"Come, you 'monsters.' I'll take you both on together."
"────── Ah, aaa, AAAAAAAAAA!!"
Ein lunged toward Al, letting out a bereaved shriek that shattered the silence. Her speed was supernatural—a sweeping assault driven by [Agility] stats that surpassed even Allen Fromel, the man known as the Chariot of the Goddess and the fastest adventurer in the city. She moved with such velocity that even Ais's dynamic vision could not fully track her.
In that instant, Ais realized that her previous battle with Ein had been nothing more than a fleeting amusement for the creature. Ein hadn't even viewed her as a worthy opponent; the disparity between her current movements and those from their earlier encounter was staggering.
Ein's fist shot forward without a single telegraphing movement. The surrounding air trembled, and she struck at Al with a shockwave that tore through the ground with an ear-splitting roar. This lethal strike, fueled by the wailing of that monster, held enough destructive power to easily pulverize legendary Adamantite.
However.
"Activation Key ── Scarlet Phoenix."
Suddenly, a brilliant red flame erupted directly before her eyes. For Ein, the explosion itself caused negligible damage, but it completely obscured her vision, causing her powerful strike to whistle through the empty air.
Ein knew those words and that magical chant all too well.
As the flames cleared from Ein's sight, she saw Ais standing beside Al, her body enveloped in glowing red fire that resembled a magical mantle. It was the enchantment magic [Re-Phoenix], which Al bestowed upon others. The essence of this spell lay not just in enhancing close-quarters combat, but in its extraordinary healing properties.
This restorative effect—which had evolved as Al's rank ascended until he stood at the threshold of absolute healing magic comparable to the Saint of the Field's [Dia Fratel]—granted the recipient a recovery rate far beyond standard healing spells.
While it was not a pure healing spell, making its response time and potency slightly lower than [Dia Fratel], its nature as an enchantment ensured it was equally persistent. Once activated, it functioned much like the Goddess of Gold's self-healing magic, [Arth Golveig]; it continuously repaired damage for a set duration as long as the infused spiritual energy remained.
Although Al lagged behind Airmid in "healing speed" and did not reach Heidr's "area of effect," this crimson Phoenix mantle did more than provide restorative power—it acted as a protective shield that bolstered the wearer's defenses. It was essentially a simplified version of the activation key for the Saint's Holy Thunderbolt.
Though this magic would not immediately return Ais to her full combat strength or assist her much in offense, it focused entirely on treatment and prevention. It ensured that a weakened Ais would not be harmed by the destruction likely to engulf the area in the imminent battle.
"Take this, and drink the healing potion as well."
The aggressive tone Al had displayed moments ago was a pure feint; his highest priority remained saving Ais.
That warm, scarlet mantle—which Ein recognized instantly—contained an anti-magic property. It began to dissolve the black magical energy emanating from Ein's spells, shielding Ais from the corruption of darkness.
"── Damn you!! Die, just die, you bastard!!"
"── Cast out the evil spirits, O Scepter of Holiness."
Witnessing that scene caused the magical energy surrounding Ein to swell and darken. She began chanting hideous words that sounded like curses, unleashing a massive torrent of black-purple lightning all at once.
The black magical energy swept through with enough force to nearly swallow the sacred domain Al had established with his flames, dyeing the atmosphere pitch black.
The black lightning concentrated in her right arm, which she extended in a flood of rage. Space itself distorted under the intensity of the gathering energy, and the air wailed. A pitch-black magic circle surrounded by lightning appeared, settling over Ein's arm.
From behind her mask, Ein knitted her brows, her violet eyes stained with blood. The strike about to launch from that magical "muzzle" she had woven in an instant was something even Al could not fully block.
"Dio Thyrsus!!"
Despite surrendering to a rage that scorched her mind, there was no delay in the spell's activation.
What shot from Ein's right hand was a "black flash" of condensed lightning. It was a concentrated artillery strike resulting from the compression of immense amounts of thunderbolts. The attack was designed to penetrate any defense and utterly annihilate everything it pierced.
Even though Al was the fastest adventurer in the city, he found himself in a reactive position; the magic Ein used was a "super-short chant" type. Usually, such spells are weak due to their rapid release, but her power had been elevated to insane levels thanks to her peerless, massive magical reserves.
The strength of this strike far surpassed the wide-scale annihilation magic, [Rea Laevateinn], used by Riveria, the city's greatest mage.
