The confrontation held: a red-haired monstrosity wielding a cursed greatsword against a golden-haired Pallum armed with spears of gold and silver.
The heavy strikes unleashed by the creature carried a lethal, cursed venom—a poison capable of rending dragon flesh and shattering a hero's resolve. Each blow resonated with the destructive force of a Level 7, a power so immense that even Gareth—the man with the highest defense in Orario—could not fully block it.
Yet, the blade never reached Finn Deimne.
The moment the monster's image seemed to flicker in his vision, Finn abandoned his sight entirely. He predicted the trajectory of every attack by sensing the shift in air currents with his five senses, all sharpened to their absolute limits. Guided by a divine intuition forged in countless battles, he slipped past the reach of every fatal swing.
Realizing that defense was impossible, Finn focused purely on evasion. He used the sound of the greatsword cleaving the air to weave through the onslaught, using his spear only to parry and redirect blows by a hair's breadth. Attacks with the power to pulverize boulders meant nothing if they failed to land.
Under normal circumstances, Finn might have buckled under the pressure. Now, however, his berserker magic had pushed his abilities beyond their natural limits. With their raw power equalized, the scales tipped in favor of Finn, whose technical mastery was far superior.
But the most decisive factor was the psychological edge.
Revis felt a mounting, unspoken pressure. She had been certain she killed Al, yet he had risen again thanks to Bete—a man she utterly despised. To make matters worse, she had just been beaten back by Al, who should have been a cold corpse.
In contrast, Finn burned with a fire fiercer than ever, carrying the image of his fallen comrades rising behind him. In a clash between equals, morale dictates the victor; thus, Finn maintained his advantage.
Still, a shadow of unease lingered. The black sword Revis carried had broken Al despite his curse resistance. Finn knew he couldn't afford even a single scratch. Such a weapon likely meant instant death for adventurers like Raul or Lefiya, and even for a Level 6 like himself, it would bring him to the brink of the grave.
This sliver of caution caused a microscopic flaw in Finn's fluid movements—a flaw Revis did not miss.
"Die, you dwarf!"
The greatsword swung down, but it jerked to a halt before reaching Finn.
"What—"
"Rest Iuhlim!"
"What do you think you're doing to my Captain, you bitch?!"
A whip of light had snared Revis from behind. The caster was the Amazon girl who loved Finn more than anyone else—Tione.
In that split second, Finn Deimne's ultimate skill charged. Particles of light gathered and condensed into his magic spear, shimmering with the beauty of a bridge of light converging at the tip.
With his red eyes burning with a fighting spirit as calm as a still lake, Finn spoke in a low voice:
"This is the paradise of distant dreams."
It was his spear-throwing magic—a strike he could use only once a day. It harnessed an enormous power, drawing from his level and all his latent attributes to transform them into pure magical energy.
He unleashed the skill at point-blank range. Finn's beloved golden spear broke the sound barrier with a thunderous boom, becoming a torrent of light that pierced through the monstrosity.
Revis tried to raise her greatsword in a desperate defense, but the flood of light swept her away. The horrific heat and impact sent her flying, tearing up the very ground beneath her.
"At the hands of these two?!—"
Though she managed to protect her magic stone, most of Revis's body was crushed and vaporized. She fell not to Al or Ais, but to two people she hadn't even recognized as threats. The last thing she saw was the hero of the Pallums, his golden hair fluttering in the wind.
●○●○●
"Soon, the fires shall be unleashed. Rage, O crimson flame; O blaze of merciless pity. You are the incarnation of hellfire—sweep all away and bring the curtain down on this Great War."
"Burn everything, O Sword of Surtr—my name is Alf!"
"Rea Laevateinn!!"
It was the offensive magic of the city's most powerful mage: the second-tier spell, Rea Laevateinn. Pillars of fire erupted from the emerald-green magic circle. Great crimson spears formed from the intense heat, piercing through flower petals thicker than iron plates and reducing them to ash.
"Riveria...!!"
Amidst the swirling flames, Ais ran like a woman possessed, looking toward the High Elf Queen surrounded by the surging fire. Despite her feverish body and the ragged breath that made her chest heave, her eyes shone with an unyielding will.
As Ais sprinted alongside Bete, Gareth, and Tiona, the girl standing behind the burning petals smiled.
Once the petal defenses were breached, the girl's composure vanished. Ais closed the remaining thirty-meter gap in a single burst. Amidst the crimson world, Ais's golden hair swayed and shimmered.
A violent roar split the air as a massive object flew to intercept her. Branches glowing with a sickly yellow-green light lashed out like whips. The green-haired Spirit shrieked at Ais, and in response, a wall of dense green spears sprouted before the Spirit.
A defensive barrier woven from bundles of vegetation surged up from the lower floors, piercing through the level to stand tall between the Spirit and the adventurers. These tentacles formed a circular barricade, forcing Ais to a sudden halt.
A massive plant spear slammed into the spot where Ais had stood a second before. Immediately, Bete, Gareth, and Tiona accelerated past her, swinging their twin swords, great axe, and double blades.
