Salvos (A Monster Evolution LitRPG)

552. Not So Invincible

The second layer had been a vast tunnel that seemed to constantly fall into a steep decline. And no matter how far down I went, a city expanded all around me. Buildings clung to the walls and ceiling, defying all logic. 

But even though these expansive superstructures continued to pervade all around me, they grew far more sparse. Large sections of the city had been claimed by the corruption. Giant bubbles of non-existence consumed dozens of spires, and the glowing moss that had been so ubiquitous was entirely gone. 

Perhaps that was a clue that I should have slowed down— that I shouldn’t have continued further down. But I had been driven by curiosity. And perhaps, I had been motivated by a desire to grow even stronger, more than ever before. So I made a mistake. I proceeded without exercising enough caution.  

And now I found myself trapped, surrounded by the corruption. 

The city itself turned against me. This ruined society that had fallen, brought back under the powers of a dying world. Dozens of houses, spires, and towers rose from the earth as a veil of iridescent light wreathed their bodies.

I stared at them all with wide eyes.

 [-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstructure - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]

 [-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstructure - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]

 [-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstructure - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]

….

“Huh.”

My Grand Skill had ended. The boost in power I had been given thanks to my Divine Essence was gone. Without it, I had barely been stronger than a Corrupted Gargoyle. And with it, I had been able to defeat multiple Corrupted Gargoyles all on my own. I had even been able to defeat a Corrupted Netherstructure with relative ease.

But now, I was left surrounded by dozens of those corrupted beings without a Grand Skill. All I had on me was my Divine Nebular Scythe. And the Corrupted Netherstructures screeched. A terrible chittering shook the area, and the ground broke open.

Tendrils of corruption exploded from the earth as I took to the skies with my [Angelic Wings]. I swerved around the attacks, yelling as I swung down with my iridescent blade. [Divine Strike] and [Draconic Fury] took over, but I still struggled to shear through the layer of corruption. 

“This is such… bad… timing!”

I shouted and pointed at a nearby Corrupted Netherstructure— one made from a small tower. It drew closer to me, and I unleashed a volley of attacks created by [The Holy Flames]. A cluster of explosions erupted out, knocking the tower back.

It gave me a brief respite. It gave me just enough time for me to bring both my claws together and conjured up a sphere of black flames.

“Take this— [The Call of Armageddon]!”

And a rain of black fire fell from the sky. It exploded out in every direction, targeting the Corrupted Netherstructures without any discrimination. It didn’t just fly straight down— the hail of dark fire fell upwards, crashing into the ceiling above.

I grinned as I activated [Divine Haste], flying to make my escape. This was one of my brand new Skills— probably one of my greatest Skills too. It should keep the Corrupted Netherstructures occupied for a moment. Or at least, that was what I thought.

But a tendril of corruption swung my way. I blinked. My [Angelic Premonition] told me it was coming. And I parried the attack just in time.

I tumbled through the air as the impact knocked me back. It took me a moment to steel myself, regaining my bearing of my surroundings. I narrowed my eyes as I faced the Corrupted Netherstructure that had intercepted me.

“How…?”

And I paused. I saw the rain of black fire falling around the area, pelting the nearby Corrupted Netherstructures. But even despite [The Call of Armageddon], they barely slowed in their approach.

The rain of black fire didn’t peel away at their corruption like I thought it would. Instead, it was a minor hindrance at most. I gritted my teeth and sent another salvo of [The Holy Flames] out at the Corrupted Netherstructure that had intercepted me.

The explosion of gray flames knocked it back, burning away a layer of corruption. I paused. I watched as the shower of black flames continued to bounce off the Corrupted Netherstructure. Somehow, while [The Holy Flames] was somewhat effective in stalling the lashing corrupted tendrils, [The Call of Armageddon] barely… did anything.

And that made no sense to me. I slowly processed this, even as the various Corrupted Netherstructures drew closer. Until, finally, I realized what this meant. 

