Dvarapala, 226th Stratum.
The progress of the Seekers was slow due to the powerful Monsters that appeared one after another.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!”
An Indian Seeker screamed and backed away. But the “Wind Blade” unleashed by the Monster before him mercilessly attacked.
The Seeker tried to defend with a “Magical Barrier,” but the power was too strong to contain.
“Guh, aaaaaaa!!”
The Wind Blade pierced the Barrier and deeply slashed the man’s abdomen.
The man collapsed to his knees, crouching down and spitting out blood. The Seeker who fell to the ground stopped moving and never stood up again.
“That’s!?”
Rui watched the scene from a short distance away. When he caught sight of the Monster, his face stiffened with tension.
“What’s wrong? Rui!”
Rui, Akito, and Yuma were fighting in the forest in the center of the Stratum. Surrounded by Monsters, they were somehow enduring the enemy’s attacks.
“It’s a Sol Mantis! A very powerful Abyssal Monster… If we leave it alone, the Seekers will suffer tremendous damage!!”
“A Sol Mantis, you say?”
When Akito turned his gaze, a humanoid mantis with four arms was attacking the Seekers’ ranks.
The Sol Mantis was one of the most feared Monsters in the Green Dungeon, so Rui and Akito naturally knew about it.
The Seekers who noticed the Monster tried to intercept it, but the mantis slashed them down with a single strike.
Those whose torsos were severed rolled on the ground as silent corpses.
“Damn! If things continue like this, they’ll be annihilated. I’m going!!”
Akito brushed aside the Monsters nearby with a Lightning Strike and ran towards the rampaging Sol Mantis.
Rui said, “Please!” while looking at the Monsters around him.
Yuma was attacked by a giant earthworm and was on the verge of death, collapsed on the ground. Rui reversed the grip on his Katana and swung it horizontally.
The earthworm’s torso was cleanly severed, and Yuma, freed from the constraint, gasped, “Phew.”
“T-Thanks, Rui.”
He stood up unsteadily, swaying as he readied his Pickel.
“Yuma, Akito went to support Kaira and the others. We have to break through the Monsters here with our own strength.”
“O-Okay, I’ll do it!”
Yuma clad his Pickel with Wind Magical Power.
Until now, he had swallowed many Green Magic Gems dropped by the Monsters he had defeated. Yuma’s Wind Magical Power had definitely increased, but—
“Uriyaaa!!”
The swung Pickel created a powerful whirlwind, but it disappeared in the opposite direction.
“Ah…”
“Yuma, calm down. Your Wind Magic is definitely improving. If you concentrate, you can defeat the Monsters.”
“O-Okay!”
Rui brilliantly slashed and exploded the approaching Monsters into ashes.
Seeing this, Yuma thought, “Alright! Me too,” and spat on his palms, gripping his Pickel again.
When he swung it down with all his might, a gale arose, blowing away the insect in front of him. Yuma was also blown away by the wind.
He landed on his butt, but quickly stood up and now swung the Pickel horizontally.
A powerful Wind Blade flew out. Towards a place where there were no Monsters.
“Ugh, damn it!”
Even though the power was increasing, he couldn’t hit the Monsters. Yuma began to get irritated, but he reacted with a flinch to a black insect running towards him at full speed.
—C-Could that be a G〇kiburi!? (Cockroach)
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
He smashed it with all his might with his Pickel. The blow from the Pickel imbued with Wind Magical Power was tremendous, tearing the black insect to pieces.
“I guess hitting them directly like this is the best after all…”
He breathed a sigh of relief and looked around, only to see many black insects approaching.
Yuma shuddered, but upon closer inspection, they were not G〇kiburi. They resembled the giant isopods he had seen on TV.
“What, trying to scare me!”
Yuma regained his composure and began to crush the giant isopods.
◇◇◇
Akito channeled Lightning into the soles of his feet and ran as if bouncing off the ground. He was running at a speed that ordinary humans could not comprehend.
But—
“Fast! What kind of speed is that, that Mantis!!”
The Sol Mantis showed a speed that even Akito’s legs could not match. It slashed and killed the Indian Seekers one after another.
“Damn! If there are any more sacrifices, we won’t be able to complete the Dungeon.”
Akito showed a look of impatience, but there was nothing he could do. The Sol Mantis attacked the Seekers on a small hill between large trees.
At that moment, an explosion scattered around.
“What!?”
Akito tried to stop as if slamming on the brakes, but he couldn’t stop immediately and took the brunt of the explosion.
He protected his face with both arms and stopped on the spot.
When he looked straight ahead through the gap between his arms, he saw Kaira, who had blocked the Sol Mantis’s scythe with her Greatsword.
After a tense clash of blades, Kaira and the Mantis sprang back. Akito rushed over in a hurry.
“Are you okay, Nee-chan!”
“Tennoji!”
Kaira glanced at Akito while still holding her sword.
“I’ll take care of it, so stand back!”
Akito held Gae Bolg low and tried to step in front of Kaira. But Kaira shook her head and stopped Akito with her eyes.
“No, I’ll kill this one! Sorry, but don’t interfere.”
Akito, against Kaira who said strongly, “But, can you do it?” He had doubts.
The speed of the Sol Mantis was extraordinary. With that big sword, wouldn’t it be difficult to even land a hit? Akito thought so.
Without paying attention to such Akito, Kaira channeled Magical Power into the Greatsword Kanda. She pointed the tip at the Sol Mantis and glared at it with sharp eyes.
“Tennoji… Don’t think you’re the only ones who can use Second Tier Magic!!”
Kaira raised her left arm and looked at the bracelet on her wrist.
A beautiful ornament with various sizes of Green Magic Gems attached. When Kaira put her strength into it with a “Haaaa,” one of the gems began to shine, cracked, and shattered into pieces.
At that moment, an explosive wind swirled around Kaira.
The wind was so strong that Akito took a step back and covered his face with his left arm.
The massively generated wind gathered on Kaira’s Greatsword and gradually converged. When the wind completely subsided, the Greatsword glowed green and emitted a divine light.