""What?""
As Ais unleashed Wind Breathing, the members of the Hermes Familia, who were desperately fighting the man-eating flower monsters, and Revis, who was locked in fierce combat with Riezel, changed expressions.
They saw it.
They saw the Sword Princess, surrounded and besieged by the massive horde of man-eating flower monsters, unleash a whirlwind-like, all-directional slash that swept out in a full three-hundred-sixty-degree arc around her.
Blades made of wind, tens of meters long, burst forth, centered on her.
Wrapped in a spiraling gust, her sword flashed, severing all the monsters surrounding her, splitting them apart with shrill screams before they crumbled into dust and vanished—a sight that struck the heart with awe.
'That wind…' Revis's gaze locked on Ais, her expression flickering erratically. 'No… that isn't the wind of the one she is seeking.'
Even though she thought like this, why did the sight of that swordswoman, cloaked in wind, make the blood within her body stir restlessly?
'Could it be her?' Revis stared at Ais with an unsettled look.
As she got distracted, Riezel naturally had no intention of letting her off easily.
"Losing focus at a time like this? Seems you're easier to deal with than I thought, monster lady."
Riezel's unnervingly calm voice reached Revis's ears, making her heart tighten.
*Clang!*
A powerful slash struck hard against the crimson sword Revis had raised in defense, knocking it out of stance and forcing her entire body backward.
"Dammit!"
Revis's eyes widened in alarm.
"Huuu... Haaa..."
A breath identical to Ais's current rhythm suddenly came from Riezel, and soon, a whirlwind wrapped around his body.
"Wind Breathing - Sixth Form - Black Wind Mountain Mist!"
Riezel swung his thin, crystal sword upward, making it slice through the air from below, carrying with it wind blades and sharp, spreading sword energy.
Sharper than any of his previous strikes, the slash surged forward with the gale's push, its speed doubling as it cut toward Revis.
"Ugh!"
Revis's pupils shrank, clearly sensing the deadly threat of the strike, but sadly, it was too late to dodge.
With no other choice, she ultimately chose to sacrifice one arm.
*Pu-chi!*
With the sound of tearing flesh, she lifted her arm just in time to block the blow, causing blood to burst from her body like a flash of crimson light.
"Gaah!"
Revis swallowed her scream as her left arm was severed cleanly, blood splattering everywhere as she was blasted backward as if struck by lightning.
"Wind Breathing - Fourth Form..."
Seeing this, Ais, having finished off all nearby man-eating flower monsters, pressed her attack.
"Rising Dust Storm!"
From the ground, Ais swung her sword toward Revis in the distance, sending out five sharp wind blades that spiraled as they flew, striking the retreating foe.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
With five slicing sounds, Revis groaned, not having expected Ais to suddenly deliver ranged slashes from afar.
As a result, deep, jagged wounds opened all over Revis's body, blood gushing out in streams.
*BOOM!*
Finally, Revis crashed into the green, flesh-like wall again, shattering it and disappearing beneath a collapse of rubble.
Riezel descended from the air, landing before the heap of debris, exhaling softly.
"You okay?" Ais hurried over to his side, scanning their surroundings as she asked out of concern.
She couldn't help it—his swordless hand was bleeding, crimson droplets falling to the green ground below.
"I'm fine. Just a scratch." Riezel shook his head. "Stay alert—that woman's not finished yet. I mean, she's probably not even human."
"Not human?" Ais froze.
"Not human?" Asfi also heard Riezel's words, stunned. "W-What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Riezel said flatly. "Forget her freakish strength and regeneration—her skin alone is absurdly tough. If I punch her now, I'd end up hurting myself."
Indeed, the reason his hand was bleeding was not that he got hit by Revis but because striking her hardened body had caused the shock to rebound on his own hand.
'Even Gareth doesn't have that level of endurance, does he?' Riezel thought inwardly.
Gareth Landrock, one of the Loki Familia's top executives, was an extreme vanguard-type adventurer.
And what did 'extreme vanguard-type' mean?
It meant someone who could perform far beyond a normal vanguard—someone with extraordinary durability and power.
From Riezel's understanding, there were four main reasons he could do that.
First, Gareth was a dwarf—a race famed among the Lower World's demi-humans for their unmatched strength and naturally durable bodies.
Second, his STR was S-rank, the highest in Loki Familia, and aside from Riezel, he was the only one to train two of his basic abilities to that rank.
Third, nearly all of his development abilities enhanced STR and END, providing further boosts.
Finally, he possessed two skills—one that amplified STR and one that amplified END—further reinforcing those basic abilities.
Because of all that, Gareth was known as the strongest dwarf in Orario, and in terms of raw STR and END, even the city's only Level 7, Ottar, might not surpass him.
In fact, when he stood at the front lines as a living shield, even Riveria's wide-area annihilation magic, known as Orario's strongest magic, might not bring him down.
Yet even he couldn't match the sheer endurance Revis displayed—they were simply not in the same league.
"Her skin's about as tough as a Black Rhino's from the 51st Floor." Riezel stated calmly before everyone. "Add her feral attack patterns, and she's no human—she's more like a monster from the Dungeon."
