At this moment, the area in front of the Vault Fortress had completely turned into a battlefield.
Because the rest of Norwich had already fallen into chaos, only here had a resistance been organized, managing to hold back Moss's invasion.
Riezel and the giant Moss were already locked in fierce combat.
One was darting about in midair, evading the oncoming pitch-black magic blasts while searching for openings to strike with his sword, sending out waves of blazing flames, while the other had transformed on the ground into a stationary turret, constantly gathering cursed magical energy to unleash bombardments at the nimble enemy above.
On the other side, Artoria and the others had also engaged the swarming Moss.
As the Moss unleashed waves of magic projectiles together, forming a dense barrage in an attempt to break through the resistance, Mash blocked them with her shield.
Mash was no longer charging into the fray but had become a living wall, raising her shield and causing a transparent magical energy barrier to rise and block the countless incoming blasts, protecting everyone behind her.
After casting Reinforcement on everyone, Artoria likewise became a turret.
She raised the Staff of Selection—not to hurl explosive magical bombs as before, but to channel magical energy into the crystal at the staff's tip, causing it to shine with starlight and fire brilliant beams of magical energy at the Moss.
Tristan also joined the fight.
Whether by intention or without realizing it, he had stepped in front of Artoria, as if to protect her, continuously strumming his harp to send out waves of transparent slashes, slicing through the Moss.
Everyone worked together to fight a defensive battle—Mash at the front, the rest launching ranged attacks from behind.
For the moment, they completely blocked the assault from the Moss.
As for Oberon, he had taken Tristan's place in the driver's seat of the carriage, his gaze shifting constantly as if searching for an escape route.
Clearly, Oberon had no intention of fighting a defensive battle, nor did he want to protect the Vault Fortress.
However, the number of Moss was simply too great.
Now, the street before the Vault Fortress was packed full, leaving no way to escape.
"Tch, already surrounded, huh?"
Oberon clicked his tongue to himself.
*BOOM!*
In that moment, a blast from the giant Moss grazed the dodging Riezel and struck the Vault Fortress.
It must be said that the Vault Fortress was worthy of its reputation as the safest structure in Faerie Britain. Even when struck by the giant Moss's attack, it merely trembled slightly and was not breached.
"Dancing Flash!"
Riezel seized the opportunity, stepping into the void and causing flames to erupt beneath his feet—his figure turned into a streak of fire, flashing through the air as he lunged at the giant Moss.
*Pu-chi!*
With the sound of tearing cloth, the giant Moss was struck by the black sword wreathed in flames, a deep wound appearing on its body.
No blood sprayed from the wound—only black smoke poured out, looking incredibly eerie.
*SKREEEEEEE—!*
Letting out a howl, the giant Moss's only pair of eyes glowed with an eerie darkness as it locked onto Riezel.
In the next second, it unleashed countless magic projectiles in rapid succession that erupted from every part of its body, spreading in all directions and engulfing not just the Moss but the surrounding fairies as well.
*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Explosions rang out consecutively, filling the area around the giant Moss with bursts of pitch-black fire.
Amid the explosions, everything was destroyed—be it the ground, the buildings, or even the Moss crowding around the massive one.
Not a single one was spared—all were blasted away.
"Everyone! Don't leave my side!"
Mash shouted as she raised her shield, the magical energy barrier she held up continuously battered by the hail of blasts, each impact sending out another explosion.
Artoria and the others looked at the battlefield ahead, which had been nearly leveled, and couldn't help but swallow nervously.
Riezel's eyes shimmered with a translucent light, seeing through the trajectory of every magic projectile. Relying on the superhuman reflexes granted by Fast Attack, he darted left and right, narrowly evading the incoming shots.
'Is this really just a single Moss? How is it already so troublesome?'
Riezel had to admit, this giant Moss was likely even more difficult to deal with than the Autonomous Guardians inside the ancient ruins within the Underground Demon Beast Yarakulon's body.
What made them different was that the Autonomous Guardians were difficult because their STR and END were far beyond what their level would suggest, while the giant Moss's abilities were not especially outstanding in any area, but its vitality was astonishingly tenacious, and it was incredibly hard to bring down.
It was the embodiment of curses—touching it meant certain doom.
On top of that, it could concentrate its cursed magical energy to launch ranged attacks. Unless someone possessed abilities that countered cursed magical energy, they were almost helpless against it.
