"How ridiculous." Alfia dismissed the Greatest Evil, turning her attention back to Ardee, Alise, and the vanguard.
"Well then, since I have disciplined our interruptor, let us continue."
After watching Alfia display such overwhelming might to dominate the beast, Alise frowned.
"What exactly are you trying to achieve? Wouldn't it have been far easier to wipe us out by joining forces with that monster?"
Under normal reasoning, the logic held true.
The chief God of Evilus had summoned the anomaly, and Erebus had escorted it to the battlefield.
Even if the monster viewed everyone present as an enemy, Alfia's raw strength left her with nothing to fear.
She alone possessed the capacity to deflect its onslaught.
As for the others, a single strike from that black light meant certain death.
Faced with the question, Alfia offered a deadpan reply. "Do you truly believe I need to join hands with such an ugly beast? Against opponents of your caliber, I have no need to stoop so low."
The insult stung, but Alise knew she spoke the harsh truth.
If their side had not relied on a numerical advantage and constant hit-and-run tactics, they would have suffered heavy casualties by now.
"Come. Show me your skills again."
Alise's expression darkened.
She tightened her grip on Engetsu, allowing the crimson flames to ripple along the steel like a living entity.
"We are with you!" The Astraea girls stepped forward in unison, their eyes burning with fierce determination.
Gareth intercepted their advance. "Girls! Passion is good, but do not lose your heads! Fall in behind me—I will anchor the vanguard!"
The dwarven warrior maintained a calm demeanor.
A reckless, do-or-die gamble might overwhelm an ordinary foe, but the potential cost here remained too high.
Failure meant death.
As a seasoned Level 5 veteran, he refused to let these young Level 3s absorb the brunt of the assault.
It was the only sound tactical judgment.
"Okay, Uncle Gareth."
"We are counting on you."
"Let's go!"
The clash between the two factions resumed.
Meanwhile, reeling from Alfia's concussive strike, the Greatest Evil did not dare to attack her again.
It shifted its hostility, locking onto Ais, Rayleigh, and Riveria.
Prior to the blow, the beast had thrashed like a headless fly, firing blindly in search of divine targets.
Now, it abandoned the tantrum since a clear, immediate threat stood before it.
"❝▬▬▬▬!!!!"
The Greatest Evil threw its head back and roared, spreading its pitch-black wings across the cavern.
As it lowered its maw, the shadows obscured its eyes, yet Rayleigh felt the killing intent snap squarely onto Ais.
The young Sword Princess moved at blinding speeds, wrapped entirely in her Ariel wind armor.
It resembled a miniature tornado.
No—it went far beyond mere resemblance.
The gale enveloping Ais swelled as a violent storm gathered around her frame.
Within a handful of breaths, a localized typhoon touched down on the 18th Floor.
The towering cyclone dwarfed the enormous body of the Greatest Evil, generating enough torsional force to uproot the bedrock.
A trace of black seeped into the emerald winds.
It was raw power born from pure despair and hatred.
The black malice infected the cyclone, transforming the jet-black storm into an entity emitting a dreadful, sinister aura.
"What is happening?"
"A tornado!"
"Is that the monster's doing? No, wait, could that be—"
"The Loki Familia's Sword Princess?"
"You gotaa be kidding me! What kind of power is that? Isn't she only a Level 2?!"
To avoid being swept away, Lyra dropped low, pressing herself flat against the ruined earth.
Even Alfia showed mild intrigue at the raw output.
The wind carried a lethal edge. While it lacked the mass to threaten the Hera executive, given enough time to grow, it could reach a horrifying plateau.
"AIS!" Gareth shouted over his shoulder, his expression fraught with worry.
"This is—" Riveria stammered. She turned to Rayleigh in a panic. "This is bad. Ais's Avenger Skill and Ariel Magic are interfering with one another. This unstable state places far too much physical strain on her body. If it continues, the pressure will tear her flesh apart!"
Rayleigh narrowed his eyes.
The escalating situation posed a massive problem.
They could not halt Ais's rampage, yet they lacked a decisive strike to execute the Greatest Evil.
The only viable option required Riveria to chant another high-tier spell.
No—even Rea Laevateinn failed to kill the beast in a single blow since it could just simply regenerate.
Having suffered the inferno once, the dragon would anticipate the cast.
Releasing the magic with zero interference was no longer an option.
Riveria dispelled her Via Shilheim barrier.
The cold sweat beading on her forehead revealed the heavy toll the rapid succession of high-tier spells had taken on her Mind reserves.
They could not afford to remain on the defensive. It felt wrong to admit it, but Ais's mindless rampage provided a crucial buffer.
Without her localized suppression holding the Greatest Evil's attention, their flank would have crumbled.
The exact moment the defensive barrier faded, a figure lunged from the shadows.
A dark, delighted smirk twisted his features. Gripping a poisoned dagger, he thrust the venomous blade straight at Riveria's neck!
Through the Reiraku network, Rayleigh tracked the hostile movement.
By using shunpo, he bypassed the physical distance, materializing behind Riveria to intercept the ambush.
The re-condensed blade of Senbonzakura met the incoming dagger.
Clang!
Sparks rained across the ash.
The sheer kinetic impact knocked Rayleigh's sword aside. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized the grinning assassin.
It was Vitto, a devoted follower of Erebus.
The staggering difference in strength made sense.
A Level 4 vanguard knocking aside Rayleigh's Level 3 guard operated within the standard rules of the Falna.
Rayleigh rode the momentum, allowing Vitto's brute force to push his upper body backward.
As his center of gravity shifted, his left foot left the ground.
"Shunkō!"
Channeling the volatile technique into his lower body, he reinforced the striking limb with raw Reiatsu.
Boom!
His reinforced kick exploded upward, shattering Vitto's grip and dislodging the poisoned dagger.
Simultaneous to the disarm, Rayleigh chanted.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa."
A crackling rope of spiritual light lassoed the falling hilt.
With a sharp hook of his finger, he redirected the dagger's trajectory. Relying on sharp combat instincts, Vitto tilted his head to evade.
The hijacked dagger whistled past his ear and buried itself deep into the scorched bedrock.
Rayleigh capitalized on the opening, following through with his right leg to execute a rapid double crescent kick.
The second strike caught the assassin off guard, grazing his cheek and scraping the skin open.
Capitalizing on the brief clash, Riveria retreated to a safe casting distance.
"Rayleigh?" Riveria called out.
"I'm fine, leave this rat to me! Focus your full attention on the Greatest Evil," Rayleigh ordered her, preempting her concern to ensure she maintained her tactical focus on the dragon.
Riveria cast a wary glance at Vitto.
The assassin is clearly a Level 4.
The raw stat gap favored the enemy, but factoring in Rayleigh's versatile arsenal and unnatural strength, the boy could hold his own.
"Understood! He is yours." Riveria snapped her attention back to the raging typhoon and the Greatest Evil.
Rayleigh leveled a cold glare at the sneering Vitto.
Raising an eyebrow, he tapped a finger against his own chest. "Did you already forget the harsh lesson I gave you last time?"
The taunt failed to provoke anger from Vitto as he still maintained his twisted smirk.
"Last time? That was certainly memorable. So memorable, in fact, that I dream of you coming at me every single night. Honestly, suffering through nightmares like that has severely ruined the quality of my sleep!"
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