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Chapter 44: X-Burner
"Operation X."
[Understood, Boss. Initiating X-Burner firing sequence.]
A smooth, mechanical female voice echoed in the headphones Tsuna had equipped. Instantly, a digital overlay containing two vertical gauges appeared on the specialized contact lenses in his eyes.
Tsuna ignited the flame in his right hand, forcefully blasting it backward behind him.
He's firing his flames in the opposite direction!?
Don't tell me he's using that to brace himself…!?
Well, this looks like it's going to be another ridiculous spectacle…
Bete, Ais, and Finn instantly realized the mechanical purpose of the rearward flame. The rest of the Familia broke into a cold sweat as they grasped the sheer insanity of what Tsuna was preparing.
The technique he was about to unleash possessed so much raw, catastrophic destructive power that without an equally massive counter-propulsion anchoring him, the recoil would instantly obliterate his posture and blast him backward.
[Right burner fixed at 450,000 Fiamma Voltage with soft flames. Left burner converting from soft to hard flames while charging flame energy into the glove crystal.]
The upper and lower gauges in his vision began to climb rapidly, the headphones continually updating him on his flame output.
This was the ultimate purpose of his contacts and headphones. The X-Burner functioned by firing a devastating blast of "Hard" flames forward, while simultaneously firing an equal force of "Soft" flames backward to act as an anchor. If the supporting flame was too weak, he would be blown away. If the attacking flame was too weak, the attack would fail. Furthermore, the alignment of both hands had to be flawlessly symmetrical.
It was an impossible calculation to perform mentally in the heat of battle. That was why Spanner, a genius mechanic, had developed these items. They were the indispensable targeting system that allowed Tsuna to sync his Fiamma Voltage perfectly.
While Tsuna anchored himself for the attack, the monstrous horde from the 60th Floor swarmed upward.
"Eliminate every single obstacle in Sawada Tsunayoshi's path!! Do not let a single monster touch him!!"
At Finn's command, the Familia instantly fell into formation.
"[Tempest]."
Ais invoked [Ariel], wrapping her entire body in a violent vortex of wind, and dropped into a combat stance.
Suddenly, a secondary swarm of monsters burst from the tunnels behind them, attempting to flank their position.
"B-Behind us too…"
Trapped in a pincer attack, Raul and the supporters began to panic.
"I'll handle the trash in the back! You focus on the front, Finn!"
"Understood!"
Tsubaki drew the two freshly forged katanas at her waist, grinning like a predator as Finn approved her rear-guard defense.
"Riveria, target the Spirit with your magic!! Lefiya, you are Sawada Tsunayoshi's personal shield!! I leave the spell choice to your discretion!!"
"Understood."
"Yes, sir!!"
Both mages immediately closed their eyes and began their incantations.
"Raul, you and the supporters will provide covering fire for us and Tsubaki, while ensuring Lefiya, Riveria, and Sawada Tsunayoshi are not interrupted!! When his charge is complete, send the signal!!"
"Yes, sir!!" Raul yelled, gripping his magic sword tightly.
"O magic spear. Pierce my brow, which offers this blood."
Finn pressed his left thumb, now glowing with a dense crimson magic, directly against his forehead.
"[Hell Finegas]."
Finn's eyes bled into a violent, luminescent crimson. He stripped away his tactical reasoning, surrendering entirely to the bloodlust of a berserker.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!"
With a feral, guttural roar, the berserker Prum threw himself headlong into the monstrous horde. Wielding his silver and gold spears like a whirlwind of death, Finn slaughtered caterpillars and Man-Eating Flowers alike, reducing the vanguard to a fountain of gore and vanishing magic stones.
Disappear!!
Noticing that the incredibly dangerous human was standing perfectly still, the Spirit realized he was preparing something lethal. She extended her tentacles, aiming a concentrated barrage directly at Tsuna.
"HAAH!!"
"ORA!!"
"Hmph!!"
"Take this!!"
"YAAH!!"
Ais's Desperate, Bete's metal boots, Gareth's great axe, Tione's halberd, and Tiona's massive broadsword intercepted the vines, violently deflecting the lethal strikes away from Tsuna's unmoving form.
Stop getting in my way!!
The Spirit glared at the adventurers defending him with absolute, festering hatred.
"Come, fire—"
Deciding to eradicate the entire group instantly, she initiated her Super Long Chant.
"A spell is coming!!"
"This is bad!!"
Tione and Bete shouted in alarm.
