The explosive sound drew the attention of everyone inside the Dungeon. As the smoke cleared, a red-haired woman, the same one Lefiya had mentioned earlier, burst out. She had shattered through the wall with tremendous force but was slammed into the ground, gouging the earth beneath her. She came to a stop at a safe distance from the battlefield where the giant flower and the colossal serpent were wreaking havoc.
"Ugh...!?"
She groaned and threw away her longsword, which had its blade broken. Severely exhausted, her body was covered in wounds, and she dropped to one knee.
"Hah, haah...!?"
From the broken wall, another figure emerged, likely the person who had been fighting the red-haired woman. Recognition struck immediately. This was the person who had been separated from them earlier, whose whereabouts had been unknown: Ais Wallenstein. Though also battered and bloodied, Ais seemed slightly more advantageous, perhaps due to the superiority of her weapon.
"Ais-san!?"
"Revis!?"
Lefiya and Olivas shouted simultaneously. Ais glanced around, momentarily surprised to see them, but nodded as if to assure them she was fine.
Tears welled up in the eyes of Lefiya and Toki. Others smiled faintly with relief.
"…All talk, Revis. Pathetic."
Olivas, who had been observing the scene, sneered at the woman who was supposedly on their side. When his gaze fell on Ais, his smile vanished, replaced by a frown.
"That little brat calls herself 'Aria'... unacceptable, but very well. If 'she' desires it."
Toki noticed the jealousy burning in Olivas's eyes.
Olivas raised one hand high above his head.
"Giant Flower, Viscum."
As expected, a second giant flower rose up. Its face, the flower itself, was directed solely at Ais.
"Ais-san!?"
"This is bad!"
They tried to use the restrained giant flower to stop the second one, but their lack of power was evident, just holding the first was already a struggle.
Lefiya and the others attempted to rush to her aid, but the monster's vines blocked their path to Ais.
"The corpse will do as a prize."
In desperation, they turned towards Ais, and Toki realized something.
(Ais isn't using magic?)
He recalled seeing Ais's wind-imbued enchantment magic just once before, but now there was no trace of the wind around her.
"Hey, stop that!"
"Don't stop me, Revis. I'll handle someone you can't."
Ignoring the woman called Revis's warning, Olivas sent the giant flower straight at Ais. In response, Ais raised her weapon, Desperate.
"Die, Sword Princess!!"
Olivas roared.
"Tch…" Revis clicked her tongue.
"Here we go."
Ais called to her beloved sword.
"Awaken, Tempest!"
A violent storm erupted, and the giant flower's neck was severed.
….
For a moment, everyone was silent, even amidst the ongoing battle. The enormous mass of flesh fell to the ground with a thunderous crash.
"No way…"
Only Toki, who was holding the other giant flower down, fully understood what had just happened. This giant flower's potential far surpassed that of a normal man-eating plant. Even with more than ten adventurers, including Level 5 Bete, it was a formidable opponent.
And yet Ais had taken it down… alone, with a single strike.
"This is the Sword Princess... one of Orario's strongest adventurers..."
Toki muttered in stunned disbelief. It was the most incredible thing he had witnessed that day, and it deepened his admiration.
(My goal is even higher.)
Clenching his fists, he burned the image of the Sword Princess fighting off countless man-eating flowers into his memory, then turned back to face his own opponent.
(Even if I can't do it now… someday, I will!)
Seeing Ais's strength made him aware of how high his aspirations truly were, yet he never gave up on reaching higher. This was the first and strongest feeling he'd ever experienced.
….
"Oooooooooh!!"
Toki poured even more mental energy into the giant serpent, boosting its power. The serpent coiled tightly around the giant flower, further restraining its movements.
"Let's finish this quickly, alright!?"
Inspired by Ais's appearance, the other adventurers raised their morale. Responding to Bete's command, they coordinated their attack.
"Everyone, the magic stone is in the head! Aim for the flower part!"
"Toki, slam it down!!"
"Yes, sir!!"
Before they knew it, Lulune reported the location of the magic stone from the fallen giant flower Ais had destroyed. Hearing this, Asfi gave instructions to Toki, who immediately obeyed.
"Seiaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"
Controlling the giant serpent, Toki slammed the giant flower into the ground with a deafening roar. The flower was pinned to the earth as if sewn in place.
"Good to have it restrained... but they still won't let us cast magic freely. We're short on firepower."
Though Toki was holding down the main flower, the other mages were targeted by the vines and couldn't cast properly. Meanwhile, the frontliners of the Hermes Familia and Bete were swatting away the vines attacking Toki to protect him, making it impossible to form a proper frontline defense.
Seeing this, Filvis's expression hardened.
"I'll go!"
"Filvis-san!?"
Ignoring Lefiya's call, she dashed toward the flower's head, where the fiercest fighting raged.
"Werewolf, tear a hole through!"
"...Tch, don't boss me around! Serpent bastard, keep holding it down!"
"No need to tell me twice!"
Bete quickly caught up to Filvis and charged toward the flower's head. He kicked aside the vines blocking their way, and Filvis followed the path he cleared.
In no time, the two reached the flower's head.
"Take this!"
Bete leapt up and used the momentum to deliver a powerful aerial heel drop. The giant flower's skin was ripped open, and the magic stone inside was partially exposed. Filvis aimed her short wand at it.
["Sweep, holy staff of crushing evil!"]
