Chapter 248

Chapter 251: On the Surface, Cool as an Old Dog; Inside, Panicking Like Crazy (Please Subscribe!)

The situation arose suddenly.

A blood-curdling scream emanating from deep within seemed to indicate the severity of the matter.

The cries echoed repeatedly through the complex labyrinth, assaulting the eardrums from every angle. The familiar voice caused Izay and the others to abruptly look up at each other in confusion.

“That voice is….”

“Raul?”

During their brief exchange, the five had already begun moving toward the direction of the screams.

At first, they determined the location by sound, but soon they were simply following Izay.

“I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

“Are you serious, Izay? When’s a good time for this?”

“Then I’ll go with the good news!”

Izay, who had activated his perception magic, turned around half-jokingly. Tione responded optimistically while Tione gave him a sarcastic remark.

“The good news is that the captain and the others are more or less safe.”

“Yay!” Upon hearing this, Tione immediately brightened up.

Hmm? Who was just criticizing me?

“And the bad news?” The blonde natural swordsman looked over.

Izay shrugged. “The bad news is that we’re about to be in trouble.”

“!?”

Before Ais could voice her confusion, the group rounded another corner of the maze.

At the end of the corner, the figures of Finn and the others came into view.

But they were being chased by a horde of monsters, forced to flee.

The first-class adventurers, whose strength was on par with Izay’s group, abandoned the fight and ran for their lives, their backs to the pursuing monsters.

Behind them were the new breed of monsters that Izay had dealt with countless times along the way.

“This… so many!?” Refia voiced her shock.

The worm-like creatures chasing after Finn and the others could only be described as swarming like locusts.

—Covering everything!

The walls, passages, and ceilings were all covered with their forms.

Even though they weren’t too close yet, just looking from afar made one’s scalp tingle!

“Captain~!”

However, the mind of a love-struck Amazonian worked differently.

Tione completely ignored the sea of colorful monsters behind her and waved to Finn.

“Tione!? Retreat first!”

“Got it~!”

Finn also noticed Izay’s group ahead and signaled them to retreat.

Tione agreed without hesitation.

Her overly cheerful demeanor made Izay suspect she hadn’t heard what Finn said at all.

Ignoring Tione in her amorous state, Izay drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

“Ais, Tiona, give me a moment.”

He referred to what was behind them.

The worm monsters were still some distance away, but the ones they had encountered earlier during their rush were now catching up.

Their destructive roars could be heard clearly in his ears.

“Alright.”

“No problem!”

The two girls didn’t hesitate to agree.

As they moved to deal with the threat approaching from behind, Izay focused all his strength into drawing the bowstring back, magical energy swirling around his body.

His posture was perfect, like a star hanging high in the sky, but the eerie blue magical energy flickering around him was unsettling.

The magical arrow on his bow seemed almost tangible, glowing currents swirling around its tip, the light pulsing intermittently as circles grew larger and larger centered around the arrowhead.

Magic continued to flow in, maintaining the charge while waiting for the right moment.

The instant Finn, Gress, and the others passed by Izay at full speed without exchanging words.

“——————!”

The arrow was released.

There was a moment of silence as the light transformed from circular to spiral patterns under rapid flight, emitting a sharp whistling sound that seemed to cut through the air, flashing continuously.

The originally ink-black rock passage was now filled with worm monsters, which were silently bisected by the arrow’s path, leaving a deep trench in its wake.

The arrow traversed space, tearing through the atmosphere, heading straight for the center of the monster horde.

And then all sounds ceased.

“BOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM——”

All that could be felt was the violent shaking of the tunnel and the heat brushing against the skin.

Various fragments kicked up by the fierce wind bounced around, producing heavy sounds.

The arrow fired by Izay pierced through the front tunnel. Anything within the attack range was either killed or severely injured, even those merely grazed by it at the edges.

At the end of the arrow’s trajectory, it exploded into the wall, revealing ominous crimson energy and a massive crater.

“Hiss——”

This power!

Bert, drawn by the explosion, couldn’t help but gasp when he turned around.

Just a simple draw and release, with only a few seconds of charging, could unleash such an attack.

“It’s almost as exaggerated as that old hag’s magic!”

“Hmm? Are you talking about Riviria, Bert?”

“…No.”

Upon noticing Tione turning around, Bert quickly denied any such thing.

On the surface, cool as an old dog; inside, panicking like crazy.

“These new species of monsters have potential ability values equivalent to Level 5, but their attributes across the board are the weakest type within Level 5. The only threatening aspect is their specialized ‘Poison’…”

In short, they’re my counter-type. Izay added mentally.

These mutated parasites spawned from the corrupted fairy larvae were highly dangerous overall. Their potent poison could kill even a Level 6 dragon, but to Izay, they were nothing more than live targets. He could take them out easily from a distance.

Ais could handle them perfectly as well. Her wind magic would ensure the monster’s poison never reached her, and it could even protect her equipment.

“Kid, can you try healing Raul?”

Izay had temporarily repelled the pursuing new species of monsters, and Ais and the others had dealt with the enemies behind them. At this point, Gress approached with Raul in tow, worry etched on his face.

The young human slung over the dwarf’s broad shoulders emitted black smoke and a foul stench. His hands hung limply, his skin and light armor dissolving together, turning a ghastly purplish-black color that continued to spread.

“Earlier, Raul was directly hit by the poison from one of those monsters. We used quite a few Panacea potions, but there’s been no improvement.” Gress explained the situation.

“Don’t worry, old man. No problem.” Izay, slightly leaning back due to the smell, waved his hand dismissively.

He then raised his hand and unleashed a spell.

“—’Purification’!”

A sacred magic circle appeared alongside beautiful white light in Izay’s palm.

Raul’s wounds were enveloped by the glow of the magic, visibly recovering at an accelerated pace.

‘Star Favor · Holy Healing’ — linked incantation, second rank effect: ‘Purification’.

Rejects all acquired, and even innate, ‘negative states.’

Any negative status can be directly erased, restoring the target to a ‘healthy’ condition.

Of course, the more powerful the curse or toxin, the more magic power it consumes.

In just two or three seconds, Raul’s condition had fully recovered, showing no signs of the severe poisoning he had endured moments ago.