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Looking at the writhing virga blocking the entrance to the 59th floor, everyone's expressions turned grim.
"There are a lot of caterpillars inside there; no one knows exactly how many. Lefiya bombarded the place with magic before, but not long after clearing it out, those monsters filled it up again."
Ryoji explained the earlier situation to Finn.
They had tried their best here as well, but simply couldn't break through the worm formation, which was why they had retreated back to the center of the floor and continued their desperate battle against the monsters.
"Just as I thought, it's the same situation as what we encountered." Finn nodded thoughtfully.
"The same?"
"Yeah. When we broke through the upper floors, it was exactly like this. Every entrance was packed with huge numbers of caterpillars, and we only got through thanks to Riveria's magic."
"Why are there so many of these new-type monsters?" Gareth asked, utterly puzzled.
And they were all gathered around the floor entrances.
"There's definitely something wrong here." Finn bit his right thumb, but his expression remained calm and composed.
"But that's not a reason to stop moving forward. Right now, the only thing we can do is break through these obstacles and head to the 59th Floor. The answers we need should be there, at least, that's what my intuition is telling me."
Hearing this, everyone nodded instinctively.
There was no point in hesitating here. Only by advancing could they obtain answers.
"Look over there!" Ais's expression suddenly shifted as she raised her hand toward the direction where the worms were gathered.
"On top of that biggest worm… isn't there a person?"
Everyone immediately turned toward that direction in surprise.
Focusing their eyes…
There really was a figure there. Without careful observation, they wouldn't even have noticed its existence.
It was a figure wrapped head-to-toe in a purple cloak, wearing a bizarre patterned mask. Silver gauntlets and boots covered all four limbs, sealing every inch of the body from view.
"A human in a place like this?"
"Could it be an Evilus remnant?"
"Why is he sitting on a worm's head?"
Tiona and the others were dumbfounded.
In the hellscape that was the 58th Floor, among present-day Orario, only the Freya Familia and Loki Familia possessed the capability to enter. Seeing another person here was something they wouldn't even dare imagine.
As though noticing the Loki Familia's attention, the masked figure rose from atop the worm's head.
Then waved a hand.
With that motion, the worms immediately changed formation, lining up horizontally in orderly layers like steps of a staircase.
"Attack!"
The voice sounded bizarre, like multiple voices layered together, making it impossible to tell whether the speaker was male or female.
The next instant, the monsters dropped low to the ground and charged toward the Loki Familia.
Like an invading army descending upon them!
"Wha…?!"
"That guy's a Beast Tamer like the red-haired woman?!"
"Raul! Narvi! Take out the magic swords!"
Finn barked sharply.
Pale-faced from terror at the worm horde, Raul and Narvi hurriedly removed their backpacks and pulled out more than a dozen short swords of different colors.
"Riveria, prepare your magic!"
"I know!"
"Everyone else, use magic swords or bows as much as possible! Do not let yourselves get hit by the corrosive fluid!"
"Yes!"
Though the situation was unclear, the masked figure was obviously their enemy.
At Finn's command, the executives quickly accepted magic swords and bows from the supporters.
In an instant…
Flames, lightning, and phenomena of every color bombarded the worm army.
Under the scorching inferno and crashing thunderbolts, the frontmost worms were rapidly reduced to ashes, leaving behind scattered multicolored Magic Stones.
Everyone held various weapons in their hands, releasing different phenomena continuously from their tips…
Those weapons were precisely what were known as magic swords.
In short, they were special weapons capable of unleashing attacks similar to Magic.
Compared to Magic, which required lengthy chanting, magic swords could fire instantly without any preparation, making them vastly superior in convenience—though their power was notably inferior.
Crack!
But in less than thirty seconds, with a sharp sound, large cracks spread across the magic sword in Tiona's hand, and it suddenly shattered apart.
"Raul, another one!"
Tiona shouted, and Raul hurriedly pulled out a new magic sword and handed it to her.
"The downside of magic swords is such a pain!"
Ryoji held two differently colored magic swords in his hands.
Every time he swung a magic sword, pillars of flame and golden lightning roared forth from the blade, taking the lives of several worm monsters at once.
But just like Tiona's, the magic swords in his hands were gradually turning into empty shells.
And as cracks began appearing on the blades, his expression also grew increasingly unpleasant.
That was the greatest flaw of magic swords.
Magic swords had a lifespan limit. Once all the power contained within them was exhausted, the sword would "die," collapsing into fragments.
In other words, they were disposable items.
With a thought from him, the two depleted magic swords vanished completely.
A moment later, two identical magic swords appeared in his hands once again.
Because of this, Ryoji couldn't maintain a magic sword until its absolute limit. If a Spiritual Item (Device) shattered, the resulting backlash would inflict tremendous shock upon his mind.
He had to discard them before their power was fully spent, and then use a fresh Spiritual Item (Device) to create new magic swords.
"Huh? Ryoji, where'd your magic swords come from?"
"I bought them!"
"But where are you pulling them out from?"
"You're asking me that at a time like this?"
Tiona stared at him with unabashed curiosity.
Ryoji hadn't taken a single magic sword from Raul, yet he continuously kept producing new ones.
Moreover, his expression kept fluctuating strangely.
Whenever a magic sword approached its limit, his face would become ugly. The moment he produced a new one, his complexion improved again. Then, as the sword's power gradually drained away, his face would worsen once more.
It was bizarre.
Finn, overseeing the battlefield as a whole, noticed the developments on this side.
He shot Ryoji a strange glance, his expression thoughtful.
Under the relentless barrage from magic swords and arrows, the worms ultimately failed to get close to the group, and their corrosive fluid was avoided from afar.
"...Extreme Cold, Fimbulvetr!"
At last, the Elven Royalty completed her chant.
Several colossal ice tornadoes erupted outward from Riveria as the center, passing around their nearby allies and freezing every encroaching worm monster from the inside out!
In the span of a single breath, everything within several hundred meters transformed into a world of ice.
Countless worm monsters became frozen sculptures, trapped motionless within the ice.
"Beautiful!"
"Amazing!"
The group erupted in cheers.
Ryoji secretly nodded to himself as well.
As expected, the power of magic swords was nowhere near comparable to true Magic.
If the magic swords he copied could possess power on Riveria's level, that would be wonderful.
Still, this was good enough.
At least now he possessed a magical attack method of his own, making up somewhat for his shortcomings.
"Where's that masked guy?"
Bete cast an irritated glance toward the stairway.
But there was no trace of the masked figure there.
Long before Riveria's magic had been unleashed… He had already escaped without leaving a trace.
(End of Chapter)