Only I Am A Reader

Arguably, the heroic act that Leo was engaging in right now, was saving the world rather than saving Aurora. However, since she was the one who would be sacrificed if no one had a fighting chance at the very, this was no different from saving her.

[ 3.89% ]

Regardless, aside from glancing at the tower every minute or so, Leo put his whole focus into piercing and cutting. Just like proper cannon fodder, the monsters kept serving themselves to him.

Even if they couldn't hurt Leo, delaying him was more than enough for them!

'Just like obedient pets.'

If the animal-faced monsters in the initial challenges looked like wild animals with human bodies, the current horde was full of ferocious ones that had rabies.

Their fur was disheveled, its color was mostly dark, and their eyes were bloodshot as if they were injected with fifty doses of adrenaline. Unfortunately, they met two challengers that stood at the top of Earth's food chain.

This time around, Leo's fighting strategy wasn't anything sophisticated, he drilled through the monster wave like an electric screwdriver. 

The crowded distribution of the monsters made it easier for Leo to kill more of them at once, but that also allowed them to reach him. Leo couldn't possibly keep the area around him completely empty. However, this didn't worry him in the slightest.

Once one of these crazy monsters crossed a boundary that they shouldn't, a Shadow tendril grabbed their ankles and pulled them down, allowing them to taste the feet of their comrades before getting stomped to death!

It was really interesting how many unintentional accidents could happen just because of crowding. However, the scale was completely different when someone harnessed that element of chaos to create even more chaos.

Leo couldn't share his mind among the many tasks he was operating, but just like the Shadow Nightmares, he only had to give specific conditions to the tendrils' movement.

Just by adding a few pulls, pushes, and squeezes, he was able to make the monster horde eliminate a fifth of itself!

'Solo clearing has its own advantages.'

Not to mention that a large group would have multiplied the initial events even further, these monster waves would not have only increased in number, but they would have also spread apart.

Thankfully, the only conscious participants at the moment were only two, so Leo was able to make use of his self-destruction strategy.

[ 4.62% ]

'Is it about time to wrap this up?'

Seeing the percentage almost double in value after so little, Leo couldn't help feeling a sting in his heart. However, his face quickly recovered when he looked at the Encroachment Tower's Protectors.

Whether it was the ones that stood in front of him or the ones that were busy fighting in the far back, the remaining crowd barely reached a hundred monsters in total.

In less than a minute, the double monster wave was just about to end, meaning that the phase that Leo was waiting for would appear any second now!

Of course, despite everything, Leo didn't forget to collect the Enigma Stones that were piled up everywhere. Just like the monsters had become better, the value and quality of their drops had increased.

"...What is your target?"

On the other hand, dealing with the last handful of monsters in front of her, Aurora questioned the monstrous Nightmares that were still helping to that moment. 

Unfortunately for her, not to mention an answer, Aurora didn't even receive a growl. Instead, now that they had finished their mission, the Shadow Nightmares obediently melted into the ground before dissipating into nothingness.

Being ignored like this, an intense stare was all Aurora could shoot at the blood-drenched figure on the horizon.

Many scenarios ran through her head, and even the alien thoughts had their own scenarios of how this twisted situation could end, but not one of them could have expected the current outcome.

The frenemy who looked like he was going back to hiding in the Shadows went ahead and slaughtered all immediate threats, he even provided her with support!

'Should I just go and ask him?'

Since Leo had been so talkative just a few minutes ago, Aurora wondered if abandoning all bias and directly inquiring would give her the answer she desired.

However, just when the alien thoughts were almost done convincing her of that initiative, another great change was about to take place.

'Something big is coming.'

The distance didn't make a difference. Aurora could easily see what was happening at the foot of the Encroachment Tower.

The scattered bodies made it a bit hard to look but the rising red hue that permeated the warehouse-like structures was very visible.

The dark doors didn't move, and neither did something wriggle out. Instead, the red streams passed through the structures before linking up in front of the tower.

At first glance, the fused light looked like it would create some kind of fusion robot. However, the sinister Aura quickly vanquished that illusion. The one thing that the red stream joined to form was a red crystal!

'Looks just like an Enigma Stone.'

Although the shape and color weren't similar, Leo recognized the familiar energy signature. Since he was watching without anything to do, a little probing was good enough to pass the time.

'Was it supposed to be this slow?'

Naturally, Leo wasn't suddenly infected by some kind of Novel Character Syndrome, rather, there was just no meaning to doing anything.

The being that was currently coming into form couldn't be stopped before it reached its complete state. At most, it could be delayed, but Encroachment Tower's counter would keep on going regardless.

The red crystal stayed in the air for a second before more red light jumped out of it, enveloping the crystal like a curtain. Following that, the same motion kept on repeating before anyone could see the result.

Before Aurora could tell, the originally small crystal grew big enough to stand tall next to the tower. Seeing it speed up like this, a small grin plastered itself on Leo's face.

'Finally.'

It was time to get rid of this tower once and for all!