An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

Guanghui couldn't help but look back, only to see another group of monsters attacking their companions. There were five pseudo-brutals and chimeras, a new black four-eyed wolf, and a black cat about 60 centimeters long with four tentacles on its back. While trying to protect Tsuji, Nomura was pierced through the abdomen by the black cat's tentacles.

"Kentaro! Damn it, stop being so arrogant!"

"Ayako, cheer up! You have to get treatment!"

Seeing Nomura's miserable condition, Endo cut off the black cat's tentacles with a dagger and launched a counterattack in anger.

Nomura collapsed with a cry of pain, leaving Tsuji momentarily bewildered. Yoshino shouted, urging her to cast a healing spell. Tsuji snapped back to her senses at Yoshino's roar. She had already chanted a healing spell to heal Endo's flank wound, and it activated just then.

"What! There are still so many monsters!"

Guanghui turned around and saw a large number of enemies appearing out of nowhere, and he couldn't help but scream in surprise.

"Chimera's unique magic, 'Camouflage,' also works on those it touches. Didn't that brat warn you earlier? But even with that warning, you wouldn't have been able to estimate their true combat power. Okay, it's almost time to wrap things up!"

「!?」

Seeing the sudden influx of monsters and their allies forced into a disadvantaged position, Kouki rushed to defend. The demon woman revealed the truth—the monsters were merely hiding behind the Chimera's camouflage—and instructed more monsters to attack. Ten four-eyed wolves and ten black cats appeared from behind her and charged towards Kouki.

“Uoooohhhhhhhhh!”

The black cat's tentacles extended at an extremely fast speed, attacking Guanghui from all directions.

Guanghui spun the holy sword like a windmill, cutting off all the attacking tentacles and slashing at an approaching black cat horizontally.

The black cat leaped into the air, perhaps intending to strike Kouki's face. Logically, it wouldn't be able to dodge mid-air—Kouki also thought, "Let's take care of one first!", convinced that the monster would surely die if it took this move.

But the next moment, his confidence was easily overturned. The black cat unexpectedly kicked in the air, did a somersault, dodged Guanghui's attack, and swung its claws, which were not commensurate with its physique, at Guanghui's neck.

Kouki managed to turn his head, narrowly avoiding the attack, but his balance was off, and he was unable to withstand the attack from the four-eyed wolf from behind. Although the armor's defensive power and the effects of "Limit Break" prevented him from being seriously injured, he was violently thrown back and sent back to where he had been.

Seizing this opportunity, the monsters, whose strength was obviously beyond imagination, gradually surrounded Guanghui and others, trying to force them into a desperate situation.

The students were relying on the constant treatment of the two "healers" Kaori and Tsuji to avoid a fatal collapse of the battle line, but they lacked the decisive attack to break through this situation.

Although Guanghui wanted to use "Limit Break" to eliminate the enemy, the monsters always fought together with five or more monsters.

They constantly repeat hit-and-run tactics, never resorting to forceful attacks, so even Glory cannot defeat them.

The superior speed of the black cat and the four-eyed wolf, who possessed the unique ability of "prediction", worked together to counter Shizuku's "unpaced" high-speed movement. Even if they could injure the monsters, they could not inflict fatal damage.

"Not good... This situation is really bad!"

“Damn it, what should I do!”

Although his companions fought desperately, a shadow of despair appeared on their faces, and the participation of the female demon in the battle deepened their despair.

"Golden-eyed lizard sleeping beneath the earth, master of the demonic eyes beneath the earth. Within these eyes lies a curse that sees through darkness, bringing an eternal prison of darkness. With your eyes, imprison all your enemies. What remains is the end, a cold, speechless statue. Shatter everything, and return all to the earth! — 'Prison'!"

After the chant ended, a gray vortex sphere appeared in the demon woman's raised hand, and the sphere drew a parabola and flew towards Guanghui and the others.

The sphere's speed was definitely not fast, and no one in Guanghui's group could avoid it. At first glance, it looked like a harmless attack spell, but upon seeing the sphere, Nomura, whose abdomen had just been pierced by a tentacle, spat out blood and screamed anxiously with a terrified expression.

"!? Damn it! Taniguchi!! Stop that sphere! Use shield magic!"

