Battle on the Fifty-First Floor

"Die!"

With a roar, Tiona darted back and forth among the monsters.

Her giant double-bladed sword swung with powerful might, leaving no openings.

With swift speed, Tiona showed no awareness of danger, relentlessly cutting down the monsters before her.

"That's the fifth one!"

A single powerful strike split the enemy in two. Her decisive attacks constantly embodied her title.

Great Cut!

After killing the enemy before her, Tiona ignored its corpse and charged straight towards the next monster.

"You idiot! Keep up with her, Ais!"

"Understood!"

Hearing Tione's command, Ais flashed like a silver light, instantly scattering the monsters that were trying to surround her.

This was the 51st floor of the Dungeon, an extremely rare labyrinthine terrain.

Such terrain was uncommon, even in the deeper levels.

The walls, floor, and ceiling formed flat planes, and countless neat, natural underground passages created numerous corners and intersections.

The pitch-black walls were neither stone nor earth. Here, the only light came from the phosphorescence overhead.

In the spacious, straight passages, Ais and the others were fighting the monsters of the 51st floor.

Black Rhinoceros!

These were monsters that walked on their hind legs, with their front parts leading. Though less than two meters tall, their bodies were covered in robust muscle.

They possessed hardness far exceeding the Formorians of the 49th floor. The Formorians were like children in front of them.

But their opponents were no ordinary people; they were an elite team from Loki Familia.

"Hah!"

Leaping from mid-air, Tiona, wielding her great double-bladed sword, cleaved one head-on into two. Then, with a single blow, she sent another Black Rhinoceros flying beside it.

Before this flying Black Rhinoceros could even land, a silver light flashed. It was targeted by Ais and instantly turned into Magic Stones.

With her unparalleled speed, Ais's figure flickered incessantly within the monster horde.

With every swing of her sword, a Black Rhinoceros was slain.

[Release the Arrow of Light, Bow of the Sacred Tree, I am the Master of the Bow.]

[Intercept! Elven Archer!]

[Pierce! Infallible Arrow!]

About ten meters away from where Ais and Tiona were fighting monsters, the elf maiden chanted the incantation of a Magic spell in a beautiful, rhythmic tone.

"Arc Ray!"

Then, a golden beam shot out from Lefia's hand. The dazzling light instantly crossed the distance and, in the blink of an eye, struck the enemy's massive body.

A giant spider monster, which had stealthily emerged from the ceiling, was annihilated by Lefia's Arc Ray before it could even act.

"Ais, Tiona, please watch out for the Aberrant Spiders on the ceiling!"

"Well done, Lefia!"

Hearing Lefia's shout, Tiona responded loudly.

Even Ais found an opportunity in the midst of battle to nod in acknowledgment to Tiona.

Seeing their responses, Lefia smiled, her face flushed red.

Lefia was extremely satisfied with her own progress.

"You're getting more confident, Lefia!"

Shirou Emiya, aiming his bow at a Black Rhinoceros, loosed an arrow and then lowered his head, smiling as he praised Lefia.

If it were the old Lefia, she probably wouldn't even have been able to complete the incantation!

As soon as Shirou Emiya finished speaking, an explosion erupted. The destructive power of Illusionary Collapse swept through everything around them.

As the power of Illusionary Collapse waned, Shirou Emiya had been constantly searching for opportunities to change it.

Ultimately, Shirou Emiya found a new attack method.

By increasing the attack power of his arrows, he could shoot them into the enemy's body for internal detonation. This way, even an opponent with LV. 5 durability could be harmed.

And this strike was precisely that.

"Shirou, four more have come from the right passage, they're all yours!"

"Don't worry, Tione, I'll take care of every single one of them."

Abandoning his ranged attack, Shirou Emiya, who had re-projected the enhanced greatsword version of Gan Jiang Mo Ye, charged forward to meet them.

Tione, acting as the vanguard, commanded the battle while supporting the attack by throwing daggers.

With Lefia's magic attacks, no longer timid, the monsters here were quickly annihilated.

"Well done, Lefia, this is all thanks to you!"

"That's right, Lefia did a great job!"

"Indeed, incredibly reliable!"

As seniors, Tione and the other two wouldn't hold back their praise for the reliable backs of their juniors.

"I'm not that good!"

"Don't be modest, Lefia, just accept your seniors' praise!"

Gently patting Lefia's shoulder, Shirou Emiya also praised her.

After some commendation, Shirou Emiya and the other four began collecting the Magic Stones and dropped materials.

Tione hadn't intended to collect materials, but this team operation was different. A team with two supporters like Shirou Emiya and Lefia had the capacity to collect some dropped materials.

After collecting the materials, the five-person party once again set off on the road to Cadmus Spring.

Within the five-person party, Tiona forged ahead as the vanguard.

Tione acted as the center guard, protecting Shirou Emiya and Lefia as they walked in the middle.

Ais, whose strength was the greatest, brought up the rear.

Facing the monsters on the fifty-first floor, the five-person party advanced relentlessly, like a force unstoppable.

"I feel like there aren't many monsters coming out today!"

"Wouldn't it be better if they avoided us? If we can complete the quest without fighting, thank goodness!"

"That's not what I meant! Forget it!"

Since then, although they encountered monsters several more times, they were all smoothly resolved by the five.

But the deeper they went, the more uneasy Shirou Emiya became!

"Something's really wrong!"

"What is it?"

Hearing Shirou Emiya's sudden words, everyone was startled but quickly asked seriously.

"The number of monsters is too abnormal! It's not at all the strength expected on the fifty-first floor. Could we have encountered an Abnormal Situation!"

"Abnormal Situation!"

Hearing this phrase, everyone's hearts couldn't help but tense up.

For Adventurers, the most dangerous thing was an Abnormal Situation.

It always managed to lay a trap for Adventurers without them realizing it, and then take their lives.

Tione's heart skipped a beat as she began to ponder.

It was indeed too abnormal here, completely different from her previous visits.

"Force march, don't linger here too long, and hurry to Cadmus Spring!"

"Yes!"

Not just Tione, but everyone became tense upon hearing "Abnormal Situation."

If they encountered an Abnormal Situation here, even they wouldn't be able to handle it!

Especially since they were already close to Cadmus Spring, it would be truly troublesome if the Strong Dragons guarding Cadmus Spring were attracted by an Abnormal Situation.

Everyone's pace quickened. As the path beneath their feet grew narrower, Tione knew they were nearing their destination.

And just then, she ordered the team to stop.

"We are about to reach Cadmus Spring. Before that, let's confirm some precautions!"