"The flames will soon be released."
"Progressive war, inevitable destruction."
"The trumpet of battle will sound high, the cruelty of conflict will engulf all."
Behind him, Lefiya, now in her second phase, was chanting Riveria's magic.
In front of her, hordes of man-eating monsters emerged.
Shirou, together with Bete and the members of the Hermes Familia, formed a triangle around Lefiya, protecting her and ensuring she could cast her spell without any problems.
Watching the enemy before him, Shirou took a potion to restore his mental strength and immediately projected his bow and arrows.
With his mental energy recovered, Shirou carved a path through the horde of monsters by firing his arrows without pause.
His arrows flew in completely random directions and struck the magic stones of the Violas, killing them instantly.
Thanks to the Eye of the Mind, he could seize any opportunity to attack and execute it effortlessly.
In that moment of crisis, Shirou conceived tactics beyond his usual capabilities.
But the part beyond that was something he could perform, yet didn't know how.
As his mind could no longer keep up with what was happening, he let his body take over.
Amplified by the power of divine grace, Shirou surpassed himself, accomplishing tasks that would normally be impossible.
"Die!"
More and more arrows were fired.
At the same time, Shirou's attack speed increased rapidly.
For a moment, the Violas before him couldn't advance even a single inch.
[Come to me, crimson flames, merciless inferno. You are the embodiment of the fire of hell.]
[With a single strike, bring an end to the great war. Incinerate them, Sword of Surtr—my name is Alf.]
Filvis, who was watching Lefiya, shouted loudly: "Retreat quickly, Lefiya's magic is complete!"
As soon as the chant was finished, the emerald-green magic circle beneath Lefiya's feet expanded rapidly, completely covering the entire cavern.
The magnitude of the spectacle was visible even to Ais and Revis, who were fighting on the other side.
Sensing danger, Revis quickly leapt backward.
In the next instant, the magic was activated.
[Rea Laevateinn]
A torrent of flames burst forth from the magic circle.
Countless pillars of fire, like flaming swords, erupted from the ground and soared toward the ceiling.
Under Lefiya's control, the swords of fire avoided her allies, instantly incinerating all enemies.
The intense heat of the flames left no trace of anything they touched.
Even the monsters' magic stones were completely destroyed.
"Was it a complete failure?"
Revis, who had sensed the danger and evaded the fatal strike, remained outside the magic circle, gazing at the world of flames before her and couldn't help but sigh.
She was alone.
Not even she could defeat Aria by herself.
In the previous battle, although her strength had greatly increased after consuming Olivas' magic stone, she was still constantly suppressed by Ais, who used magic, and could barely counterattack.
Once the monsters were completely eliminated, she would have no chance of surviving the enemy's encirclement.
Therefore, it was time to retreat!
With that decision in mind, Revis watched as the flames gradually died down and quickly leapt to the side.
At that moment, Ais suddenly appeared from the flank, attacking her with a strike.
In a split second, Revis was hit in the abdomen by Ais and fell backward, finally collapsing beneath the quartz pillar.
"It seems I'm still no match for you..."
Grabbing her wounded abdomen, almost cut in half, Revis looked at the blood dripping onto the ground and muttered.
Landing slowly, Ais, wielding the wind, raised her sword and walked toward Revis.
Her opponent was a monster; such a wound wouldn't cause her much trouble.
She needed a more powerful blow.
Looking at Ais approaching quickly, Revis laughed and said, "I won't die here."
With that, she punched the quartz pillar.
"This main pillar is the heart of the food storage. What do you think will happen if it's destroyed?"
After blocking Ais's attack with her sword, Revis looked seriously at Ais and said, "Shouldn't you go save your companions?"
As the quartz pillar collapsed, the entire cavern shook.
Cracks spread rapidly, and stones began to fall from the ceiling.
At Revis's question, Ais quickly looked back.
There was Asfi, gravely injured, many members of the Hermes Familia who, though not dead, were seriously wounded and on the verge of death, and Lefiya, who had collapsed on the ground, unable to move after casting her final spell.
Only Shirou and Bete could still move, but there were too many injured; any further delay would likely result in some being buried alive.
"Abandon whatever's unnecessary, prioritize the evacuation of the wounded! Bete, hurry up and help move them!" Shirou ordered.
"Damn it, don't give me orders!"
Holding Lefiya in his arms, Shirou guided Bete while glancing at Filvis, who showed deep concern for the weakened Lefiya.
Seeing the worried look in Filvis's eyes, Shirou couldn't help but sigh.
As expected of you, Lefiya.
"Let's evacuate quickly, we can talk about everything else when we're back!"
Upon hearing Shirou's words, both of them immediately blushed, and Filvis followed Shirou as they ran out.
While running, Shirou didn't forget to call out to Ais.
"Ais, come now!"
Upon hearing Shirou's call, Ais had already made up her mind.
At that moment, Revis suddenly said, "Aria, go to the fifty-ninth floor! Something interesting is happening there!"
"What do you mean?"
"You must have sensed something, haven't you? Even if what you're saying is true, your blood should tell you!"
"..."
"If you go there yourself, it'll save me the trouble! Those people down there are trying to use us. Well, we can use them too!"
After saying a few words that sounded like she was talking to herself, Revis fell silent.
Seeing her quiet, Ais hesitated and turned around.
There, her teammates were still waiting for her.
That day, the storage area on the twenty-fourth floor of the Dungeon collapsed.
---
(End of Chapter)