It was different this time. The foe in front of the group was clearly greater than any of the corrupt beasts before it.


    The fact that it was alone and strangely flapping its wings serenely showed how much he belittled the three small individuals in front of it.


    It kept looking, watching every single movement in his warped and colorless field of view.


    The three had in front of them the largest creature ever seen so far. From one wing to the other, it was estimated to be ten meters wide. With its weird body shape, it was as high as five meters.


    Even in a room as large as the one they were in and the width of the tunnel, you wouldn''t expect such a creature to be around. It was a mystery how this thing managed to find them.


    They began their attack against the ''Corrupted Lord''.


    Karteira advanced further to attract its attention, and the combination of Orion and  Amelia stayed behind to move around and slash its body when an opening showed up.


    This was the rule when fighting a single opponent. Rushing in and hitting randomly would basically be asking to be countered.


    Ready to receive the enemy''s attack, Karteira, clad in her plate armor, glared at the large monster. Her left eye glowed with the desire to get revenge on the one beast that had hurt her in the past.


    Orion was preparing himself to move at the slightest sign of movement from the bug. He had his sight completely locked on him.


    He couldn''t underestimate such a monster now that he was unable to attack. The moment he lost the opportunity to strike stealthily, it became impossible to dispatch it rapidly. He could only rely on Amelia to deal with this one.


    Gripping Amelia, he gulped, making it easier for her to feel how tense he was.


    ''If anything turns wrong, I need to release his ''Second Gear''. Taking us far away is a priority.''


    Amelia was already thinking about the worst-case scenario, and it was a good thing. She was able to read the multiple ways the fight could end, but ultimately, there were only three endings.


    The group would win.


    The group would lose and flee.


    Or they would all die in here.


    The result would only change based on their choices during the fight.


    Now, there was nothing to think about anymore. The battle would start at any moment.


    Without showing any signs, the first one to attack was the large bug.


    Three wind blades instantly appeared above its wings before flying in a straight line toward each of them.


    Karteira, knowing how sharp this attack was, simply side-stepped the attack on her left.


    "You''re not getting me with this petty trick again!"


    Furious to see this monster try the same attack on her, her tail glued itself to her back. She was avoiding getting it cut off by a wind blade.


    Orion and Amelia were thrown the remaining wind blades, but they were easily avoided by his speed. He ran on the left side of the bug, taking it as a sign of the fight beginning.


    It was time for them to attack relentlessly in the hope of finding the cores.


    ''The cores cannot be in the legs, nor can they be in the head, right? There should be one in the wings either, but I cannot even confirm that. Should we try ripping its giant wings first?''


    While running toward the mosquito legs, Orion asked Amelia.


    "Amelia, wings or body?"


    Constantly watching for attacks, she began to think rapidly.


    ''Does he want to rip the wings to eliminate the beast''s wind magic? No, that''s not how he thinks. It wouldn''t even stop it from using magic.''


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ''He is most likely thinking about the cores. So to focus on that, we should find where to attack, but since we cannot stay much around it, we have to prioritize a part. Body or wings?''


    After thinking and understanding the plan, she gave an answer.


    "Body. Less area, faster to check, closer."


    Orion was closing in on the creature, so she had to give a fast answer.


    After hearing the reason, he agreed. There was indeed less surface to check, and it would be difficult to get to the wings anyway.


    As he approached the front leg of the bug, more wind blades appeared near its moth wings that were still closed.


    Tens of blades flew in many directions.


    Karteira managed to dodge every single attack. Her scorpion tail being her main concern, she avoided directly putting it near attacks.


    She dodged by side-stepping and even crouched to avoid some of them. There was still a slight fear remaining in her concerning those wind blades.


    It was to be expected. She was in an awful state at that time.


    Losing her right eye and having her right leg wounded while defending herself left a trauma in her mind.


    What was supposed to be a simple elimination mission turned into a nightmare as wind blades traveled through the tunnel and wounded her.


    She had a bad time returning to the village without dying. The pain of that time lingered in her mind.


    ''This is bad... I won''t be able to get over this, thinking like this.''


    After dodging everything, she watched Orion and Amelia, who were under the giant insect.


    The rest of the blades moved toward Orion and Amelia, arching over the bug''s entire body to strike them.


    It was not pleased about those intruders being under its body. The two legs on its left side lifted off the ground as it tried to crush them.


    Turning its head in a creepy insect manner, it looked below.


    Orion saw the legs coming at him while also keeping an eye on the crescent blades. He had two choices now.


