The swarm felt endless.

Each was the size of a child's fist, and they numbered well in the thousand. Their insectoid wings and exoskeleton were apparently diamond-hardened by a magic formula, with mana supplied from nowhere and a lifeless gleam in their tiny eyes.

“Clarent Style: Eye of the Storm.”

Silvia donned a technique with Origin Return. The air swirled and lightning sparked around her; green energy radiated like a regal cape with its platinum gleam.

“Void Art: Shockwave Domain.”

Ark unfolded his spirit, letting its force flow and explode all around. With his Phantom heavily infused, nothing could remain within the technique's range.

The swarm of robotic insects relentlessly pressured them to stagger back. Even as the two maintained techniques to push them away, the endless number that hazed the path forward indicated they would be unable to outlast them.

Despite the bleak situation, Ark kept his composure.

He calmly turned to Silvia, who was increasing her output. “Suck the air. They use wings, so we need to create a vacuum.”

With a nod, she started reaching out to the air and gathering it from the area. It was the gift of the Wind Avatar to control pure air like that.

The metalic insects crashed down in a wave; their wings flapped in vain.

Hardness, dexterity, and sharp wings. These little creatures acting together were terrifying inside the dungeon, where infinite magic power was supplied to keep them activated. Dexterity modeled after creatures with reaction time and mobility superior to normal humans, and the toughness made them formidable.

Even the size was so small, making them a difficult target. More than just strength, it would require the necessary skillset to handle.

Silvia breathed in relief. She looked at Ark, and her lavender eyes shone with curiosity. “Void Art?”

“I was thinking of a few names for my personal style, but I like this the most. I am the only one without an elemental attribute, so this name feels... mine.”

“It's good. The technique is also interesting.”

Ark let it run one last time before deactivating it.

He observed his own technique with pride.

(No difficulty breathing, no useless resistance against the floor. It works perfectly.) He nodded to himself in satisfaction.

It was the culmination of various inspirations. Darius's domain that slowed movements, the Void Spirit's inherent properties, as well as some adjustments with intent.

Phantom played the biggest role, as it made the spirit much more tame. Ark theorized he would be able to tinker and adjust the techniques to have only the desired effect without affecting anything else, effectively conserving power, solely with intent.

“I think you can stop controlling the air.” Ark noticed the signal the insects received has been cut off.

The moment he said it, a metalic human-sized ant rushed at the two. Its pressure was enough for Silvia to turn serious, Primodial Wind glowing in her veins.

Taking out her sword, she prepared to unleash Sky Roar.

Ark used Shockwave Domain again, this time in a short burst concentrated on the ant. With its mass and power, the ant managed to maintain its posture and not fall back, but Ark pushed yet again with another burst.

Like the other insects, the ant was covered in magic to increase its durability and power. The sheer force of magic power that flowed inside it was enormous.

With a swing of its arm, Ark was pushed by the mana alone.

However, he bought enough time.

The second he was blown backwards, Silvia stepped forward.

“Sky Roar!”

The blue energy coating the sword was pale, incomparably weaker than Ark remembered, and the wind only whistled weakly.

Such was the result of using the technique to harness the sky deep underground.

However, the blue energy of the sky was soon overtaken by the clear silver of the Primordial Wind, causing the wind to roar and the glow to illuminate the tunnel.

The ant was cut in half, with the silver-haired girl standing behind its severed corpse, smiling refreshingly.

(Did she just... casually replace sky energy with Primordial Wind? Without any training or experience?)

Ark remembered his own experience struggling to manipulate even normal elemental energies.

“Do you want to take a look?”

“Let's just push forward.”

There was no time to waste.

As the two advanced, several types of insectoid golems attacked them. Each was as strong as S-class, and the difficulty slowly increased.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Even a genius like Silvia would get tired if they had to unleash their strongest technique consecutively. Ark noted how the silver glow dimmed, ever so slightly.

The tunnel showed no sign of ending. It stretched endlessly, twisting in many directions, all surely pointing downward.

After a while, waves of fire energy started to hit them, forcing them to halt.

As a countermeasure, Ark encased them in Shockwave Domain, and Silvia provided Primordial Wind to alleviate the burden.

“I think the ventilation stopped working,” saying so casually, Silvia cast auxiliary wind magic to breathe.

“I knew we would need this. Why bother with creating strong guards if the enemies need to breathe?”

“But shouldn't the dungeon master be aware of my abilities by now?” she asked. “This is hardly a challenge.”

“Don't you see how much darker it is here?”

“What about it?”

“Maybe by doing it gradually, the guy thinks I won't notice. He is redirecting all the power into something big. This entire dungeon is a huge facility that runs using a stupid amount of magic power. Not even ten Elizabeths could keep this place up for so long.”

Whatever was being prepared would definitely be dangerous. That's why Ark didn't touch the mana he saved at all.

(Some fucked-up shit is going to come.)

The thought dreaded him but also made his heart beat wildly. It's going to be painful, and he's going to need healing and a few days to recover.

Fun was the only word that came to mind.

It was weird. Ark observed that his emotional state changed drastically in a short time.

Whereas he was unstable and prone to get happy or angry at the smallest thing, now he was overtaken by this whirlpool of new emotions that he never felt before.

New happiness, new anger, sadness, joy, and especially this serenity.

He was still himself, but the constant unpleasant feelings didn't plague him anymore—those that made him miserable every second of the day.

And at its center was Silvia.

