Mira dashed forward as the left hand of the monster came crashing down, pulverizing the stone floor where she had stood only seconds before.

She sprinted up the massive crystal forearm, each step sending sharp clinks through the cavern as shards chipped away under her boots.

By the time she reached the monster's towering torso, her blade was already pulled back and was now letting a brilliant glow.

"Spirit Thrust!" she shouted as she stabbed forward, her physical strike doing little however the spiritual energy behind it detonated.

A ripple burst from the blade's tip, slamming into the monster's head like an invisible battering ram.

The Rank 3 Boss staggered violently, stumbling backward until its crystalline back crashed into the wall with a deafening crack.

The entire cavern vibrated with the impact and showers of tiny shards raining down from the ceiling and though they weren't sharp, they were too small to be considered something of worth..

The monster wasn't done though.

The enormous right arm… almost the size of a tree trunk swung down at her like a falling boulder, the force behind that hit was fast enough to pulp her into glittering dust.

But just as it descended… A slash of white passed between them.

The entire arm fell off.

Mira barely had time to register it before she glanced right and saw Azel standing there with his blade low and cloak swaying from the force of the strike.

She allowed herself a brief smile of acknowledgment.

'He's protecting me… that's cute.'

Immediately she springboarded off the monster's torso, kicking its head with a burst of aura.

Her strike knocked the Boss sideways, and the giant stumbled over its severed arm, crashing into the cavern floor with a thunderous boom that sent crystals flying like shrapnel.

Mira flipped through the air with her hair fluttering and landed lightly in a crouch. She rose, sweeping the battlefield with her eyes.

Mynes was crouched on the ground over two shattered minion corpses, plucking diamonds and crystal fragments with a look of sheer, shameless delight.

Mira sighed. 'So this is the level of professionalism I have to command.'

The rest of the battlefield wasn't exactly inspiring either.

One Aura practitioner had been bashed into the wall so hard that a crater remained behind him.

Another Aura practitioner was struggling against a minion that had pinned his wrist against his own forehead.

The soldiers were holding their own, but barely… two reloading and one supporting a limping comrade.

'Once again… this is not my problem.' Mira thought, flicking some crystal dust off her blade as the Boss began rising again.

The creature's right arm severed moments earlier began pulling back toward its stump, reforming with a grotesque grinding of crystal on crystal.

Within seconds, it had fully reattached. Mira smiled as she saw it.

'Not that strong after all. But this will let me see more of his capabilities… I hope Tevik is stronger than before.'

Her eyes drifted toward the Gun Commander.

He had his rifle raised and ready. Aura swirled visibly around the barrel, glowing a deep blue. He had told them earlier he could kill a Rank 3 with one shot.

He had not yet fired a single bullet.

Mynes, watching him from her crystal pile, rolled her eyes. 'If somebody takes this long just to attack, should he really be considered a commander?'

Regardless of her thoughts, the treaty held… Aegis and Starbloom needed each other. But she couldn't help but judge… and loudly.

Finally, the Gun Commander pulled the trigger.

A thunderous blast tore through the air… a blue aura bullet ripping forward so fast it left a jagged sonic trail. The pressure wave alone made several mages stumble.

The bullet screamed toward the Boss's head and the Boss split apart.

It didn't die though.

It merely split apart.

Its giant crystal body segmented like a puzzle being pulled apart, dividing into five smaller humanoid figures that separated outward, each narrowly avoiding the projectile.

The aura bullet slammed into the cavern floor instead, detonating in a burst that shook the entire room.

"They broke down?" Mira muttered, eyes narrowing as two of the newly formed crystal figures rushed her.

These ones were armed… their arm-shards shaped like blades.

One swung for her neck.

She parried, then countered with a clean horizontal slash that bisected the creature cleanly at the waist. But the split body didn't reveal a core.

'So the core is in one of those—'

Two sharp cracks echoed… the Gun Commander fired rapidly, bullets striking two of the advancing crystal clones dead-on.

Their torsos shattered completely, raining shards across the battleground.

Now Mira understood.

The man wasn't some incompetent show-off… his gun really could obliterate monsters with brute force.

'I'm happy to see that he's a lot stronger now.' She thought.

Azel sliced through the last clone with a single clean stroke. His blade glowed under the crystal lights as the final fragment hit the ground.

A trembling rumble passed through the cavern.

All the remaining minions collapsed.

He took a breath. "Is everyone alright?"

Some groans answered him. The Aura practitioners… most of them were still standing, though one was groaning face-down with a deep crater behind him.

Azel blinked. 'Is this how weak regular aura users are? These were just Rank 4… why are they so fragile?'

The mages nodded when he looked at them. A few sported cuts and bruises, but none were downed. Several minion corpses around them hinted at how hard they had fought.

Azel turned to the Gun Commander. "Ah, Sir Gun Commander, are those second years?"

"Yes," the man replied, lowering his rifle as the blue glow faded from around it. "They are second years from Aegis Academy. These students were caught disobeying the school rules, so they were sent here as punishment. In my honest opinion, for a Rank 3 raid… they didn't do that bad."

Azel wasn't sure if he agreed, but he kept quiet.

With the minions dead, the altar behind them glowed. A circular portal of shimmering white mana formed above the crystal heap… the exit.

"We still have packing to do before we leave," Mira reminded, wiping monster residue off her blade.

"I'm fine too," Mynes said as she stood, flicking her hair dramatically while holding two handfuls of stolen crystal shards. "This wasn't even a big problem… they were weak."

Everyone stared at her.

Mira cleared her throat. "Pack up all of the monster corpses! Put them in your Storage rings! Once we reach the military base, we share the loot!"

Soldiers, mages, and Aura practitioners all moved to obey… some were limping and some were exhausted but all of them were alive and grateful to be so.

Azel stood quietly as they worked, his cloak fluttering gently from the fading breeze.

'So this is how my first raid ends, huh? It was fun… should I carry Lillia next time?' He thought.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.