But their attempt to break through ended the moment their weapons sank into the mass. They couldn't destroy or pierce it; they felt only a resilient, solid texture. The adventurers' faces twisted at the rubber-like sensation—even a full-scale assault from three first-class adventurers charging with all their might could not shatter it.
Their momentum slowed, and the Spirit was not one to miss such an opening. She smiled as her eyes met Ais's again, and then she spread her hands.
Countless branches and leaves surged from behind her, surrounding her body. The Spirit, clad in a protective green dress, began to weave words as if singing.
The tide of battle, which had been in their favor, shifted. But then, from behind Gareth and the others who felt as though time had frozen, a black blade wreathed in purple lightning pierced the air. It outran its own sound, launching like a thunderbolt.
It was a strike faster and heavier than anything else. Gareth and his comrades watched with wide eyes as the black greatsword sank deep into the green wall.
A black shadow blurred past them. The boy gripping the greatsword didn't slow down for a second. He took another step and swung the massive blade with every ounce of his strength.
"──Thunderbolt!"
He ripped Balmung free and swung another crushing blow, charged with magical lightning, toward the Spirit. The crack of the bolt tore through the air, and the green defensive wall that Gareth's team couldn't break shattered into splinters.
The lightning-charged assault didn't stop there. Amidst the thunder, Al's body twisted in mid-air, and his red sword ignited with crimson flames.
"Holy Flame Slash!"
Flame and thunder condensed into a single crimson flash. The red sword, wreathed in a massive surge of fire, completely annihilated the green wall. The crimson hellfire closed in on the Spirit, who stood frozen in shock after losing her defense.
The Spirit let out a hideous shriek and extended her green tentacles in a counterattack. Wooden spears erupted from beneath Al's feet, lunging to tear him apart.
Though the tentacles pierced through him, the boy did not stop. He accelerated, swinging his flaming sword. The flash of fire severed the green vines.
Pure blood sprayed the air. Al—his body now a honeycomb of punctures with blood streaming from every wound—seemed indifferent to the venom eating him or the blood leaving him. He swung his flame-wreathed blade in one final, vertical arc.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
In that opening, Tiona and Gareth leaped forward with a deafening roar. They drove their double-blade and silver axe into the gap Al's attack had forged.
A massive explosion followed, and a breach opened wide enough for someone to pass. Bete blurred past Al to line up beside Ais. Having bypassed the final barrier, Ais and her companions finally reached the girl.
The path was clear. Directly before Ais stood the Spirit. The girl standing in the center of the burning flower field was breathtakingly beautiful.
She was the Spirit clone reborn from cannibalistic predation. Translucent white skin, long emerald hair, and eyes the color of a raven's wing. Her slight frame was draped in a pure white dress, and her eyes lacked pupils, drowned in a sea of white.
The markings etched onto her beautiful face glowed with increasing brilliance, and the Spirit's magical power surged to an astronomical level. Ais felt the physical pressure of the mana flow. The Spirit raised her hands high.
"──!!"
Ten meters remained. A swarm of tentacles and branches lunged at the group.
"Out of my way!!"
Bete snarled, his limbs wreathed in flame. The werewolf, having unleashed his fire fangs, met the incoming attacks with explosive force. The crimson flames on his feet and the twin swords in his hands traced red trails through the air, turning the vegetation to ash in an instant.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Bete continued his relentless assault, leaping in every direction. The plants, unable to track his movements, were torn to shreds. Four claw-marks were etched into the air, and the foliage disintegrated.
Though his body was covered in scratches, Bete cut through everything. By then, Ais had already reached the Spirit, kicking off the air to lunge forward.
"Go!!"
The Spirit's clouded eyes met Ais's. Ais gripped her beloved sword and struck. The Spirit's hand moved, and countless vines and leaves surged between them to form a wall.
Ais tore through the obstacles like paper. She closed in, swinging Desperate toward the Spirit's human upper half. The gale-wreathed flash attempted to cleave the woman diagonally.
But──── the Spirit smiled.
Ais's eyes widened. The Spirit's mouth opened slightly, and blue magical power leaked out. A microscopic magic circle was hidden inside her mouth.
"O icy blood, dance—Shroud Glace."
"── (Ice enchantment magic?!)"
It was a short-chant enchantment, much like Ais's own Ariel. The blue magical light transformed into a shield of ice blades covering the Spirit's body.
The current Ais, who had exhausted her Mind and teetered on the edge of a Mind Down, could not break through this blue ice barrier.
But──
"O fairy song, O remnants of ember-ash. Dwell within, O authority of flame, O ruler of the sky. Transform my body into a bird of fire."
"Activation Key──Crimson Wing."
Al, who had collapsed onto his back alongside Tiona after breaking the green wall, spoke his final incantation. Even as green spears pierced his flesh, as venom burned his soul, and as his strength ebbed away, he reached out toward the distant Ais.
This was the activation key for Al's enhancement magic. Originally designed to amplify a single strike, the massive Mind consumption had warped its effect, allowing him to grant the Rea Phoenix skill to another.
"This is truly the final chant. ── Go."
