Chapter 275

Chapter 275: Chapter 275

Floor 37 marked the end of the Lower Floors and the gateway into the Deep Floors.

Compared with the floors above, the monsters here were not only stronger and faster to regenerate, but their combat techniques had also improved dramatically.

Looking at the dense ranks of Spartoi and Obsidian Soldiers filling the passage ahead, both Jeanne and Ryuu became noticeably more cautious.

"Be careful around the Obsidian Soldiers," Ryuu reminded her. "They’re slow, but their resistance to magic is extremely high. It’s better to fight them at close range."

"I understand."

Jeanne had already encountered them before, so naturally she had no objection.

After nearly two days of traveling together, Jeanne and Ryuu had grown considerably closer.

Both were fundamentally kindhearted people, so they naturally found one another easy to get along with.

Add in their mutual connection to Kiriya and the trust built through repeated battles fought side by side, and their recognition of one another had risen extremely quickly.

Kiriya kept fighting while periodically checking on the two women.

Watching Jeanne and Ryuu coordinate with one another so naturally, covering each other’s openings as they moved through the battlefield, a mysterious smile appeared on his face—the sort of smile any man would understand.

’Harmony is good. Harmony is very important.’

Thinking that, Kiriya cheerfully cut a nearby Barbarian cleanly in half.

Jeanne and Ryuu moved like gusts of wind through the tightly packed Obsidian Soldiers and Spartoi, weaving between them like butterflies.

Every time either woman stopped or changed direction, several monsters fell with her, and the two carved through the enemy formation with remarkable efficiency.

Hidden nearby beneath optical camouflage, several Skull Sheep watched them slaughter their way through the battlefield.

Red light flickered faintly in their eyes as they began moving slowly and silently toward a particular corner.

There were no monsters there.

More importantly, it was a position Jeanne and Ryuu would inevitably pass through while maneuvering around the battlefield, and the instant they landed there would also be one of the rare moments when their attention relaxed slightly.

For the Skull Sheep, that would be the perfect opportunity to strike.

It was a sound plan, and with the species’ exceptional ability to conceal itself, its chances of success were ordinarily very high.

More than a few Level 4 and even Level 5 adventurers had suffered heavily from such ambushes, and some had even died here because of them.

Unfortunately for the Skull Sheep—

It had chosen Jeanne as its target.

Her powerful detection abilities had already noticed the suspicious little figures creeping around in concealment.

Jeanne suddenly hurled her battle standard.

The weapon crossed the air like a meteor and pierced straight through the Skull Sheep behind Ryuu.

At the same time, Jeanne herself spun into a sharp kick and smashed another concealed Skull Sheep into fragments.

"...Thank you."

Ryuu offered a quiet word of thanks before pulling Jeanne’s battle standard free and throwing it back toward her.

Unlike Jeanne, Ryuu possessed no especially powerful detection Skill.

Against assassination attempts like these, she could only rely on the instincts she had honed through countless battles.

During such an intense fight, with her attention divided among so many opponents, there was a very real chance that an attack from an invisible enemy could catch her off guard.

"You’re welcome. We’re comrades, after all."

Jeanne caught her battle standard and gave Ryuu a radiant smile before immediately turning back toward the fight.

The sacred warmth of that smile softened even Ryuu’s usually cool expression.

Then she noticed the increasingly suggestive grin spreading across Kiriya’s face.

Her expression immediately hardened again.

’How did such a wonderful girl end up getting caught by this man?’

Apparently, Ryuu had completely forgotten that she herself had also been "caught" by the same man.

The combined force of Obsidian Soldiers, Spartoi, and strengthened Lizardman Warriors was certainly formidable, but it still was not enough to stop three adventurers whose effective strength began around Level 5.

Before long, the three had carved their way through the passage and burst into the Colosseum.

The intensity of the battle immediately rose another level.

The monsters that had originally been fighting one another inside the arena stopped the instant they sensed living humans.

As though some invisible order had been issued, they abandoned their previous opponents and surged toward Kiriya’s group like a tidal wave.

"What a grand welcoming ceremony."

Kiriya smiled at the sight.

"Don’t attack yet. Let them gather first, and I’ll deal with them using Magic."

Ryuu hurriedly warned the other two.

Kiriya and Jeanne naturally had no objection.

Ryuu continued fighting while beginning a concurrent chant.

"—The heavens of the forest now distant. Infinite stars embedded in the endless night sky... Answer the voice of one as foolish as I, and once more grant me the protection of starlight. Grant merciful light to those who have abandoned you..."

The instant her chant began, it was as though some switch had been flipped.

The already violent monsters became even more frenzied.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Some hurled battle-axes and bone clubs, while others, such as the Peluda, launched volleys of poisonous needles.

Every ranged monster in the area seemed intent on interrupting Ryuu’s chant before she could complete it.

Naturally, Kiriya had no intention of allowing that.

"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall."

Wood erupted in front of them and curved into a broad defensive wall.

