Fallen Crypt was a Yellow Threat area, and Fume Throne, despite its creepy presence was a Light Yellow Threat area.
And... this place was now ruled by a Purple Threat level creature, Plague Reaper. He was stronger than anyone trapped inside Fume Cathedral, even Fog Hunter, a rather strong Light Yellow monster couldn't do anything to him.
Thus, inexperienced Phantoms or those who were in this situation for the first time might have a logical question.
Why was Plague Reaper a Purple Threat Level monster?
Plague Reaper was stronger than Gray Stalkers, Weeping Harahas, Fog Hunter, and a bunch of other Light Yellow Threat monsters. In that case, shouldn't Plague Reaper have rated as a Light Yellow Monster more, only ranking higher?
Well, the answer was quite simple.
When killing Plague Reaper, which happened, albeit extremely rarely, Phantom would gain Purple Threat Level genes rather than Light Yellow ones. But, this was only a technical part of the reason and was not as significant as the other one.
The main reason was that monsters like Phantoms had to evolve to become stronger.
For example, Adam was capable of killing monsters that were meant to be K2-Phantoms. Moreover, for anyone who knew what Adam could do, it was clear that he was able to defeat the weakest and newest of the K2-Phantoms.
Sure, experience and instincts honed in mortal combat would play a big role in his victory, but his abilities and energy reserves had impressive power and bulk.
But despite this, Adam was not a K2-Phantom, though technically his power could qualify him for the position.
In this case, it was understandable, as Adam had yet to create the Key, obtain the Midnight Crystal, or go through evolution. So... Plague Reaper was in a similar situation as all monsters of the Top-10 in Purple Threat Level.
Whether it was Essence Thunder Demon, Essence Scarlet Pyromancer, or someone like Snow Follower, all of them could defeat weak monsters of the Light Yellow.
Thus, all of this could lead to the following question.
What will happen when a monster like Plague Reaper evolves? Well, it will clearly be a threat that no K1-Phantom and most K2-Phantoms can handle.
Plague Reaper was a frightening opponent not only because he was Top-1 and really strong, but also because of his potential.
However, everything in this world had its own balance and a strong creature needed a lot more time and resources to increase its power even more to get to the next level.
For this reason, Prime Thunder Demon stole the larva king because he was already close to evolution and needed a powerful, active source of energy to make the final leap to a new power.
Fume Cathedral also had a powerful energy source that was not easy to subdue. But it was a passive energy, as it had long been accumulated in tiny drops from the environment and energy crystals buried deep underground.
Did Plague Reaper come here for this energy? No, that kind of energy would not be able to help him start an instant evolution. For that, he needed powerful active energy like the larva king, but even that would not be enough.
For a creature like Plague Reaper to make a rapid evolution, it would take several larva kings full of energy or something more than that...
Adam who like everyone else was watching this scene gulped. He now fully understood what would happen to him if he sat on Fume Throne. He wasn't sure if his abilities and aura would be enough to block or dodge each of the seven swords.
However... not one of the swords had attacked yet.
Whooooooooooooooooosh.
The first sword began to slowly rotate, gradually accelerating until a real vortex appeared around it.
Then, in a heartbeat, the sword came down directly on the Plague Reaper sitting serenely on the throne.
Crackle.
Plague Reaper jerked his head sharply, allowing the sword to pass close to his neck and pierce Fume Throne, sinking its broad blade a third of the way into the stone.
Adam's pupils dilated as the scene of the Plague Reaper's movements replayed in his mind. He could see it, he could understand the Plague Reaper's speed and it brought a slight smile to his face.
'Oh, I see... He is indeed fast, but now that I have calmed down a bit after his sudden appearance, I can see that he is not invincible. At the very least, in our battle, I'll be able to keep up with his actions.' Adam pondered as he prepared for the inevitable battle.
Unlike Oskar or Lero who just dreamed of escaping from Fume Cathedral and heading to a safe zone, Adam realized that it was unrealistic.
After everything that had happened, after the Plague Reaper had come here with a vested interest in the incident, there was no turning back. Only death or life, there was no other choice for any of them, neither Phantoms nor monsters.
'But... He needs to deal with Fume Throne first. It's unlikely he'll be able to do that without a problem, if he's seriously injured, then I can take advantage of that and attack.' Adam inwardly muttered glancing at his hands, electric shocks passed between his fingers.
Plague Reaper glanced at the sword that was next to his face and occasionally shook. At the same time, the next sword began to rotate, preparing to fall on its victim.
"Agh..." Plague Reaper let out a sigh filled with frustration before exhaling a black cloud of dust, causing the first sword to collapse.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
The snow-white sword was covered in cracks, quickly disintegrating and turning into dark ash, like dust.
Osana frowned.
'So it can do the same thing not only to a living being but also to energy? That's not good at all.' Osana bit her lip.
Whooooooooooooosh.
At the same moment, the next sword descended on Plague Reaper with even greater speed than before. It seemed that this time the sword wouldn't miss because it was aimed at the monster's chest and Plague Reaper had no time to dodge such an attack.
Then, everyone saw the sword stop abruptly, held back by Plague Reaper's palm and the invisible barrier between his hand and the sword.
It was his aura that was gradually growing, for Plague Reaper was about to activate his The Will and show his Spirit.