It… was afraid. From that girl, it felt a deep, instinctive fear.
-----------------------------------
The group wandered around the 24th floor for a long time, spending three hours and completing the exploration of two pantrys.
"What bad luck, looks like the problem lies in the last one."
"Wait ..."
As they were walking, Ais suddenly spoke up, which was rare.
"Click", the team instinctively stopped moving. Asfi pushed her glasses, a trace of doubt showing on her delicate face.
"Did you find something, Ais?"
Ais silently nodded, her golden eyes sharply staring at the canyon ahead.
"There. Monsters. A lot of monsters."
"A lot of monsters?"
Asfi whispered softly, then signaled Lulune with her eyes.
Immediately, Lulune's nimble figure disappeared from everyone's sight.
'Looks like this canine girl, as a thief and scout, should have corresponding detection skills… something similar to Mikoto's.'
Fron, with his vast knowledge and experience, saw through her essence at a glance.
Without keeping them waiting long, Lulune returned with a blank expression.
"What's the situation, Lulune?"
"Y-you'd better see for yourselves, I-I can't even…"
The group exchanged glances and hurriedly ran forward.
--!? ? ?
Standing above the canyon, they all gaped in shock at the sight below, utterly stunned.
It was an endless army of monsters, stretching from one end of their vision to the other. The entire canyon looked like a hot dog bun about to burst from being stuffed with too many ingredients.
"W-what the hell is going on here!?"
The Pallum mage trembled, muttering aloud.
"Leave it to me."
But in the face of this endless horde of monsters, the golden-haired swordswoman spoke in a calm, unwavering tone.
"Eh? Sword Princess? W-wait, hey!"
Asfi reached out to stop Ais from acting recklessly, but Fron immediately chuckled:
"Relax. A bunch of monsters no stronger than Lv.3, even in such numbers, they can't threaten her."
--!?
"[Awaken, Tempest], "
--?
"[Ariel!]"
Whoosh-woosh-woosh-woosh…
Under everyone's stunned gaze, the girl called "Sword Princess" fell straight into the canyon.
Next, she seemed to lose all weight. Her blue boots lightly tapped the ground, and like a leaf, she silently descended among the monsters.
Then, wind coiled around her body and silver rapier. Ais Wallenstein began slaughtering monsters!
She barely used any technique, only charging straight ahead.
The raging wind magic became an executioner, mercilessly cutting down every monster in her path.
Their bodies turned to ashes instantly, the magic stones shattered as well.
A series of "whoosh" sounds filled their ears. Silver flashes scattered, golden hair fluttered wildly, her heroic figure deeply carved into the memories of Hermes Familia at that moment.
"This is… the 'War Princess.'"
"War Princess", a fearsome name born from Ais' merciless slaughter of monsters and tireless battles.
As she grew older, the title only became more fitting.
But today…
"Her movements… a little uncoordinated. Could it be…"
Asfi looked toward Fron.
"Ah, body and mind being out of sync after leveling up is normal."
The tiger-man Falgar's jaw dropped:
"Y-you mean…"
Fron squinted, eyes locked on her graceful form, lips curling upward.
"Yeah, she's just practicing and warming up."
"..."
"..."
"..."
'That's it? Warm-up!? Are you kidding!?'
Hermes Familia screamed in their hearts.
Killing dozens in an instant, hundreds in just a minute, you call this warm-up!?
"Lv.6, huh. Truly terrifyingly strong."
"So, Asfi… do we even need to step in?"
Veins bulged on Asfi's forehead, her lips twitching. Inwardly she screamed: Do I even matter anymore!?
She glared fiercely at Lulune.
"No way we're leaving everything to the Sword Princess! Everyone, move out!"
"OOOOHHHH!"
With spirits ablaze, the adventurers drew their weapons and leapt down into the canyon!
"Asfi, aren't you going to help her?"
"Me? I'll stay right here."
Fron smiled, then, under everyone's eyes, pulled out his staff and pointed downward.
A massive orange-red magic circle rose beneath his feet, five meters wide. Countless motes of mana surrounded him, fluttering like fairies.
His black cloak flapped in the magic-charged wind, his hood lifting to reveal golden hair. In his golden eyes, twin azure rings glowed brilliantly.
Though dazzling, it lasted only a moment. With the chanting of his spell, all the magic gathered into his staff!
The purple crystal at its tip burst into light, and then, a blazing beam of fire shot forth!
"[Firebolt!]"
"Wait, "
"[Firebolt!]"
"Boom, "
"[Firebolt!]"
"Boom, boom, boom, "
He stood there, magic circle flashing nonstop, firing one spell after another at such speed it became a continuous beam of light.
A wild magical bombardment, his heart racing, exhilarated and unrestrained.
'So good, so damn good! This is what it means to be a mage! This is the romance of a mage! Hahahahahahaha, '
[ T/N: Bro forgot his love for chanting in 147 chapters]
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM, "
The blazing orange flames lit up Asfi's stunned face. Looking at Fron, laughing manically, her body and soul collapsed.
'Wh-what kind of monster is this!? Quick-cast magic is one thing! But you're calling this destructive power "quick-cast magic"!?'
As Fron's bombardment rained down, the canyon roared.
Craters opened in the ground, cliffs shattered into rubble. One person had turned the battlefield upside down.
For the first time, everyone realized the terrifying power of "Flame Demon."
This wasn't a mage, this was a walking cannon! With just himself, he could overturn the entire battle.
And they were not sure… if this was his full power or not.
…
With Ais and Fron joining forces, the monster horde was quickly wiped out.
"Lulune, move opposite the monsters' direction."
"Ah, yes."
The group "moved against the current," following the canyon path to the northernmost part of the 24th floor, the location of the last pantry.
"Wh-what is this?"
A strange sight stopped them in their tracks.
"Lulune, are you sure this is the pantry?"
Asfi's stern gaze bore into the canine girl, she didn't want her team embarrassed in front of outsiders.
"Asfi, my skill doesn't lie, I can't be wrong!"
"B-but what's going on here?"
"Normally, every floor's pantry should have the most monsters. But here… there isn't a single one. Isn't that strange?"
Not only were there no monsters, in the vast open area at the canyon's end, a green viscous barrier blocked their way.
"A wall? The 24th floor has something like this?"
"…If you don't remember it, how would I know."
As a mid-to-upper-ranked Familia that had explored down to the 37th floor, Hermes Familia was no less familiar with the 24th floor than Loki Familia.
But now, this abnormal terrain appeared.
Since the Dungeon repairs itself, permanent structural changes should be impossible.
So then…
Asfi pinched her chin, thinking.
"Falgar, Golmeth, you two split up with the others. Investigate the unexplored paths and check for abnormalities. But don't go too deep, bring the intel back immediately!"
"No problem, leave it to us."
Ais and Fron stayed silent. They were only helpers, outsiders.
Interfering in another Familia's command would only breed resentment.
"Sword Princess, Flame Demon, let's wait here. They'll return soon."
Ais nodded quietly, but instinctively rested her hand on her sword. Her intuition told her, the enemy had already noticed them.
Fron stepped up to the green barrier, craning his neck to observe it, trying to glean something.
Because of the massive green barrier, their expedition was forced to halt. They could only wait patiently for the scouting parties.
...
Meanwhile, the second team dispatched by Loki Familia also entered the Dungeon…