And what was even more tragic than her clothes was her current condition.
Valletta's entire body was severely burned, her skin covered in black charred scars, and her hands were grotesquely twisted from the extreme heat burns.
Her breathing was intermittent, as if every breath brought her immense pain. The sound was like a broken bellows, clearly, her respiratory system had sustained severe damage.
Those fierce eyes, hidden behind the blackened cracks of her face, flickered with a poisonous glow. She looked at Finn, and the hatred in her eyes seemed capable of devouring everything.
She was the sole surviving enemy under the two magic swords, [Blaze Devourer] and [Wind Howl]. The magic swords worth over a hundred million had turned all her subordinates into corpses, yet she, relying on the tenacious vitality of a First-Class Adventurer, barely survived.
However, judging by her current painful appearance, it was hard to say whether that was a good thing.
Although she was a First-Class Adventurer, the nature of the magic sword [Blaze Devourer] was too malicious. Especially in a confined space like the one she was in, its power had been brought to the extreme.
Valletta never imagined she'd be attacked in such a deadly way. Caught off guard, she inhaled an excessive amount of scalding black smoke.
Just as Finn said, Valletta's life was quickly approaching its end. Her respiratory tract was almost completely burned and destroyed. Every breath came with intense pain.
Her body was near collapse. Barely hanging on, she probably could last no more than a day or two.
If she had been a member of the Loki Familia or any other justice-aligned faction, such injuries might not have been that big a deal.
After all, Orario still had the invincible [Saintess of Battlefield] Airmid. Any severely injured adventurer just needed to find her and could be healed.
But Valletta had no such luck. She was a member of the Evilus, and the Evilus didn't have any qualified healers.
So, upon realizing there was no hope for treatment, Valletta instead chose to step forward and voluntarily stood before Finn.
It seemed she wanted to, in the final moments of her life, ask one last question of the person she hated so deeply.
"Finn, you're scum! Whether it's today or back then, everything you did was vile!"
Valletta's voice was full of resentment, almost a howl of rage, "From our standpoint, you're no different from a demon! That day, you didn't go to the 27th floor to save people. As soon as you heard the news, you took Freya and Ganesha's people and went to attack our main gods."
During the [27th Floor Nightmare] incident, Finn had seen through the scheme of Valletta and the others and judged it was too late to send rescue.
He decisively abandoned the adventurers on the 27th floor and instead led Freya, Ganesha, and other factions' powerhouses to strike the Evilus' headquarters.
He knew their defenses would be weak at such a moment and seized the opportunity for a decisive counterattack.
This operation ultimately succeeded in forcing the so-called "evil gods" back to heaven, giving the forces of justice a decisive upper hand in the war with the Evilus.
"My god was sent back to heaven. The divine blessings were sealed,"
Valletta's voice trembled violently, her eyes locked on Finn, "Do you know what I went through in the dungeon after that? How many times I nearly got eaten by monsters? You don't understand that helplessness and fear."
"And today, you did the same thing! You used such an utterly cruel method! You didn't even care if we had hostages or innocent people!"
Her voice was now hoarse, no longer sounding human, as if each word tore open her throat, "Finn, you damned scum!"
"I can understand your anger. But when I think of the sins you've all committed, I can't feel any sympathy," Finn replied.
"And to be honest, the more you oppose me, the more I feel that I was right."
Valletta's eyes turned bloodshot from fury, filled with visible veins.
"I'll cut off your arms and legs, then straddle your body, stomp you beneath my feet! I'll destroy that fake face of yours! Humiliate you, mock you, until you crawl before me without a shred of dignity begging for mercy!"
"Is that an invitation to spend the night together? How unfortunate, I bear the hopes of my people, pillow talk is reserved for opposite-s*x kin," Faced with Valletta's vulgar curses, Finn replied calmly with a smile.
Seeing their captain boldly reply to crude remarks, the female members blushed but found it quite interesting.
"You will die by my hand! RIGHT HERE TODAY!", Valletta roared.
"Tough talk is easy. But how exactly are you going to do it? Or did you secretly level up to Lv.8 over the years?", But in the next moment, Finn's confident smile faded for the first time.
Valletta's two hands held two things.
In her right was a crimson orb, its surface covered in refined metal, glowing ominously, with a prominent [D] symbol engraved on it.
In her left hand was a brightly glowing colored magic stone wrapped in twisted tendrils.
At that instant, the Bronze Door behind Finn and his party suddenly slammed shut. Simultaneously, the doors on both sides of the hall burst open, and a horde of giant man-eating plant monsters surged out, flooding the entire hall.
Meanwhile, the moment the monsters poured in, Finn shot forward like an arrow.
His movement was lightning fast, his spearblade aimed straight at Valletta's chest.
However, at the critical moment, Valletta beat him to it, she shoved the colored magic stone into her own chest.
The tendrils entwined around the magic stone came to life the moment they touched her flesh, writhing and boring their way into her body.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
She let out a blood-curdling scream.
Valletta's body began to undergo horrifying changes. All her previously burned skin rapidly healed, but the intact areas began to crack open, sprouting tumor-like growths.
Her limbs swelled, tore, regenerated, bulged again, then shrank, it was all terrifying and grotesque.
Rip!
Valletta grabbed Finn's spearblade with a violent clutch. She stared at Finn with a twisted grin, her eyes flickering with madness.
"Sure enough, this body isn't worthy of adapting to this power..."
