The forest was now silent, only the sound of the wind and leaves could be heard. El sheathed Metsu again, surveying the battlefield filled with fallen trees and hollowed-out ground, full of depressions.
With regular breathing, El looked at the remains of the Gastrea snake that had been torn apart and full of burns that seemed to be eternal.
"Stage 3 Gastrea is indeed very scary. It's a good thing I made the right decision, not allowing Kayo to come along," El said flatly, turning to leave the scene.
However, having just taken a step, a rumbling sound echoed in the distance, accompanied by a loud roar that made the entire area tremble.
El let out a long breath, looking in the direction of the voice. "That's for sure! The commotion attracted some nearby Gastrea," he muttered in an annoyed tone, pulling Metsu from its holster once more.
From behind the fallen trees, stage 3 Gastrea emerged one by one, their bodies large, ferocious, and terrifying. All kinds of creatures, except those that could fly, now gathered, attacking El furiously.
El stepped back gracefully, dodging each incoming attack using Gen'nichi Kō in succession. His body moved quickly, like a shadow that was impossible to reach.
"Do I really have to keep joining the Rinnegan? Seriously?" he complained, his expression growing serious.
With no other choice, El connected himself to the divine power that resided within his soul. Slowly, his pupils changed, forming a circular pattern that emitted a sinister aura. Rinnegan had activated.
With one high jump, El soared through the air, using the Six Path: Shinra Tensei for just a moment. Although brief, the power was enough to have the required effect.
The position allowed El to keep an eye on all the Gastrea below him. With a keen eye, he assessed his enemy's every move, ready to act accordingly.
"That's enough," he said coldly. Blood flowed slowly from the corner of his left eye, but his expression remained unwavering.
"Amaterasu!" In an instant, Amaterasu's black flames appeared, enveloping the Gastrea's bodies with ferocity. The flames were not extinguished even as the creatures raged, rolled, and tried to flee.
However, one by one, the Gastrea were paralyzed by the unquenchable flames. Despite having the ability to regenerate, they seemed to be trampled by a greater force.
No matter how hard they tried, the black flames continued to devour their bodies, destroying them slowly until there was nothing left.
Calmly, El landed on the ground, wiping away the remaining drops of blood on his cheeks. He deactivated the Rinnegan, but suddenly his vision blurred. El staggered for a moment, coughing up blood weakly.
The side effects of Rinnegan's slightly excessive use began to infiltrate his body. Slowly, his vision returned to normal, though there was still a raging pain. He swept away the remains of the Gastrea that burned to ashes with a blank stare.
"This Rinnegan... always demands a high price," he muttered under his breath, stepping away, trying to leave the scene as quickly as possible.
"If it weren't for the exhaustion that makes my stamina depleted to the point of being vulnerable to enemy attacks, my blurred vision, or coughing up blood," El lamented, sighing heavily. "Apparently, my VIT attribute value should exceed or approach 100 pure points, without the added effects of Titles, Abilities and Items."
El's current VIT attribute was 86 points and thanks to the support of Titles, Items, and Concentration Breaths totaled 126 points. However, if taking everything off, his basic attribute is only 61 points, still far from ideal to get close to 100 points.
With this value, El could use some of Rinnegan's abilities other than the insight eye for a full day without any problems, but they were limited and still suffered from side effects that burdened his body.
Therefore, for now El did not want to rely too much on Rinnegan. Because using Rinnegan's abilities in the wrong conditions would hinder his ability in battle.
After a few steps, El smelled a faint scent in the air, the smell of Gastrea mixed with something more foreign, it seemed to be... metallic Varanium?
"Varanium? But mixed with the scent of Gastrea? And why is there the scent of other metals? This is strange, could there be someone involved in the fight?" he muttered in a serious tone, suspicion starting to creep into his mind.
"Involved in a fight or not, it's pretty clear something is wrong," El said feeling a bad feeling starting to creep into her. Quickly, El quickened her pace, approaching the source of the odor.
Once El reached a giant monolith that towered high into the sky, El cautiously stepped closer and began circling the area. When his eyes caught something suspicious near the black metal, he paused for a moment.
Dull white patches lay on the surface of the monolith, covering some parts with unnatural traces. "This scent... There's no mistaking it, this is Gastrea's scent. But why would Gastrea get close to this monolith?" muttered El, increasingly feeling that something was wrong.
"For some reason, the scent of Varanium also feels as if it's corroded?" he thought out loud. "This is not normal... "
In this way, this scent clearly signaled something hidden behind this incident, and El knew that this was a threat that had to be dealt with immediately.
El focused herself, strengthening his sense of smell with Total Breathing Concentration, trying to trace the traces of Gastrea that caused the surface of the monolith to become smudged with dull white patches.
Once her sense of smell was focused, El immediately sprinted towards the forest with incredible speed. Each step left a trail of fire and mist, tracing the trees that were getting denser and denser.
El's speed was so high that the space around her felt distorted, as if spacetime was bending with his movements. El was maximizing the speed of his Sun Breathing Style and Fog Breathing Style beyond the limit, specifically for running not attacking.
As El entered the forest, an overwhelming threat loomed. However, the threat did not make El hesitate in the slightest.
Because, if El hesitated, even the Cursed Child who was under the protection of the Elders could become a target of threats.
El felt that the Gastrea responsible for this incident was odd, much more unusual, and El could not let the potential danger lurk any longer.
After a while, El arrived at a point in the forest and suddenly stopped. The scent of Gastrea that he had been tracking seemed to have vanished into thin air. "The scent is gone? No, it's because there's too much Gastrea around!" he murmured, a coldness in his words.
El frowned, feeling disappointed. "My olfactory skills aren't on par with Tanjiro's yet... I can't distinguish many scents at the same time," he said irritably, realizing his limitations.
Letting out a long sigh, El looked up at the darkening forest. "I need to get away from this place, before they realize my existence," he said warily, before deciding to retreat.
Reaching the previous monolith, El took his cell phone from his pocket. With a quick movement, he opened the contact list and dialed Kayo's number. His gaze was sharp, hinting that this was no ordinary business.
The goal was clear: get information on a Gastrea powerful enough to damage the monolith, something that should be impossible.
It didn't take long for the call to connect. Without further ado, El immediately asked, "Kayo, do you know anything about Gastrea being able to damage the Monolith?" he said with a little emphasis.