Run, run, run!
"Move, Lefiya, don't stop!!"
The chamber rumbled violently under the monster's impacts. With countless shards of stone falling from overhead, the Elf girl could only run along the edge of the rock wall while trying to track the monster's location with her gaze.
This guy has gone completely mad!!
It was completely unlike the monsters they had encountered before; usually, after having its attention drawn by Isagi, the creature would be pinned in place by the youth.
This was the exact opposite.
It twisted its body constantly, slamming its massive head into the surroundings in a completely unpredictable manner, or suddenly leaping to crash against the rock face.
Coupled with its ability to move freely between the walls and the ceiling of the chamber, its movement trajectory was impossible to predict!
Consequently, Lefiya had to spend most of her time running, finding absolutely no opportunity to chant her magic.
But this was normal!
Combat couldn't always be so rigid and methodical; as an adventurer, one had to adapt to any sudden situation!!
Moreover, the physical training she had undergone every day recently was precisely for this moment!!
The Elf girl, whose athletic ability could be said to have improved massively, still carried the large Supporter's backpack as she maneuvered through the chamber, actually managing to dodge all the attacks from the giant two-headed lizard.
And that wasn't all.
Whenever that guy stunned itself, unable to get up in a dizzy haze because of its overly frantic impacts—
At the first opportunity, Lefiya raised her magic staff.
"Liberating arrow of light, arch of the holy tree, I am the master of the bow. Snipe, Fairy Archer. Pierce, Arrow of Absolute Accuracy!"
"[Arcs Ray!]"
The chant she had recited countless times poured from her mouth at top speed, accompanied by magic power condensing just as quickly.
A Mage's magic.
Through details such as the rhythm of the chant and the speed and quantity of magic condensation, even the same spell could be constructed into completely different "states."
This was the first lesson Lefiya had learned from actual combat since becoming an adventurer!
Depending on the situation on the field, she had to decide whether to release the magic quickly or perform a slow chant to enhance its power.
And right at this moment!
From the two-headed lizard's large mouth—the one that the "Saintess" hadn't crawled out of—a tender pink tongue suddenly shot out, rocketing toward the Elf girl.
The pure white beam collided with it, causing the lizard's massive head to let out a miserable howl once again.
"Hiss————!!!"
The piercing shriek emitted by the lizard was incredibly ear-splitting.
And by a hair's breadth.
Having finished releasing her magic, Lefiya quickly dove to the side, dodging the sneak attack of the other pink tongue.
Squelch!
That long tongue pierced directly through the massive boulder behind the girl, rapidly corroding and disintegrating the surrounding rock.
Lefiya didn't even spare it a glance; she simply continued to run, looking for the next opportunity to cast magic.
"Good job, Lefiya."
Taking advantage of the moment the Elf girl attracted the attention of the two-headed lizard's other head, Isagi didn't pause for a second; finding his opening, he sliced off the right hand of the female Orc in front of him with a single cut.
At this moment.
Of the three "Saintesses" that had crawled out of the lizard's large mouth, the Kobold only had half a body left, having been killed by Isagi earlier.
The remaining Minotaur had a shocking, bone-deep blade mark on its face—this guy's skull was truly hard; Isagi had originally thought he could split it in two with one strike.
As for the other female Orc, she had just lost her right hand.
Originally, they each held weapons.
These "Saintesses," who would attack simultaneously from different directions while accompanied by the giant lizard's head darting up, down, left, and right—making them impossible to defend against—were now at the end of their rope.
He just needed to deal with them and then cut off one of the big lizard's heads.
The rest would be easy!
"Clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang——"
The sound of blades colliding with axes and iron bars resounded through the entire chamber, but because the "Saintesses" were now an incomplete set, Isagi actually felt more at ease.
He could even occasionally...
Check on the situation over at Lefiya's side.
The Elf girl was a bit bedraggled; indeed, as it stood, the Familia's adventure party still had holes in its personnel composition.
