Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

How would Irmela react if a powerful fighter like Sena suddenly joined the battle?

The answer was simple, but not in a good way.

Tsss…

[The trait ‘Purple Barrier’ is going out of control.]

The battle began again with Irmela’s preemptive strike, spreading dark energy.

‘Is the trait going out of control?’

Whoosh!!!

A loud noise was heard.

“Oh. Oh no.”

Someone sighed as they witnessed the massive energy emanating from Irmela’s body, and I understood why the system window called it a ‘rampage’.

[Irmela casts ‘The Legs of Tehelrum’.]

“What is that…”

“Ah. It’s not like the tentacles we saw earlier, is it?”

Perhaps the barrier’s rampage had strengthened it.

This was not something that could be simply called a tentacle.

Yes, it was a giant black pillar with purple suction cups all over it, falling towards us.

“The disgusting energy of the Evil God is always the same. Alright, let’s see what you’ve got, you beggar?”

Flap.

Sena took a single step forward, causing her outer garment to flutter, and reached the front line.

What was she trying to do?

She slowly began to move, her face now devoid of any trace of leisure, as if she was about to engage in a serious battle.

She drew her sword from her waist and raised it high above her head.

Whoosh!

A flame-like energy began to burn at the tip of Sena’s sword, held high above her head, and it was clearly of a different density than Asan’s sword energy.

‘If this is the next step after sword energy, is this what’s commonly called a sword aura, or an aura blade?’

Seeing the sword energy, I thought it might be the next step for me in the future…

But this was something that I, in my current state, could not even dream of.

[Sena casts ‘Three Strikes’.]

Boom!

She took a strong step forward with her right foot.

“Gasp.”

“What, what is it?”

Suddenly, the atmosphere around us became heavy.

This was not a simple metaphor.

I couldn’t help but groan as I felt like I was being crushed by an invisible force.

“Huff!”

With a shout, the sword in her hands flashed.

The sword, imbued with immense energy, slashed down in an instant.

Slick!

The sword, which I had temporarily called a sword aura, cleanly split the body of the giant pillar, which was still at a distance where the tip of the sword had not yet reached.

Krrrrr!!!

It was simply a ‘downward slash’.

But does the word ‘strong’ still apply here?

The result, brought about by the seemingly simple yet elegant trajectory, was gruesome.

“Kyaaaahhhh!!!”

Irmela cried out, shedding black tears like Shurika.

Whoosh!

One of her arms fell off, and blood gushed from the severed stump.

‘Why does it hurt when she’s in pain, but she enjoys inflicting pain on others as a follower of the Evil God? What a despicable bitch.’

Sena, the Guild Master of the Swordsmanship Guild.

Against Irmela, who we had no answer for,

She not only split the rampaging attack in half and erased it in a single strike, but also took away her left arm.

“Gasp, damn it… I’m not going down just for this!”

Crunch.

“You crazy bitch! So what if my arm is cut off! It’s regenerating, isn’t it?!”

“What kind of evil minion is she…”

No, no!

Although new flesh is growing from the severed stump, and bubbles are rising from it, her energy is gradually weakening.

I don’t know which trait’s details include the ability to regenerate, but the important thing is that she’s consuming something, whether it’s magic power or life force!

“Don’t be intimidated! This is all done with magic power as a cost. Look, the black energy is slightly weaker overall!”

“Shut up, you scum! Shurika! Hurry up and finish them off, then help me!! Kill them all!!!”

[Irmela casts ‘The Legs of Tehelrum’.]

Kikiik.

Chwaaaak!

Perhaps she realized that if she focused on one thing and dropped it strongly, Sena would just erase it.

Once again, the giant pillar falling from above split into hundreds of sharp tentacles.

‘And there are threads hidden between the tentacles. Anyone who gets hit will be controlled again, for sure!’

The dozens of adventurers here are at least mid-level, which means the weakest among them are just above low-level.

If even a few of them are controlled by Irmela, it will cause an internal conflict and quickly lead to chaos.

[Shurika casts ‘Spirit Fusion’.]

What?

Oh no!

I realized that we had more than one enemy to deal with.

Whoosh!!!

“Gasp!!!”

“Gasp, Shurika, please snap out of it… How can I cut down a colleague who has been with me all this time?!”

While we were focused on the other side, the circus members who had been blocking Shurika were also badly injured.

The monk, who had been turned into a puppet, was no exception.

The twins, whose bodies were blistered and bubbling, the director, whose magic power was depleted, and Asan, whose left sleeve had burned away along with his arm and half of his sword.

The only one who was still in good condition was the Mystical School magician, who had been supporting from the rear.

As the tentacles and threads slowed down the world, I looked around and saw Shurika.

‘That weak magician alone can’t possibly withstand this.’

As the name of the technique suggested, Shurika was fused with the lion spirit, her body burning with flames.

Her hair had grown like a lion’s mane, and her eyes, given to her by the Evil God, were like those of a lion.

