In the arena, Ye Mingqiu listened to the chaotic sounds constantly echoing around him, but his eyes were fixed on the Old Beast Monarch not far away. A bright smile gradually appeared on his face as he silently thought to himself, "You helped me before, now it’s my turn to help you. This way, I won’t owe you anything."

On the other side, the Old Beast Monarch stood proudly in the arena, with a smile on his face, appearing to be in quite good spirits.

He had sensed the presence of the Eye of Omaragon and knew whose handiwork it was.

When Ye Mingqiu, as a Spiritualist, had first met him, the Old Beast Monarch had already sensed this mysterious Dominator Level equipment, the Eye of Omaragon, but he didn’t say much at the time. Not prying into others’ secrets is a virtue.

And now, the appearance of someone willing to actively help him and who could wield the Eye of Omaragon, seemed to reveal the identity of the person.

"Gael, you really are..."

The Old Beast Monarch lowered his head, and his eyes flickered with colors others couldn’t discern. A smile appeared on his face as he laughed softly.

"Old thing, shut up!"

An official arena Spiritualist stepped forward and cursed. In his eyes, the Old Beast Monarch lowering his head and laughing while calling out Gael was just messing around, shouting at some nonsensical person.

He was a Transcender, not a Spiritualist, and it was nearly impossible for him to coincidentally meet a familiar Spiritualist in such a place, so he was surely talking nonsense.

After all, he really was quite old.

Dragging chains, the official arena Spiritualists took the Old Beast Monarch away, fear of the unknown filling their eyes. They didn’t know where the Curse System strong one was, only that the arena was very dangerous now, more dangerous than ever before.

If a strong one invaded, the arena’s Leader would surely be able to confront it head-on. But the problem is that what invaded now was from the Curse System. The Curse System’s strong ones are simply impossible to find.

This is really frustrating!

And Ye Mingqiu, the mastermind behind all of this, just draped in Riddle Gauze, leaned against the arena wall, watching coldly as they took the Old Beast Monarch away, and he followed along.

....

Passing through a deep tunnel and heading toward a dimly lit underground chamber filled with countless cages, various humans, elves, beastmen, half-beastmen, and creatures of all sorts were carelessly tossed into each cage.

Some people in the cages were still alive, while some had already died. Yet, even in death, they exuded a rancid odor within the cages.

In fact, some were dragged over by others from adjacent cages and were being devoured across the bars.

To the ones here, they weren’t seen as people but as discardable goods, something abandoned, no matter what they eventually became.

"Bang!"

A Spiritualist suddenly kicked over a cage, and the mangled remains within turned over, displaying a look of disgust on his face as he said to the person behind him, "Dispose of it."

After crossing countless cages, they tied the Old Beast Monarch to a cross, binding him with iron chains and with such force that they left blood-red marks on his body.

"You didn’t have to do this; was it worth it for that pack of ungrateful wolves?" the previous Spiritualist asked.

"...."

The Old Beast Monarch remained silent, but his eyes were filled with a melancholy expression, clearly struck at a painful spot.

The man revealed a smile, seemingly enjoying this moment, and continued, "You were once the strongest Warrior, could have thrived under the arena’s training. We didn’t care about your origins...but you betrayed us, for the sake of those beastman brats, you betrayed us."

"You tried to release them, to give them real freedom, but unknowing to you, the freedom you envisioned was the Abyss to them. They ran back to us, reported you, and pushed you into this pile of garbage, to fight to your death... do you ever regret it?"

"I only regret not appearing sooner."

The Old Beast Monarch murmured.

"Fool."

The Spiritualist turned, whispered, "Inferior race after all, with no depth of thought, unable to see the situation, such people will die sooner or later."

"That’s right."

A foreign voice answered, and the smile on the Spiritualist’s face instantly froze. Terror and despair enveloped him, as at this moment, he seemed to feel an extreme threat, shadows and murderous intent cloaking him.

He looked around but could discern no abnormality, as if the voice he had heard was but a nonexistent illusion. He smiled stiffly.

’What... Scaring myself.’

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and his heart gradually returned to calm.

Then...

"Thud!"

His companion beside him suddenly collapsed, with no visible injuries, only the look of utmost despair, as if he had witnessed the end of the world.

Simultaneously, the atmosphere in the room started to grow strange, with an indistinct aura of slaughter gradually spreading, and the half-dead creatures in the cages also began to revive rapidly, shouting.

"Light gives birth to all beings! All beings follow the Shadow!"

"Light gives birth to all beings! All beings follow the Shadow!"

"Light gives birth to all beings! All beings follow the Shadow!"

....

An eerie scene unfolded, as they kneeled toward the core place, as if witnessing a presence only they could see. Meanwhile, the various injuries on them rapidly healed, with those who were on death’s door being reborn.

The official arena Spiritualists, filled with fear, huddled back-to-back, swallowed by the strange wave of voices as those devout glances sent shivers down their spines, bringing despair borne from the unknown.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Some within the cages began to slam against the bars with their flesh and blood, indifferent even if their bodies were badly bruised, with their wounds healing rapidly, leaving only scarlet marks on the ground as evidence of past injuries. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The sounds of resistance grew louder, more frequent, and more unified, as if they shared a common will, an unyielding conviction, and their imposing presence began to grow stronger.

Elsewhere, the bound Old Beast Monarch suddenly burst into laughter, shouting, "Gael! Gael! Grom Gal!"

"Crazy! They’ve all gone mad!"

"Let’s leave quickly. If we stay here any longer, we might die as well. Let’s report to the higher-ups first. Maybe they have a way."

"Go!"

The group of Spiritualists quickly left, their eyes filled with fear and worry, as they struggled to face the events unfolding in the dungeon, even feeling an inclination to avoid it.

Among them, one looked at the Eye of Omaragon in his storage space, filled with despair. He knew chances were high that he would die, but only uncertain of when, and by pretending the ring didn’t exist, perhaps he could live a little longer.

But what meaning would such a mere survival hold?

While running, he said, "Boss, I’d like to write a letter to my daughter. Can I hand it to you after I’m done?"

"Write a damn letter! Get to work!"

The boss cursed directly.

"...."

Drooping his head, his eyes were filled with unknown colors. He was about to die, and this was his last wish, but even so, it couldn’t be fulfilled because he couldn’t tell the truth, even if he did, it would be useless.

Because the others might not live either, but he just wanted to write a letter to his daughter. He had so much to say in it, but no chance to express it.

’Did I... take the wrong path?’ he thought.

He regretted it a bit, but when he ventured into the Dark World, he had been prepared. Long, long ago, he knew he would die, at some moment, only he could live longer if cautious, making him forget his situation.

To better live longer, he had done many evil deeds, committed numerous atrocities, so dying wasn’t much to say about.

But he missed his daughter.

So much, so very much...

"Boss, I miss my daughter..."

He persisted in saying.

"Smack!"

The boss turned back and slapped him across the face, cursing angrily, "What the hell are you thinking, your daughter died three years ago. Are you cursing us too?"

"!!!"

The man covered his swollen face in shock, staring blankly at the boss before him, as the face of his dead daughter slowly emerged in his mind. He suddenly remembered, his daughter indeed had already died.

What’s wrong with me?

How could I forget this?

My will...

My spirit...

What has happened to me...

As he was enveloped in despair, confusion, and sorrow, the Eye of Omaragon in his storage space grinned wickedly, savoring the taste of despair. This was its specialty, its ability, Spiritual Corruption.

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