“Eh!? Got it! This is a holy place, no divine enemies are allowed to pass through! —『Holy Suppression』!!”

Hearing Nomura's urgent instructions, Ling activated a light-attribute advanced defensive magic, abbreviating the incantation. A shimmering barrier expanded into a hemispherical shape, enveloping everyone. However, "Holy Spell" didn't distinguish between friend and foe, and the hemispherical barrier also contained many monsters. "Holy Spell" was a powerful spell, requiring a relatively high consumption of mana, so such a pointless use would not normally be employed. However, from Nomura's cry, Ling sensed the demon's spell was extremely dangerous, and she instantly chose "Holy Spell."

As soon as "Holy Spell" was unleashed, the gray vortex sphere immediately crashed into the barrier. Unleashing unexpectedly powerful force, the gray sphere exerted pressure on the barrier, seemingly on the verge of breaking through. To prevent the sphere from breaking through, Ling gritted her teeth, desperately enduring the gradual depletion of her magic power.

At this time, probably receiving orders from the female demon, the demons' actions also changed, and many demons concentrated on attacking Ling.

"bell!"

"Protect the valley entrance!"

Eri calls out Suzu's name and casts a spell to stop the false Brutal from approaching. Meanwhile, Saito Yoshiki and Kondo Reiichi, on the opposite side of Eri, were fighting the Chimera and the Four-Eyed Wolf. Upon hearing Nomura's call, they rush to Suzu's side.

However, while Qian was unable to move in order to maintain his "Holy Spell", a black cat passed through the gap and approached Qian in one breath. Although Nomura immediately shot a stone spear from the ground, trying to pierce the black cat, it dodged left and right in the air, twisting its body to avoid the stone spear and shooting out all its tentacles.

"Taniguchi!"

"ah!?"

Nomura calls out Suzu's name to warn her, but it's too late.

Qian twisted his body urgently, and his tentacles penetrated her abdomen, thighs and right arm. After penetrating, he swung his tentacles horizontally, throwing Ling's petite body violently out.

Ling spurted blood, her back slamming against the ground, and she was momentarily unable to breathe. As she regained her breath, she couldn't bear the burning pain and screamed:

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

"Rin-chan!"

"bell!"

Hearing Qian's scream, Kaori and Huili screamed in shock. Kaori immediately focused her attention and prepared to cast a recovery spell, but the shining barrier cast by Ling was destroyed in advance.

"Everyone, get away from that sphere immediately!"

Nomura warned, his tone filled with anxiety, but the sphere had been struggling against the iron wall of "Holy Destruction" until just now, and his warning came too late.

After the barrier was destroyed, a gray vortex sphere quickly flew in and hit the ground. The sphere shattered silently and violently, spreading gray smoke around it.

Next to the smoke was Suzu, lying on the ground, struggling in agony. Saito, Kondo, and Nomura were about to rush over. The gray smoke instantly enveloped them, but they saw no sign of the monster. As the sphere landed, they all distanced themselves.

The gray smoke continued to spread and was about to cover Guanghui and others.

"The wind is coming! — 'Wind Blast'!"

Guanghui immediately used wind magic that could produce strong winds, trying to blow the gray smoke out of the room.

That smoke was magical, unlike ordinary smoke, and it wasn't so easy to dispel. However, Guanghui was in a state of "Limit Breakthrough," and the power of her magic had increased. After a brief struggle, Guanghui successfully expelled the smoke into the maze's passage. However, when the gray smoke dissipated...

"How could this happen! Ling!"

"Nomura-kun!"

"Saito! Kondo!"

Saito and Kondo turned into silent stone statues, Ling's lower body was petrified, and Nomura covered Ling with his left half also petrified.

Saito and Kondo seemed unaware of what was happening, turning to stone with stunned expressions. Suzu, feeling even more intense pain from the petrification of her lower body, fainted with a pained expression.

Meanwhile, Nomura, who had stepped forward to shield Ling, suffered the least damage, though the pain still seemed intense. He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain and groaning.

Nomura suffered the least damage because he possessed the vocation of Earth Mage, which gave him a high resistance to earth-attribute magic. He was able to instantly see through the witch's magic because he had also learned that same earth-attribute magic.

The advanced earth-attribute attack spell "Prison" spreads petrifying gray smoke, making it a particularly formidable target. Even the slightest contact with the body is slowly corroded from the affected area, ultimately transforming it into stone. The only countermeasures are to cast a protective barrier to hold out until the spell's effects expire, or to use powerful magic to dispel the smoke. Furthermore, without a high-level barrier, the barrier itself will be petrified, and dispersing the smoke requires magic of a high degree of power, making it a very powerful spell.

"You bastard! How dare you hurt my companions!"

Seeing his companion's plight, Guanghui's expression was filled with anger. The light of "Limit Breakthrough" enveloped Guanghui, emitting an even brighter light, and he immediately rushed towards the female demon.

However, Shizuku, who was trying to stop her, immediately spoke out to dissuade her:

"Wait a minute, Kouki! We're retreating! Find a way out!"

"What!? My comrades are hurt, and you're telling me to run away!?"

Guanghui was furious that his friend had been hurt, and he glared at Shizuku, opposing her proposal.

Although the pressure released by Kouki also affected Shizuku, she did not take it seriously and persuaded Kouki with a serious expression on her face:

"Listen to me! Kaori can definitely heal them, but treatment will take time. If we delay too long, they might not be able to be saved. We have to retreat and regroup! Besides, if you rush out again without three of us, we won't be able to withstand the next wave of attacks! Then we'll be completely wiped out!"

“Um, but…”

"Besides, the time for Limit Break is almost here, right? If you become weakened in this state, we're truly finished! Calm down! Do you think you're the only one who's unwilling to accept this?!"

Hearing his childhood friend's logical analysis, Guanghui bit his lip, hesitant. When he noticed that the corner of Shizuku's mouth was bleeding, his fiery mind instantly cooled down.

Shizuku refused to retreat, struggling to the point of biting her lip. A precious comrade was in harm's way, and if she could, she'd have wanted to tear the enemy into pieces.

"I understand! Everyone, we're going to retreat! Shizuku, Ryuutarou! Hold on for me!"

"Leave it to me!"

"good!"

Guanghui raised the holy sword to the sky and began a lengthy chant. This spell took too long to chant and wouldn't break the situation, so Guanghui hadn't used it before. However, if he was going to clear a path for retreat, there was no spell more suitable than this one.

However, he was completely defenseless during the chant and had to be protected by Shizuku and Ryuutarou, who had to take over the fight against the monsters that Kouki had previously dealt with. Of course, Shizuku and Ryuutarou alone couldn't handle so many monsters, and even if they fought desperately, their wounds would still increase rapidly.

"Do you think I'll let you retreat?"

As the demon woman spoke, she directed the demons to circle around to the passage behind Guanghui and the others, blocking their escape route. Seeing Guanghui begin to chant something, she also began to chant magic, targeting Guanghui.

However, at this moment, the female demon encountered an unexpected situation for the first time.

“““““Roar!!””””””

"?Why!"

The five Chimeras, supposedly their own force, unexpectedly attacked the Demoness. The Demoness' eyes widened in shock, and she instantly abandoned her chant, unleashing the magic she was about to unleash. A dense, blade-like sandstorm, centered around the Demoness, slashed the two Chimeras in half. As for the remaining Chimera, she used the sand to blow herself away, barely avoiding the attack.

The demon woman wondered, "Why are you attacking me?" and began to waver. She gazed at the Chimeras that attacked her and saw that each one was severely damaged.

“These guys…”

Indeed, as the witch discovered, the ones attacking her were the five chimeras slain by the Radiance. The chimeras, clearly already dead, stood up, their lifeless presence vanishing, and turned to attack her. Witnessing this, the witch muttered to herself, thinking of some magic trick, "Could this be..."

"I won't let you get in the way of Kouki-san!"

Huili shouted, waving her hand like a baton, controlling the Chimera corpses to surround the female demon.

"Huh! A necromancer? The intelligence didn't mention that!"

In addition to ambushing them, the female demon had also conducted preliminary investigations. The intelligence hadn't mentioned that any of them could use such a difficult magic as necromancy, which was completely unexpected.

Although Eri possesses the vocation of a necromancer, she is mentally afraid of necromancy and has never used it in actual combat, which actually becomes an advantage.

