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Chapter 55: Remnants
An explosive surge of magic had suddenly detonated across the 18th Floor.
"No. I'm going with you."
"!?"
A sharp, calm flame ignited upon Tsuna's forehead as he entered Hyper Dying Will Mode. Seeing his entire demeanor shift from a timid boy to a hardened warrior in the blink of an eye, Ryuu's breath hitched in her throat.
This presence... it's exactly like back then...!? Looking at the hyper-focused Tsuna, the image of a certain silver-haired adventurer she had fought alongside during the Dark Age flashed through Ryuu's mind.
Could he truly be an adventurer of that caliber!? But how could a rookie who just arrived in Orario possess such overwhelming power!? Ryuu couldn't comprehend how the boy standing before her could exude an aura that rivaled the city's greatest veterans.
"Grab onto my leg, Ryuu."
He's flying!? Tsuna fired a burst of flames from his boots, launching himself into the air and hovering off the ground. Ryuu stared in absolute shock, never having imagined that a mortal could fly.
"As long as you grab over my clothes, it shouldn't trigger your rejection, right?"
Realizing his intent, Ryuu kicked off the ground, leaped into the air, and firmly grabbed Tsuna's left ankle with her left hand.
"Hold on tight."
Using his flames for propulsion, Tsuna blasted through the sky, flying straight toward the epicenter of the magical explosion. Conscious of the passenger hanging from his leg, he carefully modulated his speed so the wind pressure wouldn't rip her grip away.
Are those... Squinting against the wind, Tsuna's enhanced vision caught sight of the monsters rampaging at the source of the blast. They were Man-Eating Flowers—the exact same species they had fought on the 59th Floor.
Looks like there's about ten of them... But why are they up here? Knowing they were a deep-floor species, Tsuna felt a deep sense of wrongness seeing them on the 18th Floor.
"I've never heard of plant-type monsters spawning on the 18th Floor. It seems we're dealing with a new species," Ryuu analyzed, looking down at the chaos.
"Looks like your bad feeling was right on the money," Tsuna replied. "More importantly, Ryuu, what Level are you?"
"Level 4."
"Can you use wide-area attack magic?"
Since Ryuu was an Elf like Riveria and Lefiya, Tsuna deduced she likely possessed powerful offensive magic.
"I can. However, it requires a chant, which will take time."
"Start chanting now. If you start from up here, you'll be able to fire it the second we arrive."
"Even if I begin now, it is impossible to finish the chant before we reach them."
"That's fine. I'll stop them the moment we arrive."
"Understood."
She had no idea how he planned to halt an entire horde of monsters simultaneously, but trusting the absolute confidence in his voice, Ryuu closed her eyes and began her incantation mid-air.
.....
Meanwhile, at the epicenter of the magical blast.
What do I do... at this rate, we're going to die!! Lefiya stood trembling in terror as ten massive Man-Eating Flowers loomed over her. Behind her lay Bell, completely unconscious.
The chain of events leading to this disaster had started earlier that afternoon. Instigated by Hermes, Bell had accidentally stumbled upon Ais and the other female adventurers while they were bathing. After apologizing profusely, the women had forgiven him, largely because they knew Hermes was the true mastermind. Lefiya, however, had absolutely refused to let it slide. She had chased Bell out of the camp and through the forest until both of them had hopelessly lost their way.
Wandering through the woods, they had accidentally triggered a pitfall trap and tumbled into the lair of a rare, trap-type monster that melted its prey in a pool of acid. After a desperate, grueling battle, Lefiya and Bell had expended every last drop of their magic to incinerate the beast.
But the moment they dragged themselves out of the pit, two mysterious figures dressed entirely in white robes appeared. Without a word, the figures summoned a horde of Man-Eating Flowers and commanded them to execute the exhausted adventurers.
I have to do something!! This is all my fault to begin with!! Lefiya stood protectively in front of the unconscious Bell. She loathed the human boy, but she certainly didn't want him to die. She frantically racked her brain for a way to let him escape. However, her Mind was completely depleted from the previous battle, and Bell couldn't even stand. The situation was hopeless, and the chilling specter of death loomed over her.
Suddenly—
"Natsu."
"ROOOOOOOAR!!"
A mighty, echoing roar shattered the tension, and a torrential downpour of brilliant blue flames crashed down from the sky, washing over the battlefield. The moment the azure flames touched them, the Man-Eating Flowers' movements ground to a sluggish, agonizing crawl.
Tsuna had swapped his Sky Flames for Rain Flames, causing his Box Weapon, Natsu, to change attributes in sync. Unleashing a wide-area roar infused with the Rain Flame's characteristic of Tranquility, Natsu had effectively neutralized the kinetic energy of the monsters, slowing them to a near halt.
"Now, Ryuu!"
"[Cross the sky, race through the wilderness, and run faster than anyone. Harbor the light of stardust and smite mine enemy.]"
Releasing her grip on Tsuna's leg, Ryuu fell freely toward the earth, the final verse of her chant ringing out with crystalline clarity.
"[Luminous Wind!]"
A massive barrage of emerald wind and radiant light spheres bombarded the immobilized Man-Eating Flowers. Unable to dodge, the monsters were completely obliterated in a spectacular series of explosions. Using the blinding dust and smoke as cover, the two white-robed figures vanished into the forest.