With the current degree of development of Kiriya’s sage body, his Yang Release chakra had become far more condensed than before, making the Wood Release constructs he created extraordinarily durable.

Ordinary stone could not compare to their toughness, and the monsters’ ranged attacks failed to do any meaningful damage.

Jeanne felt the terrifying amount of magical energy gathering around Ryuu and could not hide her amazement.

"So this is the magic of this world... It really is impressive."

"Heh, don’t worry. Now that you’ve received a Falna, you’ll have plenty of chances to awaken new Magic of your own."

Kiriya reminded her with a smile.

By then, Ryuu’s chant was already nearing its end.

"—Come, wandering wind, passing traveler...

Cross the heavens, race across the wilderness, and run with speed surpassing all things. Bear the radiance of the stars and strike down my enemies."

Ryuu raised her weapon.

"Luminous Wind."

The moment the chant ended, countless green spheres of light appeared around her.

"ROOOAR!"

The monsters released cries that sounded somewhere between fury and fear before charging even more desperately.

They were answered by indiscriminate bombardment.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Luminous Wind descended across the Colosseum.

Any monster touched directly by one of the emerald lights vanished almost instantly, while the shock waves from the successive explosions tore Peluda, Spartoi, Lugars, strengthened Lizardman Warriors, and countless other monsters apart.

When the bombardment finally ended, only a scattered dozen or so monsters remained alive across the enormous arena.

Every one of them was wounded.

This was precisely what made powerful mages so terrifying.

In close combat, a pure spellcaster might easily be beaten senseless by a warrior of comparable Level.

But when it came to clearing large groups of enemies, a warrior of the same Level could hardly hope to match a mage.

The title of a walking artillery battery was well deserved.

"Excellent!"

Kiriya raised a thumb toward Ryuu, praising her as though she were a child who had just performed exceptionally well.

"..."

The tips of Ryuu’s ears immediately turned red.

She glared at him, then flashed away without a word and swiftly finished off the surviving monsters one by one.

Within a few breaths, the entire Colosseum fell completely silent.

"Miss Ryuu, that Magic just now was truly powerful."

Jeanne offered sincere praise.

"Thank you. Your attack earlier was impressive as well."

Ryuu smiled back at her, her tone exceptionally gentle.

Kiriya rubbed his nose.

He had clearly just been treated differently.

With the monsters defeated, his ears could finally enjoy some temporary peace.

Of course, it would only be temporary.

In another few minutes, the Colosseum would probably be packed with monsters all over again.

"Are we continuing upward?" Ryuu asked.

"Let’s find somewhere to rest first."

Kiriya immediately started walking out of the arena.

"Here?"

Jeanne stared at him in surprise.

They were on the thirty-seventh floor, in the very center of the Colosseum. Why would anyone even consider resting in a place like this?

Did he want them to become monster food while they slept?

"I know a good place."

Kiriya gave her a mysterious smile.

"There’s water, and it’s safe."

...

"This is the place?"

Jeanne looked around the secluded cavern in surprise.

It was extraordinarily quiet.

A clear, cool spring flowed gently across the ground, its water fresh and sweet.

Combined with the supplies they had prepared in advance, they could probably remain here for a month without any serious problems.

"So we’re back here again."

Ryuu stared down at the clear stream.

Her reflection shimmered across the surface, and her thoughts involuntarily returned to only a few days earlier.

Back then, she had encountered the calamity known as the Juggernaut and suffered injury after injury until she was hovering on the edge of death.

Even Ryuu herself had begun to abandon hope, preparing to reunite with the companions of the Astraea Familia who had died years ago.

Then everything had changed.

Kiriya had descended before her and crushed the Juggernaut with overwhelming strength, saving her when she had been barely alive.

It was here that she had received treatment and gradually recovered.

And then...

The moment her thoughts reached that point, Ryuu’s face reddened again.

She turned and glared fiercely at Kiriya.

Kiriya stared back, completely confused.

Then he suddenly slapped a fist into his palm as though understanding had dawned.

"Oh! You want to take a bath, right? That’s easy."

He immediately turned toward the Saint beside him.

"Jeanne, why don’t you join her?"

"Huh?"

Jeanne jumped in surprise, her heartbeat suddenly accelerating.

"Isn’t that... isn’t that a little too soon?"

"Hm?"

Kiriya paused.

Then his eyes lit up.

"Ohhh, so Jeanne was thinking about that. Sure, I wouldn’t mind—ow, ow, ow!"

Before he could finish teasing her, a small hand pinched the soft flesh at his waist and twisted it through a full turn.

Pain immediately contorted his face.

"Stop bullying Jeanne."

Ryuu’s own face was burning, but she still forced herself to maintain a stern expression.

"Go keep watch."

"Yes, yes."

Kiriya muttered under his breath as he stood up.

For safety, he cast Barrier: Canopy Method Formation, establishing a sensory perimeter around the area so that he could immediately react if anything unexpected approached.

After all, his direct energy-sensing ability was an active technique.

Keeping it running constantly would consume far too much mental energy.