Carrying Ais, Al attempted to leap out of the firing path to avoid that lethal force, but Ein's projectiles would not allow it. Ein swung her magical "muzzle."
While maintaining the continuous stream of lightning, she swept her right arm horizontally. The bolt transformed into something like a whip of lightning, lashing out to coil around Al's body. The massive magical energy turned into pure destructive force, and the black thunderbolts carved through the ground in a fan-like arc as they approached.
That strike, which turned the entire battlefield into a zone of annihilation, shattered Al's magical protection with ease and scorched Ais's holy winds as if they were nothing. If Al were submerged in that lightning, he would never survive—not even as Al Cranel.
It was a display of magical brutality that defied logic, an absolute destruction exceeding even what a Spirit's clone could achieve. Facing that inescapable black lightning, its light reflected off his silver hair and ruby eyes.
Those lethal thunderbolts—against which the anti-magic of [Re-Phoenix] was now useless—forced Al into an emergency evasive maneuver with all his strength. Carrying Ais made him significantly slower than usual.
The whip of lightning that erased everything in a blink drew near, and just as its edges were about to touch them—
Al's limbs suddenly accelerated.
The power in his legs, befitting the man called the "Fastest in the City," surpassed their limits. He managed to dodge Ein's lethal lightning whip by a hair's breadth.
The woven bundles of lightning consumed everything in their path, turning matter into dust in an instant. Magic-resistant masonry melted, and ultra-hard metal exploded. The surrounding green flesh was torn away by the mere shockwave, and the ground cracked. Amidst the vortex of black lightning and the roar of thunder, a silver shadow bolted. Although Al had successfully slipped through the lightning cage and avoided the whip, he did not emerge unscathed.
The black-purple thunderbolts, carrying a destructive force far beyond a mere "side effect," stung Al's skin and lashed out at Ais, attempting to burn her. Al took the electrical shocks with his own body; his skin tore and blood splattered as he ran, shielding Ais. Ais cried out in pain despite the protection of the Phoenix mantle, as her body, which had begun to heal, was subjected to immense pressure.
It was a storm of exploding thunder capable of robbing one of sight and hearing. Finally, that great light, which nearly crushed the five senses with its ferocity, subsided. As the smell of scorched metal filled the hall, Al looked up to see Ein, who had just finished her assault.
"── Are you kidding me?"
While the remnants of the light still flickered like threads of an electric current, they both heard clearly:
"Cast out the evil spirits, O Scepter of Holiness ───────"
"── Unbelievable, isn't it?"
"─────── Dio Thyrsus."
It was a repeated casting of the spell—or rather, a "barrage"—an act only possible because of the super-short chant. It was a style of magical usage filled with tyranny, reminiscent of the methods used by the heroines of the Hera Familia, the strongest in history.
The black lightning surged toward Al, who had lost his balance while dodging the previous attack while carrying Ais. Lightning spears, formed by the condensation of ultra-dense magical energy, closed in on Al without mercy.
Their power equaled or exceeded the previous strike.
Numerous bundles of thunderbolts shot forward, each baring its fangs at Al. There was no longer any room to dodge, and no hope for defense. What Ein had unleashed was a rain of projectiles, with each bolt possessing destructive power comparable to the annihilation magic of a Spirit clone.
The lightning of death fell upon Al without pity or hesitation.
●○●○●
In the artificial labyrinth Knossos, in the middle floors. The corridors were drenched in a darkness so thick that the adventurers, despite their sight being enhanced by "Blessings," could see no more than a few steps ahead.
On this floor, which Tione and Tiona had entered with the squad members Al had rescued from the collapsed areas, a deathly silence reigned. The place was devoid of any trace of monsters.
"Hey, isn't this situation bad?! We're in a strange labyrinth where we can't tell heads from tails, and this isn't the usual Dungeon!"
"Calm down!! Your panic is exactly what the enemy wants!!"
There were numerous traps that made the enemy's clear intent to kill them at any cost palpable. The structure was complex and bizarre, no less so than the Dungeon, and brightly colored monsters, estimated to be at least Level 2 or 3 in strength, lurked about.
Everything was unknown, and this made Tiona worry about other carefully prepared traps. Tione rebuked her in a voice that sounded angry but was not without anxiety; she herself felt no peace of mind.
This place was a "hunting ground."
A hunting ground set up by the remnants of the Evilus to surely kill them. It was a place of death, carrying risks that exceeded the deep floors of the Dungeon.
