Chapter 72

A red-haired female demon appeared before Hikari and the others, a cold smile playing on the corners of her lips as she carefully observed the surprised Hikari and his companions.

Her pupils were the same burning red as her hair, and her attire was a black, lusterless knight's suit that clung tightly to her skin, revealing her graceful figure even in the dimly lit labyrinth. Her top was open at the chest, exposing her beautiful breasts. Additionally, she made a rather alluring gesture by brushing her bangs behind her slightly pointed ears, a characteristic feature of her race. Although they knew it wasn't the time to think about such things, several of the male students blushed.

"Are you the hero? The one who wears shiny armor like some fool?"

"Idiot... That's annoying! What reason do I have to be called an idiot by a demon? More importantly, why is a demon here!"

Hikari, slightly irritated by the excessive and unnecessary remarks, regained his composure from his shock and questioned the demon woman's purpose.

However, the demon woman ignored Hikari's question as if it were a bother and continued with a tone that suggested she found it equally bothersome.

"Sigh~ This is absolutely meaningless~ But, orders are orders... You, the shiny one. Just to ask beforehand, are you not going to join us?"

"What? Not join... What do you mean?"

"You don't understand. It's exactly what it sounds like. I'm inviting you, the hero. Will you not join our side? There are all sorts of benefits, you know?"

For Hikari and the others, this was completely unexpected, and it took them a moment to grasp the meaning. Once they understood, their classmates naturally began to focus on Hikari, who, with a tense expression, glared back at the demon woman.

"Refuse! To betray the human race... my companions... the people of the kingdom... how can you even say such a thing! As expected, you demons are evil beings! To come here just to invite me, how foolish! With such a disadvantage, surrender now!"

Hearing Hikari's words, his classmates all showed expressions of relief. While they expected Hikari to immediately refuse, they couldn't deny a slight unease. However, childhood friends like Ryotaro and Shizukana were completely unworried.

On the other hand, despite being immediately rejected, the demon woman only muttered "Hmm" and didn't seem to care much. If anything, she seemed annoyed by Hikari's angry response.

"Just to be clear, it's fine if you come with your companions? Even so?"

"The answer is the same! No matter how many times you ask, I have no intention of betraying!"

Hikari, representing the group, answered immediately without consulting his companions. It seemed he was displeased with being invited, and he activated his holy sword, which was enveloped in light, showing his resolve: "Enough talk, if you don't surrender, I'll use force!"

Behind him, Ei and Shizukana inwardly sighed, maintaining maximum vigilance. They both thought that, in this situation, it would be better to lie and go along with the demon woman to a different place. However, before they could convey this thought to Hikari, he let his anger drive his response, leaving them no choice but to prepare for any unforeseen events.

Generally, it was hard to imagine that a single demon, no matter how powerful her magic, could come here alone. To annihilate the monsters of this level without a trace was impossible. If the demon were truly that strong, the human race would be doomed to be trampled by the demons sooner or later.

Moreover, the demon woman remained calm even when faced with fifteen human companions who had reached this level. Considering she had hidden the traces of her previous battles, it was likely, as initially suspected, that she was lying in wait here. If so, it was reasonable to assume she had the advantage of the terrain. From now on, anything could happen.

Their sense of crisis was soon proven correct.

"Is that so? Then, it's useless. Also, just to say... don't be overly optimistic that you won't be killed just because inviting you is the top priority. Lotus, Haberu, Anji. It's time to eat!"

After calling out three names, with a shattering sound, Shizukana and Ei simultaneously let out groans as they were blown away.

"Ugh!?"

"Kya!?"

The thing that blew them away was unknown. At the demon woman's command, the space on either side of Hikari and his companions began to shake, and something approached at a speed comparable to a teleportation spell. Unprepared, Hikari and his classmates, who were focused on the demon woman, were caught off guard.

Shizukana and Ei, who had set up the maximum alert, barely noticed the ambush and immediately took defensive stances to protect the targeted students from the invisible enemy.

Shizukana, a speed-type warrior with low defense, drew her sword and crossed it with the scabbard in front of her chest. She aimed to counter the impact by jumping backward at the moment of impact. However, the opponent's attack was far beyond her expectations, shattering her defense and leaving a shallow cut on her abdomen. The air was forced out of her lungs, and she fell to the ground with a thud.

