Chapter 41: Chapter 41
"With a body that strong, a child from your seeds would be outstanding." Aisha gave him a wild smile. Her words left Kiriya exasperated.
"Aisha, don’t hog him."
"Yeah, we want him too."
The annoyed voices of her friends came from nearby.
As experienced Level 3s, they had survived as well, and the way they looked at Kiriya burned even hotter than before.
"Here I come!"
One of the Berbera rushed in from Kiriya’s blind spot with a long blade, shouting at the top of her lungs.
Kiriya was speechless.
’Lady, what the hell are you doing? Do you have to shout before every sneak attack? Are you afraid the enemy won’t notice you’re coming?’
Aisha clearly hadn’t expected one of her own sisters to get so impatient.
Her reaction came a beat late. By the time she snapped back to reality, she hurried forward with another Berbera.
Facing that heavy downward slash, Kiriya still didn’t draw his sword.
He kept the same fighting stance as before.
’He’s trying to catch my blade barehanded?’
The Berbera grew angry, feeling looked down upon.
"You’ll pay for looking down on me!"
She poured more strength into both arms, making the slash even heavier.
Facing that full-force strike, Kiriya did not shift his feet at all.
He only moved his fist slightly to the side, just enough to slip past the edge of the blade, then struck sideways.
Clang!
Crack!
With a single punch, the high-quality weapon she had spent millions of valis on snapped cleanly in two!
The Berbera’s eyes nearly popped out.
Then two more punches sank into her stomach, and she was sent flying backward.
She hit the ground hard and could not get back up.
"Destructive Death: Annihilation Type."
"You bastard!"
Seeing her companion dropped in an instant, another Level 3 Berbera flew into a rage.
She thrust her spear straight toward Kiriya’s chest, but he twisted aside, then snapped his right leg up in a brutal high kick.
"Leg Type: Crown Splitter."
Clang!
A fierce gust slammed into her face. She barely managed to raise her spear in time to block the kick, but the shockwave still struck her head-on.
Blood burst from her nose, and her whole body was launched backward like a ball.
Right toward Aisha.
Aisha had been waiting for a chance to land a clean knockout blow on Kiriya, only for one of her own allies to come flying at her first.
She had no choice but to change course on the spot and rush Kiriya directly.
And what greeted her was a dazzling storm of kicks, bright and relentless like a meteor shower.
"Leg Type: Flowing Flash Crowd-Light."
Kiriya planted his left foot on the ground and lashed out with his right leg at unbelievable speed, kicking dozens of times in the blink of an eye.
After seeing his air-cannon technique earlier, Aisha did not dare take the attack lightly.
She immediately swung her great blade to block.
Clang, clang, clang!
Every impact forced Aisha one step back, each retreat leaving a deep footprint in the ground.
Before long, her heels were carving two long trenches through the floor.
"Hah... hah..."
Keeping up that speed while absorbing such heavy force made Aisha’s chest feel tight and painful.
She suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, and only then did the pressure in her lungs ease a little.
Kiriya was about to press the attack, but another Amazon charged in and stalled him for a few seconds.
"This guy just keeps getting more and more tempting!"
Even while being pushed back, Aisha broke into a wild, heated grin.
By this point, she understood very well that taking Kiriya down by herself was nothing but wishful thinking.
But she had not come alone!
"HARUHIME!" She shouted.
Kiriya, who had just punched another Berbera away, felt his heart jolt.
He had forgotten one very important variable.
A single factor that could completely change the flow of battle.
That renard girl.
"—Grow.
That power, that vessel. Countless treasures, countless wishes. When the bell tolls, pray for glory and illusion.
—Grow. This body that has swallowed divine offerings, grant it the golden light of the gods. Bestow the mallet, return it to the earth, and grant your blessing."
The girl’s chant drifted over on the wind.
Kiriya pushed forward faster.
He wanted to finish the enemy before the magic took effect.
Unfortunately, he was still a step too late.
Hum!
A pillar of golden light fell from above and landed on Aisha, wrapping her in a thin veil of moonlight.
And it was not just for show.
In Kiriya’s perception, the Amazon warrior’s aura rose sharply.
In an instant, she broke past the limits of Level 3 and reached the territory of Level 4.
’The ultra-rare magic that can raise someone’s Level by one on the spot... Uchide no Kozuchi?’ Kiriya scratched his head.
’I didn’t expect Ishtar Familia to already have it at this point.’
"Sorry about not giving you enough excitement earlier."
Aisha pointed her long blade at him, her red lips parting with absolute confidence.
"Now we start round two."
"Can’t be helped, then."
Kiriya had originally planned to settle this with his fists, but now that the other side had used Level Boost, continuing to fight barehanded would be pushing his luck.
He took the sword from his back, held it in one hand, and settled into an iai stance.
"Let me see what a temporary Level 4 can really do."
The moment he finished speaking, he turned into a streak of golden light and rushed toward Aisha.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash."
Clang!
Aisha lifted her great blade and blocked the strike with ease.