Al had saved their squad members, but were Finn and the others alright?
While Tione tried to convince herself they were fine despite her obvious worry, she took a step forward. In that moment—
A heavy sound echoed, and a massive door made of the hardest manufactured metal dropped, separating the two sisters.
"── What?!"
Tione was speechless, then turned around in a panic, realizing she had been isolated from her sister and several squad members.
"Tiona, Tiona!! ── Damn it!!"
It was a separation engineered with precise human timing. Tione called out to her sister desperately, feeling agitated, but there was no answer.
Tione had only two second-tier members with her. She sensed danger, and in that moment, anxiety stained her heart.
"──!!"
Despite the situation, her intuition as a first-tier adventurer sensed enemies lying in wait. She spun around quickly, pulled a dagger from her pocket, and threw it behind the stunned squad member standing with her.
"Huh?"
"───── Gghyaaa.."
The sound of whistling air echoed, and the dagger flew to strike a body behind the adventurer. A shadow fell, letting out a muffled cry of pain.
"Miss Tione!!"
"Light up the corridor!!"
At Tione's command, Cruz quickly raised a magic stone lamp, revealing countless figures dressed in black before them. They looked like a team of assassins, carrying daggers and hidden weapons, approaching slowly and menacingly.
Tione didn't know if they were assassins for hire by the Evilus or mercenaries from the outside, but she decided to kill them all and drew her curved blade.
They were agile and well-trained, but each individual's strength did not exceed Level 2 or 3. Despite their numbers, they were no match for Tione, who had reached Level 6.
However.
An annoying sound echoed, and a magical light of strange colors emitted, engulfing Tione along with the assassins she had just killed.
(My body... feels heavy...)
Her vision shook, and she felt numbness in her hands. A sudden lethargy overcame her, and she felt as if lead weights had been tied to her entire body.
"Curses and status magic... so that's it!!"
It was "Enfeeblement" magic and "Curses"—spells specialized in slowing an opponent's movements. It didn't end with a single strike; it seemed they were all curse-users, for the curses began to stack on top of each other even as they sacrificed their own allies, causing her movements to slow rapidly.
When the enemies were certain of Tione's sluggishness, their assault intensified. The assassins lunged one after another, trying to drag her into a chaotic melee in the narrow corridor.
By the time Tione realized it, the pack of assassins was directly in front of her. She avoided the blades directed at her by twisting her body, cursing under her breath.
No matter how strong she was at Level 6, her movements had lost their brilliance due to the accumulated enfeeblement curses. Furthermore, the coordination among these people forced openings to appear in her defense.
And so.
"Damn it ──"
Her curved blade flew from her hand as her strength failed. Tione's face turned pale with panic as she watched her weapon spin through the air away from her.
An assassin lunged in a suicidal attack, stabbing her with a dagger that must have been coated in poison. Tione fell to her knees in pain, and a shadow loomed over her head. An iron mace was swinging down toward her without mercy to crush her body.
"Miss Tione!!"
───── A sound like the brutal crushing of flesh echoed through the area.
●○●○●
"───── Tione, Tione!!"
Tiona kept shouting the name of her sister, who had been separated from her by that heavy metal door, but there was no response. She bit her lip, feeling immense pressure.
She knew Tione's strength well, but this labyrinth was full of traps precisely designed to kill them.
We must prioritize our survival first. At the moment Tiona made this decision—
"Ggaaaaaah!!"
"What?! Arcos!!"
She turned to find the second-tier adventurer kneeling on the ground, his face contorting in pain. Beside him, a monster resembling a maggot the size of a small dog, with a disgusting purple color, was crawling around.
"───── Poison Worms!!"
They were insect-type monsters possessing a lethal venom that bypassed advanced "Abnormal Resistance" skills. They were rare monsters that occasionally appeared in the deep floors of the Dungeon, and were feared by second-tier adventurers who usually explored those floors due to their extreme toxicity.
"Why are there Poison Worms in a place like this..."
"This is bad, it can't be treated without the specific antidote!!"
Poison Worms were rare, and the antidote made from their body fluids was not easily available. Without that antidote, standard healing potions or simple purification magic would fail to treat the victim.
There was no one who could purify this poison except for Airmid or Al. As Tiona was about to run to find an exit and catch up with Al, another strange thing happened.
The sound of something falling began to be heard from the end of the corridor. "Plop, plop, plop," the sound increased gradually until it covered the corridor like the sound of rain.
