In the direction of Rei's gaze lay the figure of the seven-colored scaled Dragonias—or more accurately, the charred remains of one.
Until about thirty seconds ago, the seven-colored scaled Dragonias had been rolling on the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the flames engulfing its body. In the end, it had been unable to do anything about them and breathed its last.
What was surprising was that the moment it died, the flames burning its body intensified, reducing it to charcoal in about thirty seconds.
(Did that happen because the seven-colored scaled Dragonias died... because it lost the power to resist the flames? Should I think of it that way? Well, looking at it objectively, that's the only conclusion I can draw.)
Should he marvel at the fact that the seven-colored scaled Dragonias had resisted the flames for several minutes, or should he be astonished by the sheer power of Deep Flame?
"I'd honestly prefer to just be amazed by Deep Flame's ability here. That said, the fact that it turned to charcoal... yeah. That's a bit of a problem."
From what Rei could tell, the seven-colored scaled Dragonias stood at the apex of the Dragonias species, second only to the Queen.
If that was the case, just what kind of Magic Item could be crafted from its corpse?
However, Dragonias corpses had the troublesome property of becoming useless after a single night once removed from the Misty Ring and brought to Elgin.
Because of that, he needed to proceed carefully. First, he had to find a method to ensure the corpse would remain viable even after a night had passed.
Once such a method was established, though, the seven-colored scaled Dragonias was an extremely rare creature. There was a possibility of creating a Teleportation Magic Item entirely different from the one developed by the Bestia Empire.
The Teleportation Magic Item developed in the Bestia Empire required a Magic Circle to be prepared in advance, and the locations it could teleport to were fixed.
But considering the Teleportation ability possessed by the seven-colored scaled Dragonias, such cumbersome steps would be unnecessary. There was a possibility of completing a Teleportation Magic Item that could be used freely at any time.
...However, considering the characteristic that it could only teleport to locations near other seven-colored scaled Dragonias, long-distance Teleportation would likely prove extremely difficult.
"Anyway, things on my end have settled down for now. The rest is up to Set and Vihera."
To avoid interfering with each other's battles, Rei, Vihera, and Set had each been fighting at a considerable distance from one another.
This was only possible because the Underground Space was so vast, and it was precisely for that reason Rei could deploy Deep Flame as a net-like spray of fire.
Which also meant that a fair number of Dragonias had survived outside the reach of his Deep Flame.
In that area, Vihera and Set were fighting the Dragonias.
That said, the enemies beyond his range had mostly been eliminated by Rei already, so there were not that many opponents left for Vihera and Set to handle.
Just as Rei expected, the few remaining Dragonias were being scattered one after another by the duo.
"No need to worry about them over there, I guess. ...That said, with the survivors being an elite bunch, I still can't dispel the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor."
A fair amount of time had passed since he activated the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
The Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was a skill that existed only because of Rei's immense mana.
Compared to when he had forcibly used Noise's Overlord's Armor—which served as its base—the fact that it specialized in flame mana meant his mana consumption was considerably lower. But even so, he could only manage it because he was Rei, possessor of vast reserves of mana.
...In a way, it was no different from when Rei tried to use magic outside of his Flame Attribute, consuming massive amounts of mana in the process.
The Queen still remained among the enemy. Besides the seven-colored scaled Dragonias he had gone through so much trouble to defeat, there were four more of them, along with the black-, white-, and transparent-scaled Dragonias.
Furthermore, he had yet to even fight the golden-scaled Dragonias.
Given all that, there was no doubt the real battle was about to begin.
That was why he could not dispel the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor here.
Fortunately, in terms of mana capacity, he still had plenty of leeway. He had the sense that he could still use Deep Flame—which fired condensed mana—as many times as he wanted.
"Once they're done over there, they'll come to me."
Glancing at Vihera and Set as they fought the remaining enemies, Rei began walking toward the Dragonias... or more accurately, toward the Queen, keeping the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor active.
In the direction of his gaze—quite far away—he could confirm that a reasonable number of red-scaled Dragonias still remained.
The red-scaled Dragonias were what one would call Rei's natural enemy. But now that he was using the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, he possessed more than enough power to burn them to ashes effortlessly, as if they had no resistance at all, despite their strong resistance to fire—resistance so powerful it could block even Rei's Flame Magic.
That was why the presence of many red-scaled Dragonias was of no concern whatsoever to Rei right now.
Normally, if prey approached them, the red-scaled Dragonias would immediately attack without hesitation.
But against Rei wielding the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, they felt terror that overrode even their instinctual hunger.
Out of that terror, the surviving red-scaled Dragonias... no, even the other Dragonias that should have been ruled by hunger feared Rei's very existence and shrank back.
"Not moving, huh. From my perspective, that makes things easier."
The remaining Dragonias were still quite far away.
Even so, to Rei, whose physical abilities were currently enhanced by the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, that distance was of little significance.
"Here I go."
He didn't know whether his voice could reach them, but he murmured just that, kicked off the ground, and rapidly closed the distance to the swarm.
The corpses of the Dragonias that had been charred by his earlier Deep Flame crumbled one after another as the running Rei brushed past them.
However, Rei continued running without paying any mind to the state of those corpses...
"Whoa! Survivors, huh? I didn't think that was all of them, though."