"Too straightforward."
She put strength into both arms and swept Kiriya away, then stepped in after him without giving him room to breathe.
Clang, clang, clang!
Aisha’s great blade blurred into afterimages, each swing fierce enough to feel like a storm tearing across the battlefield.
In front of that violent assault, Kiriya looked almost like a fallen leaf caught in a gale, small and fragile enough to be shredded at any moment.
He was being suppressed, no question about it.
But there was no panic in his eyes.
If anything, the blood in his veins was starting to heat up!
Pressure was good.
This was the fight he had been looking for.
His spar with Ais had taught him a lot, but it had still been a spar. Both sides had stopped before things went too far.
It helped refine his technique, but it lacked the edge that came from a real battle where one mistake could cost him.
This Amazon was different.
She had no intention of keeping things friendly or stopping at a polite limit.
She was attacking to beat him, pin him down, and drag him away!
The pressure she brought was real, and in that sense, it was something even the Sword Princess had not given him.
’This is a real fight!’
Kiriya shouted inwardly and pushed his swordsmanship to its limit.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide."
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance."
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux."
If Aisha’s attacks were a hurricane strong enough to tear through walls and uproot trees, then Kiriya’s sword was flowing water.
It looked soft, almost harmless, but it was patient, resilient, and impossibly difficult to break.
One attack after another was redirected, dispersed, and swallowed by his blade.
The longer they fought, the more uncomfortable Aisha felt.
It was as if every movement she made—every step, every shift of her wrist, every breath before an attack—had been seen through.
Eventually, Kiriya even began moving before she did, cutting off her attacks before she could fully put power into them.
The feeling was maddening.
"Aaaaaah!"
Aisha roared again and again, trying to shake his rhythm with sheer aggression.
The force behind her blade grew heavier, wilder, more violent.
Kiriya only smiled.
With several light steps and nimble jumps, he slipped past her attacks. Then he stomped hard on the ground.
Puff, puff, puff!
Countless sharp wooden spikes burst up from the earth.
Aisha’s attention had been fixed on Kiriya, and she reacted a moment too late.
The sudden spikes disrupted her footing. In that opening, Kiriya’s sword struck the back of her hand.
Pain shot through her fingers, forcing her to release her blade, and she dropped to the ground.
"Wood Release: Silent Killing Bind."
Wooden vines shot out and wrapped around Aisha, binding her tightly from head to toe.
The vines began draining her stamina, rapidly weakening Antianeira’s body.
She had come here planning to drain Kiriya dry, only to end up being drained by him first!
Karma had a sense of humor.
"What a shame..." Kiriya shook his head. "If you had reached Level 4 through your own training, you might have beaten me. But power forced up by magic leaves too many gaps."
"Strength you can’t fully control only gets in your way."
Aisha stared at him for a long moment.
Then she let out a resigned smile.
"I really didn’t expect this. I’m Level 3, I brought this many people, and we even prepared this much, but I still lost to you. If Lady Ishtar finds out, she’ll punish me badly."
Then she gave him a sultry wink.
"So, what are you going to do with me? I’m your captive now! You can do anything you want to me."
"In your dreams."
Kiriya rolled his eyes.
Aisha’s offer was tempting, no doubt about it, but he was not some desperate beast who lost his mind at the first bit of temptation.
There was no way he was going to do anything ridiculous here on the Dungeon’s 19th Floor.
"And don’t try to distract me. That renard girl isn’t getting away."
Kiriya’s cold smile made Aisha’s expression change.
Before she could say anything, he vanished.
When he appeared again, he was holding a blond renard girl in a kimono.
"Haruhime!"
Aisha cried out and the look she gave Kiriya changed at once.
"Don’t hurt her. If you do... I’ll fight you until one of us dies!"
"You say that like we’re on good terms right now."
Kiriya snorted and tightened the wooden vines around her.
Aisha cried out in pain, her whole body arching from the pressure.
"Kyaaaahhhh!"
"Damn! You really don’t stop trying to seduce people for even a second, do you?"
Kiriya was just about to say more when the ground suddenly shook.
Heavy footsteps approached fast, each one making the Dungeon tremble.
At last, a figure more than two meters tall turned the corner and showed itself.
It had a bloated, swollen body and a flat, ugly face that looked like an oversized toad.
Even its breathing came out in wet, croaking gasps!
The moment it saw Kiriya, its enormous mouth split open like a pit, and drool poured down like a waterfall.
"Found... you..."
Kiriya: "???"
"My eyes! My damn eyes!"
Kiriya felt as if both his eyes and his soul had taken a devastating blow.
The kind of damage that could give him nightmares for days!
He quickly squeezed his eyes shut, but that face refused to leave his mind.
His stomach churned violently, almost ready to revolt.
He hurriedly lowered his head and looked at Aisha’s gorgeous face, then at Haruhime’s pure, delicate face.
Only then did he feel a little better.
"Phryne, why are you here?" Aisha shouted in shock.
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