In terms of pure swordsmanship in a one-on-one duel, Lefiya was certain Aiz had surpassed Finn and the other leaders.
No one here could stop her.
“…Damn, she’s leavin’ me in the dust.”
The Level Five werewolf watched Aiz fight, and a fire lit in his heart. He clicked his tongue. “Ahh, shit.”
He turned his head back to his allies.
“Oi, we still got shit to do!”
The adventurers called out to one another, regrouping to face the gigantic flower monster in their way.
Seeing Aiz literally tear the monsters apart had done wonders for their morale. Bete led an invigorated counterattack as Hermes Familia’s superior teamwork began to come together.
The adventurers took the fight to their enemy.
“Everyone, I found it! The magic stone is in the head! Aim for its flower!”
Lulune had used the lull in the action to investigate the severed head of the first monster Aiz took down. She swiftly passed on the information.
When the thief’s yell reached their ears, everyone quickly descended on the location of the surviving beast’s magic stone.
“That’s all well and good…but we are still unable to use magic as it is. We lack sufficient firepower.”
Asfi muttered to herself as she watched the magic users prioritize the ivy raining down from above.
The slithering viskum wasn’t about to allow them the time to cast a powerful spell, but without magic strong enough to pierce its thick skin, there was no hope of destroying its core.
Watching the casters be interrupted over and over and catching a glimpse of the desperation on Lefiya’s face—determination appeared in Filvis’s eyes.
“I shall go myself!”
“Miss Filvis!”
She left Lefiya behind her and raced forward.
Tightly gripping her wand in her left hand, she weaved in and out of the tendrils and into point-blank range of the enormous creature.
“Werewolf, open a hole!”
“…Tsk, don’t go telling me what to do!”
The elf and the werewolf made eye contact before putting on a burst of speed.
The friction between them was still there, but they had a common goal, and the situation called for teamwork. Bete took the lead, slicing the vines out of their way. Filvis was close behind, following the path he cleared for her.
The two of them reached the top of the beast’s body in no time flat and advanced toward the looming petals that formed the viskum’s head.
Lulune’s information led them directly to the vivid blossom, and Bete launched himself into the air.
“Eat this!”
Flipping, he brought the heel of his metal boot down directly into the beast’s skin, tearing open a long slit in its head.
Filvis had her target. She jumped forward the moment Bete was clear of the gash.
“Purge, cleansing lightning!”
She was on top of the open wound just as she finished her trigger spell—and thrust her wand into the hole in the monster’s flesh.
“Dio Thyrsos!!”
The lightning from the tip of the wand ripped through the gigantic monster’s innards.
The creature flinched unnaturally several times as the skin on its belly flashed randomly from the inside. Electrical current found its way to the other gashes inflicted by the adventurers and escaped as streaks of golden plasma. Powered by an enormous amount of Mind, the spell continued to work its way through the monster’s body, searching for the core.
After no more than a heartbeat, it went still.
The electrical current had pierced the magic stone. Unable to let out a dying cry, the viskum turned to ash.
Cheers erupted from the ranks of Hermes Familia as the monster became nothing but a pile of black soot in their wake.
Just before Bete and Filvis slew the gigantic flower monster…
Aiz cut down the last remaining viola.
Releasing herself from a self-imposed restriction on her own magic, she used Airiel to its fullest extent. Now, only mountains of ash remained on the battlefield.
“This…this isn’t possible…!”
With Aiz’s full power on display, Olivas couldn’t stop his extremities from trembling.
A beautiful yet aloof knight stood before him. The sight of her slaying monsters with wind and overwhelming strength was worthy of the heroes who had become immortalized in legendary tales.
The strength the man possessed would not be enough.
Greenish eyes shaking uncontrollably, he heard an explosion from a different direction. The second viskum had been eliminated.
Two of his best cards gone, Olivas began to lose his composure.
“I refuse! Losing…I will not allow it!”
He kicked off the ground, charging directly at Aiz.
Since her back was to him, he had the element of surprise. The magic stone in his chest provided him with strength that surpassed the realm of human comprehension. Focusing all of it into his hands, he reached up with the intention of snapping her neck.
However, the fight against Bete and Asfi had taken its toll. His hampered movements were far too slow to contend with the new Aiz Wallenstein.
“—”
A golden eye caught a glimpse of Olivas’s diving approach.
A flash of silver light, her saber a high-speed blur…
“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!”
Cuts and gashes covered Olivas again.
It seemed unnatural that a body with that many wounds spewing blood could still be in one piece.
The yellowish green flesh of his lower body and his human torso shredded beyond recognition, Olivas fell onto his back. His eyes stared blankly toward the ceiling.
“Inconceivable…I, who have ascended beyond man and beast, who was chosen by Her…?!”
Olivas howled into the air as the agony of defeat started to set in.
Terrified, he looked up at the War Princess standing over him. He was so scared that his vision blurred.
“—Ridiculous.”
“!”
It happened just as Aiz approached the now helpless man on the floor.
Levis burst onto the scene like a gust of wind to come to his aid.
