Chapter 440 Corrosive Monster

The Cadmus Dragon nesting around the spring was not only one of the 51st Floor’s few Rare Monsters, but also the waters’ immensely powerful guardian. Its strength was practically unmatched at this depth. In fact, discounting the Floor Bosses, the Cadmus Dragon undoubtedly stood at the pinnacle of all discovered monsters. Even if beasts like the Black Rhinos or Mutant Spiders grouped up to challenge it, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Looks like an irregular situation,” Gareth muttered, stroking his thick beard.

The five of them pressed forward in silence for a while longer. The deathly quiet was so heavy it felt hard to breathe. Suddenly, the faint but intense sounds of battle echoed from a corner up ahead, pierced by the terrified, high-pitched scream of a young girl.

“Lefiya!”

“Crap!”

Aiden and Finn exchanged a sharp glance. In the very next second, the five figures accelerated without hesitation, bursting forward toward the source of the noise. Before they even rounded the corner, a powerful shockwave hit them head-on. The corridor ahead had been violently forced open by some immense power, the lead-black walls twisted beyond recognition.

What appeared before them was a massive, grotesque monster they had never seen before. Its entirely sickly yellow-green body was flabby and bloated, looking unnervingly soft. Thick, vibrant, multi-colored stripes covered its skin—an unnatural color combination that instantly broadcasted its extreme toxicity.

Its lower half heavily resembled a caterpillar, bloated, ugly, and lined with countless short legs. Its upper torso, however, reared up from the long lower half like a small mountain in a riding posture. Two slender, flat, fleshy appendages—likely its arms—dangled limply to its left and right.

Even Finn and Gareth, seasoned veterans of countless Dungeon expeditions, were struck with shock and bewilderment the moment they laid eyes on the creature. There was absolutely nothing in their vast wealth of knowledge about a monster like this.

“Tch, another new species,” Bete clicked his tongue in annoyance.

The monster’s gigantic frame vibrated violently as it moved forward. It scraped against the fifteen-foot-high ceiling, showering the area with rustling dust. Its width practically filled the entire corridor. Watching this beast press its countless short legs into the ground and barrel down the hall, the only word that came to mind was “chariot.”

And the ones being chased by this chariot of flesh and blood were the girls’ team—Ais, Tifa, and the others.

Lefiya was slung directly over Tiona’s shoulder, letting out breathless, wordless shrieks as they fled. That earlier scream of terror had belonged to the poor elf.

Reacting the fastest, Aiden blurred into a streak of crimson. Before anyone else could properly assess the situation, he shot forward. He brushed past the fleeing girls, leveling the Godslayer straight at the hulking beast.

“Wait, Aiden!” Tifa yelled, her face pale with panic.

But it was too late. Aiden was too fast, already closing into striking distance.

To counter Aiden’s head-on charge, the caterpillar monster let out a sickening, bone-cracking crunch from where its face should be, suddenly unhinging a massive maw.

A torrent of corrosive sludge erupted from its throat.

The fluid looked like melted marble, a grotesque swirl of purple and black that sent chills down the spine just looking at it. Yet, Aiden effortlessly sidestepped the linear attack. He vaulted into the air, driving the Godslayer ruthlessly into the monster’s wide-open, vulnerable abdomen.

The beast let out a muffled, echoing howl that sounded like a cracked bell. But as he landed, Aiden’s expression suddenly changed.

A burst of the exact same purple-black liquid geysered from the monster’s impaled wound, splashing straight toward his face. Relying on extreme reflexes, Aiden threw his head to the side, dodging the direct hit by a hair’s breadth. However, a single droplet caught the tips of his hair.

With a soft hiss, the white strands instantly melted into nothingness.

“Tch, so it’s this kind of monster,” Aiden muttered, swiftly taking a step back. Raging flames immediately ignited along the Godslayer, thoroughly vaporizing the monster’s tainted blood from the blade.

Just be careful. This monster’s blood can corrode weapons. It’s disgusting, and it makes my skin crawl, Himeko’s voice echoed in his mind, lacing the telepathic link with obvious displeasure.

“Don’t use your weapons! Its blood corrodes them!” Tifa’s warning finally caught up to him.

As if enraged, the monster roared, spewing more of the fatal liquid from its maw.

Aiden dodged, taking a quick inventory of the battlefield. The purple liquid slid across the corridor floor in a straight line, melting a deep trench into the solid rock with a violent sizzle.

He finally noticed that Tiona’s ever-present double-bladed Urga was missing. Tione’s daggers were gone. Even Tifa’s custom metal gauntlets had vanished, leaving angry, corrosive burns on her arms. Only Ais’s Desperate remained perfectly intact. Clearly, they had already suffered a heavy loss.

“Thank goodness your weapon is like Ais’s, or you would’ve paid for that,” Tifa said, grabbing Aiden’s arm as she spun around, dragging him back without another word.

“Don’t fight it, retreat!” Finn commanded decisively, taking in the situation with a single glance.

Nobody entertained the thought of fighting. The group sprinted away at full speed. Because trailing right behind that massive caterpillar was a massive swarm of bizarre monsters, their sheer numbers enough to make anyone’s scalp go numb.

“Lefiya, what happened? Is anyone hurt?” Aiden asked the elf girl still bouncing on Tiona’s shoulder.

“Waaaaah, we don’t know what happened either! I have no idea where all these monsters came from! My beautiful double-bladed sword is gooooone!” Tiona wailed, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

“We’re fine… It’s just that, aside from Miss Ais, Miss Tiona and the others’ weapons were all melted,” Lefiya answered, her heart still pounding. Her pretty face was pale, obviously deeply shaken.