The one blasted out by Allen's "Thunder Blast Wave" was none other than the atavistic Ethan.
He had been severely injured by the possessed Hubert, forcing him to revert to his original form and escape the trampling.
Using his "Advanced Invisibility" to protect him, he hurriedly fled the battlefield.
Arriving in a secluded forest clearing, he thought he was safe, but just as he lowered his guard, he was ambushed by Allen.
Ethan, wounded and on the verge of death.
Unable to maintain his invisibility, his true form was revealed.
Ethan's third-level atavistic form, the Phantom Mushroom, was completely exposed to Allen and Sonia.
He resembled a large poodle covered in gray mold.
His head was a pileus-shaped head, with mycelium hanging down like a mane.
His slit mouth revealed four rows of jagged, sharp teeth.
"Haha! Isn't that Captain?"
Sonia walked over, whip in hand, sneering.
"It's only been a while since we last met, how come you look so miserable?"
Swish!
Sonia swung the whip, wrapped it around Ethan's neck, and dragged him towards her.
She stomped her black, high-heeled boots hard on his face.
"Captain, do you remember when you left me alone at the airport on Griffin Island?"
"Haha... I don't remember?"
"It's okay. I'll use the whip to help you recall it."
Sonia swung the whip with a sly grin.
She lashed her immediate superior all over the face.
As she lashed him furiously, she also teased and mocked him.
"Captain, why aren't you showing off?"
"Don't you enjoy these 'obedience tests'?"
"You're testing me? Try another one!"
Ethan's dying cap twitched.
A string of incantations emanated from what looked like a crack in his mouth.
This was the spell used by mid-level deacons of the Human Demon Cult to control their subordinates.
It should have awakened the phantom worm eggs within Sonia and stopped her madness.
However, there was no response.
The phantom worm eggs within Sonia didn't respond to his call.
Only then did Ethan realize how terrifying this crazy little woman was!
But he realized it too late.
A ball of pitch-black hellfire erupted from Sonia's hand, igniting him.
Sonia, carrying the storage bag she'd looted from Ethan, retreated to Alan's side.
She coldly watched Ethan's body burn to ash in the flames of hell.
Allen took the storage bag Sonia handed him and pondered:
"I suddenly remembered something."
"You asked me to help you kill the leader, saying it was to clear the way for you to climb up."
"In fact, we killed almost the entire group."
"Not only were there people like Ethan who were stronger than you, but you also spared the ventriloquist and the clown, even those who were inferior to you."
"Sonia, I think things may not be as simple as you say."
"Perhaps you decided from the beginning to kill every member of the Amazing Circus?"
"That's right! I wanted to destroy the group from the beginning!"
Sonia tossed her thick, wavy black hair back, a sneer curling her red lips, like a gorgeous yet vicious poppy.
"Ethan left me alone at Griffin Island Airport, and the circus people took advantage of my misfortune and mocked me..."
"From that moment on, I secretly resolved to kill all of them, leaving no one behind!"
"Now, I've fulfilled this small wish, and it couldn't have been possible without your help, Brother Allen!"
"You're my savior! The only light in my life!"
Seeing her fanatical expression, Allen couldn't help but confide his true feelings.
"Your vengeful nature is so intense that it chills me to the bone."
Sonia rolled her eyes at him and said quietly,
"If you don't bully me, you don't have to be afraid of me."
Alan was speechless and opened Captain Ethan's storage bag.
When it attacked earlier, it had specifically added Shaping Super Magic to "Thunder Blast Wave" to avoid the storage bag.
A large bag of magic stones, intact, and three bottles of spores.
Spores could be synthesized with Alan's own venom glands, and he gave them all to Sonia.
Sonia might not be able to stay in the mushroom garden in the future, so she kept these spores as backup meditation material.
...
The battle in the mushroom garden wasn't over yet.
Hubert, possessed by the demon, hadn't yet sated his thirst for flesh and blood.
A possessed demon has lost his true nature, no longer distinguishing friend from foe.
All living beings are equal prey in his eyes.
The first to suffer was Charlie, seemingly the safest.
The sky of the Underdark was actually a "ceiling" with a limited height.
Charlie, transformed into a griffin, could only hover below the dome, less than a hundred meters high.
He was suddenly entangled by vines, torn off, and devoured! Charlie's screams faded from within the tree's gaping maw.
Once the possessed Hubert began devouring his own people, he couldn't stop.
Two vines suddenly wrapped around the last two apprentices and dragged them away.
"Master! No! Ahhhh!"
The two apprentices wailed for mercy.
Even their pleas couldn't change their fate.
In the end, they were devoured alive, one by one.
The possessed Hubert spat out the snake-like vines and licked his blood-stained lips.
Its appetite remained unsatisfied.
At this moment, the last two living girls remained within its hunting range: its niece, Olivia, and Angela, its personal disciple and mistress.
