Multiversal Ascension-Chapter 104: Nexoria Corruption Spread

Shadow suddenly appeared in front of them, ignoring the small step back they instinctively took at her unexpected presence, especially in such a tense moment. She turned her eyes to Amelia and spoke.

"Young lady, you need to get out of here. I don't know the exact magnitude of the threat coming from the sky or even how he knew about it—" she gestured toward Mikael with her head.

"But what I do know is that multiple entities, as strong as or stronger than me, are heading straight for us. For your safety, you need to leave!"

"B-but I don't want to run away, letting everyone in the city die while I just escape like a coward without even putting up a fight! Is that what you expect from me?!" she nearly screamed, her voice filled with fear, hysteria, and anger.

"Yes. That's exactly what I expect." Shadow's cold voice cut through her emotions like a blade.

"Huh?" Amelia let out a stunned sound, caught off guard by the blunt response.

This time, Shadow's voice softened slightly. "Young lady, you need to run. If you don't, you'll not only endanger yourself, but also your boyfriend and your new friend."

Amelia hesitated for a second, her expression wavering. But as she took in her surroundings—the red-colored entities rapidly descending toward the city—she understood that now wasn't the time to argue. With a grave nod, she said, "You're right."

Mikael gave Shadow a thankful nod. She had helped convince Amelia, and for that, he was grateful. He understood that the threat descending upon Dirarnia was beyond anything they could handle. Staying to fight wasn't bravery—it was suicide. The difference in power between both sides was simply too vast.

The only way anyone could defend Dirarnia now was if they had some absurd level of plot armor. Otherwise, death was assured. That was why Mikael hadn't even considered staying behind to fight—it was pointless.

Following Amelia's acceptance, Shadow spoke again. "I'll cover you."

Without wasting another second, the four of them continued moving through the city. All around them, civilians stood frozen in shock, while rankers of various levels stared up at the sky in horror.

Some rankers took defensive positions, preparing for battle. Rangers and mages had already begun launching attacks at the descending entities.

But to their despair, their attacks either dealt no damage or barely left a scratch.

Panic spread. Some rankers abandoned their positions and fled, while terrified civilians rushed to barricade themselves in their homes.

The once lively city was now suffocating under an atmosphere of sheer terror.

At that moment, the first entities from Nexoria finally hit the ground. Surprisingly, even the largest and heaviest of them barely made a sound upon impact. Contrary to what their sheer mass should have caused, their landing was eerily silent, as if some unseen force was controlling their descent.

Then, all hell broke loose. As Mikael glanced around, he witnessed horrifying scenes unfolding in every direction. The Nexorian entities attacked everything within their reach, and though some rankers attempted to resist, their efforts were futile. Against the overwhelming strength of these creatures, they were quickly overpowered and slaughtered.

And those were the lucky ones...

Not far from him, Mikael spotted a muscular shield user desperately defending himself against a two-meter-tall eldritch abomination. The creature had a vaguely humanoid form, but its entire body was covered in gaping maws, each lined with jagged teeth. Misplaced arms jutted out from its torso, and even those fingers bore miniature mouths, gnashing hungrily.

The shield user barely had time to react before one of its grotesque limbs swung down, striking him with terrifying force. The impact sent him flying backward, his shield slipping from his grasp. A look of horror crossed his face as he scrambled to retrieve it, but he wasn't fast enough.

The eldritch abomination lunged forward, wrapping him in its writhing arms.

"AHHHHHHH!" His agonized scream tore through the streets as the mouths covering the creature's body sank their teeth into his flesh, devouring him alive.

He struggled desperately, but against its monstrous strength, he had no chance of escape. His screams of pure terror and pain echoed throughout the city as he was slowly consumed.

But he wasn't the only one.

All around them, similar scenes played out. Dirarnia's defenders tried to fight back but were overwhelmed in seconds, reduced to nothing more than cattle being slaughtered.

Lyra, who had been running alongside the group, saw the carnage unfold before her and paled. Her entire body tensed, but she forced herself to press forward, her resolve hardened by the trials she had faced in the past weeks.

Their luck, however, couldn't hold out forever.

As they sprinted through the chaos, a nearby beast-like Nexorian entity took notice of them. Its blood-red eyes locked onto Amelia, and in an instant, it lunged, moving with terrifying speed.

'So fast!' Amelia thought, her breath hitching as she swiftly drew her bow, ready to fire.

But before she could release an arrow, a steel blade cleaved through the creature mid-leap, slicing it cleanly in two. Its severed halves fell lifelessly to the ground, spilling dark, thick blood onto the pavement.

Amelia turned to Mikael, who had delivered the strike, and gave him a brief nod of gratitude.

"Back away!" Lyra's sudden shout snapped Amelia's attention toward her, confusion flashing across her face.

At the same time, Mikael caught something from the corner of his eye—the corpse of the beast he had just slain was dissolving, transforming into a thick, red mist.

As the mist spread, it touched the ground, staining the pavement with an eerie reddish hue. Almost instantly, grotesque red mushrooms sprouted from the cement, their twisted forms adding to the already nightmarish scene.

But the horror didn't end there.