Of course, it was the Primordial Wind that brought these new feelings, but that's something inseparable from Silvia herself.

The effects the Primordial Wind had on him were somewhat scary but even more fascinating.

Rather than avoiding her, Ark now wanted to spend more time with Silvia.

(If only she wasn't so bothersome.)

Obviously, new feelings or not, trash's always trash.

It'd probably do good to remind him the only reason he could breathe normally right now was Silvia.

A minute or two without oxygen wouldn't kill him.

Maybe.

◇◇◇

Elizabeth's Perspective

I teleport to Maim with little Jeff on my shoulder.

The cute chick is already reacting better than Liliana and Ark. I will be sure to mention it. Those two have such disgraceful mana control.

Well, Ark is an odd case. With how he uses techniques like Mana Drain and Synchronization, he should have better control, especially with how little his actual pool is.

He promised me to be a lab rat... I mean, help me in my research. His abilities are all profound and fascinating, showing a world we never bothered to explore.

A chirp in my ear brings me back from my thoughts. Jeff urges me to get the task at hand.

Cute little thing. He is now producing small amounts of Primordial Wind, and his feathers glow like little Silvia's hair.

This child is also interesting...

“I know, I know,” I say as Jeff pushes his mana at me.

He came to me bringing letters from Ark, containing various scenarios that could play. I thought he was overreacting, but the boy hit the mark.

Out of all scenarios, it just had to be the worst one.

I sigh, pushing my magic power towards all the invisible formations Ark left to protect the city.

Crazy boy, they are numbered in the thousands.

It's so easy. My mana dyes his in my colors, using the backdoor he made just for me.

Every spell is the kind to work better with different attributes, not to mention each being an advanced magic extremely complex, which is perfect for me, and it makes me wonder how much of my abilities he managed to assess through his casual observations.

As I let mana flow into the formations, I stopped using my flight spell that I got so used to keeping constantly. The reason, which didn't occur in years, is making me laugh: I need to conserve as much mana as possible.

The oncoming battle won't be easy.

◇◇◇

The floors they pass were optimized to put the ones passing in a trance, making them more susceptible to falling into the illusions engraved on the walls.

Actually, illusion was putting it mildly.

It was no short of brainwashing.

“Sick bastard, he was trying to overwrite our brains!” Ark yelled in disgust.

Shockwave Domain and Primordial Wind working together guaranteed their safety, but the invisible danger played on Ark's mind. He shortened the reach of the domain and repelled mana and suspicious particles. Silvia purified everything that passed his grasp.

“We will stop him,” she reassured.

“On the bright side, he can't do shit against us. I will definitely feel it, and you are practically impossible to manipulate.”

Ark smirked deviously, finally enjoying this troublesome trait of hers. His mental manipulations were summed up as directing or diverting focus. Stronger spirits and magic power could resist, so it would be difficult to execute in a heated battle, but it could partially affect S-class individuals. On the other hand, whether it was while fighting or sleeping, Silvia simply wasn't affected. Another courtesy of the Primordial Wind, he presumed.

“And that's why you didn't let anyone else come.” Silvia pointed out.

Indeed, Ark didn't want anyone else because he was sure only Silvia and himself would be safe. Of course, it was because he didn't want to shoot himself in the leg rather than concern.

A drop of humility was enough to correct the misunderstanding, but that wouldn't be Ark. He kept quiet and let his reputation increase.

Reaching the bottom, there was once again a giant door with an ominous sensation welcoming them. The two sat down and saved their strength for the final confrontation.

For Ark, there was hardly any tension. He became accustomed to such battles where the odds were against him. Having this sensation looming over him again was indeed annoying, but it felt natural.

However, it was different for Silvia. She had been protected as a noble from a young age and lived in a controllable environment that allowed one to grow safely. Her training in the academy and monster hunting in the forest were hardly ever dangerous at all. And yet she sat calm, dignified, and natural.

Comparing the two different calmness they had irked Ark, but he pushed the annoyance to the back of his mind.

“Let's go.”

The door opened without resistance, revealing a vast room. The only lighting was the shimmering iridiscent barriers and formations, ready to rain devastation on any intruder. A massive amount of mana was used, so much that it was impossible for any mortal to produce.

In that darkness lit with mana, the dungeon master stood.

His long hair did not sway and his face did not contort as he controlled an impossible amount of mana all on his own.

“Wanna give an explanation before I kill?” Ark asked, his mind sharpening. Even as he asked, he knew a battle was inevitable.

“I wanted to brainwash you, who is a suitable host for me to take over the body. Your body is a perfect vessel, an untainted canvas for me to paint.” His voice calmly echoes in the room, carrying no falsehood. “The girl next to you is also suitable, for different reasons, but I can't have her because of that weird power of hers.”

“And me? Are you really confident?”

“No, you are a freak. Your brain is messed up, and if I were to possess you, I would meet the terrible end you are surely destined to meet.”

“As if,” Silvia said. “If you die in Ark's body, that means you are incompetent.”

“That, or I am just overly competent,” Ark added with a smirk. “Also fuck you. You try to mix your bullshit. I know you still want my body.”

“...Freak.” He eventually said it through gritted teeth and clenched fists.

Without saying a word, Ark smoothly sheathed his sword and manifested his spirit. Silverstar pointed at the man shielded by dozens of barriers, Void Spirit concentrating on the tip, Phantom heavily infused.

“Void Art: Destruction Cannon.”

Muttering quietly, a burst of transparent energy with wisps of black obliterated everything in its path.