There was no hesitation.
The possessed Hubert turned to face Angela and Olivia, his mouth wide open.
Swish!
Long vines erupted from the tree hole, wrapping around Angela like a green python.
"Ahhhhhh—"
Angela screamed and struggled desperately.
She knew it was futile to beg Hubert for mercy.
"Olivia! Save me!"
Olivia was also terrified.
The urge to escape surged within her.
But Angela's cries sounded so pitiful, so helpless...
Olivia simply couldn't bear to abandon her best friend and escape alone.
Gritting her teeth and mustering her courage, she once again activated her ancestral form, transforming into a woad tree man.
The little tree man suddenly vanished!
The next second, he was twenty meters away.
This is the woad treeman's specialty: the ability to teleport short distances within the woodland.
The underground jungle of mushrooms and mosses also falls under the broad definition of "woodland."
After two consecutive flashes, Olivia finally caught up with Angela.
Reaching out from under her tree branches, she grabbed Angela and wrenched the petite girl free from the vines.
The next second, Olivia teleported again, narrowly dodging a sweeping vine.
Carrying Angela, Olivia ran furiously through the mushroom forest.
Behind her, the possessed Hubert howled in pursuit.
The giant tree roots thundered as they stomped on the ground, closing in.
Compared to the over thirty-meter-tall mutated hanging tree, Angela's tiny treeman form was dwarfed.
Like a squirrel fleeing from a giant's pursuit.
Each step taken by the possessed Hubert was equivalent to ten steps she could run.
In desperation, she resorted to frequent "Woodland Teleport."
Teleportation consumes a significant amount of magic power, and Olivia's frequent use quickly depleted it.
"Angela..."
Olivia's telepathy was weak and sporadic.
"I can't run any longer..."
"Can you get down and run a few steps on your own?"
"No! No!"
Angela clung to her bestie's arm tightly, like a crying, spoiled little girl.
"Olivia! Olivia! You're my best friend!!"
"You can't leave me!"
"I'm counting on you now!"
"I'm sorry, my magic is almost exhausted... If this goes on, we'll both die. It's better to escape separately... Let fate decide whether we live or die."
"Huh? Are you serious?!" Angela suddenly stopped crying. "Your magic... is almost exhausted?"
Olivia, drained of her magic, was no longer able to protect her. Instead, she was an even more obvious prey, a burden to her.
Angela's face gloomy as she swiftly jumped off Olivia.
"No way, I have to rely on myself."
The moment she landed, she activated the second stage of atavism, transforming into a supernatural plant.
Atavism Angela was composed of vines, leaves, bark, soil, and roots.
From head to toe, it stood only three feet tall, resembling a doll with a sly grin.
This was Angela's atavistic form, called "Demon Mandrake."
After Angela left, Olivia felt a sense of relief.
To conserve her magic power, she had to undo her atavism and return to her frail youth.
Angela glanced up at her best friend, then turned back to look at the possessed Hubert, who was now catching up.
Her eyes flickered, her gaze flickering.
"Olivia, I'm sorry, I have to trouble you for one last favor."
"How can I help you?" Olivia looked at her best friend, confusion in her eyes.
"Hey, if you stay and keep your mad uncle busy, I can escape."
Angela's shameless smile chilled Olivia to the bone...
Before she could reply, Angela's mouth agape opened, unleashing a terrifying scream!
"Ahhhhhhh—"
The demonic mandrake's scream held magical power.
This piercing, demonic sound could cause a brief stun in creatures within a 10-meter radius.
Exhausted, Olivia had never imagined her best friend would resort to such treachery, pushing her into the flames as a springboard for escape.
"How could she... do this..."
Olivia's mind swam, and she clutched her head, sobbing.
After her scream, Angela dove headfirst into the ground.
Using her hands and feet, she dug a hole like a mole.
Demonic mandrakes are naturally adept at digging holes.
While possessed Hubert was drawn to Olivia, Angela quickly dug a tunnel and burrowed away.
…
In the mushroom forest, two figures pursued them.
From afar, Alan watched as the possessed Hubert swung out vines, entwining the dazed Olivia and attempting to devour his niece.
A flicker of pity flashed in his eyes.
Should he rescue her?
Among Hubert's disciples, Olivia was the only one who had left a positive impression on him.
However, rescuing Olivia would inevitably put him in danger, and would also implicate Sonia, who was beside him.
This was a risk he couldn't accept!
Alan shook his head slightly, looking away from Olivia.
Sonia glanced at him, then suddenly hurled a ball of hellfire, slamming into the vines.
With a loud bang, the vines binding Olivia were severed by the fireball.
Olivia struggled to her feet, her face filled with astonishment.
"What are you standing there for?" a strange woman's voice rang out from the woods. "Run!"