Aiz jumped back out of reflex and watched the red-haired woman grab what was left of the man’s clothes and carry him away. Levis came to a stop at the base of the quartz pillar and tossed Olivas’s body unceremoniously to the floor.
Monsters had all but disappeared from the cavern, meaning there was nothing to distract Aiz, Lefiya, Bete, or the remaining adventurers who were starting to gather around them. Now the center of attention, they were the last two left alive.
“Th-thank you, Levis…”
“……”
Olivas pulled his body up to his knees even as he gasped for breath.
Caring little for the blood still leaking out of his body, he desperately focused on breathing. Levis didn’t respond to the words he managed to squeeze out.
The adventurers spread out into a half circle, cornering the two. The woman, illuminated by the ominous red light of the quartz, looked at each of the adventurers in turn with eyes hidden by dark shadows. Her green irises quickly returned to the kneeling man.
She reached out to him, her face blank.
She grabbed ahold of his collar and lifted him with one hand as if to make him stand.
Then—
She drove her knifelike hand directly into his chest.
“!”
“Wha—?”
Aiz and the adventurers forgot to breathe.
Her hand plunged into his broken rib cage. Bones and muscles cracked as she forced her hand deep.
Olivas himself was the most surprised by this turn of events, gaping at his “ally” in shock.
“L-Levis, what is the meaning of this…?!”
“Use your eyes, look around.”
Aiz, Lefiya, Bete, Filvis, Asfi, Lulune.
The woman flipped her blood-colored hair out of her eyes as the line of upper-class adventurers watched.
“I need more strength. That’s all.”
Her voice was passionate, then cold.
“No matter how many I consume, no amount could ever satisfy me.”
He must have realized what she intended to do with those words alone.
Olivas was petrified.
“You cannot be serious! I am the same as you, one chosen by Her…!”
“Chosen…? Do you think that is a goddess or something?”
“……!”
“There’s no reason to put it on a pedestal.”
Levis scoffed through her nose.
“You and I, we’re nothing but pawns.”
Levis’s assertion made Olivas’s eyes go wide, perfect circles of despair beneath his white bangs.
Desperation taking over, he used both hands to grab the woman’s thin arm sticking out of his chest.
“D-do you mean to kill your only associate?!”
Levis flexed her fingers deep inside his chest, completely ignoring his words.
All the strength of the man’s body instantaneously disappeared, like a puppet that suddenly lost its strings. Even the hands that gripped her arm fell to his sides.
It was as if every muscle, every tendon’s strength had been rooted in his chest.
“With me gone, who will be able to protect Her—?”
Levis violently ripped her hand out of him, effectively silencing him mid-scream.
A brilliant magic stone drenched in blood was clasped tightly between her fingers.
Without his core, Olivas disintegrated into a pile of ash, just like any other monster that met the same fate.
“Don’t get the wrong idea.”
Practically spitting the words at the pile of ash by her feet, Levis looked away.
Aiz stood completely still with her gaze straightforward, unable to speak after witnessing the gruesome turn of events.
“I protected it all along. That’s not about to change.”
Levis brought the magic stone up to her mouth and crunched it between her teeth.
Slurp. She ran her tongue over her lips, cleaning the last fragments off her mouth.
Filvis stared, speechless, at this unimaginable betrayal. Crick! Lefiya squeezed her right hand into a fist, keeping her composure out of sheer will. The woman’s red hair stood on end, fluttering in a nonexistent breeze.
One heartbeat later—the floor exploded at her feet as Levis charged directly for Aiz.
“!”
She left the other adventurers in her dust, her powerful fists aimed directly at the girl.
Aiz lifted the magically enhanced Desperate into the path of her oncoming opponent for defense. Even so, she was knocked off her feet and thrown backward a moment later.
Bete and the other adventurers only now noticed what had happened and turned toward the sound of impact, but Levis was already in pursuit of the blond swordswoman.
“You’re…?”
“You can still talk? Let’s fix that.”
The woman’s bloodred hair reflected in Aiz’s trembling golden irises.
A richly colored magic stone. A man who’d turned to ash. An absorbed crystal. A monster.
Aiz had no knowledge of Olivas’s or Levis’s true identities, but the information that was in her head began swirling, connecting the dots in her mind. It led her to one conclusion.
A powerful kick came down from above—a kick strong enough to contend with a leveled-up Airiel. Levis’s heel tore through the air, launching a blade of wind down at her. Spinning out of the way with ease, Aiz moved to counterattack. It was all the woman could do to defend before, but now she was going on the offensive.
—Enhanced species!!
Aiz had no choice but to accept that explanation for her opponent’s sudden boost in strength and speed.
It was the natural order for monsters that consumed magic stones, a dog-eat-dog world diametrically opposed to that of humans with a Status. The being in front of her now was a monster in the shape of a human.
What was truly frightening was that Levis had become physically stronger and faster than Aiz at Level Six by devouring Olivas’s magic stone. Only with the addition of Airiel’s power had Aiz managed to keep the onslaught at bay.
