Chapter 84: Is This Evilus?

He stared unflinchingly at the swarm of monsters buzzing like a storm, his expression calm and composed, as still as an ancient well untouched by wind or rain. In the blink of an eye— Magic surged silently. A spell without chant, awakened purely by will. Flames erupted around Akira like a tidal wave of fury, wild and untamed, roaring to consume all in their path. The searing heat coiled and gathered on the blade in his hand. The once shimmering gold and silver sword now pulsed like molten magma, glowing with a brilliant, blinding red-gold hue. The commission he accepted hadn't asked for such risk, but to Akira, this wasn't anything out of the ordinary—it was no more troublesome than changing into new clothes on New Year's morning. "Buzz—" The pitch-black hornets flapped their wings furiously, their sound sharp and shrill, as if screeching out a warning to one another. They swarmed frenziedly, clustering around the vast tree hollow where the three massive hives loomed, nearly filling the space. Akira crouched slightly, narrowing his eyes at the incoming flood of enemies, which surged in from all sides. His vision was sharp—razor sharp. He immediately caught the two primary forms of attack these monsters employed. Either thrusting the vicious stingers at the ends of their abdomens or opening those jagged mandibles wide enough to crush steel with ease. In a flash, he predicted their movement patterns. With a sharp inhale, Akira raised his right hand, and the blade of Oath of Justice, now cloaked in searing fire, came cleaving down. In seconds, the front ranks of dozens of the massive insects crashed to the ground, their bodies broken and burnt. But like a hellish tide, the next swarm surged forward, pouring from the vast cocoon chamber to replace their fallen kin without pause. After 3 seconds, Akira twisted his wrist and reversed the arc of his swing mid-motion. The blazing blade swept backward even faster than before, its flaming edge a blur as it struck the next wave with unrelenting power. Four seconds later, the Deadly Hornets faltered in midair. The armor-like exoskeletons, tough enough to overwhelm most Level 2 adventurers, cracked like glass under the force of the blow. Their wings—four per monster—were shredded into ribbons by the scorching arcs of light. After five seconds, the sword drank in more of Akira's magic power, swelling with power. Flames exploded from the blade's edge, extending it into a massive inferno three meters long. Akira stormed toward the beehive, nimbly dodging the sudden spray of red and yellow fluid bursting from it without warning. Then, six seconds later, he gripped the flaming blade with both hands. With a single swing, the colossal fire-forged weapon cleaved through all three hives like slicing paper. The obstacles that had blocked the path forward were reduced to smoldering halves. He spun, slashing in a continuous arc and carved apart the surrounding monsters. The air was filled with the spray of blood and the scent of scorched flesh. Severed limbs and shattered exoskeletons scattered like falling leaves. The few magic stones that hadn't already been pulverized by the force of his strikes glimmered faintly amidst the carnage. In a mere 18 seconds, the battlefield was silent—every single monster had been annihilated by Akira's onslaught. Without a word, he stepped forward and pushed aside the charred remnants of the hive that had once sealed off the tree hollow's entrance. Carefully, Akira ventured deeper into the hidden space. Inside, a large curtain hung, covering something ominous within. He pulled it aside. Behind it sat more than a dozen sacks, all stuffed full with unknown contents. Frowning, Akira untied the rope of the nearest sack and peeked inside. What he saw made a chill crawl down his spine. A pile of ominous red stones greeted his gaze. —Kaenseki. A rare and highly volatile material dropped by the Flame Rock on the 44th floor. These stones could easily trigger massive explosions, powerful enough to obliterate even Level 3 monsters at close range. Akira instinctively wiped the sweat from his brow. Thank the gods I didn't unleash fire-element magic across the whole field... If he had, the result would have been catastrophic. The detonation of so many Kaensekis in such an enclosed environment would have caused serious structural trauma to the Dungeon itself—and a Dungeon mutation could have been triggered on the spot. And if that had happened? If the mutated monsters had appeared right beside him, he could have handled it. But if they spawned elsewhere—rampaging toward unsuspecting adventurers—he would bear responsibility for the devastation. Clearly, this was the "strange thing" that Tsubaki had sensed earlier. Someone had stockpiled an obscene amount of Kaensekis in this hollow, and brought these beehives here—using unknown methods—to guard them. Akira's brows furrowed. "Hmm..." He closed his eyes and began sorting through the recent events in his mind. A moment passed before a cold realization surfaced. Among the countless factions operating in the shadows of Orario, there was only one with both the ruthlessness and the means to orchestrate something this vile. —Evilus. The moment the thought surfaced, it rang with clarity. The style of operation, the choice of materials, the placement of monsters—everything pointed directly at them. Ordinary adventurers who dabbled in monster taming didn't possess the strength or boldness to execute something on this level. They were usually cowards hiding behind tricks, not capable of such a large-scale setup. Even if, by some remote chance, Evilus wasn't behind this, anyone capable of hoarding this many Kaensekis clearly had malicious intent. That alone made them dangerous. "Heh... I suppose fate intended these things for me. As a righteous man, I'll just take them for safekeeping. Wouldn't want them to fall into the wrong hands and harm the innocent." With a wry smile, Akira stuffed all the sacks, over a dozen of them, into [Backpack], securing them tightly. He pulled out his pocket watch. The blue pointer showed the time: 13:00. Still some time left to collect more magic stones and materials. He flicked his fingers. The thick curtain that had previously concealed the Kaensekis ignited in a blaze. The fire roared as if angered, devouring the cloth in seconds and reducing it to ash. A sudden whirlwind swept through the hollow with a fierce howl, clearing the area of debris, flame, and scent—erasing all traces of Akira's presence. With everything cleaned up, Akira turned calmly, his body levitating off the ground as he floated silently out of the now-dark cave. His eyes scanned the remains of the Deadly Hornets scattered like broken dolls across the battlefield. Their terrifying threat was gone. They were now nothing more than twisted husks, some still clutching undamaged magic stones inside their ruptured bodies. Akira sighed, his thoughts drifting toward his wallet, which had grown significantly lighter after purchasing Oath of Justice. Even crumbs add up to a loaf... Even a few extra valis wouldn't hurt. Closing his eyes, Akira calmed his breathing, focused his mind, and began using his magic power to scan the battlefield—locating each and every magic stone still embedded in the corpses. (End of Chapter) New Book: Naruto: Transmigrating With Yuta's Template Haruki arrives in the Naruto world and before he could take a breather, a ninja, holding a sharp blade, rushes towards him. "..." He closed his eyes and prepared for a second transmigration. Unexpectedly, a pair of huge claws stretched out from behind him and twisted the ninja in front of him. "Yuta..." "Don't hurt Yuta..." Haruki opened his eyes and saw a face that was extremely terrifying. Isn't this the Queen of Curses Rika from Jujutsu Kaisen? ... [Congratulations to the host for successfully calming down the companion cursed spirit who was in a rage—Rika Orimoto!] [The Cursed Spirit Mother Auxiliary System has been successfully activated!] [The King of Curses Ryomen Sukuna... Waiting to be activated! ] [Host Identity Template——Yuta Okkotsu] [Please activate Yuta Okkotsu's main ability!]