On the cliff face of the mountain peak, Shirou and the red-haired female monster tamer faced each other, nearly a thousand meters apart. Suddenly, Lefiya and Lulune ran through the passage below them.
"Not good!"
Shirou, realizing Lefiya was in danger, instantly changed his combat strategy and rushed towards the two girls below. The female culprit also noticed Lefiya.
"That's the jewel!"
Her sharp eyes immediately caught sight of Lefiya's package, and then she charged towards the two.
"Lefiya, quickly get out of the way!"
Hearing the voice from above, Lefiya looked up and saw two figures rushing towards them. Realizing the danger, she immediately ran towards Shirou.
"Good!"
Thanks to her early run and Lefiya's quick reaction, Shirou finally reached Lefiya before the female culprit. Then he crossed his twin swords, blocking the female culprit's cleaving attack.
Clang!
The crisp sound of blades clashing echoed in the space. Shirou, parrying the attack, felt a violent tremor, and the webbing between his fingers instantly tore, bleeding profusely.
Heavy, heavy, incredibly heavy. This was the only thing Shirou could feel while parrying the opponent's attack. As expected, he was crushed by their stats. Knowing he couldn't defend passively, Shirou tightened his grip on his twin swords and swung upwards, but the opponent's reaction speed was clearly faster than his. The female culprit quickly retracted her sword and blocked it in front of her. But in the next step, her body, without any pause, kicked out. Shirou was directly kicked into the wall.
"Brother!"
"Pfft!"
Shirou, embedded in the stone wall, coughed up a mouthful of blood, instantly staining his chest red. With that kick, his sternum was probably broken. Feeling his internal organs in disarray, Shirou thought to himself.
"I didn't expect you to actually come and save your teammate. If you hadn't come, I really couldn't have done anything to you."
"But in that case, this woman's life would probably be forfeit, wouldn't it!"
Looking at the heavily injured Shirou, the female culprit didn't continue attacking Lefiya but slowly spoke to Shirou.
"Cough!"
"Brother!"
Supported by Lefiya, Shirou slowly stood up from the stone wall.
"As an older brother, if I can't even protect my sister, then what can I do!"
"Brother!"
Looking at Shirou's determined eyes, Lefiya's eyes couldn't help but well up with tears. At the same time, her eyes were filled with endless brilliance.
"Hmph, deep sibling affection? Hand over the jewel, and I'll spare your lives."
"That's a nice thought, but before that, you'll have to overcome our Familia's pride!"
"What?!"
As Shirou spoke, a golden flash suddenly appeared before everyone.
"Are you okay, Brother!"
"I'm fine, the injury isn't too severe!"
Nodding slightly, Ais focused her gaze on the woman opposite her.
"Be careful, Ais. This woman is probably a LV.6 level expert."
"I understand."
Hearing Shirou's warning, Ais also became fully concentrated. As a member of the Loki Familia, Ais was acutely aware of the terror of LV.6s, as their Familia had three LV.6s.
After a brief observation, the two charged at each other. Where their blades met, sparks flew continuously. The two, constantly exchanging sword techniques, accelerated rapidly. Soon, only the traces of sword light could be seen in this space, and the figures of the people were indistinguishable. Only the countless afterimages left in mid-air gradually disappeared.
"So strong!"
Lefiya stared at the clashing two, her eyes wide with astonishment. This was a combat stance she could never achieve.
"This isn't good! Ais is falling behind a bit."
Unlike Lefiya, who couldn't accurately discern the combat strength of the two, Shirou, relying on his Mind's Eye (True) and Clairvoyance, could clearly capture their combat stances. Ais was already falling behind.
As the pride of the Loki Familia, Sword Princess Ais Wallenstein possessed extremely strong combat power. In battles against monsters, her combat power was not inferior to the Loki Familia's "Big Three." This was due to her skill, Princess of Vengeance.
Princess of Vengeance (Avenger)
Can be activated at will.
High-region attack power enhancement against monster species.
Ultra-region attack power enhancement against dragon species.
The stronger the hatred, the greater the effect.
With her high-region attack power enhancement against monsters, Ais could easily fight above her level when facing monsters. In extreme hatred, even crossing two levels was easy. Against dragon species, she would be even stronger. So, in the future, after becoming LV.6, in terms of attack power, Ais would be the strongest existence in the Loki Familia. But this was when facing monsters. In anti-personnel combat, not only was there no skill amplification, but her sword art itself was not designed for anti-personnel combat.
Unlike the Big Three, who grew up in the Dark Ages and specialized in anti-personnel combat, Ais's battle stage had always been the Dungeon. Therefore, Ais was not a match for this female culprit; she needed his assistance.
Shirou, who had already consumed an Elixir, had begun to update his Falc through his Independent Action ability. Before fighting this female culprit, all of Shirou's stats except Endurance had already reached their limit. And after the recent battle, his final deficiency was also filled. Now was the time to level up.
"Sorry, Loki, I can't wait for you to update my Falc this time."
After silently saying this in his heart, Shirou's Falc had already begun to change.
And just then, Ais, unable to increase her speed any further, faced the increasingly fast female culprit and showed a bitter smile. She could only give it her all. To protect her brother and Lefiya. She decided to use Ariel. Because this magic was too powerful and dangerous, Ais had decided not to use it in anti-personnel combat. But now was not the time to hesitate.
"Awaken!"
Ais, chanting the spell, was instantly enveloped by a swift wind. Imbued with the power of wind, she erupted with an even faster offensive, pushing the enemy back.
"What?"
The female culprit, who didn't expect Ais to have magic, was caught off guard and had her helmet knocked off, revealing her true face.
"That wind just now... I see, so you're Aria!"
Aria, hearing that name, Ais's golden eyes widened. Why does this person know that name? Ais's delicate throat trembled with agitation. Both were immersed in shock, and a subtle silence spread between them.
"Ah!!!"
But just then, a miserable scream suddenly came from Lefiya's package.
"Lefiya, quickly throw that jewel out!"
Hearing Shirou's voice, Lefiya quickly threw the jewel from her package. The fetus, activated by Ais's magic, broke out of the jewel. It moved along the wall and landed on a Man-eating Flower. Then, amidst a tragic scream, the fetus and the Man-eating Flower combined.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter