Watching from afar as Set plunged into the swarm of white-scaled Dragonias, Rei was simultaneously fighting the black-scaled Dragonias.
The black-scaled Dragonias that split into two when bisected would, upon being bisected again with Death Scythe, simply halve in size.
He was curious whether they would continue surviving no matter how many times they were cut, but right now, he had things to do before satisfying his curiosity.
...Above all, the black-scaled Dragonias were still attacking him, so he needed to deal with them as well.
Even more troublesome were the transparent-scaled Dragonias that hadn't gone after Set, choosing instead to attack Rei.
"Tch! Here again!"
At first, Rei couldn't make out the forms of the transparent-scaled Dragonias using Optical Camouflage either.
But even so, after being subjected to the same kind of attack repeatedly, sensing them was not difficult.
The biggest factor was, as expected, the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
For Rei right now, with his physical abilities and five senses enhanced, even if he couldn't see the enemy's form, he could still feel it.
No matter how invisible they became through Optical Camouflage, there was no doubt that a transparent-scaled Dragonias was there, and if a being with a body nearly three meters across came flying at tremendous speed, it would naturally displace a significant amount of air.
For Rei, currently using the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, detecting such a presence wasn't exactly easy — but it was still possible once he got used to it.
Also, the fact that they couldn't maneuver much while flying... or rather, jumping through the air, was obvious just from watching them get shot down one after another by what amounted to counterattacks from Set.
The transparent-scaled Dragonias possessed exceptionally powerful jumping ability even among Dragonias, but that toughness was limited solely to their leg strength; everything else was ordinary — by Dragonias standards, that is.
That was precisely why the majority of the transparent-scaled Dragonias struck down by Set's front legs ended up slammed into the ground.
Even the lucky ones suffered severe injuries like broken bones in their limbs or body, and those that landed head-first died, naturally.
That was an extremely effective tactic for Rei as well when it came to defeating the transparent-scaled Dragonias.
"If you're going to charge at me, then you're nothing but an easy target!"
He shouted while bisecting the torso of a black-scaled Dragonias that had tried to tear his flesh with its sharp fangs, then whipped out crimson mana in a lash-like form, slamming a transparent-scaled Dragonias that had charged straight at him into the ground, pinning it down, and grasping it.
"Gyiiiiiiiiii!"
As its body was crushed by the crimson mana while simultaneously being burned — an attack that was nearly akin to torture — a scream erupted from the transparent-scaled Dragonias's mouth.
It had turned invisible using Optical Camouflage, but even that posed no problem whatsoever for Rei now.
And once he figured out how to defeat them, dealing with them was not difficult even if they used Optical Camouflage to become invisible.
...What he did was attack the black-scaled Dragonias that came at him, temporarily bisecting their bodies or crushing their heads, upper bodies, or lower halves to render them unable to move, then using Deep Flame to burn them completely during their regeneration, all while striking down the transparent-scaled Dragonias that leapt toward him with their forms erased by Optical Camouflage, using crimson mana to grasp and crush them while burning them.
Honestly, doing several things at once was extremely difficult even for Rei.
The fact that he could manage it was, as expected, because his body had been created by Zephyle, and on top of that, the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was enhancing even his thinking ability.
"Next, next, next! Keep them coming!"
As he fought, he eventually grew excited, and Rei used Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear as if dancing, killing black-scaled Dragonias one after another while also slaying the transparent-scaled Dragonias that charged at him.
Before he knew it, all the black-scaled Dragonias that had been before him were dead, and none of the transparent-scaled Dragonias were coming at him anymore.
"Haa, haa... fuu..."
The fact that even after moving his body this intensely, he was only slightly out of breath was proof of just how special Rei's body was, and above all, how powerful the effects of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor were.
"...I messed up."
Looking around and seeing that the only things remaining were Dragonias turned to charcoal, he muttered so.
During the fight, he had been so absorbed that he hadn't noticed at all, but given that Vihera enjoyed battle, it wouldn't have been strange for her to say she wanted to fight the black-scaled Dragonias herself.
Given their high Regeneration Ability, from Vihera's perspective, the black-scaled Dragonias were opponents she could attack to her heart's content without worrying about killing them too easily.
Given that, it was only natural that she would want to fight them if possible.
But right now, those Dragonias were completely annihilated before Rei.
When he had gone to see the Queen, there had been a fair number of black-scaled Dragonias, so there might still be a few left somewhere — but even so, under the current circumstances, he wouldn't be able to find them.
"If it's the transparent-scaled Dragonias, it wouldn't be strange for some to still be alive..."
Unlike the black-scaled Dragonias that served as Tanks for the white-scaled Dragonias, the transparent-scaled Dragonias had been on the offensive, charging directly at their opponents.
Given that, not all of them had charged at Rei and Set yet — or so Rei wanted to believe.
In the sense that there were still opponents for Vihera to fight.
"Ah, in that sense, would it also be risky to completely wipe out the white-scaled Dragonias? ...No, but leaving the white-scaled Dragonias alive is dangerous too."