Eri stared at the demon with a determined look, as if to say, "I will conquer my fear now!" Her manipulation of the Chimera was exquisite, and it didn't look like she was using it in combat for the first time. The Chimera's movements were more about buying time than defeating the demon.

"Xiao Ling, you have to keep going! I will definitely heal you!"

Kaori uses "Jiaotian" and "Manten" on Ling at the same time.

Since Suzu was the most vulnerable of her companions, Kaori decided to focus on healing her first. Among the intermediate light-attribute healing spells, "Manten" was used to remove abnormal states.

However, the petrification magic seemed quite powerful, and its removal was slow. Although the holes in her abdomen and arms healed quickly, Ling had lost considerable blood, a serious injury that required immediate rest. Furthermore, the wound on her foot also needed to heal immediately after the petrification was removed.

Tsuji diligently worked to free Nomura, whose left side was petrified. Nomura's petrification progressed quickly, and his foot had already returned to normal. This was undoubtedly due to Tsuji's high recovery magic aptitude and Nomura's high resistance to earth magic.

Even so, Tsuji glanced at Kaori, who was brandishing a white staff, and bit his lip in regret. They were both "healers," but Kaori's skill as a practitioner was clearly superior.

Kaori relied on the simultaneous use of magic to heal Kan, whose injuries were more serious than Nomura's, while casting recovery magic on Shizuku and Ryuutarou, who were guarding the light, and even manipulated the "Light Binding Blade" and "Glory Binding Chain" to provide assistance. Such skills were truly beyond Tsuji's ability.

(Shirasaki-san is amazing... Compared to her, I... well, now's not the time to be thinking about that!)

Tsuji felt regretful and ashamed that he was unable to completely heal his companions in this situation.

Seeing Tsuji biting his lip and trying hard to heal himself, Nomura looked like he wanted to say something but then he thought, now is not the time to say that. He endured the pain and began to chant.

With their own forces dwindling and Kouki ceasing combat, Hiyama and Nakano were overwhelmed by the monsters they faced, their wounds steadily mounting. Nagayama, Endo, and Eri also had to protect the two healers, each aware that they were reaching their limit and would collapse in a matter of minutes.

If it weren't for the shining holy sword gathering light, Nakano, who was about to cry, might have panicked and attempted suicide.

Then, the moment everyone had been waiting for...finally arrived.

"Look at me! — 'Rainfall'!"

Kouki raised the holy sword high, and a flash of light shot upwards, shattering near the ceiling and falling on the surrounding monsters like a meteor.

"Heavenly Rain" is a light-attribute attack spell that strikes multiple targets precisely from directly above them, resembling a bombardment. Because its power is dispersed, it lacks significant impact, primarily intended for mobbing numerous minor enemies. However, if used during "Limit Break," it can be fully effective against monsters on the 50th floor or so.

However, the demon girl's monsters were indeed unusually strong, and this attack didn't cause much damage to them. At most, it could only blow them away and away from the classmates.

However, for Guanghui, that effect was enough. All he had to do was create a gap, a situation that allowed his companions to retreat.

The female demon was busy dealing with the Chimera controlled by Huili.

After confirming that the witch was unable to interfere, Guanghui allowed this spell, which required a long chant, to unleash its true power.

“—‘Gather’!”

The rain of light that had just fallen from the sky and temporarily forced the monsters to retreat was now gathering back onto the holy sword under the chant of light; meteors were gathering at a single point, trailing their tails. The scene was quite dreamy.

After the holy sword gathered light, it emitted a dazzling light. Guanghui aimed the holy sword at the monster blocking their retreat path and shouted the final spell with great momentum, triggering a series of magic.

“—[Sky Claw Rain]!”

Then, the holy sword launched a barrage of meteors, unleashing a shower of meteors. Though also a barrage, the power of "Sky Claw Flowing Rain" was far inferior to Kouki's ultimate weapon, "Divine Power," and naturally, it couldn't completely wipe out the monsters blocking their retreat.

Originally, Kouki also wanted to use "Kamiu", but the chant of "Kamiu" was too long, and there was no way around it. Shizuku and Ryuutarou, who were protecting him, might not be able to hold on.

Even so, "Sky Claw Rain" is still the most suitable move for the current situation.