193. Snake Nest Assault

Skin Theft had one hidden effect.

When stealing the skin of a slain target, it fused with the user, creating an entirely new existence.

This effect nullified and broke any contracts, curses, or other soul-interfering effects that had been formed up to that point.

Through this, Kairan had undone the Soul Chain that Shion had bound him with and succeeded in attacking Shion’s party.

In other words, under normal circumstances, Shion’s contracts with others, formed through the Soul Chain, should have been undone as well. However, Shion’s remained intact.

The reason was simple.

Because the Three Evil Sisters existed on a higher plane than Skin Theft, its hidden effect did not activate.

Just as Medusa’s Petrification Curse couldn’t petrify Shion, the hidden effect of Skin Theft also failed to manifest.

Shion’s Soul Chain remained unshaken.

And instead of merging with the fused souls of Gorgon and Kairan, it devoured them in an act of absorption.

Not unification-consumption.

It was unclear what effect this would have on Shion, but one thing was certain: it wouldn’t harm him.

Yes, right now, Shion was about to soar.

He had stepped onto the threshold of Platinum Rank, and the moment he tore out Medusa’s throat, Shion finally entered the ranks of true powerhouses.

“GRAAAAAH-!!”

Medusa couldn’t comprehend the current situation.

Though she was among the more intelligent monsters, she couldn’t process and react to the rapidly shifting circumstances fast enough.

Why were the monsters of the Snake Nest attacking her?

Why was Gorgon, her loyal subordinate, now biting into her throat?

Why had everything suddenly spiraled out of control?

Medusa didn’t understand.

But she saw it-the human who had stolen Gorgon’s body, gripping her heart through the gaping hole in her chest.

“Die.”

Shion clenched Medusa’s heart and crushed it.

The strongest monster of the Snake Nest met her end with her heart ripped out, and Shion, having shed Gorgon’s skin, walked over to Medusa’s corpse and fed the spilled blood to the Bracelet of Growth.

Soon, the bracelet, having drunk its fill of Medusa’s blood, spat out a small fruit.

A crimson, bead-like fruit.

“Medusa’s Fruit.”

Just as it had when he killed the giant and fed it blood, the Bracelet of Growth produced another fruit.

Without hesitation, Shion chewed and swallowed it.

It tasted sweet and tart, like an unripe apple, and as if he had eaten the Forbidden Fruit like Adam, changes began to occur in Shion’s body.

“This is…”

Soon, the fruit’s effects imprinted themselves in Shion’s mind.

Unfamiliar characters swirled chaotically in his head, and after a brief wave of nausea, Shion fully grasped all the fruit’s effects.

Among them, the power of his pupils surfaced-the effect of the Identification Eye.

[Snake’s Original Sin]

“Insane.”

The Snake’s Original Sin, obtained through the fruit made from Medusa’s blood.

Just as the Giant’s Stomach had been an ability-like manifestation of the giant’s traits, this was the same-an ability born from Medusa’s characteristics.

‘I can now understand ancient languages.’

Furthermore, his dominion over snakes had strengthened even more, and he could now summon Gorgons, Serpents, and even Medusas using monster corpses.

‘Ultimately… I can summon a Hydra.’

Hydra.

One of the most vicious monsters of the 7th Floor.

Extremely difficult to kill, it was considered a sub-boss-level monster of the 7th Floor.

Being on par with giants, it was a literal strategic weapon-a creature capable of devastating an entire small country if summoned in its midst, especially one with few adventurers.

What was even more terrifying was that Shion owned a Spatial Pouch.

‘Since I can store an infinite number of monster corpses…’

He could summon a Hydra anytime, anywhere.

The cost of summoning was offering a massive number of monster corpses.

For an ordinary adventurer, summoning a Hydra would have been nearly impossible, but for Shion, it was feasible.

He always carried monster corpses in his Spatial Pouch.

These corpses could be retrieved anytime, anywhere, and they never rotted.

Now, Shion could always pull out fresh corpses to summon a Hydra.

‘Insane.’

Not only could he summon and control Gorgons and Serpents, but he could also dominate them.

“It’s over.”

“Helena. He… seems to have gotten ridiculously stronger.”

“He’s closer to a summoner now than a warrior.”

“That does seem to be the case.”

Helena immediately grasped Shion’s condition.

Originally, Shion had been more of a warrior. But now, he leaned closer to a summoner.

Of course, his combat skills hadn’t declined, but with the sheer number of monsters he could summon, he was more of a summoner than a warrior now.

“First, I should use Skin Theft.”

Shion discarded Gorgon’s skin and stole Medusa’s instead.

Since Medusa was of a higher rank than Gorgon, he took the skin of the monster who had reigned as the queen of the Snake Nest.

“Huh? This… feels a bit weird…?”

“Is it locking you into a female form? Huh. This is the first time I’ve seen an ability like this.”

The problem was that even his gender had flipped.

Medusa was a gender-locked entity-exclusively female-and wearing her skin forced Shion to become female as well.

It was starkly different from when he wore Gorgon’s skin. Feeling as though he had lost something precious, Shion crawled forward and stood before the demons.

“Haa…”

The Immortal Imp Modic, now a bloody mess, looked up at Shion.

