Chapter 110 Aren'T We Friends?!
BOOM!
Suddenly, the entire field of vision turned white, and a thunderous sound shook them to their bones.
"Ev, everyone, evacuate!!"
For a moment, they were stunned, but as explorers, Owen and the others instinctively distanced themselves from the lightning strike without understanding the situation.
The mysterious lightning didn't stop, pouring down repeatedly in the same spot without a single pause.
"W, what's going on...?!"
For now, they kept a safe distance, ready to react to any unexpected situation, and watched the intense lightning storm.
It was too pinpoint, too relentless, and too terrifying to be a natural phenomenon.
It was an attack.
This kind of lightning couldn't occur naturally. Moreover, they were inside a labyrinth, where the sky and clouds projected on the ceiling were just illusions. Therefore, lightning couldn't occur naturally in the first place.
So,
"Surrounding alert!!"
"""Roger!!"""
Owen shouted to his friends, and everyone opened their magical energy sense to search for any monsters in the surrounding area.
Meanwhile, the lightning that had been pouring down for over ten seconds finally stopped. The lightning that had struck Aaron and crashed into the snow had melted and boiled a large amount of snow with its massive heat energy.
A thick, white mist rose, and it was unclear if Aaron was safe.
"M-master...?!"
Owen's voice, calling out to Aaron in a split second, was interrupted by a deafening explosion the next moment.
"What the...?!"
"Hey, hey...!!"
Owen and Zara involuntarily cried out.
Two seconds after the lightning stopped, a massive magical attack was unleashed towards the spot where the mist was rising.
Flame magic, storm magic, ocean magic, and terra magic.
It was as if they had spent a lot of time preparing, and advanced attack magic was being unleashed in rapid succession.
A saturated destructive force swept up the snow and debris, unleashing a blindingly bright light from the high-temperature flames. However, the timing of each attribute's attack was carefully adjusted so that they wouldn't cancel each other out, and it seemed that the order of the magic spells was determined with consideration for the compatibility of the attributes.
The flames were amplified by the wind, and the massive amount of water that was stirred up created a violent whirlpool. This repetition continued relentlessly, like a highly organized and coordinated attack aimed at taking down a monster of guardian level.
Even a child who witnessed this would be able to sense the clear intent to kill.
And――Owen and the others had already discovered the ones carrying out these attacks.
Of course. It's impossible not to pinpoint the location of an opponent who's using this much magic.
Turning their backs to avoid the blast, Owen and the others looked back.
"From that far away...!!"
"I mean, am I the only one who recognizes those faces?"
"Don't worry, I recognize them too, very well."
There, at a distance that was just barely within the range of magical energy projection, were the magicians who were accurately targeting Aaron with their magic spells.
That distance was far beyond the range of even the most skilled magicians' magical energy projection.
It wasn't just those who could use auras who had grown through woodworking.
The familiar magicians from the clan ≪Wooden Sword Way≫ were somehow targeting Aaron with pinpoint attacks.
But, of course...there were others there besides the magicians.
Clan members who weren't magicians were gripping their weapons and approaching at high speed across the snowy terrain.
Their weapons were imbued with a massive amount of aura, emitting a pale blue light like moonlight. It was clear, without even needing to look at their faces, that they intended to assist in this excessively deadly attack.
"Why are they doing this... why are they attacking Master Aaron?!"
Owen cried out with a tragic expression, shocked that the people who appeared were his clan comrades.
"Are we not comrades...?! Aren't we friends?!"
Trying to kill a comrade is absolutely wrong. Owen lamented, forgetting yesterday's "friendly fire" incident.
That cry should have been clearly audible even amidst the deafening destruction sounds of the magic, especially since they were Expert Explorers.
However, not a single person slowed down their approach.
At the forefront of the group, a figure with an exceptionally fast speed stopped right in front of Owen and the others.
But that person was the only one not holding a weapon.
"You guys! Get out of here, now!!"
It was Fiona Ackerman who said that.
She urged Owen and the others with a stern expression.
"B-but, sis!!"
Owen pointed at Aaron, who was still under attack.
"Our master is still over there!!"
"Aaron will be fine! What's more, if you guys stay here, you'll get caught up in this too! Those people have lost all sense of reason!!"
Fiona stated firmly without hesitation.
There were many things Owen wanted to say and ask, but in the face of Fiona's tense demeanor, he could only keep quiet.
It was clear that the situation was far from normal, and staying there would put their own lives in danger.
Besides...
"...Got it. And if our master is in a pinch, you wouldn't be staying silent, sis. That means you're certain he's safe, right?"
Owen asked, taking Fiona's attitude as proof that Aaron was unharmed.