Her voice was soaked in madness, "Finn, come with me—TO HELL!!!"
As the magic stone fused with her, Valletta's power exploded. Her arms swelled, muscle tore, and even though the sharp spear pierced deep into her palm, she seemed to feel no pain, gripping it tighter and pulling forward.
Finn felt a massive force surge through the spear, it was almost irresistible, dragging him forward with a sudden jolt.
He instantly composed himself, stomping the ground and forcefully pulling his body back. At the same time, his other hand activated a pre-prepared magic sword.
Thunder roared like a giant beast, crashing into Valletta's body, shaking the entire chamber with the explosion.
The magic sword's power was immense, like an invisible giant hand swatting Valletta aside, nearly hurling her through the air.
On the other side, the adventurers were engaged in fierce combat. The monsters flooded in like a tide. The giant petals of the man-eating flowers opened, revealing terrifying fangs. Their tangled vines lashed out at the adventurers.
Led by Gareth, the adventurers responded swiftly.
Crozzo magic sword, activated.
Saber's sword, activated.
Pseudo-Noble Phantasms, activated.
Bombardment, began.
———
This operation was completely different from previous dungeon expeditions.
The Loki Familia, as the "combat force," and the Hephaestus Familia, as the "supporters," were no longer just client and merchant, but true allies.
All the new weapons in Tione and the others' hands, including the pseudo-Noble Phantasm [Quetzalcoatl(Winged Serpent)], were supplied with zero down payment. The Hephaestus Familia asked for no profit, only to support the battle.
[Magic swords], usually reserved for emergencies, had no restrictions this time.
When the Loki Familia adventurers heard this, many felt like they were dreaming.
Even more staggering were the levels and power of these magic swords.
Top-tier swords forged by Lv.6 smith Tsubaki; Crozzo magic swords by the sole Crozzo blood heir Welf; and the most terrifying, "Magic Sword Noble Phantasms" forged by the [Saber] Emiya himself.
When these top-tier weapons entered the battlefield, the seemingly ferocious monster army immediately lost its threat. The once terrifying man-eating plants were swiftly obliterated by the brutal power of the magic swords, turning the battlefield into a blazing inferno.
Thunder, windstorms, and fire swept through, burning the monsters to ashes. Flames surged, heat waves crashed, and the air filled with the smell of char. The man-eating plants writhed in the fire, powerless to resist, and were soon reduced to ash.
The monsters were no longer the threat. The real problem was still the [Irregulars].
After fusing with the colored magic stone, Valletta's power instantly soared, even suppressing the higher-leveled Finn.
Her body was rapidly deteriorating, but her strength only increased. In this crazed state, she'd abandoned control over her body, everything was devoted to attack.
She was now in the midst of a violent assault, while Finn focused on defense. He didn't try to counterattack, because he knew, if he could just stall until Valletta's body completely collapsed, he'd easily win.
"In the end, you chose the ugliest way to die," Finn said coldly, mocking her.
"Shut up! Shut up! Die! DIE!!"
Valletta's voice was hoarse and distorted. Consumed by rage and hatred, she had lost all reason, her only goal was to rip this Pallum apart.
Just then, Finn's ears caught a faint sound, it was the heavy noise of a door opening nearby.
Suddenly, the monsters all stopped and parted to the sides, as if clearing a path for a king, bowing respectfully.
The front door at the crossroads burst open, and from it surged a red figure—
Fiery red hair, emerald green eyes as cold and sharp as blades, wielding a black, sinister longsword.
"KILL THAT PALLUM FOR ME!!"
Valletta screamed hysterically.
But the true Irregular, Revis, completely ignored her orders. Without a glance, she marched forward and instantly approached Ais.
"Your plan has already failed," Revis said coldly, her green eyes locked on Ais, "I'm taking Aria. I don't care about anything else."
Gareth stepped in front of Ais, raising his massive axe to block her path.
"Move, dwarf."
With a cold voice, Revis raised her black sword and slashed down hard.
Gareth blocked the strike with his axe, but the powerful impact coursed through his arms.
Gritting his teeth, he barely withstood the blow but was still forced back half a step.
The pressure and strength, it was nothing like the Revis they saw before. Her combat ability had soared to an incomprehensible level.
The first time they encountered Revis, she was only Lv.5, nearly killed by Finn.
The last time she appeared, even at Lv.6, she was still cut in half by Ais and the dragon girl Wiene working together.
But now, her strength and speed had skyrocketed to terrifying levels. Gareth, the acknowledged strongest in Lv.6, could only barely defend.
She was now Lv.7, on par with Ottar and Riveria.
———
"What do you want to talk about?", Emiya asked.
Surprisingly, he actually seemed willing to talk with Ein.
Instinct was subtly warning him... this masked person before him required extra caution.
"Heh... I thought you'd charge in no matter what."
Ein seemed to smile, "Aren't you worried I'm just stalling for time?"
As they talked, the wound on Ein's shoulder was visibly healing.
"Time is on my side," Emiya said.
During the pursuit, Ein had shut three doors.
By now, Riveria and the others had probably broken through at least one and were heading here.
If they arrived, even if Ein were Lv.7, she wouldn't escape alive.
"If you really wanted to escape, you could've just shut the doors earlier. I couldn't have caught up."
Emiya said, "You deliberately set this up, what do you want to say to me?"
Ein looked at him. Through the intricately patterned mask, Emiya faintly felt the depth of her gaze.
"I want to ask you... just one question."
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