With his heart racing with passion, Ryo approached his newfound love, almost forgetting to breathe. He was determined to claim this affection, ready to cast aside everything else, willing to let go of what needed to be released to reach the object of his overflowing love. Just then, he drew close enough to barely touch the being before him.
"Snap out of it!"
A booming voice pierced the air as Ryo felt a sharp pain in his side. He was kicked forcefully just before facing a dire threat looming over the forest, a massive snake slithering between the trees, blocking their path to the tenth layer.
Ryo lay on the ground, dazed. What had hit him? Who had shouted? He turned to see a tall woman with teal eyes gripping her sword, standing defiantly against the serpent.
"Can you stand? If so, please step away from the battlefield. You've put up a decent effort, and it wouldn't sit right with my maidenly heart to see you become collateral damage."
It was Olivia, who had saved him just in time. She inhaled deeply, turning her gaze back to the beast.
The others caught up soon after.
"Ryo, are you okay? Did it get you?" Emma asked, concern in her eyes.
"I'm fine. I can walk. I'll move out of your way now; I can't fight like this. After all, this was my plan."
Emma crouched to help Ryo up, but he gently pushed her arms away and rose on his own. He had come up with this plan, but now that he was out of stamina, he knew he would be a burden in the fight. It was better to step aside for their safety.
"This thing... it's a full-grown Gorgon, isn't it? If so, I find it hard to believe it was working with the first two lesser beasts. And yet..."
Mei's voice trailed off, coming to terms with the reality: Kardia beasts of differing strengths and species working together wasn't the norm in this world. This group was clearly guarding the entrance to the tenth layer; they weren't floor masters, but they posed an incredibly problematic obstacle.
"There's nothing we can do but give it our all now," Logan said, his expression grim. "Instead of nitpicking the possibilities, frankly, I'm not too confident we can take this one on without it being a royal pain in the ass."
Logan was right; now wasn't the time to dwell on the monster's coordination. They each assumed their stances, ready to face the challenge ahead.
Ryo was already making his way to a distant bush, deciding to leave the task to his party, hoping they would be capable of handling it. He wanted to trust them with this responsibility; he really did. Yet, a strange compulsion urged him to share a crucial piece of information.
"Staring at its eyes for too long will petrify you, so try to avoid any major eye contact with the snake as much as possible right now."
They should have been aware of this detail, especially with Mei being there, but he felt the necessity to mention it nonetheless, unsure of the difference it might make.
After those parting words and Ryo's brief departure, the fight commenced.
The creature's mouth snapped shut, realizing that no one was entranced as Ryo had been. It moved backward, and tension filled the air. A bead of sweat trickled down Logan's cheek; they weren't about to let their guard down in this fight. Their previous encounters had taught them not to charge in without understanding the true strength of a new enemy.
They struggled to meet its gaze due to its peculiar ability. The Kardia-beast seemed to have materialized out of thin air and possessed some sort of strange mind-control power. From the moment the creature had appeared, they had already observed enough to know that they would be foolish to take it lightly—caution was essential in this confrontation.
"Shit, how the hell are we supposed to beat this thing without making eye contact?!"
Logan clicked his tongue in frustration, his irritation growing as he faced the monumental task before them.
"You won't be petrified instantly," Mei clarified. "It has to look at you for its ability to work. The only reason Ryo wasn't petrified was because he didn't match its gaze; instead, he was entranced so that it could eat him whole."
As she spoke, Mei gripped her twin blades and connected them to form a single weapon.
"Thanks for the short lecture, Missy, but we still have no idea how to beat this thing," Logan replied with a hint of sarcasm, masking his concern.
"Leave killing it to me and Tadashi. Our abilities are suited for dealing with this kind of Kardia-beast. You focus on distracting it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take the opportunity to strike if one arises. It's not about who gets the kill in the end," Mei instructed.
"I will give it my all," Tadashi said firmly, reassuring her of his steely resolve.
Logan and Olivia nodded softly in agreement, and then Mei turned to Emma. With a determined look, Emma replied, "I got it," before unleashing a wind spell she had already been preparing at the Gorgon.
"Pierce O' Great Wind"
A sharp gust of wind rushed toward the Kardia-beast, which quickly sensed the danger. For a creature of its massive size, it nimbly attempted to evade the spell, but still felt the wind graze its side. Just before Emma could repeat the spell, something unexpected occurred—the monster vanished entirely. Gone. It was simply gone.
"Huh!?" Emma exclaimed, taken aback.
But just then, beside her, the monster reappeared, aiming to take out the one who had injured it.
"I won't allow it!" Olivia declared as she sprang into action. She had already decided which skill would be most effective against the Gorgon as she closed in on its massive frame.
『Scenario of the Swordsman』
Swordsmanship: Stage 38
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Stage 27
Spellblade: Stage 25
Acrobatics: Stage 30
Stamina: Stage 35
With determination, she plunged her longsword into the side of the Gorgon. Logan followed suit, mirroring her actions, and with a silent nod, they communicated their plan. The monster let out a disturbing shriek that echoed like a chorus of high-pitched cries.
"Grand One, lend us your burning rage!
Let thy flame become our weapon!
Burst, O sacred flame!"
As their swords sank deeper into the Gorgon's body, a wave of explosive heat erupted from within. It felt like placing a manually operated landmine inside the beast. They repeated the act three more times.
