As soon as this new state of mind took over my previous passion, I instantly took a few steps back, resisting the force that was pushing me forward. Instantly sweeping the entire area with my energy vision, with the influence of the evolved predator's mindset that it showed on my perception, I could clearly see countless streams and jets of the energy entangled in the complicated net.

No matter where I wanted to move, a different part of this array would exert pressure on me, increasing the further I went away from the altar. Speaking of which, I could see an insanely condensed orb of pure energy floating a few centimetres above the abdomen of the naked princess, while still connected with tense threads of energy to the rest of her body.

Bonger, can you free this energy and absorb it?

With the influence of the predator's mindset and the facade of those energies all around me that took the form of charm balancing out, I was able to retain just enough of my rationality to attempt contacting Bonger.

"Not possible. With how dense it is, I'm worried that I won't be able to digest it and kill the curse that might be contained inside."

So that's it.

Unable to move anywhere away from the altar, not daring to consume the energy above the girl, be it by freeing it from the tendrils that held it in place or in a way that this whole place intended me to do so.

Unsure about what to do, I scanned the area once again, in hopes of finding any clues that would spark the kindling of ideas in my mind.

All in all, the only positive side to all this was the fact that I was actually unable to see the monstrous net of the shared consciousness that the locals formed. With my current vantage point, there were only a few jets that connected that entire construct with the array carved on the floor that I was standing. and continuously supplying the energy to maintain the current status quo.

Directing my sight to the side, I could see that despite how infused with energy this entire place was, the spread of the mana net wasn't even. After a few more moments of careful observation, I even managed to map it all out in my mind.

Starting from the edges, the entire net was formed by a few, thick strands of mana, that compensated its poor numbers with the quantity of the energy that they held. Not only did it siphon the energy from the construct below, but it was also supplied by the internal energy source of the tower!

As the distance to the centre of the tower got smaller, the strands divided over and over, forming a dome of incredibly tight strands, going as far as resembling a proper mana cloth! But it wasn't uniform all over the place!

While the edges of the platform were dominated with the external supply of the energy, the closer one got to the only doors that initially brough me to this place, the ratio turned one hundred eighty degrees around in favour for the internal energy of the tower. Just by looking at the stable flow of the mana in the energy strands in that part of the dome, I could tell it wasn't something created by the ritual, but something present for far longer!

Just the sight of this was enough to spark some ideas in my mind, but it wasn't before I took a closer look at the princess body before I realised the real plot!

Thanks to my predator's mindset operating at full swing, no matter how alluring her toned body and ponent curves would be for literally anyone else even without the help of the local charm, I could only see her as an amalgamation of insanely complicated arrays of energy, starting at the cellular level, connecting to the flow of the mana from the altar passing through her body and forming those few strands that held this orb of pure energy near her abdomen.

Following this lead, I realised that it wasn't the ball that held the prime spot in terms of energy density, but a minuscule, barely noticeable strand of mana, that could compare to my entire might if expanded to its proper size!

Bonger, do you know what that is?

"Ugh… you are putting me on the spot once again… But thinking about it, it would be hard to create such a complicated mana structure while forcing it to serve two purposes… If we take the visible orb as the source of power for all the heroes, and that funny surprise in the middle of her vagina as the real form of the curse, we should be able to extract the aforementioned orb of energy… But I don't think using it is a good idea. After all, it's all just a guess of mine!"

Just like the system said, swallowing the energy not only bore the risk of some kind of secondary trap being hidden there, but it could also lead to the further deterioration of my current state. I already got a taste of what it means to be entropy poisoned, and while I found so many uses for my current assimilation of this quirky form of energy, it didn't mean I stopped fearing it!

While the locals could make use of this energy to break through their current limits and obtain the insane power, just from the side part of the legends that Gabriel pointed out, it became obvious that they couldn't handle this energy properly either, leading to their premature death!

But there was no reason for me to not use this energy! After all, as the old saying goes, if the enemy wants you to turn right, there is no greater joy than turning left!

Preparing mentally for what was about to come, I extracted as much entropy as I could control from my body and the limited free energy in my surroundings, before forming an outline for the complicated construct in my head.

