Besides assisting all his mates with various techniques beneficial for each of the fighting girls, Asterios attuned his Spellslinger to its maximum power and slotted one of the stronger Runic Chips he had received from Endymion. There was no better time to use some of them than three-fourths into their journey.

  He had never felt any of his tokens consume so much mana and grew a little worried about the spell he’d chosen. Hoping that it wouldn’t damage the testing facility alongside the absorption pillars, Asterios unsheathed the black armblade and prepared himself to take a swing with it. Its color didn’t remain black for much longer as a whitish radiance consumed the entire weapon, capturing the attention of everyone in the chamber with how bright it was.

  Asterios made sure that no one was in front of him and threw his arm in a heavy arc, using his entire body to put as much strength into the attack as he could. An unusual, sparkling noise filled everyone’s ears as a moonlit crescent shot forward at an incredible speed. It expanded its width to the limits of the chamber and rushed at the three pillars sticking out of the ground.

  The girls prepared themselves for a mighty impact, but the whitish energy just cleaved through all the obstacles with unimaginable ease, splitting the columns and mirrors in half before continuing further. The arena trembled even stronger than from Silvia’s spell when Ast’s crescent bore into one of the walls. They wondered if it would create a hole deep enough to escape the challenge but that didn’t happen, even though the immense gash left in the metal wall was more than enormous.

  With three more markers gone, they still had a lot to take down. The floor was more or less clear but there were columns on the ceiling and the sides too. The timer wasn’t slowing down either. The golden ring was starting to resemble a half-circle already, showing just how merciless the time limit for the seventy-fifth floor was.

  Tina borrowed wings from Ori and employed the help of Esil to empower her spells. Instead of using Hydran in bow form as she usually did, she instead picked the shape of a javelin for her powerful familiar. Blue and green marks decorated her skin as she held Hydran in one hand and poured wind, water, and fire mana from Asterios into the shapeless elemental.

  With a mighty groan, she pushed herself off the ground with a strong flap of her wings and launched the swirling javelin at the nearest pillar. The force of the throw blew her backward and the deadly projectile crossed the distance separating Tina and her target in a blink, drilling through the silvery plate faster than it could change colors. But, she didn’t stop to admire the effects of her work, instead focusing on gathering another projectile right away.

  Selene left the southern wall to Tina, the northern one to Asterios, the western to Silvia, and chose the eastern for herself. With all of her tails out and the spiritual armor covering her body joined with the ghostly, demonic apparitions, she formed a sharp blade of cyan energy. Turning to her chosen direction, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, slowly tuning out all the noise coming into her ears from everywhere around.

  She felt Ast’s technique help her achieve perfect tranquility of the mind, smiling to herself softly. In the pitch-black darkness of her mind, only she and her target existed. Selene could feel the slightest detail of the smooth and coarse surface of the metal making up the absorption pillar. Her senses were able to prod and examine it, and she soon knew exactly where to strike to overpower the mirror in the most efficient way.

  Grabbing the spiritual blade with both hands, she moved it next to her face while pointing it forward, still keeping her eyes closed. Slowly tracing half a circle with her right foot, bringing it to the back, she set herself sideways and lowered her posture. Taking another unhurried breath, she tensed all her muscles and everything froze as her thoughts came to a halt.

  At the next moment, her eyes flung open and flashed with profound light. Before anyone could even blink, she disappeared in a puff of cyan, spiritual dust and reappeared right in front of the targeted pillar, with her energy blade stuck right in it. The spiritual sword buzzed loudly from how much mana was condensed in it and the accumulated energy swirled through its length threateningly.

  The mirror reacted to the fact that it had been pierced with a small delay and it went through all the stages one by one before crumbling into pieces. Exhaling softly, Selene drew back her blade and instantly locked on another column, wasting no time for unnecessary actions. The fact that she was standing on a wall angled at a perfect ninety degrees in relation to the ground didn’t seem to be worthy of even a thought from her as if it was completely natural. Thus, she assumed her focused stance once more, creating quite a bizarre sight as her clothes, contrary to her body, were still subjected to gravity.

  The only surface left without its conqueror was the ceiling. Seeing how everyone else dealt with their sections, Bryn wondered if she was able to take care of her share without dragging everyone down. While she knew a few offensive spells, her area of expertise was Healing Magic and the more defensive techniques. There was no way that she could compete with people like them.

  But, the timer kept ticking down and her friends were still busy with the other pillars, leaving the ceiling for the last. There was a chance that, even if they grouped up after finishing all the sides, that wouldn’t be enough to complete the challenge before they ran out of time. And that was unacceptable.

  Slapping her cheeks to compose herself, Bryn reaffirmed her grip on her staff and reached into the bond she now shared with Asterios. The much clearer warmth that she could feel when compared to the past made her smile tenderly. His spiritual energy had never been this clear, this potent, and this available to her. With it, she could definitely surpass her limits.

  Filling her circuits with Ast’s scorching hot energy, Bryn spread her wings wide and started tracing multiple sigils in front of her while deeply focused. Row after row, column after column, she created numerous symbols with the tip of her staff that glowed with a pleasant, golden light. In just about half a minute, she was surrounded by a sphere of multi-layered patterns.

  Hitting the metal ground with the butt of her staff, she sent the lines of symbols away. The golden rows of sigils wriggled through the air in every direction like venomous snakes, capturing everyone’s attention. They reached every single remaining absorption pillar, creating a ring around each column.

  With another hit, the rings began spinning faster and faster, soon becoming a dark yellow smudge, emitting light of the same color. Asterios and the girls watched Bryn’s spell with curiosity, unable to guess what would happen next. They knew how strong the Valkyrie’s barriers were but they weren’t sure how they would help in their current situation.

  Just as they thought, the golden patterns locked the pillars inside see-through spherical barriers. But, that wasn’t the end.

  The single rings, which were now part of the shields surrounding the absorption mirrors, split into multiple lines and spread all over the translucent spheres. Then, with one more metallic hit, they started flashing aggressively at a quick pace. Melodic noise of hundreds if not thousands of something tiny hitting a glass jar filled everyone’s ears as the sigils launched a rain of golden needless at the pillars. The small, sharp projectiles of pure light moved so fast that the inside of the barriers looked like a mesh of an uncountable number of yellow streaks.

  For a few seconds, even if Bryn’s technique was more than just impressive, nothing notable happened to the absorption mirrors as the fast needles bounced off their surface. Then, the silvery plates began changing colors, moving through all the stages all at once in perfect sync with each other. When they reached the brown stage, they didn’t get to continue further before the needles became so powerful that they started piercing through the entire pillars.

  The silvery plates were full of tiny holes in a blink and crumbled into pieces more or less all at the same time. With about one-fifth of time left, the markings corresponding with the number of absorption mirrors suddenly disappeared from the timer’s golden path and it stopped, announcing the end of the challenge.

  Bryn exhaled heavily and canceled her technique. The ceramic noise gradually faded alongside the golden needless. She couldn’t drop the barriers before all of the deadly projectiles were completely gone or someone could end up injured by accident. Soon, the last ones flashed out of existence and she fully finished the spell, getting rid of all the remaining patterns.

  Getting a little bit dizzy, she wobbled on her legs and took a step back. Asterios was already by her side and supported Bryn with his body, grabbing her staff before it slipped out of her hand.

  She showed a beautiful smile at him and chuckled tenderly. “I’ve never had anything I did in the past consume so much mana. I apologize for the inconvenience, Master.”

  “It’s alright. You saved us a lot of time and stress. That might have been close without your intervention. I was preparing myself to go full Dragon mode on those pillars before you cast your spell.” He smiled back at her.

  “Half-Dragon, you mean.” Grea snickered from a distance, coming closer to them with Miria by her side now that the chamber wasn’t locked up anymore. “Unless you have suddenly regained the missing half of your power and also learned how to transform into an actual overgrown lizard.”

  “You are nitpicking, Professor.” Tina rolled her eyes at the demon lady. “That was powerful magic. Thanks for the help, Bryn.”

  “I agree. Those needles were impressive. And the way you used your barriers to trap and bounce them inside was so smart,” Selene complimented her too.

  “I’m getting chills when I imagine myself ending up inside one of those spheres as you set them up.” Silvia rubbed her arms, causing everyone to chuckle lightly.

  “Thank you, everyone.” Bryn nodded politely. “It wouldn’t have been possible without Master’s potent mana. I knew there was some difference between me and you all from the fact that I wasn’t a mate, but I really didn’t think it would be this immense. It’s almost impossible to explain the vastness of power that I now have access to.”

  “Master is just that amazing!” Miria beamed at her. “Getting filled with his hot energy is the best feeling in the world!”

  “I dare to disagree. There’s a much better thing he can fill all of us with.” Grea showed an impish grin.

  Asterios bonked his frivolous, crimson-skinned mate on the head as the girls chuckled once more. “Alright. Let me fill you with the former right now to replenish your reserves and let’s leave the latter for later. We have the hundredth floor in front of us. It can’t be this easy.”

  Chapter 42

  Sleeping Giants

  After the challenge, Asterios and the girls moved to the uncovered section that hid the stairs leading to the floor below. They considered going back to the medical facility to look around a bit more, but the chances that Red had noted the exact location or details about the core chamber of the Spire were low. In the end, he had no need to write down such things after initially learning them from the valkyrjas, unless he had ever planned to tell anyone about his research.

  So, they took a short break in the uncovered niche and reviewed the contents of the books the girls had found while Asterios was trying out the healing formations. Miria snuggled to Ast’s back, resting her chin on his shoulder and peering into whatever he was reading. Silvia and Tina took his sides while Grea and Bryn sat in front of them. Selene jumped back to her realm to bring some refreshments and soon joined everyone.

  No matter how hard they looked together while munching on some snacks and sipping tasty juice, they weren’t able to figure out anything more precise than the general directions Red had mentioned here and there between the lines. They had expected that so no one felt disappointed. Besides, it wasn’t their only goal. Resting and recovering spent energy was also very important.