Ei, with the innate ability of a "Heavy Fighter," was particularly suited for defense despite being a combat-oriented class. He had mastered the derived skill "Body Hardening" from "Body Strengthening" and learned the derived skill "Adamantine." When using both derived skills simultaneously, his durability far exceeded that of a steel shield. Combined with his massive build, breaking through his defense, which was like a human fortress, was nearly impossible.

However, even Ei's defense was penetrated by the attack, leaving deep cuts on his arms as he was blown away, spewing blood. He collided with Hiyama and the others, who were coincidentally behind him, avoiding additional injuries from a violent impact with the ground.

The shattering sound of glass was from the barrier spell that Suzu had pre-cast in response to Shizukana's combat stance. Following her instinctive sense of danger, she immediately activated the barrier. The position was at the rear of the group. It wasn't because she sensed something there, but because she felt it was her duty to set up a barrier from the rear, given Shizukana and Ei's positions. This action was extremely correct. Without Suzu's barrier, the third shaking space would have mercilessly sliced through Ei's team.

However, as a trade-off for beautifully protecting her companions, Suzu was caught in the shockwave that shattered the barrier and was blown backward. Fortunately, Eri, who was behind her, immediately caught her, saving her from further harm. Like the other two that had cut Ei and Shizukana, the third one immediately launched a follow-up attack, and the danger was far from over.

The classmates were still reeling from the sudden attack when the three shaking slicers approached. At that moment,

"Light's grace be upon us! [Heaven's Grace], [Heaven's Circle], [Heaven's Absolute]!"

Kaori used a nearly incantation-free abbreviated chant to simultaneously cast three light magic spells.

The first was [Heaven's Grace], a mid-level light healing spell that could immediately heal Shizukana and Ei, who had been cut and blown away and were struggling to stand up. A faint white light enveloped them, and their wounds healed at an unusual speed.

The second spell, [Heaven's Circle], was also a mid-level light healing spell, but it was an automatic healing spell. While the healing amount was small, it would continue to operate for a certain period. The characteristic of this spell was that the caster would be surrounded by a faint magical light. Kaori used this property to suppress the healing effect to the minimum and cast it on the unknown enemy, indirectly revealing its form.

The form revealed by the white light was a strange monster with a lion's head, dragon's limbs and claws, a snake's tail, and vulture wings. It was a chimera. Clearly, it possessed a camouflage-type innate magic that could not only hide its form but also its presence, making it a troublesome ability. However, it couldn't fully utilize its ability while moving, which was a fortunate flaw.

In any case, even top-tier close combatants like Shizukana and Ei were incapacitated by a single hit. The enemy was terrifying. If it could completely hide its form, there would be no way to fight it. Compared to the monsters of this level, this was clearly a higher-level monster.

Because the three chimeras were enveloped in light, it was clear that they were preparing to launch follow-up attacks. Their targets were Shizukana, Ei, and Suzu. However, the attacks didn't reach them. In front of each of them, a light shield appeared, and although it was shattered by the chimera's attacks, the angle at which they were set deflected the attacks, saving them at the last moment.

[Heaven's Absolute] was a mid-level light defensive spell, an advanced version of the basic light defensive spell [Light Shield], which could create multiple shields at once. As a "Barrier Master," Suzu could use this spell to create a "Multiple Barriers" version, continuously replenishing the barriers as they were destroyed. While each shield was fragile and would be destroyed immediately, breaking through the entire set would take some time. Kaori, with her full light attribute affinity, couldn't use this method as effectively as Suzu, who specialized in barriers. At most, she could make minor adjustments to the barriers.

However, this time it worked. The moment Suzu's strong barrier was shattered, Kaori realized her barriers wouldn't be effective and chose to obstruct the attacks. However, the attacks weren't necessarily the same as expected, so it was more of a gamble. It was fortunate that it worked.

The three chimeras, their attacks obstructed, seemed slightly agitated and shifted their positions to attack again. The time gained was only a moment, but even a moment was valuable. Hikari and the others didn't waste it.

"Get away from Shizukana!"

No one criticized the fact that Ei was left behind. Hikari roared in anger and used [Teleport] to close the distance and charge at the chimera attacking Shizukana. Hikari's movement speed exceeded the visual persistence, leaving a trail of afterimages. His holy sword, raised above his head, shone even brighter as he delivered a powerful downward slash at the chimera's head.

At the same time, Ryotaro took a stance to punch the chimera attacking Ei. He judged that the shockwave from his gauntlet-type divine artifact would be faster than a direct attack. Ryotaro gathered his magical power into his gauntlet, emitting a tearing aura.

