32 Overcoming the Challenge
*Rumble!*
It sounded like something was making noise.
*Crack!*
It seemed like something was cracking.
The cavernous passage quivered repeatedly, accompanied by a constant roar that filled the air, signaling the unrest in this place.
But all of this had been completely abandoned by Riezel, automatically dismissed, overlooked, and cast aside.
Wrapped in the garment of the wind, he focused entirely on the enemy before him, with eyes that saw nothing else.
Whether it was his accelerating heartbeat, his boiling blood, or even the impact and pain that swept through his entire body. Riezel, who was single-mindedly set on defeating the enemy in front of him, ignored it all.
Two figures, one large and one small, completely disproportionate, engaged in a deadly struggle under these circumstances.
*ROAAARRR—!!!*
With the usual roar, the massive monster swung its powerful arms consecutively, sweeping everything around—the ground, walls, and even the ceiling—causing destruction everywhere, with the deafening roar and tremors echoing.
Under the monster's rampage, the terrain in this area had been drastically altered, becoming uneven with scattered debris flying around, creating a chaotic scene.
Sand and dust filled the air and the monster unleashed its power recklessly, instilling fear in anyone who witnessed it.
However, only those observing from the sidelines knew that such outbursts were utterly futile.
Because it hadn't landed a single blow on its opponent.
Enveloped by the wind, Riezel, with a body seemingly too small compared to the monster, fearlessly charged toward the formidable enemy.
The monster swung its arms continuously, its powerful hands creating a whistling sound with each sweep. However, Riezel anticipated each move and skillfully dodged them.
His evasive maneuvers were unpredictable, sometimes sidestepping, other times lowering his head, occasionally leaping into the air, and at times rolling on the ground in a seemingly awkward manner. Yet, his movements were fluid, devoid of any excess or stagnation, and executed seamlessly. The monster's powerful arms, full of strength, could only land in empty spaces, causing meaningless destruction on the ground, walls, and ceiling.
While smoothly evading, Riezel never forgot to close in on his opponent. His speed showed no signs of slowing down, swiftly closing the distance with the monster.
In the next moment, silver lights flickered.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
Several sword lights sliced through the monster's body, cutting through its fur and flesh, and causing blood to seep out.
Riezel unleashed his maximum speed and skill, slashing multiple times while closing in to inflict damage as much as possible.
*ROAAARRR—!!!*
The monster could only howl in pain, swinging its arm to smash the incoming tiny figure. However, it ended up hitting the ground and stirring up countless dust, missing its target.
Riezel seemed to anticipate the monster's counterattacks, or perhaps he saw through its attack patterns. He withdrew before the monster swung its massive arms, turning into a gust of wind swirling around the monster.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
In an instant, several silver lights soared again, and sharp sword edges accompanied by surging wind, once again cutting through the monster's body.
The wounds were not significant, even small.
However, Riezel aimed to accumulate damage, accumulating the results of the battle, and marking the monster's massive body with numerous scars.
Evidently, he intended to continue fighting in this manner, relentlessly battling until he brought down the monster.
*ROAAARRR—!!!*
The monster roared in fury, its massive body swinging, arms flailing wildly, unleashing a chaotic force that created an astonishing spectacle. Despite its formidable display, it couldn't land a single blow on Riezel.
He danced around the monster, moving with extreme speed, slashing his sword to create a dazzling display of silver light and shadows around its body.
His fearless figure, with a seemingly reckless yet decisive fighting style, eventually created an impressive imposing manner and charisma. Onlookers couldn't help but be influenced, captivated, and forget their own purposes.
Ais was no exception.
Just like Lefiya, she stood there frozen, watching the battle of Riezel unfold after she abruptly entered the battlefield. The intensity and determination in his eyes made her completely forget to act.
"There!"
Other adventurers soon rushed over. Seeing the battle between Riezel and the monster, they were ready to make a move, but Ais stopped them.
"Stop!"
Sword Princess, who rarely showed emotions or expressions, unexpectedly yelled sternly, startling the adventurers prepared to intervene. They froze in their tracks.
"Sword Princess?"
"You're here too?"
"Why did you stop us?"
The newcomers seemed to be high-level and high-class adventurers, either coming up from the lower floors sensing the commotion, or receiving a message about the irregular and rushing to resolve the situation.
They were puzzled, not understanding why Ais was preventing them.
To their questions, she had only one sentence.
"He's challenging the monster..." Ais stared straight ahead, watching Riezel's fearless figure battling the monster with all he had. "We can't disturb him."
At her words, the adventurers looked at each other in confusion. However, soon they were also captivated by the ongoing battle.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The unparalleled monstrous strength of the massive monster continued to rampage through the dungeon passage, the explosion and roar echoing endlessly without stopping.
