Reborn as an Extra Chapter 544: Inside Hell. Part-3.

‘What on earth is this thing?...’

From the moment Rio arrived in this realm, he'd delved into countless volumes detailing the anatomy of monsters.

The school required a mandatory course that taught everything about the various monsters and beasts one might encounter within dungeon depths.

As a result, Rio had gained knowledge of numerous bizarre monsters and beasts.

‘I have to say, this is by far the strangest being I've ever laid eyes on...’

The entity lacked any internal organs or standard metabolic systems, yet it kept generating poisonous miasmic waste and spewing it forth despite having no stomach at all!

It was essentially expelling its dark blood nonstop!

‘This abomination... it's sustained solely by miasma compelling it to persist...’

For ages, Rio had recognized miasma as a terribly destructive natural power; it was ruthless and delighted in ridiculing all forms of life.

However, he'd never imagined miasma would outright grant a being endless life merely to subject it to perpetual agony!

Whenever its blood supply dwindled, miasma would surge in forcibly, supplying the vitality to regenerate more blood, only to inflict fresh torment once again...’

‘This amounts to... intentional torment...’

Perched atop a large rock, observing the entity's torment from a safe distance, Rio experienced a profound sense of unease.

It was only at this moment that Rio grasped why Kevin Flash had cried out, ‘Insanity! Insanity!’ upon catching a brief look inside this infernal pit.

No ordinary individual ought to witness or discuss this location; merely learning of the events here could suffice to trigger spiritual decay.

‘The taint within this area spreads rapidly... furthermore, this entity unleashes intense psychic and spiritual assaults!’

With each shriek and retch, enormous surges of psychic assault ripples erupted outward in every direction; mere proximity would corrupt the majority of folks!

‘Do all beings in the spirit realm excel at psychic and spiritual strikes? Those odd serpents earlier acted similarly...’

Rio found himself unable to remain idle; he required additional details about this bizarre zone. So, he dashed toward the odd entity and prodded it using his flute.

Clearly, his flute was merely his sword in altered form, and upon touching it, a tremendously potent sword intent flooded into the beast's form.

Rio sought to uncover the true nature of this beast and its origins, which meant delving into its soul and recollections.

Right as Rio prepared to sift through its recollections, the peculiar entity quivered abruptly, with the miasma within it erupting into frenzy!

Its whole form exploded like a burst bubble, and its soul fragmented instantly before Rio had a chance to respond.

Flesh and limbs scattered everywhere, while the ebony terrain got drenched in dark blood!

The enormous maw shattered into fragments, leaving just a handful of portions undamaged.

Even those tiny remnants began wailing and howling as though enduring excruciating agony, then fell utterly quiet, drained of all vitality.

Orbs the size of Rio's head plummeted to the earth and gazed toward Rio with anguish and despair in their depths, dissolving into toxic miasmic sludge second by second.

“Tch... perhaps the power to sense others' feelings isn't a boon here after all...”

The sentiments Rio glimpsed from the entity's fading soul felt utterly genuine and profoundly sorrowful.

At times, ignorance of another's inner thoughts proves wiser, lest it jeopardizes one's mental stability.

‘Fortunately, sword intent already enveloped me, or I'd be drenched head to toe in this inky sludge...’

Rio let out a breath and located a close rock to perch on, steadying his thoughts.

‘Phew~... thus, I deduce that miasma refuses to let me aid these beings... it'd sooner destroy them than allow me to probe their recollections...’

‘What dark secret lurks in their minds that demands such concealment, I can't help but ponder?’

Miasma embodies an insolent and vile force; it doesn't bother concealing its actions without cause.

It's probable that it has detected Rio's skill in handling miasma, and should he tap into these beasts' memories, he could uncover forbidden truths.

“Your resistance only heightens my intrigue...”

Rio shook his head while eyeing the lifeless horror, then pondered,

‘It's fortunate I came alone; this isn't some leisure outing... it resembles the gateway to the void or worse...’

Rio scanned the shadowy, gloomy environs, the toxic clouds overhead, and the furious void tempests swirling in multiple spots, then shook his head again.

‘I'm genuinely astonished that any life forms endure in such a nightmarish setting...’

‘Yet this sight has amplified my concerns... could Liam's soul last even ten minutes amid this horror?’

Both Link and Liam possess formidable legendary abilities that surely shield them from miasmic taint and enable navigation or endurance in this poison-saturated domain.

Yet the primary issue remains the drain on mana.

Neither matches Rio's expertise; their legendary powers devour vast quantities of mana when activated.

Even Liam, capable in theory of endlessly restoring his mana via ‘Mana Field,’ would deplete it here, given the zone's saturation with miasma.

Here, miasma's concentration is so intense that scant mana lingers in the air; once depleted, refilling from the environment's meager reserves proves impossible!

‘The worst aspect of this realm is how even elementals face suppression...’

Rio's elemental sword technique primarily operates by commanding diverse environmental elementals and enhancing them through mana infusion.

However, this domain stands apart.

Owing to the overwhelming miasma density, elemental presences are nearly absent, severely limiting Rio's capacity to wield his elemental sword arts on them.

‘This domain spells doom for spellcasters who depend greatly on ambient elementals to perform their spells...’

Mana by itself falls short for invoking elemental spells; elementals are essential as well.

‘The sole remedy involves carrying abundant crystals teeming with elementals to fuel your incantations...’

SS-rankers generally evade the need for elementals, thanks to their command over ‘world authorities,’ whereas those under SS-rank must tote elemental-laden crystals to weave spells.

This explains the immense strength of Liam’s ‘Mana Field’; it bypasses SS-rank requirements or world authority, allowing effortless summoning of mana and elementals to one's vicinity.

‘Beyond these issues... I sense that additional ‘world’ ‘laws’ suffer suppression here too...’