    Either retreat and wait for another opportunity, or believe in Amelia and completely focus on the legs.


    He quickly had his answer.


    "Amelia, get rid of the blades!"


    "Yes!"


    Amelia looked at the dozens of wind blades coming at them. She prepared herself, her right elbow bent backward over her shoulder as her left arm crossed over to her right side.


    The first blade came.


    With her right arm, she smashed the first blade downward with Dusk, deflecting it to the ground. She immediately swung Dawn with her left arm to counter the second blade that was coming right behind the first.


    The next two were further away, but one of the legs came crashing on them. It seemed to avoid throwing blades that could cut its leg, and Orion realized that immediately.


    While activating ''Calm Analysis'', he searched for a place where he could still stand under it and let Amelia catch the remaining blades.


    Before she could blink, Amelia found herself on the right side of the bug. Following a standing slide, Orion arrived near its right legs.


    The leg crashed, throwing a large amount of dust and rock fragments all over. Some even flew so far that they hit Karteira''s plates.


    Turning its head creepily to the other side, the bug kept its gaze on them. The remaining blades came flying at high speed right after.


    ''Amelia, you can do this. Amelia, you can do this!''


    She pumped herself with strength and began countering the eight remaining blades.


    "Amelia!"


    Karteira shouted her name when she imagined the state she would be in if she were to receive such attacks.


    The third blade came, and Orion braced himself to not get thrown away by the shock that would be created.


    Amelia sliced the third blade in half with Dawn.


    ''One.''


    The second got deflected sideways by using Dusk. It was unable to cut, as its main ability was piercing, so she could only deflect with it in hand.


    ''Two. I''ll get back at you, you disgusting bug.''


    She continued countering with Dusk for the next two blades. One flew left, one flew right, but higher.


    With each strike, Orion was slightly pushed back.


    ''Three. Four. Higher, go higher.''


    Amelia had an idea, and she was trying to make it a reality.


    The fifth blade came right behind, as well as the sixth and seventh. Luckily for them, the bug only attacked them head-on.


    She kept Dawn firmly in hand in case she was unable to counter one of the blades while moving Dusk back and forth, improving her timing after each counter.


    With the fifth blade crashing next to Orion''s right leg, the sixth flew across the left side between its legs, and the seventh crashed next to the bug''s right hind leg.


    They got pushed back so far that they were now close to the middle segment of its body, between its second row of legs.


    ''Five. Six. Seven! So close! Last three, I have to make it!''


    What remained were the last three blades. It was the perfect moment to show her bravery.


    The eighth blade came, and she redirected it toward the left, but higher than the sixth one.


    ''Eight! Here it comes!''


    The moment of truth for her came; she was now used to countering the wind blades, and the bug was still unsuspecting of her movements.


    Amelia''s dagger, Dusk, caught the blade as it crashed on her. She tried her best not to keep it from moving further as it slid from the dark blade.


    In a split second, she moved all her focus toward the direction of the counter. The wind blade came flying high on the right.


    *Pshiiiii*


    It sliced the right hind leg of the bug in half, which was skinny to begin with. The sound of blood gushing was heard as it splashed on the ground further away from the duo.


    ''Nine! Yes, I''ve made it! The last one, the better for last!''


    The last blade kept flying toward them.


    Just before it was in range, Amelia threw Dawn in the air and switched Dusk to her left hand. She grabbed Dusk with both hands and caught the last wind blade.


    As a result, the wind blade lodged itself inside the butt segment of the insect, ripping it to shreds.


    ''Ten! How do you like that!''


    She was exhausted, but not completely out of strength yet.


    "Orion... I made... it!"


    Breathing heavily, she caught the white dagger, Dawn, that fell back toward her.


    "Well done. I''ll praise you later, so focus back on the fight; it''s not done yet."


    The bug, now enraged to have its own attack turned against it, opened its wings and flapped them away, pushing Orion and Amelia closer to Karteira.


    ''He took off. What are we going to do now? Do I go ahead and snipe it? No, we still don''t know where the cores are. Not in this body part, at least.''


    As he reflected on the event, a voice caught his attention.


    "Wait, Orion! Look at that!"


    Karteira caught his attention, pointing at the bug.


    The wings of the bug were now fully opened compared to when the beast initially appeared. They could see two round shapes on each wing.


    "This is where you hid them. Sneaky and wise. By landing, he can hide them out of our sight."


    This was a great surprise. The cores of the creature were on the wings. The pulsing purple veins on them proved it.


    ''Now, that gives me ideas.''


    Orion was ready to confront the bug and kill it once and for all.