Chapter 277

Chapter 277: Chapter 277

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Luminous Wind was already a powerful offensive spell on its own, but the violent impacts also triggered the Flame Rocks’ self-destruction, setting off an even larger chain reaction.

In the blink of an eye, an endless tide of fire and shock waves swept toward Jeanne and Ryuu at the edge of the blast zone.

Neither woman showed the slightest panic.

Kiriya had already said he would handle what came afterward, so there was nothing for them to worry about.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kiriya flashed in front of them one after another, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to take both women away before the explosion reached them.

By the time the raging fire engulfed their previous positions, all three had already appeared in an open area several kilometers away.

"No matter how many times I see it, your space-time technique still feels incredible."

Jeanne looked back toward the distant explosions with admiration.

"That’s all?"

Kiriya looked dissatisfied.

"Wasn’t my heroic rescue just now handsome enough to deserve some praise?"

"Enough nonsense."

Ryuu slapped away the hand that had quietly started reaching toward her waist.

"The next wave of monsters is already coming."

Crack! Crack!

Fissures spread across the ground, and another large group of Flame Rocks began pulling themselves free.

"So this is the Deep Floors."

Jeanne held her battle standard horizontally and smiled as she watched the monsters emerge.

"They really don’t give you any time to breathe."

Then her expression became more thoughtful.

"I was watching carefully during the last fight. After taking enough damage, those monsters have roughly a second and a half before they actually explode. As long as we’re fast enough and control the timing properly, we shouldn’t have to worry about getting caught in the blast."

"Mm."

Ryuu nodded.

"Then let’s try fighting them at close range."

Magic was enormously powerful, but its consumption was equally high. They needed to preserve as much Mind as possible in case something unexpected happened later.

More importantly, the purpose of entering the Dungeon this time was to train their Status.

Killing monsters like these required precise timing, movement, and judgment, so fighting them directly would provide worthwhile training in its own right.

With that decided, the two women charged again.

Kiriya moved with them, his sword flashing repeatedly as he cut through the bodies of the Flame Rocks before leaving their vicinity without hesitation.

Roughly one breath later, the shattered pieces began glowing with intense crimson light and detonated behind him.

Apparently dissatisfied with how easily the adventurers were handling its monsters, the Dungeon began increasing the pressure.

"ROOOAR!"

Enormous flying creatures appeared high overhead.

Savage dragon heads, sturdy scales, sharp claws, and vicious fangs immediately revealed their identity.

The small bosses of the Red Lotus Mountains—Fire Dragons.

And there was not merely one.

More than a dozen had appeared at once, with their average strength reaching approximately Level 5.

"This is troublesome."

Ryuu pursed her lips as she watched the dragons circle overhead.

"They’re fast, highly mobile, and capable of flight. Reaching them is going to be difficult."

More importantly, if they were careless, they could easily become trapped between the Fire Dragons above and the Flame Rocks on the ground.

Kiriya, however, stared upward with his eyes practically shining.

"It’s fine. You two deal with the rocks down here."

A grin spread across his face.

"I’ll take care of those big guys."

He immediately threw a kunai toward the approaching group of Fire Dragons.

"...?"

The dragons’ limited intelligence seemed to produce a collective moment of confusion.

With bodies that enormous, was this human seriously trying to attack them with something that looked like a tiny toothpick?

Was he joking?

One of the Fire Dragons opened its mouth, preparing to blow away the approaching kunai with a single breath.

Before it could do so, Kiriya suddenly appeared directly in front of it.

His right leg rose high above his head before descending like an enormous axe.

"Get down there!"

BOOM!

A loud cracking sound came from the Fire Dragon’s skull as the kick smashed into its head.

The monster released a miserable roar and plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground hard enough to create a crater.

Kiriya landed lightly beside it.

Before the dazed dragon could recover, he grabbed its head and began hammering it with his fists.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Only after beating the creature until it could barely tell which way was up did Kiriya finally stop.

"Now."

He grabbed the dragon’s head and forced it toward him.

"Look into my eyes."

The Fire Dragon opened its eyes in a daze.