Needless to say, that was why he had called her monster lady.
"Besides, she took my magic head-on and only had her hand torn up—that alone proves how unnatural she is."
Ignoring the gasps of those around him, Riezel continued indifferently.
"Maybe I shouldn't be trading blows with her in my current state."
It went without saying that Revis's STR and END far exceeded Riezel's current suppressed state.
However, in DEX and AGI, he had the upper hand.
Coupled with his superior technique and experience, he could fight her—whose power rivaled a Level 6—on even ground as a Level 5.
And when factoring in magical ability, he held a clear advantage.
Of course, Asfi and the others had no idea he was calculating all that—they simply looked on in confusion and disbelief.
"If she's not human... then what is she?" Asfi blurted out.
Unfortunately, no one answered her question.
*BOOM!*
As if offended by their chatter, Revis exploded out from beneath the rubble, scattering debris in every direction.
"I see now—that white-haired bastard wasn't wrong. You're just as troublesome, little swordswoman."
Revis stepped out, drenched in blood, her missing arm and brutal wounds seemingly meaningless as she moved without hesitation.
"To think I'd face two troublesome adventurers at once... it seems things aren't in my favor."
Wiping the blood from her face with a rough gesture, Revis stared straight at Riezel and Ais, causing the nearby members of the Hermes Familia caught in her gaze to feel a chill run down their spines.
"No choice... retreat."
As smoke rose from Revis's wounds and residues of magical energy floated around her body as it began to self-heal, she turned and ran back the way she came.
"Wait—!"
Ais gasped in surprise.
"Stop her!"
"Stop!"
"Running?!"
Asfi and the others shouted instinctively.
*BANG!*
Riezel's eyes flashed as he kicked off the ground, darting after Revis.
"Violas!"
Revis exclaimed coldly without turning back, making the surrounding flesh-like walls begin to writhe violently.
*BOOM!*
A giant man-eating flower monster burst out of the wall.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Soon, countless others erupted from the ground, walls, and ceiling, blocking Riezel and the others' path.
*SCREEEEEECHHH—!!!*
In an instant, their deafening screeches reverberated through the green, flesh-like passage, shaking the ceiling until chunks of rock and dust rained down.
"More of them?!"
Asfi cried out in distress.
"So many!"
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
"Dammit!"
All the members of the Hermes Familia, led by Lulune, wailed in despair.
"Riezel!"
Ais shouted, chasing after Riezel.
Riezel, just like before, ignored the monsters completely—charging straight into their midst, seemingly planning to break through again to catch Revis.
As the monsters lunged at him, snapping and lashing their tendrils, his speed and technique let him slip through their attacks like wind itself.
Sometimes he leapt onto their bodies, sprinting along their flesh, while at other times he wove left and right to dodge the barrage of tendrils, and when evasion wasn't possible, he sliced through them in one motion, never slowing down as he pursued Revis.
"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow."
Before long, a calm yet solemn chant echoed from Riezel's lips as he darted through the air like an acrobat.
"Get them!"
Sensing the threat behind her, Revis called out coldly without turning her head.
"Time for you all to play your part!"
At these words, Ais and the others, still fighting the monsters, noticed something.
"Above!"
Ais shouted a warning, but Riezel had already sensed it, having looked up the moment the danger revealed itself.
At this moment, numerous figures were clinging to the fleshy walls, and as he charged forward, they leapt down one after another, landing directly in his path.
They were robed figures, radiating a strange and unsettling aura.
"Why are there so many people here?!" Asfi exclaimed in shock.
"They…" Ais muttered, feeling a sharp pain in her head as she stared at them, the aura they gave off feeling eerily familiar.
Apparently, she knew these people—no, she knew of a group that carried such an aura.
They were figures buried deep in her memory—people who had once left a lasting impression but had long since faded from her recollection with the passage of time.
However, before Ais could remember who they were, Riezel moved first.
"Wind Breathing - Second Form - Claws-Purifying Wind!"
Riezel unleashed four claw-shaped wind slashes, the slashes tearing through tendrils and monsters alike as they streaked toward the robed figures.
But shockingly, the robed ones were still fearlessly charging forward—straight toward Riezel.
They weren't fast, nor did they seem strong, clearly not high-ranked adventurers, yet their presence and expressions carried a grim resolve, like soldiers prepared to die for their cause.
In the next moment, they spread their arms wide, completely unguarded, and threw themselves at him.
*BOOM!*
Riezel's wind slashes struck their path, blasting them back with powerful gales, but at that instant—
"O god, accept my sacrifice..."
"Guide our foolish souls across the river of death..."
"Let us reunite with our beloved..."
"God..."
"God..."
As these murmurs resounded, flames suddenly ignited upon their bodies.
*BOOM!*
One of the robed figures exploded midair, blooming into crimson fire.
*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
One after another, the robed figures burst into explosions, as if they'd been carrying bombs on their bodies, their fuses lit long ago, their deaths coming in a chain of fiery detonations.
In an instant, the flames devoured their bodies and swept outward, consuming both the monsters and Riezel's advancing figure, while the green, flesh-like passage was dyed a blazing red.
It was tragic yet magnificent.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]