"The activity of the green flesh in this vicinity has completely ceased!"
"No monsters detected! Everyone descending, move in order toward the target, the Great Plaza! Hurry!"
At Shakti's command, the forces surged forward toward the Northeast Great Plaza. They advanced without hesitation, trampling over the dissolved corpses of the Evilus remnants scattered around them.
Tak-tak-tak—!!
"Stop wasting time staring and run, you bastards!"
"""""Yes, sir!"""""
Akumo was naturally among them. The presence of a Level 9 veteran like Akumo on the front lines served as an overwhelming boon to the morale of the entire raid force.
"We split into three units here."
"Unit 1 to the north! Unit 2 and Unit 3 to the northeast and southeast!"
Shortly after they began their sprint, the groups converged at the designated junction. Finn immediately divided the forces, assigning a Demi-Spirit to each unit.
"Don't you dare screw this up!"
"Worry about your own skin, Finn!"
"When we return, we'll drain Loki's secret stash of liquor until we can't stand!"
Akumo chuckled, adding his own weight to the banter.
"And whatever shock you witness today, don't you dare breathe a word of it outside these walls, understood?!"
Each unit was composed of veteran high-tier adventurers: 10 from the Loki Familia, 25 from the Ganesha Familia, 10 from the Hephaestus Familia, and 5 from the Dian Cecht Familia.
Thud—!
Exchanging final nods, they steeled themselves for death and began moving at high speed along the shortest routes identified in the records.
Tak-tak-tak—!!!
"Gareth! It's been a while since just the two of us ran like this, hasn't it?"
"Aye, that it has!!"
"Let's get there first and sweep the whole place clean!"
Akumo tossed a joke toward Gareth, who responded with a boisterous laugh as they plunged forward.
"I'm here too, you brat!"
"Keep your jaw tight, Big Sis! Things are about to get interesting!"
"Hah, bring it on!"
Led by Akumo, Tsubaki, and Gareth, Unit 3 made a spirited entry into the 10th floor of Knossos.
"This is...!"
"The nature of the green flesh has completely changed."
Magic circles, woven from countless strands of light, pulsed atop the fleshy walls. Even at a glance, it was clear these were conduits connecting the spirits for a massive ritual circle.
Slic—!!
"It's impossible to cut off, and the miasma is vicious."
"Truly a cauldron of mana designed to annihilate Orario."
Whether Akumo struck with the edge of his hand or Gareth brought down his axe, the fleshy walls regenerated instantly.
—~♪
""!!""
The song of a spirit reached their ears. Unlike a typical melody, it was an ominous, piercing voice that set their nerves on edge.
Keeng—!!!
In a single second, the bands of light on the walls shifted, altering the configuration of the magic circle.
"Oh... so that's how you want to play?"
Shooo—!!
As the corridors prepared to unleash flashes of light to incinerate everything in their path, Akumo drew his weapon in the span of another second.
Kwaaaaang—!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right until the moment the magic was triggered.
"[Silent]."
With the moon dagger held in his hand, there was more than enough time for his magic to deploy.
Snap—!
""!!""
'The magic stopped...!'
'That dagger is...!'
While the others stood frozen in awe at the feat, Gareth was stunned by the sheer potency Akumo squeezed out of such a short-chant spell. Tsubaki, meanwhile, stared at the weapon in his hand with wide-eyed shock.
Fwooosh—!!
"Run, now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Silence only prevented the casting of magic; it dealt no physical damage to the environment. Akumo urged them forward.
"Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Without even needing the spirit-warding cloaks Finn had prepared with his near-prophetic intuition, Akumo's single spell rendered the magic of this cursed land utterly impotent, forcing the dungeon to let them pass.
"Gwahahaha!! You never cease to amaze, kid!!"
"Stop laughing and run!"
Despite their full-speed sprint, the silence wouldn't last forever. Those behind the vanguard couldn't rely on total suppression indefinitely.
"Should I do more?"
""No need!""
Two dwarves stepped forward, raising their spirit-warding shields.
Kwaaaa—!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Everyone, trust in Tsubaki and Gareth and run!!!!!!!!"
Slic-slic—!!!!!!!
Even as he spoke, Akumo used his short-sword-sized dagger to cleave through the incoming magical barrages, a display of skill that left the rest of the unit in disbelief.
'Those two are handling every element with just two shields each!?'
'And the [Pioneer] is doing it with just a dagger...!!'
Thanks to the master craftsman wielding a banner and various weapons with overwhelming strength, and the Pioneer who possessed the absolute pinnacle of technique, Unit 3 advanced faster than any other group.
Kwagagaga—!!!
"It's much easier with three of us!"
Clang—!
"Aye, this is the life!!!"
Slic—!!!
