Chapter 282

Chapter 282: Chapter 282

From Floors 51 through 57, the Deep Floors took on a rare true-labyrinth structure.

Dark lead-colored stone covered the ceilings and walls, gleaming with a black metallic sheen that made the entire place look as though it had been cast from metal.

One cavern connected to another in seemingly endless succession, and without an experienced adventurer serving as a guide, it would have been easy to lose one’s way even with a map.

That posed little difficulty for Kiriya.

Every so often, he would pick up a stone and carve the Flying Thunder God formula onto it.

At other times, he would casually leave marks on the walls or larger rocks beside the path.

These markers served two purposes at once: they gave the group reference points for navigation while also providing coordinates for spatial movement, making them extremely convenient.

"Be careful. The monsters on Floor 51 are all very troublesome."

As they walked through the dim caverns, Tiona worried that Kiriya’s group might suffer from their lack of experience with the floor, so she enthusiastically began explaining its dangers.

"Pretty much anything you run into here is above Level 5, and some are even toward the upper end of Level 5. They don’t just travel in groups, either. Some species actually know how to cooperate with each other, which makes them really annoying."

She began counting off examples on her fingers.

"There are the Black Rhinos, those huge Venom Scorpions, Thunder Snakes..."

Tiona continued listing the monsters and eagerly shared some of the tricks she had learned for dealing with each one, while Tione walked beside her and occasionally added details of her own.

Since this was Kiriya, Jeanne, and Ryuu’s first time on Floor 51, all three listened carefully.

Lefiya, meanwhile, kept both hands wrapped tightly around her staff and stayed practically glued to Ais’s side, terrified that the girl she admired might somehow end up too close to Kiriya.

Crack... crack...

They had not gone far before the walls, ceiling, and floor began making the sound of stone splitting apart.

Monsters immediately poured from the fractures.

Heavily armored Black Rhinos, enormous scorpions, and gigantic serpents as thick as a person’s waist surged toward them in groups.

And it was not only from the front.

More monsters appeared behind them as well, trapping the party between two waves.

Rumble—!

The ground shook violently beneath the monsters’ advance, making everyone’s heart tighten—

Well, Lefiya’s heart tightened.

Everyone else remained perfectly composed.

That calm came from confidence accumulated through tremendous strength and countless battles.

"Jeanne, you take command."

Kiriya turned toward the Saint and smiled.

"No problem, right?"

If the party had consisted of only Kiriya, Jeanne, and Ryuu, there would have been little need for formal command.

After traveling and fighting together for days, the three had already developed considerable coordination.

Now, however, four more people had suddenly joined them, expanding the party to seven.

Without someone centrally coordinating their movements, they could easily interfere with one another and actually weaken their combined combat effectiveness.

Tiona and the others naturally had no objection.

Through their previous encounters, Kiriya had already earned their trust.

More importantly, he was also the strongest person present, so he had every right to make such an arrangement.

"...All right."

Jeanne met Kiriya’s warm, trusting gaze and smiled.

Then her entire presence changed.

The gentle Saint immediately took on the commanding air of someone who had once led soldiers on a battlefield, and a succession of concise, precise orders left her lips.

"Tiona-san and Tione-san, take the rear. Ais-san and Ryuu, take the front. Lefiya-san, remain in the center and chant while providing fire support as needed."

Her gaze shifted to Kiriya.

"Kiriya... you’ll move freely and reinforce whichever side needs you."

The moment Jeanne finished speaking, everyone moved into their assigned positions and collided with the first wave of monsters.

"Awaken."

Ais murmured softly.

Wind wrapped around both her body and the sword in her hand, and she became an arrow of air shooting toward an approaching Black Rhino.

Shhk!

Desperate pierced precisely through the monster’s eye and drove into its brain.

The Black Rhino died instantly.

"Hyaaah!"

Tiona swung the enormous double-bladed Urga, a weapon completely disproportionate to her comparatively small frame.

She transformed into a storm of steel, and whether it was a heavily armored Black Rhino or a swiftly reacting Venom Scorpion, anything caught within the sweep of her weapon was cleaved apart.

Her older sister was no less ferocious.