"Are you kidding me?"
Tiona froze at what she saw. Massive larvae spotted with purple. They filled the ceiling, walls, and floor of the corridor completely. There were not one or two, but massive, uncountable swarms, all moving toward them as if they possessed a single will.
"R... Run!!"
Tiona, who carried Arcos over her shoulder, ordered the team to flee immediately. The squad members began to run desperately, their faces pale from the grotesque sight.
But from behind them, the footsteps of thousands of massive, hideous larvae were approaching rapidly. Those swarms were closing in with immense momentum, and it was impossible to escape them.
Suddenly, the larvae all opened their mouths.
A tsunami of lethal venom lunged toward the backs of the squad members.
●○●○●
Black destruction scorched the air and pierced through the area. That strike, which was enough to eliminate a Floor Boss in the deep floors, was deflected slightly thanks to Al's magic of the same element, which he released at the last second. It slammed into the wall and destroyed it, turning it to ash.
"── Damn it, it hit me."
However, because he was carrying Ais and using a rapid spell with weakened power, he couldn't fully divert the path of the strike. A bolt of lightning passed through and pierced Al's side, scorching it before exiting through his back.
Al's face contorted in pain, and although his wound began to knit together immediately, it would inevitably affect the flow of the battle.
"Al!!"
"If you've regained your ability to move, flee through that gap in the wall. My flames will continue to protect you for a while even if you move away."
Al answered sharply and coldly, his eyes focused entirely on Ein, who was still targeting Ais. The magical energy surrounding Ein grew even denser, and black lightning began to overflow from her.
"But.. no.. I won't allow that!! I will fight too..!!"
Ais couldn't bear to see Al suffering a severe wound because of her protection. She tried to stand, leaning on her winds, but Al ordered her to leave the area immediately. She tried to cling to him, just as she had on the 59th floor when he wanted to sacrifice himself to be the last line of defense, but ──.
"I'll be blunt: you're just a hindrance here. Go back to the surface first."
"── !! I.. I understand.."
Ais grit her teeth and exited through the large, heat-reddened opening. She realized from Al's words that if she stayed, she would be nothing but a burden preventing him from fighting freely. She cursed her helplessness, which made her appear so pathetic before Al, and forced her trembling body to move. Tears filled her eyes from the sheer frustration ── she ran away from that place, away from Al.
"── Alright, now it's truly a two-on-one battle."
──────────────────────────────────────────────
Al (Silver Hair): "I never said I wouldn't tease Ais." Al tends to be slightly weak toward older women (excluding Goddesses). Mia (mother figure) or Airmid (big sister figure) are good examples. There's also Riveria and Alfia. But wait, Tiona and Filvis are also older than him, yet he treats them coldly! Hah hah hah.
"Magic Explanation"
[Re-Phoenix]
Enchantment Magic.
Fire Element.
Heals wounds, curses, and poisons.
Magic Resistance (and slightly reduces physical damage). Flames envelop the body like wings or armor. Flame bursts can be released from hands or feet to act as propulsion thrusters, granting immense acceleration and drastically raising close-combat capabilities. If enchanted onto a weapon, it increases "attack power and range." If enchanted onto the body, it becomes a "flame shield" that deflects physical and magical attacks. However, the true value of this magic lies not in offense, but in its healing ability, which ensures the chosen person (or the user himself) feels no heat; instead, their wounds begin to heal automatically upon activation. This healing is not as rapid as other magic types and takes time as long as the person does not touch the fire directly, but in return, it is capable of treating lethal poisons and curses that standard magic fails against. It is a comprehensive magic that combines offense, defense, and healing at a very high level. Its only weakness is its low pure destructive power compared to the user's level; even with Al reaching Level 8 and stacking his magic stats, his firepower is equal to or less than Bete Loga's [Hati] (who just reached Level 6 and has the lowest magic stats). It can be bestowed upon others via an activation key.
"Deleted Skill"
[Saint of Swords]
Active only when wielding swords or rod-like weapons.
Grants a high boost to all stats (Status) except Magic.
Grants the weapon the "Unbreakable" attribute.
Grants attacks the ability to reject healing effects (Optional).
Enables the user to "cut" magic they perceive (Optional). This skill was deleted as it seemed unnecessary with the evolution of Al's character settings; it was replaced by a simpler, current version of the "Saint of Swords" skill.
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