Both were defensive spells whose limits could not be seen, yet Riveria's "Dimension • Severance" required a long chant to fully unleash its strongest effect, while Sakura's defense could be activated with a single, extremely short incantation—and judging from its performance, could even be used without chanting at all.
When a defense that requires lengthy chanting has the same effect as one that can be cast almost instantly, which is stronger becomes obvious at a glance.
Could it be that Sakura's defensive magic simply wasn't as strong as Riveria's "Dimension • Severance"?
The problem was—Sakura was only Lv.2.
At Lv.2, her defense had already easily withstood Ais's full-powered consecutive attacks and the collective bombardment of the Apollo Familia's rear-guard mages. So what would happen once Sakura reached Lv.3, Lv.4, or even Lv.5?
Right now, Riveria might still judge that her "Dimension • Severance" was on par with—or even slightly stronger than—Sakura's defense, only losing out in terms of practicality. But once Sakura became a first-class adventurer at Lv.5, it likely wouldn't just be a matter of practicality anymore—it would be total domination in every respect.
And then there was the most terrifying detail of all.
Such a powerful defensive spell was merely one card produced by Sakura's "Magic Card Creation." Who knew how many more cards like this she possessed?
Riveria's title of Nine Hell came from using three spells to produce nine different effects—and even then, they were weakened versions achieved by shortening the chant.
So how should Sakura's "Magic Card Creation" be evaluated—where each card she created could rival a powerful spell, and every one of them required only a short chant, or even none at all?
...
On the battlefield, after the first wave of attacks failed, the Apollo Familia's archers and rear-guard mages launched several more assaults. Without exception, none of them managed to do anything against the defense of the [Shield] card.
After enduring several rounds of attacks, Sakura finally made her next move.
A card flew out and was caught between her fingers.
"Mirror, reflect the enemy's form—
Let the figures of the past manifest in this world!"
As Sakura finished her chant, brilliant light burst forth from the card. In the next instant, three enormous mirrors suddenly appeared around the battlefield.
Such an abnormal scene naturally drew the attention of the Apollo Familia, as well as the gods and all spectators watching through the divine realm.
"Ohhh! A new spell?"
"That child of the Hestia Familia actually has two magics, and one of them is such an absurdly strong defensive spell—how enviable!"
"What does this one do, make mirrors?"
"It can't be that simple…"
"Wait—there's something coming out of the mirrors!"
"By the gods… what IS that?!"
Before the eyes of the gods, the Apollo Familia, and everyone watching the War Game through the divine realm, three colossal figures slowly appeared within the mirrors.
In the first mirror stood a humanoid monster of overwhelming height, muscles piled like bedrock, its body terrifyingly powerful.
Most adventurers in Orario were all too familiar with it.
"That's… the Floor Boss of the seventeenth floor—Goliath!!!"
Yes. What emerged from the mirror was none other than one of the Dungeon's four known Floor Bosses—Goliath.
At the same time, the figures in the other two mirrors were revealed to the crowd as well.
One was Amphisbaena, the twin-headed dragon—also one of the four known Floor Bosses, with no fixed territory.
The other was Udaeus, the Lone King of the Labyrinth, who ruled the thirty-seventh floor and dwelled primarily in the Throne Room—likewise one of the four Floor Bosses.
Under countless stunned gazes, the three fearsome Floor Bosses took a step forward.
And then, to the horror of everyone watching, their bodies emerged from the mirrors, fully leaving the reflective surfaces behind as they stepped onto the battlefield.
"ROOOAAARR——!!!!!"
As the Floor Bosses entered reality, all three let out a thunderous roar, shaking the entire battlefield.
"What—what's going on?! Why are Floor Bosses coming out of the Dungeon?!"
"It's those mirrors! Those mirrors released them!"
"No—this must be a magical effect! They aren't attacking randomly—they're deliberately surrounding the Apollo Familia!"
"What kind of magic is this?!"
At the moment the Floor Bosses stepped out of the mirrors and into reality, every god watching through the divine mirror exploded in shock.
Especially because these three summoned Floor Bosses didn't immediately rampage indiscriminately. Instead, they closed in on the Apollo Familia from three directions, deliberately surrounding them before launching a coordinated assault.
RUMBLE—!!!
Possessing extremely powerful long-range attacks, Amphisbaena was the first to strike.
Scorching azure dragonfire erupted forth, triggering massive explosions. At the same time, a red mist spread across the battlefield, drastically weakening all magic cast by the Apollo Familia. In some cases, spells even fizzled out entirely.
Following the dragon's breath, Goliath, whose combat style focused on close-quarters destruction, charged into the battlefield and began slaughtering the remaining Apollo Familia members.
In mere ten-plus seconds, without even requiring Udaeus—the strongest of the three—to properly engage, the combined assault of Goliath and Amphisbaena had already driven the Apollo Familia to near total annihilation.
"Hrrrk…"
Udaeus, seemingly unconcerned, stood at a distance. He only occasionally launched attacks to ensure that not a single Apollo Familia member could escape.
Even though the War Game had not yet been formally declared over, anyone could see that the outcome was already decided.
At this point, including the gods themselves, no one paid the Apollo Familia any attention anymore.
Through the divine realm, all eyes were fixed on the girl who had stood at the edge of the battlefield from beginning to end—who had merely cast two spells, and with that alone completely decided the outcome, crushing the entire Apollo Familia.
A defense spell that countless magical bombardments could not shake.
And now, a spell that summoned three Floor Bosses from mirrors and controlled them with ease.
Most terrifying of all—
These two absurdly powerful spells belonged to a Lv.2 child.
In that moment, the gods seemed to see it clearly.
After [Silence] Alfia, another monster of pure talent had been born.
◇ You can read 80 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/BlackDevil808
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
• 10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
• 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter