Chapter 48: Chapter 237

He asked what a "rhythm game" was in the next Loop, but the Bible of Truth claimed that the information could not be shared and rendered the question invalid. That was why he gave up on learning the correct strategy for fighting Cavalencia and chose to go around the system by gaining enough strength to beat the boss by brute force. As a side note, until Tesilid was powerful enough to defeat Cavalencia, it was Fleagel Night, the guildmaster of Nighthawks, who had to sacrifice himself and face her.

"Dear night without a morning, I call to you, I call to you, I call to you at the top of my lungs."

The bomb attacks became more aggressive as the song intensified. Tesilid continuously regenerated new aura blades and did his best to stop the explosives from reaching the ground.

Wham! Boom!

A row of explosions from left to right erupted in a long line and blinded the eyes as the wind generated from the blast aggressively knocked back Tesilid's fluttering silver hair away from his face. It was an overpowering detonation, but what appeared once the dust had settled was a new barrage of bombs waiting to strike. A shadow came over Tesilid's face.

This is beyond the level of what a regular aura user can handle. I should tell Allie to turn back—

Just then, something unbelievable happened.

"I'm going to go ahead first, Tez!"

"Huh?!"

It was shocking to see Ailette bound up the stairs past him like it was a breeze.

"A-Allie?"

The next second, Tesilid was staring at her back—he had completely been overtaken. He continued producing new aura blades, controlling them as he watched Ailette ascend the pyramid.

How? How is that possible? He wondered whether she was making her way through by wrapping herself up with a divinity skill, but that wasn't it either because the seven aura blades she had been given were also busily fending off the bombs. She was following the rules of the dungeon, but there was one major difference. Tesilid's eyes widened beyond their limits as he realized something.

The aura blades... Unlike Tesilid, she wasn't regenerating new ones. Ailette's aura blades did not disappear upon impact with the bombs, which could only mean one thing.

Allie knows the strategy. Realizing that the answer that had evaded him for so many lives was playing out right before his eyes, Tesilid began focusing all his energy on reading Ailette's movements. He gathered information through his heightened dynamic visual acuity, sifting through the information far more rapidly than the average human mind could comprehend.

"Oh."

The answer suddenly struck him, allowing him to see something he never noticed before. It was a rhythm guideline. Five steps ahead of where he stood, Tesilid could now see an ephemeral ribbon in the air, occasionally marked by the explosive pearls indicating the beat of the song Cavalencia was singing. As he watched, he realized Ailette was attacking only the bombs that had just drifted onto that line, which meant the aura blades not only survived, but other bombs in proximity also exploded together.

So this was the strategy. Tesilid's swords began behaving differently the moment he realized he had to be precise. He only destroyed the bombs that had just touched the rhythm line, and was instantly rewarded when his aura swords stayed intact. He didn't allow himself to make any mistakes once he figured out the method, which gradually helped increase the speed at which he was climbing the stairs.

The sudden increase in pace fueled his drive. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, but it almost felt like he was playing a percussion instrument to the beat of the music.

This is kind of fun— Wait... What am I thinking? This is a subjugation battle. Tesilid hurriedly refocused on the task at hand, reminding himself to take his job seriously. Now that he also knew the rules of the dungeon, as the one equipped with more aura blades, Tesilid inevitably had the advantage. He could expand his reach and destroy that many more bombs that landed on the guideline. Essentially, it was the difference between playing a rhythm game with seven keys compared to ten, which helped Tesilid catch up to Ailette in no time.

"I'm here, Allie."

"Huh?" exclaimed Ailette with shock. "You already figured out the rule? No fair!"

"Hey... We're on the same team."

She reacted as if he was the enemy, which subconsciously made him laugh out loud. Something about this made him feel more competitive, which gave him a newfound motivation to win the bet. So just like that, Ailette and Tesilid competitively destroyed the bombs dotting their respective guidelines as they climbed the stairs, each increasing their speed to outpace each other. This was clearly a shocking turn of events for Cavalencia, who suddenly lost control of her pitch.

"Chaos and Evil's... Huh?! H-his second coming— Ahhh!"

Soon, they were only twenty steps away, a distance close enough for the aura users to notice the disbelief on her face. The intensity in Tesilid's gaze suddenly changed as a different hue of light climbed over the smooth surface of his eyes. That was the moment he exercised intense focus and used his aura blade army to wipe out the battlefield.

Boom! Wham!

A path was cleared in front of him after an endless series of explosions, which he quickly bolted through to reach the top before he turned toward Ailette and waved his hand.

"I think I won, Allie."

One aura blade flamboyantly flew toward Cavalencia upon command, the explosion creating a backlight that revealed the handsome man's irresistible smile.

Ailette hadn't given up yet, crying out, "Vow of Silence!"

As Cavalencia was currently inside Ailette's skill reach, Ailette's silence skill and Tesilid's aura blade simultaneously hit Cavalencia. The aura blade slashed her throat, disabling her vocal cords, while the holy light blocked her mouth. Both attacks happened almost at the same time, and Cavalencia staggered without being able to make a sound.