Ryuu landed gracefully on the ground, followed shortly by Tsuna, who descended slowly on his flames before recalling Natsu back into his ring.
"Are you two alright?" Tsuna asked, rushing over.
"Y-Yes... thank you so much..." Lefiya stammered, collapsing to her knees in relief as Bell slowly began to regain consciousness beside her.
"Tsuna...? Miss Ryuu...?" Bell groaned, holding his head.
His flame is a different color? Lefiya noticed that the flame burning on Tsuna's forehead and the fiery mane on his small lion familiar had shifted from a vivid orange to a bright, piercing yellow.
They're both in terrible shape... Tsuna surveyed their injuries. Both Bell and Lefiya were covered in severe bruises, and large patches of their skin were suffering from horrifying acid burns.
Tsuna's yellow flame flared brighter. He gently placed his hands atop Bell and Lefiya's heads.
"Don't move."
Flames ignited over his gloves, smoothly washing over the two injured adventurers.
"Mr. Sawada!! What are you doing!?" Ryuu shouted.
"My wounds are...!"
"They're healing...!?"
"What!?"
Instead of burning them, the yellow Sun Flames rapidly mended their torn flesh. The agonizing acid burns faded away, the bruised tissue repaired itself, and their skin returned to its flawless, original state. Watching fatal wounds completely vanish in seconds, Bell, Lefiya, and Ryuu were left completely utterly stunned.
"I used my flames to stimulate and accelerate your body's natural cellular regeneration. You should be perfectly fine now," Tsuna explained calmly as the flame on his forehead shifted back to its standard orange hue.
The yellow Sun Flames possessed the characteristic of Activation. By supercharging a target's biology, Tsuna could force their bodies to heal grievous wounds in seconds or temporarily push their physical limits far beyond normal capacity.
"Lefiya!!"
"Miss Ais!!"
Hearing the massive explosions, Ais burst through the treeline, her sword drawn. Seeing that Bell and Lefiya were completely unharmed, the tension instantly vanished from her shoulders.
"Now that she is here, you are both safe. There is a matter I must investigate, so I shall take my leave," Ryuu stated flatly.
Terrified that the arriving Loki Familia members would recognize her face, Ryuu immediately turned and vanished into the depths of the forest. Bell and Lefiya watched her go in silent confusion.
Those eyes... However, looking at Ryuu's face just before she left, Tsuna had felt a chilling, murderous intent rolling off of her.
Shortly after Ais's arrival, the rest of the Loki Familia rushed into the clearing. Finn immediately ordered a perimeter check and began interrogating Bell and Lefiya to determine exactly what had happened.
Wait, where did Tsuna go? Midway through answering Finn's questions, Bell suddenly realized that Tsuna had completely disappeared.
.....
Meanwhile, having slipped away to investigate the anomaly, Ryuu tracked her prey.
""Gaaah!!""
With a ruthless, perfectly aimed strike, Ryuu slashed the backs of the two fleeing white-robed figures' knees, dropping them to the ground and cutting off their escape.
"Now then, I have quite a few questions for you. Were you the ones who released those new monsters? If so, what exactly is your objective here?"
Looking down at the crippled figures with eyes as cold as absolute zero, Ryuu began her brutal interrogation.
She had spotted the white-robed duo right before unleashing her magic on the Man-Eating Flowers. Their presence heavily implied that the deep-floor monsters hadn't simply wandered up to the 18th Floor by accident; it was a deliberate, orchestrated attack.
Suddenly, a small, crimson sphere rolled out from beneath one of the white robes.
It was a Magic Item—a Flame Stone. Magic Items were a broad category of tools imbued with supernatural effects, ranging from everyday conveniences to illegal, highly destructive weapons. The Flame Stone sitting in front of her was designed to generate a massive, localized explosion of fire.
"And that suicide gear you're wearing... I recognize it."
A horrifying memory from the Dark Age surfaced in Ryuu's mind. She remembered the fanatics who strapped Flame Stones to their own bodies, turning themselves into living bombs to drag their enemies to hell with them. She remembered the monsters who had stolen the lives of her beloved friends.
"You're survivors of that wretched faction. You're remnants of the Evilus."
Ryuu's voice was devoid of any emotion, but the sheer, suffocating density of her bloodlust made the two white-robed figures tremble violently in terror.
"If you refuse to speak, then I will strip the skin from your backs and expose your Statuses to the world. And once your identities are laid bare... I will slaughter every last one of you who sides with an evil God."
Ryuu had once bathed Orario in blood to avenge her fallen Familia, executing the Evilus and everyone connected to them until she believed the faction was entirely eradicated. Discovering that the Evilus had survived the purge caused the long-dormant flames of her vengeance to ignite into a roaring inferno.
Drawing a vial of Status Thief from her pouch, Ryuu raised her wooden sword high above her head to shatter their defenses and strip them bare.
"S-Stop!! Don't do it!!"
Ignoring their pathetic pleas for mercy, Ryuu swung her blade down with merciless, lethal intent.
"That's enough."
"!?"
But Ryuu's blade never reached its target. Stopping the weapon just inches from the white-robed figures' skulls, Tsuna stood firmly between them, gripping the tip of her wooden sword with his bare hand.
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