Unfortunately, Riezel was clearly not among them.
With Pioneer of the Sun, he was the bane of all who possessed evil powers.
Otherwise, even he would have found it extremely difficult to inflict meaningful damage on a cursed creature like Moss.
Yet, Riezel still had not managed to quickly bring down the giant Moss in such a short time.
'Curse creatures, huh?'
Riezel narrowed his eyes while dodging and weaving, already coming up with a plan.
"Maximize Magic - Brilliant Radiance!"
Riezel suddenly cast a holy attribute magic spell.
*BOOM!*
In that instant, a brilliant radiance, just as the name suggested, burst forth beneath the giant Moss, shooting skyward like a pillar of light.
*SKREEEEEEE—!*
Wrapped in the pillar of light, the giant Moss, emitting a sound more agonizing than anything before, was like it had been thrown into a furnace, purified by the radiance as the curse energy covering its entire body turned to smoke and drifted away.
Seeing this, Riezel's eyes lit up.
'It's working.'
When dealing with a creature even more negative than the undead, holy attribute attacks were indeed far more effective than ordinary ones.
Finding the weakness of the Moss, Riezel charged in without hesitation, plunging straight into the Moss horde.
"Maximize Magic - Shining Burst!"
Sun-like brilliance instantly radiated from Riezel's body as he released a 7-Tier Magic.
Although the tier was not particularly high, it could deal tremendous damage to evil creatures and the undead.
Moreover, the more evil-aligned the target was, the greater the damage it suffered, though for those not aligned with evil, the effect was negligible.
Against the Moss, whose very existence was essentially a curse, this magic would undoubtedly show unimaginable power.
As the sun-like brilliance burst from Riezel's body, a surge of white light, along with searing heat, exploded outward in a hemispherical wave.
Bathed in this white light, the smaller Moss had no chance to resist—they were instantly purified, reduced to ash.
At the same time, the giant Moss, still wrapped in the pillar of brilliant radiance, was also swallowed by the white light, its body breaking down as if thrown into the sun.
Facing death, the giant Moss toppled its huge body toward Riezel, clearly intending to crush him.
"Clear Blue Sky!"
A sharp glint flashed in Riezel's eyes.
He drew a circle on the ground and swung his black sword, unleashing a ring of blazing flames with a sun-shaped outline straight at the dying giant Moss.
*BOOM!*
As the ring of blazing flames struck the giant Moss, it looked as if it had been hit by a suddenly appearing, ever-expanding circle of fire, blasting it onto its back.
Only then did the brilliant radiance and explosive sunlight finally purify the giant Moss, reducing this troublesome creature to dust and earth, gone without a trace.
"YES!"
Oberon was the first to shout out.
"We took down the big one!"
Mash also cried out loudly.
"Not only the big one, but all the small ones are gone too."
Da Vinci watched as the Moss were completely wiped out by the explosive sunlight, unable to hide his delight.
"Everyone." Tristan chimed in with a solemn expression. "We have to retreat now while we can. We can't stay here any longer."
Everyone immediately snapped back to their senses upon hearing this.
Because the Vault Fortress was located in a critical area of Norwich, with streets on all sides, if hordes of Moss poured in from every direction, all escape routes would be cut off, and they would inevitably be surrounded.
Right now, thanks to Riezel, the Moss on one of the streets had already been cleared out. If they did not use this chance to retreat, once more Moss swarmed in, they would have no way out.
"But..."
Artoria looked around at the fairies still fighting and at the Vault Fortress behind them, clearly torn.
"Come on, Artoria! Get up here!"
Oberon immediately drove the carriage over, calling out to Artoria.
"Spriggan and his men aren't even worth saving! Let them fend for themselves!"
Hearing Oberon's words, not only Artoria, but even Mash looked conflicted.
From this, it was clear that neither of these girls was the type to stand by and do nothing.
"He's right. Let's go."
Da Vinci, who remained calm, agreed with Oberon.
"We can't keep fighting here. Sooner or later, the Moss will overwhelm us. If we want any chance to defeat the Calamity, we have to pull back first."
"As for the Vault Fortress, since it's said even Fairy Knights can't break through, let's trust it for now—trust that it'll keep the Moss out."
Da Vinci's reasoning finally persuaded the two girls.
"Get on!"
Riezel's voice came at just the right time.
"I'll clear the way!"