BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!
"How!?"
Grab!!
"What do you mean, 'how'!?"
'I'm already irritated enough being separated from the Captain...'
Tione tore through the cursed whips binding her with raw physical strength and began a systematic slaughter of the Evilus cultists.
"There it is! Tione's [Berserk]!"
"Since it's a skill that scales offensive power with her rage..."
"Yeah, it means she's absolutely livid right now...!!"
Meanwhile, the group with Gareth watched with concern as the veteran dwarf stood before them, having absorbed the brunt of an explosion.
"G-Gareth!!"
"Quiet. I simply dispersed the kinetic force."
"What!? How..."
'The walls here are supposed to be made of Adamantite...'
"No way..."
Sssshhh—!!!
"You smashed through the wall with your bare fists!?"
"Hmph. It's hardly impossible!"
CRACK—!!!!!
KRA-BOOM—!!!!!!
Gareth's fists, carrying the momentum of siege engines, slammed into the structure repeatedly. Eventually, even the Adamantite hidden within the walls yielded, shattering under his devastating kinetic transfer.
"Everyone! From here, we prioritize finding an exit or regrouping with Finn!"
""""Yes!""""
Just like their comrades, Bete's group pushed forward to overcome the crisis they faced.
"What's the matter, Fenris!? I thought those two were your 'precious' comrades, even if there are only two of them?"
'The moment any of them step out, I'll release the curse and immediately re-cast it to drive them into a murderous frenzy.'
"It would be even better if you got caught in the curse yourself! Gehehe!"
'And if he ignores everything and targets me, I'll just lower the gate and bolt!'
Step, step—
'Hook, line, and sinker!'
Pinned in a dilemma, Bete finally made a decision.
"All of you, don't move a muscle from there."
"Bete!? But...!"
"[Wander, Endless Nightmare]!"
'Even if they don't come out, you'll walk right into it—'
SLICE—!
"...Huh?"
Bete's weapons were not limited to his fists and feet.
"Exposing yourself like that... you were practically begging for me to hit you, weren't you?"
"Y-You crazy mutt!!!!??"
Swish—!!!
"Gwaaaaah!"
Swish, swish—!!!!
'They're just shattered armor fragments and pebbles...!'
THWACK—!!!!!!!
"Gah!?"
The projectile techniques Bete had overheard while Akumo was instructing Bell in daggers now bore fruit.
It awakened Bete's instincts as a hunter. Deal damage from a distance to soften the prey, then, while the target's guard is down...
Flash—!
"Time to bite."
CRASH—!!!!!!!!!!
"Tch. He ran off quickly."
Though the enemy escaped by sealing the door, the curse on his comrades was lifted, allowing Bete's group to escape their predicament.
"Bete..."
"Just stay out of my way, you small fry."
"...."
'He could have easily beaten down his frenzied comrades to resolve it, but...'
"....Yes! Understood, Bete!"
CLANG—!!!!!
"Who is it...!!"
"....."
Grit!!
"!!"
'This bastard... such power!?'
Akumo parried a strike from a black-clad entity that had targeted their rear. Feeling a level of power that exceeded his expectations, Akumo immediately shifted tactics.
THUD—!!!!!!!!!
'Damn it! This isn't the time for a prolonged duel!'
"Lefiya! Filvis! Get out of this room now!"
Whoosh—!
CLANG—!!!
"I'll handle this one!"
"Akumo...!!"
"Have faith and go! Hurry!!"
"....Yes!!"
Ultimately, Lefiya and Filvis had no choice but to leave Akumo behind and evacuate.
After confirming their departure, Akumo began to dissect the unknown powerhouse before him.
CLASH—!!!!
Boom, boom, boom—!!!!
"Hmph!!"
CLANG—!!!!!!
'Is she parrying my blade with her bare hands...!?'
"How are there two Level 7-tier combatants in this place!?"
BOOM—!!!!!!!
"Oh my.... Don't you think you're just as impressive for not falling behind such masters?"
'At this rate... Ein might actually lose. Should I bring "that" out?'
Thanatos realized Akumo's power was even greater than anticipated. If the situation turned truly dire, he considered summoning the Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven. Just then...
"[O my experiences, my adventures, bloom according to my will.]"
'I'll just sweep everything away in one go...!'
"[Gram]!!!!"
WHOOSH—!!!!!!!!!!!!
As Akumo finished his chant, an intense inferno erupted from the sword Gram, surging toward Ein.
"[Cleanse, the Growth of the Defiler.]"
"!?"
'That chant...!?'
"[Dio Thyrsos]"
CZZZZZT—!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Facing the crimson flames that sought her life, Ein showed no movement other than completing her incantation.