Additionally, Eri, who had caught the blown-away Suzu, had already extended her hand. Like Suzu, she followed her sense of danger and completed the continuous incantation, casting a powerful fire magic spell. [Sea Flame], a mid-level fire magic spell, manipulated a tidal wave of flames, a wide-area attack that even agile enemies couldn't easily avoid.

Hikari's holy sword struck with tremendous power and speed. Ryotaro's punch, in a beautiful stance, released a continuous shockwave, and Eri's crimson tidal wave of death engulfed the target, raising a cloud of dust.

However...

"Roar!"

"Grrooaaar!"

Where were they hiding? At the moment Hikari's and the others' attacks hit their targets, three shadows roared and attacked Hikari and the others.

"Wh-What!?"

A sudden chill ran down Hikari's and Ryotaro's spines. Two shadows charged at Hikari and Ryotaro with great force, simultaneously swinging metal flails.

Hikari immediately used the centrifugal force from his sword swing to twist his body. Ryotaro, unable to retract his extended right hand in time, raised his tensed left arm to block the approaching flail. Hikari lost his balance and rolled on the ground, while Ryotaro, after blocking the flail, was hit by two heavy punches and was sent flying.

The sudden attackers were monsters about two and a half meters tall, resembling blue ogres. However, just as in RPGs where the same type of monster can have low-level and high-level variants, these monsters were much more impressive than the pig-like blue ogres. They could be called a higher-level version of blue ogres, perhaps named "Blue Ogre Beasts." Indeed, they looked like blue ogres that had been trained to the extreme, with their muscles redefined. The arm strength and movement speed they displayed in the sudden attack were far beyond those of ordinary blue ogres.

On the other side, Eri, though not directly attacked, suffered a psychological blow far greater than Hikari and Ryotaro. The tidal wave of flames she had pushed forward was suddenly sucked into the mouth of a shadow that leaped into it. With a roar, the flames were drawn into a single point and disappeared in less than ten seconds.

In the space cleared of flames and heat, a monster with six legs and a giant turtle-like appearance appeared. Its shell was dyed the same deep red as the fierce and wild flames that had nearly incinerated the enemies.

Next, the multi-legged turtle, having absorbed the flames, opened its mouth again with a loud sound. At the same time, its shell glowed intensely, and a deep red light formed in the depths of its open mouth, like a laser cannon charging energy before firing.

Seeing this, Eri's face showed anxiety. She had no time to deal with the released magic. However, her anxiety was dispelled by the energetic voice of her close friend in her arms.

"Sorry! Overlapping protective light, as long as the will remains, [Heaven's Absolute]!"

Instantly, ten overlapping light shields appeared in front of Suzu and the others. The [Multiple Barriers] version of [Heaven's Absolute]. The shields were all set at a 45-degree angle, and at the same moment, the ultra-high-temperature beam from the multi-legged turtle shattered the shields and deflected upward.

However, the continuous beam attacks were far more powerful than the chimera's attacks. In less than the blink of an eye, the shields were shattered. Suzu clenched her teeth and repeated the incantation, continuously constructing new shields. True to her name as a "Barrier Master," the speed at which she constructed the shields barely matched the speed at which the multi-legged turtle's beam destroyed them, successfully deflecting the beam.

The deflected beam struck the ceiling of the labyrinth, causing a violent tremor and showering the area with red-hot minerals.

"Damn it! What is this?"

"What is this monster?"

"Damn it, let's go!"

With the situation deteriorating, Hiyama and Ei's team finally began to curse, shaking off their confusion and fully preparing for combat. The injured Shizukana and Ei were completely healed and began attacking the visible chimeras.

Shizukana entered a super-high-speed world where even afterimages were invisible. The sound of ruptured air made it seem as if her form had disappeared, and the next moment, she appeared behind the chimera, drawing her sword in a precise iaido technique.

[No Rhythm] allowed her to move and strike without any preparatory actions. Her form was invisible simply because her speed was too fast, and her sudden changes in speed and direction were too abrupt for perception to keep up. Additionally, her sword skills further enhanced her striking and drawing speed, combining with the inherent speed of the sword to create a god-like speed that ordinary beings couldn't achieve.

As a return for the hit she had received, Shizukana unleashed the secret technique of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu—[Sky Splitter]. True to its name, a silver sword line raced through the air, and in the next moment, the chimera's snake tail was severed.

"Roar!"

The chimera roared in anger and swung its sharp claws backward. However, the attack cut through empty air. Shizukana had already