"Ants! You want to leave? Hahahaha! Give up on that thought!"

Facing the evil god's incarnation of lust, Fike and the others were finding it hard to muster up their courage.

Meanwhile, the hidden message was still providing Fike with information.

[Hidden Information: The evil god has a total of seven souls, each one approximately containing one-seventh of the evil god's full strength.]

Seeing this, Fike couldn't help himself from becoming more worried.

'The Demon Overlord-tier Exotic Beast on the top floor of this tower is only supposed to have one-thousandth of the evil god's strength. We've only reached the fifth floor now, how could such a ruthless character have already appeared?'

Fike thought to himself.

With a raise of her hand, the soul of Lust withdrew all the air in the fifth floor.

Everyone's faces turned red as they struggled to breathe, and no one could speak.

Fike was in the same boat as well.

Straining to open his eyes, he managed to catch a glimpse of Lan Xi struggling in pain.

"Lan... Xi..."

Fike tried to reach out and grab Lan Xi's hand, but the evil god's soul threw him into a wall with a quick spell.

"I didn't expect that one of the small ants here would actually be able to stay awake. It seems that this torture isn't painful enough!"

The soul of Lust taunted.

By now, everyone other than Fike had already passed out.

Lust strode in front of Fike before picking him up by his neck, strangling him as he hung in mid-air.

"Little bug! Show me your limits! Hahahaha!"

The power in her hand seemed to grow stronger and stronger, and Fike felt as if he was really about to die this time.

Suddenly, the Celestial Arcanum in Fike's backpack released an explosive surge of black energy that crept up Lust's arm.

"Ah! What is this thing?! How?! How could this be!"

The soul cried out in panic.

Fike was also confused, unable to comprehend anything that was happening in the scene before him.

"Hid... hidden information... This... this is... What's going on?"

The intensity of Lust's spell that was creating the vacuum of air had decreased slightly, allowing Fike to take advantage of the gap to greedily inhale some air.

[Hidden Information: The will of the evil god in the Celestial Arcanum is conflicting with the evil god's soul of Lust. The will seems to be stronger than the soul, which is why Lust is being tormented like this.]

Seeing the hidden message's explanation, Fike let out a quick sigh of relief.

"Ant! What did you do to me?"

The soul of lust cursed.

By now, the vacuum she had set up earlier on the fifth floor had dissipated.

Lust twisted in pain as she struggled toward Fike.

"Why... why... Do you also have... my... power?"

Half of the soul's body had already been corroded by the dark surge, but she managed to make her way in front of Fike.

Although his condition had improved, Fike was still too weak to put up much of a fight against Lust.

Before she completely dissipated, she once again grabbed Fike by the neck, holding him up in the air again.

"Argh!"

Fike groaned in pain, but he was unable to break free from her grip.

"Since this soul... is about to die... then I will bring you... to hell with me!"

Lust growled in a terrifying manner.

Fike only felt his eyes blur as the body of the soul of lust began to rot completely, turning back into a black pool of blood that completely enveloped Fike.

The others on the fifth floor were also slowly beginning to wake up.

Seeing Fike completely covered in the black blood, Lan Xi cried in despair.

"Fike! Are you okay?!"

Cisco and the others had also noticed that Fike was slowly being swallowed by the black viscous fluid.

"Fike! Hold on a little longer, we'll save you right away!"

However, before they could even get up, Fike was finally completely swallowed by the black pool, vanishing into the ground of the fifth floor.

"Fike! No!"

Lan Xi screamed in agony.

"Why was Fike covered in the black blood? And why is the witch gone?"

Casey asked.

"Don't Worry!"

Hankov reassured them.

"Fike might not be dead yet. Right now, I can still feel his life force!"

"Really? Is Fike really still alive?"

Lan Xi asked with concern.

"Yes, his life force hasn't disappeared yet. He seems to have been teleported elsewhere in this Exotic Beast Tower."

"So should we continue exploring upwards now? Would that increase the chances of Fike surviving?"

Cisco asked.

"Yes, that's right!"

"Then let's not delay! We don't have time to sit around! We need to hurry up and continue moving forward!"

Cisco encouraged the group.

...

After what seemed to have been a long time, Fike finally opened his tired eyes.

He found himself lying on an unknown floor of the Exotic Beast Tower, this one themed like a volcano, with boiling lava all around him.

The platforms seemed to be slowly collapsing.

Fike carefully stood up. At this moment, a tall human-like figure appeared in front of him.

"Human, I was starting to think you were dead!"

Fike looked back at the figure.

It was a silver-haired youth like himself. The black gown he was wearing, along with his tall and sturdy figure, made the youth look particularly handsome.

"Who are you?"

Fike asked.

The youth smiled in response.

"I am the master of this place, and also the Demon Overlord, Atlas, that you have been looking for."

"You're the Demon Overlord?"

Fike unsheathed his demonic sword as he spoke, preparing for combat.

Seeing Fike so on edge, Atlas smiled as he remarked.

"Don't be so nervous, human! I won't be as unfriendly to you as that old hag!"

As Atlas spoke, he slowly approached Fike.

"You could say that I'm the embodiment of the evil god, No… Rather, I was the wisp of empathy in the heart of the old god of wisdom."

"The embodiment of empathy?"

"That's right! Why else would you think I was imprisoned here, on the 36th floor of this wretched tower?"

Fike maintained his guard as he probed further.

"Why do you look completely different from ordinary Extoic Beasts?"

Atlas smiled when he heard that.

"Because I took the appearance of the one the god of wisdom felt the most guilty for!"