In response to his question, Fiona...
"H-haa!? Wh-what are you talking about?! D-do you think I...I like him or something?!"
Her face turned bright red as she became flustered like a naive maiden.
Owen and the others thought,
(What is she saying?)
but quickly realized it wasn't the time for that.
"W-whoa!?"
"Close call!?"
Owen and Zara's faces contorted as they involuntarily shouted.
Fiona and Owen's sides were just passed by a spear of aura wrapped in a hurricane.
Looking around, they saw that the clan members had formed a circular formation around Aaron, surrounding him and starting to attack mercilessly.
Owen and the others were also inside this formation, but the all-out attack had begun without hesitation, as if it didn't matter if they got hit.
"I-I'm telling you I never said I liked that guy, not even once!!"
"No, no, sis!! Not now!! Please, not now!!"
"Sis, it's coming! The attack is coming!!"
Attacks began to fly around, grazing Owen's clothes. Soon, attacks that would definitely hit if not dodged started to mix in.
It was strange, but it seemed like they were being careful not to hit Fiona, but Owen and the others were not exempt.
Anyway.
Owen and the others had to escape from the encirclement of Aaron, taking the flustered Fiona with them.
* * *
With Fiona, who had regained her composure, leading the way, they moved to a slightly distant location.
There, they found people who were watching the situation unfold without participating in the attack.
Apparently, not all clan members had participated in the attack on Aaron. Calum and the ≪Wood Sword Appreciation Club≫, a group of wood sword enthusiasts, were gathered there.
"So, sis... what's going on here?"
Now that they had escaped to a safe location, Owen asked Fiona in confusion.
"That's..."
Fiona began to explain the situation.
First, she mentioned how Io, the sub-master, had announced the plan to kill the Clan Master. Io had cleverly incited the clan members and got them to participate in the plan. This morning, the remaining clan members on the ground had snuck into the Snowfield Floor.
"Up to this point, it was fine..."
Fiona continued to explain.
It seemed that up until this point, Fiona thought that Io was controlling the clan members' dissatisfaction and stress by leading the assassination plan.
In fact, Io had also told Fiona that.
However, on their way to the 40th floor, Io began to talk eloquently about the strategy for the Aaron attack and each person's role. First, he would use magic to attack Aaron from a distance, stopping him in his tracks, and then the magicians would close in and use long-range attack magic from the limit of their magical energy.
While the magicians' saturation attack would buy time, the close-range Jobs and archers would close in and surround Aaron, attacking him with all their might.
This was a plan to seal off Aaron with a continuous attack that left no openings.
Moreover, Io's plan didn't stop there. He also gave detailed instructions on what to do if the first plan failed.
The clan members were excited by the intricate plan, which didn't seem like something that was thought up on the spot. Their stress up until now had also contributed to their excitement, and they began to vent their frustrations among themselves, which ended up fueling their desire to kill.
And so, the clan members had become unstoppable berserkers.
"I was too careless... I never thought that Mr. Io would be the one most enthusiastic about this plan..."
Fiona said, looking embarrassed.
It was completely unexpected. Who could have imagined that the sub-master, known as the "sage" for being intelligent and gentle, would try to kill the master of his own clan?
Not even the gods could have predicted it!!
"I see..."
After hearing everything, Owen muttered, and then asked again.
"But shouldn't we stop them? Or help Master..."
"For now, let's just observe the situation..."
Fiona said, voicing a passive opinion.
"If, by any chance, Aaron gets into trouble... or if it seems like a clan member is going to die, I think it's best if we intervene."
But that didn't mean they wouldn't do anything at all. It meant they were holding back, ready to act if the clan was in danger of losing someone.
"I see..."
Owen and the others nodded in agreement.
Everyone in the area turned their attention back to the snowy plain.
"Hey, sis..."
After a brief silence, Zara spoke up.
"What?"
"I mean... how long is this going to keep going?"
The relentless storm of attacks and skills raining down on Aaron, with no mercy or quarter given, had continued unabated for several minutes, just as Fiona had told them.
Fiona looked puzzled as she replied to Zara's question.
"Huh? Until their magical energy runs out, of course?"
"Of course, huh..."
Zara swallowed her next words, which were, "You're not worried at all, even though the one getting attacked is the guy you like?"
It seemed Fiona had complete faith in Aaron's abilities...
"Ah, but."
Fiona suddenly realized something and turned her attention back to the center of the attacks.
"After this, the attacks will stop for a bit."
"Huh? Why?"
"Aaron's about to snap."
"Huh?"
Just a few seconds later, Fiona's words became reality.
