In front of the three corruption dungeon gates being attacked, the students of <Scarlet Academy> were fighting desperately. However, the waves of liquid chaos insects were gradually advancing beyond the wall of flames.
One particularly prominent chaos insect emerged.
Shaaa―!!
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Crunch―!!
The liquid chaos insect, ignoring all flames and breaking through with its sticky carapace, was barely held back by a student from <Scarlet Academy>. She wedged her sword into the insect's carapace, unleashing an explosion of ether.
Boom―!!
Pieces of flesh scattered in the air. The green fluid rained down, evaporating in the heat of the flames. The liquid chaos insect collapsed with a final scream.
Kieeek―!!
The student, standing atop the now-silent chaos insect's corpse, maintained a maniacal grin. Observing the situation, she let out a mad laugh as she noticed the flames had pushed them to the very back.
"Spit―! Hahaha... what a mess―!"
Thud, thud, thud―
An awful wave was approaching. Numerous liquid chaos insects were surging like a tide.
Despite swinging their weapons frantically. Despite unleashing flames constantly.
The horizon was still filled with endless waves of liquid chaos insects.
Their destination was the three corruption dungeon gates encircling the northern slums. They were heading towards the giant black ether triangle in the sky.
Thud, thud, thud, thud―!!
The ground trembled with their footsteps. Countless carapaces glistened in the light of the numerous flame barriers set up to prevent them from entering the city.
"…"
A thought crossed her mind that today might be their last.
Chaos insects, usually seen only inside dungeons, were now pouring out of the gates, seeking to defile the land they lived on. They were aiming to break through the wall of flames and move towards the corruption dungeons and the city.
If this operation failed and the northern academy city became overrun with chaos insects…
"Kuhuhuhu…!"
A girl laughed maniacally at the sight. Her laughter spread to the surrounding girls, who also began to laugh. They laughed with mouths tainted by the blood and fluids of chaos insects.
Hahaha―!! Hahahahaha―!!
The demons of the flames did not fear their final moments. They laughed, igniting the flames engraved on their hearts.
Their mad laughter echoed within the wall of flames.
"Hahahaha―!! Even if this is the end―!!" "We'll live like 'flames'!!" "Hyaaah!! Light the fires!!" "Hahahahaha!! We are <Scarlet Academy>!!!" "Let's goooo―!!!"
The students of <Scarlet Academy>, armed with their weapons, stepped forward with their final resolve.
-Shaa―
From afar, the faint cries of chaos insects resonated. The chaos insects responded with roars of their own.
Shaaa―!! Kyaaa―!!
"Huh?" "…?"
The hundreds of liquid chaos insects began to turn their backs, heading away from the wall of flames. They quickly moved towards a specific area, their short legs scuttling rapidly.
The students of <Scarlet Academy> watched in bewilderment. They looked up at the sky, sensing something strange.
"…Huh?"
Boom――!!!
From beyond the horizon, a massive light was approaching. Dozens of beams of light pierced through the dark clouds, accompanied by a tremendous roar.
Boom――!!!
Each time a beam struck, the land below flashed and overturned. The destructive power of the lightning, said to be the power of the sky god, separated and shattered the gathered chaos insects.
Shaaa―!! Kyaa―!!
With screams, Carapaces shattered. Blood and fluids evaporated.
Boom――!!!
The lightning bolts continued to burst forth in dozens, advancing. The chaos insects gathered in their path were torn apart, creating a massive trail of fluids.
Boom――!!!
The path created by the king of destruction. It reached hundreds of meters ahead. And from afar, a silver-white light flashed and disappeared. The silence settled on the road made of chaos insect fluids.
"…" "…"
The students of <Scarlet Academy> were speechless, stunned by the overwhelming scene. They nervously glanced at each other, trying to grasp the situation.
"Um…" "Is that…" "[Azure White Lightning Spear]…?" "The strongest in the academy city…" "Are they here to help…?" "Is the <Union Student Council> helping the north…?" "But those <Gallhorn> guys too…"
The students of <Scarlet Academy> hesitated awkwardly.
At that moment.
Boom――!!
With a resounding roar. A silver-white girl descended from the sky. Her hair fluttered as she landed. Her lance was stained with blood and fluids.
"…"
The silver-white girl stood and looked around. Numerous <Scarlet Academy> students stood, covered in chaos insect fluids.
