"!!!"
When everything in front of their vision turned white, when even the land that had already become scorched earth—covered in countless meteor craters—was rapidly erased within the white light, when not even a single grain of dust remained, and everything was thoroughly vaporized, the members of the expedition party finally stopped moving.
"Dammit..."
Bete seemed to curse under his breath, yet his voice sounded far weaker than usual.
"Is this... the end...?"
Even Finn understood it—everything would end here.
In his eyes, this was no longer a situation that could be overturned by perseverance or refusal to give up—this was absolute despair.
And this despair even overwhelmed fear, overwhelmed the instinct to survive, causing everyone present to stand in place blankly, their minds emptied, simply waiting for the moment of the end to arrive.
For exceptional mages like Riveria and Lefiya, this was even clearer than for anyone else. They understood that the torrent of light surging toward them was the final scene they would ever witness in their lives.
Light Burst was merely a short chant magic, yet at this moment, in the hands of the Demi Spirit, this short chant magic was even more terrifying than the previous ultra-long chant magic, Firestorm.
As Light Burst was unleashed, the erupting magical energy shattered the ground beneath the Demi Spirit's feet and the ceiling above her head, steadily pushing the 59th Floor toward destruction.
There was no way to defend against this magic.
There was no possibility of enduring this level of attack power.
Once the torrent of light swallowed them, they would be treated no differently from roadside sand, vaporized instantly and without exception.
"Why did it turn out like this?"
No one asked.
"Why did that monster suddenly become so strong?"
No one cared.
Before an end that was already inevitable, questions, sorrow, and even every person's convictions, obsessions, dreams, or ambitions would all fade like bubbles, disappearing before long.
"Mom..."
Ais, wrapped in a howling wind that spread across her entire body, closed her eyes, seeming as if she wanted to embrace this wind from her mother and vanish together with it.
"Mr. Riezel..."
Lefiya, on the other hand, thought of another person she admired who was not present. Tears flowed from her eyes, yet inside her heart, she felt a trace of relief that he had remained on the 52nd Floor.
At least one person might survive.
However—
"Giving up now is still too early."
When this voice reached everyone's ears, their hearts jolted violently.
*Swish!*
In front of them, Riezel's figure suddenly broke in, appearing out of nowhere.
"Riezel!"
Seeing that silhouette, someone cried out.
"Don't!"
Seeing the young man stand in front of the torrent of light, someone screamed in terror, but he treated all of it as noise and cast it aside.
"I didn't do all this just to make you fall into despair..."
Murmuring words that no one else could hear, Riezel stretched out his hand toward the oncoming torrent of light.
No one noticed that at that instant, a ring hidden on Riezel's hand began to glow—it was none other than Morgan's Ring.
He activated Morgan's Ring and began to chant magic.
"Sacrament - Wheel Mirror."
Magical energy surged before Riezel, forming an enormous magic mirror that stood in front of him.
*BOOOM!*
In that instant, the torrent of light crashed into it like waves slamming against reefs, striking the magic mirror with overwhelming force.
*Hummm—*
Instead of breaking, the magic mirror rotated smoothly, its surface transforming into something like a vortex that absorbed every strand of light.
Before long, the light was completely absorbed.
*Hummm—*
Right after absorbing the light, the magic mirror rotated again, and its surface lit up entirely before a burst of light erupted from the mirror's surface, just like before, erasing everything while destroying the terrain, like a torrent of light that swallowed everything in front of Riezel.
*BOOOM!*
In the next moment, the Demi Spirit, who had just finished releasing her magic and had not even had time to withdraw her magic circle, only managing to deploy her petal armor, was struck head-on by the torrent of light.
"AAAAAAAHHH—!!!"
The Demi Spirit, who had been laughing, delighted, happy, and playful only moments ago, finally let out a painful scream.
The petal armor covering her body was torn apart.
The massive tentacle-like vines were burned off one by one.
The ground beneath and in front of her was reduced to powder, as if swept by a laser cannon, causing an incomparably massive collapse.
As the disaster magic that had brought despair was reflected by Riezel and slammed into the Demi Spirit, she screamed repeatedly as her colorful skin was burned full of holes, leaving her in a wretched state.
"..."
Instantly, the entire area fell into dead silence.
Those who had been awaiting their own end stared at the unbelievable scene before them—every single one of them widened their eyes.
