[FGO]: 35

The mutation did not manifest outwardly but began within the soul of the parasitized floor boss, Corpse Flower King Titan Alm.

On the other side, the group that had just killed the Demi Spirit began to gradually let down their guard. They watched the motionless corpse with suspicion.

Ryou felt a bit puzzled. Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of demonic mutation? Why was there no sign of it yet? Was the system playing a joke on him?

"Hey, Finn, why hasn't this thing turned into a magic stone yet?"

Seeing that the Demi Spirit had turned into a corpse and yet, after quite some time, showed no signs of life nor turned into a magic stone, Tiona couldn't help but poke at the unrecognizable corpse with her double-bladed sword.

"Who knows? Maybe it's because it's a new species," Finn joked with a smile.

Killing the boss meant that the fifty-ninth floor had been completely conquered by the Loki Familia, achieving a feat that even the Zeus and Hera Familias hadn't reached. With this, the achievements of the Loki Familia reached new heights, and their fame would become even more widespread.

For Finn, both as the leader of the group and someone determined to revive the Pallum race, this was something worth celebrating.

However, none of the people present knew that the floor boss, whose soul was about to dissipate and return, was undergoing a quiet transformation.

A wisp of pure blackness, without a trace of impurity, like the deepest part of the abyss, wrapped around the floor boss's soul that was about to dissipate. Just a glance at it would taint one's soul with its "sludge."

The floor boss's soul, already fragile and easily possessed by the Demi Spirit, now on the brink of dissipating, had become like a public toilet, accessible to anyone.

In an instant, the pure black "sludge" that appeared in the void devoured the dissipating soul completely. Then, having absorbed the nourishment, the sludge suddenly expanded and transformed into an egg-like shape, as if nurturing something inside.

Thump~!

Ryou inexplicably heard a sound resembling a heartbeat. The instant this sound echoed, a strong sense of foreboding gripped his heart, triggering an intense warning.

According to Scathach, this was the so-called warrior's intuition, something all warriors who had experienced numerous brutal battles would have to some extent. Some exceptionally talented warriors even honed it into special skills like Mind's Eye or Intuition.

Since this was said by Scathach, a female war god who nearly reached the pinnacle of warriors, it must be true.

"Be careful! Something is about to come out!"

Ryou immediately shouted a warning.

Everyone looked at him with strange expressions. The boss had already been defeated; what was there to worry about?

Perhaps due to some kind of connection provided by the system, only Ryou sensed the impending danger.

Seeing Tiona still naively playing with the corpse, Ryou couldn't help but shout, "Tiona, get away from that thing!"

Maybe it was his urgent tone, or perhaps the trust built from fighting side by side, but Tiona instinctively moved away from the corpse even though she didn't understand why.

That instant saved her life.

"What the..."

Just as Tiona uttered a word, a black lightning bolt struck the spot where she had been standing.

Looking closer, it was a thick, black, bone-spiked, disgusting tentacle.

Had Tiona not moved away in time, it would have pierced through her instantly.

"Everyone, stay alert!"

Finn immediately commanded.

Ignoring their wounds and exhaustion, everyone picked up their weapons again, aiming at the heap that could no longer be called a corpse—a mass of continuously writhing "flesh."

The plant-like remains of the Demi Spirit were devoured almost instantly, leaving a bizarre mass behind.

No head, no facial features, seemingly no sensory organs, no limbs, no fixed body—it was entirely a mass of "flesh," a mass of black, mud-like flesh.

Aside from its main body, there were nearly a hundred black, bone-spiked tentacles that had almost assassinated Tiona.

From a distance, it looked like a giant jellyfish lying flat on the ground, mutated by oil pollution.

"Everyone, fall back!"

"Riveria! Lefiya! Magic attack!"

Finn commanded loudly without turning his head.

Ryou nodded silently. This command was correct. Before knowing the strength of the opponent, using long-range attacks to probe was cautious and prudent.

Due to years of tacit understanding, almost as soon as Finn called out their names, Riveria raised her staff and began chanting the spell for "Ecstasy: Fimbulvetr."

Riveria did not choose the strongest attack spell but instead opted for the large-scale freezing magic with strong control effects, showcasing her rich combat experience.

In contrast, Lefiya seemed a bit flustered.

Upon Finn's command, the dazed Lefiya, who had been staring at the jellyfish-like monster, hastily responded, "Yes!"