* * *
As the intense sounds of destruction echoed through the air, Io moved closer to the inner circle of the encirclement, casting his own attack magic as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
He was even using Wind Magic to amplify his voice, making sure everyone could hear him.
"Don't let up on the attack!! Don't give him an opening to counterattack Keep up the encirclement and finish him off!!"
"""Yessss!!"""
The clan members responded enthusiastically to Io's rallying cry.
The area where the attacks were landing was now a chaotic mess, with flames, storms, waterfalls, giant rocks, and explosions of aura and blades all raging out of control, sending steam and dust flying high into the air.
Each and every one of them had grown stronger through their wooden sword training. Their concentrated attack was far more powerful and intense than the one they had launched against the Unique Individual Nord just a month ago.
If the Unique Individual Nord had quietly taken this attack, it would have evaporated along with the parasitic creature inside.
But even so, no one stopped their attack because they could feel it.
The magic and skills they were using. Normally, they wouldn't feel any physical feedback from their long-range attacks, but the magical energy and aura pressure that were building up at the attack point were being blocked, as if they had hit a hard wall.
But even so, the attack continued for several minutes, and everyone started to expect that if this kept up, Aaron's magical energy would run out and he might be defeated.
"――Uggghh!!"
Boom――.
An explosion occurred.
It wasn't caused by their own attack. A brilliant aura burst forth from within the storm of destruction, pushing everything back and engulfing all their attacks, triggering a massive explosion.
My unique sword technique [Giant Blade] [Continuous Blade] [Blast Blade]――――and one more.
My ultimate technique――[Absolute Fire Blast Array]
"――――!!"
For an instant, the air at the center of the explosion was compressed to the point of creating a vacuum.
The blast was so powerful that those surrounding him had to crouch low to endure it, struggling to avoid being blown away.
After a few seconds of the blast passing, and then soon after.
The steam and dust were blown away, revealing the center of the storm of destruction.
"......"
There stood Aaron Gale.
In the center of a massive, deep crater that had been created, he was 'standing'.
Normally, the ground would have been destroyed, disappearing underground for several meters. There was no way the ground could have withstood such an intense attack.
But for some reason, the space around Aaron, about a one-meter radius, was unnaturally maintaining its footing.
The reason was obvious.
The countless, numerous blades floating around Aaron had been protecting him from the intense attack.
――[Continuous Blade Barrier]
This was a defensive sword technique that Aaron possessed, but it was likely that he had repeatedly rebuilt or added to the barrier while being attacked.
But...
"Damn it... I knew it, he's fine."
Io spat out these words upon seeing Aaron's figure.
He had expected it, but seeing it with his own eyes made him want to curse even more.
Aaron Gale, standing at the center of the clan members surrounding him,
――was, of course, unscathed.
How could they tell? It was obvious at a glance.
The fact that Aaron, who had been stripped bare by the intense attack, wasn't bleeding a single drop of blood.
"Is he really human?"
"He's like a cockroach..."
"He's unscathed after that? He needs to relearn what it means to be human..."
The clan members, who didn't flinch even when faced with the guardians of the labyrinth, which were far stronger than humans, gritted their teeth and muttered.
In response, Aaron slowly lifted his face, which had been bowed.
"......You guys."
The [Continuous Blade Barrier] floating around Aaron disappeared, as if it had fulfilled its role.
And then, Aaron pulled out a new "Black Radiance" from his storage ring, and in the next instant――he shouted.
"THIS IS TAKING TOO LONGGGG!!! YOU'RE GOING TOO FARRRRR!!!"
It was taking too long.
It was going too far.
To be honest, the scale of the attack was not something that should be directed at allies――no, at humans.
Aaron, who was furious, opened his eyes wide, and his gaze, which seemed to be on the verge of losing its sanity, pierced through the surrounding clan members.
"You think I'm just a kind guy? That's a huge mistake!"
There was a moment of silence.
The clan members, who were intimidated by Aaron's words, which were accompanied by an eerie pressure――did not back down.
The people here were all Expert Explorers, who possessed exceptional courage among humans.
"Who's just a kind guy?!"
"Save your last words for when you're sleeping, you stupid!!"
"Rather, we'll send you to hell with a smile!!"
"Hmph, that's how it is, Aaron. Be a good boy and become our punching bag."
"Io... so you're the mastermind after all..."
Aaron understood the whole situation.
So, what should he do?
Become a quiet punching bag? Apologize and ask for forgiveness?
No way――neither of those options.
Aaron poured aura into his right hand's "Black Radiance" and swung it in an instant, shouting.
"Oh yeah, bring it on!!!! I'll turn this place into a graveyard for all of you!!!!"
And the battle began.
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