CHAPTER 57: 057 ’PARALLEL CHANTING

"That sound just now...!?"

When that excessively mournful scream echoed from the labyrinth and reached everyone’s ears, including Reiger’s, they all stopped in their tracks.

"It’s Raul’s voice!"

Theona exclaimed.

"Leader!"

Theone panicked.

"Miss Ais!"

Rephia was at a loss.

Ais furrowed her brows, just about to rush out, when Reiger grabbed her wrist with a swift motion.

"Here it comes!"

Reiger held onto Ais’s hand, his gaze piercing like a blade towards a side passage.

There, a tremor grew from a distance, intensifying as it approached closer, gradually heading their way.

Soon after, several figures emerged first from that side passage.

"Leader!"

Theone’s worry turned to joy.

Unfortunately, it was too early for her to be happy.

"Run!"

Leading the way, the most nimble and renowned halfling hero of Orario, the genuine Lv.6 Finn, was now shouting such words at Reiger and the others.

Behind him, the normally fearless Grace and Bert were actually fleeing in panic, and as the Supporter, Raul, who was being carried by Bert, was emitting black smoke all over his body, giving off a rotting smell, and seemed to be on his last breath.

Before the group could recover from this shocking development, it appeared.

It was dominated by yellow-green colors.

The swollen, seemingly tender green skin was marbled with colorful patterns.

Countless short legs formed the lower body, while the upper body seemed to rest upon the elongated lower half, rising like a small hill, with thin, flat arms extending from either side, their tips each split into four, which resembled fingers to some extent.

It was a worm.

Or rather, a monster that bore a striking resemblance to a worm.

With each forward movement, the worm-like creature, standing at four meters tall and extremely large, brushed against the ceiling and nearly reached the width of the passageway from one side to the other, effectively blocking the path as it crashed thunderously through the labyrinth, chasing after Finn and the others.

"What, what is that!?"

Rephia couldn’t contain a scream, her face turning pale.

Not just Rephia, but Ais, Theona, and Theone all took an instinctive step back, looking utterly terrified.

The esteemed Lv.5 first-class adventurers, the prodigious officers of the Loki Clan, were now petrified by that revolting monster that was repulsively intolerable on a visceral level.

Only Reiger, upon seeing Finn and the others, did not hesitate to begin Chanting Magic.

"[The relentless sun of the sky, all exists to escape from thee]."

"[Unfurl, Armor of the Laurel Tree]."

"[Lamu]."

A deep green film shimmered, enveloping Finn, Grace, and Bert one by one, which caused their speed to surge suddenly.

"This is...?"

Caught off guard at first, the trio soon heard Reiger’s voice once more.

"[Arrow of liberation, staff of holy wood, I am the hands that draw the bow]."

"[Interfere, fairy marksman]."

"[Pierce through, Guaranteed Hit Arrow]."

"[Arc-shaped Beam]."

The next moment, an arc of light, like a beam, shot forth, narrowly missing the tops of Finn and the others’ heads and hitting the colossal worm creature.

"Aaaaaahhh—!"

The monster burst into flames, its charging mass scorched and halved with a voice like a broken gong.

This attack provided some much-needed respite, allowing Finn and his group to make a swift getaway, bolstered by the protective Magic.

"Leader!"

Seeing Finn and the others escape danger, Theone was overjoyed and ready to rush to them.

But the expressions on Finn and his comrades did not relax.

"Move it!"

"Don’t just stand there!"

"You idiots! Run for it!"

Finn, Grace, and Bert each shouted while they rushed towards Reiger and his group.

"Go!"

Reiger was still the first to react, picking up a startled Rephia in his arms and turning to flee.

Ais almost subconsciously kept close on his heels.

Only Theona and Theone stood frozen for a moment before finally understanding why Finn and his comrades had fled so desperately and why even Reiger did not hesitate to retreat.

Because the pursuing monster was not the only one.

When the initial worm-like creature was knocked down by Reiger’s magic, more of the same type of monsters followed in quick succession behind it, trampling over the body of their companion and charging straight towards them.

"You’ve got to be kidding me!?"

"Run!"

Theona screamed in horror, and Theone, with a face drained of color, hesitated no longer and turned tail to run.

Some of the most esteemed and talented members of the Loki Clan, in that moment, defied all expectations and fled with a disorganized scramble.

Thankfully, the boost from [Lamu] was still taking effect; otherwise, they might have indeed been caught by the horde of gigantic worm monsters.

"What was that, Finn!?"

Finally catching up with Finn and his group, Theona shouted at him in distress.

"I don’t know," Finn said, looking at the film of light that covered them and then at the calm Reiger, "at least, I don’t have any information about that kind of monster in my memory."