After all, there were only two people!
From the current look of things, they needed a middle guard to cover Lefiya, preferably a swordsman type who focused on strength and speed.
Of course, if she could learn defensive magic, that would also work.
The two spells the Elf girl currently knew were both offensive types—one single-target, one wide-area—which was actually quite versatile already.
Because normal adventurers had at most three magic slots and could only use three different spells.
However.
Lefiya was obviously not a "normal" individual; she possessed a magic that even Goddess Astrea marveled at.
[Elf Ring
· Summon Magic
· Target Limited to Elves
· Must fully master the magic effects used by the target, as well as the chant...]
At a glance, it seemed a bit confusing, but according to Lefiya's own explanation, the specific effect this magic presented was actually—
As long as it was magic known by a fellow Elf, and they were willing to teach her the chant and the complete magic effects...
Then.
It would be recorded by Lefiya's [Elf Ring], allowing her to use that magic.
In other words, as long as the Elf girl was willing...
The number of spells she could use was theoretically "infinite," or rather, the sum total of all magic mastered by every Elf in this world.
When Goddess Astrea updated Lefiya's Status back then, she was stunned upon seeing this magic.
After all, even the Vice-Captain of the Loki Familia, the High Elf royalty Princess Riveria, only had magic that could be divided into three stages and nine different effects depending on the chant used.
In terms of quantity, Lefiya could be said to be the total victor!
At the time, Isagi recalled the Elf girl mentioning that when she left her hometown, the Great Holy Tree of Wishe Forest had bloomed with a dazzling and magnificent crown of light, and the countless fragments of light that scattered down were like the splendid falling cherry blossoms of the Far East.
It really made one suspect.
Could this be some kind of "Sign of the Monarch"? or is Lefiya actually a "Protagonist" too?
He raised his blade and brought it down.
Cutting the female Orc "Saintess," who had only her left arm remaining, in half at the waist.
Isagi's thoughts returned to the present.
Speaking of which, he had thought before that once he built a good relationship with Ryuu-senpai, he would ask if she could teach Lefiya some new magic. But given the Elf girl's socially adept personality, he probably didn't need to worry about that himself.
And right at this moment, under the Elf's control, the pure white arrow of light took a turn in mid-air, bypassing the other lizard head.
It exploded precisely behind the Minotaur "Saintess."
Great assist!
Seizing this opportunity, Isagi lowered the long saber in his hand and drew the Glimmer Greatsword he had been carrying on his back, slashing down.
[Glimmer Echo].
[Glimmer Slash].
Four-fold repetition!!
Under the layered blades of light that seemed composed of countless fireflies, the body of the Minotaur "Saintess" shattered inch by inch.
But the battle was not over yet.
The two-headed lizard's massive body suddenly leaped up, climbing once again onto the ceiling of the chamber more than four meters high. Then, its abdominal cavity and great mouth swelled violently, looking like a balloon about to burst.
Immediately after, blood-red pus sprayed from its two large mouths, circling the entire chamber and corroding everything it touched into nothingness...
...
"So this is the Dungeon? Doesn't feel like anything special..."
"I say, do we really have to walk all day? Isn't that place, Rivira, a bit too far?"
"Hey, are you dead or something? Can't you speak?"
Filvis had absolutely no desire to acknowledge the noisy clamor coming from behind her.
The aloof Elf girl couldn't even be bothered to glance at these guys. They were just a "mercenary group" from outside the city... no, to be precise, they were nothing but bandits.
Because they had slaughtered several villages, they were being hunted by multiple nations and many adventurers, forcing them to flee to Orario with plans to join a Dark Familia.
A bunch of scum!
But for the Dark Familias currently hiding in the city's shadows, such guys were the best kind of fresh blood.
An adventurer's conversion could be done at any time, but most gods in the city were relatively responsible; if a child of their Familia suddenly changed allegiance, they would notice the anomaly. There were only a few exceptions—like Soma, who completely ignored the management of his Familia.
