"Fang Li!"
"Rindou! Soma!"
In the distance, Alisa and Tachibana Sakuya watched as Aphrodite, consumed by her anger and going berserk, painfully swung the thick vines, gradually leveling the area around it, and simultaneously let out cries of astonishment.
Due to their distance, Alisa and Tachibana Sakuya were not affected by Aphrodite's actions.
However, as the vanguard, Fang Li, Amamiya Rindou, and Soma's figures disappeared, engulfed by the terrifying impact caused by Aphrodite's rebellion and the dust storm it created.
"————!"
Witnessing this scene, Alisa immediately wanted to rush over.
"Wait!" Tachibana Sakuya grabbed Alisa's hand and quickly said, "We can't go, it's too dangerous!"
"But…" Alisa immediately wanted to argue.
However, Tachibana Sakuya's resolute gaze met her, and she continued, "I know you're worried about Fang Li-kun, I'm worried about Rindou and Soma too, but in this situation, even if we go over there, it won't make a difference. Trust them, they're not the kind of people who would die so easily."
Upon hearing this, Alisa's expression began to change. Shortly afterward, she bit her lip, unwillingly shouldered her assault rifle, and began shooting in Aphrodite's direction.
However, under Aphrodite's rampage, the vines swung wildly, completely enveloping Aphrodite. Even Alisa's shots were deflected by the vines, unable to reach Aphrodite.
In such a situation, Aphrodite continued to scream in agony.
Blood flowed down its body as its forehead was torn open.
The entire face of Aphrodite was dyed red with blood, and it emitted a cry of misery that was too pitiful, causing Alisa's heart to tremble.
If one didn't look at the terrifying destruction caused by Aphrodite's rampage in the surroundings, wouldn't Aphrodite's pitiful appearance evoke feelings of compassion in one's heart?
However, faced with the destruction caused by Aphrodite, no one could muster any sympathy for it.
"BOOM—!"
At a certain moment, in a thunderous roar reminiscent of falling thunder, the ground that had been ravaged by Aphrodite's madness finally could no longer bear the excessive burden and collapsed.
Aphrodite, along with the collapsing ground, fell into the abyss-like underground, buried under countless rubble and debris.
Even so, the thick vines emerged from the rubble and debris like giant plants growing out of the underground, still swinging back and forth, thoroughly disrupting the air.
The dense dust storm grew larger and larger, gradually engulfing the raging vines, making it impossible for Alisa and Tachibana Sakuya to see the situation inside.
"Fang Li…"
"Rindou… Soma…"
Both Alisa and Tachibana Sakuya wore worried expressions as they watched this scene.
However, before long, they saw it.
In the midst of the dense dust storm, several figures darted through, breaking through the encircling range of the dust storm and emerging from it.
Seeing those figures, Alisa and Tachibana Sakuya were both filled with joy at the same time.
"Fang Li!"
"Rindou! Soma!"
It was precisely Fang Li, Amamiya Rindou, and Soma, the entire group.
However, Fang Li was being carried on Amamiya Rindou's back, breathing heavily, and his eyes were filled with exhaustion.
"Fang Li-San." Alisa's expression of surprise turned into astonishment, and she quickly asked, "What happened to you?"
"I'm fine." Fang Li couldn't hide the exhaustion in his eyes and shook his head slightly, his complexion somewhat pale.
Just at the moment when Aphrodite fell into her rampage state, Fang Li forcibly activated Stigma.
You see, just yesterday, Fang Li fell into a deep coma because of using Stigma, and his soul's weakness had not fully recovered.
In this state, using Stigma would bring an even greater burden than before.
Under normal circumstances, if Fang Li used Stigma, within a minute, his soul would at most fall into a state of fatigue. Within three minutes, he would be weakened. Once it exceeded three minutes, he would fall into a state of coma.
And if Stigma was used immediately after using it and while the soul's burden had not fully recovered, the burden would suddenly increase significantly.
After all, Stigma converts the power of the soul into tangible effects, causing a surge in the user's power. In the state just after using Stigma, when the soul was weakened and the power was being extracted by Stigma, naturally, a more terrible burden would be imposed on the soul.
That was also the reason why Fang Li didn't use Stigma when dealing with Aphrodite.
Otherwise, in that final moment, Fang Li wouldn't have had to trade his life with Aphrodite.
Of course, Fang Li also didn't expect that Aphrodite's core would hide a mouth, thus posing a threat to his life.
By the time it happened, it was already too late for Fang Li to use Stigma.
Fortunately, under the protection of the Goddess of Fortune, Fang Li managed to overcome the ordeal.
Only when he realized that Aphrodite was on the verge of a dying rampage did Fang Li resolutely use Stigma to make an emergency escape.
However, after using it for only a short while, Fang Li's soul was overwhelmed by the excessive burden, causing dizziness and intense pain to appear throughout his body, and he nearly collapsed on the spot.
Fortunately, Amamiya Rindou and Soma happened to arrive by Fang Li's side and brought him out.
Feeling the weakness and powerlessness deep within his soul, Fang Li forcefully expelled the fatigue and drowsiness that assailed his mind, raised his head, and looked ahead.
There, Aphrodite's berserk state seemed to have finally ceased, allowing the dust storm to gradually calm down and slowly dissipate.
"..."
Fang Li, Alisa, Amamiya Rindou, Tachibana Sakuya, and Soma, the entire group, all turned their gaze straight ahead.
When the dust completely dispersed, only a ruined site filled with rubble remained in their sight.
The thick vines hung weakly over the ruins, indicating to everyone present that Aphrodite was indeed buried there.
Watching this scene, Alisa hesitated and spoke up.
"Did… did we win?"
Amamiya Rindou, Tachibana Sakuya, and Soma remained silent and instead shifted their gaze to Fang Li's body.
Under the scrutiny of everyone present, Fang Li couldn't help but smile. He was about to say something when Amamiya Rindou suddenly let out a wry smile.
"Oh dear, it seems our troubles are not just limited to Aphrodite, huh."
...
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