!!!
Ning Fan Ying’s pupils constricted sharply, as dream and reality converged.
‘No! Don’t!’
‘Why is a Lord appearing here!?’
From the distant jungle, a series of sounds echoed.
“Boom…”
Following this colossal roar, vast swathes of trees, as if propelled by an unseen force, toppled to either side.
The snapping of their trunks intertwined with the rustling of their leaves, creating a cacophony of chaotic noise.
A colossal beast, several meters tall, abruptly emerged into their view.
Aya Tone stood at the forefront, his eyes narrowing.
It stood on two legs, with two horns crowning its head.
‘Damn! A Minotaur!’
‘What an enormous Minotaur!’
Yet, compared to a mere Minotaur, this behemoth appeared more like an embodiment of raw power itself.
Its body was immense and formidable, every muscle bulging with latent strength.
Crimson light emanated from the beast’s eyes, as if an inferno of endless rage burned within.
“Ice Breath!”
‘Such a massive Minotaur couldn’t be allowed to simply charge forward.’
Aya Tone pointed his staff at the colossal beast.
The surrounding temperature plummeted instantly.
It was but a fleeting moment.
The previously warm air seemed to be instantaneously frozen by an invisible colossal hand, as tiny ice crystals began to coalesce and shimmer within it.
Countless sharp ice spears, like a horde of unleashed beasts, hurtled ferociously towards their target.
The ice spears gleamed with a frigid luster, accompanied by a biting wind, appearing poised to shatter every obstacle in their path.
“ROAR!!!”
The ice spears instantly pierced the colossal beast’s flesh, yet only left behind faint crimson streaks.
It wasn’t that there was no damage, but rather that it barely managed to pierce its defenses.
However, one must not forget that there wasn’t just a single ice spear.
There were thousands upon thousands of them.
The beast’s immense body, at this moment, became the most perfect target.
As more and more ice spears rained down upon it, the murderous intent in the beast’s eyes intensified.
With a furious roar.
Disregarding the ice spears bombarding its hide, it brazenly endured Aya Tone’s magic.
It charged ferociously towards the group, utterly fearless, its footsteps like thunder, each stride striking the earth and triggering a minor tremor.
Every tremor of the ground resonated deeply with the hearts of those present.
“Run!”
Aya Tone raised an eyebrow, shouting at the people behind him.
‘After clearing so many A-rank dungeons, this was the first time a monster had managed to withstand even one of his spells.’
‘Truly impressive.’
“Aya-chan~”
“Scram!”
Aya Tone’s face darkened.
He glared fiercely back at the otaku who had just spoken.
‘Who are you calling ‘Aya-chan’?’
‘How disgusting.’
Yet, his reaction, in the eyes of the others.
Led them to believe he himself lacked confidence in facing the colossal beast.
They watched Aya Tone with profound worry, their eyes filled with internal struggle.
In the face of imminent danger, the group momentarily forgot that the person before them was an S-rank powerhouse.
And one whose strength ranked among the top.
One could only say that Aya Tone’s appearance was simply too deceptive…
“Go on, what are you still doing here?”
The colossal beast was drawing nearer, and Aya Tone was truly exasperated by these ‘idiot dogs’.
‘If you don’t leave, how can I go all out and have some fun?’
Fearing he might wound the pride of Bai Xiao’s subordinates, Aya Tone refrained from voicing his thoughts directly.
‘So, none of you are leaving, huh?’
‘Perfect, I can test using the residual magic on these people as an anchor point.’
‘To cast spells from a distance.’
Aya Tone held his left hand forward, releasing magic to repel the advancing Lord of Beasts.
His right hand held his magic staff, pointed at the people behind him.
He softly uttered, “Go.”
“Transfer!”
“No!”
Memories from the past resurfaced.
Ning Fan Ying moved her stiff legs, attempting to stop Aya Tone.
But Aya Tone’s magic paid no heed to her wishes; the magical light flickered.
In the depths of the dungeon, only Aya Tone remained, confronting the Lord of Beasts who was enduring the magical onslaught with its own body.
‘Phew~ This way, I won’t have to worry about accidentally hurting them with too much power.’
Aya Tone secretly gave himself a mental thumbs-up.
‘He had promised to bring them back unharmed, and what if he accidentally injured someone?’
‘Who knew if Auntie Bai would dock his pay?’
Now that the superfluous individuals had departed.
Then…
“You big oaf, you’d better…”
Aya Tone licked his slightly parched lips, “Stay strong!”
“ROAR!!!”
Unfortunately, his only reply was a bestial roar.
Aya Tone paid it no mind.
“Magic Release!”
The magic within his body surged through his arm, flowing into the staff in his hand.
The magic staff, which had previously resembled a child’s toy, instantly elongated.
Once the light dissipated, a silver ‘spear’ appeared in Aya Tone’s grasp.
Embedded at the ‘spearhead’ was a pale blue rhomboid crystal.
It exuded an oppressive aura, akin to the crushing depths of the ocean.
The air around it twisted into several small vortices, devouring the surrounding light.
This rhomboid crystal.
Was another manifestation of Aya Tone’s internal magic, though he rarely brought it out for use.
Normally, it remained in a semi-sealed state, embodied by his magic staff.
‘Its power was simply too immense, there was no helping it…’
‘But keeping it bottled up wasn’t good either; this was the perfect chance for a grand release.’
“Restrict Lock!”
Aya Tone gripped the staff with both hands, lightly tapping it towards the colossal beast.
The rhomboid crystal atop the staff flickered faintly.
Several rings of light materialized from the void, firmly shackling the Lord of Beasts’ five limbs, rendering it immobile.
“CRASH!”
Its massive body, charging relentlessly forward, was abruptly restrained, and under the force of inertia.
Its colossal form made intimate contact with the earth, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
“ROAR!”
A low growl rumbled in the Lord of Beasts’ throat.
It had intended to raise its head and roar at Aya Tone.
Yet, no matter how much force it exerted, the ring of light around its neck remained utterly unmoving.
Under its control, the Lord of Beasts could only emit low growls while facing the ground.
Its crimson eyes were wide with fury, but it could only just barely glimpse those small pink shoes.
‘Its sudden collapse must have been the work of this ant before it!’
‘It must kill him!’
‘Kill him!’
“ROAR, ROAR ROAR!”
“It seems you’re quite impatient, so I can’t very well keep you waiting, can I?”
A pair of luminous wings slowly unfurled behind Aya Tone.
Gently flapping, they bore his body instantly to a height of a hundred meters.
He gazed down upon the earth below.
Along the path he had taken, the dense forest had already been reduced to history under his bombardment.
Vast stretches of land lay exposed.
Yet, the thought that this land would soon be churned over once more made Aya Tone unable to suppress a smile.
“Starlight Breaker!”
As the words fell, the rhomboid crystal became covered in a myriad of stars.
A massive magic circle instantly unfurled.
Unlike the magical girls of old, who required prolonged charging.
By absorbing the scattered starlight from the air to cast spells.
Aya Tone’s own magical power was already immense, allowing him to bypass the step of channeling starlight.
He could unleash it simply by mobilizing the magic within his body.
“Go!”
The swirling starlight instantly converged into a majestic torrent of energy, surging with overwhelming force towards the shackled Lord of Beasts below.
Wherever the starlight torrent passed, even the daytime sky appeared to dim slightly.
The Lord of Beasts sensed an immense threat, letting out a series of roars as it attempted to gather its strength to resist.
However…
In the face of Aya Tone’s restraining magic, all that awaited it was a baptism of starlight.