Perhaps because the enemy's response was far sloppier than expected, despite all the tension.
Among most of the members, a little relief began to spread, along with the rather naive thought that maybe this wasn't so bad after all.
But the executives, the first-rate adventurers, and above all their captain, Finn, were different.
"My thumb's itching."
Drawing on the experience he had gained from countless battles, he predicted the enemy's movements.
If they were going to lay a trap, it would be right here.
As if to confirm his judgment.
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
Shhhhh!
"Grrraaaah!"
"Above?!"
"They're here too!"
"Huh? T-they're coming!"
From every direction they could perceive—above, below, left, right, front, and back—new spider-type monsters and man-eaters appeared and swarmed them.
But for some reason, their movements felt a little strange compared to before.
It was almost as if...
"The blind spots...! Are they trying to block our vision?!"
At that moment.
Throb!
"!?"
Finn felt a violent pain in his thumb.
Immediately afterward, without even properly assessing the situation, he reacted on instinct—an instinct granted by his natural talent, and...
Bang!
...the result of all the life-or-death battles and fierce clashes he had endured and overcome until now.
"Ghk!"
"We meet again, adventurer."
"Red-haired... fiend!"
The fiend, Revis, had seized the moment and launched a surprise attack from his blind spot.
The terrifying force packed into that huge greatsword was on an entirely different level from when they had fought in the 18th Floor before.
If this had been the Finn of old, the one from when they first met, he might have been cut down in a single blow.
That was how absurdly strong she had become.
Just how many magic stones would she have had to gorge herself on to reach this point?
A truly overwhelming difference in power.
Unless Finn used his only enhancement spell, [Hell Finegas], there was no easy way to close that gap.
Accordingly, Finn's decision was...
Bang!
"Hm?"
"It's... tough, but... manageable!"
He gave up using magic in order to maintain accurate situational awareness and smooth command.
Of course, that wasn't some clumsy decision born from distrust of the comrades around him, nor was it hesitation.
He simply, very plainly, believed that as a [Warrior], he could hold out against the enhanced Revis well enough, and judged this to be the best course of action.
"You think you can look down on me?"
"Not at all. I'm not arrogant enough to make a judgment that foolish."
The reason Finn made this decision, the source of his confidence, was none other than his current weapon.
The Magus's specially made imitation Noble Phantasm, Durindana, the supreme spear that cannot be broken.
Thinking of the terrifying explosive power of its True Name release, and how it had maintained its shape without the slightest distortion, its durability seemed more than sufficient.
That was only on the assumption that it would not be destroyed, of course.
At least for now, that alone was enough.
Finn was not the only one here.
He had many reliable comrades with him.
"Ais, Bete! Join in! We'll finish this fiend off here for good...!"
That was why there was no hesitation in Finn's orders.
His judgment was clearly correct, and nothing about it was wrong.
Naturally, there was almost nothing to criticize as a mistake.
Yes.
Tap.
"Huh?"
Just as he said.
"Th-this... is...?"
His mistake was almost nonexistent.
It was just that this had become one of the choices he had not wanted, a [Bad Ending] that had already begun to unfold.
Shururururu!
"What is this?"
From the opening in Finn's upper body, exposed by the stance he had taken to block Revis's strike.
Something slipped through that narrow gap, brushed lightly against his left chest before he could even notice it, and quickly withdrew.
A long, thin black arm, shrinking away as it retreated.
"That's odd."
It was only a single emaciated arm, so thin and frail it looked as if only a layer of skin was barely clinging to bone.
And yet, for some reason, Finn's gaze was drawn not to the stronger, more threatening Revis in front of him, but to the black arm farther beyond, and to the owner of that arm.
At the end of that gaze, what he saw was...
[Jaba (illusion)...]
A grotesque body unlike that of ordinary people, with a third arm sprouting from behind the shoulder blades.
Black garb wrapped around it so tightly and meticulously that not even the slightest gap remained, concealing it like a shadow.
And within that, a pure white mask—the only thing that stood out in a different color, as if declaring its existence alone.
A new fiend with a skull mask.
Yes.
A new enemy. An unexpected new threat.