Tione wielded a pair of curved blades, their edges flashing again and again until several Thunder Snakes had been chopped into pieces.

Behind the Amazon’s attractive, smiling face lay a trail of severed monster limbs, producing an almost absurd contrast.

Unlike those three veterans who frequently fought on Floor 51, Ryuu was somewhat lacking in both raw Status and experience against these specific monsters, so her initial killing efficiency was lower.

But she had not earned a reputation as a genius adventurer comparable to the Sword Princess for nothing.

Ryuu was exceptionally good at learning during battle.

With every exchange, her understanding of the monsters improved, and the speed at which she dealt with them rapidly increased.

"Everyone is... so strong."

Lefiya found herself staring in fascination.

Her gaze kept drifting back and forth between Ais and Ryuu, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

’Strong, beautiful, confident... When will I be able to fight like that?’

Admiration mixed with insecurity in her heart.

’No. I need to work harder too. If I keep getting discouraged like this, when will I ever be able to stand beside Ais-san and Ryuu-san?’

With that thought, Lefiya began chanting.

At the very least, she could provide them with magical fire support.

But just then, a serpent emerged from the ceiling directly above her and shot toward Lefiya like lightning.

The girl was completely focused on her chant and had not noticed it at all.

"Hah!"

Jeanne swept her battle standard outward and knocked a Thunder Snake into the air.

Before it could fall, Kiriya’s sword flashed through it, cutting the monster into chunks before it disappeared.

Only when blood scattered through the air did Lefiya belatedly realize that she had nearly been ambushed.

Cold sweat immediately covered her back, and the shock broke her chant.

"Th-Thank you!"

Her face flushed as she repeatedly thanked Jeanne.

"There’s no need to thank me. We’re teammates right now."

Jeanne’s voice remained as gentle and accepting as ever.

A sheltered young girl had very little resistance to that sort of warmth.

Lefiya’s face grew even redder.

Kiriya glanced at her and almost felt compelled to complain.

’Why the hell are you blushing again?’

How many times had this girl gone red in the short time they had been together?

First she looked at Ryuu, then Ais, and now Jeanne...

Wasn’t she getting a little too easily distracted?

"Kiriya, behind you!"

Jeanne’s urgent warning reached him.

Kiriya stepped sideways.

A Black Rhino’s heavy charge tore through the exact position where he had been standing.

His sword immediately erupted with dazzling light.

"Hundred Strikes in an Instant."

The Black Rhino’s thick armored hide split apart.

With a miserable cry, the monster collapsed immediately.

"Whoa, that was a beautiful slash, Kiriya!"

"Idiot Tiona! Concentrate on the fight!"

"So fast..."

Ais had been paying attention to Kiriya’s movements, and her golden eyes immediately brightened.

That sword technique...

It looked like something worth studying.

"S-So amazing..."

Lefiya stared with her mouth slightly open.

That Black Rhino’s defense was incredibly strong.

Even Tiona had to put real strength behind her attacks to cut through one cleanly.

Yet Kiriya had done it so effortlessly.

"That was Magic just now, wasn’t it?"

Lefiya watched Kiriya continue using Blade Storm while clearing monsters and could not help becoming concerned.

"Is it really okay to use Magic that frequently?"

"It’s fine."

Jeanne continued guarding the center of the formation while explaining.

"Kiriya can reduce the output of his Magic to the lowest necessary level. At that degree of consumption, his mental energy recovers quickly enough to keep pace with what he spends."

"You can do that?"

Lefiya felt as though another piece of her worldview had just shattered.

"Watch the rear. Prepare your Magic and clear them out."

Jeanne’s instruction immediately snapped her attention back to the battle.

Lefiya hurriedly resumed her chant.

"Proud warriors, marksmen of the forest. Take up your bows before the advancing marauders.

Answer the call of your kin, nock your arrows!

Bring forth the flames, torches of the forest. Release them, flaming arrows of the fairies!

Fall like rain and burn the savages to ash!"

Lefiya raised her staff high.

"Fusillade Fallarica!"

A vast formation of flaming spears appeared in the air before pouring into the densely packed monsters behind them.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions and violent shock waves tore through the rear of the battlefield, and entire groups of monsters vanished beneath the bombardment.