Pitch-black monsters are anti-god armaments birthed by the Labyrinth. As long as the Magic Stone within their body is not destroyed, no matter how severe the injury, they will recover over time, be it slowly or quickly.
Scorpion Antares was naturally no exception.
As a divine assassin with potential reaching Lv.7, its self-regeneration ability was far stronger than that of the Black Goliath.
The magic unleashed by Daphne, Liliruca, and the other support via Rune Stones often only left very fleeting craters on its surface. In less than a second, it would recover.
The situation for Alise and Gojouno Kaguya was slightly better, as their attacks penetrated deep into the Scorpion's body. But this merely extended the recovery time to five or six seconds.
Only Levi...
Even though he was currently executing harassment tactics, he was, after all, wielding two weapons with 'Pierce S'.
Especially 'Musou Isshin'; with the blessing of the 'Tenkajin-constellation', a casual slash could easily tear open the Scorpion's external carapace. He could even leave some Electro elements inside its body as interference, briefly suppressing its regeneration ability.
In contrast, Antares's blue laser was indeed powerful. If hit directly, even with shield protection, one would likely suffer heavy injuries. Power reaching Lv.7, or even upper Lv.7, was enough to easily suppress everyone present except Levi.
However, because of the Teleport Rune Stones provided by Levi, the Hestia Familia's battle looked like they were walking a tightrope, yet they suffered almost no serious damage.
Even if Alise and Gojouno Kaguya were occasionally sent flying by the Scorpion's chelicerae, they only lost a few dozen layers of shielding and could rejoin the battle after a dozen seconds.
Seeing such a spectacle, the members of the Artemis Familia couldn't help but fall into silence.
The Goddess and her dependents knew Levi was strong—after all, he was an adventurer who had bested 'The Fierce' in a frontal battle—but they never imagined the combat power of the Hestia Familia would be so outstanding.
Even Scorpion Antares, who had plagued the area surrounding the Great Tree Sea in the distant past, was being played like a clown under the tacit coordination of these few people.
"Ahaha..." Lante gave a dry laugh. "It seems there really isn't anything for us to do here."
Rethusa looked toward her own Goddess. "Lady Artemis, look, should we simply withdraw first?"
Unfortunately, if the Moon Goddess could listen to advice, she wouldn't have chosen to enter the ruins from the start.
"If you are scared, you go first."
"..." xn
Since the Goddess had said as much, what else could the group do? They could only stand at the outermost periphery of the battle circle and act as spectators.
However, reality is not an online game from a previous life; there are no so-called safe zones where combat is absolutely prohibited.
Seeing that the enemies surrounding it could not be solved temporarily, Scorpion Antares immediately leaped high into the air.
Countless amounts of Magic were gathered and compressed at its tail stinger. Subsequently, without giving Levi any chance to block frontally, a shot of blue laser was strafed toward Cassandra, Liliruca, and the others in the outer ring.
As the rearguard support, Daphne and the other two girls, having heeded Levi's advice, had their left hands gripping Teleport Rune Stones at all times. The moment they realized something was wrong, they inputted Magic and dodged this attack.
Artemis was also a martial deity with abundant combat experience. While shouting "Danger!" from her mouth, she pulled the two dependents beside her and performed a side roll.
But the other members of the Moon Goddess's Familia were not so lucky.
Although the shields applied to their bodies successfully offset quite a bit of the damage from the laser, even the remaining portion was not something mere Lv.3s, Lv.2s, and Lv.1s could contend with.
Rethusa, who had the best luck, had her left arm instantly melted.
As for the other girls, small halves of their bodies simply vanished! The most tragic was Lante; only her head and neck remained, and she looked as if she was about to breathe her last.
"!!!!"
Artemis opened her mouth, but suddenly lost the ability to speak. Since descending to the Lower World, she felt the emotions of regret, and even despair, for the first time.
If she hadn't arrogantly chosen to enter the ruins...
If she hadn't been unwilling to leave...
If she hadn't been overly confident in her martial arts despite knowing something was wrong...
The members of her Familia would not have died here without any meaning.
Unfortunately, 'if' is ultimately just 'if'. It cannot change anything about reality.
If only the Artemis Familia were present here, then perhaps the scene from the movie version in the previous life would have replayed. Scorpion Antares would devour the Moon Goddess who had lost her mobility and obtain her Divine Power, bringing a 'trial' sufficient to destroy the world to the Lower World.
But unfortunately...
A jar condensed from Ice elements suddenly landed by Artemis's feet and let out a shattering sound. Following that, an ice-blue talisman shot over from the Moon Goddess's side.
It contained a rich vitality that even ordinary people could perceive. After exploding into sky-filling motes of light, it formed one 'Salvation Talisman' after another above the heads of everyone in the domain.
Levi's figure appeared in front of Artemis, his face void of joy or sorrow. The Artemis's Arrow held in his left hand had disappeared, replaced by the 'Dress of Heaven Class Card' that had manifested once before.
"—Heroic Spirit Possession!"
A pillar of pure white light descended for the third time. At the same moment, to prevent a sneak attack from the Scorpion, Levi, who was within the pillar of light, threw out 'Secret Art: Musou Shinsetsu' toward the front once more.
Antares could sense the terrifying power within the lightning. The moment it landed, it actually chose to dodge, completely lacking the dignity of a boss. And precisely because of this, it lost the opportunity to interfere with its greatest opponent here.
Five seconds later, the falling pillar of light had not yet completely dispersed. Beside the ears of everyone on the scene, the young man's voice suddenly sounded again:
"White Grail, sing!"
Azure blue liquid condensed from pure Magic rose like a tsunami, covering the entire battlefield in an instant.
Almost simultaneously, the members of the Artemis Familia, who received the temporary 'Perseverance E' Development Ability boost from the 'White Grail' domain, finally saw their state—where they were exhaling more than inhaling—get a sliver of relief.
Coordinating with the 'Strongest Special Blend' and 'Sage Art: Salvation from Misery' that had already been deployed previously, the limbs of the girls that had melted and vanished in the laser actually began to slowly recover at this moment!
Even Lante, whose injuries were the heaviest and who was only seconds away from death, recovered from her gradually chaotic consciousness. She looked with a face full of astonishment as her tender body grew out bit by bit from below her neck.
"!!!"
Levi's eyes were fixed on Antares in the distance, while his right palm remained pressed on the Vision at his waist. After Lante's torso had recovered, he did not hesitate and spoke directly:
"Leave now. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourselves."
From beginning to end, the young man with short pale-gold hair did not cast his gaze toward the members of the Artemis Familia.
And the girls, having just faced Antares directly, understood that their existence, aside from causing trouble for the Hestia Familia, could achieve nothing.
Rethusa, who recovered first, picked up Lante with one hand and grabbed her own patron deity with the other. After a moment of silence, she said softly, "Thank you."
____
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