Therefore, the best way for a Dark Familia to absorb new members was to find them from outside the city.
Outside, there were many gods traveling various lands, or even gods who occupied nations or cities, who would grant their blessing to many, many people in large numbers.
So many that the gods themselves couldn't remember them clearly.
Regardless of how many people received the Falna, and whether someone among them changed allegiance or died, even if the god could sense it, they wouldn't care.
Filvis walked forward briskly.
She could feel the dangerous gazes the guys behind her were casting her way, and likewise, the Elf girl gripping her short staff tightly was suppressing the urge to kill them all.
Madness was already stirring, restless.
Filvis's mission was to deliver them in batches to the adventurer town located on the 18th Floor, Rivira—this group of bandits numbered several dozen, and taking them all into the Dungeon at once would be too conspicuous, so another group was currently waiting on the surface.
The town located within the Dungeon, managed entirely by adventurers, was essentially a massive "black market."
There, people from the Dark Familia would come to take them away.
As for why they went to such lengths, it was for the sake of secrecy. According to what Filvis knew, the Dark Familia members hiding in the Dungeon had "passages" that led directly to the Upper Floors, or even the city.
But such secrets naturally couldn't be known by newcomers.
However.
When they arrived at the 3rd Floor, an accident occurred.
"What is that?"
Filvis, who was walking in front, turned back to find that the group of bandits had been attracted by the end of a cave not far away. It looked like an abandoned camp, with traces of a magical explosion still lingering within.
Along the way, it had been nothing but bare stone caves, making this campsite appear extremely conspicuous.
Filvis thought of the city's recent "urban legends," saying that anomalies and special monsters had appeared in the Dungeon. The Dark Familia seemed somewhat interested in this, but due to the activity of the [Gale], they couldn't conduct a detailed investigation.
That included Lord Dionysus as well.
During this period, they had to keep as low a profile as possible, waiting for the [Gale]'s revenge to end, making the gods and people of Orario believe that the darkness had passed and the city was about to welcome a bright future.
Only in this way.
[Could the true apocalypse be quietly conceived and born].
But these bandits, visiting the city and the Dungeon for the first time, ran over with a mix of sloppiness and curiosity.
By the time Filvis noticed them.
The group was already walking along the destroyed camp toward the other end of the cave.
It wasn't that they were ignorant of the Dungeon's dangers; rather, because the monsters they encountered along the way had been easily dispatched, this group of bandits had become so casual.
There were Level 2 individuals among them, so naturally, they could go wherever they pleased in the Upper Floors.
Including...
The unusual corridor that suddenly appeared before their eyes, and the Fog Gate at its end.
The bandits thought they had discovered some rare monster in the Upper Floors, something like the "Infant Dragon," and walked directly into the Fog Gate.
This left Filvis, who had originally been walking ahead but had chased after them because they ran off, with no choice but to follow them in.
She didn't know what lay beyond.
So.
When she passed through the misty door and saw the pool of blood clustered in the center of a sea of small pale blue flowers, and the "Dungeon Lizard" rolling in the pool, howling madly as it raised its massive heads.
As well as the figures of the familiar boy and Elf girl fighting this never-before-seen monster in the distance.
Filvis was puzzled, and only then did she realize that one of the lizard heads had suddenly opened its wide mouth, spraying a tide of crimson gore right at her face.
Several bandits who had entered the Fog Gate before her were instantly submerged, their flesh and blood rotting and withering in the blink of an eye, turning into dregs-like debris.
In response, Filvis simply raised the short staff in her hand.
"Raise the cup as a shield, O chalice that dispels evil."
The ultra-short chant defensive magic was completed in an instant, followed by a sky-blue circular barrier appearing out of thin air in front of the Elf girl, isolating all the crimson corrosion like a radiant wall standing tall.
"[Dio Grail]."
___
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