This was a very serious matter.

You see, as the Clan Leader, Finn always planned thoroughly before acting. Every time they ventured into the underground city, he would remember all sorts of information about the various monsters on each floor, as well as the maps of the mazes.

In terms of memory, Finn was not at all inferior to Reiger. Even the terrain of this 51st floor was clear in the Clan Leader’s mind. He was now leading the way at the forefront, running without the slightest hesitation and without the need to consult a map, taking the direct routes even though the paths twisted and turned and there were many forks.

Yet this Finn said that he didn’t have information about that kind of monster in his memory, which could only mean one thing.

That is, it was a monster that had never appeared before.

Just like the crocodiles that appeared on the 6th floor.

"An abnormal situation..."

Ais murmured softly, her voice making everyone’s expression grow more solemn.

Especially when they saw what was happening behind them, their scalps tingled even more.

"Roar!"

"Ga!"

They saw that the huge worms were chasing them from behind like chariots on a charge while also stretching out tentacles and grabbing any monsters they encountered along the way.

Before their eyes, a black rhinoceros struggled desperately, only to be swallowed in one gulp by a worm monster.

The other monsters were hunted by these worm monsters too, without exception, all becoming their food.

"...They’re not eating magic stones, are they?"

Theone’s voice was nearly a groan as she spoke, causing everyone’s heart to sink to the bottom.

"Strengthened species? And so many...!?"

Rephia, who was being carried by Reiger, no longer cared about being shy, her pretty face as white as paper.

It was only then that the women understood why Finn and the others were running.

Because, they were facing a group of strengthened species.

In the past, a single appearance of a species more rare than rare species would cause the guild to be on high alert, immediately offering a bounty for their extermination, but now they were appearing in groups.

Could there be a worse situation than this?

Unfortunately, there was.

"Watch out!"

The usually silent Reiger suddenly spoke out, maintaining his hold on Rephia and grabbing Ais’s hand, he suddenly lay down.

"Get down!"

Finn reacted quickly, choosing to trust Reiger’s sudden warning without hesitation and commanded everyone to get down.

At that instant, a stream of purplish liquid like one from a high-pressure water spray suddenly swept past, hitting the wall in front.

"Sssss...!"

The wall that was hit by the purplish liquid dissolved at a visibly rapid rate, turning into a pile of sludge in a blink of an eye.

Such a scene made Ais and the others think of the Cadmus Spring.

In that chamber, there were many signs of corrosion and dissolution by something similar.

"Could it be...!?"

"It’s them that killed the Strong Dragon!"

Theona and Theone cried out in unison.

"Raul!"

Ais also realized why Raul had ended up in that dire state, being carried away by Bert.

Because, he had been directly hit by that kind of dissolving liquid and suffered corrosion.

"So it was these monsters..."

Reiger, who had been silent all along, finally confirmed this, his gaze sharpening as he watched the pursuing worm monsters.

The worm monsters that were chasing them propped up their upper bodies in the watchful eyes of everyone, and stretchy mouths spat out streams of liquid guns, shooting the purple dissolving liquid at them continuously.

"Watch out for the liquid! Don’t touch that kind of dissolving liquid!"

Finn loudly warned everyone.

Naturally, they were not going to be so foolish as to touch that terrifying dissolving liquid.

Immediately, everyone began to dodge. Some moved their positions, and some jumped back and forth with high speed, avoiding the incoming streams of liquid gun.

"Cough!"

Ais drew her sword, apparently preparing for battle.

"Don’t go, Ais!" Bert immediately shouted, "If you cut those monsters, their bodies’ dissolving liquid will burst out immediately. That’s how Raul got in trouble!"

His words forced Ais to stop her charge.

"Reiger, kid!" Grace called out to Reiger, "Can you cast another spell under these conditions?"

Since close combat was not an option, they had to resort to long-range attacks.

And Reiger was naturally already prepared.

"Arc-shaped Beam!"

Reiger, having completed chanting without hesitation, blasted out the magic. The arc-shaped beams of light cut through the space, hitting the worms spitting out the dissolving liquid.

"Arc-shaped Beam!"

"Arc-shaped Beam!"

"Arc-shaped Beam!"

With continuous chanting and casting, the beams were fired successively, striking the worms and eliciting screams from them.

Explosions and screams melded together, as if adding a hint of gunpowder to the air, shaking the entire maze.

Watching Reiger skillfully dodge the dissolving liquid while still holding onto Rephia and casting magic without a break, everyone’s gaze changed.

"Parallel chanting, huh?"

There was both amazement and relief in Finn’s whisper.

"Damn monsters!"

Bert cursed out loud.