The smoke in the side hall gradually cleared.
Ryoma walked to where Lotus had been sent flying, only to see a huge human-shaped indentation on the wall, but the person was nowhere to be seen.
Asta, carrying the demon-slayer sword, asked, "Did he run away?"
"Probably."
Ryoma shrugged with an indifferent attitude.
"Tch, how boring. I wanted to fight him again."
Luck's lightning had completely receded. He stretched, his bones cracking. However, he quickly became excited again, his gaze fixed on the depths of the dungeon.
"I can feel it, there are several very powerful magical energies over there. The treasure must be there."
"Good! Then let's hurry over!" Asta instantly regained his spirits, raising his fist.
"Don't make so much noise, you idiot Asta!" Noelle scolded, but her steps had already followed.
The four no longer delayed. With Luck as their radar, they advanced at full speed towards the deepest part of the dungeon, in the direction of the treasure room.
—
Meanwhile, deep within the dungeon, a huge steel door stood silently.
"This is it."
Klaus pushed up his glasses, a hint of barely suppressed excitement in his voice.
"According to the map and Mimosa's senses, the treasure is behind this door."
"That's great. We finally made it." Mimosa let out a sigh of relief, a smile on her face.
Yuno, beside her, remained vigilant, his gaze calmly scanning the surroundings.
Although their journey had been unbelievably smooth, relying on Mimosa's precise plant sensing magic, this only made his sense of unease grow stronger.
"Everyone be careful, it's too quiet here." Yuno reminded them.
"Yuno, you're too tense." Klaus was somewhat dismissive. "With Mimosa's magic, no enemy can hide. Let's hurry..."
His words were cut short.
A sudden change occurred.
Boom!
The wall behind them exploded without warning.
Countless huge, crystal-glowing mineral spikes attacked Mimosa.
"What?!" Klaus was shocked.
Yuno's expression changed, and he reacted instantly, trying to push Mimosa away. But it was a step too late, the mineral spikes fiercely impacted Mimosa's body.
"Ugh..."
Mimosa let out a painful groan, her entire body flying backward.
"Mimosa!"
Klaus and Yuno exclaimed simultaneously, rushing to her side.
She was barely breathing, clearly severely injured, and had lost her ability to fight.
"Cough..."
Severely wounded, Mimosa struggled to turn the pages of her grimoire and cast a spell.
Plant Recovery Magic: Dream Healing Flower Basket!
As magic power surged, plants quickly formed a vibrant flower cage, enveloping Mimosa.
Her weak voice, filled with deep apology, trembled as it drifted from the flower cage. "I'm... so sorry... I, who use recovery magic... was the first to fall..."
Klaus told Mimosa to rest and recover, then gritted his teeth and looked at the exploded wall.
"Damn it..."
The smoke and dust slowly cleared, and a figure slowly emerged from it.
It was a silver-haired man with an indifferent expression, emitting a massive and oppressive mana.
"Who is blocking my way?"
"Get out."
The man's voice was devoid of emotion. He didn't even look directly at Klaus and Yuno, his gaze passing over them to the huge treasure room door.
It was as if the three elites of the Golden Dawn didn't exist in his eyes.
This blatant disregard and contempt instantly ignited Klaus's pride and anger as a noble.
"You bastard... how dare you injure Mimosa like this!" Klaus roared, his grimoire flipping rapidly beside him.
"Unforgivable!"
Steel Magic: Blazing Spiral Lance!
Several enormous, rapidly rotating steel lances, carrying immense power, charged fiercely towards the silver-haired man.
At the same time, Yuno also made his move.
Wind Magic: Towering Tornado!
A violent tornado rose from the ground, combining with the steel lances to crush the enemy.
Facing the combined attack of two Golden Dawn elites, the silver-haired man—Mars—still showed no expression. He didn't even open his grimoire.
Buzz!
A barrier made of crystal minerals instantly formed in front of him.
Rumble—!!!
The steel lances and the tornado struck the mineral barrier almost simultaneously. However, the barrier remained completely unmoved.
"How is that possible?!"
Klaus couldn't believe his eyes.
Without even using a grimoire, he so easily blocked their combined full-power attack?!
The massive mineral shield in front of Mars instantly disintegrated, transforming into mineral golems that charged towards Klaus.
"This guy... could it be..."
Klaus looked at the gem on Mars's forehead and his overwhelming magical power, a terrible rumor flashing through his mind.
The Diamond Kingdom, in order to create the strongest warriors, collected children with powerful mana from all over the country, made them kill each other in desperate situations, and the one who survived...
A combat monster that gathered all resources, devoid of humanity.
"The Diamond Kingdom's Eight Shining Generals... Mars!"
For the first time, a hint of fear entered Klaus's voice.
But he couldn't retreat. As a noble, as a senior member of the Golden Dawn, he had to protect his comrades.
"Yuno!"
Klaus, while struggling to fend off the mineral golems' attacks, shouted to Yuno beside him,
"Your mission is to enter the treasure room! Go quickly! I'll hold him off here!"
"I refuse!"
Yuno's voice was firm and resolute. He manipulated the wind, deftly dodging attacks, his gaze incredibly determined.
"We are comrades, aren't we? I will never abandon my comrades and run away alone!"
"You idiot! That's an order!"
"So what!"
Yuno no longer paid attention to Klaus. He took a deep breath, mobilizing all the magical power within him.
Massive wind elements gathered around him, forming a huge white eagle.
Wind Magic: Gale White Eagle!
At the same time, countless sharp wind blades circled around him, converging into a terrifying downpour.
Wind Magic: Rain of Wind Blades!
Two powerful spells swept towards Mars simultaneously.
This was the strongest attack Yuno could currently unleash.
However, it did not cause any damage, merely forcing the opponent to use his grimoire.
He created an unusually huge mineral greatsword, easily tearing Yuno's magic apart.
The disparity was too great.
"Give up."
Mars's voice was like a death sentence.
He raised his hand, and the greatsword made of minerals pointed at Yuno below.
The pressure emanating from the greatsword made both Yuno and Klaus feel a sense of suffocation.
It's over...
This thought simultaneously arose in both their minds.
Just as that mineral greatsword was about to strike—
"It's not over yet!"
A deafening roar, like a sudden clap of thunder, erupted from the other end of the corridor.
A black figure charged forward at an extremely fast speed.
Whoosh!
The huge mineral sword, upon contact with the demon-slayer sword, was silently cut down and dissipated.
"What?!"
Mars's perpetually icy face showed a hint of surprise for the first time.
Immediately after, before he could even react...
Zzzzzzz—!!!
A furious bolt of lightning flashed past, even faster than the black figure.
Accompanied by an extremely excited roar, the mineral golem that was attacking Klaus was instantly torn to shreds by the violent lightning.
Noelle quickly ran to Mimosa's side, anxiously checking her injuries.
"Hey! Are you alright?!"
Finally, a huge translucent ice crystal barrier unfolded in front of Noelle and Mimosa, completely isolating them from the battlefield.
Ryoma's figure appeared unhurriedly at the edge of the battlefield.
Asta, holding the demon-slayer sword, stood in front of Yuno.
Luck, enveloped in lightning, stood beside Klaus, a bloodthirsty smile on his face.
The Black Bulls had arrived.