'Good, go, Adam, kill them, kill them all!' Silvana inwardly exclaimed with a slightly insane smile watching Adam cut the Noisy Paroses apart.
Within seconds of the clock appearing and Adam's attack, he had already killed two Noisy Paroses. Everything happened so fast that Noisy Paroses didn't even have time to realize how strong he was.
In fact, in his normal state, Adam could hardly have surpassed Noisy Paroses in pure physical power. If their fists had collided, the momentum would have thrown Adam aside rather than the monster.
But, being under three amplifications, the difference in strength between them was significant. Moreover, what mattered most was Adam's speed and his needle's ability to pierce Noisy Paroses' tough hide and quickly get to their weaknesses.
The Noisy Paroses realized that Adam was the main threat, so they jumped at the same time, going to collapse on him altogether.
Adam tilted his head, then his silhouette shook and he found himself behind one of the monsters. Wasting no time, Adam jumped on Noisy Paros, pierced its head with his needle, and leaped onto the next one.
By the time the Noisy Paroses reached the ground, they were no longer able to control their bodies and clench their fists tightly, as they were already dead... all of them.
Adam raised his head, looking at his watch. Only twenty-five seconds had passed since their battle. That was how long it had taken him to kill six Noisy Paroses.
Now... Now was the really important moment that would answer the question that was in each of their minds.
What were they doing it for?
Well, not really. Adam and the others realized that this way they could hide from the wave of monsters and fight only a small part of them and not all at once. Moreover, thanks to the Fume Judge and the rules, they were fighting in a fair and safe format.
But... what did Fume Cathedral have such rules for?
Whooooooooooosh.
The barrier disappeared just like clockwork as Fume Judge stepped forward. The knight in snow-white armor pulled out a round stone slab with three empty cells from beneath the cloth.
Then, at his will, one of the cells shone brightly, forming from the energy the figure of a statue with a spear that looked just like the Fume Statues in front of the gate, just a few hundred times smaller.
The Fume Judge looked at Adam, then pointed at the slab and glanced toward the exit, but not the main one, but the side one that was in the back of the Fume Cathedral.
Adam nodded, understanding what the Fume Judge was trying to explain to him.
"I see... So we have to win two more times and they'll let us go?" Oskar suggested, scratching the back of his head in confusion. He was having trouble understanding the rules.
"Yeah, most likely." Katrin nodded, "Though I think there's more to it than that since we can leave at any time, three wins are needed for something else."
'Katrin's right.' Silvana said, intruding into their conversation, 'If you accomplish three victories, the Fume Statues will protect you from the unworthy. Basically, you can safely leave this area and go to a safe zone where a fighter can pick you up.'
Silvana didn't want to spend too much time explaining all the details and subtleties, so she gave them the main gist.
"Well, then let's fight on." Adam calmly said, "Moreover, our next opponents are already coming."
At the same moment, three massive lizard-like creatures that came from the dragon world entered Fume Cathedral.
Their bodies were covered in dense armor made of hundreds of stone spikes, and their paws were lined with unusual purple vines that could turn into weapons of darkness at will. On their heads were two long horns, their eyes were narrow, with eyelids covered in dense scales.
"Damn, this is clearly not going to be easy." Erla gulped, getting ready to take part in the battle. She had done nothing in the previous battle, as well as everyone but Adam.
...
On the monster's back was a huge gray coffin, with dust falling from it with every step the monster took.
'What the hell...? What kind of bastard is this? Why do I get chills just looking at him?' Adam gulped, unable to contain the shivering of his body.
Step.
The monster stopped and looked at the Fume Statues, it seemed like he was asking them for permission to enter, but that wasn't the case at all.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
Suddenly, a majestic and incredibly powerful aura began to emanate from the monster, overwhelming everything around him.
"ARGH!!!" Lero exclaimed, he immediately vomited due to the pressure with a face contorted with horror.
The weakest monsters scrambled into corners like frightened puppies, unwilling to face this nightmare.
Crackle.
In a heartbeat, the Fume Statues fell to one knee, hailing him as a special worthy one. One who possessed exceptional power.
The monster nodded and walked forward with a calm stride.
Everyone, the monsters, Fume Armors, Fume Judge, Adam, and Golden Light Squad, stared at him with wide-open eyes, terrified to imagine who this monster really was.
Step. Step. Step.
Seemingly in an eyeblink, the monster passed by Adam and Fog Hunter without paying any attention to them.
Then, under a hundred stares, the monster approached Fume Throne and dropped the coffin he was carrying on his back to the floor.
Crackle.
The coffin sank into the sturdy ground causing it to crack and break, showing how much this thing weighed.
Oskar's eyes went wide in disbelief. He was afraid to imagine how much physical strength it would take to carry such a weight on his back.
Then, serene and calm, as if it were meant to be, the monster sat on Fume Throne looking down at everyone else. His gaze was filled with arrogance and superiority.
This place didn't belong to him, but now he was the one who was the lord of the Fume Throne.
The monster threw one leg over the other and rested his cheek on his hand, looking at the pitiful creatures before him with boredom in his eyes.
Soon, feeling the monster's aura fully, Adam and the others realized one simple thing, the monster in front of them was not Yellow Threat Level, it was one level lower!
'A-Adam...' Silvana said in a trembling voice, her body was covered in goosebumps and there was only fear in her eyes.
'A-Adam... It's... Top-1 of the Purple Threat Level, the strongest among thousands of Purple Threat monsters...'
Silvana whispered, not wanting to say it:
'Plague Reaper...'