"Riveria, deploy the barrier!"
Finn issued the command, his composure slipping.
His voice held a tone that neither Tiona nor the others had ever heard before.
Upon receiving the order, Riveria tensed and began chanting magic.
As a master mage, she understood perfectly what kind of attack they were about to face.
"It's bombardment! Stop the enemy's chant!"
Following Finn's rapid-fire orders, Raul and the other supporters — along with Lefiya, who had already been preparing her own spell — roared in unison.
"Fire together!"
"[Fusillade Fallarica]!"
The supporters' magic attacks and Lefiya's spell shot toward the corrupted spirit.
Even Shirou fired a full-powered Muspelflamme arrow, delivering a heavy blow.
Yet the monster didn't budge.
As the barrage rushed toward it, the corrupted spirit casually opened the ten massive petals beneath its body, deflecting the onslaught.
Lefiya's Fusillade Fallarica collided relentlessly against the enormous petals, but aside from flashing sparks and booming explosions, the spell showed no sign of breaking through.
"Is that thing completely unharmed…?"
Seeing the corrupted spirit remain pristine despite the overwhelming firepower, everyone's expressions darkened.
Even Shirou — who had expected this outcome — was momentarily stunned.
He had only assumed this would happen. He no longer trusted the information from the anime of his previous life, especially anything related to combat.
He had to verify everything himself; trusting an animation studio might one day get him killed.
---
[Rise, flames. Rage, rage, rage. Swirling inferno. Crimson wall.
Let the firestorm roar. May the wrath of the blazing tempest drown the world in agony and despair. The heavens will burn.]
[The earth will smolder. The seas will boil. Springs will bubble. Mountains will erupt.]
[All life shall turn to ash. Let the lives of the mighty serve as atonement for the fury and sorrow to come.]
[Your messenger beseeches you, Salamandra. Incarnation of fire. Queen of flames.]
---
[Dance, spirits of the air, guardians of light. Forge a pact with the forest's sentinel and wrap yourselves within the song of the earth.]
[Encircle us. Manifest, mighty barrier of the forest's light, and grant us your protection — my name is Alf!]
The corrupted spirit and Riveria chanted simultaneously.
An unbelievably long incantation.
The corrupted spirit's chant was astonishingly powerful — and its speed far outstripped Riveria's.
It is important to understand that magic chants are not mere words.
Condensation, processing, and transformation of magical power occur simultaneously.
Only when all of these remain in perfect rhythm can the spell be safely released.
Otherwise, a magical explosion could easily occur — an explosion capable of annihilating the caster themselves.
For a mage, rhythm is everything. Increasing chant speed while preserving that rhythm is a discipline in itself.
As Orario's strongest mage, Riveria was unquestionably a master of that discipline.
Yet in terms of raw chanting speed, she was utterly overwhelmed by the corrupted spirit.
While everyone was helpless, an immense amount of magical energy, fueled by the enemy's chant, filled the forming artillery spell at terrifying speed.
"Damn it, we can't get close!"
After realizing Lefiya's magic had no effect, Finn ordered everyone to advance.
But under the relentless whip of countless tentacles, they could not break through.
Worse — while attacking, they also had to defend Riveria as she chanted.
Under the ceaseless torrent of tentacles, they were already pushed to their limits simply holding the line.
Shirou, Tiona, and Tione tirelessly blocked every attack aimed at Riveria.
Gareth, Bete, and Tsubaki pushed forward to fight the monster head-on.
Ais focused solely on evading the endless swarm of tentacles.
The enemy chanted spells, assaulted everyone with tentacles, and simultaneously used its petals to obstruct the Loki Familia's advance.
Facing an enemy capable of simultaneous offense, defense, and magic, Finn grit his teeth.
"Fall back to Riveria's barrier!"
As the corrupted spirit unleashed attacks, Riveria finally completed her chant.
Understanding the extreme danger, she immediately invoked her strongest defensive magic.
"[Via Shilheim]"
An emerald magic circle beneath their feet burst into brilliant light and transformed into a dome-shaped green domain, enveloping every member of the Loki Familia.
This was a barrier capable of blocking all physical and magical attacks.
At the exact moment Riveria finished her chant, the corrupted spirit also completed its own spell.
"[Tempest of Fire!]"
In the next moment, the entire floor was dyed a blazing red.
A furious storm of flames swept across the frontlines, crashing into the Loki Familia like a tidal wave.
A torrent of scorching heat exploded forth — overwhelming, all-consuming.
The entire floor — from where the Loki Familia stood to the distant rear passages — was engulfed in flames, swallowing monsters along with it.
The barrier and inferno clashed, and Riveria, maintaining the barrier, could not hide her pain.
It was the first time Shirou had ever seen Riveria like this.
Staring at the endless sea of flames, Tiona and the others froze in terror.
If that attack hit them directly, they would be reduced to ash.
As everyone prayed for the magic to fade, cracking sounds echoed.
Riveria's barrier — the barrier of Orario's greatest mage, which had never suffered as much as a scratch — was fracturing.
Seeing the horrifying scene, Shirou cursed inwardly again.
Good thing he didn't trust the animation staff.
If he had, he probably wouldn't even understand how he died.
Still, this outcome was within acceptable limits: the corrupted spirit was classified as Level 7, while Riveria was only Level 6.
And her opponent was a spirit — a being with more magical knowledge than even elves.
Losing to a spirit was nothing to be ashamed of.
"Oh no… the barrier is going to break!"
As cracks spread across the dome, Riveria shouted:
"Gareth! Protect Ais and the others!"
Instantly, Gareth snatched two shields from the supporters, leapt behind Riveria, and positioned himself in front of Ais and the others.
A heartbeat later, Riveria's barrier shattered with a sharp, ringing crack.
"Riveria!"
Seeing her about to be engulfed by the crimson inferno, Ais screamed.
She understood perfectly — Riveria and Gareth intended to take the full brunt of the spell to protect them.
But before sorrow could take hold—
Shirou appeared at Riveria's side.
He rushed forward, pulling her into his arms just as the magical backlash struck.
His free hand rose toward the flames — and a pink petal suddenly unfurled.
A shield of seven blossoms expanded before everyone.
"Rho Aias!"
---
(End of Chapter)