"Get away from her!"
The furious shout echoed through the corridor. A silver flash shot from the end of the passage, knocking the black greatsword off course. Before Revis could react, a second flash followed, accelerating to maximum speed in an instant as it slashed straight for her neck.
A sharp sense of danger stabbed at her instincts, and Revis immediately leaped backward.
Ryoji's face was filled with killing intent. Both of his hands trembled slightly as he gripped his swords. 'Just a little later...' If he had arrived even half a second later, Ais would have died right before his eyes.
"Tch! You again?! Always getting in my way!" Revis steadied herself and shot him an irritated glare. It had happened on the eighteenth floor, and now it had happened again. 'Do I have some kind of grudge with this bastard?' "But things are different this time!"
Revis kicked off the ground. Her black greatsword carried terrifying power as it slashed diagonally toward Ryoji's neck. This was the sword of a true 'Level 7', its raw power nearly ten times greater than that of a newly promoted Level 5. As far as Revis remembered, two months ago Ryoji had only been around Level 3. Even if he'd grown stronger since then, and even if he'd managed to force her back with a surprise attack, there was no way he could block this strike head-on.
Ryoji's eyes flashed coldly. Without dodging, he swung his katana to meet it.
'Boom!'
The air exploded as a violent shockwave swept through the corridor.
"What?!" Revis' eyes flew open.
Ryoji blocked her attack with a single arm and a single sword. Despite taking her full-powered strike head-on, he looked completely unharmed. He hadn't even taken a single step backward; only the metal floor beneath his feet cracked under the pressure.
'Hummm, !'
Before Revis could recover from her shock, Ryoji swung the sword in his right hand. With the Twin Wings Sword, he instantly reached maximum acceleration. His slash became so fast that it surpassed what the naked eye could follow, turning into an invisible flash of light.
Startled, Revis instinctively jumped backward. But the instant she moved, Ryoji's blade accelerated again. Before she could react, it broke through her defense and slashed across her chest.
"Ugh!" Revis cried out in pain as she was sent flying backward. Without any hesitation, she rushed into an adjacent corridor.
'Boom!'
An Orichalcum gate slammed down behind her, cutting off any pursuit.
"Tch. She's way too tough." Ryoji frowned at the bloodstains left on the floor. A normal person who took a slash across the chest like that would already be at death's door. Even Finn wouldn't have survived it unscathed.
But Revis wasn't human. She possessed the traits of an Enhanced Species monster. Just like losing an arm hadn't stopped her before, even a deep wound to the chest wasn't enough to seriously injure her.
"Ais, are you okay?" Giving up on chasing Revis, Ryoji hurried over and knelt beside Ais. Seeing her covered in blood, he quickly took out a bottle of Elixir from his pouch and poured it over her. "How do you feel?"
Under his worried gaze, Ais slowly came back to herself. She lowered her eyes in silence, carefully moved her body, and slowly stood up. "...Much better."
"That's a relief." Ryoji finally let out a sigh. Elixir really lived up to its reputation; a single bottle was enough to pull someone back from the brink of death. It hadn't completely healed all of Ais' injuries, but judging from the way she moved, she was no longer in any danger.
"...Thank you." Ais looked up, her golden eyes meeting his. She had seen this face countless times before, yet somehow, it stirred something unfamiliar inside her. Suddenly, she found herself unable to meet Ryoji's eyes any longer and quickly looked away.
"You don't have to thank me like we're strangers." Ryoji reached out and casually ruffled her hair, turning her neat golden locks into a complete mess.
Ais suddenly felt her cheeks growing hot. She had no idea where to look anymore. Her expression stiffened as she quickly pulled herself free from Ryoji's hand.
"Huh? You always let me do that before." Ryoji blinked in confusion. 'What's going on? Has the kid hit her rebellious phase?'
"...Let's go." Ais turned around so he couldn't see her face.
"Alright." Ryoji shrugged helplessly. "Let's hurry and find everyone else. We can talk after we've gotten everyone out safely." With that, he took the lead and headed deeper into the labyrinth.
Ais silently followed behind him. '"One day... you'll find a hero who belongs to you."' Her father's words surfaced in her mind once more. '"A hero... who belongs to me..."' Ais murmured softly.
"Hm? What was that?" She had fallen a little behind, and Ryoji hadn't heard her.
"...Nothing." Ais shook her head. Only after Ryoji turned away again did she quietly touch her own cheek. '...It's so hot.' She wondered what her face looked like right now. Then she placed a hand over her chest. 'My heart... It's beating so fast...'
---
"I don't have time to deal with you right now!" In another corridor, Tiona shouted at the Amazon before her.
"I do," the other woman replied coldly. "So that's enough." Her fist came crashing toward Tiona again.
"You're impossible!" Left with no choice, Tiona answered with a punch of her own.
The result was the same as before. Tiona was knocked back three steps, while her opponent only slid back two.
"You're getting used to your new strength." The woman looked at Tiona with growing satisfaction. "Good."
She was an Amazon with short crimson hair and an incredibly voluptuous figure. Her beautiful face, however, was filled only with an intense desire to fight. She was Bache of the Kali Familia. While Argana had challenged Tione, Bache had sought out Tiona. The two pairs of destined rivals had once again crossed paths inside the artificial labyrinth.
"Whoa! More Crystal Spiders!"
"There's too many of them!"
Cries rang out from behind. Narvi and the others were being overwhelmed, and some had already been wounded by the Crystal Spiders. A few of the monsters would have been manageable, but more than a dozen Level 4 monsters charging together was another matter entirely. It was as though Level 4 monsters were being thrown at them for free, and Narvi's group was completely overwhelmed. To make matters worse, some of them had already been poisoned by the Virga.
Tiona grew even more anxious. She desperately wanted to turn around and help her companions, but Bache refused to let her go. The moment Tiona's attention wavered, Bache's fist slammed into her chest.
'Boom!'
Tiona crashed hard into the wall.
"Damn it!" She swallowed the blood rising into her throat, the ferocity in her eyes growing stronger. Even after getting used to her new level, she was still slightly weaker than Bache. Trying to protect her companions at the same time only widened that gap. Still, she wasn't completely out of options. If she was willing to injure herself...
"Someone's coming!"
"So fast!"
"It's reinforcements!"
Suddenly, Narvi and the others cried out in delight. A continuous storm of sword flashes erupted from the end of the corridor. The Crystal Spiders stood no chance. The advancing blades swept through them like a tidal wave, leaving shattered limbs scattered across the ground as the blocked passage was cut open.
(End of Chapter)
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