'BOOM!'
'BOOM!'
The labyrinth shook like an earthquake as chunks of super-hard metal crashed to the ground. Everywhere the bull charged, even this unimaginably sturdy maze was steadily being reduced to rubble.
Walls that Gareth would have needed to pound away at with everything he had shattered like paper beneath its iron hooves.
"Stop running! Come play with me!"
The Corrupted Spirit chased after her prey with an innocent smile, clearly enjoying herself.
Ryoji ignored her, his eyes constantly sweeping both sides of the passage. Then, without warning, he changed direction and darted into a side corridor.
The Corrupted Spirit followed without hesitation, charging after him into a massive chamber at the end of the passage. The huge metal room was completely empty.
Ryoji came to a stop and turned to face the terrifying monster head-on.
'BOOM!'
The wall behind her burst apart. After smashing through countless obstacles, the bull monster finally barged into the spacious chamber.
A moment later, the Corrupted Spirit grinned. The massive bull beneath her let out a deafening roar before launching forward, pounding across the room with all four hooves. Each step left deep craters in the metal floor, making the entire room tremble violently.
If those hooves landed on anyone, they'd be crushed into paste on the spot; not even Airmid could save them.
Even so, Ryoji raised both swords and charged straight at the monster. Just before the gigantic hoof came crashing down, he dropped low, slid beneath the bull's belly, and slashed upward with both blades together like a pair of shears.
'CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!'
A shower of sparks exploded into the air as the two passed each other. Ryoji twisted at the waist, spun back onto his feet, and stared at the bull in disbelief.
"You've got to be kidding me... I can't even cut its belly?"
Looking closely, he saw only two faint white marks on its underside. His full-power twin slash hadn't even broken the skin.
Raw power had never been his specialty. But the Twin Wings style let him engage every muscle in his body in an instant.
Every swing was a full-power strike. Even while wielding two swords, the force behind each attack wasn't reduced in the slightest; in fact, each blow was even stronger than when he used a single blade.
The reason he'd been able to block Revis's slash with one arm wasn't just because Harmonizing Light with Dust was absurdly good at force redirection; it was also because he could channel his entire body's strength from any stance without breaking his kinetic chain.
In other words, each of those two slashes had far exceeded the strength of an ordinary Level 5 adventurer. Each one had broken the sound barrier.
And yet, they couldn't even cut through what should have been the monster's weakest point.
The bull's defense was simply absurd. Its hide was probably no less durable than the super-hard metal itself. Even Gareth might not be able to break through it.
"ROAR!"
Realizing it had lost sight of its prey, the Spirit pouted in annoyance. The bull roared again before making a tight, heavy turn, swinging its massive body around to face the tiny insect once more.
'BOOM!'
With another earth-shaking stomp, it charged forward like a gigantic cannonball, tearing through the air toward Ryoji.
'I can't block this.'
The thought flashed through Ryoji's mind, and he immediately leaped aside.
With a thunderous crash, the bull slammed headfirst into the wall. Its pitch-black horns buried themselves deep inside the super-hard metal, pinning it in place for the moment.
"Now's my chance!"
Taking advantage of his agility, Ryoji rushed the monster, sprang into the air, and slashed toward the Corrupted Spirit perched on its back. No matter how powerful the host monster was, the Spirit herself was still its main weakness.
"Ah!"
The Spirit let out a short scream.
In the next instant, a silver blur whipped in from the left. It was the bull's tail. It had curled around to shield the Spirit's upper body, lashing toward Ryoji in midair with speed like a flash of sword light.
'CLANG!'
Ryoji had anticipated the counter. His left sword traced a smooth arc, intercepting the tail from the side.
As he dropped through the air, his blade scraped along the tail in a shower of sparks, using the downward momentum to drive himself straight toward the Corrupted Spirit's chest.
Then another blur shot toward him from the opposite side.
'Two tails?!'
He hadn't noticed it at all.
Still, it didn't matter. Instinctively, Ryoji activated 'Absolute Speed'. As long as he was faster than the tail, he could land the killing blow before it reached him.
Then…
A violent chill ran down his spine.
Without thinking, he brought his sword up to guard.
The tail lashed out like a giant whip, smashing into him and sending him flying across the room until he slammed into the far wall.
"'Cough... Cough!'"
His chest heaved violently as he hit the floor, coughing uncontrollably.
'What was that?'
For a split second, an overwhelming sense of danger had seized his whole body.
"Hm?"
The Corrupted Spirit tilted her head in confusion, unable to understand why Ryoji had suddenly pulled back.
'Whoosh!'
A jade-green gale swept into the room. A golden figure emerged from the ruined corridor, her sword wrapped in spiraling wind as she thrust straight at the Spirit's torso.
"Ais! Don't make direct contact with it!"
Ais's expression shifted. Ryoji's warning made her instinctively pull back a fraction of her strength.
Then…
"...Tremble before Heaven's Wrath!"
A terrifying smile spread across the Spirit's face.
A single-verse chant. A super-short incantation. With the Corrupted Spirit's mastery of rapid chanting, the spell was finished in an instant.
"...Bone-Gouging Veil!"
Ais froze.
A curtain of lightning suddenly burst into existence before her. In an instant, both the Spirit's human torso and the bull's massive body were clad in crackling armor of electricity.
The next moment, the armor erupted, discharging lightning in every direction.
Ais's eyes widened. She was still airborne with nowhere to kick off. Instinctively, she gathered the wind in front of her into a shield.
The lightning collided with the gale, setting off a violent storm of wind and electricity that filled the chamber.
'So strong...'
Instinctive fear gripped Ais. The lightning was far more powerful than she had expected. In less than half a second, it shattered her wind barrier and reached out for her like a giant hand.
Fortunately, that brief resistance had bought her just enough time to twist away at the last possible second.
"So it's an enchantment spell..."
She landed lightly, staring at the monster with heightened caution.
"Why are you here?" Ryoji hurried over, glaring at her.
"I was worried about you." Ais looked at him steadily after pulling herself back together.
"...Fine. If you're putting it like that, I can't really argue." Ryoji shrugged in defeat. "Where's everyone else?"
"They already escaped."
She had quietly slipped back into the labyrinth only after Tiona and the others were safe.
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395