Chapter 37
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It was never revealed during the battle that time magic of the acceleration system was at work when Mithril First wielded its snake-bladesword.
There was only the despair of it being too fast.
This was the Time Dungeon, and given the prior information that the enemy used time magic, perhaps such a situation should have been anticipated.
But aside from the sword saint Eris, even if it was known that the opponent would attack in a way that could not be visually perceived, how were they supposed to deal with it?
In the end, it could be said that there was no way to counter it. No, perhaps they could have considered retreating early on in the battle before the damage escalated.
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The ultra-high-speed attacks slice through the room from end to end with a vicious screeching sound. The party formation was meaningless.
Still, amidst the desperate battle, it was a small mercy that no one let out a scream that would induce panic.
However, it was a fact that a mysterious person’s cry of 「Uwaaaah!!」 echoed through the air as he slumped to the ground, his legs giving out, and he lost control of his bladder.
In any case, for Iraiza, who devoted most of her thoughts to the enemy monster in order to survive this predicament, that person was already out of the question. If so, there was only one thing needed now.
How to deal damage to the opponent.
Even calculating with Caduceus’s combat power, it seemed impossible to inflict damage on the mithril, which was likely enhanced with some kind of magical buff.
Naturally, it also seemed too much for the newly S-ranked Wandering Zephyrlily to handle.
Iraiza came to regret something else here.
Why hadn’t she grasped the combat abilities of the parties accompanying the Hero’s party? It was too late for regrets now.
The battle had already begun, and thanks to the excellent healers in the two parties accompanying the Hero’s group, there were somehow no deaths yet, but there were numerous injured, including some in critical condition.
Twelve members had joined the Hero’s party.
Half of them were already immobilized.
If the Holy Knight, deemed incompetent by everyone, were here, he would have immediately discerned the party’s biggest miscalculation.
But he wasn’t here.
There is a substance called orichalcum, said to have the highest hardness among the Three Mythical Ores.
Eris once fought alongside her master in a dungeon and sliced the formidable monsters known as the Checkmates into pieces, along with their orichalcum whips, even defeating the Orichalcum Queen, renowned as the strongest among them.
However, there were two differences between the Eris of that time and the Eris of now.
First, she simply lacked the brilliance in wielding her sword.
Ever since conquering the Blade Dungeon, Eris had a somewhat gloomy expression, but after recently returning from the training hall with the Hero and the guild, the vitality had completely vanished from her face.
This was clearly reflected in her swordsmanship.
Second, she was unable to use the Holy Sword bestowed upon her by her master Ryūgūin.
One of the two swords hanging at her waist was the Holy Sword, a national treasure of the Arcana Kingdom, but although Eris carried it, she could not bring herself to draw it.
If she were to unsheathe it, she would…
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After a short while, the sword saint Eris deflected the snake-bladesword, and the deflected blades were blocked by Jessica, the tank of Caduceus, and Tommy of Wandering Zephyrlily. The healers of the two accompanying parties healed any attacks that slipped through, somehow maintaining equilibrium.
By that time, the Hero had finally regained his composure and issued instructions to Angelica, who had been eagerly awaiting his orders.
「Angie! Use that lightning magic! Incinerate that thing!」
The Hero shouted his command, but in reality, he had no grasp of what kind of magic the wise Angelica could use. He simply gave instructions based on the most impressive magic he had seen.
「Understood, O Hero!」
However, the wise Angelica dutifully nodded.
Observing from the side, Iraiza found it puzzling why the supposedly intelligent Angelica was so fixated on following the Hero’s instructions.
But… Iraiza shook her head three times to dispel the ominous premonition.
No way. She was overthinking it. It couldn’t be. After all, wasn’t Angelica, renowned as The Wisest of the Wise, once the talk of the town for annihilating a top-tier monster known as the Angel with a single strike of the very magic she was currently chanting?
However, Iraiza couldn’t shake off her doubts, and her thoughts became scattered as she grew impatient. Meanwhile, the other party members were relieved, thinking they could finally escape the dungeon.
But it happened at that very moment.
Mithril First’ body blurred.
At first, Iraiza thought it was a trick of the eye. It wasn’t uncommon for vision to blur due to extreme concentration during battle.
In the Nexby Dungeon, dubbed the most challenging in human history by Ryūgūin, a few seconds of misjudgment, a slight delay in thought, could be fatal.
The blurred figure of Mithril First materialized into reality. It was the moment a second Mithril First was born.
Despair loomed before Iraiza and the others.
If they couldn’t even stand against one, now there were two…
Almost all the accompanying party members, upon realizing what had happened, resigned themselves to death. But the true despair arrived in the next moment.
The newly born Mithril First held not snake-bladeswords in its hands, but spears of gleaming white mithril, matching its body. Without even taking a running start, it rotated its shoulders in a circular motion. That was enough.
The silver-white spear was hurled at a terrifying speed.
Becoming a streak of light, it struck the shield of Jessica from Mithril First, who was currently serving as the main tank. It easily pierced through, penetrating her abdomen. The momentum didn’t wane as it pinned her to the door of the boss room’s entrance.
The spear-wielding Mithril First immediately rotated its shoulders again, as if signaling that its warm-up was over. Another spear was launched simultaneously.
It pierced the shield of Tommy from Wandering Zephyrlily, who was functioning as the secondary shield, and impaled her, pinning her to the wall near the entrance.
Clang.
Tommy’s heavy shield slid off the spear that had pierced it.
It all transpired in less than a minute.
This won’t work! Focus on the battle—Iraiza gritted her teeth and shifted her gaze back to the monster.
The hurled spears were already gripped in Mithril First’ hands again.
Mithril First’s shoulders rotated in a circular motion.
Whoosh!!
Hurled at an even greater speed than before, the godly spears tore through the air, and among the members of the Hero’s party…
「Ah…」
Angelica, the only one deemed capable of defeating the enemy when considering this party’s offensive power—the first spear pierced her abdomen, and without a moment’s pause, the second spear penetrated her chest where her lungs were located.
Splat.
The blood-soaked Angelica collapsed on the spot.
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