“There appears to be a small labyrinth underground.”

The Knight turned to the Captain and spoke.

“Is that so… What about the Magic Accumulation Point and the Dragon Demon Stone?”

“Both exist. However, there’s one thing that concerns me.”

“Tell me.”

“At the location where the Dragon Demon Stone exists… there’s some kind of Magic Power that seems to belong to a monster. And it’s quite powerful.”

—This Knight seems to have the role of checking for any objects containing Magic Power within the Ancient Ruins while absorbing Magic Power using his sword.

Magic Accumulation Point, I’m guessing it’s an Artifact. And a Dragon Demon Stone, and a monster-like Magic Power… like a boss in a game, I suppose.

“So it’s guarding the Dragon Demon Stone?”

“Probably. And–“

The Knight paused for a moment before speaking.

“That Dragon Demon Stone seems to have considerable power.”

The Captain shifted slightly. Hmm, I can’t feel it from here, but whatever is sleeping in the Ancient Ruins seems to be quite powerful.

“Very well. Then, let’s acquire the Dragon Demon Stone. As for the monster, we’ll approach and observe its movements.”

—I don’t know if there was a boss in all the Ancient Ruins they explored, but it wasn’t zero. That means they have a certain level of combat capability. They seem to think they can handle it.

The Knights began to move. Meanwhile, the Knight who had created a Familiar returned.

“I’m ready.”

“Transport it.”

The Captain threw the Crystal Sphere to the Knight. The Knight, having received it, immediately tried to return outside.

This is where I should follow him and take the Crystal Sphere. I was about to move to follow the Knight walking outside, when at that moment,

—Woooooosh.

“…Hmm?”

The other Knights also reacted to it and stopped.

“Is that a monster?”

“It… seems so.”

The Captain responded to the Knight’s question. It feels like the monster reacted because the Magic Power was absorbed. I saw the Familiar’s Knight, who had stopped for a moment, start walking again, and I tried to follow.

But, the next moment—an immense Magic Power surged forth, as if bubbling up from the depths of the earth.

“Ah…!”

One of the Knights who was about to move underground cried out. The Familiar’s Knight did the same. And so did I.

“This… it seems we’ve poked a sleeping dragon.”

Garuku said.

“By absorbing the Magic Power, something sleeping in the Ancient Ruins has been awakened, and further enraged, it seems.”

Simultaneously with the words, a mass of Magic Power rapidly rushed towards the surface. At the same time, sounds like the Ancient Ruins’ structures being destroyed began to be heard, “Gagaga.”

I could easily imagine what would happen, and immediately evacuated. At the same time, the floor in the center of the hall blew up, and a being with Magic Power was seen from below.

“Wha…”

The Knight groaned. What appeared was an Angel about three meters tall—a full-armored Angel similar to the Resveil I myself created. But its color was a complex mixture of black and red, inspiring awe. I don’t know if it was originally this color scheme or if it changed, but the impact was immense.

“Everyone, battle stations!”

The Captain immediately gave orders. The Knight holding the Crystal Sphere hesitated here. Should he fight too, or carry out the previous order—

That hesitation was fatal in this situation.

The Angel, roaring like a beast, targeted the Knight holding the Crystal Sphere and charged. The Knight tried to flee instantly, but the Angel moved faster.

The Sword Strike was fast and overwhelming. Immediately after the Knight showed signs of fleeing, the slash struck. It effortlessly shattered the armor and easily gouged out the Dragon’s skin that was surely beneath it.

It was truly a clean cut—immediately after, flames erupted from the severed spot, and the Knight was engulfed in an inferno. The fact that it effortlessly burned through armor undoubtedly meant it was no ordinary fire.

Because he lost strength and dropped his sword, the Crystal Sphere and sword were safe—everything else turned to ash in an instant.

Its attack power was such that even a Dragonkin Knight died effortlessly. Seeing this, the Captain shouted,

“Damn it…! Retreat!”

Sensing the opponent’s strength, they retreated. That judgment was perfectly sound, but… it might have been too late.