Beep.

The grand music of the piano was cut off and the golden horns began producing a terrible high-pitched tone, while the bombs that were recklessly landing all over the city froze in the air. It was as if time had stopped. The mage knights and the holy knights who were standing on the outside of the pyramid stairs stared at the bombs in the night sky and swallowed hard, their faces filled with anxiousness and excitement as they watched the boss from afar.

However, the atmosphere at the top of the pyramid was rather different.

"I got her first!"

"No, I think I was first."

"Can you be the judge, Agnes?"

"Please make it fair and square, Saintess."

«Just stop squabbling and catch the boss, won't you?»

Frankly, it was an unnecessary admonition because Ailette and Tesilid were already swinging their swords with dedication even as they playfully bickered.

"Ugh! Argh!"

With the speakers gone, Cavalencia's gasps sounded strangely raw and vulnerable as she clutched at her wounded neck. Unfortunately for her, Ailette and Tesilid didn't seem interested in pitying her at all because dozens of flying swords instantly surrounded Cavalencia.

She was blinded by rays of light and fear painted over her face.

N-no! It was clear now that the rule of the dungeon was a double-edged sword, for it restricted the boss as much as it restricted her enemies. The two humans standing in front of her right now had reached the peak by following the rules, so she was forced to passively accept their attack, since they had earned their right to strike back.

A set of ten aura blades and seven aura blades that retained different characteristics crashed onto the helpless demon and condemned her. The series of explosions consumed Cavalencia as sparks from the blades glistened and puffs of dust rose into the air with each monstrous boom. The peak of the pyramid itself started to crumble, and the boss battle continued even after all visibility was cut off.

The knights positioned on the outskirts of the fight were not given any cues to aid the attack for a long time as they waited for any sign from the aura masters. It seemed that Ailette and Tesilid were enough to kill the boss on their own. Around ten minutes had passed when the most disturbing explosion that seemed as powerful as all the previous explosions combined shook the ground.

Boom! Wham!

Those who were watching knew immediately that this must be the grand finale.

✠

A thrilling quiver of impact climbed up through Serpens, the satisfying feeling of a blow landing directly against a target. Now, there was only one strike left. One more direct hit, and we put an end to Cavalencia, but suddenly I couldn't feel the demon's presence as far as my senses could reach.

«Ailette!»

Agnes' desperate call alerted us just in time. Tesilid and I instantaneously transferred aura to our swords. With Serpens and Libra, we drew half-circles through the air, slowly roaming the area and blowing into the space to clear the dust so that we could see what was going on. And in that moment, we witnessed something incredible.

Shocked, Tesilid and Agnes both each commented, "The burst gate..."

«What is that doing here?»

The burst gate that had been located at the lower end of the pyramid was drifting up to the peak. It seemed that the gate itself was approaching Cavalencia, who was now only seconds away from death.

"..."

Cavalencia turned toward us, her bloodshot eyes riddled with the desperation to live. Soon, the gate turned into a black hole, unleashing a powerful force from the Demon Realm. Not only Cavalencia, but the piles of debris around her, started to get sucked into the dark vortex. Tesilid and I were no exception.

"Allie!"

Although he only called out my name, I knew instinctively what he meant.

"Yes!" I agreed.

We had no reason to let her go when we were so close to killing her, so Tesilid and I willingly allowed our bodies to enter the vortex. When we exited on the other side, I immediately was greeted with a system message.

⟬«System» You've entered [The Lonely Opera House], an SS-Class Dungeon.⟭

Everything had gone surprisingly quiet the moment we entered the dungeon. What now stood before us was a straight hallway with red carpet-covered floor and strangely-shaped bronze reliefs that were looking down at us from the walls. At the end of the dark and creepy hallway was a bright, white light that was slowly blinking, almost as if it was beckoning us to approach.

Agnes confirmed, «She's in there.»

Tesilid and I gave each other quick glances, then began to walk. We move as quickly and quietly as possible. When we reached the opposite end of the hall, the space that surrounded us suddenly expanded as an opera stage decorated elaborately with red drapes greeted us.

Cavalencia was waiting at the center of the stage, but her body was completely mangled, as if she was a marionette whose strings had been cut. She looked like she'd die without any further contribution from us, but for some reason, she offered us a bizarre smile.

"I can't... die... alone!"

Her voice, laced with rage, crawled up through her damaged vocal cords and managed to leave her mouth, punctuated by a sudden sound.

Swoosh!

The red curtains pulled aside to reveal a hidden object.

«A piano?» Agnes mumbled in confusion.

Before us was a grand piano, but the interior we could see through the gap in the cover didn't look typical. It seemed to be filled with red candles that hadn't yet been lit. A closer look revealed that they weren't real candles, but something else that seemed directly related to Cavalencia's nickname, the Diva of Explosions.

Dynamite! Sticks of dynamite!

Dun dun! Dun!

A chilling song began to play in the background.

⟬«System» Warning. Self-destruction code has been input.]