"Look out!" Hyacine cried out, instinctively raising her hands to summon a wall of wind.
But one of the Consecrated Scorpions was faster. It slammed its massive pincers and tail viciously into the ground, and in a flash, countless razor-sharp claws made of pure lightning erupted counter-clockwise from the sand, lunging straight for them. Another scorpion let out an ear-piercing screech. Its giant pincers snapped toward Robin, closing in to deliver a rapid barrage of stabs that could easily tear through solid steel.
Faced with this sudden, deadly ambush, Robin didn't show a hint of panic. Her lake-green eyes remained as calm as a placid pool. She simply parted her lips, her voice serene and unhurried.
"Universal harmony, the stars shine together. Praises of supreme merit to the divine lord. The people of the world are comrades, all things share the same root. May the wind of blessing sweep across the earth."
The sacred, solemn incantation echoed within the barrier like a gospel of revelation. A complex and magnificent magic circle instantly materialized beneath her feet, and a pair of pure, radiant white wings flared open from her back. At the same time, a holy halo emitting a soft, gentle glow appeared above her head.
Third Magic—[Heavenly Ring of Harmony].
An invisible, imperceptible wave of mental energy rippled outward. The Consecrated Scorpion that had been mere inches from crushing Robin froze mid-strike. Beneath its hollow carapace, it was as if an alien command had been forcefully injected into its very being.
A second later, it abandoned its target entirely. Spinning around, it ruthlessly slammed its lightning-wreathed, scythe-like pincers into its closest companion. The second scorpion, entirely caught off guard while summoning its lightning strikes, took the brutal, treacherous blow head-on. Its carapace shattered with a sickening crunch, and it shrieked in agony.
Instantly dropping its assault on Robin and the others, the wounded scorpion retaliated, frantically lashing its lightning-infused tail stinger at its former ally. The third scorpion, having just fully surfaced from the sand, was dragged into the bloody, unprovoked free-for-all before it could even launch an attack.
Right there, within Jeanne's protective barrier and right in front of Robin, three powerful Level 4 monsters began tearing each other apart in the most primal, savage display of fratricide. Robin's mental energy acted like an invisible spider web, manipulating the battlefield with flawless precision.
Under the ferocious, storm-like barrage of its two companions, the controlled Consecrated Scorpion was quickly ripped to shreds. Its bone armor exploded outward, reducing it to a puddle of purple wreckage. However, the very moment the victorious scorpion let out a triumphant screech, its movements violently halted.
Like a silent monarch, Robin's will descended once more, claiming a new puppet. Without a moment of hesitation, the newly controlled scorpion spun around and drove its lightning-wreathed stinger straight through the skull of the final survivor. This entirely orchestrated civil war came to an abrupt, eerie, and highly efficient end.
----
Meanwhile, the battles across the rest of the desert had also settled. The final Consecrated Red Vulture in the sky was cleanly sliced in half by Aiden's Lumina Slash, plummeting into the dunes as a shrieking fireball. On the ground, Ryuu, Alise, and Firefly—now transformed into her SAM armor—had teamed up to completely eradicate the last few fiercely resisting Consecrated Flying Serpents.
The desert finally seemed ready to return to its dead silence. But just then, a shrill, tearing sound echoed from the far edge of the horizon. A highly condensed energy sphere, glowing with an ominous orange light, tore across the sky like a meteor, hurtling straight toward their position.
Aiden's eyes narrowed. Operating on pure instinct, he swung Godslayer: Surtr in a brutal arc. A crimson, crescent-shaped slash erupted from the blade, flawlessly intercepting the energy sphere in mid-air.
BOOM! A blinding flash erupted the moment they collided. A violent shockwave swept outward, violently churning the just-settled desert sands into a towering tsunami. The party braced themselves, their eyes locking onto the horizon where the energy blast had originated.
At the edge of the desert, a massive, moving shadow was rapidly closing in at a speed that completely defied its titanic bulk. It was a bipedal, mechanical behemoth resembling a tyrannosaurus. Its chassis was incredibly thick and oppressive, sporting a color palette of deep brown, antique bronze, and striking orange-gold.
As the distance closed, its terrifying details came into sharp focus. Its head featured a blunt, triangular snout covered in heavy bronze plating, completely riddled with grooves and rivets. Where its eyes should have been, two glowing orange-yellow cores burned intensely behind the armor. Its thick neck was surrounded by three pairs of rotating, cylindrical energy conduits, and orange energy lines pulsed like a living heartbeat along its ridged dorsal plates.