Silence.
"…" "…"
After a brief pause.
The strongest in the academy city, Brynhildr, spoke in a cold voice to the surrounding <Scarlet Academy> students. Her fierce gaze carried a murderous intent that seemed to twist the very space.
"Where are Sigrun and <Gallhorn>?"
＊
"[Blind Stitch]―!!"
Boom――!!
Bell's skill clashed with the pincers of a mature chaos insect, creating a thunderous sound. Her training uniform was long torn to shreds.
Roar――!!
A low, immense roar incomparable to those of the liquid or juvenile chaos insects. The enormous pincers of a 9-meter-tall insect charged at the small girl in the air.
Bell clenched her fist as she watched it. The crimson dagger responded to her gesture, shooting out.
Sasa―!!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The crimson dagger traced erratic paths, dancing around. It carved a path of destruction along the giant body of the mature chaos insect, continuing the destructive embroidery.
Crunch―!!
At the same time, red dotted lines appeared on the insect’s massive carapace and pincers, starting to disintegrate. The special buff, [Erosion Barrier], which deflected the first attack, disappeared under the relentless assault.
Roar――!!
Sensing its defeat, the mature chaos insect roared, spewing a fluid that could melt even stone. The initially pitiful trickle of green fluid soon turned into a massive blade engulfing Bell.
Boom――!!!
Bell dashed with her short legs, evading the surging attack. She manipulated the dagger with her clenched fist, creating another large red pattern.
"Haaaaat――!! [Blind Stitch]――!!"
Bell, true to her earlier boast, poured all her remaining ether into the skill for the final showdown.
The intricate movement of the dagger followed a pattern several times more complex than the one she had displayed in the city. The exquisite embroidery traced in the air felt like a miraculous tapestry.
Another pattern was etched in the air. However, Bell staggered momentarily.
"Ugh…!"
Drip―
Bell’s excessive ether consumption caused her nose to bleed. Her large, bright red eyes were bloodshot.
"This… This is the end…! Just a bit more… a bit more―!!"
Muttering through her tightly clenched pink lips, Her narrowing pupils gleamed more brightly than ever. Though it wasn’t a full [Unique Ether] awakening, she was clearly advancing to the next level.
‘As expected, fighting a mature chaos insect in an event dungeon seems to be giving a lot of experience.’
Around her, the juniors were also engaged in a precarious battle.
Alvit and Kara, now performing feats of agility, were repositioning their summoned creatures and fighting the chaos insects.
"[Flash Sword]――!!" "Three at 3 o'clock! Attack from 5 o'clock, no, 6 o'clock from a juvenile!"
With a roar, the juvenile chaos insect approached.
Shaaa―!!
Kara extended her flag, sending a summoned robot charging at the juvenile.
Click―!! Crunch―!!
The [Revolutionary Comrade] shattered. With no way to avoid the juvenile’s attack, Kara sacrificed a summoned creature to buy time.
Thanks to Kara's efforts, Alvit leaped into the air, continuing her assault.
"[Flash Sword]!!! [Flash Sword]!!! Flaaash Swooord―!!!"
Once. Twice. A third time, sword energy was unleashed. The sword energies were stable, resonating with a deep vibration.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The power of [Vibration], resonating with the world. It now destroyed everything it touched.
Splat! Shink! Shink! Thud!
Liquid chaos insects exploded without a scream. The continuous sword energy blasts annihilated the chaos insects.
Alvit, without Rota’s help, had mastered the second-stage ether technique, [Vibration], and was unleashing sword energy in rapid succession. Her eyes were aglow with battle excitement, in a state of total immersion.
‘I need to heal Bell first, then get to Alvit.’
I looked at Alvit and Kara fighting the chaos insects and spoke to Rota, who was on my back.
"Rota♪ I’m going to run now! Hold on tight, okay―☆" "So-sorry, senior…" "Don’t worry about it―☆" "But Kara and Alvit are fighting too… and I’m just…" "Hmm♪ Then maybe later you can pet the cat ears all you want―☆" "…Okay."
Tap, tap, tap!
I ran forward with the exhausted Rota on my back, tossing one of the black cores we had obtained from defeating a mid-boss to Bell.
‘In exchange for extreme ether consumption, defeating the mid-boss juveniles provides recovery items…’
But even these were rare drops, so they had to be used carefully.