Yet, she couldn't decide on a spell immediately. Ultimately, she imitated her teacher, using Elf Ring to summon Riveria's Ecstasy: Fimbulvetr.

Stimulated by the magical fluctuations, the jellyfish-like monster, which had been slowly writhing and occasionally extending tentacles to devour remaining caterpillars, suddenly launched an attack on the group.

Dozens of tentacles shot towards the group like lightning.

Without needing Finn's reminder, Gareth immediately switched to his dual-handed shield and positioned himself in front of the group.

However, everyone, including Ryou himself, underestimated the horror of the magical mutation.

Crack!

The tower shield, endowed with the Unbreakable attribute, five centimeters thick and infused with numerous precious materials, as strong as a city wall, was pierced effortlessly by the tentacle as if it were paper.

One tentacle, undeterred, pierced through Gareth's tower shield and aimed for his chest.

Squelch!

The full-body heavy armor Gareth wore offered no resistance either. His sturdy body was easily impaled, and he was subsequently thrown away by the tentacle.

"Old man!"

Bete, who had the closest relationship with Gareth, was instantly enraged and launched an attack on the jellyfish-like monster without hesitation.

"Bete! Come back!"

Finn shouted in alarm, but Bete ignored him. While running, he ignited the gem on his leg armor.

The ignited leg armor burst into flames, making Bete's legs appear to be burning. Bete leaped into the air and delivered a fierce kick from above at the jellyfish-like monster.

However, the strike, powerful enough to split mountains and rocks, did not affect the jellyfish-like monster. The area struck first dented inward, then rebounded like rubber, sending Bete flying.

While Bete was still mid-air, with no place to land, a tentacle from the monster whipped towards him like a lash. Its speed was so fast that only a blur could be seen, and it made no sound. Only after a while did the sound of air being torn apart reach them, indicating that the tentacle had broken the sound barrier!

This blow, combining speed and power, struck Bete, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking. He was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the ground with a boom.

As the dust settled, it revealed Bete, covered in blood and barely breathing in the pit. With just one hit, an LV5 high-level adventurer was left with half a life!

"Damn it!"

In just one encounter, two members were severely injured.

Even Finn, usually so composed, was now furious.

He forced himself to calm down and issued commands one by one: "Tiona, Tione, use spirit medicine on them immediately! Everyone, retreat!"

The Amazon sisters quickly took out the spirit medicine, bit off the wooden stoppers, and poured the star-blue liquid onto Gareth and Bete's wounds.

The Spirit medicine lived up to its name. The originally gushing wounds stopped bleeding immediately, and the wounds began to heal slowly at a visible speed.

Tione carried Bete at her waist, while Tiona hoisted Gareth onto her shoulders.

"He's so heavy!"

Tiona almost collapsed under Gareth's weight as she lifted him, but with Tione's help, she managed to stand firm.

Gareth, with his robust body and heavy full-body armor, probably weighed no less than 500 kilograms. If it weren't for Tiona's high strength attribute, she might have been crushed immediately.

Seeing the group retreating, the jellyfish-like monster immediately launched an attack, with hundreds of tentacles surging toward them like a swarm of snakes.

Fortunately, Finn had previously ordered the mages to chant control magic, and at this moment, the spell was just completed.

"Ecstasy: Fimbulvetr!" *2

To match Lefiya's chanting speed, Riveria deliberately slowed down her own. The two spells were completed almost simultaneously.

The combined magic formed a huge magic circle, from which a blizzard mixed with hail erupted and rushed toward the jellyfish-like monster.

The effect of two elven mages chanting the same spell was greater than 1+1=2. Wherever the cold wind passed, everything, whether it was the ground or the sky, was frozen. The entire 59th floor seemed to turn into a world of ice crystals.

The jellyfish-like monster was not spared either, being firmly imprisoned in the frost and turning into a highly grotesque statue.

Only a narrow passage was left for the group to retreat through.

Crack!

Just as everyone was about to take advantage of this opportunity to retreat, a cracking sound suddenly echoed.

A huge crack appeared on the ice statue formed by the jellyfish-like monster, and soon, all the frost on its surface shattered.

The combined power of two of Orario's top elven mages, using their dual-cast large-scale freezing magic, had only managed to hold the monster for less than a minute.

"You guys go first! I'll cover the rear!"

Finn immediately realized that without someone to cover their retreat, no one would escape. As the leader, Finn turned back without hesitation.