Every time its massive, pillar-like hind legs stomped against the ground, the entire desert trembled.
"True Name Discernment—!" Jeanne raised her holy flag high, a golden light flashing across her eyes. As her level had increased, the depth of information she could pry from this skill had grown as well. "It's a Ruin Drake: Earthguard. Latent Abilities... Level 5!"
Before she even finished her sentence, the awakened ancient mechanical tyrant was already upon them. At that exact moment, Robin willed her final, controlled Consecrated Scorpion forward. With a screech, it transformed into a blur of purple lightning, actively launching itself at the behemoth. It was a direct, probing attack.
The result, however, was chilling.
Facing the charging Consecrated Scorpion, the Ruin Drake didn't even break its stride. Its heavy, segmented armor tail whipped through the air with a deafening howl, casually swatting it aside.
BAM! With a dull, sickening thud, the Level 4 Consecrated Scorpion proved as fragile as glass against that absolute, overwhelming physical power. Its bone armor was instantly pulverized, and its massive body was sent flying like a broken ragdoll. It crashed heavily into the sand, permanently reduced to a pile of motionless parts.
"What incredible strength!" Tifa's gaze sharpened.
"Tifa and I will take the vanguard. The rest of you, cover us!" Aiden ordered decisively.
"Shine!"
"Ride Upon This Wheel of Flame!"
Both of them activated their enchantment magic simultaneously. Starlight-like radiance wrapped around Tifa's limbs, while Aiden's Godslayer: Surtr ignited with a raging fire hot enough to melt steel. In the blink of an eye, the two darted forward like loosed arrows, flanking the mechanical behemoth from the left and right.
Sensing the threat, the Ruin Drake snapped its massive head around, delivering a brutal headbutt straight at Aiden. Aiden pushed off hard, leaving a deep crater in the sand as he narrowly dodged the heavy impact. On the other side, Tifa seized the opening. Leaping high into the air, her agile figure delivered a devastating, momentum-fueled whip kick straight into the joints of the Ruin Drake's hind leg.
CLANG! The metallic boom echoed across the dunes. Tifa felt like she had just kicked a solid mountain wall. The massive recoil forced her to flip backward in mid-air to safely disperse the kinetic force.
The Ruin Drake merely swayed. Emitting a low, rumbling mechanical roar, the beast lashed out with the very tail that had just crushed the scorpion. It swept across the battlefield, kicking up a massive sandstorm and entirely cutting off Aiden and Tifa's escape routes.
Aiden's eyes narrowed. Using his sword as a pivot, he spun his body at high speed, relying on centrifugal force to violently alter his trajectory. He slid across the sand, passing cleanly beneath the sweeping tail. Using the wall of kicked-up sand for cover, Tifa stomped hard onto the passing tail, riding the momentum to launch herself high into the air and land squarely on the Ruin Drake's back.
"ROAR—!"
The Ruin Drake was clearly enraged. Completely ignoring Tifa on its back, its thick legs fired up with immense power, turning its massive body into a runaway freight train as it charged directly at the freshly-landed Aiden.
"Aiden!" Tifa cried out.
Aiden remained incredibly calm. In the split second before impact, Godslayer: Surtr flared with a blinding light. With a precise, brutal upward slash, he struck the armor plating on the Ruin Drake's lower jaw. An ear-piercing screech of rending metal filled the air, and the massive kinetic feedback sent Aiden flying backward—but the beast's charge was forcibly halted.
In that crucial microsecond of delay, Tifa leaped from its back. Her legs locked around the Ruin Drake's neck like a pair of scissors, and she exploded with every ounce of her strength, attempting to violently wrench it to the ground.
Driven into a total frenzy, the mechanical beast's neck conduits began spinning wildly, glowing with an intense orange-yellow brilliance. A fresh energy sphere was rapidly accumulating in its maw.
"Don't let it fire!"
Mid-air, Aiden twisted his body, aiming the tip of Godslayer: Surtr precisely at the exposed, glowing energy conduits along the Ruin Drake's neck.
"Tifa, let go!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Tifa released her leg lock, backflipping to the ground and sticking a flawless landing. Almost simultaneously, Aiden descended from the sky. Wielding Godslayer: Surtr like a red-hot branding iron, he drove the blade—superheated by his Everlasting Flames—straight into the joint connecting the energy conduit to the armor.
