“If you are hiding something, spit it out, right now.”
“Wait! I told you before, didn’t I? I don’t have any means of doing anything remotely! Even if something was rigged to happen, it’s probably Huyghe tampering with things without my permission!” There was no malice that could be felt in Echidna’s eyes, as she spoke with tears in her eyes, her legs trembling. Gadhio clicked his tongue and lowered his sword. Then up ahead, a flock of ten or more small-sized Chimera approached.
“What the hell is going on?! Their numbers have suddenly increased!”
“I can sense a strong determination in them to prevent us from escaping.” Linus fired off arrows continuously, while Eterna, not to be outdone, unleashed a barrage of water spheres to push back the horde. Their goal was to escape, so they needed to keep moving forward even while defeating them. However, after they defeated the first group, another massive number of Chimera flooded the passageway and attacked.
“Someone needs to go ahead and clear a path. Flum, can you do it?”
“Of course, Gadhio! Haaaaah!” Flum and Gadhio moved forward, cutting through the Chimera horde. With the Cavalier Arts they unleashed simultaneously, they literally cut a path through the enemy forces, opening the way. Following behind the two of them, their comrades also attempted to make their escape. However, enemies appeared one after another, making it difficult to advance like they wanted. As everyone joined forces, Maria suddenly stopped attacking.
“Maria?” When Neigass questioned her, Maria replied with some frustration in her voice.
“This might not be the result of someone’s meddling. It might be Origin’s will.”
“Can it do that even when it’s sealed?”
“Even though we’re in the sky, we’re still quite close to the Demon Lord’s castle. The tingling sensation that Flum mentioned earlier, too, might be caused by the power emitted from Origin itself, rather than the cores.” Linus threw a knife at a leaping Chimera, taking it down, and then landed next to Maria.
“Origin’s going all out trying to kill us, huh? He’s a fraidy-cat, surprisingly enough!”
“We are not gonna lose to a guy like that!” The number of Chimera continued to increase even further, and before they knew it, Flum and the others were surrounded. Even medium-sized Chimera were now forcing their way through the narrow passageway. Tsyon smacked a small-sized Chimera that was trying to kill Echidna, sending it flying.
“So basically, they’re runnin’ wild due to Origin’s influence. These Chimera things are defective!”
“There’s nothing I can do about that! I wasn’t able to do any testing near the Demon Lord’s castle!” Her excuse hadn’t reached anyone’s ears amid the chaos of battle.
“Aqua Web!” The amplification sphere floating near Eterna spewed out a mass of water. It quickly spread out in the air and formed a net that caught several small-sized Chimera, entwining them.
“Nice, Eterna! I’ll shoot through them all together!” Linus pulled a bundle of arrows out of his quiver and shot them all at once. Then each single arrow perfectly pierced a single core in spectacular fashion, as though they had a mind of their own.
“Oh, a big one is coming from above!” A medium-sized Chimera approached from over Milkit’s head.
“Milkit, please duck!”
“Big sister, together!” Maria and Sara held their hands out in front of them at the same time, causing bright, sparkling magic circles to appear.
“Judgment: Illegal Formula!”
“Sacred Lance!” A giant sword and spear of light were unleashed simultaneously, impaling the medium-sized Chimera. With the wound it opened, the core inside the body was exposed.
“Leave the finishing blow to me!” Gadhio took a running start from behind and jumped into the air. “Ohhhhh!”
He split the Chimera’s entire torso and the core in two, cutting clean through to the other side.
“No matter how many of them gather, it’s pointless for these pathetic weaklings to face me!” Gadhio charged into the herd of Chimera with incredible ferocity, not even stopping to rest.
“Hey, hey, hey! Come on, you Chimera! You aren’t bringing the heat at all!” Meanwhile, Tsyon, fighting with another herd, was trading blows with a Chimera using his fiery fists.
“Tsyon, you’re going too far ahead!” Neigass was supporting him by thinning out the enemies with her blades of wind, from a short distance behind. If she weren’t around, Tsyon likely would’ve been beaten even bloodier. Then as if pushing the small-sized Chimera aside, a medium-sized one leapt toward him.
“Damn, a medium one!” Tsyon caught its claws using both arms, but he was pushed back by its strength and weight.
“Prana Shaker! Go!” The slash flew past Tsyon’s side and ripped open the medium-sized Chimera’s stomach.
“Gugyaaaaah!” While the Chimera was writhing in agony, Tsyon was freed.
“Thanks, Flum.” He casually thanked Flum, standing next to him. Then he heard Neigass’s exasperated voice coming from behind.
“That is exactly why I told you that you were too far ahead. I’ll handle the small ones, so you take care of the others.”
“I’ll take care of the core.”
“Yeah, and I’ll break through their guts first!” The medium-sized Chimera’s movements were slowed because of its injuries. However, it had already gotten back on its feet and was now preparing to expel magic from its mouth.
“Burning Knuckle!” During that opportunity while the Chimera was preparing to use magic, Tsyon leapt into action and delivered a powerful uppercut. SMACK! With a loud cracking sound, a whirlpool of fierce flame burned through the Chimera’s belly. Furthermore, the simple power behind his fist sent the creature’s giant body into the air, smashing it against the ceiling. The core glowed eerily from its open abdomen.
“Pierce! Prana Stinger!” When Flum thrust her sword forward, an arrow shot from the tip of the blade and pierced the core. Even those who were former enemies were working together as hard as they could, as they steadily approached the surface.