At Exeles' warning, everyone immediately turned their gaze directly downward.
　And the demon that Roen had charred blackened was pulled into the ground as if it were being sucked in. Everyone's feet rose unnaturally, and they instantly jumped up from their shaky footing and broke away.

　This time, the ground was swallowed up and something was seen wriggling through the gap. It's a large mouth of a demon, so large that it swallows the floor whole as it rises to the heavens, attacking the troops who jumped up to swallow it in one go.

　In the air, only Exeles and Fanon successfully positioned themselves on the stone as a foothold.

''--!　[Sandrio Deathworm]!
Hey, what's this guy doing in there?

　Fanon's cheeks tugged at his cheeks as he saw the mouth coming at him from below in midair. Its snake-like body, which was only a mouth, was covered by a scaly outer shell, and its oral cavity was filled with countless teeth arranged in a spiral pattern with no gaps.
　It was easy to imagine that once swallowed, it would be chopped into pieces.

　The size of its head alone was expected to be well over two hundred meters in length.

　As if intending to swallow it whole in the air, 【Sandrio Death Worm】 undulated its body, accelerating and rising. In the blink of an eye, Fanon made a decision and executed it.

　When he pointed the tip of the parasol directly downward, magic power instantly flowed, and a flat objective barrier laid down a clear boundary. The objective barrier was built to serve as a scaffold, and it was built with only strength in mind. The impact of trying to break through it pushed the entire barrier up at once.

　When they all landed on Fanon's barrier, they looked straight down and broke out in a cold sweat.
　But--.

'Hola!　Next, straight up!　Hurry.

　After receiving the reprimand, everyone immediately poured their magic power into the AWR. The barrier that kept rising was closing the distance between them and the ceiling.

　The ceiling of the [Orbanen Cathedral], which is made by rolling out the rocky mountains, is hard and thick.
　If it continues like this, it will be impossible to escape death by compression.

　The troops activated the highest powerful magic each of them possessed. There is no room to worry about conflicts, and as long as the magic doesn't directly touch each other, it can be done with minimal conflicts.
　It's not training, but actual battle experience that led each of us to the exact spot at the same time.


　Dust rose like an eruption in the clear sky.
　The troops led by Fanon, who had penetrated beautifully, were pushed up high into the sky as it was. The air becomes thinner and their ears begin to ring. A rise that seems to reach the clouds.

　The horizon, which seems to reach far into the distance, projects more and more unknown territory. But after a certain rise, there was no more to be seen from there, and the range of visibility was gradually decreasing.
　Yes, the troops had only risen, and they were currently in an immense dive.

''Aaaaaaah...!

　As one would expect, there was no way they had ever experienced falling from this height. Even Roen, none of us knew how to get out of this predicament.
　No, the most reliable person in this place was there.

　The squad members ask Fanon for help as they swim, with their faces contorted by the tremendous wind from below. She even seemed to be enjoying the fall in a large, unconcerned way.

''Fanon-sama Ahhhh........''

　Someone grabbed Fanon's slender ankles and manhandled him. Following one after another, the men began to connect.

''Cah!　You guys don't touch me with your dirty hands!

　He stomped on the men's faces with one empty foot. The men moved their faces even closer to each other, no matter what they were stomping on.
　Jori..............A shiver runs down my spine at such a feeling.

''Help me oooh........!
Shut up and don't touch me.
Kahaha!

　As his attention was focused on his feet, Roen, who had managed to get the hang of moving from across the street, kept his momentum going and hugged him around the waist in a deadly hug.
　It was a desperate plea to not fall.

''Gaaaah!　Where do you touch me!
'Master Fanon, please be patient with me for now because I'm a hinoki. And please help me.

　Directly below, a huge 【Sandria Death Worm】 crawled out of the ground and was rampaging around, cleaving the trees. Is it looking for the food it missed?
　Even if I just turned around, the trees crunched and screamed and fell down.

　Fanon strikes the handle of his parasol against Roen's head with his red face.

''Ouch, it hurts, Fanon-sama ah!''
Die, die, die, die!

　Contrary to Roen's goofy eyes, Fanon brought the approaching ground into view and set his priorities. There was unexpectedly no grace to continue such a farcical thing.

　In terms of falling speed, they would have to slow down first.

''Exeles........''
Yes, sir. But...
I know.

　It's not like she's shouting out loud, but the voice passes well between the two of them - the strain she has is the wind.

