169 - - The labyrinthine lord-the mad war-the mad war.

Glowing darkness.

These contradictory words were beautifully embodied by the masters who had turned into a frenzied phase.

Their bodies, which rise to the surface in the light of the phantom lamps, are jet-black, yet radiate a light that seems to attract the eye.

The outer shell shining on a black day, shaved off at a sharp angle.

Antennae and legs as sharp as needles and tougher than steel.

Blade-thin black wings that stretch longer than the body.

Wrapped in black vajra stones, the giant ants emitted an eerie vibrating sound all at once.

One after another, they float in the air and pounce on the man who has carved them up.

Stratchia, on the other hand, stood still and did not move.

No, he cannot move.

Caught in the grip of Yuril's , his body is frozen in mid-stride as he emits a feeble stream of white flame.

Monsters mercilessly close in on the defenseless swordsman.

Their jaws are about to break open, but just before they can do so, they are held back by an invisible wall.

The seven monsters that jumped into the air one after another came to a standstill.

The ants, positioned in the air in a spiral, beat the air with their wings and twist madly, but their fixed jaws do not budge.

The girl, who had created an impossible scene by unleashing a series of magic moves, exhaled deeply as if in relief.

The old Sola might not have been able to respond so perfectly.

The girl nodded her head in satisfaction and looked at the child next to her, who had a blue needle growing out of his head.

The one who was most in tune with Moo, who had acquired the property of , was actually Sora, who had been by her side all along, watching over her.

When the girl reaches out her hand, a small hand squeezes it as if in response.

Sola's mouth breaks into a smile at the warmth she feels.

Thor makes his way to Straccia again, taking advantage of the gap where the ants have stopped moving.

As soon as his outstretched hand touched the armor, a white flame flared up in a strong, swirling flame.

Thor another part of his armor and jumps back with a hard tap on the shoulder.

The revived red-haired swordsman looks up at the sky and smiles wryly.

His knees are folded, and power is stored in his body like an arrow on the verge of being released.

It all started with the system whereby the presence of the Kamieda martial art prevented other spells and characteristics from being cast.

After having Thor tinker with the skill tree and restore it to its original state, Straccia realizes a new possibility.

Unlike magical skills, martial arts can only generate branch skills appropriate to the weapons that have been familiarized in one's hands over the years.

However, there are geniuses who transcend this rule.

There are those who have the talent to use the branch skills for unskilled weapons in a forceful manner.

The water that bubbles in the water jar is poured into the roots of the flame tree of Straccia.

Rapidly growing branches quickly reach their limits and create new branches.

The second branch grows to the end without stopping, and a third branch is born in succession.

Stratchia slashes the eye patch with his sword point, opens his eyes wide, and shouts in high spirits.

"Let the eternal fire burn and destroy everything in sight!

At the same time as he spoke, Stratchia, holding his twin swords, kicked the ground.

His body flipped, spinning in a cone-like motion as he shot up into the air.

At the same time, searing white flames erupted from the two blades.

The body of the red-haired swordsman soars high into the sky, cleaving the heads of the ants that cannot move.

This Kamieda Bujutsu is a skill that is normally suited for two-handed swords and large daggers, and is less powerful with one-handed swords, which have shorter blades.

This was compensated for by Sora's skill in stopping the labyrinth masters with his exquisite placement.

Cutting the ants to pieces, Straccia reached the top.

Then, with the last of his strength, he swung his twin swords down in a single stroke.

The ants, cut across the face, shudder and then stop moving.

But so did Straccia, who landed with a flourish.

He thrusts his two swords into the ground and stops himself as if frozen again.

His body, which had used up all its fighting energy, was hit by the backlash from the combined use of the two Kamieda techniques.

Normally, once a fighter has used one of the upper branch techniques, it is impossible for him to unleash another one due to the recoil.

However, before the first technique is finished, he can release as many techniques as he wants.

This was another idea that only a man with natural talent could have come up with.

Thor firmly gripped Straccia's neck as she stiffened and became dizzy.

He pulls out the turnip and throws it behind him.

The clay figures, who had been waiting for the turnip, receive it and immediately carry it to the end of the room.

Thor glances at his apprentice as he leaves, looks up, and mutters to himself.

"Well, I guess it's up to me now. I'm going to borrow this.

Stretching out lightly, he pulls out one of the rotting dragon swords, which is still stuck in the ground.

As if in time, the anchor is released, and the black ants regain their freedom.

The ants fly away at once, leaving only one ants that was killed by Straccia.

Then, as if aiming for a clear shot, Yuril lifts his staff.

"Freeze all things!"

The magical power poured through the active characteristic of brings absolute death.

As soon as it starts to move, one of them heads for the ground.

Once more, through the same process, a new one easily rolls to the ground.

Even though he had been wounded by Straccia's swordsmanship, the success rate was tremendous.

Rummella and Kugase looked on in horror at Yuril, who had unleashed four consecutive advanced magic moves and was still unperturbed.

"Was it his work that those Blue Jade Ants died unharmed?　He's a terrible person, isn't he?

"Well, when he talks, he's a very kind man. ......"

The four remaining ants, heedless of the deaths of their comrades, dart through the air at blinding speed, pouncing on their nearest prey.

The black blades flash, creating afterimages, and the sound of a hard thud echoes through the air.

Thor, having repelled a blow from the jaw, is quickly followed by a second one.

Thor stepped in front of it.

A high-speed sword strike flutters by, and the ants, off-timed, have their antennae slashed off and are forced to turn around.

Thor moves as if he had anticipated the two ants attacking him.

Once again, the ants lose sight of their target and flee into the sky, losing parts of their bodies.

There are no advanced martial arts or magic techniques left to use.

Although wounded, the four frenzied labyrinth lords are mostly alive and well.

It must be a desperate situation, but perhaps none of them would think of fleeing right now.

Stratchia let out a self-mocking smile at the sight of his brothers, who were dealing with the attacks of their powerful enemies without any signs of being overawed.

If he had an eye for movement, Straccia probably had a better eye.

I am confident that his reaction time is also faster.

But that is all.

To reach Thor's current state, it is not enough to have good eyesight and reaction time.

He must use his experience to read his opponent's moves and move one step ahead of him.

It is a simple logic in a word, but how long it will take you to be able to use it in a real battle.

Moreover, we are dealing with the true masters of the labyrinth who guard the maze of miasma.

And that's not all.

Four of them suddenly leap into the air and charge at once.

Their massive weight threatened to crush Thor.

No matter how far ahead he was, there was no way he could have avoided this attack.

However, the man who was supposed to scatter the contents of the body cruelly disappears just in time, and suddenly appears from a place where he is not supposed to be.

A black blade is unleashed with such ferocity that one of the wings is torn to shreds.

As he watched the fourth one crawling on the ground, the genius who had admitted defeat muttered to himself in secret.

"...... I guess I wasn't the one to claim the title of strongest, after all. But now ......."