A thunderous roar echoed as a heavy slash tore through the wind, crashing down.
---------------------------
After a series of rescue operations and finding three of the squads, Fron finally managed to let out a slight sigh of relief.
Compared to worrying about the heavily injured Finn, the unreliable Tione and Tiona sisters, the dwarf Gareth, who had not yet been found, was the one Fron felt the least worried about.
In this expedition into the artificial labyrinth, among all the small teams, the most reliable, the one he could rest assured with, was Gareth.
Within the entire [Loki Familia], aside from Fron, Gareth's stats were the strongest. Not only that, he also possessed an extremely powerful skill boost. His terrifying defense was already evident during the battle on the 59th floor, he was a pure front-line warrior.
Spreading his arms and chanting magic, Fron slightly turned his head. His gaze seemed as if it could pierce through the walls of the labyrinth, looking in a certain direction.
…
"Clang-clang-clang!"
The collision of swords burst into countless sparks. The passionate and clear sound of metal clashing echoed endlessly in the vast chamber.
Under the dim light, one could see, a slender figure with dazzling golden hair clashing endlessly with a woman with short red hair, their blades entangling and colliding.
A silver rapier and a cursed blade exuding ominous aura traced countless afterimages as the two wielded them, their arms and steps constantly shifting positions throughout the room, clashing fiercely.
"Dang, dang, dang, "
The golden-haired girl bit her lip, swinging her beloved sword with all her might. But as the exchange continued, Ais was shocked to realize, this woman was completely different from the last time they fought.
Indeed, from the very beginning, Ais had not held back. Unlike her usual calm demeanor, she unleashed full-force strikes right away.
Unfortunately, every single one of them was casually deflected.
The emerald green eyes remained as cold and merciless as ever. Her face, her features, devoid of any trace of human emotion. Compared to the maddened, obsession-driven executives and remnants of the [Evilus], Revis was true darkness itself.
So cold and detached that even Valletta and Barca had no wish to interact with her.
Even among those deranged, Revis was seen as the one who was truly mentally unstable.
No matter when or what, she would always be sitting in a corner, devouring magic stones expressionlessly. Occasionally, she would utter incomprehensible words, nonsensical to anyone listening.
Stronger, stronger, becoming stronger.
The only thing she ever cared about was becoming stronger, endlessly so!
Now, she finally had the chance again! This was why Revis, after gravely injuring Finn in his moment of hesitation, hadn't finished him off.
Her target had never been the [Loki Familia], it was Ais!
After a brief clash, the two pulled apart.
Ais no longer had her usual air of absent-minded cuteness or cloudlike calm. She slightly furrowed her brows and pressed her lips together.
"Why are you here?" Revis gave no answer, instead speaking unrelated words.
"This is the first time you've taken the initiative, Ais Wallenstein. Have you finally sensed the threat?"
"?" Ais looked faintly puzzled.
As if knowing her doubt, Revis continued indifferently: "Ah, that's right. If you don't use wind, you might actually die this time. The me now is not the weak me from before."
"Are you ready, Ais? Here I come!"
…
"Whoosh!"
Once again, with that familiar fighting style, Revis relied on her monstrous body's terrifying physical abilities, accelerating in a straight line.
The pressure from her charge was so immense it made the very air scream in tearing agony.
Ais widened her eyes, straining with her vision to catch her opponent's figure.
"Clang!"
Her beloved sword crossed above her head, clashing with Revis's greatsword, producing an ear-piercing screech. The impact through the blade stunned Ais, that was overwhelming power!
"So, heavy!"
The crushing force above traveled down the silver rapier into her entire body, instantly bending the girl's posture under the weight.
The cold, merciless green eyes watched her struggle to resist. Revis raised the corner of her lips.
"Boom"
With a deafening sound, her power-packed whip-kick landed before Ais could react, sending her flying.
"[Awaken (Tempest) !]"
Without hesitation, the girl unleashed her only magic.
She invoked her [Ariel], the bestowed wind magic of the great spirit.
Clad in the armor of wind, wielding the blade of air, Ais charged back into battle against the monster.
Her golden hair whipped wildly, the girl holding her silver rapier, toes pushing against the wall, her body stretched taut, striking back in an instant.
"Clang-clang-clang, "
As expected, the two were once again entangled.
Yet … just like before, no matter what techniques Ais used, Revis calmly countered them all.
Ais realized this, how could Revis's swordsmanship purely crush her own techniques? The sword style she wielded was the strongest, inherited from her father and combined with her mother's wind, a sword style belonging solely to [Sword Princess] Ais Wallenstein!
And yet, Revis used nothing but raw "strength" and "speed" to cut down the sword arts that the Sword Princess took pride in.
Indeed, even after enhancing herself with magic and raising her attributes by a whole tier, Ais still fell behind in sheer ability.
"Could it be, you."
Batting aside Ais' sword once again, Revis sneered: "You adventurers can ascend, and I can devour magic stones to level up."
A cruel truth lay before her. The powerful enemy shook Ais' heart, if only for an instant.
"This time, I win. And this, Aria will be our last battle!"
With that, Revis raised her cursed blade once more, cutting toward her foe.
…
"Heh, one more bargaining chip. Though the other plans failed, having the Sword Princess killed, now that would be a fine result."
In a newly built temporary base, the Death God Thanatos tapped his finger on the armrest, tilting his head with a playful grin as he watched the projection of the battle.
"Click, tsk tsk, just look at her, then look at you lot. The fighting strength isn't even on the same level, eh?"
Barca stood coldly beside him, his hoarse voice cutting into Thanatos's self-satisfaction.
"I think… our ally may be in big trouble."
"Is that so? But even that dwarf and that werewolf won't make it in time, right? Don't forget, as for the Night Weaver, "
"Clang"
And then, Fron instantly 'slapped' Death God Thanatos in the face.
Looking at the golden-haired figure in a black cloak, wielding a staff glowing with violet light, Thanatos's eyes almost popped out.
"Impossible! He was just on the upper floor! How could he have found the Sword Princess's location so quickly!!!"
"It was the wind."