  Having enough of their short break, they headed out, continuing their descent. Just one section of the shaft was left for them to journey through if they weren’t wrong. After they would melt their way through the elevator disc on the seventy-sixth floor, they should be able to reach the bottom without any other obstructions. Granted, the layout remained unchanged.

  They made their way down the long stairs and reached the exit on the floor below the challenge they had overcome without an issue. But, stepping into the open hallway, they realized that they still had a lot of fighting to do before even getting to the next test. The number of the ugly monsters of the Scourge was as high if not higher than on the level above. And naturally, there was no possibility of solving things peacefully.

  Rejuvenated by Asterios, the girls took it upon themselves to get rid of the foul beasts while being supported by him. Asterios mostly focused on his Summoner techniques while weaving a spell from his Runic Chips now and then. He wanted to save the most deadly ones in case they would have to fight even more overwhelming numbers. Possibly even above the surface and not just inside these metal corridors.

  It took them a moment but they managed to push their way through the recurring waves of monsters. While Asterios was working on the floating platform, the girls had to focus on repelling the incoming attackers and protecting him from any harm. He would most likely be able to defend himself in the case of anything going past their defenses, but no one wished for Ast’s focus to be unnecessarily disrupted so they gave it their all to provide their beloved a stress-free work environment.

  After their experience with the entrance to the medical wing, Asterios tried using the pulpit to make the elevator move, but it resulted in exactly the same red flashing as they had experienced on the top floor. All of them must be under complete lockdown. Or Red missed out on access to the floating discs.

  Thankfully, the assault wasn’t outside the scope of their current abilities so the girls barely broke any sweat before Asterios was done with his part. They dealt with the current wave together and jumped through the hole in the barrier, disappearing from the floor before more monsters arrived at their location and noticed their descent. Wary of any additional defense mechanisms, they flew down the shaft without rushing ahead.

  “Look, Master. I can see the ground already.” Miria pointed down while being carried by Asterios. “But… I don’t see the floating platform?”

  “That must be the final floor, then,” Grea said, upheld in the air by Aura’s misty form. “Considering that we found the first elevator on the first floor, it’s quite logical to assume that they work their way down twenty-five floors. That would make the one below the seventy-fifth floor reach the bottom. That’s why there’s a slight indent there. It’s meant to dock the platform from above.”

  “The question is, are we going to be stopped by the barrier on the floor before the hundredth one just like every time before?” Silvia pondered out loud.

  “There’s only one way to know.” Asterios smiled at everyone and resumed his descent.

  They all slowed down in front of the shaft opening at the ninety-ninth level and looked around. The elevator chamber remained unchanged, resembling all the other ones they had seen and visited before. The spiritual wall preventing anyone from coming into the pit was present too, so they wouldn’t be able to return if they crossed it.

  But, when Bryn tried to step on what should be the invisible layer covering the shaft at the ground level, she fell a little bit under. It instantly became clear to everyone that their way further down wasn’t blocked and they confirmed it by themselves. Therefore, they bid farewell to the second-to-last floor and continued onward, aiming for the furthest depths of the Spire.

  Just a moment later, they landed on solid ground at the very bottom. As expected, the same room with multiple paths leading out greeted them. The only difference was the lack of the elevator, and most likely the lack of the vertical tunnel digging deeper down.

  “We finally made it,” Tina commented with a gentle smile. “It looks like we won’t have to do another challenge?”

  “Don’t celebrate too early, shortie.” Grea waved her finger at the blue-haired lady. “While that would be pretty counterintuitive, we can’t be sure that the creators of this place haven’t put the Heart behind the final test.”

  “Grea is right.” Bryn nodded softly. “It would be a little inconvenient, and I would personally not have them connected, but who knows what the architects had in mind? There’s no reason to exclude the possibility that we have to go through the training ground to reach the core, which might additionally be already activated due to the lockdown.”

  “That wouldn’t be too stupid if that was the case. The trial and the path to the core becoming one while under the lockdown would be quite smart. Though, maybe not too much considering the fact that you need to reach the Heart to deactivate the defenses,” Selene mused.

  “Ummm… Guys?” Grea glanced around with a raised brow. “Is it me or is the floor shaking a tiny, wee bit?”

  Everyone looked down and focused on their feet. They didn’t have to sharpen their senses in any way to notice that the demon lady was right. A moment later, the rumbling became stronger and they could hear the fleshy plops of hands and feet on the metal floor coming at them from every single exit in the chamber. The source was more than obvious.

  “Prepare for combat!” Asterios shouted and the girls instantly made their own preparations.

  Just a few seconds later, monsters began rushing into the elevator chamber from all sides. Selene hastily raised a spiritual barrier around the center of the room, giving everyone enough space to comfortably walk around. Bryn reinforced the shield with her own spell, coating it from the outside, and shared a nod with the fox lady.

  “Why are there so many of them so deep in the Spire?” Miria asked, bringing out about half of the power of her bloodline that she could utilize. “Shouldn’t it be the other way, with more monsters the higher up?”