Tears still flowed down her face, showing her pain, but Shurika had become a grotesque creature that could no longer be called human.

Damn it, if they all break through, the next targets will be the civilians and low-level adventurers. Lumiya is over there too!

Just as I was about to dodge Irmela’s attack and run towards Shurika,

[Sena casts ‘Mulliner’.]

“…”

A short breath.

A storm of sword slashes appeared before my eyes.

Ssssssss!

In an instant, hundreds of thin tentacles were chopped into pieces.

She wielded the saber in her hand like a beam of light, drawing a rotating trajectory.

It was so fast that I could only guess that she was slashing at high speed, and most of her movements were invisible even to Chaos’ eye.

“Ha!”

After slicing through most of the incoming attacks, she didn’t stop there. She gripped her sword again.

[Sena casts ‘Unterhau’.]

‘Unique Equipment!’

I didn’t notice it at first, but every time Sena cast a technique, her weapon changed form.

Whoosh!

She turned her body halfway and slashed down with a Zweihander, then brought it up and slashed diagonally with the back of the blade.

Whoosh!!

She brought the raised sword down and followed up with a heavy diagonal downward slash, then stabilized her stance and slashed horizontally, cutting through everything in her path.

This devastating series of attacks took only a few seconds.

‘The speed is due to agility, and even though the movements are different, they are seamlessly connected and flow like water. Is this real swordsmanship?’

…What was the sword I had been swinging around in actual combat?

It’s clear that there’s a significant difference between my unrefined techniques and the highly polished ones.

“Ah, ah. Nothing… works?”

Irmela’s horrified whisper echoed softly.

She had solved the problem of hundreds of tentacles being shot at her in an instant, so it was understandable that she felt fear.

“Did you think this would work?”

Click.

“You only know this monotonous one-pattern attack, and you were so arrogant. Was it because you trusted your magic power?”

Sena turned around and spoke softly to us.

“You guys. You’ve been standing there watching or dodging without any support for dozens of people… honestly, you’re a hindrance. I’ll take care of this quickly, so go over there and stop the spirit master. Go! Hurry up!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Everyone, let’s go!”

[Sena casts ‘Balestra’.]

As soon as she finished speaking, a strong wind blew.

Bang!!

Sena quickly moved towards Irmela with high-speed movement and slashed at her with her foil like a thunderbolt.

‘Sena’s right. What have we been doing while watching or dodging Irmela’s attacks? …Nothing.’

The Guild Master of the Swordsmanship Guild. Her skills were worthy of her title.

Everyone was half-mesmerized, watching her attacks, each of which was no joke.

‘Damn, admit it. Standing behind Sena and watching like a fool was a stupid move.’

Now was the time to focus.

The paladin, the barbarian, and the other adventurers seemed to be thinking the same thing, as they blushed with embarrassment and began to form a formation.

The paladin shouted at the front, “The opponent is a mid-to-high-level spirit master with a specialty in fire. The spirits have been consumed by the Evil God’s energy and are in a rampage state, with attack power surpassing that of a high-level adventurer! However, this state won’t last long!”

“Get to the point! What do you want to say to everyone? If you’re not an idiot, you can tell just by looking!”

The impatient barbarian urged him to get to the point.

“Calm down and listen to the end! So, including me, the front-line defenders with defense as their specialty will take turns in a wheel formation to withstand the attacks, and the damage dealers will aim for openings! We need to drag this out into a war of attrition! Is there a priest here?”

“Apart from me, they’re all over there! You’re looking for a priest, I assume. Since this buff will affect so many people, I’ll need to concentrate for a moment, so don’t talk to me and wait!”

The long-haired man, who called himself a priest, began to concentrate as he ran, praying?

…

Flash!

“Oh great God of Light! Shine your brilliant light on everyone’s path and grant the invincible protection to the brave warriors!”

[Radiance of Protection]

[The effect of Radiance of Protection increases all B-grade or lower abilities by two levels for three hours.]

‘Huh! All abilities increased by two levels.’

“Wow! The level of the buff is amazing!”

“This feeling, is it not only one level, but an increase to the next level?”

“But, in exchange, I can’t use any sacred techniques for a whole day! Someone has to protect me!”

I was surprised by the incredible amount of buffs, but I didn’t just stand there.

I took out the last ‘Sturdiness of the Earth’ from my backpack.

Yes, this is the time to use the doping item. Don’t hold back.

Thud!

I opened the lid and drank it.

[You have consumed the Sturdiness of the Earth.]

[Strong resistance to dense forests will be applied for 30 minutes.]

[Weak defense increase will be applied for 30 minutes.]

[All piercing attacks received will be halved for 30 minutes.]

I had no doubt that Sena would win overwhelmingly.

The only enemy left was Shurika.

“Good! Let’s go!!!”

With our morale boosted, we had one last battle to fight.

…But why is Chaos silent?