157 - - Five layers, another battle.

The spaciousness of the place, where the low, shrill buzzing of wings seems to cling to you.

Two giant ants, one blue and the other red, wait in the gaping void at the bottom of the earth.

They are the gatekeepers who block the intruders who try to go further underground with their bodies.

"Well, this time we want to make our numbers count..."

I'm not sure what you mean.

"I want to cover the characteristics of this place. So, no Kamieda Bugei."

Last time, I was able to kill the big ants without any effort at all with Stratchia's .

However, the powerful upper branch skill of martial arts comes at the cost of considerable recoil.

It was Thor's judgment that it was not suitable for a series of battles.

Forbidden to show off, Straccia nodded quietly without saying a word.

He does not even touch his eye patch. Thor scratches the bottom of his chin lightly.

For three days, including today, the red-haired swordsman, who is usually quite boisterous in his own way, is almost silent.

He just walked ahead without saying a word, silently cutting down any ants he came across.　

Perhaps he sensed something in the defeat the other day, but there was no time to delve into the inner workings of his mind now.

Thor continued to explain the plan since his next appointment was imminent.

The red one is me and Straccia. The blue one is going to be a bit tricky, can you help us, Uriel?"

"Yes, I'll take care of it."

Rummella's eyes widened in surprise when the gray-eared woman readily agreed.

The blue jade ants, whose large outstretched wings are the first thing that catches the eye, are in fact equipped with a resistance that can repel most anomalies of the state of their bodies.

They are the worst match for the ice-users, who are good at blocking their actions.

Yurir smiles at the Soukei girl who tries to interrupt him.

Instantly, her impersonal beauty like an ice sculpture collapses, and a smile that unconditionally charms others appears.

At the reassuring look in Yuril's eyes, Rummella swallowed the words she was about to say.

"Sola, you will assist Yuril, and Ram Merulla, if anything happens, you will give the order to retreat."

"To-chan, what's mu's number?"

"Moe's always."

"Love you!"

The two men stepped into the hall, and immediately the gatekeepers began to move.

The red jade on their foreheads flashed, and red light shot out in rapid succession.

At the same time, ants, their wings beating, turned into blue afterimages and attacked from overhead.

"Cut it out!

The next thing that was chanted was a magic technique of the middle branch skill, which is a higher level of .

Unlike the lower branch, which only brought sleep, this one could take away the target's body heat to a great extent, causing a sudden drop in thought and action.

But the monster, with its wings outstretched, continued to fly as if nothing had happened.

It turns around as if it is about to slice through Thor, but just before it does so, it hits an invisible wall.

Sola, who had lifted her staff, exhaled in relief.

The azure jade ant, which had made a wide turn, returned to the ceiling area and moved its inorganic eyeballs toward its new prey.

The hostility of the monster had shifted to the defenseless rear guard.

Rummella gulped silently at the sight of the ice magic that had been used to block it.

At the back of the plaza, red lights can be seen piercing the bodies of Thor and the others one after another.

The scaled armor of Stratchia's rotten dragon was also dyed white, as if it had already exceeded the limit of its absorption.

It seems as if they are destroying themselves in a reckless rush to save time.

The girl's instincts were screaming at her to run away right now.

However, Rummella's reason, which had been exposed to numerous unbelievable scenes for the past three days, held back her fear just in time.

Inhaling deeply, the girl readied herself to unleash her magic, a technique that she is absolutely proud of.

Next to her, Yuril, his silver hair shaking in the air, also inhaled deeply.

The three and a half months of training had brought the two mid-branch skills to a state of full maturity.

The name of the fruit that blossomed there is .

It is an active characteristic unique to the ice spirit tree, just like the lightning spirit tree's and the fire spirit tree's .

Its effect is the absolute activation of the next magic technique.

Furthermore...

"Freeze all..."

But there is no reason to wait for the monster to finish chanting the prayer.

The giant ants come at them with such ferocious force that they quickly take over the girls' field of vision.

At the same time, a heavy, spine-tingling bass sound suddenly rings out in their ears.

However, the sound suddenly stops.

The giant ants, which should have been coming in a straight line, are now stuck in mid-air, as if sewn together just a short distance away.

It was stuck in mid-air, unable to move, with its terrifying jaws bared.　

Then, a spell of complete death is coldly unleashed at the tip of the wand he is pointing at.

"--

The effects of the internal magic cannot be seen from the outside.

Rummella slowly gulps down his spit at the sight of the unchanged monster.

She grips her stick tightly and keeps her eyes fixed on the ugly ant, who stays within arm's reach of her.

A few seconds later.

With a plop, the ant falls to the ground.

It lies on its back, its six legs curled up toward the center.

Rummella's tense back finally relaxes at the sight of the dead ants, all their fluids frozen away.

And in the back of the hall, the battle was already being settled.

The two had been shot through with red light, but the moment Thor's outstretched hand touched the red jade ant, all the damage vanished like smoke and they were restored to their original state.

The rest is up to the swordsmen who have managed to get within sword range of the ants.

Like a pair of images reflected in a mirror, the two swordsmen, swinging from both sides, slash at the shell, the legs, and the antennae one after the other.

The two pairs of Straccia's blades raged like a storm, while Thor's blade shattered the outer shell with precision, creating afterimages of white trails.

In less than ten seconds, the red armor is cruelly destroyed, sending fragments flying wildly.

The monster nearly went insane under the onslaught, but it was easily restored to its previous state.

The wounds disappear a little, but more and more slashes are made on top of them.

The Lord of the Labyrinth's body was helplessly laid waste by the relentless blows.