At this moment, Riezel had not yet dispelled the previously activated Ariel, so when she saw him appear before Ais, destroy her own magic, and stand there with his entire body wrapped in the wind of Ariel, the Demi Spirit Gugalanna tilted her head, looking surprised.
"Aria? Two?"
Evidently, with the intellect of this already fallen Corrupted Spirit, she simply could not comprehend why two Arias had appeared here.
Regardless, that did not hinder her delight in the slightest.
"Two Arias! Two Arias!"
"Both of you should become one with me!"
"Let me eat you both! Aria~!"
Amid laughter filled with childlike glee, the Demi Spirit launched another charge.
*Rumble—*
In an instant, the earth trembled, and the air roared, the ferocious impact carrying even greater momentum and destructive power than a rampaging chariot, trampling countless fragments of stone and debris along the way and whipping sand and dust into a raging surge that swept outward in all directions.
In everyone’s eyes, it was as if a small mountain had grown legs and was charging straight at them, a vision straight out of a nightmare.
And yet, in the face of this nightmarish scene, Riezel did not retreat—instead, amid Ais’s startled cry, he advanced and charged straight toward it.
"Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf."
While darting forward at high speed, Riezel performed a high-speed chant—slower than the Demi Spirit, yet still far beyond that of ordinary mages—and unfolded a magic circle beneath his feet.
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!"
Three raging blizzards formed instantly and swept through the vast space, filling nearly a hundred meters of the battlefield in the blink of an eye.
Everyone present shuddered uncontrollably and, their faces pale with shock, instinctively retreated away from the center of the cold surge. Even Ais, Tiona, Tione, Argana, and Bache did the same, not daring to remain in the middle of the battlefield as they hurriedly pulled back.
*Ka-cha—Ka-cha—Ka-cha—*
In an instant, the entire space was filled with an ear-grating sound of freezing as the shattered ground, the adamantite walls smashed apart by the Demi Spirit, and even the ceiling all froze into ice at a visible rate.
The Demi Spirit was no exception, frost rapidly spreading across her body as her charging speed slowed little by little, until she finally came to a stop and was gradually sealed entirely in ice.
"Proud warrior, snipers of the forest. Take up your bows before the advancing plunderers. Answer the call of your brethren and ready your arrows. Tinge them with flame, the lamplight of the forest. Release them, the fire arrows of the fairies. Falling like rain, burn away the savages."
At this moment, Riezel began another high-speed chant, the magic circle beneath his feet turning a blazing red as it rose and hovered in the air.
"M-Mr. Riezel!"
Lefiya, who was struggling to push herself up from the ground, could not help but shout when she saw Riezel chanting her magic.
At the same time, Riezel directly unleashed an overwhelmingly powerful wide-area annihilation magic.
"Fusillade Fallarica!"
A torrential rain of fire descended from the sky, causing the low temperature to be instantly replaced by extreme heat.
After extreme cold came extreme heat as the fiery deluge crashed down upon the Demi Spirit frozen in ice, engulfing her in an instant.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Deafening explosions and thunderous roars rang out together, the rain of fire bombarding the massive body of the Demi Spirit without pause, burning away the ice and scorching that steel-colored, tough hide until flames completely covered her enormous frame.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!!!"
Under the searing flames, the smile on the Demi Spirit’s face finally collapsed as she screamed in agony. Yet the fiery rain from above showed no mercy, continuing to bombard not only her but even the entire battlefield.
If the walls, floor, and ceiling here had not been mixed with materials other than Anti-Magic Stones to reduce the effectiveness of magic, this single barrage from Fusillade Fallarica would have caused the entire area to collapse.
Even so, the flames gradually spread outward, creeping toward the others and drawing cries of alarm from several people.
"Riezel!"
Ais called out Riezel’s name again, clearly intending to rely on the wind of Ariel to push through the sea of flames and reach Riezel’s side.
However, Riezel’s voice rang out first.
"Take the others and leave!"
As he said this, Riezel continued to dash toward the Demi Spirit, who was still screaming in pain. Even without explanation, it was obvious that he had no intention of leaving together with the others and was prepared to stay behind to face the Demi Spirit alone.
"No! Mr. Riezel!"
Lefiya shouted in panic and fear.
"You can’t handle her by yourself!"
Anyone would reach the same conclusion.