"I command in the name of the proxy. My given name is the incarnation of the Fire Spirit, the Queen of Flame—"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
Just as the apocalyptic chant neared completion, the berserk Finn let out another blood-curdling roar. He reeled back and hurled his golden spear with all his monstrous strength directly at the Spirit.
The spear flew with terrifying momentum. The Spirit panicked, frantically attempting to wrap her petals around herself to block it.
Ghk!?
Before the petals could seal, the golden spear tore through the gap and impaled her directly through the mouth. The violent interruption caused an Ignis Fatuus—a magical explosion triggered by a failed chant. The Spirit's face violently detonated.
"Closed light. Freezing earth. Blow, three harsh winters. The arrival of the end—"
While the vanguard was buying Tsuna time, Riveria stood with her eyes closed, calmly weaving her own ultimate destruction.
"The flames will soon be unleashed."
The jade Magic Circle beneath Riveria shifted, its intricate patterns rearranging and glowing with a fierce heat. She seamlessly transitioned her ice incantation into the chant for her ultimate wide-area annihilation magic.
"Creeping fires of war, unavoidable ruin. The horn of battle sounds loud, and the tyrannical conflict encompasses all. Arrive, crimson flames, merciless inferno. Thou art the incarnation of hellfire—"
Riveria possessed a unique magical trait entirely exclusive to her. She could endlessly link her incantations together. Most adventurers were strictly limited to three spell slots, meaning they could only cast three specific spells. Riveria, however, had one attack, one defense, and one healing spell, but by linking chants, she could alter their scale and effect across three different tiers. This gave her access to nine distinct variations of magic—the origin of her alias, [Nine Hell].
"Hahaha! Testing a weapon's performance is always best done on live meat!!"
In the rear, Tsubaki was laughing maniacally, slicing through the flanking monsters with joyful precision, testing the edges of her new blades.
"[Elf Ring]!"
Standing right beside Tsuna, Lefiya completed her initial chant.
The [Elf Ring] was an unprecedented, ultra-rare magic. It allowed her to cast any magic belonging to the Elf race, provided she fully understood its incantation and effects. While normal mages were restricted by their slots, Lefiya effectively possessed an infinite arsenal, earning her the title [Thousand Elf]. The drawback was severe: it required immense time to cast the ring before casting the actual spell, and it consumed double the mind energy.
The Spirit's face rapidly regenerated from the explosive backlash. Her survival instincts were screaming at her that if she didn't kill the boy preparing his attack, she was going to die.
"Pierce forward, spear of thunder. I command in the name of the proxy. My given name is the incarnation of the Lightning Spirit, the Queen of Lightning—"
The Spirit chanted with terrifying, unprecedented speed. A golden Magic Circle materialized before her.
"[Thunder Ray]."
A colossal spear of lightning erupted, screaming through the air directly toward Tsuna's unmoving body.
"Become a shield, holy chalice that destroys evil!!"
Gripping her staff so hard her knuckles cracked, Lefiya initiated her secondary chant.
"[Dio Grail]!!"
A brilliant, white circular barrier manifested directly in front of Tsuna. The Spirit's massive lightning spear violently collided with Lefiya's shield.
I absolutely cannot lose!! If this breaks, everything is over!!
Even though it was a Short Chant, the raw power of the Spirit's lightning was astronomical. If Lefiya relaxed her legs for even a fraction of a second, she would be blown away. But if she failed here, they lost their only means of killing the monster. She poured every ounce of her soul into holding the barrier, her staff groaning under the pressure.
Behind her, Tsuna remained perfectly still, his eyes locked dead on his target, completely unbothered by the apocalyptic clash of magic inches from his face.
No!! I can't hold it!!
Desperately fighting to keep the barrier from shattering, Lefiya was slowly being pushed backward by sheer, overwhelming force.
"Lefiya!!"
"Hold your ground!!"
Suddenly, Tione and Tiona broke from the frontline, sprinting to Lefiya's side. They slammed their hands against her back, physically bracing the young mage against the overwhelming force.
"Even I… EVEN I CAN DO THISSSSSSS!!"
With the Amazon twins risking their lives to anchor her, Lefiya's courage surged. She screamed, pouring the last dregs of her magic into the shield. The barrier flared, violently pushing back the lightning spear until it detonated in a blinding flash, throwing Lefiya, Tione, and Tiona backward.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Realizing her lightning had failed and that Finn's vanguard was rapidly closing in on her, the Spirit shrieked in genuine terror. The ground violently ruptured, and a massive, circular fortress of thick tentacles erupted around her, completely encasing her in a biological dome.
