"Haha... seeing everyone like this, it makes my blood boil as well."
Tsubaki said with a pained smile as she pushed herself back to her feet.
Lefiya looked around at the faces around her and tightened her grip on her staff.
'Judas is out there fighting. Everyone is getting fired up.'
'I can do it too...'
She thought, planting the foot of her staff against the ground and using it to push herself upright.
Following this, Raul and the others looked at the backs of their superiors, then at each other.
They saw the resolve forming in each other's eyes as they rose to their feet as well.
Finn took it all in with a quiet nod of satisfaction.
Now that everyone had regained their morale, it was time to strike while the iron was hot.
"Good! Raul, your group will stay behind and support us! The rest of us will attack that monster!"
"Yes sir!"
Raul and the support team snapped to attention.
"Lefiya, you're with us."
"Yes!"
Lefiya answered without hesitation, her expression set.
Finn turned and walked toward where Gareth and Riveria still lay on the ground.
"Riveria, Gareth, is this all you've got?"
"Aren't you ashamed? As veterans, you're letting yourselves get one-upped by a rookie."
When he received no response, Finn spoke again.
"Then keep on sleeping. I'm going on ahead."
"I have no intention of losing like you two."
Hearing this, Gareth and Riveria's fingers twitched.
"Damn it… you arrogant pallum. You really know how to rile me up, huh?"
The dwarf slammed his fist into the ground and started dragging himself upright, cursing under his breath.
"Hey! Loathsome elf! Is now really the time for your beauty sleep?"
"Shut your mouth, you barbaric dwarf!"
Riveria's eyes snapped open as she fired back without missing a beat.
Witnessing this scene reminded Finn of the old days, when the three of them would often argue like this.
But there was no time for it now. They had an enemy to defeat.
"Someone hand me an axe. I am going to split that thing's head open."
Gareth said as he hauled himself to his feet.
"I will begin my strongest attack. Protect me while I charge it."
Riveria announced, a magic circle already forming beneath her feet.
With the Loki Familia fully reassembled, Finn raised and pointed his spear at the Demi Spirit.
"Let's give it everything we've got!"
...
Judas, who was fighting the other Demi Spirit, paused for a moment before a smile spread across his face.
"It seems like they finally got their shit together."
He said as a barrage of vines shot toward him.
He dodged and weaved through them.
Some managed to graze him, but he avoided any fatal hits.
He landed on one of the vines and slid along it before launching himself back into the air to avoid the next wave.
"I suppose I should start wrapping this up."
He said, turning his attention back to the Demi Spirit.
He glanced at the Demi Spirit, whose expression shifted between anger, fear, curiosity, and confusion.
'She must be sensing something from me. The aura of her kin.'
He thought, then snapped his fingers.
Dozens of magic circles materialized simultaneously, forming a perimeter around the Demi Spirit from every angle.
Sensing the danger, the Demi Spirit surrounded its upper body with thick leaves as hard as adamantium.
Then a melodious voice rose from within as she began her own chant.
"Icicle Edge."
A magic circle appeared before her upper body and fired a volley of razor-sharp icy projectiles in his direction.
『Barrier』
In response, Judas summoned a circular barrier that shielded him from the attack.
The projectiles struck the barrier, forming small cracks across its surface.
From the force of the impact, he could tell it was enough to punch clean through a Level 4 without resistance.
'But compared to the magic the other Demi Spirit threw at Ais and the others... it's a bit lacking.'
He had noticed something.
This Demi Spirit had significantly higher physical stats than the one Finn's group was dealing with.
Her durability in particular was on another level entirely... almost impossible to crack.
But in exchange, her magical output was noticeably weaker.
'The two Demi Spirits aren't the same type...'
'Even the one that appeared on the surface… from what I heard, it was different as well…'
'Is it because the monster the Jewel Fetus parasitized was different in each case?'
He filed the thought away for later.
"For now... let's start chipping away at that ridiculous defense of yours."
He said, extending his arm as colorful explosions lit up the air around the Demi Spirit in a relentless barrage.
...
On the other side, the Loki Familia had divided into two groups.
One would spearhead the attack on the Demi Spirit, the main force.
The support team, led by Tsubaki and Raul, would handle the Virgas blocking the path and keep the rear clear.
"I'll be borrowing these."
Tsubaki said as she slung two large weapons over her shoulders without breaking stride.
As a master blacksmith who had spent her life crafting weapons of every kind, wielding them was second nature.
"I'll take care of the rear. You guys focus on your end."
She said before launching herself forward.
"Thank you, Miss Tsubaki."
Raul said, then turned to his team and raised his voice.
"Miss Tsubaki has the rear covered! We focus on what's in front of us!"
The support team turned toward him and nodded.
"Right!"
"Got it... you're starting to sound a bit like the captain, you know."
They replied with light smiles.
As the main force rushed toward the Demi Spirit, Finn turned to Lefiya.
"Lefiya, start concurrent chanting. I'll let you decide which magic to use."
"Yes, Captain!"
'Now that everyone knows what to do, a commander is no longer necessary.'
Finn placed his thumb against his forehead and began chanting.
"Magic spear, penetrate my forehead, offering blood."
"Hell Finegas!"
It was a magic that drastically enhanced all of the user's abilities, but at a cost.
The moment he activated it, his usual calm and composed demeanor vanished.
In its place stood a rampaging berserker driven by battlelust, the absolute antithesis of who Finn normally was.
His eyes turned crimson, a visible side effect of the spell.
He shot ahead of everyone else and tore into anything standing in front of him, swinging and thrusting with his spear in a relentless, explosive assault.
Right now, he was truly carving a path forward, just as he had promised.
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