The Fukaros Familia, starting from DanMachi.

Chapter 173 Ais and Burning Feather's Combination Technique

The "Fire Spirit Sword II" in Fen Yu's hand emitted a humming sound, a sign that the weapon's endurance had reached its limit.

Originally, this fire-resistant level 3 weapon could have lasted a long time, but this battle was too intense. Yu Jiang's [Eternal Flame] magic was pushed to its absolute limit, causing the weapon's durability to drop drastically.

He even had a premonition that after this battle, this newly acquired level-three weapon, which he hadn't even had a chance to warm up, would be gloriously scrapped again.

Thinking of this, Fen Yu couldn't help but show a pained expression on his face.

"My Fali—my heart aches so much—"

Ais noticed his expression, which was even more painful than when he was injured. Although she didn't understand why, she simply raised the "Sword of Despair" again.

The wind picked up again.

This time, the wind was even more violent than before.

Emerald-colored magic clung to the sword as if it were a tangible substance, emitting a sharp, explosive sound.

Her long golden hair danced in the wind, and her golden eyes burned with fierce fighting spirit.

She took a step forward.

The ground exploded instantly.

The Butcher of the Dead End raised his giant soldiers.

It no longer waits, no longer tests.

It roared, its massive body charging at top speed, its giant weapon crashing down with enough force to destroy everything.

Ais greeted her.

Fen Yu gritted his teeth and met the challenge.

Wind and fire erupted simultaneously at that moment.

Ais arrived first.

The "Sword of Despair" clashed violently with the giant road sign soldier—BOOM! ! !

The deafening roar of clashing metal shook the entire building violently, and a fierce gust of wind exploded wildly at the point of impact, sending terrifying shockwaves hurling debris and rubble flying everywhere.

Ais was thrown back three steps by the force, each step leaving deep cracks in the hard ground.

But the Dead End Butcher was also thrown high into the air by this force, revealing a huge opening.

Burn Feather Cut In.

The flaming sword, burning with golden flames, slashed down fiercely.

The Dead End Butcher reached out to grab it—the Flame Sword struck its left arm with pinpoint accuracy.

puff!

The flames charred the hard carapace black, and the flesh melted rapidly under the high temperature, causing the Dead End Butcher to let out a deafening scream.

Having landed a successful blow, Fen Yu did not linger and retreated swiftly.

But the Butcher of the Dead End swung his weapon in his other hand, grazing his chest—though he avoided a fatal blow, the force of the giant weapon still sent him flying like a battering ram.

He tumbled through the air, staggered back several steps upon landing, knelt on one knee again, and spat out another mouthful of blood.

Compared to Ais, who was able to withstand the attack head-on, Fenyu was in a much worse state.

This is the price of participating in a battlefield far beyond one's own level. He cannot withstand any attack from the Dead Road Butcher; even the aftershocks are enough to injure him.

But he stood up again.

Ais cut in again.

Wind and fire began their final, frenzied dance.

The Butcher of the Dead End roared throughout the entire floor.

It swung its weapons and claws wildly.

Ais weaved through the gale, while Fenyu flickered in the flames. The two took turns attacking, dodging, being knocked away, and getting back up.

The ground was covered with crisscrossing cracks and deep pits.

The rock face was covered with sword marks and burn marks.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of burning and blood.

boom!

Burning Feather was once again blasted away.

This time, the flaming sword in his hand dimmed and almost dissipated.

His magic was almost depleted, his mental strength was nearing its limit, and every bone in his body was groaning in pain.

But he did not fall.

He used the nearly broken sword to support himself on the ground and slowly, with great effort, stood up.

His blue eyes, bloodshot and filled with dark veins, gazed at Ais, who was not far away.

Ais was looking at him too.

Something seemed to be shimmering in her pure golden eyes.

She got it.

Without needing any words, Ais understood everything in those clear blue eyes, bloodshot yet still bright.

It's a kind of trust that completely entrusts your back to the other person, a determination to gamble all possibilities on this one moment.

"Then—let's go!"

With his last ounce of strength, Fen Yu lifted the shattering Flame Sword.

At the same time, Ais also raised her "Sword of Despair".

The wind rises again!

Fire, light again!

"roar----?"

For the first time, the Butcher of the Dead End, with his chaotic instincts, felt the threat of "death".

It roared, and then, as if to crush the unease completely, launched its final, most ferocious charge at the two of them.

Burning Feather took a step forward.

Ais also took a step forward.

But their target wasn't the charging monster.

The two swung their swords at the same time—

The directions they're heading are actually towards each other?!

"What are they doing?!" Bert exclaimed in disbelief from afar.

"Internal strife? No, that's not right!" Finn's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints.

The two swords clashed in mid-air.

The burning sword and the "Sword of Despair" wreathed in a raging wind collided at a perfect cross angle.

In that instant, wind and fire merged in an unprecedented way.

Their powers did not repel each other, but rather, under the master's will, they completely and unreservedly accepted each other.

The fire fueled the wind, and the blazing flames made the emerald green gale even more violent and intense, transforming it into a burning hurricane that consumed everything in its path.

The wind fanned the flames, and the howling wind made the golden flames even more unstoppable, transforming them into a destructive wave of fire that swept everything away.

"My God—is this some kind of two-person limited combination technique?!" An adventurer in the distance was already speechless.

That wasn't an attack by two people.

It was a unique combined attack, a fusion of the will, magic, skill, and belief of two people.

The burning hurricane and the raging flames converged at the point where the sword tips intersected, forming a massive, indescribably beautiful and terrifying cross-shaped slash that fiercely struck down at the oncoming butcher.

The butcher on the dead end met the radiant cross.

boom!!!!

This time, there was no deafening clanging of metal.

The moment it touched the cross-shaped slash, the claws, sharp enough to tear through steel, broke, melted, shattered, and evaporated silently, like butter meeting a hot iron.

The cross slash pierced the Dead Road Butcher's massive body without any resistance—from his right shoulder to his left waist, and then from his left shoulder to his right waist.

A perfect cross.

Penetrate.

The Butcher's roar abruptly ceased.

It stopped there, its massive, five-meter-tall body frozen in place.

It looked down at the cross-shaped mark of light on its chest that was no longer a wound, but rather a mark that ran through its entire body.

Then, it cracked.

Like the most precise cut, its body silently slid down along those two fatal tracks.

Four pieces.

boom!!!

The shattered body crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

Black blood gushed out like a burst dam, instantly staining the entire ground black.

The entire seventeenth floor fell into a deathly silence.

"Hey, hey, what the hell is that?! When did they secretly practice combination techniques? You magic idiots, do you even know that?!"

Bert stared wide-eyed, looking as if he'd seen a ghost, and asked Rafia beside him incredulously.

"I...I don't know, and I'm not a magic idiot, Mr. Bert."

Lefia was equally astonished, but then she realized what was happening, blushed, pouted, and retorted.

"Wow, so cool! Brother Fenyu and Ais are both so cool! That attack was so cool! I want it too! Hey, Dione, let's practice a combo attack together!"

Tiona was so excited that she shouted and grabbed her sister's arm and shook it violently.

"Idiot, who wants to train with you!"

Tiony rejected her silly sister without hesitation, then immediately put on a tender expression and looked at Finn, "If anyone's going to practice, it'll be with the captain, right, captain?"

Finn, feeling awkward under Tione's gaze, chuckled awkwardly before regaining his composure and analyzing, "It probably wasn't practiced beforehand, considering their initial coordination seemed quite clumsy."