Seeing that the despair rushing toward them had been effortlessly torn apart and ripped open by Riezel, their hearts were filled with shock to the point that even joy failed to surface.
Yet the one responsible for all of this did not even turn his head and continued chanting magic.
"Healing droplets, tears of light, eternal sanctuary. Compose a medicinal hymn-three hundred, sixty, and five."
"The melody of the healer's almanac saves all things."
"Come, destruction of evil."
"The burial of wounds, interment of disease."
"Curses be gone in the light of vitality."
"In the name of all that is holy - I heal you."
A pure white magic circle rapidly spread beneath Riezel's feet, covering everyone present.
"Dia Fratel!"
In the next second, pure white radiance surged out from the magic circle, and the injuries of everyone bathed in the light began to recover at a visible speed.
"This is..."
Tsubaki stared in shock at her arm, which had been charred black only a moment ago and was now healing rapidly before her eyes.
"Dea Saint's magic!"
Raul, Anakitty, Alicia, and the others could not help but cry out.
At this moment, the brilliance of what was considered the highest-ranked healing magic in the entire Orario washed over everyone and healed them completely.
It not only treated their wounds but also restored their severely depleted stamina.
Healing injuries, restoring stamina, and applying a group effect—Riezel unleashed all three extraordinary effects of this highest-ranked healing magic at once, allowing the expedition party, who had been on the brink of death, to return to peak condition at a visible speed.
However, it was not over yet.
"Mass Targeting!"
Riezel activated magic once more, and this time it was magic that did not exist in this world.
When used together with other magic, it changed the target of that magic from a single target to multiple targets.
Riezel activated this magic, causing every member of the expedition party present—whether First-Class Adventurers like Finn and Ais, or supporters like Lefiya and Raul—to have a special magic mark appear on their bodies.
Immediately after that, Riezel activated the truly cheating magic.
"Grow."
"That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion."
"Grow."
"Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you."
"Grow..."
As this chant resounded, the magic mark on the members of the expedition party began to glow, while the pure white magic circle beneath Riezel turned into pure gold, causing magical energy to transform into a nebula-like mist that gathered above the adventurers, finally condensing into a hammer of light.
"Uchide no Kozuchi!"
In an instant, the most overpowered magic in this world was activated, and the hammer of light swung down again and again, scattering dazzling particles of light over everyone and enveloping them completely.
Soon enough, they felt it.
They felt that they had stepped into a new realm.
They felt that they had crossed into a new stage.
They felt themselves sublimating.
They felt themselves evolving.
Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and Ais, all Level 6, became Level 7 at this very moment.
Bete, Tiona, Tione, and Tsubaki, all Level 5, became Level 6 at this very moment.
Raul, Anakitty, and Alicia, all Level 4, became Level 5.
And Lefiya, who had been Level 3, became Level 4, becoming an existence second only to First-Class Adventurers.
"What kind of magic is this?!"
Tsubaki trembled as she shouted in disbelief.
Even the members of the Loki Familia, who had already known in advance about the existence of level-boosting magic, began breathing rapidly. As they felt the enormous power flowing within their bodies, no one could manage to say a single word.
Only Riezel's voice continued to reach their ears.
"Scared of getting hurt?"
"It's fine. I'll heal you. No matter how many times it takes, I'll make sure you get back on your feet."
"Worried about lacking power?"
"It's fine. I'll lift you up so you can keep moving forward."
"So tell me, are you still stuck in despair?"
Riezel did not turn around and simply asked quietly, addressing everyone.
"No, you aren't."
"Yeah, the enemy in front of you is strong, but you aren't weak either, right?"
"We're the Loki Familia, after all."
If one called these words encouragement, they were far too plain.
If one called this tone motivating, it was far too ordinary.
Yet for some reason, everyone, including Tsubaki, who was not even part of the Loki Familia, felt their fighting spirit reignite.
And not only that—it burned more fiercely, more intensely than before.
"Yeah, you're right..."
Light returned to Finn's eyes, and a bold, reckless smile appeared on his youthful face.
"We are…"
Riveria, gripping her broken staff, and Gareth, raising his battle axe, stepped forward together.
""LOKI FAMILIA!""
Tiona and Tione let out the roar of female warriors in unison.
"How could we…"
Bete struck his knee and bared his fangs.
"FALL HERE!"
Ais once again wrapped herself in wind, drew Desperate, and her eyes shone with determination.
