Rivira had been constructed on the cliff face, and one of its sides ended abruptly in a sheer drop. If anything went off the ledge, it was a straight shot to the water below.
The abandoned lower body burned, forgotten in the middle of the square. The Amazonian twins leaned out over the railing that surrounded the square and watched the green hair of the vibrantly colored female figure thrash back and forth as it twisted and contorted its body to advance closer to the edge.
—“Harbinger of the end, white snow. Gust before the twilight.”
The chant of a spell rang out.
Racing after the female figure down the cliff face was Riveria, her jade-green hair whipping out behind her in the wind. As she sprinted, an emerald-colored magic circle moved with her, always surrounding her feet.
“Fading light, freezing land.”
Concurrent Casting.
Normally, mages stood still when casting spells to prevent them from failing or, worse, exploding. Performing an incantation at high speed was extremely difficult. For that reason, they required a great deal of protection while on the battlefield. But if they could master the technique of Concurrent Casting, they became a highly mobile destructive force.
However, Magic was a much harder horse to tame than any other weapon available to adventurers. Therefore, only the best of the best were able to obtain it, just a handful among thousands. It was similar to assembling a bomb with both hands while fighting an enemy, so it was only natural that very few adventurers were capable of it.
Riveria had ascended to a plane that Lefiya and the other mages could not yet reach. Manipulating her magic power with perfect precision, she chased after the tumbling monster at full speed.
What’s more, the elf was faster than the smoldering female. Even without its lower body, the creature was still two meders long. It used its remaining appendages to force its way forward, crawling like an insect. Even still, it was making progress down the slant toward the edge of the cliff.
Small beads of light surrounded Riveria’s jade hair as it whipped in the wind behind her during the chase. The distance between them was closing with each passing second.
“Blow with the power of the third harsh winter—my name is Alf!”
With that, the trigger spell was complete.
Riveria, casting in earnest this time, kicked off of a small boulder and jumped into the air as she thrust her staff forward.
“Wynn Fimbulvetr!!”
Three streams of arctic wind blasted forth.
Everything in range, including many of the destroyed shops and crystals that once stood around the square, were immediately encased in ice. The monster, in the middle of it all, was also enveloped in the blink of an eye.
“!”
The beast had difficulty screaming as its body began to freeze solid. But it could sense that its salvation was just within reach and whipped its arms forward with all its strength.
Tendrils slammed against rocks, breaking them apart as the creature swam through the air and made it over the cliff before its body turned into a block of ice.
Bits of the ice covering its body flaked off, looking like small comets as the beast descended. With nothing between it and the lake, a shade of relief passed through the female figure’s lips.
“You take it on the left!”
“Gotcha!”
However—
A two-headed monster of a different sort jumped off the cliff after her.
“”
Tiona and Tione had raced past the left and right sides of Riveria and over the side without the slightest hesitation.
They kept running, their feet against the rock as they charged straight down.
From the monster’s point of view, it was a nightmare come to life.
The wheat-skinned Amazons had chased it to the ends of the earth and off a cliff of despair.
“?!”
The feminine creature was falling headfirst toward the water. It whipped its arms up with the last bits of its strength.
The Amazonian sisters kicked off the cliff face in different directions the moment they saw the oncoming line of “spears” as if they had planned this in advance.
As the arms disappeared from her peripheral vision, Tione came in from the upper left of the monster, blades flashing.
“You’re not getting away!”
Her Kukri arced through the air, slicing through the creature’s limbs.
The monster had lost the last of its weapons. And now, flying in from the upper right came Tiona, ready to strike.
Bending her body backward, she lined up Urga’s blade and poured strength into her muscles—a silver flash came straight down.
“Here I cooommmeee!!”
A wide, arcing slash.
“”
Urga’s overwhelming destructive power unleashed, the monster was sliced clean in two.
The pieces split from each other in midair before dissolving into ash amid brilliant purple flashes of light.
The body vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind, while continuing to plummet toward the lake below.
“Hell, yeah!”
“Tiona, you idiot! Now the magic stone is gone!”
“Oh.”
Tiona celebrated the victory until her sister pointed out they couldn’t study it without a magic stone. The younger Amazon’s face turned from jubilation to disappointment.
The two had reached terminal velocity, rocketing toward the water, and yet their descent had turned into a one-sided lecture and a continuous apology.
“…I hope Aiz and Lefiya are okay.”
Tiona looked back up to the edge of the cliff, her back to the oncoming lake.
She could see crimson light cast on the ceiling of the Dungeon by the remnants of Lefiya’s magic still lingering in Rivira. She didn’t know all the details, but she could tell that redheaded woman fighting with Aiz was dangerous. She was obviously not normal, even at a distance.
Her hair flew above her head, pushed by the wind whistling in her ears. Tione could see her sister was worried about their friend and young ally, so she called out in an attempt to reassure her.
“Riveria’s up there, and don’t forget about the general. Of course they’re fine.”