"Faster, faster!!!"
Against the advance of these monsters in human skin, Knossos had no way to hold its ground. Ultimately, Unit 3 succeeded in reaching the target destination at record speed.
"The magic has stopped...!"
"Don't drop your guard! Everyone, standby!!"
What greeted them were massive, multi-layered doors engraved with hieroglyphs etched hundreds of years ago.
"Shall I read it?"
"Yes, please do."
"It's probably best to know what we're walking into, right?"
Gareth and Tsubaki immediately agreed. Akumo began to decipher the hieroglyphs with clinical precision.
"'Through me you pass into the city of woe; through me you pass into everlasting pain; through me you pass among the lost.'"
"'Justice moved my high maker; divine power made me, wisdom supreme, and primal love.'"
"'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.'"
His translation was transmitted to all units via the Oculus. As the doors parted, a vast space of incomparable scale unfolded before their eyes.
Step, step—!
Naturally, it was there. Only it remained in that abyss.
"The Demi-Spirit!"
"What an incredible size...! Its bulk far exceeds that of a Floor Boss, doesn't it!?"
Leaving Gareth and Tsubaki to take their combat stances in the face of the creature's ominous aura, Akumo contacted Finn to confirm the arrival of the other units.
"Unit 4!"
"Arrived!!"
"Unit 1."
"We're here. All other units, report in!"
Once the arrival of Units 5 and 6 was confirmed, Akumo turned his gaze back to the beast.
—[Distant destruction, the promised land.]
A song was heard.
—[Salvation of the heavens.]
It carried the end of all things—gentle, sweet, and terrifying.
—[Brought forth by the word of God.]
A song of praise, offered to God from the depths of hell.
"...Big Sis, I'm going to prepare something. Hold the line for one turn."
"Got it! Gareth, get ready to block!"
"Understood! Just make sure you blow it to bits!"
Evil incarnate stood before them, and the lone warrior who recognized it immediately began his preparations.
"That disgusting thing is the source of the green flesh covering Knossos... the main body of the Demi-Spirit...!"
"Just as the Captain predicted, it's preparing a grand ritual!"
The other units were equally tense, but they prepared to charge. Just as Tione and Tiona were about to rush forward to interrupt the chant—
"Units 1, 3, 4, and 6, defensive formation!!!! Group up and do not move!!!!"
Finn, sensing the same impending danger as Akumo, shouted for everyone to take a defensive stance.
—[Advancewithouthesitationthunderousspearagentofmineisthename.]
"High-speed chanting!?"
—[Spiritoflightningincarnationoflightning.]
Tiona's shock at the rapid chant lasted only a moment.
"Spirit-warding gear to the front!!!!"
—[Queen of Lightning—]
At Finn's command, every vanguard member equipped with spirit-warding gear stepped forward, ready to block whatever attack came their way.
—[Thunder Ray.]
Pajijijik—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Block it!!!!!"
Following Akumo's shout, a massive bolt of lightning engulfed them all. A thick shroud of smoke covered the area in the wake of the devastating impact.
"To think it had another head..."
"Akumo! Are you still not ready?"
"Just a bit longer, Big Sis."
'Recall it... the supreme form etched into my soul...!'
Of course, that single strike wasn't enough to bring down the adventurers. To prepare his counterattack, Akumo delved into the records engraved into his very being.
"Ugh... as expected of a spirit's clone..."
Zzzzt—!
"Unlike the interception magic in the corridors, this can't be fully blocked..."
It was magic reminiscent of the massive firestorm that had once pierced even Riveria's magic on the 59th floor.
As the electricity numbed their bodies and tension peaked—
Shooo—!!
"Leave the healing to us!!"
A warm wave of recovery magic washed over them, a firm reminder that they had reliable healers at their backs.
"The monster the jewel is parasitizing is a Grant Trent!!! A trap-type monster with no means of movement."
—Kieeeek!!
"Its means of attack are infinitely multiplying tentacles!!"
The information gathered previously functioned as a vital trump card for Finn, allowing him to prepare for every contingency.
"Draw magic swords!!"
Chak—!!!!
The numerous blacksmiths of the Hephaestus Familia aimed their magic-infused gauntlets at the spirit.
"Volley fire!!"
Kwagagagagang—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"In preparation for the second invasion, what we Hephaestus have prepared isn't just spirit-warding gear!!"
The greatest blacksmith Familia in the Labyrinth City had mobilized their entire forge to temper magic swords specifically for this battle.
"Their number is 2,500!!! We use them all here!!"
Bukwaaaaang—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Magic swords required no chanting. The advantage of being able to fire high-output long-range attacks without delay contributed immensely to both offense and defense, and the weakness of limited uses was solved by overwhelming numbers.
Swaaaaak—!!!
