corrupted Fields it controls before confronting it directly. The Grievance’s power will diminish, making it more vulnerable to True Damage, until it can either be killed or forced to retreat to the Dimensional Labyrinth if its influence in the world is not strong enough.

“What Level is this thing, then?”

Louis assessed the giant creature while flying high above Hecatoncheires’ soaring form. Based on the data he had received from the VPI, the Entities here fell into three types.

The smallest were called “Corrupted Flora,” giant plants corrupted with Miasma. They were the weakest and easiest to kill, qualifying as the bottom tier of Level 1 Entities, known as Flickerforms. These were merely tiny fragments, too insignificant to matter, created without much thought by the Grievance controlling them or born naturally from the Fantasium or Corrupted Field.

Then there were the large agglomerations of vines, black mud, and glowing red eyes. These were called Corrupted Swamp Dwellers and qualified as upper-tier Level 1 Entities, still Flickerforms that a team of moderately experienced agents or knights could handle.

Lastly, there were the largest of them all—not the Vessel itself, but those that were much smarter and trickier in combat. These were amalgamations born from several Corrupted Swamp Dwellers fusing together. Classified as extensions of the Gardener of the Emerald Moon, they were called the Emerald Moon’s Children and ranked as Level 2 Entities, Echo Parasites.

The names of each Level carried meaning based on the Entities’ powers. Level 1 were called Flickerforms because they were mere flickers of something greater. Mostly, they could inflict minor wounds on trained personnel or very weak cognitive attacks with no permanent damage.

However, from Level 2 onward, things grew far more dangerous. Level 2 Entities were classified as Echo Parasites for their ability to channel a Grievance’s power into a foe’s mind, soul, and body. They were known for feeding on forgotten thoughts, dreams, or suppressed emotions. Unlike Level 1, the power gap was massive, and they required a proper team of strong fighters to eliminate, preferably with high resistance to mental attacks and Fantasium Poisoning.

Then, what could be even higher than that?

A Level 3 Entity.

“That thing is…! Ungh!”

Louis clenched his teeth as dizziness suddenly overwhelmed him just from gazing at it. Strange images flooded his mind: vast gardens, blooming flowers, and a man-shaped mass of vines with a single red rose for a head, staring at him with one unblinking eye.

“It’s a Veil Warper. Don’t stare at its eyes!”

Level 3 Entities, Veil Warpers, were not just powerful beings. They were Cognitive Hazards that induced identity confusion, false memories, or emotional loops within a person’s psyche upon making eye contact. The Entities themselves operated beyond human intellect and could easily toy with a person’s mind, destroying their very sense of self.

Of course, among those who battled Entities, Sinners were the most suited. Born from Fantasium, they were completely immune to its poisonous effects and could develop strong resistances to cognitive hazards.

And if a Sinner was also a Spiralwalker with a powerful Fantasy Heart, it became possible to resist their mind-warping powers entirely, just as Louis had done.

“Gravewalker!”

Louis immediately summoned his Incarnation and merged with it. With the Necromancer’s Skeletal Wings blazing in ghostly flames and his four metallic arms forged from the Pugilist, Louis dove toward the Level 3 Entity to test its strength.

“Mirai, with me! Everyone else, attack from a safe distance!”

The only one he trusted to survive a direct hit was Mirai, renowned for her incredible durability. Now a Spiralwalker herself, her strength had grown even greater. With her Incarnation, the Devil, at her side, she had become a far more lethal fighter.

“Okay!”

Mirai quickly followed Louis. Both descended toward the giant, aiming straight for its head where they sensed a massive concentration of Fantasium. Likely, the Level 3 Entity held one of its three Cores there.

Entities possessed Cores based on their Level: Level 1 had one Core, Level 2 had two, Level 3 had three, and so on, making higher Levels increasingly difficult to kill. If all cores were not destroyed within a certain time limit, the others could regenerate, restoring the Entity to full strength.

Thus, teamwork was essential to take down powerful Entities, unless someone possessed enough raw power to disintegrate one completely in a single blow. Only the strongest Spiralwalkers and Espers held such might, and they were all occupied with far greater threats.

“—!!!”

Letting out a monstrous, incomprehensible cry, the Level 3 Entity swung its two arms forward. Countless vines sprouted from them, surging toward Louis and Mirai as they drew closer. The pair defended while descending, slashing the vines into tiny pieces with claws and weapons. Golden blood gushed from the severed tendrils, falling into the swamp below and triggering explosions of strange, transparent flames.

“Careful with its blood!”

The Entity’s blood was highly explosive. Contact could mean devastating damage that Louis and Mirai could not afford. Yet the creature knew its blood was lethal and kept trying to block their path, forcing them to destroy its body and risk the splatter.

However…

“Mirai, charge all your power and unleash it in one rushing attack. I’ll create a barrier to protect us from the blood!”

“Understood!”

Mirai and Louis coordinated perfectly. Mirai gathered all her demonic power into her body while Louis conjured a barrier of Ashen Frost. Using his mother’s formula, he reversed Despair into Hope and Ashes into Light, creating a Barrier of Holy Light further enhanced by little Belladine, the Light Spirit.

By Mirai’s side, her own Spirit appeared. The black-and-red butterfly settled on her head, fusing with her and turning her hair into shadows. It granted her a pair of damaged, torn black butterfly wings with glowing purple eyes.

“NOW!”

Louis roared. Mirai charged like a meteor, piercing through hundreds of vines, branches, and roots. Golden explosive blood splattered everywhere, yet Louis’s powerful barrier held, infused with all his Aura.

“Almost there…! Don’t stop!”

Mirai felt Louis’s hand on her shoulder. Her eyes glowed bright red with excitement. Her Aura exploded into flames so intense that even Louis burned, but his increased resistance to Flames from his Five Elemental Spiritual Roots allowed him to endure it.

“—!!!”

The Grievance’s Vessel let out another incomprehensible scream, making Mirai and Louis feel incredibly dizzy. Mirai groaned, her resistance to mental attacks lacking. Her charge faltered midway, the explosive blood about to overwhelm Louis’s barrier.

“Damn it, Mirai! Don’t let it consume your mind! You’re better than this!”

“Nnnggh…! Louis…!”

As Mirai recovered, a pair of enormous crab-like claws rushed from above, seizing the Entity’s arms and holding them back. It was Hecatoncheires’ second pair of special arms, originating from a giant crab monster Zorba had incorporated into his creation. From the crab claws, Anastasia and Catrise leaped down, swinging sword and hammer to strike the monster’s arms and push them further back.

The golden blood targeted them too, but Louis and Mirai, now fully recovered after those precious seconds, rushed forward. They manifested a larger barrier of Holy Light and Demonic Flames to defend their allies.

BOOOM!

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