“…You’re right.”
There was an element of pride, almost bragging, in Tione’s voice. She wore a broad smile full of confidence on her face.
Seeing her, Tiona smiled, too. Both sisters cast their gaze up at the edge of the cliff.
Splash!
Two gouts of water erupted from the lake as they hit the surface.
The howls like broken bells had all but disappeared from the town.
While the last of the flower monsters were slain, the battle between Aiz and the red-haired woman raged in the west.
Fighting their way up the east-facing slope, the two women emerged close to Rivira’s western wall. This was the highest plateau inside the wall, but it had been turned into a wasteland of crushed boulders, broken wood, and crystal shards by the onslaught of monsters.
Far from the ceiling crystals that still flickered with crimson light, the area was shrouded in a bluish darkness. Places where the monsters had broken through the wall were visible all the way around the plateau. Aiz and the red-haired woman traded blows as they crossed paths while dashing through the remains of Rivira.
“!”
“That’s a convenient wind.”
The red-haired woman’s expression didn’t change as she commented on Aiz’s Magic, Airiel. The wind-based enchantment not only increased her speed, but the power of her saber as well.
It effectively granted Aiz the strength of a ferocious beast. She was able to meet every strike of the longsword, no matter which direction it came from, and deflect it.
The sound of clashing blades spread out over the plateau as Aiz, with her wind assistance, repeatedly crossed swords with the red-haired woman.
Desperate arced through the air and collided w
ith the enemy’s longsword with such force that it knocked the woman backward. The two blades separated for the moment and both combatants took off running. Tap tap tap tap! Debris crunched beneath their feet as Aiz decided to venture a question.
“‘Aria’—where did you hear that name?!”
The unrelenting emotions building up within Aiz had bubbled to the surface.
Her eyes burned with an unearthly rage, unblinking as she glared at her opponent.
Even Tiona and her other friends had never heard Aiz speak as loudly and forcefully as she just had. However, the woman running alongside her answered casually.
“I wonder…?”
“……!!”
Aiz’s eyebrows shot straight down and she charged in for the next round of attacks.
Her silver blade was a blur, bearing down on her opponent faster than the eye could see. Striking ten times in less than a second, both blades bore the brunt of the exchange between the two warriors. The woman’s remaining gauntlet became covered in several deep diagonal slashes, and strands of her red hair fell to the ground. Long red lines crisscrossed their way through the skin of both women.
Most likely, the redhead’s longsword was a drop item from the Dungeon’s Deep Levels, a monster fang that had been fitted with a handle and used as is. The lead-colored blade itself had an unaltered, almost wild aura to it. Dull flashes met silver streaks as the fang and Desperate collided once again.
—However, the enemy was overpowering Aiz and her wind.
Even with the enchantment’s boost, the longsword was knocking Desperate off its path at incredible speed each time the two clashed. It even cut through Aiz’s protection, making several deep cuts across her body.
Even Airiel at full power wasn’t enough to gain the upper hand in this one-on-one duel. Aiz was able to keep her opponent from inflicting serious damage, but was still being overwhelmed. Her golden eyes were filled with surprise, but she didn’t consider looking away.
The other woman knew something—she knew the name Aria.
Adrenaline flowed into her chest, seemingly into her very soul. Tightening her grip on the weapon in her hand, Aiz pushed her body to move even faster.
The expression on her face was fitting for someone with the nickname “Sword Princess Kenki.” Her eyes only saw one thing, the enemy. Aiz struck forward once again.
“—And here I thought you had the face of a doll.”
Then.
The red-haired woman noticed the sudden change in Aiz’s rhythm, the passion burning in her heart.
Her green eye narrowed for an instant before her body almost disappeared.
Sidestepping Aiz’s overhead strike, she moved with enough speed and power to cut through the wind.
An uppercut that started low and ended very high.
The woman’s bare left hand traveled through the wind armor and buried itself deep into Aiz’s stomach, launching the girl’s thin body into the air.
“!”
The force of the blow knocked Aiz completely out of balance.
She tried to regain her center of gravity by manipulating the air swirling around her body, but before she could—
The woman stepped forward, bringing her blade high above her head and moving her bloodied left hand out of the way.
“”
Jolt!
A cold spark raced up Aiz’s spine.
Her enemy’s green eye locked onto her; the sword came straight down.
Golden eyes as wide as they could go, Aiz rerouted Airiel’s wind at the last moment to bring Desperate up at an unbelievable speed.
The moment held.
“!”
A clang on par with an explosion rang out.
An arcing slice over the shoulder at blinding speed. The longsword slammed into Desperate from the upper left and broke past the sword and through every single air current. The impact hit Aiz like a hammer.
The enemy disappeared from Aiz’s sight as the girl flew backward and landed hard on a pile of debris.
“Ughh!”
Bits of wood, rock, and crystals blasted into the air around her body on impact.
All the air was forced from her lungs in an instant. Aiz’s body went limp for a moment, refusing to listen to the commands from her brain.