A flash of silver. A gash appeared in Levis’s shoulder.
Ignoring the blood spewing from the wound, Levis lifted her fist high into the air and used every muscle in her body to bring it down over Aiz’s head. The girl dodged at the last possible second, but the fist kept going. It crashed into the floor and a small crater appeared where the blond girl had stood. Levis’s fist stayed in the fleshy green depression for a moment before…crick crick CRICK! She pulled it free with all her might.
A crimson greatsword emerged from the ground, a nature weapon from the floor.
Holding the weapon with both hands, Levis charged once again. Aiz responded with a thrust of her saber.
“!!”
The wind-coated silver blade and the massive crimson greatsword collided in a thunderous impact.
“Just what is she…?…’Cause…holy shit!” said Lulune between gulps, transfixed by the battle between Aiz and Levis.
Just like the monsters that had acquired a taste for magic stones, the woman was matching Aiz blow for blow, on equal footing with the blond swordswoman who’d slain a viskum with one slash.
The battle was so fierce that it looked impossible for anyone else to join the fray. Bete was the first to make an attempt, dashing toward the battle with Lefiya and Filvis close behind.
“The situation may be dire, but…!”
As Bete led reinforcements toward Aiz, Asfi took off in the other direction by herself.
She made a beeline for the base of the quartz pillar in the deepest part of the pantry, where the orb containing the feminine fetus sat unprotected.
That orb was at the center of everything—this incident, the attack on Rivira, and possibly many more events to come. Whether or not it was related to the “Her” Olivas kept going on about, there was no doubt in her mind that the fetus was the key to it all.
She was determined to acquire it no matter the cost, when—WHAM!
A sudden impact from out of nowhere.
“!”
“Wha—?!”
A hooded purple robe, a bizarre mask.
Asfi had no idea where this mysterious newcomer had been hiding, but his sneak attack knocked her off course.
Mind-blowing strength and a pair of metal gloves delivered a blow powerful enough to penetrate Perseus’s custom white cloak.
“Asfi!”
“There was another one?!”
Lulune and the rest of Hermes Familia rushed toward their leader even before she hit the ground.
Even Lefiya’s group came to a stop, looking back at what had just transpired. All three of them stared at the masked attacker.
“While not complete, it’s grown enough! Take it to Enyo!”
Levis shouted to the newcomer between strikes as she continued to fight against Aiz.
The attacker wrapped his hands around the orb in its root cage while it shrieked in the presence of Aiz’s magical energy. It fell silent in his grasp. From there, he ripped the entire thing off the pillar with one swift jerk.
“I understand.”
The masked attacker spoke with a voice so deep and layered it sounded like several people speaking at once. With that, he made a quick exit.
The orb safely tucked into his arms, the man in the purple robe was well on his way to vanishing into one of the many exits in the cavern walls.
“Lulune, stop him!”
Asfi shouted at the top of her lungs in a desperate attempt to prevent his escape.
Lulune gritted her teeth and groaned as she took off in full-speed pursuit.
“Viskum!”
However, Levis’s voice rang out.
Forcing Aiz aw
ay with a powerful swing of her blade, she issued an order to the last gigantic flower monster still attached to the quartz pillar.
“Keep bearing monsters!! Don’t stop until your strength is spent!”
A howl echoed through the cavern a second later.
“…!”
Aiz paused mid-charge to look up at the ceiling.
The group around Bete and the group around Asfi and Lulune felt a tremor pass beneath their feet and came to a stop.
They all turned their attention toward the source of the howl, only to see the remaining viskum shifting from side to side. Only then did they hear the sucking sounds coming from beneath it, as though it was drinking every last drop of the liquid from the glowing red quartz all at once.
Crack! A series of fissures ran up and down the pillar of crystals.
At the same time, burgeoning lumps popped up all over the thick roots that worked their way around the cavern. The viskum convulsed as the lumps began to pulsate at an alarming rate.
Moments later…
All the flower buds located on the ceiling and walls of the cavern bloomed in unison.
“”
Every single one of the richly colored buds—every single one of the violas—came alive.
Each was in a different state of maturation, some buds larger or more colorful than others. The plant that had absorbed an immeasurable amount of nutrients from the Dungeon itself was now attempting to birth all the monsters it had created in one go.
The viskum withered at an alarming rate, turning a dull brown before its large body became weak and went limp. The monster’s flower head folded in on itself.
The apocalypse had arrived in the form of an off-green tidal wave. The newborn monsters’ broken-bell cries swelled within the dying pantry, echoes coming from everywhere. All color drained from Lefiya’s face as she watched the approaching wall of green, her eardrums throbbing.
All the adventurers had the same thought, as much as they didn’t want to believe it.
Aiz and her comrades watched in horror as the terrifying violas bared their fangs and fell from the ceiling and walls.
—Monster party!
Next came a series of tremors beneath their feet as the monsters touched down. Their heads rose high into the air, ready to attack moments later.
The adventurers watched in shock as monsters descended upon them from all directions in one furious wave.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 3 Page 19
