The three exchanged words with one another, then led their respective units, completely ignoring the green flesh that would never easily allow adventurers to pass, throwing it aside as they turned toward three different directions.
Under this eerie and sinister surface, the sounds of countless boots, or rather, greaves, rubbing echoed throughout the passages.
Grotesque chunks of plant like substance still clung to the walls and ceiling of the roadway.
The adventurer units from most of Orario gathered here advanced swiftly and in perfect order under strict discipline.
After parting with his old friends, Finn's smiling expression once again transformed into the cold, ruthless, fully rational face of a commander.
Holding his long spear, he ran alongside Shakti and the First Unit. As the troops advanced deeper, he sharply sensed the right moment, pulled out the communication crystal from his coat, and shouted:
"All units! Proceed along your assigned routes toward the 14th floor, Begin your assault from all six directions!"
"There are six Fallen Spirits on the 14th floor! We must wipe them all out! Stay alert, and follow the shortest route as instructed!"
Holding the Communication Crystal, Anakitty listened to the orders coming from Finn, then stiffly raised her head to look at the glaring neon glow emerging from the darkness ahead, her eyes full of helplessness and embarrassment.
Turning back toward the newly opened Orichalcum Gate and the inner passage completely different from what she had imagined, Anakitty muttered in her heart.
Unlike Fron, Anakitty had always been in charge of exploration and logistics. This was also why Fron, when going full power in combat, had entrusted temporary command to her.
The passage on the 13th floor of the Dungeon had also been filled with green flesh earlier. Clearing it out was thanks to the minor familias.
Of course, as minor familias whose strength and status didn't even count as Orario's backbone forces, there was no way they would voluntarily undertake such dangerous work.
But because this mission was a compulsory order issued by the Guild Headquarters, they had no choice but to obey and get to work.
But voluntary and forced labor obviously differ greatly in completion quality. Compared to the work done by the Ganesha Familia, the passage they were assigned to clear wasn't even fully cleaned.
Chunks of green flesh still clung everywhere on the walls. If not for the ritual draining away most of the Fallen Spirit's power, these remains alone would have been enough to give the Fifth Unit a nightmare.
Fortunately, Fron didn't make a fuss. With his overwhelming power, two blasts of Fire Bolt cleared away the remaining flesh, finally giving the following units a safe foothold.
At the rear of the troops, Anakitty followed the central formation along the path Fron had cleared, while taking out a copy of the Daedalus Notes to examine it carefully.
After the 13th floor, the man-made labyrinth would not connect to another Dungeon entrance until the 16th floor.
Although the gates on the 14th and 15th floors were recorded in the Daedalus Notes, picked up from Dix Perdix, those entrances had, for unknown reasons, already been sealed by remnants of the Evilus. They had fused them with flesh, blocking them completely.
As Fron had said earlier, it was almost as if they had predicted this would happen.
Therefore, the only shortest route to the 14th floor of the man-made labyrinth was through the Dungeon's 13th floor, or the passage connected to the surface due to Thanatos' return.
And it was precisely such countermeasures from the enemy that completely destroyed their plan to directly invade from the Dungeon's 14th floor.
...
Knossos – 13th Floor.
Fron came to a stop.
He stared cautiously at the darkness ahead, frowning slightly. His powerful senses continuously sounded alarm bells.
Through his Night Vision, he could clearly see clusters of red tentacles, layered densely like spiderwebs.
This was the only gate that those minor Familias, who had been digging through the green flesh, had failed to break through.
According to the Notes, it was also the staircase leading to the next floor.
In other words, this was the passage to the 14th floor. Taking a deep breath, Fron's expression hardened. Magic power erupted from his body.
Beneath his feet, a gigantic pure-white magic circle spread outward from his position. Brilliant magical patterns covered even the floor and extended across the walls.
"[Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight.]"
As Fron's voice began chanting, his magic roared like boiling oil igniting, gathering violently.
A terrifying magical radiance instantly illuminated the darkness-consumed space.
Spreading his arms, he raised his staff. Deep magic flowed and swelled, gathering a horrifying power that had yet to be unleashed.
But at that moment, the red tentacles covering the gate suddenly reacted, as if activated or drawn by the immense magic. They morphed into sharp spears and shot toward Fron in an instant.
"Heh. Petty tricks."
Showing disdain, Fron did not pause his chant for even a moment. Instead, he reacted with impossible speed.
"Puh-puh-puh, "
Flashes of spear-light streaked past. The rapid succession of slashes was so swift that even the spear shaft of the ultra-first-class weapon Sage's Staff · Argon left afterimages.
Parallel Chanting.
As a Level 6, how could Fron possibly not know such a technique?
Boosted by his skills, his mind was impossibly stable and resilient; the side effects of parallel chanting simply did not exist for him.
With that advantage, using two minds at once was as natural to him as eating or drinking, long since ingrained into his combat instincts.
At that moment, Anakitty, Amid, and the others caught up from behind and witnessed the scene.
Unable to help themselves, they sighed in admiration at Fron's overwhelming combat prowess.
"So strong…"
"So this is 'Parallel Chanting'? Even among high-tier mages it's considered a top-class technique."
"[Wynn Fimbulvetr]!"
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…