"Hm?"
The Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus, who had been raging on the 80th floor, suddenly froze.
She sensed sothing—the fragnt of her soul that had been torn away???
The Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus could clearly feel that the missing fragnt was no longer far.
It was just one floor above.
But that mont of surprise didn’t last. She instantly realized what the presence of her soul fragnt on the upper floor ant.
"That man is on the floor above!"
Every nerve in her body was now screaming in alarm.
"So... he deliberately returned my torn soul fragnt?"
The Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus imdiately understood: this was a trap. A trap that, once stepped into, ant certain doom.
This realization sent her—already unable to control her emotions—into a violent rage.
"You dare sche against a second ti!!!"
The very air vibrated under her furious roar.
But the Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus quickly forced herself to calm down.
Not because she wanted to—far from it. Right now she could not calm herself even if she tried. But the alarm ringing through her entire being was growing louder and louder, a direct warning of death that forced calmness upon her.
She understood now.
She had only one choice: to be used.
Even if that returning soul fragnt was a massive pit, she had no option but to stomp straight into it.
If she could gamble on the slightest chance of survival, she might not only eliminate her greatest threat but also continue her original plan to overturn the surface world.
And if she failed to seize this chance...
Hmph~ Things wouldn’t be any worse than they already were.
Her entire body trembled with fury.
How ironic—being toyed with twice by the sa man. She bit down on her lip so hard that blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.
But this humiliation had to be swallowed.
If she wanted even a sliver of hope, she had no choice but to endure it. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even have the right to fight.
She hastened the guidance of her soul fragnt, urging it to return to this floor as quickly as possible.
The Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus knew that man would never give her much ti to prepare. She needed to hurry!
...
Inside the sanctuary on Dungeon Level 79.
Bell sensed the torn soul fragnt moving rapidly, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Hooked.
The speed was impressive. By Bell’s estimation, only about fifteen minutes had passed since he released the fragnt, and the Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus was already reacting.
Of course, her response wasn’t surprising.
Faced with near-fatal danger, she had very few options available from the start. And he had very blatantly guided her with that returning soul fragnt—what other choice could she possibly make?
As for deliberately choosing death?
Well, that would indeed be an effective thod. Bell acknowledged the possibility.
If the Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus truly chose to die, then all of Bell’s plans would collapse instantly and his efforts would be wasted.
But again—would the Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus actually choose that?
From the fact that she had been enduring all this ti, Bell already knew the answer: she absolutely would not.
A Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus filled with malice and hatred toward the gods and humanity on the surface—would she choose death when facing humanity and the gods?
Obviously, every ounce of her forr Spirit pride scread, "Absolutely impossible!"
Thus, she had only one path.
Take the gamble.
Bell didn’t rush to the 80th floor. He simply lay calmly on the ice bed.
"Ais, rest for an hour. After that, we’ll go to the 80th floor."
"Mm."
Ais, who had been resting as well, opened her eyes slightly.
Her gaze settled on the faint smile on Bell’s face, and she understood—the Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus had begun her move.
Knowing the teacher’s plan, Ais felt no emotional ripple whatsoever.
All the Corrupted Spirit’s Fetus’s actions had been calculated long ago. All that was left was for her to step fully into the trap.
Once she did, Ais didn’t believe for a mont that a being who had been led by the nose all along could possibly defeat her teacher, who had prepared so thoroughly.
The hour passed quickly.
"Alright. Let’s go."
Bell, already prepared, took Ais and left the shelter, heading for the next floor.
Level 80 was surprisingly orderly—not only in number but also in layout.
Stepping into it revealed a scene entirely unlike the frozen world before.
From the entrance onward, the entire environnt was filled with vegetation—much like the landscape of Level 59.
But Bell imdiately sensed sothing drastically different.
The temperature.
It was far too high—beyond what normal vegetation could ever survive.
With his extraordinarily sharp eyesight, Bell quickly noticed the abnormality.
The plants shimred with a glowing, searing red.
"So that’s why the temperature is so strange. This really is the opposite extre from the frozen layers."
"Ais, be careful of the plants. Don’t touch them.
Those things... are magma."
"!"
Ais instinctively thought it was impossible. Everything she saw looked like vegetation—how could vegetation be magma?
But when she looked closely and felt the intense heat radiating from them, her expression turned grim.
"Teacher... this place... it won’t collapse, right?"
"It won’t collapse exactly."
It was bizarre enough that the interior of the plants was magma, but aside from this region, the whole floor wasn’t one giant collapsing magma bed.
"The plants are filled with magma. Everything you see—these plants—looks deliberately shaped."
"Each plant is a magma vent. The ground is mostly normal, though so patches have turned into magma bogs that resemble solid terrain."
"This place is practically a natural hunting ground—traps everywhere."
"This is even more dangerous than the frozen world we just went through."
If the floors ahead were all like a magma hell, Bell figured Ais might soon have to learn how to bathe in lava.
...
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