What entered its vision was a pair of wine-red pupils, three tomoe rotating within them like spinning pinwheels.

"Sharingan Genjutsu."

The Fire Dragon’s body remained rigid for a brief moment.

Then its resistance disappeared.

It slowly lowered its head and released a faint whimper that sounded almost like a large dog.

"ROOOAR!"

Several Fire Dragons in the sky immediately dove toward Kiriya, intending to tear him apart.

Before they could reach him, the dragon on the ground suddenly whipped its tail through the air like a steel lash and smashed one of its former companions away.

At the same time, one of its claws raked across another Fire Dragon and opened several deep wounds across its body.

"ROOOAR!"

The Fire Dragon on the ground released a threatening bellow toward the others.

"Hahaha! Not bad."

Kiriya looked thoroughly satisfied.

"From now on, you’re my mount."

He flipped onto the dragon’s back and pointed toward the confused group still circling overhead.

"Go. Take them down."

The Fire Dragon answered with a powerful roar before spreading its wings and shooting into the air toward its own kind.

The remaining dragons immediately became enraged and surrounded it from several directions.

Claws tore through the air, jaws snapped toward exposed flesh, and streams of flame poured across the sky as the Fire Dragons attacked without restraint.

Ordinarily, a lone Fire Dragon surrounded by so many of its own kind would have been torn apart within seconds.

But this one had a rider.

"Three meters left. Claw that one."

"Two meters right. Bite him."

"Dive. Breathe fire at that one."

Under Kiriya’s direction, the lone Fire Dragon moved through the group with startling efficiency.

Instead of being overwhelmed, it threw the surrounding dragons into complete disorder and allowed Kiriya to thoroughly enjoy the experience of being a dragon rider.

"Is that guy... a child?"

Ryuu cut down another Flame Rock before sparing a glance toward Kiriya in the sky.

She looked thoroughly speechless.

Why did he look exactly like a little kid who had just gotten a new toy?

Still...

Riding a dragon did look rather impressive.

Part of her almost wanted to try it herself.

"Kiriya really does manage to surprise people constantly."

Jeanne could only smile helplessly.

At that moment, several of the Fire Dragons seemed to realize that Kiriya was too difficult to deal with and abruptly changed targets, diving instead toward Jeanne and Ryuu on the ground.

Kiriya’s expression immediately cooled.

"I was planning to play with you a little longer."

His hand moved toward his sword.

"But if you’re in such a hurry to die, then die."

He urged his Fire Dragon after them.

The instant he came within range, his sword flashed.

Shhk!

The diving Fire Dragon continued forward for another moment—

Then its head fell away.

Its corpse turned to ash and vanished before it could even reach the ground.

Kiriya repeated the same method on the remaining Fire Dragons, cutting them down one after another until none remained.

Once the battle ended, he guided his dragon into a low hover above Jeanne and Ryuu.

"Well, ladies?"

Kiriya grinned down at them.

"Want to come up for a ride? Super-luxury transport, complete with a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree panoramic skylight."

"Did you come here to train your Status or to play around?"

Ryuu’s helpless voice came from below.

"If you’re going to fight, then take it seriously."

"Sorry, sorry. I only just got it, so I got a little excited."

Kiriya patted the Fire Dragon’s head and placed a Flying Thunder God mark on its body. Then he jumped down and rejoined the battle.

Once all three felt that they had gained enough from close-quarters combat, Kiriya brought Jeanne and Ryuu back onto the Fire Dragon’s back, leaving only two Shadow Clones behind on the ground.

"Ladies, please enjoy the Dungeon’s grand fireworks display."

The moment he finished speaking, the two Shadow Clones began forming hand seals.

The Flame Rocks, Magma Trees, and other monsters charging toward them were immediately met by two ninjutsu.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage."

"Fire Release: Searing Migrain."

The violent wind blast and scorching flames merged together before surging into the monster horde.

"Ninja Art: Flame Wind Wild Wave."

The raging storm of fire swallowed the approaching monsters and quickly triggered the self-destruction of the Flame Rocks.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Violent explosions rolled across the battlefield one after another, raising a crimson-black mushroom cloud above the burning land.

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