Among all the breakthrough squads, the one led by Riveria was the most special.

Because among them was Ais.

Ais, whose veins flowed with spirit-blood, was especially sensitive to spirit magic, and correspondingly, Corrupted Spirits would also react to Ais's wind magic.

"Riveria, I've sensed it!", Ais felt an unusual fluctuation of magical power. A ripple flashed in her golden eyes, and she immediately shouted loudly.

Riveria's expression stiffened, and her face turned serious.

The remnant forces of the Evilus were not to be feared, the nameless underlings could not threaten them.

As for the Artificial Labyrinth, though it seemed to hide danger, under the full investment of the Hephaestus Familia led by Emiya, and the Goibniu Familia, factions most skilled at urban construction, the labyrinth's defenses could no longer pose an obstacle.

Even if the designer of the Artificial Labyrinth: Knossos had once been a genius of antiquity, even if they harbored a millennia-old sorrow, in the end, this was only the wisdom of one person, one family.

In the face of the organized power and violence of the Familias, the so-called sorrow of a single lineage was utterly powerless.

The enemy's most deadly strength did not lie in the Evilus remnants or the labyrinth's complexity, but in their trump cards, the Monster People and the Corrupted Spirits.

Especially those Corrupted Spirits possessing abnormal magical abilities.

To eliminate these monsters, the most suitable executor was their strongest mage, Riveria Ljos Alf.

Detect the traces of a Corrupted Spirit, then use "High-Level Lance That Shines to the End of the World" to slay it, this was the most effective tactic at present. And Ais's sensing gave them the initiative.

"Finally, it's time to unleash the Corrupted Spirits into battle…", Riveria murmured coldly, emerald eyes gleaming with clarity. She turned to Ais, "Ais, lead the way. Let's go."

Ais nodded without hesitation. She pressed off the ground with her foot, toes digging in, and the power of wind surged around her feet.

She became a gust of wind, rushing swiftly forward. Riveria followed closely, and the other squad members quickly trailed after.

Suddenly, Ryuu's steps halted.

"Gale, what's wrong?", Alicia, close behind, saw Ryuu stop abruptly and immediately asked.

Ryuu stared at a side passageway, "Someone's coming. You go on. I must settle this with her."

From the side passage came earth-shaking tremors, heavy and forceful footsteps, and through the rumble one could vaguely hear a coarse roar drawing near, "GALE, SABER, I WILL KILL YOU!"

Riveria quickly looked at Ryuu, "Are you confident?"

"Yes," The elf girl replied briefly and firmly.

The elven princess asked no more. She trusted Ryuu, and believed in her resolve and strength. She quickly made her decision, looking to Alicia and Lefiya, "Alicia, Lefiya, stay and support Gale in the fight."

Alicia nodded, "Understood."

Lefiya straightened her posture instantly, "Yes, ma'am!"

"Wait, I'll stay too," At that moment, Aisha stepped forward.

"Fine, after it's resolved, catch up with us immediately," Riveria looked at Ryuu, "I believe in you. You can do it."

Riveria turned and, with the rest of the members, continued pursuing in the direction of Ais, their target the Corrupted Spirit.

"By the way, the last time we fought the Black Goliath giant, it was us too," Lefiya, thinking of something, spoke up.

"Mm, I realized that, so I volunteered to stay," Aisha nodded, "And this time, the enemy is also a giant."

The tremors grew nearer, and a massive figure appeared at the end of the passageway.

"GALE! I'LL KILL YOU!", The coarse roar of the Man-Killer echoed through the corridor.

Aisha looked at the monster, brow furrowing. After a brief moment of shock, she murmured, "Is this… a Monster Person?"

The appearance of the Man-Killer, Phryne, had undergone a tremendous change.

Originally her build was robust, over two meters tall, with short limbs and an ugly face, making her look like a gigantic humanoid toad.

However, despite her repulsive appearance, Phryne still retained a roughly human form.

Now, her body was even more bloated, skin a nauseating yellow-green, rough and scaly. Disgusting tumors protruded across her body; some burst open, revealing oozing yellow-green flesh.

More horrifying, twisted branch-like growths sprouted irregularly from her shoulders, back, even arms, dotted with black speckles.

One eye had turned completely lifeless white, the other a bloodshot giant orb, fixed fiercely on Ryuu.

Seeing the hideous creature before her, Ryuu's expression twisted.

Her gaze locked on Phryne's chest, on the right side of her chest, a heart-like Spirit Core was parasitic.

