The voices of the magic soldiers caused Descartes and the others to fall into a collective silence.
So, after appearing in the magic newspapers so many times, in the eyes of most wizards, we're just a bunch of "face-relying" idols?!
"Hey, hey, hey..."
"To say we 'rely on our looks'—isn't that a bit too insulting?!"
Serena had always held himself in high regard. Now, being looked down upon by a bunch of guys whose strength was abysmally weak, he felt an immediate surge of displeasure.
Bluenote's face was equally gloomy: "What's more insulting is that line 'except for Bluenote,' right?! Am I really that ugly?!"
The others: "..."
We've been together for so long; don't you have any idea yourself whether you're ugly or not? In terms of aesthetics, in this seven-man group, you're the one dragging down the average, okay!
"Wait, what do you guys mean by that?!"
Seeing everyone remain silent, Bluenote felt his blood boil. His fists were clenched tight, as if he wanted to start a fight right then and there. But after a moment's thought, he gave up. Not for any noble reason—he just couldn't win. Among the "Seven Kin of the Holy Knights," he wasn't just the ugliest; he was also the weakest, second only to Layla.
"Look on the bright side."
Descartes reached out and patted Bluenote on the shoulder, saying earnestly: "Our looks received praise, and your strength was recognized!"
"Everyone has a bright future."
"You should be happy about it!"
Sorry, I can't feel happy at all!
While Bluenote had yet to be consoled, the group had no time to coddle a 1.9-meter-tall man. Right now, they had more important things to do!
"What are you standing around for? Charge in!!"
"Ah... Yes!!"
With the "attack" order issued, ten thousand magic soldiers immediately swarmed toward the two holes. However, as the front-row soldiers entered the cave, they suddenly became top-heavy and "fell" sideways, landing flat on their backs.
It took them a moment to realize that the interior structure was upside down, forming a completely different world from the outside.
"Why is it like this in here?"
Darwin, Descartes, and the others knew this was due to Alegria's gravitational issues, but there was no need to explain it in depth to the soldiers right now.
"Don't worry about it. Everyone, be careful when entering and watch out for gravity changes!"
"Now, follow me and attack the heart of the enemy with everything you've got!"
"Understood!!"
At the command, the magic soldiers began to move slowly. Suddenly, Bluenote stepped forward: "Going in batch by batch like this is way too troublesome!"
Silver turned to look: "Oh? Do you have an idea?"
"Let me speed things up a bit!!"
As Bluenote spoke, his Gravity Magic was silently unleashed!
VROOOM—
Within a radius of several hundred meters, gravity shifted instantly! The magic soldiers felt an invisible pull coming from the breached hole in front of them. Their bodies, no longer controlled by Earth's gravity, "fell" toward the cave one after another!
Shouts and panic broke out in a chaotic mess.
Silver rolled his eyes speechlessly: "You're definitely getting revenge, aren't you..."
Bluenote crossed his arms, his face a mask of seriousness: "I am not. Don't talk nonsense."
"Liar! You petty guy, you're absolutely taking revenge!! It's because of that 'except for you' comment earlier, isn't it?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
While the two were talking, half of the magic soldiers had already fallen into the cave and entered Tartaros' lair. The remaining half didn't fall in—not because they broke free from Bluenote's gravity, but because the cave was too crowded to fit anyone else.
"Looks like there's no more room inside. What do we do with the rest?" Bluenote looked at his comrades.
Descartes looked around, then suddenly looked up: "If the path here is blocked, then let's head for the heights!"
The group was stunned for a moment before realizing his meaning. According to the intelligence files, the sides of "Alegria" could generate gravity, allowing people to walk on them. Although the enemy hadn't activated the gravity field, they could achieve a similar effect with magic.
Everyone turned to Bluenote.
Bluenote's eyes twitched: "I'm so sorry! My magic hasn't reached that level of power yet..."
"I already knew your gravity magic couldn't do it!" Descartes stepped forward. "So move aside and let me!"
Placing his left palm against his right fist, Descartes channeled his magic. A surging power, no less than the combined strike of Serena and Gildarts, erupted from within him.
"Space-Make: Inversion Field!!"
HUMMM—
A massive invisible field instantly appeared on the high wall in front of them.
"AHHH—!!"
"What's happening?!"
"No way, again?!"
The magic soldiers who had just scrambled up from their comrades' bodies once again lost control, falling toward the "side." However, this time they didn't fall into a cave; they landed on the wall—in a gravity-shifted space where the pull had been rotated ninety degrees!
As the caster, Descartes reacted faster than anyone. He flipped nimbly and landed steadily, catching the falling Layla in his arms as he did so.
Although Bluenote was weaker than the others, he was a Gravity Magician; in this situation, his reflexes were actually the fastest, and he quickly adjusted his posture.
The most miserable ones were Silver and Ur. Neither were prepared and fell flat against the "ground."
"Oh my, my—"
"What happened to you two? You couldn't even react to that??"
Descartes gently set Layla down, but his eyes were full of mirth as he looked at the other two. "Now you've done it! Your pathetic state was seen by all those 'rookie' magic soldiers from the Council. Certain members of the 'Seven Kin' are about to prove the rumors that they 'rely on their looks'!"
Ur and Silver, having just scrambled up clumsily from the ground, gritted their teeth at Descartes.
"Descartes, you bastard..."
"Once this war is over, I'm not letting you off!!"
Descartes wasn't nervous at all. He maintained a carefree, cheerful look, though the smugness at the corners of his mouth was impossible to hide.
Just then, a magic officer ran over in a panic.
"Lord Descartes! The demons are attacking us from up ahead. What should we do?"
Descartes looked ahead and indeed saw a large swarm of demon soldiers emerging from the caves, surging toward them.
"There's no more room in the caves; pushing in further will only cause trouble for the main force. But we can't let the demons get in, or the main force will be caught in a pincer attack!"
"Pass down the order: adjust the formation and prepare for battle!"
"We will fight the enemy to the death right here!"