"I never thought I'd make a mistake in a place like this."
As a veteran adventurer, Riveria had faced countless dangers. Even as a relatively fragile mage, she had once single-handedly confronted numerous enemies.
But she never expected to make a mistake and fall due to a minor issue in such a place.
Even at LV6, her abilities were not focused on endurance, and falling six floors would be enough to severely injure her.
However, Riveria was not the type to sit idly by. She quickly applied a defensive magic to herself in mid-air and began chanting a spell, looking at the monsters constantly emerging from the surrounding walls.
Even a weightless fall couldn't make her lose her composure; this was the experience and mindset of a veteran mage.
"Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf!"
She chose the First Tier attack magic with the shortest chant: [Wynn Fimbulvetr].
Cold winds rapidly swirled around Riveria as she fell, freezing the monsters in the surrounding floors that tried to attack her. She smoothly fell through the hole left by the Valgang Dragon's breath, all the way to the 58th Floor.
Next… she could only rely on defensive magic to withstand the fall damage.
As soon as she fell from the hole, Riveria closed her eyes helplessly after seeing the vast floor and the surrounding situation.
There were numerous flying dragons in the sky, and the ground was covered in an endless expanse of green worms. She had no doubt that she would be melted by the flying dragons' breath before she even hit the ground.
Although she had defensive magic, a First Tier defensive magic simply couldn't block so many attacks.
In that case, she might as well go all out.
Unable to perform any defense in mid-air, Riveria closed her eyes, preparing to begin chanting the next spell.
But the next moment, she realized she seemed to have already landed.
No, although the surrounding scenery was on the ground, she seemed to be held by someone?
"While I don't mind holding you like this forever, there are still enemies around."
Takatsuki's voice came from above her. Riveria stared blankly at the young face in front of her: "How are you here? What… happened?"
Riveria couldn't understand. Just moments ago, she was clearly facing monster attacks high in the air, so why was she suddenly being carried in a princess carry by someone the next instant?
Spatial magic?
Riveria would never have guessed that her time had been skipped.
Takatsuki had activated a new ability gained after devouring the King Crimson. Upon arriving on this floor, he saw Riveria falling from the sky, attacked by a swarm of dragons' breaths. Using Heaven's Stairway · King Crimson, he individually banished Riveria outside of time.
During this period, Riveria had no memory, but she was also in a state where she could not be interfered with by any form, thus avoiding the attacks, and still falling naturally.
Meanwhile, Takatsuki quickly rushed to her landing spot, and after she fell, he deactivated his ability and caught her.
In Riveria's memory, this meant she appeared out of thin air in Takatsuki's arms.
"I naturally fought my way down, but more importantly, what we need to do now is deal with the surrounding enemies, right?"
The surrounding green worms had already surrounded them, and it was too late to cast magic now. Takatsuki could only say to Riveria, "Forgive me."
Before Riveria could react, she felt herself being thrown into the air. Spinning in mid-air, she saw Takatsuki on the ground also leaping up simultaneously.
"Tempest Kick: Roundhouse!"
A 360-degree spinning kick in the air, and a circular, sharp slash was emitted from his leg.
Unlike the swiftness of an ordinary Tempest Kick, the power and time required to use Roundhouse were much more exaggerated.
In their eyes, the visible slash cut through the green worms on the ground like harvesting wheat, clearing a vacuum zone of monsters on the ground centered around their position.
Stepping on Moonwalk, Takatsuki caught Riveria as she fell from the air and said, "The area has been cleared. Now it's your turn."
"I know. First, put me down."
Riveria was no longer a little girl. Although, by elven age standards, she was still in her youth, her composure was already far beyond that of a little girl like Lefiya.
Acceding to Riveria's request, Takatsuki put her down.
Standing on the ground again, Riveria, though not showing anything, still let out a sigh of relief and began to chant the spell.
"The flame will soon be released. Creeping war, unavoidable destruction. The horn of battle sounds aloud, the cruelty of conflict will envelop all. Come, crimson flames, the ruthless inferno. You are the avatar of hellfire. Sweep completely, bring a close to the great war. Burn them through, Sword of Surtr - my name is Alf!"
With the lengthy chant, the monsters, surging forward again over the corpses of their own kind, exploded into all-consuming crimson flames beneath their feet.
From the ground to the sky, except for the spot where the two stood, the surroundings had already turned into a sea of fire, transforming the entire 58th Floor into hell. Both Takatsuki and Riveria present were fully capable of being an army unto themselves.
The city's strongest mage was not just a title; after the magic took effect, the 58th Floor was cleared in an instant. Because there were no companions to "drag her down," she could recklessly expend the magic power within her body.
However, those worms seemed to have received some command and quickly began to retreat. Even Riveria couldn't spread her magic across the entire floor, only watching those bugs retreat south to the next floor.
"Do you need some medicine?"
Takatsuki took out a elixir. Because she had used high-consumption magic, Riveria's spirit was also a bit tired.
"Thank you."
She didn't refuse. After all, they had fought together, and Riveria understood that Takatsuki was here because of her.
The two sat on a rock for a short rest. The monsters on the 58th Floor were mostly cleared out, and regeneration would still take some time, so it left an opportunity for the two to rest.
Bang! Bang!
In the distance, with two muffled thuds, two figures fell from the sky.
But they were not members of the Loki Familia, but Takatsuki's two supporters.
Were they called Tom and Jerry?
Watching the two walk over, Riveria felt a bit amazed. Being able to fall from the 52nd Floor without any damage, these two seemed to be quite strong.
"How's the situation up there?"
Unaware of Riveria's confusion, Takatsuki directly asked his two "supporters."