It was already confirmed that Spirit Cores could parasitize monsters.

Now they knew that the Core's hosts weren't limited to monsters.

But at a glance, the Core on Phryne's chest was a stillborn.

Its fetus had completely withered, or rather, been devoured by the incompetent host.

Yet Phryne, fused with the Core, had become this form, an ugly hybrid of monster and human.

"All… all because of that damned Saber! That's why I became like this!", Phryne hissed in a feral whisper.

Because of Emiya Shirou, the fallen goddess Ishtar, the Familias' policies changed.

At the same time, also because of Emiya Shirou, members of the Familia kept advancing from Lv.3 upward, Phantom Tri Star, Star Tower, Little Mad Princess, Leopardess… As these people transcended levels, Phryne's status in the Familia grew increasingly marginalized.

And due to the strategic shift in factional alliances, the Ishtar Familia's cooperation with the Evilus was severed. They went their separate ways, and the increasingly unpopular Phryne was recruited by the Evilus.

The handsome god's temptations, the intoxicating wine, and promises of a bright future, all easily captured Phryne's already unclear mind.

However, reality diverged sharply from the Evilus's boasts. Since the Loki Familia targeted them, the situation rapidly deteriorated.

For Phryne, the only piece of good news was that she fortunately possessed the "aptitude" to become a Monster Person.

In Filvis's eyes, this was a curse. But for Phryne, as long as she gained great power, becoming a Fallen Monster Person was acceptable.

Yet, even as a Monster Person, her "talent" remained far inferior to Revis and Ein. Her potential ceiling at Lv.6 was her limit.

Not long ago, Phryne concealed information about the Uchide no Kozuki to satisfy her selfish desires, nearly leading to Revis being slain by Finn. An enraged Revis almost took her life.

And just today, Revis implanted a low-quality Core Fetus into her.

"My beauty, my life, everything was ruined by that damned Saber!", Phryne roared angrily, "I swear, I will torture him to death, grind him into dust, make him kneel before me and repent for what he's done. I will make him feel despair and pain!"

"And you ugly women associated with him… I won't spare a single one of you!"

Aisha sighed in relief, "At least she knows how ugly she is now."

Ryuu coldly stared at Phryne. From the start, she bore a kill-on-site resolve against this newly made Monster Person; now that resolve only strengthened.

Gale and the Man-Killer had clashed twice.

The first time, Ryuu utterly crushed and defeated Phryne.

The second time, Phryne in Monster Person form ambushed Ryuu, causing her losses. Though not a defeat, Ryuu only repelled her through the powers of Little Giant and Goddess Chariot.

This time would be the final battle.

"Last time we assaulted Black Goliath, Emiya aided us," Ryuu said quietly, "This time will be the same."

In Aisha's hands was the Tier-1 armament "Fierce Blade," and on her back the Magic Sword: Spiral Blade.

At Lefiya's left and right hung two swords: Wind's Guard and Purple Wisteria.

Alicia gripped the Noble Phantasm [Skadi of Ice.]

Behind Ryuu, the Starry Sword Case opened, four longswords sheathing simultaneously.

The hunt for the mutated giant (Phryne) began.

———

["Revis, watch out! Something's coming your way!"], Thanatos's warning came through the communication crystal.

"What?", Revis's eyes widened, her heart twitching. Yet in the next instant, she saw the incoming assault, a cannon shot radiating an ominous glow like black jade, hurtling rapidly from the depths of the passage.

It was a concentrated orb of magical energy, its outer layer crackling with pale violet arcs, some invisible force thrashing and roaring inside.

It spun at high speed, like a miniature black hole shell, carrying world-shattering force as it streaked through the dim corridor, aiming straight at Revis.

With one glance, Revis sensed its immense, deadly power, alarm bells ringing in her mind. Her body reacted instantly: toes pushed off, and she leapt sideways in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding the fatal attack.

The magic cannon shot whistled past her shoulder and exploded with an ear-splitting roar at her former position. The violent magical blast tore through the corridor walls, sending debris flying in all directions.

While evading, Revis quickly steadied herself, her gaze snapping back toward the blast's origin.

At the end of the passage, the voiuvre flapped her wings and soared forward at high speed.

At the same moment, Ais, hearing the familiar sound of dragon wings, halted in her tracks.

"Riveria, the Corrupted Spirit is right ahead," Ais said.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to finish off that Monster Person," Ais said, dashing down a side corridor.

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