The sounds of battle reverberated throughout the 59th floor.
Judas tracked the Demi Spirit as it was sent skyward by his tornado and flew after it.
The Demi Spirit responded immediately, launching hundreds of thick vine whips toward him.
'I'll break a couple of bones if I get hit by that.'
With a focused expression, Judas weaved through them, reading each one as it came.
However, one of the whips managed to graze his shoulder, tearing through his armor and clothes and drawing a small splash of blood.
Even so, he closed the distance, blue lightning coating his fist.
The Demi Spirit sensed the danger.
Nearly every vine she had converged in front of her, layering into a dense defensive wall.
『Wrath of the Celestial Titan』
The sound of thunder rumbled.
The impact sent a shockwave tearing through the entirety of the 59th floor... a floor whose total area dwarfed the city of Orario itself.
The Demi Spirit was sent crashing back to the ground, half its vines scorched black, a massive circular hole blown through the plant wall it had raised.
But aside from that... it was relatively unharmed.
'It's just like Revis, Olivas, and those plant-like monsters… they're unnaturally tough and possess insane durability and defense.'
Judas clicked his tongue.
'This one is even stronger than Olivas after his transformation.'
Which meant taking it down was going to demand his full focus.
And that meant he wouldn't be able to provide much support to Finn and the others in the meantime.
'...I'll have to trust them to handle it.'
'Even if my presence here has changed a lot of things, they must have faced something like this in the original story and come through it. They'll manage.'
He thought to himself as he gathered mind in his palm and prepared his next spell, closing in on the Demi Spirit once more.
...
The clash between Judas and the second Demi Spirit had naturally drawn every eye on the floor.
"Unbelievable... he's holding one off by himself."
Raul muttered, somewhere between awe and disbelief.
Still, they couldn't afford to stay distracted for long as the enemy continued to charge relentlessly.
The Virgas surged in wave after waver, their acid a constant hazard... a single splash was enough to eat through skin.
And layered on top of that, the vine attacks from the Demi Spirit, which was difficult to defend against.
Even so, the situation remained fairly even.
'Good. It's difficult, but manageable.'
Finn thought as he thrust his spear forward, precisely targeting the magic stone inside one of the Virgas.
Then his thumb began to ache.
His intuition warned him that something dangerous was coming.
"Arise, flames. Rage, rage, rage. Vortex of fire."
A chant rang through the air, the voice feminine and clear.
But it hadn't come from Riveria or any of their mages.
"A chant?!"
"The monster is chanting?"
Gareth exclaimed in open disbelief as the Demi Spirit began drawing magic power into herself.
They had encountered monsters with special abilities before, such as Hellhounds and Valgang Dragons that could breathe fire, Sirens that could charm with their voices, and Harpies that could fire feather-like projectiles.
But this…
This was the first time they had seen a monster chant.
"Riveria, raise a barrier!"
"Bombardment squad, stop its chant!"
Finn commanded.
"Fusillade Fallarica!"
Lefiya launched her spell at the Demi Spirit while Raul and the others activated their magic swords.
Explosions erupted in rapid succession, each hitting the Demi Spirit's body directly, kicking up clouds of dust.
However...
"The crimson wall. Hellfire's roar. May the ardor of the gale plunge the world into grief and misery."
The Demi Spirit shielded itself with a barrier of plants and continued chanting as if nothing had happened.
Not a single hit had gotten through.
"It didn't do anything?"
Tsubaki's expression stiffened with unease.
Ais and the others attempted to close the distance, but the barrage of vine whips blocked their path, attacking and defending simultaneously.
They couldn't advance even an inch.
"We can't even get close… Judas made it look so easy."
Tione said through gritted teeth.
Now it had become a race.
The Demi Spirit and Riveria, chanting against each other... whoever finished first would determine the outcome of this battle.
"Dance around, spirit of the atmosphere, lord of light."
Riveria had begun the first verse of Via Shilheim, the third tier of her defensive magic.
"The sky shall burn. The earth shall ignite. The seas shall boil. The fonts shall churn. The mountains shall erupt. All life shall turn to ash."
But the words pouring from the Demi Spirit's lips were keeping pace with her. Word for word, beat for beat.
'It's fast!'
"Contract with the guardian of the forest, and envelop us with the song of the land."
"May the lives of the great ones serve as atonement for the coming choler and grief."
'A super long chant... this isn't just any spell.'
Beads of sweat traced down Riveria's face as she felt the pressure mounting on her shoulders.
The longer a chant, the more devastating the magic behind it.
Even those with no magical training could feel the sheer danger radiating from what the Demi Spirit was radiating.
"Surround us, become a great barrier of forest light and protect us. My name is Alf."
"Your envoy beseeches you, Salamander. Incarnate of fire. Queen of flame."
"Via Shilheim."
A dome of light erupted around Riveria, expanding outward to envelop those nearby.
"Firestorm."
A wisp of flame hovered above the Demi Spirit's palms.
Both spells activated at the same moment.
"Everyone get inside the barrier, now!"
Finn's voice cut through the noise like a blade.
Nobody needed to be told twice.
The party broke and sprinted back toward Riveria's dome just as the Demi Spirit unleashed a devastating wave of flames.
The surrounding vegetation was instantly incinerated as the inferno crashed against the barrier.
crack
Riveria flinched visibly as a fracture split across the surface of her magic barrier.
'This...'
Realizing the danger, she turned her head and shouted...
"Gareth, protect Ais and the others!"
That is when the barrier shattered and the flames swallowed her whole.
"Riveria!"
At that moment, Gareth stepped forward.
He threw himself in front of everyone, shield raised, using every inch of his massive frame as a wall between the fire and the people behind him.
"Uooooooh!"
His armor began to melt and tear apart under the intense heat.
Those behind him could only watch.
"Gareth!"
---
+15 chapters at patreon.com/drdedot