A loud explosion rang out as everyone's vision was swallowed by a blinding light.
When the wave of flames passed and the smoke finally cleared…
"Gah."
A few ragged coughs broke the silence.
Everyone lifted their heads slowly, feeling the sting of burns across their skin.
"Riveria... Gareth."
The sight of their seniors lying motionless on the ground made more than a few of them draw a sharp breath.
"The jungle… the magic has completely changed the floor's terrain."
When they looked around, the lush overgrowth that had covered the 59th floor was gone.
In its place was nothing but scorched earth stretching in their field of vision... a desolate, blackened wasteland where a jungle had stood moments ago.
...
On the other side of the battlefield, Judas stopped mid-motion and turned his head toward where the rest of the Loki Familia was fighting.
'Shit... are they alright?'
His eyes turned gold as he checked on them.
After confirming that everyone was still alive, he breathed a sigh of relief, only for the Demi Spirit to suddenly attack, taking advantage of his distraction.
A thick vine whipped toward him before he could react, catching him off guard and sending him crashing into the ground below.
The impact carved a crater into the floor as though a meteorite had struck.
The Demi Spirit raised nearly all of its vines and began pounding the ground where Judas had fallen.
Fortunately, Judas managed to escape in time, flying high into the air while nursing his aching midsection. He could feel that a couple of his ribs had been broken.
'Damn it... that hurt.'
He spat into his palm and saw a tooth, coated in blood, that had been knocked out of his mouth.
'Should I go to them?'
He clenched the hand holding his tooth.
Of course, the thought of helping the others crossed his mind.
But his gaze settled on the Demi Spirit hovering in front of him.
If he moved toward the others now, he would only be bringing this thing with him... and endangering them far more than they already were.
'What am I thinking. Didn't you just tell yourself to trust them?'
He pushed the thought aside and refocused on the enemy in front of him.
Because his intuition was telling him that they would soon surpass their limits and overcome this ordeal.
'Shouldn't I be doing the same?'
He thought as he wiped the blood from his mouth.
In his mind, he had already begun casting a long-activation spell to annihilate the Demi Spirit in one decisive blow.
...
Back on the other side...
Just as Ais and the others pulled themselves together and regrouped...
"Moan, mighty earth. Rise, rise, rise. Husk of the earth. Sheen of iron. Hammer of the cosmos."
The Demi Spirit began to chant again.
A different magic this time. Another long chant.
"...!?"
Everyone immediately grew alarmed as the Demi Spirit's voice resonated through the air.
"May genesis's pact upheave rock and stone. The sky shall burn. The earth shall split. The bridge shall rise. Heaven and earth shall become one."
"Protect Raul and the others!"
Finn's voice cut through the tension as everyone moved to drag those too injured to move on their own.
"May the axes of the ether rain down and bring about calamity's ruin. Your envoy beseeches you, Gnome. Incarnate of the land. Queen of the earth."
"Meteor Swarm."
Massive magic circles bloomed above their heads, and through them, dozens of boulders the size of houses began to fall.
"Tempest!"
Ais cast her wind magic defensively, forming a dome to protect everyone, or at least lessen the impact.
Moments later, the boulders crashed down.
The impacts tore through their bodies like waves of pain detonating all at once, craters erupting across the floor around them as if a meteor shower had descended on this single point.
When the dust settled, everyone was on the ground, gasping.
"Ah... damn it."
"Am I still alive?"
"I feel like I'm dying."
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Ais and the others slowly forced themselves back up.
When they raised their heads, the Demi Spirit was absorbing motes of light drifting through the air around it, drawing them back into itself.
"It's recovering its magic power?"
"It's going to cast again."
Lefiya spoke, her eyes trembling.
"Riveria and Gareth… they're still unconscious."
Then the ground trembled beneath them.
The familiar sound of an approaching horde filled the air as an army of Virgas came surging toward them.
Seeing this, a heavy weight settled in everyone's chest as anxiety crept in.
'We're going to die.'
The thought echoed in their minds.
All of them except one.
"Finn?"
Everyone watched as their captain stepped forward, placing himself at the front, his back facing them.
"We are going to defeat that monster."
His voice was firm and filled with conviction.
"What is courage to you?"
"What do you see right now? Fear? Despair? Destruction?"
No one answered.
They simply stared at the pallum's back.
Though small in stature, his presence seemed to grow with every passing second.
"All I see is an enemy that needs to be defeated... and our victory waiting on the other side of it."
"We don't need to retreat. I'll carve the path open myself with this spear."
"I promise you victory in the name of Fianna. Fight alongside me."
He paused for a beat, and then the corner of his mouth curved upward as he raised his spear and pointed it off to the side.
"Or is following Judas Spade's example really too much to ask?"
Every head turned.
Across the battlefield, alone against the second Demi Spirit, Judas was still standing.
Still pushing forward.
Holding his ground against a monster of that level.
All by himself.
Their eyes widened.
At that moment, goosebumps spread across their skin.
And just like that, the will to fight came flooding back.
If Finn inspired them with his words, then Judas gave them hope through his actions.
Seeing their expressions, Finn's smile widened.
"Look at him, Bete. Are you really going to let yourself fall behind after seeing that?"
"Not a chance in hell."
The werewolf bared his fangs, a low growl building in his chest.
"Right now he's giving everything he has. Have you done the same, Tione?"
"Not yet... but I'm about to, Captain!"
The older Amazon shouted, her battle instincts flaring.
"He's having an adventure. He's risking his life to hold that thing back for us. What about you, Tiona?"
"I like hero stories, but I'm not some damsel who can't do anything. That's not me."
The grin returned to the smiling Amazon's face, bright and fierce.
"Ais, what about you? Are you just going to stand there and let him do all the work?"
"No."
Her voice was quiet, but certain.
"I wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes if we lost here."
The swordswoman raised her blade, a sharp glint flashing through her golden eyes.
"Then… let us continue fighting and overcome this, for we are the Loki Familia."
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