"Captain…"
"Everyone…"
Lefiya, Raul, Anakitty, and Alicia were likewise encouraged and stood up one after another.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH—!!!"
As if sensing something, the Demi Spirit screamed and forcefully gathered magical energy, her entire body beginning to smoke as particles of residual magical energy wrapped tightly around her, rapidly restoring her injuries in the same manner as Revis and Olivas when they were injured.
Unfortunately for her, in this one-sided clash, the Loki Familia finally gained the upper hand for the first time, as they recovered from their injuries and restored their stamina faster than the Demi Spirit could.
"Charge!"
Finn no longer wasted words and shouted.
""OOOOOOOOHHH—!!!""
All the adventurers of the expedition party immediately let out battle cries even more fearless and ferocious than before.
Under the miraculous magic called Uchide no Kozuchi, they began their charge.
Seeing the charging adventurers, the Demi Spirit dispatched a horde of caterpillar monsters, intending to use sheer numbers to stall for time and recover first, but the massive horde was still brutally overwhelmed.
Bete, Tiona, and Tione, wielding special equipment with the Durandal attribute, charged into the monster horde like three savage beasts, becoming living meat grinders as they slaughtered wildly and sent corrosive fluid splashing in all directions.
Riveria and Lefiya began chanting magic, magic circles opening beneath their feet.
Gareth roared and swung his battle axe, single-handedly blocking all of the Demi Spirit's vines.
At some point, Finn activated his unique berserk magic—Hell Finegas.
Now, his eyes turned crimson, his strength surged, and with two spears longer than his own body, he carved out a bloody path, allowing Ais, wrapped in surging wind, to charge straight toward the Demi Spirit.
Raul, Anakitty, and Alicia did not remain idle either.
All three took out magic swords and fired wildly, either blowing apart the caterpillar monsters or shooting directly toward the Demi Spirit itself, triggering a continuous series of explosions.
Finally, even Tsubaki seemed to be spurred on.
With her katana in hand, she became a berserk female warrior, madly cutting down the surrounding caterpillar monsters.
With the blessing of Uchide no Kozuchi, the expedition party was finally able to re-form their formation and launch a proper counterattack.
Of course, this entire process was extremely difficult.
Having absorbed the magical energy accumulated over 11,000 years, the Demi Spirit had reached an entirely different realm of power, likely extremely close to the strength of her true body.
Again and again, she squandered magical energy to repair her wounds.
Again and again, she unleashed ultra-high-speed chant magic, bombarding everyone and pushing the expedition party to the brink of death, repeatedly.
But Riezel, who did not participate directly in the battle, continuously maintained Dia Fratel from the rear, allowing the dying adventurers to stand back up again and again, and continue roaring as they charged.
Knowing that their injuries could be healed, they no longer bothered with defense, ignoring it entirely and focusing solely on attacking.
Needless to say, this was also why Finn abandoned command and directly activated Hell Finegas.
"Attack!"
"Attack!"
"Abandon everything! Just attack!"
Before activating Hell Finegas, this was the final order Finn gave.
Under these conditions, the most brutal expedition battle in history unfolded in this unnoticed underground world.
Facing the Demi Spirit, the adventurers were pushed to the brink of death again and again, stood back up again and again, were struck down again and again, and charged forward again and again, all just to carve even a single wound into her.
Faced with such adventurers, the Demi Spirit finally began to fear them.
Yet she had no way to escape, as the monster she had parasitized was a very large type that could barely move, forcing her to continue fighting here without end.
In this circumstance, would the Demi Spirit fall first, or would the adventurers fall first?
Needless to say, the answer was already obvious.
No matter how vast the Demi Spirit's magical energy was, it would eventually run dry.
Riezel, however, possessed the highest-ranked Spirit Healing development ability, so even while continuously maintaining multiple overpowered magic spells, his magical energy would not be exhausted.
In the end, after a full day and night, the most brutal expedition battle finally came to an end, and the victor was, without question, the Loki Familia.
""WE WOOOOOONNN—!!!""
""WOOOOOONNN—!!!""
""OOOOOOOHHH—!!!""
When the exhausted Demi Spirit's magic stone was pierced through by Ais's sword, the adventurers erupted into wild cheers across the shattered land.
They had defeated an unprecedentedly powerful enemy.
They had crossed the threshold of an adventure.
They had achieved victory.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]