Having reached his limit, he muttered, "You won't die anyway," before losing consciousness as if falling into a deep sleep.
"Al──!!"
Fire surged into her flickering fighting spirit and her fading winds. Fire and wind merged, and phoenix wings sprouted from Ais's back. That sudden warmth filled her body with so much strength she almost laughed at its simplicity, wondering what all that earlier sorrow and weeping had been for.
Just as Bell Cranel and Bete Loga had done, Ais Wallenstein was now breaking her "shell."
"BLAST AWAY!!"
One last surge of maximum energy. The full force of her wind and the crimson wings of fire propelled Ais forward. She didn't think about the consequences; if she didn't defeat her here, everything would end.
So──── Ais launched.
Closing in on the Spirit, Ais wagered everything on a single swing. She surpassed her limits, putting every ounce of her being into the sword she raised to shatter the Spirit's barrier.
Her resolve flooded the Ariel magic. The mana coursing through her body exploded in response to her will. The crimson gale, far surpassing any wind she had ever summoned, let out a thunderous roar.
The Spirit responded instantly to the lethal strike. Countless vines obscured Ais's vision, trying to intercept the blade.
"O lightning, flash and rend the darkness. I am the one entrusted with my name, spirit of light, incarnation of brilliance, queen of light."
The Spirit raised her hand and activated her magic. As her lips moved, a white magic circle appeared. Their eyes met, and the Spirit whispered something.
Ais's sword slammed into the Spirit's barrier. A boom, then a collision. The Spirit's face twisted for the first time. Ais didn't stop; she kept pressing.
"──── I am not 'Aria'."
The Spirit's lips moved. Ais heard nothing, but the voice reached her nonetheless. Ais didn't know what the Spirit said, but with all her will, she rejected that woman's words.
"──── But you should not exist."
"──── Lil Lavaga."
"Light Burst!"
The white flash of death and the roar of the violent red wind collided and exploded. They were equal for a heartbeat before the wind devoured the light. Ais lunged through the torrent of brilliance.
The crimson holy wind completely melted the blue ice shield and reached the Spirit. The crimson flash rent the flesh, and the Spirit's upper half was thrown into the air. The surging cyclone of fire and wind consumed the Spirit's head, igniting her in flames and drawing a thunderous scream.
The crimson holy wind reached the Spirit's magic stone. Piercing through the stone in her chest, the Spirit collapsed, devoid of strength.
The battle was decided. The Spirit had fallen to Ais and her companions, and the monstrosity was in its death throes. Finn concluded that execution took priority over interrogation. He aimed his silver spear at the prone Revis, but...
"──!!"
In that instant, a sharp, unprecedented pain shot through his thumb. He grabbed Tione and threw himself backward. Thanks to his magic-boosted speed, he escaped just before the spot where he had stood was erased by a bolt of pitch-black lightning. A split second later, the shockwave hit.
The person who had fired that black lightning—an attack that matched or even exceeded the destructive power of a Corrupted Spirit—was a mysterious figure clad in a purple coat and a strange mask. It was impossible to tell if they were a man or a woman.
Finn realized only one thing...
(They are leagues stronger than the red one!!)
It wasn't that their movements were refined; it was their sheer, unreasonable power. A hideous black magical aura, visible to the naked eye, surpassed even the Corrupted Spirit. In terms of pure mana volume, they even eclipsed Al.
There stood the incarnation of despair, a presence transcending Level 7.
".... E... in... is that you..."
"You look pathetic, Revis. But I still need you alive."
The masked creature spoke in a distorted voice, likely through a magic item. As they picked up the dying Revis, everyone—even Finn—was paralyzed. They knew with absolute certainty: if they moved, they would be killed.
"... Ah, 'Hero.' Wiping you out isn't my job. If you don't follow us, I won't kill you."
".... Cranel, I didn't expect Revis to back you into such a corner."
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Notes:
[Regarding Al's Power] In truth, Al's base attributes aren't actually that high. Due to his accumulated achievements, he outranks Ais by about four ranks, but he isn't so superior that he can toy with a fully-equipped, serious Revis while suffering from Behemoth venom and a punctured heart. Al's danger lies in his skill, or rather, the fact that he possesses a system that cannot be measured by the standard Falna (Blessing). His skill tree is entirely different from Ottar or Ais. (If followers of Gods get 10 points per level up, Al gets points based on his heroic feats). He is the type who, if he gave a blessing to Epimetheus or Viana and returned to Level 1, would still inevitably be stronger than Raul. (Unlike Bell, his body has not yet caught up to the greatness of his soul). If the Falna were removed from Al, he would transition to a "Spiritual Blessing," his level system would vanish, and while his raw attributes might drop, his versatility would increase because he would no longer be restricted by a system not designed for him. In short: Al shines brightest in the Ancient Eras.
[Damage Sustained by Al in this Battle]
Heart (and lungs) pierced by the Behemoth Greatsword.
Corrosive Behemoth venom.
Anti-healing curse and Magic-sealing curse.
Perforations across his entire body, leaving him like a honeycomb.
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