The mist, which had emerged from the creature's corpse, suddenly surged toward Mikael and Amelia with alarming speed.

"Move!" Lyra screamed in warning.

Reacting in an instant, Mikael grabbed Amelia and leaped backward, narrowly evading the mist. But it didn't stop—it continued to pursue them, slithering forward like a sentient force.

"We need to keep moving," Mikael said, his eyes locked on the unnatural phenomenon. Releasing Amelia from his grasp, he heard her mutter a quick, "Thanks," before they refocused on their escape.

As they resumed their sprint, leaving the pursuing mist behind, Shadow finally spoke.

"Focus on running. I'll take care of anything that tries to stop us. That way, we'll move faster."

It was the most logical course of action, and the group quickly agreed. They pressed forward while Shadow efficiently dispatched any Nexorian entity that attempted to intercept them. Each time she struck down an enemy, they wasted no time in moving away, ensuring the red mist didn't reach them. Having witnessed its effects on the environment, none of them were eager to find out what it would do to them.

Despite the apocalyptic horror surrounding them, the group of four was making good progress, weaving through the now ruined city toward its outer walls.

Seeing this, a glimmer of hope sparked within Lyra.

'Maybe... maybe we'll actually make it out of here alive...'

But just as that thought crossed her mind, the situation changed!

Not long ago, Nexorian entities had emerged from the cracks in the sky, swiftly reaching the ground and beginning their slaughter. But they weren't the only threat—red mist had also invaded Dirarnia. Unlike the entities, the mist moved slowly, taking longer to descend. Yet now, it was rapidly approaching and would soon reach the ground, ready to spread its corruption everywhere!

Realizing the imminent danger, Mikael quickly came up with a countermeasure before shouting, "Cover every inch of your body with aura so the red mist can't reach you!"

Following his own command, he modified the aura surrounding him, ensuring it fully enveloped his body, not leaving even a single centimeter exposed. Amelia and Shadow immediately did the same, understanding his reasoning and trusting that it would work.

Lyra, on the other hand, panicked. As a mage, she had no aura to shield herself, and seeing the red mist rapidly approaching the ground only heightened her anxiety.

Noticing her predicament, Mikael quickly said, "You know how to use Elemental Cloak, right? Cover yourself with it!"

Lyra understood his reasoning, but hesitation filled her voice as she replied, "Yes, I know it, but I'm not sure if I'm skilled enough to cover my entire body properly... What if the red mist still manages to touch me?" she asked anxiously, her eyes darting to the rapidly descending mist.

Hearing her response, Mikael's mind raced before he suddenly moved, grabbing her into a princess carry.

Lyra let out a high-pitched yelp of surprise, but before she could protest, Mikael said, "I'll carry you like this while covering you with my aura."

A wave of guilt and helplessness washed over Lyra. She felt useless knowing that he had to use his own aura to protect her, especially in such a dire situation where every ounce of aura and mana could mean the difference between life and death.

But despite the turmoil in her heart, she remained silent, knowing now wasn't the time to distract him.

After the brief moment it took for Mikael to lift Lyra into his arms, the group resumed their movement. Soon enough, the red mist reached the ground.

The moment it made contact, it immediately began corrupting everything around it. Nothing was spared—walls, floors, furniture, plants—absolutely everything transformed upon being touched by the mist.

A reddish hue spread over every surface, accompanied by grotesque mutations. Disgusting, red-colored outgrowths appeared on the walls, pulsating as if they were alive.

The ground and furniture twisted and deformed in the same unsettling manner. But the plants underwent the most dramatic changes.

Just a few meters away, Mikael saw a tree as it was engulfed by the red mist. In seconds, it transformed, its bark turning deep red—a trait that he remarked was common to everything originating from Nexoria.

But what was even more alarming was that the tree came to life, its branches writhing as it lashed out at the group.

Of course, attacking them was a fatal mistake. In the next instant, Shadow's daggers flashed, slicing the tree into multiple pieces.

Surprisingly, the moment Shadow took down the tree, it didn't take long for it to 'disintegrate' into the same red mist that the entities from Nexoria released upon death. This revealed a terrifying truth—the tree, despite being infected just moments ago, was already fully assimilated into Nexoria's influence.

This had grave implications for the propagation of Nexoria's presence on Dirarnia.

After taking down the tree, the group of four continued moving forward. However, the red mist was now spreading rapidly, infecting everything around them. Fortunately, their aura shields prevented the mist from making contact, causing it to 'harmlessly' disperse upon impact.

Unfortunately, others nearby weren't as lucky. Some lacked the quick thinking to protect themselves, while others simply didn't have the ability to cover their bodies with aura in time.

Not far from them, a civilian woman was touched by the red mist. Instantly, she let out an agonizing scream.

"AHHH! It hurts! It's burning me from the inside!!" she wailed.

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Surprisingly, unlike the instant transformation of inanimate objects or even plants like the tree, the mutation caused by the red mist was much slower in humans. While everything else was altered immediately upon contact, it took a few seconds before her arm began to mutate, gaining a reddish hue.

Mikael and the others didn't linger to see what happened next—they had no time to spare. They continued moving, determined to put as much distance as possible between themselves and civilization.

Author Note:

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