After all, the opponent was a Demi Spirit.
On the 59th Floor of the Dungeon, Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and Ais—four Level 6 adventurers—along with Bete, Tiona, Tione, and Tsubaki—four Level 5 adventurers—plus Raul, Anakitty, and Alicia, three Level 4 adventurers, and Lefiya herself, a Level 3 whose attack power surpassed the familia’s second strings and rivaled that of a First-Class Adventurer—a total of twelve people had charged together to subjugate a Demi Spirit and still nearly suffered total annihilation.
Against such a monster, how could Riezel possibly fight alone?
Even Ottar himself probably would not be able to handle a Demi Spirit!
As Lefiya cried out with this thought, in the very next moment, she saw Riezel smile.
Yes.
Riezel smiled.
"Can’t handle her by myself?"
Along with Riezel’s words, the wind around his body rapidly swelled.
*BANG!*
In the next instant, amid a thunderous explosion and shockwave, Riezel vanished.
*Pu-chi!*
A sword flash moving at divine speed swept past, cutting across the Demi Spirit’s body in an instant and carving a massive wound several meters long along her side.
*Splurt!*
Blood sprayed out like a fountain, dyeing a wide stretch of ground red.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
In an instant, the Demi Spirit let out an even more agonized scream.
"..."
At the sight, everyone widened their eyes.
Lefiya, in particular, lost all the panic and fear on her face, replaced entirely by stunned disbelief.
"You’re wrong."
Riezel’s figure appeared at the end of the slash’s trajectory, standing upside down on the ceiling with his head pointed downward, his voice ringing out clearly.
"I’m the only one who can deal with her."
Why?
Because when he was alone, Riezel no longer had to worry about harming his allies and could unleash his full power without restraint.
*BANG!*
With another explosive sound and shock, Riezel stomped hard against the ceiling beneath his feet and disappeared once more.
Wrapped in wind, howling gales spiraled around his entire body, but his figure moved so fast that even the wind was left behind, flickering around the Demi Spirit like teleportation as he moved at extreme speed.
*Pu-chi!*
This was a slash descending from above.
*Pu-chi!*
This was a slash surging upward from below.
*Pu-chi!*
This was a slash cut diagonally downward from left to right.
*Pu-chi!*
This was a slash flying diagonally upward from right to left.
*Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!*
In less than a single second, countless slashes appeared from every direction around the Demi Spirit. Carried along the paths of a raging gale, they landed one by one on her body, carving out shockingly large wounds.
While blood poured forth as the Demi Spirit screamed in agony, the god-speed slashes had already become a storm, striking her in a blur no one could follow, tearing her flesh apart.
At this moment, Riezel’s speed was not merely faster than the wind—it was closer to a flash of light.
It was only natural, for he was using the burst technique of Thunder Breathing.
Just as Dancing Flash was unleashed under Sun Breathing, he was now erupting with Thunder Breathing’s speed while using Wind Breathing and Ariel.
Needless to say, this was a velocity even the one known as the fastest in Orario could not come close to, an unmatched speed in this world.
As a result, not only Lefiya but also Ais stood frozen in shock, and even Argana and Bache, who were still engaged in fierce battle elsewhere, stared in disbelief.
"H-Hey, you’ve got to be kidding me, right?"
In the hall with a stone-made pedestal, Thanatos watched the scene through the water screen, sweat running down his forehead.
"Damn it!"
Ishtar, her smoking pipe slipping from her hand, cursed indignantly, her expression turning ugly.
"OHH! So the Loki Familia still has such a warrior!"
Kali widened her eyes and shouted in amazement.
Even Barca, who controlled Knossos, could not help but catch his breath.
Watching Riezel overwhelm the Demi Spirit, this descendant of a divine smith doubted for the first time whether he had made a mistake—whether he should never have allowed a true monster into his ancestor’s greatest creation.
Back on the battlefield, Riezel’s voice rang out once more.
"Take everyone and go!"
Riezel’s command was so calm that it bordered on cold, and only then did Ais, Lefiya, and the others snap back to their senses.
"Go!"
In the end, it was Ais who spoke, choosing to follow Riezel’s command.
Everyone began to withdraw from the battlefield at full speed, leaving this sea of flames to become sacred ground where a hero hunted a monster alone.
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next Chapters early at: /VALRRR]