It seemed that the fall of the Midnight Crystal was a gift of fate for the monsters living near the Fume Cathedral.
The monsters and the Citadel had yet to figure out why Midnight Crystal had decided to fall here at this moment because it wasn't Midnight Zone, so there had to be some serious and specific reason for it.
Midnight Crystal couldn't have fallen in a random place just due to luck, because no Midnight Crystal had ever fallen near the Citadel or in the newbie areas. Midnight Crystals could only fall in Midnight Zones, not because it was some magical place, but because the conditions were right for it.
It wasn't Midnight Zones that attracted Midnight Crystals, it was the conditions that caused Midnight Crystals to appear in certain places.
This was also the reason why there were no Midnight Zones in Blue Threat Level areas. Midnight Zones started appearing beginning from Purple Threat Level areas.
Thus, even the fall of a single Midnight Crystal near Fume Cathedral could be a real feast and massacre for the monsters.
Sure, many of them would die, but dozens or even hundreds would be able to benefit from this event.
Midnight Crystal was a solid, monolithic object, but that didn't mean that only one monster could absorb it.
A lot depended on the size and energy density of the Midnight Crystal, but if one took this Midnight Crystal and Light Yellow monsters as an example, this one Midnight Crystal would help several dozen of them evolve.
If there were some, not particularly strong Purple Threat Level monster here, a tiny fingernail-sized shard would be enough to start the evolution process.
True, someone like Essence Thunder Demon would need a lot more energy, but even Plague Reaper didn't need to absorb the entire Midnight Crystal. The energy was excessive, after all, it was believed to be a shard of the Last Star whose fall had created a new world from the ashes of the old one.
But... even though hundreds of Light Yellow monsters were facing something that could change their lives and make them dramatically stronger, only one creature stood in their way.
Strangely enough, it wasn't some powerful Phantom but a monster just like them, even from a lower Threat Level.
"Holy Shit..." Katrin muttered, waves of shivers went through her body, following the goosebumps.
Her gaze traveled panickedly from one corpse to another, unable to believe that each one of these monsters could be a formidable opponent to defeat which they would have to work hard to defeat.
Naturally, some monsters managed to survive. They were either smarter or luckier than the others, as they immediately realized what needed to be done. Some moved away from the black air to a safe distance, others used their abilities to protect themselves, and some decided to hold their breath without taking a single sigh.
Most of the surviving monsters were quite strong, for all the weak ones were already lying on the ground with empty, lifeless eyes. Their muscles trembled in postmortem spasms, making the scene even more gruesome than it was originally.
The monster roared furiously, aggressively showing its long fangs, clenching its powerful jaws, but its efforts were clearly not enough to break the black vines.
Whoooooosh.
Plague Reaper jerked his right hand, sharply raising his palm upward.
The inky stream shuddered again, releasing two particularly thick vines at the end of which were wide-open jaws, hungry and cruel.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
The jaws dug into the monster's flesh like desperate piranhas, tearing off piece after piece of flesh. The monster's hide was tough, thick and provided a good defense, but... in front of these jaws, it was all just useless.
"RRRRRGGHHHH!!!"
Quite soon, there was a desperate cry from the monster, more like a painful cry. It was trying to get out of this hellish trap, but it just seemed impossible.
All that was left for the monster to do was endure and wait for the jaws to tear off the last bit of its body.
The other monsters watching this gruesome scene turned their heads fearfully in Plague Reaper's direction.
Their eyes were wide open. They couldn't believe that the Purple Threat Level monster had so many terrifying abilities. They couldn't understand why they had offended fate so much that it had sent this 'monster' here, condemning them to an ignominious death, in agony and vivid piercing pain.
Thump.
After about thirty seconds, the monster with flaming claws finally fell to the ground with empty, lifeless eyes. Part of its body was stripped of flesh, bones peeking out, internal organs visible through its ribs.
The monsters, as if looking at a common enemy, began to group together, dividing into squads - all to deal with the scourge that Midnight Crystal had decided to take only for itself.
Step.
At the same moment, Katrin stepped forward with a confident look, holding her staff tightly.
''We can't keep looking at this any further. The black air is getting bigger with every second. I'm going to destroy all the jaw-flowers." Katrin stared intently at Plague Reaper as the flames of battle flashed in her eyes.