As they began to move, the Angel drew its sword to block them. The Knights drew their swords and immediately assumed combat stance. If they were to fight, they would have no choice but to use their numbers to attack.

Its offensive capability is overwhelming. So, can they initiate an attack and defeat it… The Captain must be making such calculations.

However, there wasn’t much time for such thoughts—because I sensed more Angels from deeper underground.

“This place… it might be quite important.”

Garuku said.

“I don’t know if this facility is important, or if the sleeping Dragon Demon Stone and other things are important. But the presence of these Monsters… no, Angels. The fact that such beings are here means that this is a particularly important part of the Ancient Ruins.”

As he explained, a new Angel appeared. It looked no different from the first Angel.

That made a total of… two additional Angels. The Knights would have to face three Angels. Even their numerical advantage was gone.

“What do we do?”

Garuku asked. Yeah, this is a problem.

Should I fight with the Knights? No, it’s obvious the enemy will see me as an enemy too and attack—

While I was thinking, the Angel moved. A tyrannical presence. Before I could do anything, the Angel ended everything.

The Angel’s strike. Its horizontal sweep clearly intended to knock away the remaining Knights, who moved to dodge.

They spread out—immediately after, as if that was the target, the other two Angels began to move.

Sword Strikes were unleashed simultaneously. The Knights couldn’t evade them. Their bodies burst into flames with a single strike.

There was no time to intervene. With the continuous barrage of attacks that followed, all the Knights were finally annihilated.

“I don’t intend to sympathize, but I can only feel sorry for them coming to a place like this.”

I muttered as I picked up the Crystal Sphere that had rolled onto the floor. The Angels seemed to notice it, and all turned their bodies toward me.

I immediately dispelled my Magic. I drew my sword and entered a battle stance.

“Are they coming?”

At the same time as my words, the leading Angel stepped forward. Its speed was terrifying, and it was easy to imagine that it possessed extraordinary abilities.

I quickly retreated half a step to escape the danger. Then I swung my sword and unleashed a Wind Blade.

The Wind went straight for the Angel, striking its chest hard. As a result, its armor shattered and its torso was pierced, creating a large hole.

Just as I thought, “That’s one down”—Magic Power surged from the Angel’s body. While I wondered what was happening, its chest rapidly regenerated.

“These guys… could it be that without a Dragon Demon Stone…?”

As if to confirm this, the Angel’s armor also regenerated effortlessly. This is troublesome… just as I thought that, I caught sight of a sword at my feet.

I don’t know if I can defeat it—I immediately picked up the sword. The Angel started to move, and to counter it, I focused Magic Power into the sword.

I poured power into the sword as if drawing out Dragon Magic Stone Power… the moment I did, a distinct creaking sound came from the sword. Without a doubt, my Magic Power and the sword’s Magic Power were repelling each other. It seemed usable for now, but its limit would come quickly.

In the midst of that, the Angel charged. I dodged its slashes, then lunged into its embrace and counterattacked. A giant body was before me. Into it, I unleashed a vertical slash.

A definite sensation of impact and the Angel’s roar. Perhaps my control was successful, as the Angel’s body largely collapsed and vanished with that single strike.

However, as a consequence, the sword also shattered into pieces with a ‘pakkin’ sound. It could only be used once.

Just as I thought about what other swords were left—the remaining two Angels moved. I expected them to attack me, but suddenly they began to gather Magic Power in their feet.

Just as I wondered what they were doing, the two Angels leaped simultaneously. No, it would be better to describe it as flying. They broke through the temple ceiling and soared into the sky.

“What… are they trying… to do…!?”

Dodging the debris raining down from above, I approached a sword left by a Knight. Only one was intact. I took it in my hand and looked up.

The Angels had vanished. No, in this case, did they fly off somewhere?

“I don’t know what their objective is, but this is seriously bad.”

If they got out of the Angel Ruins, they might even get out of this Heterophase Space… I immediately turned back and ran at full speed to exit the Ancient Ruins.