I snapped my fingers.

“Oh. I see now.”

The corruption was weak to divinity. That was why my Grand Skill had been particularly effective against them. It must have also explained how I was able to defeat the Cursed Boulder back in the Beastmen Plains thanks to the Breastplate of Alexander. The same thing could be said when I went up against the Corrupted Island with my children— I had the Sword of Alexander with me, and that helped me out a lot.

But on the other hand, regular magic was actually weaker to the corruption. Maybe I didn’t notice it because the only time I had faced the corruption without any divinity was against that Lesser Wyvern back in the Helbir Plains. Back then, it hadn’t even been a full-on bout against the corruption, anyway. And I had Helena Warshade there to help me.

Here, in the second layer of the Netherworld, the corruption was not just in its true form, but it was also stronger. And I had no Mythical Grade artifacts on me— no Divine Essence to help me. Most of my Divine Skills had already been expended. I was completely pushed into a corner. 

And now, I had to find a way to escape in spite of all that.

The Corrupted Netherstructures screeched. I watched as they flew up into the sky, chasing after me. They whipped their tendrils into the air, ignoring the black fiery hail that poured forth from my Skill. I glanced back once, barely avoiding the sharp edge of a tendril. 

I needed to lose them somehow. I needed to escape. I raised a hand, activating [Salvo of Vanity] with a cry. And six of my clones burst into existence all at once. They flew out away from me, laughing as they unleashed their gold and gray flames at the Corrupted Netherstructures

They drew the power of [The Holy Flames], keeping the corruption back away from me. They paved a path for me to escape. But up against so many Corrupted Netherstructures, each clone could barely hold their own. 

The first of my clones exploded— they blasted out into a giant golden cross. The explosion ripped apart a large chunk of the corruption. But they weren’t made of Divine Essence. Their composition was that of ordinary magic. And the explosion only slowed the Corrupted Netherstructures.

I clenched my jaw as I dove under a tendril of corruption. But a Corrupted Netherstructured blocked my path. It was made from a large wall— like the battlements that surrounded a city. I glanced back for a moment as I considered turning around. And all I saw was another one of my clones exploding in the distance.

More and more Corrupted Netherstructures drew closer, and they came from every direction. The only way for me to escape was to fly straight ahead. So that was what I did. I raised my Divine Nebular Scythe and struck out with the combined power of [Divine Strike] and [Draconic Fury].

I swung at the wall— only for my blade to lodge halfway into the corrupted stone. I blinked, and the Corrupted Netherstructure made a hissing sound. It began to wrap its body around me as I tried to fly back. But I couldn’t yank out the Divine Nebular Scythe. I was trapped. And I was going to be crushed soon if I didn’t do something to escape.

Iridescent flakes of the corruption wisped past my face, and I took in a deep breath. I let go of the Divine Nebular Scythe and raised my head. I was left with no other choice. I beat all six of my wings forward, before blasting myself straight at the wall that was the Corrupted Netherstructure threatening to crush me.

And right as I was about to impact the corrupted stone, I screamed.

“[My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends]!”

An aura of invulnerability coalesced around my body. An armor of flames that sparked out— I raised a fist. I closed my eyes, bracing myself. And I focused the power of my Grand Skill only onto my right hand.

At that moment, I crashed into the Corrupted Netherstructure. It let out a low groan, before shrieking. My skin burned, and cuts opened up across my body as I ripped my way through the wall. But I pushed on. 

I continued to smash my way through the layers and layers of corruption. All the stone and brick that made up the wall had been infected by that virus, and even as it crumbled around me, the corrupt threatened to rip open my skin. The only reason why I could even push through was thanks to my [Corruption Resistance].

I exploded out of the other side of the collapsing wall that was Corrupted Netherstructure a moment later.

And as my clones died behind me, the other dozens of Corrupted Netherstructures continued their pursuit of me, while I continued flying on.