"""!!"""
'Damn...! The monster is at point-blank range...!!'
"Firing now is practically suicide...!"
However, they were inside the monster's belly. As the Grant Trent's tentacles lunged violently toward the blacksmiths—
Slic—!!!
Clang—!!!
The elites of the Ganesha Familia easily intercepted the attack.
"Guardians of the city!"
"Defenders of peace!"
"We protect the Labyrinth City from all calamities, and we protect the comrades gathered here for the people of Orario!"
This was the Familia of justice and peace that had guarded the city for ages.
"We are the shield!!!!!!"
"That is the Ganesha Familia!!!!"
They, too, had willingly joined this fight, prepared to lay down their lives.
"Volley fire!!!!"
Kwagagagang—!!!!!
"Protect the blacksmiths!"
"Keep the healing magic active!"
The Ganesha Familia blocked the Grant Trent's tentacles while the Hephaestus Familia unleashed a barrage of magic swords. Their stamina and health were sustained by the Dian Cecht Familia.
"With this..."
"We can do it!!"
Smiles touched the lips of Tiona and Tione. They saw a clear possibility of victory, unlike the paper-thin margin they had scraped by with on the 59th floor.
—[Like the eternal permafrost.]
"The second wave is coming!!"
Despite this, Finn's intuition—
—[Freeze.]
Zzt—!
Was signaling defeat.
—[O flash, surge forth.]
"""""Eh...?"""""
The beast did not have one mouth. Nor two. Not even three.
"Two chants at once!?"
"No...!!"
The original mouth prepared the ritual, while three additional mouths created for combat emerged from the grotesque form of the Demi-Spirit.
—[Countless blades.]
—[Cleave the darkness.]
—[Abolish the dark, swallow the light, and bring the peace of shadows.]
Simultaneously, all three mouths gathered mana, aiming massive strikes like the previous one at the raid force.
---[Agent of mine.]
"Three at once!!! Units, disperse!!!!!!!!"
Faced with this, Finn was forced to prepare for sacrifices, ordering the units to scatter to distribute the impact.
—[MynamisLuxincarnationoflightqueenoflight.]
—[MynamisUndineincarnationofwaterqueenofwater.]
—[MynamisShadeincarnationofdarknessqueenofdarkness.]
Vast mana concentrated in their maws as they prepared their respective spells. The massive torrent of power overwhelmed Finn and his group.
—[Icicle Edg—]
—[Light Burs—]
—[Dark Lo—]
""Divine Tool""
---!!!!!!!!!!!
The force that severed that torrent of power was—
"[Hephaestus's Hammer]."
The blacksmith who had reached the supreme realm of the eternal flame, the Goddess worshipped by all smiths.
Fwooooosh—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A beautiful body of light reflected the Demi-Spirit's face like a mirror, and the jewel embedded in the center of the hammer glowed redder than any flame.
"....What?"
"Exactly what I said."
Before the operation, Akumo had bowed his head and made a polite request to Hephaestus.
"You want to borrow my Arcanum?"
"I don't have time to explain everything, but did you see the moon a few months ago?"
".....So it was you after all."
Hephaestus had questioned the request, but when Akumo mentioned the moon dagger that had been in his hand, she understood immediately.
"So you created a Divine Tool..."
"It's more like summoning it forth than creating it."
"That's still incredible, you know?"
"I suppose so."
Despite having already manifested one Divine Tool, he was asking for Hephaestus's permission to use hers as well, as if it weren't enough.
".....How was it?"
"....."
"Artemis's Divine Tool."
In response, Akumo pulled a single dagger from his coat.
"!!"
The blade of purest moonlight and the crescent moon engraved at the hilt proved instantly that it belonged to Artemis.
"So if I entrust my power to you, I get to see something like this?"
"That's the idea."
"Hahaha! I'm truly curious to see just how far you're planning to take this!"
Faced with such an impossible sight, Hephaestus moved out of pure faith in Akumo.
Rustle—!
"!!"
"Don't you dare ask why I'm doing it this way, okay?"
".....Understood, Lady Hephaestus."
'She already has Welf... is she a bit of a philanderer?'
Hephaestus gave a genuine smile to the child who always showed her such wondrous works, and then she cast aside her eyepatch.
"Well, I'm not one to talk."
Mwah—!
Akumo was taken aback by her boldness, but he eventually kissed the beautiful eye of the goddess before him, receiving a portion of her Arcanum.
Jeeeeeeng—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And that faith led to a crystal-clear result.
"""""......"""""
The massive divine flame blooming from the adventurer's hand surpassed even the legends of the Goddess of the Hearth and the God of the Sun.
Sssss—!
"One body successfully destroyed."
It was more than enough to become a flame of hope.
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