Daniel explained his theory to them, and it actually made them stop and think.
The more they thought about it, the more it made sense to them too.
"Makes sense... So they’ve been reproducing at night this whole time, huh?" Philip let out a sigh.
"We completely ignored the possibility of there being a queen. If that’s the case, everything checks out," they all nodded in agreement.
"If that’s true, then the Boss probably doesn’t have much combat power. Now it makes sense why it’s hiding," the mayor also saw the theory as logical.
But now the question was—what were they supposed to do? Figuring out that there was probably a queen didn’t make anything easier.
First, the queen was clearly well-hidden, and finding her wouldn’t be easy. Second, all the Corruption Beasts were fiercely guarding her, and they doubted they could win against so many.
"How long will it take for reinforcements to arrive?" the mayor turned to August and asked.
"As I said before, we’re not sure. The land route into the city has been destroyed, and the airspace is occupied by Corruption Beasts. They’ll have to find a way to punch through first," August replied.
"Why don’t they just send a single powerful Awakened who can handle this on their own?" Daniel looked at the two and asked.
"Well, most of the capital’s high-ranking Awakened are currently busy, and many of them aren’t even in the country. As for the rest, the only ones available are B-rank and A-rank Awakened," August said.
"And as you can see, even an A-rank can’t enter the city that easily."
"So for now, we’re on our own, huh?" Daniel gave a dry smirk. The situation in the city seemed worse than he had thought.
August nodded. For now, there wasn’t any other option.
"Either way, I need to head to the church as soon as possible. Enough wasting time," Daniel stood up. Even if the city was in danger, right now his family was his top priority.
"Wait," Philip suddenly said, reaching out his hand. In his palm, a talisman appeared.
"Wear it around your neck. This way, we can stay in contact with you and monitor your life energy. If you get into danger, we can come to save you."
Daniel looked at the talisman with some interest, then took it and put it around his neck. As soon as he did, he felt a brief burning sensation.
Once the burning faded, the talisman disappeared—or rather, it seemed to have been absorbed.
"Be careful. If things get dangerous, run immediately. You still have those Escape Talismans I gave you, right?" August looked at him and asked.
Daniel nodded in confirmation.
"Good. If by chance the queen really is inside the church, let us know—but don’t do anything reckless."
After listening to all the advice, Daniel left the Awakened Association. Once he was far enough, he immediately activated the Burning Moon Armor.
In an instant, his clothes changed. A silver armor with golden streaks covered his body. It wasn’t bulky; in fact, it fit his body perfectly.
The armor emitted a bloody, destructive aura—as if it had taken part in countless battles and swam through rivers of blood.
Wearing it made Daniel feel strangely safe and calm, which made sense given its power.
Without wasting time, he flew toward the church. Of course, many Corruption Beasts were in the sky, but they were too weak.
Each time he passed one, it suddenly caught fire. Thanks to the Ring of Nature and his understanding of the fire element, Daniel could easily ignite them.
Within ten minutes of flying, he burned down dozens of Corruption Beasts. Smoke trails appeared in the sky and drew the attention of many Awakened.
Military helicopters flying nearby changed course and flew over. When they saw the Corruption Beasts burning in the sky, they were shocked.
"My god, what happened here?" they immediately reported the situation to the authorities.
Meanwhile, Daniel arrived at his destination. He hovered in the sky and stared at the church in the distance.
It looked like an ordinary church—nothing special. However, a huge number of strange Corruption Beasts were guarding it.
"Hundreds? No, that’s at least thousands of Corruption Beasts," he muttered to himself, remembering that August had said there were only hundreds.
Realizing that killing them all alone would take too much time—especially now that he couldn’t use his defensive or offensive skills—he decided to summon his Fallen.
Beneath his feet, a phantom image of a sea of blood took shape. Suddenly, dozens of fearsome, powerful figures rose from the blood and bowed before him in the sky.
"Looks like they can all fly now—even Vorak," he thought to himself after seeing that Vorak had grown wings.
It seemed that after reaching B-rank, not only had Daniel evolved, but his Fallen had evolved too.
"Two of my Fallen were killed and my family was taken. I don’t know how or by who, but their bodies are inside that church. As long as you bring me their corpses, I’m sure I can find out who’s responsible," he looked at them all and gave his command.
"As you command, my Lord," Nariok and Malrik, who stood at the front, replied in unison.
"Go. Tear those Corruption Beasts to pieces. I don’t want a single one of them left alive," Daniel raised his hand and pointed toward the church.
The Fallen nodded and flew straight toward the church with full force.
Sensing intruders, the Corruption Beasts began to roar. When they saw a group of unknown entities charging toward their nest, they attacked the Fallen.
Daniel didn’t move right away. He observed for a moment. Seeing that his Fallen were having no trouble holding their ground—even though they were just dozens facing thousands—he smiled.
"My turn," he said, then charged toward the church himself. At his sides, countless blades formed from mana essence and death energy. He also infused them with fire for extra power.
Without hesitation, the blades shot toward the Corruption Beasts, killing dozens—hundreds—instantly.
One by one, system notifications popped up telling him how many Corruption Beasts he had killed, but he dismissed them. He didn’t have time to focus on them right now.
Seeing that a path had been cleared, he entered the church. The Corruption Beasts noticed him, but none blocked his path—they continued to fight the Fallen.
Daniel didn’t care. But he had no idea what kind of nightmare was waiting for him inside the church.