On the way back with Lefiya on his back, several adventurers from the Loki Familia rushed forward one after another to help clear a path.
Up until now, the battle had only just begun for a dozen or so seconds.
Seemingly dissatisfied with the efficiency of its subordinates and watching them be slaughtered by the adventurers, the strange spirit raised both hands.
"Something is coming!"
Finn's thumb began to throb with pain. He glanced at the spirit, who had taken a stance, and suddenly shouted at Riveria, "Quick! Use defensive magic!"
Just as Finn's words fell, a massive magic circle appeared around the spirit, and she began to chant an incantation.
"You've got to be kidding me, a monster is actually chanting!?"
It was like a player fighting a boss who keeps chugging potions, only for the boss to heal itself—it was just as infuriating to see a monster chanting magic.
In the eyes of ninety-nine percent of adventurers, monsters were mindless beings, and magic was a talent unique only to them.
"Everyone! Get behind Riveria!"
The spirit chanted very quickly, and the lengthy incantation meant that the magic's power would certainly not be small; Finn made an immediate judgment.
"But Lefiya!"
The others were still worried about their companion.
"Clear a path for Takatsuki and then get over here immediately! We're running out of time!"
Finn always made the most correct judgment rather than acting on emotion.
The Level 5s grit their teeth. Ais and Bete used their magic at full power to kill the monsters on Takatsuki's return path, while the Amazon sisters didn't have such convenient magic and could only do their best to clear the monsters that kept swarming up.
Although Takatsuki possessed Observation Haki to dodge attacks, he was often unable to move freely because he was carrying Lefiya.
Looking at the Loki Familia, who were still some distance away, Takatsuki decided to give up on using Koby's character card.
In a matter of seconds, the character card switched from a straight-standing Marine to a red-eyed green dragon surrounded by flames.
"Fire Demon Magic!"
Surging flames erupted from Takatsuki's body, instantly swallowing the surrounding monsters.
He hadn't dared to use the Fire Demon Magic earlier just to prevent accidentally injuring others.
And now...
The Fire Demon Magic, which lasted for only one second, dissipated, leaving a vacuum zone around Takatsuki.
Half a second later, the unconscious figure of Lefiya reappeared on his back.
Just now, he had used the ability of Heaven's Stairway - King Crimson to briefly skip Lefiya through 1.5 seconds of time to evade the attack.
In the second after activating the ability, Takatsuki finished releasing the flames, ended the attack, and then reserved 0.5 seconds to wait for Lefiya to return from the timeline.
However, after canceling Koby's character card, Takatsuki's speed dropped significantly with his half-baked Rokushiki.
Coupled with the time it took to switch character cards, the spirit's magic was nearly complete.
Everyone watched as the spirit finished her magic while Takatsuki had yet to enter the barrier Riveria had raised with Lefiya. Ais wanted to rush out.
But she was grabbed by Finn.
Although much shorter than her, Finn's strength was not something Ais could break free from.
"I have to save Teacher and Lefiya."
Ais pulled against Finn stubbornly, but as a Level 5, she was simply no match for him.
Setting aside the situation inside the barrier, Takatsuki looked at the magic circle that had already formed in the sky outside. It was too late to hide in the barrier, and the flames he had struck out were completely blocked by the magic circles surrounding the spirit.
"Don't let me down!"
As the magic circle descended, magic fell like the sky collapsing into the 59th floor, submerging everyone within it.
Countless meteors emerged from the magic circle in the sky like a cannonade, baptizing the earth. It wasn't just the group of adventurers; even the monsters under the spirit's command were caught within the range of the magical attack.
The magical bombardment ended quickly. Although it lasted only a few seconds, the surrounding land looked as if it had been plowed over, with a huge portion of it simply vanishing.
"Lefiya..."
Inside the barrier, everyone knew that those outside were likely more dead than alive.
Just then, within the dust left by the bombardment, a figure stood up.
"You really didn't disappoint me, but there's a bit too much extra stuff in this magic."
Takatsuki felt as if his whole body was aching. He had the protection of the Dog Talisman on him, which could directly grant immunity to instant-death attacks. Therefore, he hadn't even bothered with defense and had instead actively canceled his character card to collide with the magic.
While a direct hit from this magic could indeed kill him, the explosions triggered by attacks in slightly more distant areas also affected him. They couldn't kill him, but they could cause some troublesome effects, resulting in his body being sore all over.
Walking over to a patch of ground nearby, the figure of an unconscious girl abruptly appeared on the earth.
It was Lefiya, whom Takatsuki had set down long ago.
By using his own immortality to negate the attack and then using the time-skipping ability, he had made Lefiya immune to those few seconds of the assault. Takatsuki had protected her throughout the attack.
At that moment, the giant spirit began chanting again, her speed even faster than the first time.
"Catch her!"
Takatsuki's expression changed. He quickly threw Lefiya toward the barrier. The barrier, which could block attacks, did not stop Lefiya from entering, and Takatsuki barely managed to rush into the barrier before the magic fell.
"Thank you so much, Takatsuki."
Though he had coldly refused to let others help Lefiya and Takatsuki, it was the correct judgment Finn had made under the circumstances. After Takatsuki rushed in, Finn immediately took a high-grade potion from Raul and handed it over.
In his eyes, Takatsuki had protected Lefiya with his own strength so that she wasn't injured.
Takatsuki didn't refuse; he downed the potion in one gulp and tossed the bottle aside. Looking at the spirit through the barrier, he said, "What on earth is that thing? Is the Floor Boss of the deep levels always like this with such powerful magic?"
Finn shook his head. "We aren't sure either, but according to Ais, it seems to be a Spirit. If I had to say, it should be considered a Corrupted Spirit. Here it comes!"
As soon as Finn finished speaking, surging blue flames instantly swallowed the small barrier where the group was located.
Crack!
The barrier that had survived the previous magic made a fragile, brittle sound within the flaming magic.
"Hold on! Riveria!"
Gareth shouted loudly from behind when he saw the cracks on the barrier.
"I know that without you telling me!"
Riveria frantically poured mana into the barrier, but she could not stop it from shattering.
Before the barrier broke, she used her last bit of strength to shout to the back, "Gareth! Protect the others!"