Chapter 208: Did the mosquito try to seduce my rat? Hahahaahah

The second underground floor, which had once served as the Tower of Mages’ main energy chamber, was simply gigantic.

The collapse of the structures above ground had caused unimaginable damage to that floor.

Of the various Elemental Energy Particle Reserves that had originally existed there, almost all had been completely destroyed.

Only one reserve still contained energy. Its structure was cracked in several places, countless runes had lost part of their function, and the balance of the magical elements stored inside had been completely destroyed.

Instead of containing a balanced mixture of the different Elementals, as the ancient Mages had probably intended, that reserve was now saturated mainly with the Plant Element.

And someone had taken advantage of this.

Right in the center of the last remaining Elemental Reserve stood a colossal tree.

It looked extremely ancient.

Its trunk was so thick that at least a group of adult men would have been needed to completely wrap their arms around it. Enormous roots spread everywhere, occupying practically every inch of the reserve.

But that was not a tree.

It was the Mosquito’s true form.

At the top of that gigantic trunk was a sort of human face made from red petals. The petals overlapped one another.

After absorbing absurd amounts of Plant Element from that reserve, her body had grown explosively, transforming into the monstrous structure.

Honestly, even an extremely experienced Mage would probably have difficulty identifying her original species simply by looking at that form.

After all, how many demons could occupy an entire Elemental Reserve by themselves?

Very few.

After returning underground and confirming that nothing had happened to her true form, the Mosquito finally seemed to relax.

But then she established contact with the dormant consciousness of her true form.

That was when everything changed.

A shrill roar echoed throughout the underground chamber.

— You damn bastard!

— Get out of here!

— What did you do to my true form?!

The voice was horrible.

The Mosquito raised her delicate arm.

Countless black arrows, covered in corrosive acid, appeared on her bow.

They were all aimed at an apparently insignificant rock in the distant corner of the room.

— Don’t hit me! Don’t hit me! I’m leaving right now!

The little Rat came rolling out from behind the camouflage.

The arrows were fired at the same instant.

They pierced through the false rock, which was actually nothing more than the gray cloak used to create the camouflage, and struck the wall directly behind him.

Sssssss!

The acid began corroding the stone.

A huge section of the wall simply melted like wax beneath a flame, revealing the runes and magical lines hidden inside.

Raticati turned pale.

Even knowing that those arrows hadn’t hit his body, simply watching what they had done to the wall seemed to frighten him deeply.

He began jumping from side to side, waving his small wooden staff.

— Stop attacking me!

The Mosquito seemed about to fire again.

— Or I’ll detonate the Mana-Energy Compression and Sequential Elemental Matrix Collapse Thermo-Arcane Detonation Device that I placed inside the reserve!

The Mosquito froze.

— Detonation device?!

The concern on her face was instantaneous.

At that moment, the information her true form had accumulated over the past few hours probably began being transmitted to her consciousness.

Raticati had spent a long time exploring every hidden corner of that underground area.

Then, he had climbed up to the Elemental Reserve.

And placed several strange objects, resembling small cylindrical scrolls, inside it.

Even worse...

He had placed several of those cylinders in different parts of the Mosquito’s true form.

A root moved.

It pushed one of the cylinders out of the tree’s body and handed it to the Mosquito.

She opened her delicate hand and examined the object.

She turned it from one side to the other.

She frowned.

For a demon that relied almost exclusively on magic, that object really should have seemed completely harmless.

The Mosquito probably came to the same conclusion.

The expression on her face slowly became one of confusion.

Then she began looking back toward Raticati.

That’s when the Goblin raised his small staff.

— Explode!

The Mosquito’s eyes widened.

The next instant...

BOOOOM!

The cylinder exploded in her hand.

A gigantic ball of fire immediately engulfed the upper part of the Mosquito’s body.

The shockwave swept through the underground chamber.

Rocks, fragments of wood, and debris were hurled in every direction.

A small mushroom-shaped cloud of dust rose from the center of the room.

When the dust began to settle, the blackened and smoking body of the Mosquito appeared amid the debris.

The Mosquito looked at the destroyed half of the cylinder in her hand.

Crack.

She crushed the remaining piece of the object.

The anger on her face was almost palpable.

She definitely intended to kill Raticati.

But before she could do anything...

Raticati pointed his staff at the Elemental Reserve.

— Don’t move!

The Mosquito stopped.

