Chapter 301

Almost simultaneously with Jeanne landing in front of the Castle Gate, Athena arrived at the exact opposite side, the rear of the castle.

“Let’s make this flashy~”

Athena deployed Spirit Division: Magnetic Mirror Mimicry around her, using it to cling to the air and float directly above the Castle Wall.

Then, in contrast to her laid-back tone, she unleashed a massive amount of Dragon Force, sending Golden Lightning crashing down along the Castle Wall.

The thunderous roar echoed, and the destructive lightning, beautiful in its devastation, obliterated the entire rear Castle Wall.

Hearing the commotion, Soldiers rushed to the scene to investigate, only to stand dumbfounded at the now-clear view where the wall once stood.

At that moment, a woman with beast-like features descended from the sky.

“Heya. So, you guys are my opponents, right?”

“Th-th-this… Did you do this, honored one?” stammered the highest-ranking Dwarf Soldier in the squad, his voice trembling with fear as he pointed to the charred line where the Castle Wall once stood.

Athena, who had already lost interest in the destruction she caused, glanced in the direction he pointed and nodded as if just remembering.

“Yup, that’s me. If you rebuild the wall, I’d recommend making it sturdier.”

“…Haha. I’ll pass that on to the Lord. Well then, farewell.” The Dwarf Captain said tearfully, then turned to leave as his squad watched.

“Wait a sec. Aren’t you guys supposed to be guarding this place?”

“No, no, no, no! We’re just passing through! Farewell!”

“You’re wearing Armor, though?”

“This… this is—fashion! Right, boys?!” The captain declared.

“Yeah! Armor’s the hot trend right now!”

“Armor’s the best!”

“Long live Armor!”

“Armor’s like clothing, lovely lady!”

There was no way they could defeat a monster who could unleash such a massive attack spell without even breaking a sweat.

It was a unanimous decision, no discussion needed.

“Uh… if you’re looking for a fight, there’s this Elite Squad, some tough guys, who’ll probably show up… So, if you don’t have any other business, we’ll just—”

“It’s fine if you wanna leave, but there’s no safe zone here—front, inside, or above the castle.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The front, inside, and skies above the castle are all covered by my big sisters. Plus, the Lord’s place has my little sisters, Dad, and Mom, so you might wanna just pass out here and call it a day.”

“Your father and mother?! Are… are we going to be killed?!”

“Nah, I’ve been told not to kill, so I won’t. But anything else is fair game.”

“Anything else? Uh… could you make it quick, then?”

They had planned to barricade themselves in the castle, but now it had become a den of monsters. Everyone present understood this and looked skyward in resignation.

Most likely, their Lord had done something to anger these monsters.

They had clung to rumors that the Lord might survive, holding off on changing jobs, but now they closed their eyes, accepting their fate.

“Please… don’t make it hurt…”

“No worries! It’ll be over before you know it—just close your eyes. Here we go!”

“““““““—Eek!”””””””

With a light blast of Lightning Magic, the Soldiers on the scene easily lost consciousness.

Athena tossed the men to the side, out of the way, when a group stronger than the previous Soldiers appeared.

“You’re the enemy, huh? Now that we’re here, you won’t have your way!” declared a muscular man in his early fifties, a Human with a red scarf, carrying a greatsword on his back and two swords of different sizes at his waist. He stepped forward with four companions.

“Whoa, some spirited folks showed up!”

“You’re unlucky to face us!” boomed a giant of a man, a three-meter-tall Giant with a sumo wrestler’s build, holding a shield larger than himself. He stood to the left of the red scarf, striking a pose. He wore a yellow scarf.

“Indeed. Few have survived facing us,” added another.

“Well, some have survived, right?” Athena quipped.

“That’s not something you say!” snapped a tiny man, only fifty centimeters tall, a Smallfolk with a blue scarf, holding a bow. He stood to the right of the red scarf, also striking a pose.

“Now, prepare yourself! My magic hurts!” declared a petite Elf woman with a green scarf, holding a staff topped with a heart symbol and a pointed hat. She stood to the left of the yellow scarf, striking a pose.

“Just get on with the fight already…” Athena muttered.

“One more, please wait!” the Elf pleaded.

“Fine, one more,” Athena sighed.

Finally, a Human woman with long brown hair and a white scarf joined the blue scarf on the right, striking a pose. Once all were in position, they struck a collective pose.

“““““With the five of us, Bebairire! Prepare to be judged in the name of justice!”””””

“So… you’re a five-person party called Bebairire, right?”

“Exactly! Sorry for the wait. We can’t get pumped without doing this.”

“You guys are a handful. Can I attack now?”

“Come at us from anywhere!” roared the giant with the yellow scarf, stepping forward to shield the group.

Impressed by their bold attitude, Athena clenched her fists, thinking this might be fun.

“Here I go, then!”

“Gahhh! This… is… nothing!” the yellow scarf growled.