‘Eir is a fourth-stage ether user, so she doesn’t need to use skills, and Sigrun, who is on par with Bell, has the <Gallhorn> investigation team with her, so they should be fine.’
The disintegrating black core emitted a small amount of ether as it vanished. The remaining ether was absorbed by Bell.
"Bell―☆ Take this―♪" "Kuh! Thanks, Pink Hair… I’ll finish this with it!!"
With a slight recovery, Bell prepared for the final showdown.
Flash!!
Simultaneously, the black crystal behind the mature chaos insect, hidden by a seal, began to shine.
The top point of the triangle glowed blue, indicating that one of the corruption dungeon gates had been cleared. The black ether circle around the triangle began to spin slowly.
I tossed a black core to Alvit to help her recover some ether. She spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Senior!! That’s it, right―!!" "Yes!! Judging by the location, it seems Sigrun’s dungeon is cleared―☆" "Now we have 10 minutes!! We have to finish within 10 minutes―!!" "That’s right―☆"
I was surprised. I had thought Eir, being a [Unique Ether] user, would clear it faster…
‘Could it be that something happened to Eir…?’
No way…
At that moment, The second light shone from the black crystal triangle.
"…!"
Indeed, that was the dungeon Eir was clearing alone.
Now, only our dungeon remained. Seeing this, Alvit shouted to Bell.
"Bell senior―!!" "Blinding―!! Stitch――!!"
Bell shouted in a voice that sounded like she was vomiting blood. Simultaneously, the crimson dagger danced more brilliantly than ever, tearing through the mature chaos insect’s body.
Slash, slash, slash――!!
Click! Click! Click!
Exposed carapace. The heart writhing within became visible. Bell launched herself forward, grasping the returning dagger.
"This is it!!!"
With all her ether expended, she herself became a crimson line.
"It’s over――!!!"
The small girl pierced through the giant body.
Slash――!!
"…!"
The mature chaos insect halted. The protective barrier around the black crystal disappeared.
Swish―
Bell, with her dagger lodged in the insect’s heart, called out.
"Alvit――!!!" "Aaaargh―!!"
Tap, tap, tap!
Alvit dashed forward, striking at the black crystal.
"Flash!! Sword!!"
With her remaining red ether, The sword drew a path of light. The explosion shattered the black crystal.
Boom――!! Clatter―!!
And then, The dungeon, filled with ominous black mist, gradually began to clear, and the chaos insects born from the anomaly began to disappear.
Like dust disintegrating, the chaos insects vanished.
Roar―!! Screeech―!!
Finally, The black mist dominating the dungeon lifted, bringing peace.
We looked at the shattered black crystal. It seemed to store and absorb vast amounts of ether, much like the black cores we had used.
"Whew…" "Ugh…" "…"
Bell collapsed from exhaustion. Kara and Alvit, also completely spent, slumped to the ground.
I watched them quietly with Rota still on my back.
‘We really cleared the most challenging late-stage gimmick dungeon…’
Limited effective characters. The troublesome debuff. The time attack element.
We cleared a dungeon filled with malice towards the players.
‘[Priest of Corruption] himself prefers to scheme from behind, so we’ll meet again someday.’
I let out a sigh of relief.
‘We should rest; the exit will be automatic.’
Just as I thought that.
Boom―!!
Suddenly, the ether flow in the room started to surge from the ground, and we, sitting in the boss room, looked at the floor in surprise.
A huge circle was carved into the floor. It activated as the black crystal’s power dissipated.
"What’s this!?" "Don’t know! But it doesn’t feel good!!" "Get out!!! Senior!! We need to get out!!"
Rota, on my back, screamed urgently at the sight of the massive circle.
"This is an ancient magic circle!! The spell is instantaneous―!!" "…!"
A floating sensation. Simultaneously, a sense of liberation, as if emerging outside.
In an instant, we found ourselves staring at… A black sky, the dark night above us.
The center of the black ether triangle spanning the northern region. Under the dark sky, where the distant wall of flames glowed faintly.
"Guh…!" "[Trajectory]?!"
In the center, Eir was being held by the neck by a giant in a black robe. Wings and a tail protruded from the luxurious black robe, exuding a power far surpassing that of any priest.
I looked at him, muttering in disbelief.
‘Why is he here…?!’
[Priest of Corruption] had appeared.