　Immediately after Exeles, who had her hair flying in the air, held out her arms, a rising tide of air was rolled up from below. Each member of the team slowed down and fell into a momentary state of apnea.
　At that moment, they all covered their mouths and eyes with their hands. Roen and the others who had grabbed Fanon had no choice but to let go, without exception.

　If she was the only one, she could slow down on her own, and slowing down everyone's falling speed was also unconventional. But it would only be for a moment and they would immediately plummet according to gravity.

　But the wind would send Fanon rising in the opposite direction with the parasol. The skeletal part of the umbrella, the delicately puffed up isosceles triangle of fabric, brought up a geometric magic formula.

　And a series of barriers that floated thinly underneath the troops. They all landed with their eyes on the foothold floating in the air.

　Right below, the still rampaging 【Sandoria Death Worm】 swallowed up trees and soil inexhaustibly.

It's not a good idea to be next to that thing even if you can land on it. Thank you, Fanon-sama.

　Roen broke out in a cold sweat as he looked through the translucent barrier he used as a foothold. Some of the troopers were nodding voicelessly.

''As expected of this guy, one of the largest within the A-rate, lurking in such close proximity...''
''Roen-kun, it's a demon whose ecology is originally unknown to us. If a demon of this size moved through the ground, there should be some kind of trace of it, if it moved into the ground of the [Orbanen Cathedral], it would have collapsed long ago.

　No matter how much of a second-in-command he is, it can't be helped if he is called by Exeles, the highest probe holder of 【Krevidito】, by his moniker. And I'm getting pretty used to this too.
　Although there's not much difference in terms of age, the other party is older, just in case.

''Exeles-san, I think I remember the demons that have been raised in the reports of various countries, but that pseudo-bait...''

　As far as Roen could see in the materials, the [Sandria Death Worm] has a special structure for its tail, which is known to make a sound that lingers in the ears and disperse a certain amount of magical power to lure food.
　It's essentially a simpler construction, and if a human sees it, he or she will immediately feel uncomfortable. The reason for this is that it looks very similar to a giant anthill.
　The reason why they do this is because one of the characteristics of the 【Sandoria Death Worm】 is that they do not have a sense of sight or smell, and they often sense magic power and prey on demons. Of course, it doesn't have the characteristic called 【Vicious Food】, it is simply a gluttony.
　But this time it had a human physique, albeit an unnatural one.

'Nah, that's probably what made me think it was a mutation rate.

　Suddenly, the answer falls from directly above. If you look up, you can see only the white ruffle lining of the skirt, but Roen immediately averted his gaze.
　Just as Fanon unfolded his umbrella and fluffed it down.

''Then the ground around here is pretty badly damaged.

　He made a scaffold for himself, one size fits all, and descended, and a staircase of barriers was born from it, step after step.
　Fanon came down the stairs, spinning around with his umbrella on his shoulder.

'I should see that there were a few feeding grounds,'
It would seem so. Since no spotters could penetrate inside, the place of discovery must be outdoors.

　Stepping across several translucent floors floating in the air, Exeles, who had come close to Fanon, uttered a guess.

'Master Fanon, how shall we defeat that thing?'
Hmmm... To be honest, there's no point in holding back on the cathedral like that.

　The group looked down at the historical buildings below. But the only thing they could see was a pile of rubble and no man-made buildings, not even a shadow.

''Well, it can't be helped,''

　Following Roen, the squad members had no choice but to reluctantly nod their heads.
　It's not a problem if we can defeat them for now. However, how to defeat that thing, it was inevitable that we would be relying on Fanon.

　Sandrio Death Worm] is a demon that is ranked as an A-rated class while being considered an S-rated demon. That's because the difficulty of defeating them increases dramatically depending on their size.
　It's not just a matter of time before you get to know them, but also a matter of time before you get to know them.

　It is also because it is beyond common sense for someone who sees this on a search plane to misinterpret it as a mutated rate. And since the shape of the tail had changed in the first place, it was also certain that some kind of mutation could be seen.
　In this case, it was mainly its size.

　If you were to engage that thing in a proper fight, you would die in an instant as if you were warding off a small fly.
　Furthermore, you'll need to peel off that armor-like outer shell. I have no idea how long it will take to reach the Devil's Core.