He didn’t want to admit defeat, but he had lost.

Against Shion, who had killed the nest’s queen and stolen her body, and against the dragon who had effortlessly slaughtered the Serpent horde and disrupted the mana of Nihil, En, and Modic himself.

‘I’ve lost.’

The Immortal Imp Modic realized this was the end if he stayed.

If captured, he’d undoubtedly become their lab rat. The only way out was self-destruction.

‘Better to die than be captured and suffer forever!’

But Modic couldn’t die. Or rather, his body was cursed with immortality.

So, the method he chose was to destroy his own mind.

Activating the spell engraved by Demon King Morto, he rapidly collapsed his consciousness-the only way to escape the prison of his flesh.

“GHAAGH-!!!”

It happened so fast that no one could stop Modic’s suicide.

As the spell left by Demon King Morto activated, Modic’s sense of self disintegrated, leaving only his mindless body writhing on the ground.

“What the hell…”

“Is he dead? But he was cursed with immortality-how?”

“Hmm.”

Helena approached the twitching Modic, poking his body with her nails before deducing the answer.

“His mind’s collapsed. I can roughly guess the method. Hmm. Only the body remains.”

“That’s even better.”

Having reverted from Medusa to his human form, Shion pulled out clothes from his inventory and dressed while placing a hand on Morto’s chest.

“The Soul Chain bound him perfectly. There’s no will to resist. This is the ideal state to extract a soul.”

“You’re taking out that monster’s soul? What for?”

“A living soul with a broken mind has many uses. You can shove it into someone you want to neutralize but don’t want to kill.”

“Huh. I see.”

Watching Ulysses shudder in horror, Shion told him not to worry.

“Of course, the real prize isn’t this demon’s soul. It’s the immortal body itself. Now, now. Chloe, Maximus-which of you will become this body’s new owner?”

“…”

“A curse of immortality.”

“You’ll never taste properly again, and you won’t be able to sleep normally. There are definitely side effects-it’s a curse, after all. But the benefits far outweigh the penalties.”

Both Chloe and Maximus had lost their bodies. They needed either a new vessel or a method of resurrection using a dead body.

But if they took the Immortal Imp’s body now, they could revive immediately-no cost, and they’d gain a stronger physique.

“I’ll take it. That alright?”

“Hmm. I’ll yield.”

Chloe conceded the immortal body to Maximus.

As a sword-and-shield wielder, Chloe judged that Maximus-who charged into enemy lines with his Crushing Sword-was better suited for an immortal body.

“Good. Then this imp bastard’s body goes to Maximus-nim. Next-Alraune.”

Shion placed a hand on the severed head of Alraune, which Logie had brought over.

“Ulysses. Tempting, isn’t it?”

“Tempting, you say?”

“Yes. Look. An Alraune. A body that’ll let you wield your Thorn Vine even more powerfully.”

“B-But… isn’t it female?”

“Ulysses.”

“…Yeah?”

“What does gender matter? Do you want to keep living in an aging body? Or do you want to become the king of Thorn Vines in an ageless Alraune’s body?”

“…I’ll take the Alraune.”

“An excellent decision. Then the remaining Insectoid’s body goes to the Magic Tower.”

“Cough. Thank you for fulfilling the contract.”

“No need. You’ve worked hard in place of the Tower Master, Male-nim.”

“Hahaha…”

Looking at the severely injured Male, Shion extracted the souls from Alraune and the imp. He then shoved the imp’s broken soul into the Insectoid Nihil’s body.

Thus, Insectoid Nihil became a perfect, mindless test subject for the Magic Tower, Maximus gained an immortal body, and Ulysses obtained an Alraune’s body.

“Our combat power’s improved.”

“Yes. We’ve gained an immortal vanguard and the best restraint-type ability user.”

Marveling at the absurd power of the Soul Chain, Shion turned to the remaining Chloe and Joshua.

“I’ll revive the two of you later.”

“I’m good! A golem body is better for playing music.”

“I’d appreciate it. A human body would suit me better.”

Joshua chose to remain in the Black Iron Golem, while Chloe wanted to be revived.

Joshua, now able to use his skills without penalties, loved his golem body, while Chloe, frustrated by its sluggish responses, wanted a human body as soon as possible.

“Now that we’ve conquered the Snake Nest, let’s clean up the corpses first.”

With this, the Snake Nest conquest was complete.

Medusa had become Shion’s skin, and both the Serpent and Gorgon were dead.

The surviving monsters of the Snake Nest became Shion’s laborers, tasked with disposing of their kin’s corpses.

‘With this… I’ve gained a mobile base.’

As long as he had a door, he could enter the Snake Nest anytime, anywhere using its key.

This was effectively like acquiring a mobile hideout. Shion could carry the door in his Spatial Pouch and pull it out whenever he needed a safe location.

‘The problem is that the Snake Nest is connected to the Empire.’

Just as the 7th Floor’s demons had come from the 6th Floor, it was also linked there.

The Snake Nest itself was a floor separate from the 5th Floor, so the Evil Sisters couldn’t extract or relocate the Transfer Stones at will.

‘If I can find the Transfer Stones linked to the Empire and the 6th Floor…’

It’d be best to destroy or remove them.

It’s better to minimize variables.