Riezel, enveloped by the wind, flicked away all the debris, dispersed all the dust, and even ignored the impact and shock waves. He danced dangerously close around the monster, evading every attack that came his way.
His sword had swung countless times.
The wounds he inflicted on the monster seemed countless.
Aches permeated his body as if it were screaming at him to stop, to give up.
But he ignored all external factors, fully dedicated to defeating the monster.
*ROAAARRR—!!!*
Eventually, the monster's roar carried less anger but more fear.
The wounds covering its body were numerous, and the once enraged monster now noticed something was wrong.
Its blood overflowed excessively.
The accumulation of too many wounds began to affect its movements and speed, instilling a sense of fear inside the monster's heart.
Realizing the danger, the monster stopped swinging its massive arms and recklessly charged toward Riezel.
*BOOOM—!!!*
Riezel had just prepared to lunge forward to launch another attack when the monster's sudden and unexpected charge hit him head-on. His entire body was shoved forward, dragged along by the monster's massive body.
*BAAANG!*
A stone pillar, pressed against Riezel by the monster, was shattered, exploding into a shower of sand and debris.
*ROAAARRR—!!!*
Seizing the opportunity for a counterattack, the monster relentlessly pushed forward, ramming into Riezel without stopping. It crashed into rocks and smashed against walls, pulverizing everything in its path.
Riezel, bearing the brunt of the charge, narrowly avoided coughing up blood.
"Mr. Riezel!" Lefiya's scream mixed with a mournful cry.
Ais's pupils contracted, her figure tensed, and instinctively, her hand gripped the sword at her waist, ready to draw.
However, at this moment...
"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow."
A familiar chant suddenly echoed, leaving Ais dumbfounded.
"Th-That's...?!" Lefiya cried out again, her voice filled with astonishment.
"Shoot, sniper of the fairies."
"Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy."
The chanting continued, causing a radiant light to converge in front of the monster.
"Arcs Ray!"
Accompanied by a deep, cold shout, the brilliance transformed into a light arrow, exploding in front of the monster's face.
*BOOOM—!!!*
A thunderous sound, a burst of magical arrows, sent the unstoppable monster flying.
Riezel, enveloped by the wind, reappeared before everyone with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. However, in his hand, there was a shimmering magical light, revealing to the onlookers who had cast the magic just moments ago.
"Mr. Riezel learned my magic...?" Lefiya was stunned senseless as she realized this.
But that's exactly what happened.
Due to her previous use of magic in front of Riezel, he confirmed the magic, memorized the chant, understood its effects from her explanation, and, with his knowledge of the original work, fulfilled the conditions one by one. Thus, he directly learned her magic and employed it in this crucial moment.
Watching the monster being blasted away, Riezel suppressed the blood rising in his throat and extended his hand once again.
*BOOOM—!!!*
"Arcs Ray!"
*BOOOM—!!!*
"Arcs Ray!!"
*BOOOM—!!!*
"Arcs Ray!!!"
With a swift chanting, Riezel unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of three 'Arcs Ray'.
The light arrows of magical energy burst forth in quick succession, tearing through the air and evaporating dust, each one slamming into the monster's body before it could react, let alone get back on its feet.
*BOOOM—!!!*
A massive explosion ensued.
The bombardment of the three magical arrows caused fiery explosions on the monster, scorching its massive body.
*ROAAAAARRR—!!!*
The monster let out a painfully loud roar, repeatedly retreating from the magic bombardment. Its body was now stained with gruesome blood.
At this moment, the wounds inflicted by Riezel earlier proved to be highly effective.
The magic, which would have been considerably mitigated by the monster's resilient fur, now had a much greater impact due to the extensive injuries he had inflicted on it, severely compromising the monster's defensive capabilities.
As a result, the flames generated by the magic burned through its massive body, causing it to howl in agony and retreat further.
Unnoticed by the struggling monster, Riezel seized the opportunity to launch another charge.
"Tempest!"
The wind roared.
"Tempest!!!"
This was the peak output, the ultimate release of 'Ariel'.
The wind enveloping his body surged violently, transforming from a gentle breeze to a raging storm.
With both hands tightly gripping his slender sword, Riezel converted all of his 'mind' into magic, channeling the force of the magical wind onto the sword.
*Pu-chi—!*
As the chilly silver light streaked through the tempest like moonlight, the most significant tearing sound to date echoed.
The thrust of the sword edge, wrapped in the tempest, traversed the monster, successfully piercing its massive body.
*ROAAA—*
The monster's roar abruptly ceased.
*Peng!*
The slender sword, wrapped in the wind, suddenly exploded and shattered into pieces.
Riezel passed through the monster's massive body and fell to the ground. Behind him, the monster slowly toppled, its massive body revealing a gaping wound.
Its life was finally extinguished.
