At this moment, everyone had only one thought: If this spell fully completes, we're utterly finished. There won't be any chance of turning the tables.
"Quit dawdling and hurry up! Find the source of the spell!!!"
"W-wait, what is that!?"
Just as the adventurers took their first steps toward the depths of the passage, suddenly… the sharp-sensed magicians noticed something wrong.
The dim passage suddenly erupted with a blinding light. The abrupt shift from darkness to brilliance made everyone squint, unable to adapt for a moment.
But… once they clearly saw what it was, their eyes widened, faces stiffening as their hearts sank.
What entered their sight, walls, ceiling, floor, filled with countless magic circles of various sizes densely covered their vision, and the "mana" loaded within them had risen to the brink of firing.
"?"
Gareth, standing at the very front, opened his mouth as if to speak, but it was already too late.
Under everyone's pin-prick-sized pupils, their faces pale with despair, the countless magic circles all activated at once.
"Get out of the way, aaaaahh!!"
The moment Bete reacted and shouted his warning, the raging blossom of magic detonated violently.
"Guaaaaaaahhhhhh!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM,
In an instant, numerous adventurers were blown away screaming.
The sudden ambush caught them completely off guard.
Not only Gareth's unit.
In the fourth unit led by Tiona, Tione, and Bete, adventurers were also crying out in pain one after another at the exact same time.
A few Level 5 adventurers reacted quickly enough to evade the surprise attack, but their rear troops weren't so fortunate. Looking at the bleeding bodies on the ground and the sea of wails, the culprit was the sudden burst of "flames."
The three of them raised their weapons defensively, faces tense, eyes filled with disbelief.
"The walls spat out flames!? No, no! Magic circles appeared on the walls? Don't screw with me! I've never heard of any mage who can do something like this!"
"Everyone! Damn it!"
This situation was practically a sneak attack.
No sooner had the piercing light flashed than several magic circles appeared on the pale green flesh-walls, unleashing fire "magic."
"A surprise attack!? They're targeting us!? Where's the enemy!?"
There was a giant "circle" drawn on the floor, made by the "Spirit Clones," but the magic circles weren't the same thing.
The activation of multiple spells pushed Tione's already confused mind into total chaos.
Based on experience and common sense, magic circles and spells required a mage to activate. But… not only were there no mages, there wasn't even a living creature in sight.
This was a simple straight passage with the end visible, there wasn't anywhere a mage could hide.
It felt as if, the passage itself was casting magic.
"B-Bete!!! Watch the front!"
Just as her voice trembled, Bete turned toward her dazed call, looked forward, and even the fearless loudmouth fell silent.
Before him was a sight that made his pupils reflect red, blue, gold.
Countless magic circles of different colors densely floated across the walls of the passage.
All throughout the corridor, turret-like "magic cannons" were deployed.
They summoned flames, trembled with frost, sparked with electricity, all aimed directly at them.
This scale of deployment was incomparable to even an entire group of mages.
Realizing the "answer," Tione shouted in despair: "Don't tell me… the Knossos itself can use magic!?"
As if acknowledging her correct guess, the magic circles glowed, raising a mocking barrage in the form of cannon-fire.
Even if the answer sounded absurd, with all other possibilities eliminated, they had no choice but to accept, this was the truth.
"…!!!!!??"
The overwhelming sight froze the adventurers' thoughts.
Then, the next second, a swirling cascade of multi-colored beams fell from above like neon light.
The passage was wide, but the barrage crisscrossed through the confined space.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"
Terrifying magical cannon fire assaulted the adventurers with no blind spots.
Beastman adventurers were blown away by explosions, human healers hidden in the rear were frozen solid by falling rays, dwarf shielders with full health were engulfed by lightning.
Fire, frost, thunder, these elements fell like monsoon rain in a relentless magical bombardment.
Each shot likely matched the power of a high-tier mage's full-chant spell.
This wasn't a barrage, it was an extermination.
"Th-this… this is all the work of those 'Fallen Spirits'!?" Barely dodging, Tione let out an enraged cry.
This place, synonymous with a "Mana Reservoir," had become a domain absolutely ruled by those "fallen spirits."
Using the enormous mana circulating through the area, the "core" activated spells from long range.
Tione realized why they had encountered no monsters and no obstacles up to this point,
With such excessive means, there was no need for guards or blockers at all. This entire floor was nothing less than an anti-intruder annihilation device, a execution ground.
.....
Compared to other units, the Fifth Unit, was in much better condition.
Because Fron completely ignored the command to maintain proper formation… and barged ahead alone as if sweeping away trash.
The result was…
He stepped into the "execution ground" alone, awakened the "magic cirlces," and every attack hit only him, keeping the rest of the troops safe.
"I f***ing swear to ****!!!"