[Target locked. Right burner flame pressure rising. 480,000. 490,000. 500,000 Fiamma Voltage.]
The upper gauge in Tsuna's right eye maxed out, the entire bar flashing a brilliant, warning red.
"Freeze like the eternal permafrost, countless blades. I command in the name of the proxy—"
Hidden inside her fortress, the Spirit rapidly chanted. She aimed her hands at the ground, intending to blast a hole through the floor and escape to the 60th Floor.
But—
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!"
"NUOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!"
"SHATTER TO PIECES!!"
The berserk Finn unleashed a hyper-dense thrust of his spear. Gareth, boasting the highest strength stat in the Loki Familia, threw a devastating right straight. Bete, having channeled his magic sword's flames into his metal boots, delivered a blazing kick.
The synchronized triple-strike slammed into the tentacle fortress, violently cracking the impenetrable wall.
"[Lil Rafaga]!!"
Ais shot forward like a bullet. Enveloped entirely in her wind magic, she became a human spear, her high-speed thrust colliding perfectly with the cracks. The tentacle wall shattered into a million pieces.
"Sweep away all, and draw the curtain on the great war. The scorching sword of Surtr. My name is Alf!!"
Riveria's eyes snapped open, blazing with power.
"[Rea Laevateinn]!!"
Ten colossal pillars of fire erupted across the 59th Floor, instantly incinerating the swarm of monsters that had poured in from below. The Spirit frantically tried to wrap herself in her petals to block the inferno.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
It was useless. The pillars of fire completely overwhelmed the petal armor, burning straight through to her main body. The Spirit shrieked in unimaginable agony as she was roasted alive.
Such absurd durability!!
Even with magic this destructive, Riveria was horrified to see she still couldn't completely burn through to the monster's core.
[Left burner flame pressure rising. 480,000. 490,000. 500,000 Fiamma Voltage.]
The lower gauge in Tsuna's left eye turned a solid, steady green.
The output of his left hand perfectly matched the output of his right. Tsuna fully opened his left palm, aiming it directly at the burning Spirit.
[Gauge Symmetry. Firing standby.]
His firing hand in front and his anchoring hand in the rear formed a perfect, unbroken line. The preparation was complete.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. It's ready."
"Raul!! Fire a magic sword straight up!!" Riveria ordered instantly.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!!"
Raul swung his blade toward the ceiling, unleashing a massive burst of lightning that exploded in the subterranean sky.
"Lightning…"
"That's the signal."
Ais and Bete looked up, instantly realizing Tsuna's ultimate attack was locked and loaded.
"Finn!!"
Gareth roared his captain's name. The booming shout broke through the bloodlust, and Finn's relentless assault ground to a halt. He closed his eyes for a brief second. When he opened them, the crimson faded, returning to his original blue eyes.
"All hands!! Retreat!!"
Finn barked the order. Without a second of hesitation, Ais and the vanguard turned and sprinted away at top speed, diving past Tsuna to get behind the firing line.
Hurry!! Hurry!!
The Spirit's flesh was already regenerating from Riveria's burns, but sheer panic was etched into her features. She could sense the apocalyptic energy building in the boy's hands.
Finn was the last to run past Tsuna.
"I'm counting on you!!" Finn shouted as he blew past him.
Tsuna didn't speak. He simply gave a single, firm nod.
"Prepare yourself," Tsuna declared to the monster.
"No…"
Realizing her death was absolute, the Spirit could do nothing but whimper in despair.
"[X-Burner]!!"
An unfathomably massive torrent of Sky Flames erupted from his left hand, gouging a massive trench through the earth as it shot forward in a straight line.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
The beam of pure, hyper-condensed dying will slammed into the Spirit, engulfing her entirely. Her final, agonizing death throes echoed across the 59th Floor as her body was molecularly deconstructed by the flames.
"This is the end."
As the Spirit's screams reached their peak, the Magic Stone buried deep within her chest was completely annihilated. Without her core, the Spirit's body disintegrated into nothingness.
With the physical obstruction gone, the roaring pillar of flame continued its trajectory unimpeded.
"..."
The beam tore through the rest of the 59th Floor, violently slamming into the back wall where the entrance to the 60th Floor lay, blowing a gargantuan, smoldering crater straight through the solid bedrock.
Finn and the others stood frozen, completely devoid of words, staring at a landscape utterly rewritten by a power beyond their comprehension.
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