As soon as I was ready, most of the amassed entropy formed into a set of several icicles, numbering exactly as much as those thick veins of energy that supplied the energy to the entire platform. The remaining part was split into two, where one headed for the entry point of the floor array, with the intention of blocking the energy supply, while the last part went after the ball of energy above the princess body.

Since I was barely able to control so many constructs at the same time, I couldn't help but delegate the task of cutting off the supply of the energy to the Bonger. Watching as the icicles burst through the dense net of mana strands, I couldn't help but be amazed how quickly it fixed itself after the energy has passed right through it!

But I had to focus. With one of the constructs already in place, the flow of the mana from the tower to the array got stopped, resulting in more and more energy freed by my entropy entering the confines of the dome. I had to finish my own task before its concentration would reach dangerous levels!

Focusing all my attention on the task at hand, I formed the entropy into two sets of scissors, with bowls on top of each of them. Feeling like some sort of sapper trying to cut the right wire to defuse the bomb, I cut the two strands of mana that were holding the ball of concentrated energy in place, before enclosing it rapidly inside the two bowls.

Not willing to waste any time, I used all the entropy forming the scissors to reinforce the balls and connect its edges. While it looked stable for now, I had no idea how long this state of things would remain!

Since the clock was ticking, I simply pushed the bowl right towards the tower, where the pure energy already started to erode the net of mana that held the entire construct together.

The second the bowl left my hand, I jumped over the altar while furiously absorbing all the free energy from the area that I could. With the ball of energy freeing itself from the girl's body, the restraints that held her in place suddenly lost the power, allowing me to grab her shoulders while in the air, and pull her with me, behind the altar.

Since that thing was used for all the rituals and had to endure the numerous events on this scale, I enveloped the both of us with as many barriers as my own energy and all the mana I consumed from the surroundings would let me create.

BOOM!

As if the tremor shook the entire world, the whole tower vibrated powerfully.

With my energy vision still on, I could see the mana strands supplying the platform from below being cut.

In a flash, the entire array on the ground lost all its energy, with more and more of it being supplied directly to the altar behind me. Holding the soft body of the girl tightly in my arms, I could only watch as my barriers crumbled under the onslaught of the mana storm one by one.

Crash.

A part of the floor suddenly cracked, only to detach itself from the rest and fall on the lower floors. From my point of view, I was unable to see if it ended up there or if it continued its downward movement all the way to the heads of the crowd below.

With the continuous rage of the energies all around me, judging it from the sound was impossible as well.

Crack…

Contrary to my hopes, even the insane amount of shields I put around the entire place were unable to hold on, giving up one by one, all the way to the strongest one right beside me.

Feeling a bit of responsibility for the poor girl in my arms, I slammed her against the altar and shielded her with my own body from the hell that would soon ensue.

Poof.

With a funny sound, the last of my shields gave up right at the girl below me opened her green eyes.

Pressed between my half-naked body with my manhood still ready for its service and the cold stone of the altar, she was barely able to see the events going on everywhere around, yet it didn't stop her from judging the situation based on the minimal amount of information she could gather.

After all, even if she could see nothing but my twisted in pain face, her ears could easily pick up the roar of the continuous onslaught!

With the violent currents of mana slashing my back, I could only endure the pain and try to focus on the slightly pleasant feeling of my crotch pressed tightly against her still a wet hole. Even if our position made the penetration impossible, it didn't stop me from enjoying the softness of her body, being the only acceptable feeling as the mana continued to tear bigger and bigger chunks of the skin and muscles of my back!

"What is going on?!"

At this point, the sound of the entire tower cracking and probably falling apart was too loud for me to hear her words, forcing me to try to read from the movement of her lips. But it wasn't like I was in a position to answer her!

After what seemed like an eternity, the violent storm finally subsidised in a single moment, as if some kind of God noticed the commotion and cut its source with just a swipe of his almighty hand.

Bleeding profusely from my entire back, neck and legs, it would take me a long while to return to my peak, but it didn't stop me from raising my eyes as the curiosity got the better of me.

What used to be the entrance to this platform was now turned into a big hole, drilling almost to the half of the interior of the tower. Considering how it was still way bigger than my own stronghold, I hoped that it would hold on for some time.

But there was one good side to all this.

With the huge chunk of stone that made up the staircase that I used to climb to this place already gone, I could see a huge hall with innumerable stairs leading towards the higher floors!