Chapter 201: Chapter 189: Pledge of Love Under the Sea (Part 2)

A bubble formed by a water shield enveloped them. Lex Cross raised his hand, lifting a throbbing, purplish-red chunk of flesh for Flora Bloom to see.

"Because of this."

Flora Bloom stared at the fleshy, bloody mass in his hand, and bile rose in her throat.

"What is that thing? The stench is overwhelming. Get it away from me!"

The corner of Lex Cross’s mouth twitched. His gaze swept over her slightly bulging abdomen, and his eyes dimmed. He moved the chunk of flesh away from Flora Bloom.

"This is the heart of a Great Crow."

"Great Crow? I just heard you say that. Is that what this octopus monster is called?"

"No, Great Crow is the name of its species. I’ll explain more later. This is its heart. The Great Crow, especially this octopus monster, has no heart at the Initial Stage. Once it reaches the Middle Level, a fleshy tumor forms inside its body, linking to all its parts to absorb, store, and supply energy. It’s just like a zombie’s Crystal Core, which contains all of its energy essence. The difference is that all Great Crows are enormous, and the stronger they become, the more energy their hearts contain."

Flora Bloom glanced in disgust at the bloody mass Lex Cross now held behind his back. "Are you saying this thing can be absorbed like a Crystal Core?"

"Absorb it? That’s one option. However, the most beneficial method for you would be to place it inside your spatial dimension and let your dimension place a mental imprint on its heart."

Flora Bloom pursed her lips, fighting the urge to vomit. "Just bringing its heart into my dimension is enough to make this big thing acknowledge me as its master?"

"Yes. The Great Crow species has no brain; its nervous system and energy are entirely controlled by its heart. Once a single heart can no longer handle all its energy, it will grow a second, and then a third. The stronger they are, the more hearts they have. Fortunately, this one only had two hearts, and the other one was still small and lacked energy. Otherwise, even if I’d risked my life, I couldn’t have guaranteed a victory."

Flora Bloom turned to look at the octopus monster. The bloody hole where she had seen Lex Cross burst out had already healed. Strangely, its body had shrunk considerably in that short amount of time.

Seeing Flora Bloom’s confusion as she stared at the giant octopus, Lex Cross explained, "That’s normal. It needs a massive amount of energy to maintain its size. I took its Energy Core, so without enough power to sustain its original form, it naturally shrank."

"Take it. This Great Crow is quite powerful. If it acknowledges you as its master, I’ll be able to worry a little less when you’re fighting underwater in the future."

Flora Bloom looked into Lex Cross’s eyes, staring straight into his deep pupils.

"I don’t want it!"

But as soon as she said it, Lex Cross suddenly pulled her close. "Flora Bloom, whether you reject me or hate me, survival in this world is all about strength. With this Great Crow, even if I’m not by your side in the future..."

Seeing Lex Cross’s grave expression, Flora Bloom suddenly latched onto the key part of his sentence.

"So, you’re giving me this octopus monster because you’re leaving? Where are you going?"

Lex Cross took a deep breath. "Flora, if I stay by your side, I’m afraid one day I’ll lose control and do something to hurt you, or to hurt..." At this, Lex Cross glanced at Flora Bloom’s abdomen. When he saw her instinctively cover her stomach and look at him defensively, he laughed again, a bitter sound.

"You care so much about the child inside you. The more you care, the more I... ah! Flora, I can’t keep staying this close to you."

In his emotional turmoil, Lex Cross’s hand tightened on the octopus heart, startling the monster’s body nearby into letting out a series of strange cries.

"Fine. If you don’t want it, then just absorb it. The energy in this heart is immense. Combined with the Level 3 Crystal Cores I had The Crown Prince give you, it should be enough to help you break through to the Middle Level."

Seeing Lex Cross’s pale face and his attempt to act nonchalant, Flora Bloom suddenly grabbed his hand and placed it on her own abdomen.

Confused, Lex Cross watched her, trying to pull his hand away, but he found she was holding it fast with surprising strength.

"Hey, has your superpower reached the Middle Level yet?"

"Almost. Why do you ask?"

Flora Bloom pressed Lex Cross’s hand against her stomach, feeling the warmth of his palm seep into her skin. She looked up at his furrowed brow and conflicted expression, then said with mock seriousness, "Didn’t you say you didn’t care? What’s wrong? You do care, don’t you?"

Flora Bloom put on a hurt expression, lowering her gaze and sniffling.

Lex Cross sighed deeply. "What on earth am I supposed to do with you?"

’I should just tell him the truth right now,’ Flora Bloom thought, but she couldn’t resist teasing him a little longer. She held his hand and guided it over the curve of her stomach.

Lex Cross let her guide his hand over her stomach, his expression a mixture of complex emotions.

"Ah, forget it. Do as you please."

Just as Flora Bloom was about to laugh and tell him about Polly Bloom, the seabed began to shake violently. A massive fissure, wide enough for several people to pass through at once, tore open in the sand beneath them.

A thick stench of sulfur billowed out from it, and fine, blackish-gray particles drifted out of the fissure, mixing with the water as they rose toward the surface.

On top of that, the water temperature shot up and continued to climb by the second. Flora Bloom suddenly felt as if she were soaking in a giant hot spring, surrounded by the smell of sulfur.

"The undersea volcano actually extends all the way here!" Lex Cross said, his brow furrowed.

"An undersea volcano?"

Hearing Flora Bloom’s words, Ash suddenly contacted her through their mental link. "Master, I told you before! The undersea volcano seems to have shifted to somewhere nearby."

"Where are you?" Flora Bloom asked Ash.

"The vortex on the surface seems to have split the sea in two. I’m on the other side and can’t get across. Master, you have to be careful! There will be extremely powerful creatures guarding the treasure inside that volcano."

Flora Bloom had no time for Ash. The fissure at her feet was widening, looking as if something was about to erupt from it.

Flora Bloom took the octopus heart from Lex Cross and tossed it into her spatial dimension. The monster’s consciousness suddenly appeared in her mental link. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Master, treasure!" The octopus monster registered the fissure below and, in its excitement, dove straight into it.

Its massive body, having shrunk considerably from the energy loss, was now only half its original size. Even so, it was still as large as a mountain. Yet, as it entered the fissure, it was as if it had no bones, turning into a soft, light-brown mass of flesh and instantly slipping inside.

As it plunged deeper, it kept shouting in Flora Bloom’s mental link, "Treasure! Big treasure!"

Flora Bloom tried several times to call it back, but even though the octopus monster had acknowledged her as its master, it disobeyed and pressed onward. ’In theory, my dimension should have absolute control over any creature bound to it,’ she thought. ’Why isn’t it working on this one?’

"What should we do?" Flora Bloom asked, looking at Lex Cross uncertainly. She wasn’t willing to let the monster she had just acquired simply run off. But Lex Cross looked so pale; his injuries were clearly severe.

"Let’s go. We’ll follow it. With that thing leading the way, there aren’t many creatures in this sea that can threaten us." Lex Cross smiled faintly at Flora Bloom and took her hand.

"Don’t worry about me. I might be a little injured, but I can still protect you."