*Rumble—*
A massive black shadow burst up from underground, like a demon crashing through the earth and emerging from hell itself, making a grand entrance.
A vicious aura instantly spread out and blanketed the entire battlefield like a storm.
"..."
In that instant, regardless of whether they were enemies or allies, everyone present froze in place, completely unable to move.
An aura as ferocious as a raging storm rampaged across the entire area as a massive shadow, vast enough to blot out the sky, barged into the battlefield with utter tyranny.
The adamantite ground was easily shattered and blasted apart by the shockwave, sending many of those closer flying and drawing screams of agony from them, while the entire space trembled and wailed as though a natural disaster had descended, violently shaking everyone’s hearts.
"Aah~"
A beautiful voice suddenly rang out.
It was the singing of a god’s avatar.
It was the sigh of a demon’s incarnation.
As if moved by a long-awaited reunion, standing atop the gigantic silhouette that had burst up through the ground at the center of the battlefield, a spirit, yet also a witch with graceful feminine curves, spread her arms wide and cried out joyfully.
"Aria~ Aria~ Aria~"
Hearing the familiar voice, the familiar joy, and the familiar name, Ais, who was holding Desperate, trembled as her pupils quivered and her entire body shook as if seized by a violent shudder.
Naturally, everyone else present was hardly faring any better.
It couldn’t be helped, for the sight burned into their eyes was simply that ferocious, that unbelievable.
It was a monster that embodied both beauty and ugliness.
It possessed the upper body of a beautiful woman, her skin and hair both green, her body clad in a brilliantly colored sleeveless dress, a chilling smile hanging on her lovely face as she sang in delight.
Yet this beautiful woman was attached to a genuine monster’s lower body—an enormous form standing at least over six meters tall, with thick four legs and twisted, massive bull horns, supporting the beautiful woman’s upper body atop it, its entire frame colored like steel corroded by a bizarre green taint, with a bull’s tail growing from its back that split into two from the middle and ended in sword-like sharp tips, which, combined with that colossal body, made it unmistakably a gigantic bull.
"Demi Spirit!"
Seeing the striking contrast of a beautiful human female upper body fused with the lower body of a monstrous giant bull made Lefiya’s face drain of all color as she screamed hoarsely.
Yes, the Demi Spirit that had once appeared on the dungeon’s 59th Floor, repeatedly crushing the expedition party formed by the Loki Familia’s First Class Adventurers and nearly wiping out the familia’s executives, had appeared once more.
And it had emerged within the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos.
"That’s—!"
"What—?!"
Argana and Bache of the Kali Familia stiffened, holding their breath.
"M-Monster!"
Every member of the Loki Familia, the amazonesses of Telskyura, and the berberas of the Ishtar Familia all cried out in panic.
"Why is that thing here?!"
"Hey, this joke’s gone way too far!"
Tiona and Tione no longer cared about their destined duel with their master and retreated in a cold sweat.
"Haha... HAHAHAHA—!!!"
Only Phryne, her entire body covered in wounds and looking on the verge of death, burst into laughter, shouting with both delight and madness.
"Good! Great! It finally came out!"
"Perfect timing—trample all of these bastards into paste for me!"
"Gugalanna!"
Gugalanna, also known as the Bull of Heaven, was a specialized Demi Spirit cultivated by the remnants of Evilus using a Jewel Fetus that parasitized a Power Bull in order to obtain funding from the Ishtar Familia.
They had presented this monster to Ishtar in exchange for the Ishtar Familia’s financial support, using it to amass wealth on a grand scale. Now, Ishtar had released this monster, unleashing it onto a battlefield that was about to be ravaged from every direction, and had loosened the reins that controlled it.
"Aria..."
Atop the giant bull’s head, the avatar of the Corrupted Spirit spoke her desire with a playful smile.
"Become one with me~"
Right after speaking such spine-chilling words with a cheerful laugh, the Demi Spirit began to move.
*BOOM!*
With a single heavy stomp of her hoof, the ground exploded into ruin, releasing an earth-shaking roar as shockwaves like a tsunami, carrying shattered stone and debris along with clouds of dust, swept violently in all directions.
""WAAAAAAAAA—!!!""
Everyone present was instantly battered by the violent shockwave, without a single exception, screaming as they vanished into the storm of dust and wind.
Including Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya, everyone screamed or cried out in pain as they were blown away without any chance to resist, slamming into the walls behind them like kites with their strings cut before collapsing to the ground.
Even Phryne, Argana, Bache, and the others who should have been allies were blown away as well, making every adventurer on the scene, in this moment alone, be treated equally as insignificant existences, flung aside like ants.
"Aah~"
Above the rampaging bull that had caused all of this, the avatar of the Corrupted Spirit continued to laugh, as if satisfied with the catastrophe she had created.
"Aria~ Aria~ Aria~"
She laughed joyfully and called out with deep affection.
Immediately after, she drove the monstrous giant body that had become her vessel and charged in a single direction.