[...niya (inner voice).]
And from that malformed third arm, from that grotesque hand, something rose like a mirage and took shape—something unfamiliar to Finn's eyes, yet somehow strangely familiar.
Yes, something that looked like the thing still beating in his own chest right now...
Throb-throb-throb-throb-throb-throb-throb-throb-throb-throb!
"!?"
The moment he realized it, an intense pain beyond anything so far shot through Finn's thumb.
No, it was a pain more violent and dangerous than any signal he had ever felt in his life.
As if it were shouting that if he did not stop that thing right this instant, the story of Finn Deimne, the [Warrior], and his adventure would end here.
As if it were declaring that thing to be your certain death, something you could neither evade nor block.
"No...!"
[What a pity.]
The skull-masked fiend spoke calmly.
[This is your defeat.]
The end of Finn Deimne.
The end of the brilliant [Warrior].
Grip!
"Mmph, phwoof!"
The black hand slowly clenched tighter and smaller.
Within it, the false heart was crushed along with it.
At the same time, Finn had to endure unbearable pain in his chest, and the red blood surging up from inside him spilled out through his mouth.
And so.
Thud.
"Finn!"
"Captain!"
"N-no!"
The captain of Loki Familia, the first-rate adventurer known as the [Warrior].
Finn Deimne's body began to collapse.
Like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
The head of that dependable, steadfast man drooped helplessly downward.
A sight so unbelievable that even seeing it with their own eyes made it hard to accept.
Everyone's thoughts were stolen by the impossible scene.
In that moment, no one in Loki Familia could move recklessly.
To them, Finn was an existence that would never fall, and must never fall.
And so they could only, one and all...
With faces filled with shock and terror...
Silently watch the end of the [Warrior], as he fell while spewing red blood as if vomiting it up.
That pitiful final sight.
They could only helplessly look on...
Clench!
[Kkgh!]
The third arm's wrist was gripped by an immense pressure.
Startled by the sudden pain he had not anticipated, the skull-masked fiend turned his gaze.
He barely moved it at all.
At the end of that slight turn of the eyes was none other than her.
"You bastard...!"
Just as he was about to crush Finn Deimne's false heart.
Just as his final end was about to be completed.
Just as everyone else had been stunned into inaction.
"Who do you think you're touching right now...!"
Only she moved.
Only she ran in.
And so only she was able to arrive in time.
"How dare you lay your filthy hands on what's mineeeeeee!"
Crack! Crunch!
[K-kyaaaaaaa!]
Tione Hiryute.
A woman who lived for love, and could die for love.
A woman who could throw everything away for the sake of the one man she alone looked at.
Without a doubt, a yandere berserker of love.
Her strong hand, her possessive affection, succeeded in snatching up the beloved man's end just in time.
There was no way she would allow such a dogshit farewell, especially not from anyone else!
Even if a god would accept it, she would not forgive it.
Therefore, the verdict was:
"Go die somewhere, you bastard!"
Pow!
[Kuheh!]
A merciless iron fist of love.
Already with the bones in his wrist crushed as if by a press and torn away, the skull fiend was struck by a punch powerful enough to pulverize his face and sent flying.
To anyone watching, it was a refreshingly clean one-punch KO victory.
A girl in love is stronger than anything else!
"Captain! Are you all right...!"
"Big sister! Behind you!"
"?!"
But precisely because of that, she failed to notice.
That sometimes such blind love becomes a tremendous weakness.
That no matter how thoroughly you confirm the kill, it is never enough.
"Tch, you little dried-up strip of jerky...!"
[You, un-der-esti-mated, me.]
Before anyone knew it, the skull fiend had slipped back in and approached Tione from within her embrace.
Her merciless iron-fist punch shattered one of the arms reaching toward him, but...
Thud!
"This is...!"
[I aimed for your throat, you fool.]
Unfortunately this time, he was one step faster than her.
[Jabaniya.]
Phantasmagoric brain.
A single indifferent incantation echoed through the cold corridor.
Thunk!
Thud!
A single red flower bloomed within it.
"Tio... ne?"
A man left speechless.
And there was no answer to that desperate call anywhere.
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