　Then 【Sandria Death Worm】 began to move, as if it had become numb to the prey it couldn't find. The destination was within Alpha's exclusive territory. No, Alpha should have already recaptured further ahead. It was almost a state of affairs that could be called territory. In other words, it should fall within the territorial right. If that was the case, 【Krevidito】 would be left to deal with those who had missed out.

　In other words, the rumor would spread that Fanon, a single magician, had missed out. If that happened, her ability would be questioned.

　Despite Roen's concerns, Fanon asks Exeles without a second thought.

''Exeles, have you got that?
"Sorry, as expected, we have left them at the relay station because we didn't need them. The conversions we have are limited to the ones Fanon-sama loves, so there aren't that many of them...
Hey, it's okay, I said you could leave it unless you needed it.

　Fanon gently allowed Exeles to bow his head with a look of shame.

''But we do have the [Exclusionary Barrier].
I don't mind that one, but you want to go scurrying anyway, don't you?

　Caught in that mischievous grin, Exeles chimed in agreement.

'As you wish then I'll come back and get it soon.
That's okay, it's pretty heavy.

　Roen interrupts the exchange between the two men. In the meantime, as his deputy, he has to confirm his future plans. Or rather, they all want to hear it.

"Fanon-sama, does this mean that we are going to retreat to the relay station once?
That's true.
Noted. Cows, let's take the fastest route back then.
Okay, let's go. Just the ladies follow me.
Yes, sir.

　It was Exeles and another healing mage who spoke up. The other female members of the team showed their understanding at the word "female". And with an ominous feeling, Roen opened her mouth fearfully.

'Master Fanon?　Only women, right?
Yeah, good luck with the decoys. We'll meet you at the relay station.
".........................

　I'm in a state of raptures, exactly as you read it.

　There was no room for them to even hope that it was a lie. In their minds, nine-tenths of their expectations were no longer predictable.

''Especially Roen, even though you're in the air, do you think you can do that to me and get away with it for free?
'Oh, that had to be done...'

　Guillory and the troopers' eager gazes focused on him. It was an act of unanimity in the lowly idea of pushing someone else to get out of this place - and a few of them later seemed to have a little bit of envy mixed in.

"You're as guilty as we are!　He clung to my legs and even pushed his beard against my legs and did something sickening.

　Deliberately, Exeles takes out a sanitizing sheet and begins to wipe Fanon's legs.

'So good luck with that. So let's let this case go. That's right, Exceles.
Yes, they seem to be motivated by your warmth.

　After agreeing with him, Fanon waved his hands from side to side, "Good luck~" and right after he uttered the words, they all broke out in a cold sweat at the floating sensation. They had lost their foothold.

　However, they were also fierce people who had crossed the Shura scene many times. Their instantaneous decision making is nothing short of brilliant.

　Roen, who had guessed anecdotally from Fanon's expression, had flown just before the foothold disappeared.
　And Exeles manages to hook his fingertips on Fanon's foothold as he moves. But the load on Roen's legs is getting heavier.

　If you look at it, the strongest of them all cling to Roen's legs as some of them fall down and grab the legs of the man who clung to them. And so the ten or so people connected like a ladder.

　Roen's face turns red as he looks at it under too much strain.

''Hurry up and fall!　You're going to end up in Alpha territory.
Mmmmmm....

　Fanon crouches down to Roen's fingertips, who clings desperately to him with his muscular arms, and peels them off one by one.

'Fanon, sire........'

　Roen's grief-stricken cry told him that he had reached his limit. Unable to defy gravity, the ten people who were linked together fell to the top of the demon.

''Alright, shall we go too then?
It's this high. Is it safe?

　Exeles is right, we are still at a high altitude. An altitude at which even the unlikely event of a human fall would be impossible.
　However, Fanon laughs off such concerns with his nose.

"Do you think I'm bringing in someone who's going to die from this much?
'That was a silly question. I beg your pardon.
But....

　With that, the barrier that was their foothold stretched far away from them. With Fanon in the lead, they ran across the floor of the sky.

　Immediately after, a loud explosion sound came from behind them.

''We can't even land somehow, so they'll notice us.

　Yes, the only way for them to land is to release their magic directly downward. In doing so, they can take the recoil by not anchoring themselves to the coordinates and not incorporating themselves into the composition process.
　This is the dumbest and simplest way to do it.

　If you release such sound and magic power, there's no way you won't be noticed by 【Sandria Death Worm】.