"Burst Flame! Burst Flame! Burst Flame!"
With each incantation, the wound widened, inflicting even more damage on the creature. The swords remained stuck firmly in its flesh as it thrashed violently, trying to shake them off, reminiscent of a lizard's tail writhing after being severed—all in an attempt to distract its foes.
They used Burst Flame four times to avoid exhausting their Kardia-magia. While swordsmen naturally possessed better stamina among other Scenarios, relying on something as energy-consuming as magic could still drain them. They wanted to ensure that each spell was effective; after all, with their current skills, this spell was all they had learned. Olivia had one more spell in her arsenal, but it was weaker than Burst Flame. It was called "Flame, Be Thou My Blade," a rather lengthy name. Its effect was to coat one's weapon in a flurry of fire, but Olivia had not mastered it nearly enough. The best she could manage was to envelop her sword in a ray of heat, a much weaker version. Keeping the spell active required considerable stamina and technique, much like what Ryo had demonstrated earlier.
Even if she used the spell effectively, she doubted it would have the same impact as Burst Flame, which, when combined with her lover Logan, had unleashed an even greater amount of damage. This was a much simpler and more effective way to approach the situation.
"And now it's our turn!" a voice called out—Tadashi's voice. But where was he? Of the five who were engaging the beast, two were nowhere to be seen: Mei and Tadashi.
Except they weren't really missing; they had activated their traits, 『SHADOW STEALTH』, rendering them nearly invisible. While using this trait, both their physical bodies and their entire presence were concealed from everyone but themselves.
The Gorgon, bending its long body with astonishing speed—it was a snake, after all—attempted to meet the gaze of Olivia and Logan in a bid to petrify them. The two of them had already dropped their weapons, entranced and ensnared by the love radiating between them.
But just before they could be petrified, a deep grunt echoed through the forest.
"NNNNNN!!"
Tadashi plunged his sword deep into the right eye of the snake, while Mei targeted the left. With its vision obliterated and an agonizing stab in places it should have been able to see from, the Gorgon screeched in anguish.
"KIIISSSSHHHHIIIIIHHH!"
In response, it began to vomit a white, acidic substance—a familiar liquid that melted even the weeds it touched. Blinded and in pain, it sprayed the liquid in all directions, squirming helplessly.
Mei's eyes widened in disbelief; this was something she hadn't anticipated, and she cursed herself for not considering the possibility sooner. There was no time for self-recrimination; she had to act. But what could she do? In mere seconds, they would be doused in that liquid and melt away.
—Think! Think, Mei!
There was no time to think.
"Wind barrier!"
A voice cut through Mei's thoughts, interrupting her frantic mind. It was Emma, chanting a spell with a hint of desperation in her tone.
In an instant, a large barrier of swirling wind shielded them from the attack, pushing the acidic liquid away just in time and narrowly avoiding a dangerous splash from the aftermath of their evasive maneuver.
"It blocked it?" Mei exclaimed, a mixture of surprise and relief evident on her face—reflected in the expressions of everyone around her. They had nearly been wiped out in a single attack.
"This isn't over. It's not dead yet!" Logan shouted, urging them not to take their eyes off the Kardia-beast, or let their guard down, even for a moment.
"KISSHEEEE!!!"
The monster writhed violently, attempting to use its massive frame to crush its enemies. In response, the team wisely gave it some space. The creature had no way of knowing how to strike its targets, blinded by the damage inflicted on its eyes.
It let out a final, deafening screech before it vanished. Completely vanished. This eerie disappearance sent chills down their spines as they instinctively felt the danger looming. Suddenly, the monster reappeared, its massive form looming dangerously close to Logan, Mei, and Tadashi, who were positioned in a sort of circle.
It vanished again, then reappeared, vanished and reappeared once more. No, to be precise, it was becoming invisible. Mei began to understand this when she noticed a subtle shift in the direction of the air around her—twigs and grass cracking or shifting in a large area of effect, as if some unseen force was trampling through. Unlike her shadow stealth, the monster hadn't erased its presence; it was simply making itself invisible to the naked eye.
Even amidst this realization, the creature continued to writhe in agony, squirming like an earthworm while it cried out in distress. It wasn't attacking; perhaps it couldn't at that moment. Instead, it was instinctively responding to the pain inflicted on its skull, with Tadashi's sword buried deep in its eye socket, while Mei's weapon was barely hanging on.
"Are we really just going to leave it to chance that the wounds we've inflicted will kill it if we head for the 10th layer? I mean, what exactly are we supposed to do now?" Logan asked, clearly uncertain about their next steps.
Mei glanced at the Kardia-beast and then back at Logan. "Honestly, I'm not sure whether it's safe to go in for the kill while it's in that state. But there's a real possibility that if we head for the 10th layer, it could start causing us trouble again. We definitely can't have that."
They faced a critical choice: either abandon the creature and escape with their backs turned, or eliminate it now to ensure it couldn't follow them, potentially hampering their descent. Sure, it couldn't see them, but Kardia-beasts were notoriously unpredictable, and that made it risky to dismiss the possibility of it finding some way to track them down. In a way, they were being overly cautious, but who could blame them? Each encounter with these Kardia-beasts defied expectations.