Level Eater

Tatsuro, Ai, Ennio, and Marikka were heading towards the landing spot where Yorn awaited.

"What are you guys going to do from here?" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Ai, Ennio, and I will first go to Gregory's place." (Tatsuro)

"Oh? What about Depris?" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"I'll have Cardina head there." (Tatsuro)

Saying so, Tatsuro lifted Cardina, who was leisurely resting on Ai's head and switched her to [Adult Form] mode.

Although Marikka was surprised at the transformation, she suppressed her curiosity as it was not the time for that.

In the meantime, Tatsuro told Cardina that if necessary, she could switch to a robust physical [True Form].

By the way, Cardina was switched to [Adult Form] because, in this state, she could use the skill [Flight] instead of [Dragon Flight] eliminating the need for draconic power to fly. This allowed her to keep flying until her magic ran out.

Cardina, realizing she would be acting separately, seemed lonely, but when Tatsuro promised to indulge her plenty later, she became motivated.

"Then, I'll keep an eye on her. With Yorn and her as a team, they won't lose to something like bees." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"That sounds good. Cardina, can you team up with Yorn?" (Tatsuro)

"Pew!" (Cardina)

"It seems fine. So let's all do our best, Cardina-chan!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

While Marikka and Cardina exchanged touches in this way, everyone arrived at Yorn's waiting place. There, Depris, a bee-like magical creature, had already gathered, and an annoying green serpent swung its large tail, cutting through them.

"Wow, this place is bad too… Yorn, you can use your skills!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Sssss."

In response to Marikka's words, Yorn stopped swinging his tail and released the magic of his affiliated tree. Grass and plants spread from the surface of Yorn's body, entwining and strangling countless Depris wherever they touched.

"Amazing. Is that some kind of tree magic?" (Ai)

"That's right. Yorn was born in the forest of the fairyland, just like me. He's a magical creature born with the power of the tree." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"I can't lose either. Cardina, use your detection magic to find and defeat Queen Bipris." (Ai)

"Peww!" (Cardina)

"You can use detection magic!? With that form and this form… the mysteries just deepen." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

Saying so, by using Cardina as an assistant to Marikka's team, Tatsuro and AI decided to head towards the larger magical creature.

"Alright, let me borrow Cardina-chan for a bit. We'll finish it quickly, so do your best over there!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Good luck." (Tatsuro)

"Do your best, Marikka-san!" (Ai)

"I don't really get it, but do your best!" (Ennio)

Ennio, who didn't quite understand the situation, sent half-hearted cheers. Marikka rushed towards Yorn, who had cleared the plants and jumped on him.

With the agility he gained this time, Yorn, who had regained his usual speed after a loud roar, flew into the sky as Depris swarmed. Cardina also, after glancing at Tatsuro and Ai, flew away, tearing through the incoming Depris with her sharp claws, following Yorn.

"Well then, let's go too. Ennio, we're going to Gregory's place now, but don't take his words at face value. Think for yourself and decide whether it's good or bad." (Tatsuro)

"Y-yeah, got it." (Ennio)

"Well, before that, we might need to deal with a big magical creature." (Ai)

"In that case, I'll bring out my other trump card, so it should be fine." (Tatsuro)

"To your trump card… ah." (Ai)

"???" (Ennio)

Only Ai understood while Ennio tilted his head in confusion. Tatsuro, however, didn't bother explaining, as it wouldn't be a problem to reveal it soon anyway. He took out a board from the [Item Box].

"Ennio, we're flying there now. Can you keep up with those proud legs of yours?" (Tatsuro)

"Mu! A race, huh! Ennio, I'm good at that kind of stuff!" (Ennio)

"Then let's make it a competition to see who reaches Gregory's location first!" (Tatsuro)

"Ennio, saying you think you can win is a bit arrogant." (Ennio)

With determination in Ennio's eyes, he swiftly cut through the approaching Depris with his claws, jumping ahead towards the direction where Gregory's scent was coming from even before Tatsuro and Ai departed.

"Hey, flying is cheating!" (Ai)

"This is no time to say that… Alright, let's go too." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah!" (Ai)

Thus, Tatsuro and Ai danced in the air and slid the board toward the direction Ennio had jumped off the tower.

To reach Gregory's location, they had to navigate through a sea of Depris. Ennio skillfully dodged numerous poisonous needles and, for those unavoidable, tore them apart with his claws, steadily progressing.

The other two followed slightly behind, with Tatsuro using a mix of wind and fire magic to kill a large number of Depris. Anything that leaked through was swiftly dealt with by Ai's jewel sword.

Heading straight as if there were no Depris at all, with Ennio, who couldn't compete in aerial movement, left behind on his back, they soon spotted a mammoth-like magical creature.

"Oh, that… after the Longnecks, now we have giant mammoths. Is this world some kind of Jurassic Park?" (Tatsuro)

"Those beast men who went to capture it first seem to be struggling." (Ai)

"Looks like it. It's tough enough dealing with it alone, and on top of that, they have to handle the endless Depris pouring out. It's quite a tough battle." (Tatsuro)

Despite being formidable in strength, Tatsuro and Ai realized that defeating the mammoth-type magical creature would be a one-sided affair as Depris swarmed in immediately after its defeat, and the mammoth could attack relentlessly.

