Truly terrifying Strength...
Is this really the silhouette of the Deliverer?
Watching the Demi-spirits of the Corrupted Spirits—creatures that had left them utterly powerless—being annihilated so effortlessly, the members of the Loki Familia stared blankly at Aquila, unable to utter a single word.
Everything that had just transpired served as a constant reminder that the massive mechanical monster before them was the incarnation of Hyacine.
But the sheer destructiveness of this power didn't look like something meant to save the world, no matter how one viewed it.
Just look at the 37th floor now...
Because of the dark clouds that had gathered earlier, the ceiling was covered in scars left by Lightning, and the entire upper reach of the floor emitted a scorched, acrid smell.
The floor's base was even worse off; those crimson meteors that had incinerated the Corrupted Spirits were no joke!
Everything was supposed to be like the fairy tales...
The Deliverer fights alongside their companions, encounters a crisis, and erupts with their true inner power to save their friends and the world.
And now?
The companions of the Loki Familia hadn't exactly been 'saved'; they were still miserably collapsed on the ground, barely able to crawl.
The surrounding environment was even worse, looking for all the world like the end of days. Rather than saying the power unleashed by Hyacine originated from a Deliverer...
It would be more accurate to say that the true purpose of that power was Destruction!
"Still, if this power is used for the right path, even saving the world would be no problem at all..."
"Fortunately, it's finally over."
Whether it was those Corrupted Spirits from before or that Red-haired Creature, all had been reduced to wisps of black smoke under Hyacine's power, leaving absolutely no possibility of resurrection.
For the remaining members of the Loki Familia, this was a great blessing, signifying they had finally escaped danger.
But... would such a perfect conclusion really happen?
Of course not!
After the Corrupted Spirits were eliminated, Aquila did not cease their assault. Instead, they continued to unleash their abilities against the surrounding walls...
Lightning intertwined with fire at this moment, madly bombarding the ground to the point where the members of the Loki Familia were nearly caught in the crossfire...
"Move, now!"
In the end, it was Gareth—the one with the highest Endurance in the entire Familia—who forced himself to stand. After all, such were the innate talents of the Dwarf race, allowing him to recover naturally faster than a Pallum like Finn or an Elf like Riveria.
Thus, a shocking scene unfolded.
Relying on his immense Strength, Gareth literally hoisted all the members and luggage of the Loki Familia onto his back. He then sprinted toward the entrance to the 36th floor at maximum speed.
Even Barbara was stunned by the sight. Should she expect any less from one of the Big Three of the Loki Familia?
"Barbara, what exactly is going on? Why did Hyacine turn into that form? Has she lost control?"
Looking back at the world-ending scene behind them, Finn's expression was grim. After all, they bore a certain level of responsibility for the Deliverer turning into this state... if they hadn't been so weak, perhaps Hyacine wouldn't have ended up like this.
"Yes..." Barbara's face was filled with guilt toward her companion. "If we hadn't requested to challenge the Floor Boss, perhaps none of this would have happened."
"Don't say that. This isn't your fault. Blame Evilus... and if it weren't for you and Hyacine, we'd probably be corpses by now." Although Finn's body was immobilized, a trace of coldness flickered in his eyes.
He had thought Evilus had been completely wiped out seven or eight years ago, but he hadn't expected them to resurface today and even collaborate with monsters to ambush the Loki Familia... If Hyacine hadn't stepped forward, they would have likely suffered a total party wipe!
It seemed The City of Orario needed a thorough purging... if there were still members of Evilus in hiding, heaven knows what kind of chaos they might stir up.
As time passed, Finn and the others finally managed to take cover in the passage leading to the 36th floor with Gareth's help. However, they didn't leave immediately, instead turning their eyes back...
After all, the "out of control" Hyacine was still there. They couldn't just leave blindly. Members of the Loki Familia didn't easily abandon their comrades, especially when that person was the Deliverer.
"Wait, what is that?"
"Wasn't Udaeus just destroyed? Why has it appeared again?"
—
Inside the 37th floor, after eliminating the Corrupted Spirits and Revis, Aquila did not stop their attack. Instead, they continued to wreak Destruction upon everything around them—be it the walls, the ground, or even the ceiling, nothing escaped their assault.
However, in a place unseen by the members of the Loki Familia, pitch-black cubes were gradually manifesting upon Aquila's body.
Anyone familiar with Honkai: Star Rail would recognize them; these cubes were precisely the Black Tide of Amphoreus, a derivative of the Lord Ravager Irontomb.
As Aquila slammed into the ground and walls, these black cubes gradually transferred, looking as if they were eroding the Dungeon itself!
Once that pitch-black pollution slowly entered the Dungeon, the Dungeon indeed gave a violent response. The entire Dungeon shuddered, and even the City of Orario at the very top could feel the distinct tremors...
"What's happening? An earthquake?"
"No! It's the Dungeon! An abnormality is occurring in the Dungeon!"
The civilians and adventurers of Orario became panicked at that moment. Since the vast majority of them could never reach the 37th floor, they naturally didn't know the specifics.
But Ouranos was different. As a great god who offered prayers to the Dungeon, he detected the changes within it almost immediately.
"The Dungeon... is wailing?"
Why?
Because Aquila was eroding the Dungeon. To put it bluntly, Hyacine's consciousness was at play.
Because Hyacine was a Healer, she normally couldn't bring herself to harm others, and it was difficult for her to hunt monsters efficiently.
So, under what circumstances could monster-hunting efficiency be pushed to the absolute limit?
During a rampage, of course!
Hyacine had become Aquila. It seemed as though she had put on a mask and become the Sky Titan...
In reality, she had taken off her mask and returned to her true self!
'This lady is Aquila now! Of course I'm going to kill all the monsters, and then give this Dungeon a good lesson!'
And so, Hyacine, controlling Aquila, violently injected the Black Tide from her body into the Dungeon, triggering a violent reaction from it.
It was essentially grabbing the Dungeon by the throat and saying: "Old man, spawn some monsters for me! Let me fight!"
Hyacine couldn't let this rare "rampage" opportunity slip away. She was determined to make the Dungeon cough up some serious loot!
Consequently, a pitch-black Udaeus crawled out from beneath the earth. From its appearance alone, one could tell its power far exceeded the previous Udaeus; it was essentially a "God-slaying" monster created by the Dungeon in desperation.
However, under Aquila's assault of thunder and fire, it only managed to hold on for a few extra seconds before turning into a pile of shattered bones on the ground...
A Titan, in the end, is still a Titan!