Flames, molten armor, charred earth, and fallen adventurers.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have entered the barrier."
What kind of attack was the most troublesome for Takatsuki?
It wasn't a lethal one, but rather simple restrictive attacks or those non-lethal strikes.
After ducking into the barrier, the barrier had resisted the first half of the magical assault, and then Gareth had blocked most of the second half with his shield.
However, the power of the magic that shattered the barrier and melted the shield had not yet dissipated, and the remaining shockwaves still knocked everyone behind them off their feet.
Even Level 5 adventurers suffered some light injuries, let alone Takatsuki, whose physical constitution was merely that of an ordinary person.
This kind of attack—just enough to heavily injure him but not kill him—was precisely what frustrated him the most.
Meanwhile, Riveria and Gareth, who had blocked the vast majority of the attacks for the group, were already lying on the ground, unable to move.
Looking at the adventurers who had nearly lost their combat capability, the spirit let out a light laugh. The petals on both sides of her body opened, and countless monsters that had died from the magical shockwaves turned into bursts of mana, flying into the petals.
"It's replenishing its mana!"
Several people immediately realized the meaning behind the opponent's actions: "It couldn't possibly be planning to do that again, right?"
Lefiya, who had been unconscious, also woke up amidst the injuries. Watching the tragic scene around her, she couldn't stop trembling.
Looking at the spirit recovering mana by consuming monsters, Finn, who was equally wounded, walked step by step to the very front. He surveyed the people lying on the ground and those still capable of movement, then thrust his long spear into the ground with force.
"Do you still have courage! What do you see in your eyes? Fear, despair, destruction!?"
"In my eyes, there is only the enemy that must be defeated, and the hope of victory! There is no need for retreat! I will use this spear to carve a path forward! I swear by the name of the Prum Goddess, Fianna! I will surely lead you to victory!"
"Raul, stay in the back to provide care and support. The rest of you, follow me!"
Finn pointed at the spirit in front of him and looked back at the others: "Or rather, are you unable to fight anymore just because of this? If you feel that this is where you end, then wait here! I will carve the path alone!"
He took a few steps forward. Although he didn't look back at the others, several members of the Loki Familia silently followed Finn's pace—even Lefiya, who had been plunged into terror upon waking up.
He picked up his other long spear from the ground and looked at the two people lying motionless.
"Riveria, Gareth, is this all you've got? Then just sleep well; I will continue to advance."
Weaponry was raised, and Finn led the others as they charged toward the spirit.
Raul, meanwhile, ran to the side of the two Level 6s lying on the ground. Because they had been spurred on by Finn's words, both of them managed to crawl back up.
After receiving potions and weapons from Raul, they rejoined the battle.
"Mr. Takatsuki, are you alright?"
Once everyone else had entered the battlefield, Raul also hurriedly ran to Takatsuki's side to check his condition.
But unlike the others, Takatsuki, with his ordinary human constitution, was indeed completely unable to move; he couldn't even manage to open his mouth to speak.
Raul seemed to see Takatsuki's predicament. Although he couldn't understand why Takatsuki—who was so much stronger than himself—was in this state, it didn't hinder his assessment of the battlefield.
After Raul poured a high-grade potion down Takatsuki's throat, Takatsuki finally regained the ability to move.
"Thanks, I'm saved."
Although the spiritual medicine couldn't instantly grant a full recovery, Takatsuki had recovered a certain degree of mobility.
"It's good that you're okay, Mr. Takatsuki. I still have to go guard Lady Riveria."
Raul didn't say much more; he picked up a Magic Sword and went to stand guard by Riveria, who was preparing to release her magic.
Watching the monsters being drawn in by Riveria's mana, Takatsuki also switched to the Fire Demon's character card and proactively stepped forward to protect her.
It was only then that he remembered he should have switched cards when he was unable to move. Previously, to "speed-run," he had unequipped the character card; if he had switched to one with an evil dragon's constitution while heavily injured, he would have been able to move.
Guarding Riveria was not difficult. The surroundings were merely some familiar monsters, which were easily dealt with under the dragon fire.
Seeing the group approaching the spirit after overcoming many obstacles, Takatsuki estimated that this strike would likely defeat the opponent completely.
Combining the plot, he had no knowledge of this specific segment. Moreover, the current timeline should be before the first season had even begun, so Takatsuki judged that this was likely just one of the monsters the Loki Familia had subjugated in the past.
Even without him, they would be able to defeat the monster easily.
As Riveria's magic was successfully released, the blazing long spear of Winn Fannid carved a path for the group and completely destroyed the petals acting as a shield beside the spirit.
Gareth used his body as a shield to forcibly tear through the tree wall the spirit used for defense. Coupled with the self-sacrifice of others along the way, they successfully sent Ais to the front of the spirit.
"Go, Ais!"
Watching Ais, who was shrouded in powerful wind magic, Takatsuki felt that this segment was very reasonable. In his memory, Ais was the female lead.
And for a female lead to obtain a breakthrough under such circumstances was perfectly...
Before Takatsuki's exclamation could finish, the spirit—facing Ais who was piercing toward its face—suddenly opened its mouth and fired a burst of extremely powerful ice magic, blowing Ais directly away.
"Ais!" *6
No, no, isn't there something wrong with this plot?
Takatsuki was stunned by this scene. Just now, with such a great opportunity, shouldn't Ais have completely defeated the enemy? Why was she the one blown away?
After much difficulty stepping over the bodies of their companions to get close to the enemy, the result was being blown away once again.
After blasting the opponent away, the spirit quickly chanted a relatively short incantation, once again heavily injuring and blowing everyone back.
Perhaps because of the high-intensity confrontation just now, the spirit had also temporarily entered a state of mana depletion. The petals on both sides were damaged, making it unable to absorb mana from other monsters through the air as before.
However, it was still able to continuously feed through its mouth.
Since the female lead is underperforming...
Seeing this scene, Takatsuki knew that if the opponent were allowed to recover, things would surely become even more troublesome.
Without a second word, he charged toward the spirit.
Watching Takatsuki rush toward her, a row of wooden spikes erupted from beneath the spirit's feet, piercing in his direction.
Dodging the thrust of the wooden spikes, Takatsuki drew the Black Keys from his waist.
Fine mana wove into blades, and the straight Black Keys were thrown like projectiles toward the spirit.
Just as the spirit was about to knock down the Black Keys, a circular void appeared beside them, and surging flames erupted from within the void.