After a brief incantation,
["Dio Thyrsos!"]
Lightning shot from her wand, piercing the magic stone.
The giant flower turned to ash without even letting out a dying scream. Seeing this, Toki dismissed the giant serpent, and the Hermes Familia erupted in cheers.
"Impossible! Losing, surrendering, there's no way that can happen!"
Just then, Olivas screamed and charged at Ais, but even from Toki's perspective, his movements were painfully slow.
Countless slashes cut through the air as Olivas let out a wordless scream. Despite his monstrous nature, his body was still connected, but blood sprayed from every wound.
"This can't be… I who have transcended species, I who was chosen by 'Her'…!?"
As if to finish him off, Ais advanced on Olivas, but Revis stepped in to rescue him.
Revis casually tossed the crippled Olivas aside and moved toward the great pillar. There were no monsters left in the vast hollow, and all eyes, Ais's, Toki's, Lefiya's, focused on the two remaining enemies.
At that moment, Toki had an overwhelming sense of dread.
One giant flower still clung to the pillar. Olivas was already incapacitated, so the remaining enemies were just that flower and the woman calling herself Revis. But still, Toki felt like he was missing something important.
Looking around, then at Revis's face, he realized something.
Revis's expression wasn't one of abandonment toward her comrades, it was one of cold calculation and use.
(This is bad!)
Toki tried to run but suddenly collapsed.
"T-Toki!?"
"Hey, are you alright!?"
Lefiya and Lulune rushed over as Toki shakily got to his feet.
His body was at its limit. Though only level 1, repeated battles against stronger enemies had worn him down, and now he had finally reached exhaustion.
"…Melo."
"Huh?"
Summoning what little strength remained, Toki shouted, voice trembling,
"Stop that woman, noooow!!"
But it was already too late.
"What!?"
Revis's hand was already buried deep in Olivas's chest. Everyone, including Ais, fell silent at the horrifying sight.
"R-Revis! What are you doing!?"
"Open your eyes and look around."
Revis's cold words snapped the adventurers out of their stupor.
"I need more power. That's all. No matter how much I feed on monsters, it's never enough to make a difference."
At those words, Olivas seemed to realize something, and Toki's face twisted in pain.
"Don't just stand there! Don't let her consume the magic stone!"
Toki's warning brought the others to their senses, and they hurried to intervene. But Revis swiftly pulled the magic stone from Olivas's chest, shoved it into her mouth, and crushed it.
Then, at a speed no one could react to, she lunged at Ais.
Ais quickly formed a wind barrier around her sword, Desperate, to defend herself, but the next instant she was blasted violently backward. Others turned just in time to see Revis and Ais clash fiercely.
"Ais! That one is a 'Super-Enhanced' disguised as a human!"
Toki shouted the information he had gathered, startling Ais into tightening her expression as she readied herself for battle.
The fight was intense. Thanks to her wind magic, Ais barely held the advantage. But without that magic, Revis would surely surpass Ais's stats. Then, shockingly, Revis plunged her arm into the ground and yanked out a massive sword.
The two collided again with tremendous force and sound.
"What the hell is that thing…? It's absurd."
Olivas, even with the aid of level 5 adventurers Bete and Toki, had only just matched Revis in combat. But after consuming Olivas's magic stone, Revis's power surged, now locking horns with level 6 Ais.
"That side's dangerous too…!"
As Bete and the others rushed to reinforce the battle, Asfi headed in the opposite direction toward the great pillar, and the 'Fetal Jewel' parasitized it. Olivas's testimony had made it clear this fetus was key to both this incident and the one at Revilla.
Toki tried to follow but stumbled, his legs trembling like a newborn fawn's, barely able to stand.
"Toki, don't push yourself."
"I can't just… stand by!"
Ignoring Lefiya's warning, he struggled upright to chase after Asfi, only to see Asfi suddenly blown away.
"What!?"
"Asfi!!"
A figure wearing a purple cloak and a mask with eerie markings appeared, sending chills down Toki's spine.
(Damn it, where did this guy come from!?)
Toki's keen sense of presence surpassed even high-level adventurers, yet this attacker appeared and struck Asfi without being detected.
"Asfi!"
"We still have comrades here!?"
The blow to Asfi threw the Hermes Familia into disarray. Gritting their teeth, they scrambled to regroup.
"Rudger and the vanguard, support Ais! Everyone else, stop that attacker!"
"Understood!"
Thanks to Toki's command, order was restored. The vanguard moved to support Ais while the others turned back to face the threat.
"Not fully mature, but grown enough, take it to Enyo!"
"Got it."
Revis shouted, and the masked attacker replied in a voice that was neither clearly male nor female, young nor old. They tore the jewel from the great pillar and prepared to escape.
"Don't let them get away!"
Asfi's shout quickened the group's pursuit, but,
"Giant Flower Viscum!"
Revis yelled.
"Keep producing! Squeeze out every last drop until you wither!"
"What!?"
The entire cavern shook, and all adventurers halted. The giant flower writhed as if sucking something from the great pillar. The ominous movement set off a wave of unease.
"Everyone, close formation! Gather up!"
"What about the Sword Princess!?"
"And the attacker!?"
"There's no time to waste! Hurry!"
Everyone hurriedly gathered at Toki's urgent call.
Then, all the buds scattered throughout the cavern suddenly bloomed in unison.
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