Clang! Desperate bounced off the nearby boulder and rolled to a stop.
“Finally, this is over.”
The longsword had shattered on impact. The red-haired woman discarded the handle and what was left of the shaft before rushing to where Aiz had landed.
The blond knight willed herself onto her knees. She glanced up in time to see her enemy charging, right arm drawn back behind her shoulder.
There was no escape.
The woman could see the expression of fear on the girl’s face. The muscles in her gauntlet-covered fist tensed as she threw a punch—when suddenly…
“What?!”
The metallic echo reverberated through the plateau. Her fist had been stopped.
A long spear and staff crossed just in front of Aiz’s surprised face. They’d come together at the last possible moment to block her opponent’s attack.
The tips of each weapon were embedded in the ground. Aiz’s neck swiveled left and right. A young prum man and an elegant elf lady were standing on either side of her.
Like knights protecting their princess, they had arrived just in time to shield her.
“Finn, Riveria…”
The two adventurers pushed the enemy back with their weapons as Aiz whispered their names.
The woman jumped away, clasping her right hand in her left. Finn adjusted his grip on the spear and charged forward.
“Miss Aiz!”
“Lefiya…?”
Aiz felt delicate hands supporting her chest and back.
A quick look to her right and she could see Lefiya was there propping her up.
“Lefiya, heal her, now!”
“Yes!”
Riveria issued the order as she turned to face the enemy. The battle between the red-haired woman and Finn was already well under way.
She swung her fists around like battle hammers, but Finn’s small body proved to be a difficult target. Ducking low to the ground, the prum pressed in hard. He thrust his spear up from beneath her line of vision as a feint, then instead tried to sweep her legs out from under her with a low kick.
Frustration at her small target was written all over her face as the woman bent her upper body backward and jumped to avoid the attack. Eyes wide, she faced her opponent once again.
“Are you the Tamer who controlled those monsters?”
“…Confident enough to talk, I see.”
“Not as much as you are.”
The prum’s normally friendly and warm expression had transformed into that of a determined warrior.
Sharp eyes studied his opponent as he struck from every angle, trying to find a blind spot, looking for a space between his opponent’s limbs to move into after each strike. Sometimes, they showed him when to give distance or when to charge forward. Thanks to their perception, Finn was constantly moving to more and more advantageous positions.
His strategy was completely different from Aiz’s straightforward combat style, and it frustrated the red-haired woman to no end. She was unarmed and forced to constantly match Finn’s footwork to find opportunities to attack.
Her grip, strong enough to snap the neck of a man, closed on nothing but air. Even her kicks missed their mark. None of her attacks were connecting with her opponent’s small frame.
She tried to grab the spear more than once, but each time Finn knocked her hands away with a series of upward thrusts, almost like he could see it coming.
A fresh cut on her cheek warped as a frown appeared on the woman’s face.
“Don’t—get cocky!”
“?!”
She kicked her left leg high above the prum and brought her heel down, slamming it into the ground with the force of a small explosion.
> The rubble at the point of impact was launched into the air as a result of the extraordinarily strong blow. The shock wave knocked Finn off his feet, his clothing whipping around his body as debris pelted him.
Once he left the ground, his agility was gone.
Finn was a sitting duck as the woman twisted around for a backhanded blow.
“General!”
Lefiya’s yell was masked by a gruesome snap—a piece of the long spear flew off into the air.
The weapon was broken, but the murderess’s green eye was wide open in shock.
An uninjured Finn was upside down, looking up at her.
He had managed to jam the spear into the ground to use as leverage, forcing his body just above the path of the backhand to avoid the attack.
As he flew literally head over heels in midair, the light in Finn’s eyes disappeared for an instant as he withdrew a knife from the sheath in his belt.
Using his momentum from dodging the fist, he brought the white blade toward the red-haired woman, whose arm was still extended.
“Guh—!”
A spatter of blood shot through the air.
Finn’s upward swing connected with the woman’s chest, the blade cutting flesh.
The woman staggered backward—that was the window Riveria needed.
“Why, you…!”
The woman twisted her body to meet the new threat.
Her muscles burned as she whipped her fist forward like a wrecking ball.
Riveria only had one eye open as she adeptly avoided it, and then—Tap.
The gauntlet flashed right by her as her feet came to a complete stop. She had foreseen this reaction and had made sure the enemy’s counterattack would fall harmlessly short.
But that was only the first part of her plan. The red-haired woman watched in horror as the elf swept the staff at her feet.
That light contact was enough to completely knock her off balance.
The woman hit the ground.
“”
Next up:
Finn, round two.
“—Guah!”
His incoming fist landed square on her jaw, sending her flying backward.
Finn had used every muscle in his small frame, put every fiber of his being into that punch. The woman’s body glided through the air and landed on the ground with a hard smack almost immediately. What’s more, she kept rolling for another ten or twenty meders.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 2 Page 15