"Captain!"

Tione, seeing this, directly threw Bete to a companion and stood beside Finn herself.

"Tione, what are you doing? I order you to retreat immediately; that's an order from your captain!"

Finn was so anxious that his eyes almost flared with anger.

Facing such a terrifying monster, those covering the rear were almost certain to face death.

However, Tione, who usually obeyed Finn's orders the most, ignored him this time, silently standing beside Finn with her twin daggers in hand.

Seeing her sister stop, Tiona, without thinking, threw Gareth to Revis, while Bete ended up in Ryou's hands.

Ais had already silently stood beside Finn.

Looking at his disobedient teammates next to him, Finn showed a gratified smile.

At this point, except for the severely injured and immobile Bete and Gareth, the entire Loki Familia's melee team chose to stay behind to cover the retreat.

"You guys!"

Ryou's eyes showed an incredulous expression.

Coming from a cold modern society, despite having experienced the brutal survival environment of the gladiator arena, Ryou still couldn't understand.

What kind of belief motivated them to willingly sacrifice themselves to save their teammates?

No, this couldn't be simply explained by camaraderie. This was a bond of sharing life and death, like brothers in arms, like family.

This was why their team wasn't called a "guild" but a "familia."

Though they came from all over the world, even different races, under the leadership of one main god, they formed a big family, viewing each other as a family without blood ties.

"Mr. Gudao, I'll leave Bete and Gareth to you," Finn said with a calm expression as if he didn't care about heading toward certain death.

"But..."

Ryou hesitated, his face showing uncertainty as he opened his mouth.

"Are you kidding! Put me down!"

Bete, who was being carried at Ryou's waist, started to struggle, clearly wanting to stay and face the danger with his familia.

"Young lady, I'm not so old that I can't walk. Put me down immediately!"

Gareth, on Revis' shoulder, also began to struggle.

"What are you two saying? As your captain, I order you to rest properly. We'll catch up shortly!"

Finn smiled slightly.

"Damn it, you arrogant little human!"

Gareth cursed Finn, but his eyes were already red with emotion.

"You bastard! If you don't put me down, I'll kick you to death once I'm healed!"

Bete's eyes were also red, and he directly threatened Ryou, who was carrying him.

Unlike the sluggish Demi Spirit, the jellyfish-like monster, having just broken free from the frost, used its tentacles to propel itself forward. Its massive body slid towards them like a skater and reached them in just a few moments.

At such a terrifying speed, they couldn't escape without someone covering the rear!

"Please!"

Finn said, holding his twin spears, and without looking back, he charged at the approaching monster.

"Everyone, follow the captain!"

Tione moved almost simultaneously with Finn. Tiona and Ais followed closely behind.

Only four people, yet they charged fearlessly at the seemingly invincible enemy!

All to give their remaining comrades a sliver of hope for survival!

At this moment, Revis looked at Ryou, clearly waiting for him to make a decision.

With a dark expression, Ryou, still carrying Bete, turned and walked away without a word.

As they reached Riveria and Lefiya, the two elven mages, along with Tsubaki, were tirelessly casting spells at the jellyfish-like monster.

Ryou opened his mouth, but seeing the unwavering determination on their faces, he couldn't say anything.

"Tsubaki, you and Mr. Gudao should retreat," Riveria suddenly said.

"What about you?"

"There's no sense in abandoning family to escape alone," Riveria said with a pure smile as if she was not preparing for death but going to reunite with her familia.

"Lefiya, you should go with them. Take care of Loki from now on," Riveria added, turning to Lefiya.

"No! They're my familia too!"

Lefiya, who Ryou had always seen as timid and clumsy, now shone with a light that made him feel ashamed.

"I see."

Riveria no longer persuaded her, smiling with relief as she began chanting again.

Lefiya, with unprecedented focus, continuously cast spell after spell.

"Good luck in battle!"

Tsubaki bowed deeply to Riveria, her single eye filled with complex emotions, and then left with Ryou.

As they retreated, Ryou felt as if his consciousness had left his body, watching himself move like a lifeless shell from above.

How pathetic~

Ryou didn't know why Scathach, who had promised to be his last resort, hadn't arrived on time.

But it no longer mattered.

"Revis, tell me, am I a coward?"

The red-haired swordswoman stopped as well. Her expression remained unchanged, but her dragon-like, slit pupils grew more profound.

"You are not one of Loki's Familia."