BZZZT—! The explosive sound of frying circuits rang out. Amidst a shower of erratic electrical sparks, the Ruin Drake let out an agonizing mechanical wail. The energy sphere forming in its mouth instantly collapsed into nothing. Its colossal body trembled violently, its movements becoming sluggish and terribly stiff.
"Now's our chance!"
Tifa seized the fatal opening. Moving so fast she became a blur, she unleashed a devastating flurry of explosive heavy kicks, landing them perfectly on the damaged joint of the Ruin Drake's other hind leg.
CRACK! Following a series of teeth-jarring metallic snaps, the pillar-like mechanical leg completely caved in. The armor shattered, and the internal transmission structures broke into several pieces. Stripped of its balance, the Ruin Drake collapsed, crashing into the desert and leaving a massive crater in its wake.
Aiden landed smoothly. He slowly approached the twitching, struggling mechanical beast as it desperately tried to right itself. He raised Godslayer: Surtr high into the air, the flames along the blade burning at their absolute peak.
He brought the sword down.
With a final, erratic flicker of electricity, the massive mechanical head rolled off into the sand. Those glowing orange-yellow cores permanently faded to black. The desert wind blew past, sweeping up sand mixed with the acrid scent of scorched metal, leaving only trails of smoke rising from the mechanical wreckage.
Alise planted her longsword into the ground and leaned against the hilt, stretching lazily and fully displaying her excellent figure. She looked over at Aiden, who was currently harvesting the magic stone, and let out an exaggerated sigh of awe.
"Your skill is seriously broken, Aiden. Every single one of these monsters is completely unheard of, and their strength makes absolutely no sense for this floor! If any normal adventuring party ran into them, they'd have no choice but to turn tail and run. Adventuring with you feels like my heart is going to beat right out of my chest at any second."
Hearing that, Aiden merely chuckled and didn't reply.
His skill, [Abyssal Gaze], wasn't exactly a secret anymore. Anyone who partied up with him, even just once, would immediately notice the sheer absurdity of their encounters. Brand-new monster variants that regular adventurers might not see in decades of exploring seemed to pop up around him like weeds after a rainstorm.
He knew very well that the Guild, along with top-tier factions like the Loki and Freya Familias, had likely figured this out a long time ago. But since they hadn't come knocking on his door to interrogate him yet, it meant they probably viewed the changes he brought as a net positive for Orario. Or perhaps they simply welcomed the new possibilities and variables. Maybe they were just quietly observing, waiting to see what kind of ultimate storm he would bring to the Dungeon.
Regardless, since they chose to remain silent, he had no reason to hide things from his closest companions.
Over the next few days, the party pushed deeper into the Dungeon. The environment of the 34th Floor was yet another endless desert, but the heat radiating from the massive red crystal on the ceiling was far more oppressive. The air warped and distorted, and every breath felt like inhaling fire.
Here, they were ambushed by the Consecrated Beasts once more. This time, it was a mixed vanguard of three Consecrated Red Vultures and two Consecrated Scorpions. The battle broke out instantly.
"Jeanne, barrier!" Robin commanded.
"—Luminosité Eternelle!" Jeanne raised her holy flag, projecting a golden, absolute defensive barrier that securely protected Robin and Hyacine in the rearguard.
"Alise, Firefly, take care of the sky!"
"You got it!" Alise cheered excitedly. A blast of flame erupted beneath her feet, launching her like a cannonball toward a diving Red Vulture.
Firefly was even more direct. An emerald-green transformation device materialized in her hand. "Transform!"
A wave of crimson fire swept over her, revealing the silver-white armor of the Strategic Assault Mech. Spreading her wings of light, SAM drew her dual blades and charged straight at the second Vulture.
"Tifa, Aiden, Ryuu, you handle the ground." Robin's voice was calm and incredibly swift. By the time she finished speaking, Ryuu had already vanished like a gale of wind.
Aiden and Tifa exchanged a knowing glance, charging at the two Consecrated Scorpions erupting from the sand in perfect sync. Their battle experience had long since familiarized them with the attack patterns of these specific monsters. Aiden perfectly predicted the trajectory of a scorpion's tail whip, dodging it by a mere hair's breadth before bringing a superheated Godslayer: Surtr down violently on its vulnerable joint.
Tifa, utilizing her terrifying speed and explosive power, flanked the other scorpion. A relentless barrage of starlight-infused kicks rained down upon its head carapace like a torrential downpour.
───
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