Instantaneously, black lightning collided with the roaring fire, the explosive force of the impact shaking the very air as their attacks neutralized each other.
Swooosh—!!!
"Guh...!!"
'Her magic and her melee skills are both high-tier...!'
Startled by Ein's prowess, Akumo decided that standard magic would only lead to a war of attrition. He sheathed Gram and drew Lævateinn, leveling the blade at his foe.
"So that is Lævateinn? The Magic Sword that cut down the Great Evil seven years ago?"
"....[O my experiences, my adventures, bloom according to my will.]"
Shhhhhh—!!!
"[Cleanse, the Growth of the Defiler.]"
Thanatos smiled with genuine interest as he saw Lævateinn, while Ein took a defensive stance and began her own chant once more, wary of the aura he projected.
'No matter how powerful it is, Ein's chant is overwhelmingly—'
Rumble—!!!
"[Blade that severed countless curses, respond to my call and reveal your fangs.]"
"....!!"
"[May my tragedy and yours perish by these teeth, severing the chains of causality and setting all free.]"
"Severing curses...?"
Ein was so shocked by the power gathering around Lævateinn and the words of his chant that her entire consciousness focused solely on Akumo, speaking aloud for the first time.
'Could it be... that's impossible...'
"Samsara...."
Thanatos's eyes widened in pure horror as he glimpsed the shadow of an entity overlapping with Akumo's body.
"[Broken Curse]!!!!!!!!"
"...!!"
'No... there's no way he could break the curse of a monster like me...!!!'
"[Dio Thyrsos]!!!!!!!!!"
Five verdant slashes capable of biting through even metaphysical curses collided with black lightning that aimed to obliterate everything. The impact echoed throughout the entire Labyrinth of Knossos.
KRA-RUMBLE—!!!!!!!!!!
"Impossible...!! A mere adventurer's magic... overcoming the Primeval Masterpiece...."
"Are you suggesting he can resist our lineage and a thousand years of obsession...?"
Before Barca could even process the tremors caused by Akumo and Ein, he was hit by a secondary shock—winds that began to wrap around the dungeon.
"The wind too...!?"
"I can't believe this...!!! This is Knossos, the culmination of a thousand years of our resolve!!!"
'The [Pioneer]'s strike is shaking the Dungeon, and the [Sword Princess]'s wind is exposing the formal routes...'
"This... this can't be happening...."
The vibration and the wind were more than enough to act as a beacon for everyone.
Rumble—!!!!
"!!"
'Akumo!'
Whoooosh—!!!!
'This wind...!!"
"Ais! You're there!"
Slice—!!!
Akumo's [Broken Curse] tore through Ein's [Dio Thyrsos] and successfully severed her arm.
"....."
"Huff... hah..."
'What? Was there a curse here to be dispelled? The Mind drain is enormous...'
"....You are."
Akumo was surprised by the sudden depletion of his mental energy. Typically, [Broken Curse] consumed very little Mind if there was no curse to break, but the current drain was substantial.
Ein, her movements jagged and unnatural, began to approach him as if to say something.
GRRR-RUMBLE—!!!!!!!
"Aaah....!!!"
'It was you...! The one who scattered the moon in the sky that day...!!'
"Ein-chan? It seems you're thinking the same thing as I am~?"
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!
".....I see."
A sudden earthquake hit Knossos, as if something gargantuan were finally waking up.
Despite the chaos, Thanatos wore a delighted expression at what Akumo had demonstrated. He called to Ein, and they departed to prepare something else.
"Damn it...!!"
'This vibration isn't normal.... Is it the Demi-Spirit...!'
Sprint—!!!!
Feeling the imminent danger within the tremors, Akumo abandoned the pursuit. Instead, he immediately sprinted out of the room to locate his comrades.
Rumble—!!!!
"The sound is getting closer!"
After sprinting for some time, he finally saw his companions running toward the exit of the labyrinth.
"Akumo!" "Akumo!!"
"Everyone!!"
"A-Akumo..."
'Finn's wounds are deep. He must have used a potion... is it a curse...!'
"Where's Gareth!?"
"He decided to hold off the Demi-Spirit with Tione and Tiona..."
"And did Raul go as rear support...!"
Despite having just fought a Level 7 powerhouse like Ein, Akumo immediately gripped his weapon and began running in the opposite direction of the group.
Rumble—!!!!!
"Akumo...."
"I'm getting everyone out of here alive, no matter what. So rest now."
"....."
Even as they crossed paths and Finn spoke with worry, Akumo reassured him with the same absolute conviction he always possessed.
Then he ran. To protect them, to save them, he threw himself with everything he had toward the Demi-Spirit.