"So, this is quite reasonable."

Ryou showed a self-deprecating smile.

"Besides, survival is the instinct of any creature."

"Yes, instinct. Yet, among creatures, humans, who are said to possess the greatest wisdom and reason, can sometimes ignore this instinct. Why do you think that is?"

Ryou looked back.

There, the members of Loki's Familia were engaged in a life-and-death battle with the invincible enemy.

"Perhaps it's because they have something more important than their own lives in their hearts."

Revis's face showed a trace of reminiscence.

"Something more important than their own lives... Revis, if I turn back now, what would you think of me?"

"Then you would be the most foolish person in the world... but also the best master I've chosen!"

"Hahaha! Then let me be this fool!"

Ryou suddenly laughed, tossing the belt around his waist to Tsubaki, "Lady Tsubaki, I'll leave this dumb wolf in your care!"

With that, Ryou charged towards the battlefield without looking back, ignoring Tsubaki's shouts and Revis's complex gaze.

At that moment, Ryou suddenly felt as if he had shed some kind of shackle.

In that instant, a memory of a conversation with Scathach flashed in his mind.

Despite Ryou's attributes reaching the minimum standard of a Servant, the demoted Noble Phantasm "Crying Warmonger" showed no signs of recovery.

Out of curiosity, he mentioned this to Scathach.

The Queen of the Land of Shadows had a strange expression. Instead of directly answering his question, she asked an unrelated question, "What do you think a Noble Phantasm is?"

"Isn't it the legendary armament praised in the legends of Heroic Spirits, a materialized miracle, the proof of a hero owned by a Servant, the crystallization of human wishes for miracles?"

Ryou recited the standard answer from Wiki.

"Then why are there distinctions like Anti-Unit, Anti-Army, Anti-Fortress, and Anti-Divine?"

Scathach, abandoning her usual aloofness, guided him patiently.

"Because the legends and anecdotes of Heroic Spirits during their lifetime were believed and praised by people. For instance, an Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm has slain a single powerful enemy, while an Anti-Army one has annihilated an entire army..."

"That's correct. The Noble Phantasm a Heroic Spirit possesses depends on the legends and beliefs attributed to them."

Scathach nodded and continued.

"But have you ever thought about this: before they became Heroic Spirits, those people were just like you, mere mortals.

When faced with invincible enemies, vast armies, impregnable fortresses, or even supreme gods, what gave them the courage to launch a desperate attack?

Were they foolish? Was it for wealth or power? No! It might have been faith, glory, or perhaps just a promise that gave them unwavering courage and absolute confidence!"

Her crimson eyes, like the god-slaying spear in her hand, pierced through, making Ryou shiver.

"Want to wield an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm? Without the courage to face an army alone, how can you wield an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm?"

"Without the confidence to defeat an army alone, how can you summon the crystallization of human wishes for miracles!"

At the time, Ryou only half-understood Scathach's words.

But at this moment, in this instant, Ryou understood.

Attributes insufficient, conditions lacking—none of that mattered. A Noble Phantasm is the crystallization of faith, the pinnacle of idealism. Viewing it through a materialistic lens meant he could never grasp its essence.

What he needed now was simply the courage to challenge the unbeatable enemy head-on and the confidence to achieve victory!

Ryou seemed to see in his soul a colorful orb once chained suddenly breaking free.

Surging magical power began to circulate wildly from his heart.

If he were to open his system panel at that moment, he would find the demoted Noble Phantasm "Crying Warmonger" starting to emit a radiant, colorful glow.

...

When Ryou returned to the battlefield, the scene was horrific.

Almost all the members of Loki's Familia were gravely injured.

Tiona and Tione had both broken their legs and lay on the ground, unable to move.

Finn had a broken arm and was relying solely on his spear to fend off the enemy.

Aiz had a long gash from her left shoulder to her right abdomen. If it had been any deeper, she would have been completely disemboweled.

Even though her wound was still bleeding, Aiz continued her fierce attacks on the enemy without uttering a word.

The two elven mages at the rear were also severely wounded.

Riveria had a large hole in her abdomen. Having just taken a divine elixir, her wound was slowly healing, but her face was ashen. Leaning on her staff, Riveria barely managed to chant her spells.

Lefiya, who loved cleanliness the most, was covered in various cuts and bruises. Despite her disheveled state, she had not given up.

With such severe injuries, it wouldn't be surprising if any of them collapsed at any moment.