Before the enemy could even attack, Kaguya's twin blades slashed, carving through armor and weapon alike. One foe fell, and those who tried to press forward were met with her second and third strikes in rapid succession.
Her swordsmanship, swift and precise, was pure Far Eastern elegance and ferocity.
When the enemies behind saw their comrades cut down as though by an invisible wall of slashes, fear flickered in their eyes. Some faltered, but mercy was not a term Kaguya carried in her vocabulary.
Her blades spun and flashed, cutting left and right in a deadly dance.
Even Ryuu, who had seen her fight before, couldn't help but murmur in awe, "Wow…"
On the opposite flank, masked elves unleashed magic as they fought.
Ryuu, compared to Kaguya, was slightly less dominant in close combat, a fact she admitted, though grudgingly. But her magic was an entirely different story. When it came to area suppression, few could match her.
"Luminous Wind!"
Dozens of blazing orbs of light, wreathed in green wind, roared down the passage. The orbs crashed into the enemy ranks with explosive force, setting the air alight with blinding radiance.
"Gugaaaah?!"
Evilus soldiers screamed as they were blasted away, slamming into walls. Armor shattered, weapons flying from their hands. Some were left broken and unconscious, others groaning in pain, limbs bent at unnatural angles. When the dust settled, the passage itself seemed to have been split apart, magic residue shimmering faintly in the air.
"It's too much again." Ryuu muttered under her breath, her voice cold and detached.
Lyra, still at the center, let out a half-joking, half-wary remark. "Even though Ryuu is not a mage, her bombardment is still ridiculous. Almost all the enemies are gone, we should have an easy time mopping up now or so I'd like to say."
Shakti, gripping her spear, nodded gravely. "Yes, it's gone too smoothly."
The low-ranking soldiers of evilus had resisted stubbornly, but this was their main base. The fact that they had suffered so few losses felt wrong.
For seasoned adventurers, smooth progress in enemy territory only tightened the noose of unease. The dungeon taught them that too much ease often preceded a deadly trap.
"Are there really traps? This is their base, so they must have something prepared." Kaguya murmured quietly.
Akira stepped beside her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm here. We just need to press forward, crush evilus, and then move to reinforce other sectors if needed."
He raised his voice for the others. "Everyone, the enemy's already suffered heavy losses! Let's take advantage and end this in one strike!"
Alise thrust her fist into the air. "Exactly! We cannot let this dark age drag on!"
Turning back now, deep within enemy territory, would only invite greater danger.
One by one, Akira's allies nodded, resolve gleaming in their eyes. Then, as if summoned by their determination, the combined elites of both forces, and the high-ranking adventurers of the Ganesha Familia, rallied together, their presence filling the hall with a palpable wave of power.
Without a single light source to guide the way, Akira and the others pressed deeper into the narrow, dimly lit passage.
The air was thick, oppressive, and heavy with the scent of dust and dampness. Along the sides, the blinds had been nailed over with rough wooden planks, sealing out every trace of light from the outside world.
As they advanced, the temperature seemed to drop little by little, a creeping cold that slithered across the skin like the touch of the underworld itself, as though the passage was deliberately luring its intruders toward a darker, more sinister domain.
After what felt like an eternity, the long, suffocating tunnel abruptly ended.
"It looks like we've reached the deepest point." Adi exclaimed from just ahead, her voice laced with excitement despite the tension, her figure shielded closely by Akira's presence at her back.
Up ahead, the cramped walls gave way to a wide, open expanse. Without breaking formation, Alise's group rushed forward, weapons ready, stepping into the broad space hidden at the end of the road.
The scene before them was as monotonous as the passage they'd trudged through.
Tall stacks of containers, the kind used to transport goods, were scattered across the area in haphazard piles, as though someone had been stacking them like building blocks and then abandoned the task halfway. The ceiling stretched nearly ten meters overhead.
It felt less like an abandoned factory and more like a deserted cargo port where ships once unloaded their wares, though here, there was no sky above them.
Most likely, this had once been a massive indoor storage facility, a warehouse now repurposed into something far less innocent.
The party's formation tightened instinctively. Everyone's eyes swept across the cavernous space, wary of the dangers it might conceal. That's when a familiar voice broke the silence from somewhere above.
"You're here?"
Everyone's heads snapped upward.
Standing atop one of the massive cargo crates was a figure clad in a tattered robe, face concealed behind a bone mask. The mask hid her features, but the weight of her presence, the sharpness of her aura, and the familiarity of her voice left no doubt.
Shakti's voice rang out like the crack of a whip. "Arachnia!!!"
The figure tilted her head, her tone mocking. "Finn isn't here? So that woman actually brought back such sloppy, inaccurate information."
Her eyes swept the area, confirming the truth. Akira and his companions stood before her, but the one she most wanted to kill was absent. A frown tugged at her lips, irritation flickering in her voice. However, perhaps this was better.
Last time, I was driven back by that brat before I could fully unleash my power. Now is the perfect chance to settle that score.
"Go!"
The order cracked through the air.
From the shadows between the towering containers, enemy soldiers emerged in force.
"Ambush!"
"And there's so many of them!"
Ryuu and Adi's voices rang out in warning.
Figures cloaked in beige robes from head to toe swarmed into view, their builds revealing most to be werewolves and dwarves.
Akira stepped forward without hesitation. Lightning crackled in his palms, gathering in an instant before lashing outward. The whip of pure electricity blazed through the darkness, arcing like a predator striking its prey.
Crackle—!
The lead enemies barely had time to register the danger before the lightning consumed them. Sparks burst violently across their bodies, their weapons falling from numbed fingers. No screams came, only the sound of bodies being flung backward, slamming into their own advancing allies.
The air itself seemed to tremble under the oppressive tension that followed.
Those who had been charging forward like a relentless tide froze in place, as though their feet had been nailed to the ground. The courage in their eyes drained away, replaced by wide, unblinking fear.
Some of the elephant-headed warriors who had never crossed Akira before let out startled exclamations.
(End of Chapter)
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