While the main force pressed forward, the Demi Spirit's melodious voice rang through the air once more as magic power began gathering around her.
"!?"
Every head snapped up in alarm.
"Again!? She's chanting again!?"
Tione exclaimed, her expression strained.
If they were hit by the Demi Spirit's magic again, it would be disastrous.
That was when Finn took action.
Still deep in his berserk state, his red eyes locked onto the Demi Spirit the moment he heard her begin to chant.
He pulled his arm back, spear in hand.
Then he threw it.
In the next instant, the spear was thrown like a cannon, breaking the sound barrier as it shot straight toward the Demi Spirit's upper body.
Sensing the danger, the Demi Spirit erected defenses around herself, confident that such an attack wouldn't be able to pierce through.
Her eyes widened when the spear punched through like the defenses weren't even there, driving into her stomach.
"Argh!"
The impact broke her concentration mid-chant.
An explosion bloomed across her upper body, swallowing it completely.
"Ignis Fatuus!"
"Now! Move!"
Recognizing the opening, everyone surged forward.
But the Demi Spirit immediately regenerated and began chanting once more.
"Break through, spear of thunder. My name as an agent of Tonitrus. Avatar of thunder, queen of thunder."
"A short chant this time!"
"Thunder Ray!"
A beam of lightning shot toward the party.
That was when Lefiya stepped forward and cast her magic.
'Filvis... lend me your strength.'
"Dio Grail!"
It was the magic Lefiya obtained through her Elf Ring from Filvis.
A shield of light manifested and intercepted the attack.
'It's this strong even from a short chant...'
Lefiya gritted her teeth.
The moment the two magics collided, the impact rattled her entire body.
"Lefiya, don't let up!"
The twins shouted as they supported her from the sides.
"Haaaa!"
With a scream, Lefiya planted her feet firmly and held her ground.
Unfortunately, after a few seconds, her barrier shattered under the pressure.
But it was enough.
"Good work, Lefiya."
The Demi Spirit ceased firing just in time, allowing the main force to advance unhindered.
Seeing them closing in, the Demi Spirit's expression shifted... something almost like nervousness crossing her face as she scrambled to begin another chant.
"Did you forget about me?"
A dense current of magic power surged into Riveria from behind the lines, where Raul and the others had been keeping her protected.
Her chant was complete. She leveled her staff directly at the Demi Spirit.
"Rea Laevateinn!"
A blinding torrent of light tore through the area and hit the Demi Spirit dead on.
The scream that followed was ear-splitting.
"Kragh!"
The Demi Spirit screamed in agony as chunks of her body were blasted away.
Even with regeneration, it would take time to recover.
Finn and the others didn't waste the opportunity.
When the light faded, the main force had already launched themselves toward her, weapons drawn.
"Ahhhhhh!"
In response, the Demi Spirit raised a massive wall of hardened plant matter, blocking their path.
When their weapons struck, they could only leave shallow dents and scratches.
Most of them bounced off entirely.
'We can't break through it?'
They gritted their teeth.
"Is that what you call an attack? Step back!"
Gareth roared, raising his axe.
He pulled every muscle he had into the swing and brought it down.
A loud crash rang out.
A sizable gash was carved into the wall.
But even that wasn't enough.
Suddenly, vines erupted from the wall and pierced Gareth's body, forcing him to drop his axe as blood spilled from his mouth.
"Did you think this was enough to stop me?"
But Gareth seemed unfazed, despite having holes all over his body
He grabbed the vines with both hands and tore them apart, then started hammering the wall with his fists, one devastating blow after another.
The wall cracked and dented.
It finally began to buckle.
But more vines surged forward.
"Die!"
Bete and Finn threw themselves in, hacking and slashing at anything that came at them, sustaining cuts and gashes across their bodies as blood blood splattering outward from their bodies.
But they didn't stop.
Eventually a hole was torn open.
"Tempest!"
Wrapped in Ariel, Ais, the only one unimpeded, leaped through the opening and thrust her sword forward.
'I made it.'
'I'll take full advantage of the opening everyone created.'
She became a streak of green light, closing the distance in an instant.
When she appeared directly in front of the Demi Spirit, a magic circle materialized between them.
"Icicle Edge."
Ais' eyes slowly widened as a sharp icy projectile fired straight at her skull.
'If that hits… I'm dead.'
She could already picture it, her skull pierced, her life fading from her eyes.
But then...
A boot flew in and intercepted the projectile, absorbing it.
'A boot?'
She registered it just in time.
Bete was behind her, arm still extended from the throw.
'Flosvirt.'
Realizing what happened, Ais exhaled and pushed the output of Ariel to its absolute limit.
"Ariel! Maximum Output!"
A roaring tornado enveloped her blade, the winds howling across the battlefield that it could to be felt from a distance.
...
Meanwhile, on the another part of the floor...
Judas hovered in the air, his body battered and bloodied, smoke rising as his healing worked to recover from his injuries.
He glanced back as he felt Ais's wind surge in the distance, even feeling it brush against his skin.
"Oh? Looks like they're about to finish things over there."
A small grin crossed his face as he raised one arm toward the sky.
'Good timing. Six minutes exactly.'
"Guess I should do the same."
A massive golden magic circle materialized high above them, bathing everything below in a warm, blinding glow.
The Demi Spirit looked up, her pupils shrinking.
"It took a fair amount of effort keeping this hidden from you."
Judas said, his voice completely unhurried.
The long-activation spell he had been building in the background, piece by piece, throughout the entire fight... was ready.
『Punisher: Second Form...』
Thousands upon thousands of swords forged from golden light appeared all around them, filling every direction, every angle, every space the eye could find.
No matter where the Demi Spirit looked... there was nowhere left that wasn't covered.
"Haaaa!"
She screamed and lashed out with her vines in every direction, desperate to retaliate.
"Too late."
Judas made a single hand sign.
The thousands of swords broke formation and converged at once, flowing together and merging into a single enormous blade of golden light.
It grew rapidly, expanding until it surpassed even the Demi Spirit in size.
『...Divine Blade』
Then, Judas brought it down with the ruthless precision of a cold-blooded executioner.
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