— If you move even slightly, I’ll detonate everything I placed in that place!

This time, it wasn’t an empty threat.

The previous explosion hadn’t been powerful enough to kill a Mage-level demon.

But it had been strong enough to damage the Elemental Reserve.

And that was the point.

The reserve was already extremely fragile.

A powerful explosion could destroy its structure.

If Raticati detonated all of them at the same time, the result could be catastrophic.

And the Mosquito couldn’t allow that.

Her true form depended on that reserve.

That energy source was responsible for her growth.

Without it, her evolution would probably come to an end.

She might never be able to become stronger again.

Therefore, for the first time since entering that room, the Mosquito seemed genuinely frightened.

— Please...

Her voice changed.

The aggression disappeared.

She looked at Raticati with teary eyes.

— Don’t destroy my home.

Then she clasped her hands in front of her chest.

— I am willing to pay any price.

The Mosquito’s body began to change.

Her black, monstrous form transformed.

Her dark skin became white and delicate.

The threatening features disappeared.

Within a few seconds, that terrifying creature had assumed the appearance of an extremely beautiful fairy, with milk-white skin and a delicate body.

It was clearly a calculated transformation.

Raticati stood completely still.

His eyes widened.

Raticati was already imagining a life where he would no longer be the insignificant brown-furred Rat despised by everyone.

A life surrounded by luxury.

Perhaps even with a beautiful companion.

Suddenly, I, who was observing the scene through Raticati’s necklace, gave a simple snort through the mental link.

Raticati shuddered.

His hand immediately went to the magical necklace around his neck.

The magical servant contract.

He had forgotten about it for a moment.

— You ugly thing! Raticati shouted, red with anger and embarrassment.

— Don’t think you can seduce the great Raticati!

He raised his fist.

— If you don’t obey me, I’ll detonate all the bombs at once!

I almost laughed.

Normally, a Mage-level demon like the Mosquito could kill Raticati with a simple movement.

But at that moment, she was completely trapped by the circumstances.

And Raticati was taking advantage of every second.

For someone who normally wasn’t even at the level of being anything more than food for a demon of that level, this must have been an almost divine experience.

The Mosquito’s expression changed several times.

First, she turned red with anger.

Then, white.

Finally, dark as the bottom of a burnt pot.

But she couldn’t attack.

And, as a demon, she didn’t possess the same human concept of pride or dignity.

So she simply changed her strategy.

Her face once again displayed a smile.

— Since the honorable Lord Raticati risked his life to enter this place...

Her voice became sweet once again.

— I presume you’re looking for the treasures hidden within the ruins?

Raticati blinked.

The Mosquito continued.

— I’ve already cleared that area and found some interesting things.

She laughed softly.

— Here.

The enormous trunk of the Human-Faced Blood Rose trembled.

The door to the room made of red petals slowly opened.

There was a veritable mountain of treasures inside that room.

It was no coincidence that all the secret rooms we had found were empty.

The Mosquito had looted everything.

And brought it all to her nest.

Raticati’s eyes began to shine.

He stood completely still.

Greed seemed to have taken over his mind.

The Mosquito’s eyes were shining as well.

An almost imperceptible light passed through her pupils.

— Die now, you damn Rat!

Her voice changed completely.

The ground exploded.

Countless thick roots emerged from the rubble surrounding Raticati.

They came from every direction.

— Raticati!

I shouted through the link.

But it was too late.

The Goblin had been caught off guard.

The tips of the roots gleamed like sharpened metal.

They surged toward his body.

Raticati closed his eyes.

The wind produced by the roots sliced across his face.

Fwoosh!

He waited for the pain.

But it never came.

His body was ripped from the ground.

— What?!

Raticati opened his eyes.

He was flying.

Not alone. Ruby had appeared beside him.

Even with her speed, however, she was having difficulty.

— You idiot! Tell her to stop!

Raticati looked completely lost.

— Oh...

He finally understood.

He turned and pointed the small staff at the enormous tree.

— Stop!

Nothing happened.

Then he had an idea.

— Explode!

BOOOOM!

An explosion appeared in the center of the enormous trunk, tearing away a piece of bark the size of a bowl. Along with the piece of the tree, a viscous green liquid gushed from the wound.

The Mosquito let out a furious scream.

Raticati raised the staff again.

— Are you going to stop now?!

He pointed toward another part of the reserve.

— Or I’ll detonate them all at once!

....

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