Chapter 194: Corruption and Degeneration

Pa! Pa! Pa!

The distinctive gunfire of the bolt‑rifle boomed.

Pfft! Pfft‑ch!

Ah…! Ah…!

Immediately after the gunfire, the demonesses' bodies exploded, and their screams echoed throughout the tunnel.

Before they could even touch the two Original Bodies they were so keen on, this group matching the Medusa demonesses' traits was struck by a coordinated volley from the dark and holy angels.

Nearby statues were also caught up, stone fragments mixing with murky blood as severed limbs flew sideways.

Less than ten seconds elapsed.

The eight Astate standing in a row moved their index fingers off the triggers, and the muzzles of their bolt‑rifles, which had stopped spewing flames, emitted a "hiss~hiss~…" sound.

Before them lay a scene of carnage.

The demonesses' incomplete corpses began to melt rapidly, eventually turning into a pool of foul black water.

Click! Click!

Seeing the threat eliminated, the Astate took turns reloading and continued to watch ahead.

The two Original Bodies standing behind the Astate didn't even pick up their weapons, feeling that this level of combat didn't require the two brothers to act.

As for Artemis, standing at the rear, she finally got a close‑up view of the Astate's battle.

Efficient, lethal, without hesitation.

From every direction, they were stronger than Olympus's divine servant army.

After all, the appearance of those snake‑haired demonesses was extremely tempting to men, even most male deities.

Yet the Astate showed not the slightest mercy.

But soon, Artemis stopped considering those things and spoke to Mr. Sui via the earpiece:

"Mr. Sui… Mr. Sui, these demonesses differ from the Medusa I know, and I also sense from them a hideous familiarity, like that of a demon."

"I understand." Mr. Sui's voice came through the earpiece: "Please continue forward."

Hearing that, Artemis said nothing more and continued forward with the two Original Bodies and the Astate toward the tunnel's end.

As they advanced, it couldn't help but wonder why so many "Medusas" had appeared.

What exactly had happened to Hephestus?

While thinking, it and the others exited the tunnel and entered an extremely spacious underground plaza.

Artemis looked around and found this place utterly unlike the Hephestus dwelling she knew.

Here there were many more male statues, including numerous divine servant soldiers wearing ancient Greek heavy armor and standing up to three meters tall.

Of course, there were also many more snake‑haired demonesses here.

Looking toward the far end of the plaza, they saw a tunnel leading to the next area, as well as the "true Medusa."

Artemis had seen what Medusa looked like before she became a demoness and after.

And the visage of that massive snake‑haired demoness, up to twenty meters tall, still bore the likeness of Medusa.

Yet Medusa's upper body, though fair‑skinned, showed a pale purple hue, her serpentine body bore deep‑purple scales, and her eyes glowed with purple light.

Moreover, Medusa exuded a demonic aura that Artemis found utterly repulsive.

Medusa likewise noticed the people entering the plaza, raised a hand and pointed, letting out a "Hiss!!!" roar, as if ordering the lesser snake‑haired demonesses to attack.

Hiss~hiss~!

The snake‑haired demonesses answered in kind, twisting their bodies and brandishing claws as they lunged at the crowd.

However…

As before, they simply could not break through the bolt‑rifle's barrage.

Before the eight Astate a clear "vacuum zone" appeared, the floor tiles spotless, while farther ahead lay the foul black water left by the slain demonesses.

While the Astate went crazy spraying explosive rounds, their Original Bodies were not idle either.

Leon hurled the Cassius Gun that Mr. Sui had lent him, aiming a powerful throw at Medusa's upper body.

Shengjilesi took down the hunting bow slung at his waist, aimed at Medusa's head, and went through the motion of drawing and releasing an arrow.

At the instant he pulled the bow and string into a full‑moon shape, the hunting bow drew on Shengjilesi's Spiritual Energy and instantly produced a glowing, intangible spiritual‑energy arrow.

Rou~——!

Whoosh~——!

The double‑bladed gun and the arrow fired simultaneously.

The speed was so great that Medusa couldn't possibly dodge in time.

Mu (not) ——!

Medusa, whose chest and skull had been pierced, let out an ear‑splitting shriek and raised both hands to clutch the wounds, trying to stop the purple light from leaking out.

But it was all in vain.

With a "Boom——!" Medusa's body exploded, and the purple light bursting from within quickly faded.

The remnants of her body and bones turned into black water, as if she had utterly died and vanished.

As for the earlier "temporary loan," it wasn't that Mr. Sui didn't want to give Leon the Cassius Gun; Leon simply preferred heavy‑sword‑type weapons.

Thus Leon became the keeper of the Cassius Gun.

—————

…

Meanwhile.

Griffon's bridge.

Standing at the front of the bridge, Mr. Sui peered down from behind the giant porthole.

The ship's crew sat behind the control consoles on both sides of the bridge, assisting the two captains in handling various trivial matters, stabilizing the Griffin's current state.

As for the two captains, they were the two artificial intelligences standing to the left and right behind Sui Bian.

The Griffin, having activated its optical camouflage, was currently located kilometers above Xila Island.

Just then, after Sui Bian's two 'sons' severely damaged Medusa's body, the system prompted him:

【Detected that Medusa, having suffered corruption from another space and fallen into a low-level demon, has her physical body in a weakened state; consume 200 points to perform Spiritual Energy plunder.】

Faced with this inquiry, Sui Bian naturally chose to plunder without any hesitation.

Having completed the plunder silently, he, looking down at Xila Island below, pondered the system's words of 'corruption' and 'fall'.

Furthermore, according to the Red Queen's verbal description, the image of that group of Gorgons and Medusa first reminded Sui Bian of, among the four small vendors, the one who liked to indulge in biological desires without restraint, pursuing ultimate perfection, thereby achieving the evil god of corruption.

However, the time of that evil god's birth should be ten thousand years later, which differs greatly from the existences he is familiar with.

But he didn't dwell on it too much, after all, time holds little meaning in another space.

What he was considering was whether Hephestus could possibly undergo fall and corruption.

———————

…

Now.

Inside the underground plaza within Shengtuolini Volcano, the Dark Angels and Holy Blood Angels had completely wiped out all the Gorgons.

Next, Artemis, together with two squads, proceeded forward, crossing a messy plaza, then passing through the tunnel guarded by Medusa, finally reaching the space at that end.

Those standing at the tunnel exit, looking out, saw lava like a moat surrounding this giant palace of extremely exaggerated architectural style.

Inside the palace.

Large amounts of purple-skinned humanoid demons of indistinguishable gender were performing extreme acts beyond description to satisfy their insatiable desires.

Sorry, maybe take a day off tomorrow.

I've arranged to go to the Chinese medicine practitioner for a massage~

If I can come back and update, tomorrow I'll still try to update; finally, thanks everyone for support!

(End of chapter)