“Whoa! You can handle this? Nice, nice♪”

As a test, Athena threw a punch with her bare fist—no Dragon Armor—straight at the center of the four-meter shield. The impact drove the yellow scarf’s feet knee-deep into the ground.

But he braced himself and pushed back, activating a Beast Spirit Technique. From both sides of the shield, a giant turtle’s right and left hands appeared, trying to grab Athena.

Just as they were about to touch her, the amber smoke floating around her turned into Golden Lightning, obliterating the turtle hands.

Athena stood unscathed, her punching hand showing no signs of pain. Meanwhile, the yellow scarf’s shield was dented in the center, and he was already out of breath.

The difference in their strength was clear.

Yet, Bebairire showed no signs of fear, brimming with excitement at facing a formidable foe.

More importantly, because they were a team of five, they psyched themselves up, convinced they wouldn’t lose.

Athena smirked, quickly suppressing the Oppressive Aura she had been holding back to avoid breaking their fighting spirit. It wouldn’t be fun if they lost their will to fight.

“How about this, then?” she said.

““““—!?””””

“This is…”

Using Phantom Dragon Arts, she transformed the surroundings into a volcanic landscape surrounded by crimson lava. Everyone except the white scarf, a Master of Dispel, began sweating profusely, their brains tricked by the illusion.

“Everyone, snap out of it! It’s just an illusion!” the white scarf shouted.

““““—… Phew.””””

“Huh?”

With the white scarf’s words, the others realized it was fake and regained their composure.

Athena found this odd. The Phantom Dragon Arts were still active, and only a Master of Dispel should be able to rationally understand it was an illusion.

The truth lay in the white scarf’s rare skill, Understanding Sharing. This allowed her to make others understand the results of her Dispel Magic as if they had used it themselves.

This enabled them to share detailed movements of enemies and allies, stay aware of the situation, and even nullify skills like Athena’s illusions by making everyone understand they weren’t real.

“This is getting interesting,” Athena said.

“““““—!?”””””

But by creating a situation where Phantom Dragon Arts didn’t work, they had unwittingly triggered another of Athena’s skills.

Her aura noticeably shifted. In terms of levels, they were all above Athena. Combined with the disadvantage of having one of her skills nullified, her Indomitable Fighting Spirit kicked in, drastically boosting her Stats.

“Red! This one’s bad news!” the blue scarf warned.

“—But we won’t back down here! Let’s show her the power of our team!” the red scarf replied, cold sweat dripping from his forehead—not from heat, but from fear. His strained face belied his bold words.

His defiant words rallied the team, and they glared at Athena with renewed resolve.

“No holding back now! Go all out, Blue!” the red scarf ordered.

“Got it!” the blue scarf replied, nocking his bow with several short arrows, slightly longer than darts, and firing them rapidly at Athena. Each arrow was imbued with a Beast Spirit Technique, sprouting wings and speeding toward her.

Athena converted her smoky Dragon Force into lightning, precisely striking each arrow and reducing them to ash. But, as the red scarf had ordered, the blue scarf kept firing relentlessly, leaving no room for respite.

Meanwhile, the yellow scarf’s shield advanced like a wall, closing in on Athena.

It came with enough force to crush her, but she stopped it with a yakuza-style kick from her right foot.

While countering the barrage of arrows, she faced the Beast Spirit Technique again—a giant turtle’s arms made of green Ki, pressing down from above.

She blasted Lightning Magic upward to dispel them, but they regenerated repeatedly, attacking without pause.

From the side, the red scarf, guided by the white scarf’s skill to track Athena’s smoky Dragon Force, swiftly closed in.

Holding lion-claw-shaped swords in both hands, the red scarf slashed diagonally at Athena’s shoulders.

She parried with her right hand clad in Dragon Armor, attempting to counter, but her movements were anticipated and dodged due to the white scarf’s Dispel Magic.

As the team worked together to pin Athena down, the green scarf completed her spell.

Through the white scarf’s Understanding Sharing, everyone sensed it, and without any signal, they all pulled back from Athena at once.

“Go!” the green scarf shouted.

“—Oh?” Athena reacted.

At that moment, two massive conical walls, studded with spikes like spears, erupted from the ground on either side of Athena, slamming together with a boom to pierce and crush whatever was between them.

The perfectly sealed walls stood before Bebairire, who erupted in cheers.

“As expected, Green’s magic is powerful!” the red scarf exclaimed.

“Obviously! Even Yellow couldn’t block that!” the green scarf boasted.

“Anyway, the fight here is over. The castle’s in chaos, so let’s go help, Red,” the blue scarf urged.

“Yeah, let’s head—What’s wrong, White?” the red scarf asked, noticing the white scarf staring at the walls.

When the red scarf touched her shoulder, he felt her sweat-soaked clothes.

She activated her skill again to share her understanding with the group.

“Everyone… it’s not over yet.”

““““—!””””

As they turned in the direction she faced, the two earthen walls were blasted apart from within by a violent force.

And there, standing leisurely, was Athena—completely unscathed, her body pristine.