"You took too long, old man!"
Hearing Shirou's complaint, Gareth laughed and replied, "Looks like you guessed I'd show up, Shirou!"
"Wasn't it obvious?"
Looking at Gareth, who was holding two massive axes, Shirou smiled. "Finn wouldn't let the five of us fight alone on the 58th floor."
"Finn, as the captain, definitely can't come. Riveria, as a mage, will be far more useful in the advance through the upper floors. As for Ais, her magic is extremely effective against the new species. So besides you, there's no one else who could have come to support us."
"Haha, well analyzed. No wonder you're Finn's chosen successor!"
Seeing how Shirou's reasoning was perfectly sound, Gareth's eyes filled with satisfaction.
In truth, he had long considered retiring, but the younger generation of his family had yet to grow strong enough. How could he leave like that?
So witnessing the younger ones thriving filled him with genuine joy.
But his expression soon hardened.
"There's no time to celebrate. We need to deal with these monsters first."
Watching the horde of monsters rushing toward them, Gareth charged head-on at one of the Valgang Dragons.
With the overwhelming strength of a Level 6 warrior, he buried his axe deep into the dragon's leg.
Faced with Gareth's devastating blow, the dragon collapsed instantly, flesh and blood scattering across the battlefield.
His incredible speed and decisive actions left Tiona and the others stunned.
Meanwhile, the remaining monsters surged forward.
Seeing them approach, Gareth threw aside his axe and seized the tail of the fallen red dragon.
His fingers pierced through its tough crimson scales, and with a mighty heave, he began to run—dragging the enormous beast behind him.
Then, to everyone's utter disbelief, he lifted the dragon and swung it like a weapon, smashing it into the incoming monsters.
A/N: This reminded me of that meme: "I'm gonna take this son of a bitch and hit that other son of a bitch with him."
"…No way."
Bete and the others, who had never witnessed anything like it, muttered in shock.
With a thunderous roar, Gareth spun the dragon.
"Get down!"
At Shirou's command, the four quickly dropped flat onto the ground.
Gareth, gripping the dragon by the tail and using it like a gigantic flail, kept spinning it—faster and faster with each rotation.
The destructive power grew with every turn.
Under Gareth's assault, every surrounding monster was pulverized.
Within the savage whirlwind, countless creatures were crushed in an instant, and even the Valgang Dragon Gareth was wielding became severely battered and fell limp.
Amid the dying screams of the monsters, the surviving ones were sent flying in all directions.
Seeing no immediate threats left, Gareth released the dragon, hurling it toward the monsters in the air.
The dragon, thrown skyward, traced an arc before slamming into the flying beasts, smashing them into the ceiling.
The impact shattered the ceiling, causing stones to rain down like a storm. Covered in dust, Tiona squirmed on the ground and muttered, "No way… this has to be fake…"
Three Valgang Dragons lay defeated, the remains of countless monsters scattered like debris. And far in the distance, a dragon's head was embedded deep into the wall.
Witnessing the scene—like the aftermath of a tornado—Bete and the others felt their eyes involuntarily twitch.
This was Gareth, the mighty dwarven warrior, the equal of Finn and Riveria.
"Hahaha! Now that makes me want a good drink!"
Rolling his shoulders, he pulled out a high-grade potion from his clothes and chugged it like wine.
Then Gareth turned to Bete and the others, who were still frozen in awe, and laughed. "Don't just stand there! More monsters are coming—get up!"
No sooner had he spoken than another horde surged forth from the massive void connecting the floors above.
Seeing the distant wave of monsters, Gareth picked up his discarded axes and took a battle stance.
"I feel like Mr. Gareth alone is enough…"
"That's impossible."
Looking at the group regrouping beside him, Gareth immediately dismissed Lefiya's words.
"We must hold out until Finn and the others arrive!"
Seeing Gareth—his armor scorched, his cloak torn, his body covered in wounds—Lefiya finally understood why he found that statement absurd.
It was only then that Bete and the others realized they had just witnessed Gareth's full strength.
Until now, he had always stayed in the rear to protect everyone, rarely getting the chance to unleash his true power.
While the group was still awestruck, Shirou, who already knew how strong Gareth truly was, had drawn his bow and fired an arrow—using Muspelflamme to end the life of the severely injured Valgang Dragon.
"Now that we're all here, I'll take command!"
No one objected.
After all, everyone knew Shirou was the next captain of the Loki Familia, chosen by Finn and Loki, so it was only natural that he would lead in Finn's absence.
"Since everyone agrees, I'll begin. Our primary objective is survival. We must hold out until Finn and the others arrive.
"Second, as long as we still have strength, we'll try to eliminate as many Valgang Dragons on the 58th floor as possible to lessen the burden on the captain.
"Earlier, with Clairvoyance, I saw a large number of those lizard monsters in the passage between floors 58 and 57. We'll use their presence to draw the other monsters in.
"Based on previous information, those monsters prioritize attacking other monsters before attacking us. We can use that to ease the pressure."
Hearing Shirou's plan, everyone nodded.
They were isolated and outnumbered; expecting five people to hold off endless waves of monsters was nothing but fantasy.
"Since that's decided—let's move!"
Seeing everyone's resolve harden, the fire of battle reignited in their eyes.
The fierce battle was about to begin once more.
---xXx---
53rd Floor
Finn and the others, having just arrived on this floor, found themselves confused.
On the previous floor, the 52nd, Ais had used Ariel repeatedly, yet no trace of the new species had appeared.
Even on the 53rd floor, the new species were nowhere to be found, which only heightened Finn's unease.
Worse yet, as they pushed forward, they realized that not even the regular monsters were appearing.
They were in a dungeon—monsters should be everywhere.
But here, there was only absolute silence.
At that moment, Finn's thumb began to throb lightly.
"Trouble's coming…"
The group advanced cautiously until they finally encountered monsters.
Before them stretched an endless horde of new species.
And among them, towering above the rest, was a colossal Viola—significantly larger than the others.
And atop the Viola stood a figure cloaked in black, staring directly at the Loki Familia.
"It's a monster!"
Finn's expression hardened as he faced the creature blocking their path.
A fierce battle was about to begin.
(End of Chapter)