In that direction, the figure of Riezel, who had teleported away, happened to appear.
"Mr. Riezel!"
"Watch out!"
Lefiya, who had fallen to the ground, saw the scene and shouted at the same time as Ais, who was struggling to prop herself up not far away.
"Body of Effulgent Beryl."
What answered them was a calm voice, along with emerald-green magical energy flashing across Riezel’s body.
*BOOOM!*
In the next second, the giant bull performing a brutal charge slammed head-on into Riezel, carrying him straight into the wall behind him and shattering the adamantite wall once again.
"Riezel!"
"Dammit!"
Tiona and Tione shouted as they angrily drew the weapons they had not yet used, one raising her massive double-bladed sword and the other gripping her pair of kukri, about to rush toward the giant bull.
"I won’t let you pass, Tione."
"...Your opponents are us."
Argana and Bache, who had just been blown away moments ago, charged forward at the same time without prior coordination, blocking Tiona and Tione’s path.
"Get out of the way!"
Furious beyond restraint, Tione swung her two kukri and slashed mercilessly at Argana.
"Don’t stop us, Bache! That thing’s seriously bad news!"
Tiona tried to persuade Bache, but the only response she received was Bache’s cold punch.
Just like that, the amazoness twins still could not break free from Telskyura’s ritual and were intercepted by the pair of bloodthirsty amazoness sisters.
On the other hand, no one was stopping Ais now.
Phryne, whose body was covered in wounds, was no longer capable of fighting and had lost consciousness from the previous shockwave.
"...Take that toad woman with us. We’re pulling out."
Aisha, who had been sent flying by Riezel earlier, clutched her abdomen and coughed up blood as she issued the order with a grim expression, then retreated together with the Ishtar Familia’s berberas to the corridor entrance, pushing the cage holding Haruhime and fleeing the battlefield in disarray.
Meanwhile, the amazonesses of Telskyura were now showing clear signs of fear and did not dare to stir up further fighting on a battlefield ravaged by the mad bull, while the members of the Loki Familia were either down or injured, with most finding it extremely difficult even to stand up, Lefiya included.
"!!!"
Under these circumstances, Ais rushed forward almost by reflex.
"Tempest!"
Ais activated the magic that had just been sealed by a curse.
Whether because the sealing duration had ended or because the one who cast the curse was no longer present, this time she successfully activated her magic.
In an instant, wind wrapped itself around her body, and air currents continuously swirled around her.
However, this phenomenon, this magical energy, immediately drew the Demi Spirit’s attention.
"Aria!"
Sensing this magical energy unique to a great spirit, the Demi Spirit happily shifted its target and locked onto Ais—or rather, this had been its target from the beginning.
Because Riezel had previously activated Ariel, the Demi Spirit had been drawn here and had immediately launched an attack on him. Now that Ais had likewise activated Ariel, upon sensing the magic of the Great Spirit Aria, the irrational Demi Spirit naturally shifted targets and attacked Ais instead.
"Pierce, spear of lightning. Your envoy beseeches you, Tonitrus. Incarnate of thunder. Queen of lightning—"
As Ais, wrapped in wind, was about to reach her, with Desperate already cutting out, the Demi Spirit smiled and performed an ultra-high-speed chant that made all the adventurers present widen their eyes, causing a magic circle to spin into existence before her.
A short chant combined with an ultra-high-speed chant, a divine technique beyond mortal capability, allowed the Demi Spirit’s magic to complete even faster than the godspeed slash of Orario’s strongest swordswoman.
"Thunder Ray!"
Lightning-attribute offensive magic was released, and lightning immediately burst forth from the spinning magic circle in front of the Demi Spirit, illuminating the dark space and transforming into a thick arrow that shot forth with a thunderous roar.
Although it differed in attribute from Lefiya’s Arcs Ray, this magic was very similar to it, as both were short-chant, single-shot magic that normally had limited range and power, but when wielded by a spirit, a higher-tier magic race than elves, this magic ultimately unleashed power comparable to wide-area annihilation magic, just like Riezel’s and Lefiya’s Arcs Ray.
Consequently, the lightning arrow became a raging lightning spear, and with an all-consuming force, it plowed through the ground, vaporized the air, and blasted toward Ais.
"Ugh!"
Ais, having already swung her slash, was unable to dodge the attack at all, and her expression changed sharply.
*Swish!*
Just as Ais was about to be swallowed by the raging thunder, a figure moved instantly to her side.
"Magic Destruction."
Riezel, completely uninjured, extended the hand not holding his sword and intercepted the blasting lightning, activating his magic.
*BANG!*
In an instant, the raging lightning spear was invaded by invisible magical energy and disintegrated on the spot, exploding apart.
Amid the scattering lightning, Riezel maintained his outstretched hand posture, his gaze fixed on the Demi Spirit Gugalanna, colder than ice.
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next Chapters early at: /VALRRR]