Chapter 276: Mission Complete
As we stepped into the corridor, it seemed deserted. This was the end of the passage, and normally, we wouldn’t pass through here when exiting the Summoning Array room.
El, now back to her senses, walked alongside us. As we approached a crossroad, a faint scent of blood wafted from one of the paths. It was in the direction of the Summoning Array room, and I felt a slight reluctance to go any further, but there was no turning back now.
“This way.”
Along the way, we spotted fallen monsters and members of the Majin Tribe, all lifeless. As we continued down the corridor, marked by signs of battle, our destination came into view.
“It looks like someone’s here.”
“What do we do? …Well, if it’s Shu and the others, they can handle it however they want, right? So I guess we can just do as we please.”
Just when I thought she was asking for a strategy, she suddenly tossed the responsibility onto me. Either way, it wasn’t like I was going to ask Ivan to handle it, so it was the same, but something about it felt unsatisfactory.
“Then let’s have Ivan charge in alone, and while they’re distracted by ‘Who are you?!’, we’ll sneak around and destroy the Summoning Array.”
“Hey!?”
“Ahahahaha!”
“Ivan-nii, do your best!”
Rio seemed to understand it was a joke and burst into laughter, while Phonia appeared to genuinely cheer for Ivan. Alright, I’ll get some support too.
“Alright, I’ll give it my all too!”
“Big brother, you do your best too!”
Phonia’s encouragement made me clench my fist in determination. Satisfied with her support, Phonia suddenly looked at Rio and exclaimed, “Ah!”
“Big sister, you do your best too!” she said, hugging Rio around the waist.
“Hehe, thank you, Phonia-chan. Big sister will do her best too.”
As she hugged back tightly, she affectionately patted Phonia’s head.
Isn’t Phonia just too adorable? Even in front of the enemy’s stronghold, I found myself pulling out my smartphone to record a video.
“You really have no sense of tension, do you…”
I could hear El’s voice, tinged with exasperation, but I ignored it. It wouldn’t hurt to capture various moments to spread Phonia’s cuteness.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“We’ll keep an eye out for anyone coming.”
“Got it. Ivan, it’s all on you.”
“Wait, you’re serious!?”
“Pfft, hahahaha!”
As Ivan stood there, stunned by Rio’s words, El burst into laughter again. We were making quite the ruckus in front of the room, but of course, we had various barriers set up, so there was no worry about being noticed.
“Fine, I’ll go then!”
“I’ll make sure to collect your bones.”
“Hehe, I’ll set up the barrier properly, so good luck!”
With a reckless determination, Ivan charged ahead toward the room with the Summoning Array. He kicked the door open with a flourish and rushed in, spear raised high.
“Who goes there!?”
A voice called out from within. Maintaining the soundproof barrier and Optical Camouflage Magic, I quickly maneuvered around to the back of the Summoning Array.
Inside the room were about ten members of the Majin Tribe, seemingly busy with cleanup. The room had been ravaged by the numerous monsters summoned during the ritual, and it looked like there had been casualties. While there were no bodies left behind, parts of the walls were crumbled, and bloodstains marred the floor.
However, there was no sign of the Summoning Array being destroyed. Perhaps it was protected by a strong barrier, or the monsters simply couldn’t break it.
“Hmph, I don’t want any more summons. I’ll destroy this room!”
“What did you say!?”
At Ivan’s declaration, the Majin Tribe members stirred, gathering at the front to protect the Summoning Array. With their backs wide open, this was the perfect opportunity.
Shall we go for a big one?
Understood.
Equipping the Crimson Dragon Gauntlet on my right hand, I infused it with Magic Power and advanced toward the center of the Summoning Array. Amplifying the earth attribute Magic Power with the gauntlet’s properties, I layered Gravity Magic, Spatial Magic, and Dimensional Magic to thoroughly obliterate the ground.
Lowering my stance to concentrate, I swung my fist down straight toward the ground.
With a resounding crash, the ground cracked, and the floor of the room instantly turned to rubble. It seemed to collapse about a meter deep, as if defeated by gravity.
“Woooooah!?”
Ivan, caught in the collapse, landed on his backside from the one-meter drop.
“Couldn’t you have warned me what was going to happen beforehand!?”
But he seemed to be in good spirits.
“Alright, mission accomplished. Let’s retreat.”
“I knew it would be quick, but that was anticlimactic.”
Just to be safe, I stored a chunk of the rubble from the destroyed Summoning Array into the Dimensional Box. I wasn’t sure if any special materials were used, but as long as I could prevent the Summoning Array from being restored, that was what mattered.
It seemed Ivan had exited the room, leaving just the two of us.
“You won’t escape!”
Just then, the Majin Tribe blocked the entrance.
We’ve destroyed the Summoning Array, so Ivan and the others should head to the warehouse we saw earlier.
Understood.
I communicated telepathically, and with that, I sensed three figures and one creature moving away.
Kicking off the ground, I soared toward the blocked entrance, where they all readied their weapons to intercept us. As they raised their weapons, I changed my trajectory and aimed for the wall, smashing my fist into it to create a hole.
There was no need to exit through the door. It was nice not having to worry about the surrounding environment.
“Wha—!?”
The Majin Tribe members froze for a moment, but we were already faster out the opening.
“After you.”
With a quick remark, we retraced our steps back the way we came.