He muttered while dodging a Blood Laser fired by a mottled Dragonias that had launched itself from the swarm.
While the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was deployed, he knew that even a direct hit from the Blood Laser would deal no damage, but this was a semi-reflexive action.
Also, while there was no mana issue at the moment, Rei's mana was an essential requirement for sustaining the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
Given that, even if it had no effect, intentionally taking a hit from a Blood Laser when he could dodge it was something he definitely should avoid.
"For now, consider this a return gift. Take it!"
Even while running, he controlled his crimson mana and hurled it forward as Deep Flame in his direction of travel.
The Deep Flame, several meters across, flew through the air at considerable speed—not as fast as a spear thrown by Rei, but still quite fast—and just as it seemed to burst in midair, it scattered into countless tiny flames that rained down in all directions.
What Rei envisioned when using Deep Flame was a napalm-like, sticky fire.
It ruptured in midair and poured down like a heavy rain.
For the Dragonias directly beneath it when the Deep Flame detonated, it must have been unbearable.
After all, even a fist-sized flame was impossible to deal with once it made contact.
Rolling around on the ground trying to extinguish the flames would do absolutely nothing.
On the contrary, the fire slowly spread from the burning areas, and anyone touched by the flames experienced literal hellish agony as their bodies were burned away while they writhed on the ground.
...If being partially burned and having the flames gradually spread meant prolonged suffering, then it wasn't unreasonable to think that being engulfed in flames and incinerated all at once would be a mercy, as the time spent in agony would be shorter.
"It's confusing, isn't it... but I'll make it even worse for you."
Muttering, Rei kicked off the ground and closed in on the cluster of Dragonias.
Needless to say, there was no way ordinary Dragonias could stop Rei while the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was active.
Well, if dozens... or perhaps even hundreds of Dragonias threw themselves in front of Rei with a do-or-die resolve, they might have been able to halt his movement.
But that was only if they could actually bring themselves to do that. Despite being ruled by hunger, the Dragonias that had felt terror toward Rei simply could not.
"Hah!"
With a spirited shout, Rei swung Death Scythe.
Its massive blade bisected the torsos of multiple Dragonias in a single sweep.
In a sense, the unlucky ones were those who failed to die from Rei's strike.
Those whose torsos were severed by the blade died instantly, without pain.
But the Dragonias struck by the handle of Death Scythe rather than the blade had every bone in their bodies shattered and were sent flying—a living hell.
Toward the Dragonias that had been sent flying... what Rei unleashed next was Deep Flame.
While dual-wielding Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear, he simultaneously manipulated Deep Flame like a third hand to generate fire.
Alternatively, he simply struck them with the crimson mana itself, instantly incinerating anything he touched. What Rei was doing could no longer be called a battle—"rampage" was far more fitting.
Rei had been attacking everything in his path, but... he stopped when several golden-scaled Dragonias emerged from the direction of his gaze.
To Rei, the golden-scaled Dragonias were without a doubt worthy of being called formidable enemies.
However, "formidable enemy" applied only to Rei in his base state, without the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
To the current Rei—clad in crimson mana, his already formidable physical abilities further enhanced by the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor—even the golden-scaled Dragonias didn't feel like that much of a threat.
"Let's test it out. Either way, there are other strong enemies besides these."
The seven-colored scaled Dragonias, in particular, still had four remaining, and they could arguably be called the strongest beings among the Dragonias.
Fortunately, he had managed to defeat one, but he couldn't expect to defeat the other four just as easily.
(Besides, Set aside, Vihera will absolutely want to fight them.)
Thinking that, he surged forward.
Rei, holding Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear, must have appeared as a terrifying presence even from the perspective of the golden-scaled Dragonias, as they immediately readied themselves for combat... but...
"Just as I thought.
Feeling the strange impression that it was both unexpected and exactly what he had anticipated, Rei regarded the enemy that could not break through the crimson mana enveloping him.
Even as golden-scaled Dragonias, they were not an opponent that could be called a formidable enemy for Rei using the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
Of course, compared to ordinary Dragonias or even the combat-specialized silver-scaled Dragonias, they were undeniably powerful.
But even so, to Rei right now, the golden-scaled Dragonias, while still formidable, were no longer an opponent he would struggle against.
Under Rei's relentless barrage of attacks, the golden-scaled Dragonias were being overrun as well.
However, the golden-scaled Dragonias were stronger than ordinary Dragonias.
Even while taking heavy damage from Rei's strikes, the golden-scaled Dragonias still attempted to counterattack.
A sharp claw strike.
A blow that could easily slice through ordinary armor, even plate made of metal.
But even such a sharp claw strike could not break through the crimson mana generated by the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
...If anything, the claw strike could not leave so much as a single scratch on the crimson mana.
As if unable to believe its own attack had failed, the golden-scaled Dragonias stopped moving... and naturally, Rei had no intention of letting such an opening pass.
In the next moment, a strike from the Twilight Spear was unleashed, piercing the golden-scaled Dragonias's torso—and likely due to the effect of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, not just the torso but the entire upper body scattered into fine pieces of flesh.
"You're next, while I'm at it!"
Swiftly pulling back the Twilight Spear that had shattered the torso, Rei threw it with his left hand the next instant... smashing the torsos of several more golden-scaled Dragonias.