The entire group rushed out of the pathway and entered the main route of the 51st Floor, heading into the spacious terrain.
Suddenly—
"AAAAAAHHH—!"
A sudden piercing scream echoed through the air.
"The voice just now...!?"
As the piercing scream echoed in the labyrinth and reached the ears of Riezel and his party, they all came to a sudden halt.
"That's Raul's voice!" Tiona exclaimed.
"Captain!" Tione panicked as well.
"What's going on?!" Lefiya was at a loss.
Ais furrowed her brow, ready to dash out, but Riezel grabbed her wrist.
"It's here!"
He held her hand, his gaze piercing like a sharp blade pointing towards a fork in the path. There, a tremor, starting from a distance and intensifying, gradually approached them.
Before long, several figures rushed out from the fork in the path.
"Captain!" Tione turned worry into joy.
Unfortunately, her joy was too early.
"Run!"
Leading the way, the agile and renowned Pallum Hero, Finn, shouted to Riezel and his party in panic.
Behind him, Gareth and Bete, who were usually fearless, were also fleeing in haste. Raul, serving as a supporter, was carried on Bete's back, emitting black smoke and a putrid smell, looking barely conscious.
Before Riezel's party could fully react to this shocking situation, 'it' appeared.
It got covered in yellow-green hues. The swollen and seemingly tender green outer skin displayed colorful veined marks.
Numerous short legs formed its lower body, while its upper body seemed to rest on the elongated lower part like a small mountain, with thin, flat arms extending from both sides. At the front, four cracks somewhat resembled fingers.
It was a worm.
Or rather, it was a monster that looked like a worm.
As the worm monster, towering at a height of four meters, moved forward, shaking up and down, it collided with the ceiling, almost equaling the width of the passage, completely blocking it.
*Rumble—*
It crashed against the walls on one side, relentlessly chasing Finn and his party from behind.
"Wh-What is that?!" Lefiya couldn't help but let out a panic scream, her face turning pale.
Not just Lefiya, even Ais, Tiona, and Tione, the three of them, instinctively took a step back, their faces displaying a look of absolute horror.
The mighty Level 5 first-class adventurer, the prodigy executives of Loki Familia, were now shocked by this disgustingly grotesque monster that defied all physiological acceptance.
Only Riezel, upon seeing Finn and his party, wasted no time and began chanting.
"Follow blindly the sun in the sky, so that all will flee from thee."
"Blossom, Armor of Laurel."
"Raumure!"
The deep green light membrane shimmered, one by one enveloping the bodies of Finn, Gareth, and Bete, causing their speeds to suddenly skyrocket.
""What is this...?""
The trio were momentarily stunned, but shortly after, they once again heard Riezel's voice.
"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow."
"Shoot, sniper of the fairies."
"Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy."
"Arcs Ray!"
The next moment, an arc of light blasted out like a beam, narrowly passing over the heads of Finn and his party, and hitting the massive worm monster.
*BOOM!*
*AAAKKKK—!!!*
The monster's entire body exploded like it was on fire, a massive blast that burned away a significant portion of its charging figure, emitting a broken trumpet-like scream.
This attack finally alleviated the situation somewhat, allowing Finn, Gareth, and Bete to quickly escape the pursuit of the worm monster, relying on the enhancement provided by Riezel's protection magic.
"Captain!"
Seeing Finn and his party safe, Tione was overjoyed and prepared to greet them. But Finn, Gareth, and Bete didn't loosen their expressions.
"Move!"
"Don't just stand there!"
"You morons! Hurry up and run!"
The trio, while rushing towards Riezel and his party, shouted in haste.
"Let's go!" Riezel still took the lead in reacting, lifting the startled Lefiya and running with a swift turn.
Ais, almost instinctively, followed closely behind.
Tiona and Tione stood there, dumbfounded after a while, finally understanding why Finn, Gareth, and Bete had bolted without hesitation, even Riezel choosing to retreat.
Because the monsters chasing them weren't just one.
When Riezel blasted the first worm monster with his magic, behind it, one after another, more worm-shaped monsters appeared, trampling their kin's bodies and charging straight toward them.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Run!"
Tiona screamed while Tione's face turned pale. Without hesitation, the two turned and ran.
In that split second, the top experts and prodigies of the Loki Familia scrambled in panic, fleeing in all directions—a spectacle that would shock onlookers who know them.
Fortunately, the enhancement effect of Raumure was still in play; otherwise, they might have been caught up by those huge worm monsters.
"What the heck is that, Finn!" Tiona finally caught up, shouting at Finn.
"Got no clue!" Finn replied, eyeing the shimmering membrane covering his body, then glancing at the calm Riezel. "Can't recall anything about those creatures in my memory."