This was more than just a handicap.

At this rate, soon enough, those beast men and other knights would lose their lives.

"It's annoying to have them keep entering our field of vision. Let's isolate them." (Tatsuro)

"Let's do that… This way, there's no end to it." (Ai)

Ai said so while killing another Depris that had come again.

Tatsuro nodded in agreement, visualizing his magic.

What he was about to do was wind magic. A storm that would sweep up and blow away approaching insects, a storm's advent.

"Get lost because you're in the way!" (Tatsuro)

With Tatsuro's spirited voice, a vortex formed overhead, sucking in flying insects like a vacuum cleaner. The mammoth-type magical creature at the center, along with similar setups placed in all directions, kept swallowing them up one after another.

Depris, flying not with magic but wings, were interestingly sucked in and torn apart by the swirling wind the moment they got close. The debris was spat out to the outer edge.

As a result, a wind suction barrier with a diameter of five hundred meters was formed.

No matter where they tried to pass through, as long as they were flying in the sky, they would be caught in the airflow, inevitably sucked in. Thus, those within the barrier, as well as those trying to invade from the outside, were unable to enter.

"What… is this massive magic!?"

"Vice-Captain! Look up!"

"Did those adventurers from earlier come to help us!?"

"Thank goodness! Now the annoying Depris are gone!"

"Everyone, prepare to attack that giant brute!"

"Hah!"

As the morale of the Lyadas Knights rose, Gregory's face twisted in amazement.

(Where is this much magic coming from!? Damn, I should have believed more in the "Empathy" of those tools… Well, it doesn't matter. If I think of it as new experimental material, there's a sense of accomplishment.)

"Gregory. Hey, are you okay!?" (Bertram)

"Yes. No problems. I just found it bothersome to deal with them seriously, so this alone will suffice." (Gregory)

Saying that Gregory smiled, kicking lightly the magical creature they were riding on.

In response to his relaxed actions, Bartram's malicious smile returned, eagerly anticipating the moment when he would kill his father and sister.

However, despite expressing it on his face, Gregory himself did not think he would get off easily.

If it were just the knights in front of him, there was a plan with just this mammoth, a magical creature called Paralaceus, alone.

However, miscalculations occurred here.

Using the skill "Empathy," which links to the five senses of his own servant, and seeing the moment of Iyaruki's death through the controlled magical creature, Gregory should have understood how dangerous the two were.

However, mastering that skill was difficult.

As a pure tamer, Gregory, who was mediocre, had not yet fully mastered it. Moreover, due to the distance, details were unclear because of the noise.

However, the fear felt by the magical creature he had been monitoring at that time had been conveyed.

But he believed that it was just his own magical creature's cowardice that had exaggeratedly conveyed the fear. He had underestimated the danger the two posed and the time they spent rejecting murder, thinking it was just the time lost in failing to kill Iyaruki.

However, even if he realized it now, there was no choice but to proceed.

Gregory, unsure how long he could continue to use such large-scale magic, focused on that and assumed they had the advantage, giving orders to the magical creature carrying him.

"Oh, my tool, Paralaceus! Open those closed eyes!" (Gregory)

"Pwooooaahhh!"

The mammoth-type magical creature, Paralaceus, opened the three closed eyes in a horizontal row on its forehead. Yellow eyes appeared behind those eyelids, emitting lightning around them.

"Something came out of its eyes! It's like a special effects movie!" (Ai)

"Damn, the envy of thunder. I've been holding back, you know." (Tatsuro)

"You were holding back?" (Ai)

"Well, when it comes to thunder attacks, it's so popular that it's in the top three of the attacks boys want to try (Note: Tatsuro's personal opinion)." (Tatsuro)

"It's okay to take it, you know. It's kind of cool." (Ai)

"It is cool. But there are too many things with higher priority. (Tatsuro)"

While casually discussing this in the air, half of the knights below were paralyzed by the electric shock and unable to move.

Just paralysis was enough to deal with what would lead to instant death for ordinary people, indicating their high level of refinement.

Knowing that they were not dead, they were talking about such things, but it was about time they seriously challenged them as well.

However, the knights, who were oddly motivated, were becoming a hindrance.

"Ah, damn it. I didn't get rid of the Depris for those people." (Ai)

"It might take a while for the change───Ah, Ennio has arrived." (Tatsuro)

"True. Hey, Ennio!" (Ai)

"!? Flying is cheating! If I could fly, I would have caught up sooner!" (Ennio)

As they finally arrived, they opened the barrier and invited him in. While saying such things, the eyes of Gregory, who noticed it, were mixed with joy.

(Is that Ennio!? When I heard that he recklessly ran off somewhere, I wondered what to do… Hahaha, with this, victory is now certain.) (Gregory)

And so, while staring at Ennio, who was chatting amicably with Tatsuro and the others, Gregory secretly wore a faint, sinister smile.

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