This was a serious problem.
As the captain of the familia, Finn always had a meticulous and strategic approach. Every time they ventured into the dungeon, he not only memorized information about various monsters on each floor but also meticulously noted down the map of the dungeon.
In terms of memory, Finn was not inferior to Riezel at all. Even for the terrain of the 51st Floor, he remembered it crystal clear.
Now, leading at the forefront, Finn ran without hesitation, even without checking the map, through twisting and turning paths and numerous forks, which clearly was not random running. Yet, he claimed there was no information about these worm monsters in his memory.
This could only mean one thing.
These monsters had never appeared before, just like the Crocodile Dragon that appeared on the 6th Floor back then.
"Irregular..."
Ais murmured softly, making everyone's expressions turn serious. Especially when they saw what was happening behind them, their scalps tingled even more.
*AAAAKKKK—!!!*
*AAAAKKKKKK—!!!*
*Rumble—*
Gigantic worms chased them like tanks or war chariots while extending their flat arms to grab any unfortunate monsters they encountered.
Everyone witnessed a Black Rhinos desperately struggling, only to be swallowed whole by one of the worm monsters. The other monsters met the same fate, hunted by these worm monsters without exception, all becoming their prey.
"…Are they devouring magic stones?" Tione said with an almost groaning tone, causing everyone's hearts to plummet.
"Strengthened species? So many of them?!"
Lefiya, being carried by Riezel as they ran, had no time to be embarrassed; her charming face turned as white as paper as she exclaimed with fear.
It wasn't until now that the girls understood why Finn, Gareth, and Bete were running. Because they were facing a horde of strengthened species.
Creatures rarer than rare species, each appearance prompting the Guild to issue an immediate bounty, were now appearing in the group.
Could the situation get any worse?
Unfortunately, it could.
"Get down!"
Riezel, who had been silent all this time, suddenly yelled. Maintaining the posture of holding Lefiya, he grabbed Ais's hand and abruptly lay down.
"Down!"
Finn's response was nothing short of quick. Trusting Riezel's sudden warning, he also commanded everyone to get down.
In that split second, a purple, liquid-like jet sprayed out like a high-pressure water gun, hitting the wall in front of them.
*Sssttt—!!!*
The wall hit by the purple liquid dissolved at a visible speed, turning into a puddle of mud in an instant.
This scene immediately reminded Ais and the other girls of Cadmus's Spring. In that place, there were many traces of things being corroded and dissolved by something similar.
"Could it be?!"
"They killed Cadmus!"
Tiona and Tione exclaimed in unison.
"Raul!"
Ais also understood why Raul ended up in such a miserable state, being carried away by Bete. It was because he was directly hit by that liquid acid, suffering from corrosion.
"It's definitely these monsters..." Riezel, who had been silent all along, muttered as he finally confirmed his speculation. His gaze on the worm monsters became sharp.
The pursuing worm monsters, in the trembling eyes of everyone, one by one raised their upper bodies, opening their sticky mouths and spraying liquid shots towards them, letting the purple acid come at them one after another.
"Watch out your back! Don't touch that liquid!" Finn shouted.
No one was reckless enough to ignore his warning, especially when faced with such a terrifying acid.
Immediately, everyone began to dodge, shifting positions, or swiftly jumping to and fro to evade the incoming liquid shots.
*Scwhing—!*
Ais unsheathed her sword, seemingly ready for a fight.
"Ais, hold up!" Bete suddenly yelled. "If you slice those monsters, the acid inside their bodies will burst out and splatter everywhere. Raul got hit by that mess too!"
With that reminder, Ais had to halt her steps that were about to charge forward.
"Riezel!" Gareth called out to Riezel. "Can you pull off another magic?!"
Since close combat was not an option, they had to resort to long-range attacks, and among them, Riezel was the only one capable of executing them.
"Arcs Ray!"
Without hesitation, Riezel, who had already completed his magic chant, unleashed a beam of light in an arc, cutting through space and hitting the acid-spewing worm.
"Arcs Ray!"
"Arcs Ray!"
"Arcs Ray!"
*AAAKKKKKK—!!!*
One after another, chants and releases, creating successive arcs of light that strike one worm monster after another, making them emit pitiful cries.
The explosions and cries mixed together, giving the air a hint of the smell of gunpowder, vibrating through the entire dungeon floor.
Everyone watched as Riezel, still carrying Lefiya, calmly dodged liquid shots while continuously chanting and blasting magic calmly.
Seeing this scene, their gazes changed.
"Concurrent chanting...?" Finn's whisper held both amazement and relief.
"Damn monster!" Bete couldn't help but curse.