If these were black-scaled Dragonias, the ability they possessed was Regeneration Ability, which wasn't that dangerous.
...Of course, that was solely from Rei's perspective; if Zai and the other Centaurs were to fight them, it would be an extremely troublesome ability.
But when it came to the white-scaled Dragonias, which had ranged attack capabilities via Breath, that was a different story.
Breath attacks from a distance were extremely troublesome for Rei, Vihera, and Set alike.
That was precisely why, even seeing Set devastating the white-scaled Dragonias, Rei had no intention whatsoever of stopping him.
He figured Vihera would understand that as well.
He turned his gaze to a place quite far away — where numerous Dragonias were surrounding Vihera in battle.
Even from a distance, it was immediately clear that an intense battle was taking place there.
...After all, Dragonias that were easily three meters tall were being punched and, in some cases, thrown through the air repeatedly.
Naturally, Vihera's attacks weren't limited to that; there was also Magic Impact Palm — an attack method that rendered even their tough scales completely meaningless.
Fighting purely on instinct, the chances of victory against the current Vihera were extremely low.
Whether the Dragonias understood that, or whether they simply thought they could overwhelm her with numbers...
...Well, actually, that wasn't necessarily wrong.
If they kept pressing with numbers, eventually Vihera's stamina and mental strength would run out and she would be unable to continue fighting.
But that was strictly assuming the Dragonias could keep fighting and their numbers wouldn't run out before Vihera's stamina and mental strength did.
Moreover, that also assumed Vihera wouldn't realize her limits in the midst of battle and choose to temporarily retreat.
"If they could push Vihera that far, that would be impressive in its own right."
Exhausting Vihera — who was currently fighting with such jubilation — to the point of incapacitation... that might have been possible before Rei's magic had drastically reduced the number of Dragonias in this Underground Space, but under the current circumstances, doing such a thing would be impossible, or so Rei predicted.
"Hmm, figured there'd still be some left."
Sensing the presence of an opponent charging straight at him, Rei timed his swing with Death Scythe.
The next moment, that strike bisected a transparent-scaled Dragonias that had been flying straight at him using Optical Camouflage.
The unleashed strike was extremely powerful, and proof that it was also razor-sharp.
"They couldn't do anything against me even when I was busy fighting the black-scaled Dragonias, so did they think they could manage something in this situation? Or did they think I'd be off my guard now that the battle has settled down?"
Rei spoke those words, but the one he addressed — the transparent-scaled Dragonias — was already lifeless.
Though the stench of burned organs, blood, and bodily fluids lingered in the surroundings, even that foul odor was burned away by the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor and never reached Rei's nose.
"Anyway, if I stay like this, I'll just keep being targeted by the transparent-scaled Dragonias. In that case... I'd like to deal with the seven-colored scaled Dragonias while I still can. The golden-scaled Dragonias are troublesome too, but if you ask me which is more troublesome, it's definitely the seven-colored scaled Dragonias."
Rei didn't know where the remaining four seven-colored scaled Dragonias were currently located.
Even so, precisely because he had fought one of them, Rei could easily predict that the seven-colored scaled Dragonias likely didn't move as an organized group, but rather each possessed a strong ego and acted individually.
Of course, that was solely Rei's prediction based on fighting a single seven-colored scaled Dragonias, and it was by no means impossible that the one he fought was the only one that acted independently while the others moved in a properly organized fashion.
"Set, I'm leaving that side to you!"
Set, who was devastating the white-scaled Dragonias, was quite far away.
But even so, whether because he clearly heard Rei's words, he responded with a cry that resounded throughout the surroundings.
Feeling reassured by Set's dependability, Rei began walking toward the depths — toward where the Queen was.
Naturally, even from Rei's current position, he could see the massive mass of flesh — an entity that could be described as a wall of flesh.
He didn't know where the seven-colored scaled Dragonias were, but as long as they obeyed the Queen's will, he figured that if he advanced toward her, they would eventually reveal themselves no matter where they currently were.
To lure out the seven-colored scaled Dragonias, doing what they least wanted was indeed the best approach.
(Should I just attack the Queen from here? That Queen undoubtedly possesses high intelligence. She even transmitted her will directly into our minds. Someone like that should certainly be prepared for the possibility of being targeted.)
The Queen was massive enough that her form could be confirmed even from quite far away, and descriptions like "mass of flesh" or "wall of flesh" were fitting.
Given that, there was no way she hadn't anticipated being attacked by the enemy.
...Moreover, as far as Rei knew, she possessed outstanding skill as a user of Earth Spirit magic — or perhaps something similar.
So much so that he thought she might rival Marina, the finest Spirit Mage he knew.
With an opponent like that, it wouldn't be strange for her to have some kind of defensive measure using Spirit Magic in an emergency.
Even if Rei threw the Twilight Spear while using the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor from here, there was a real possibility she would block it with an earth wall or something — or shift the ground she was currently on to evade.
If it were any Dragonias other than the Queen... even if it were a seven-colored scaled Dragonias, Rei had the confidence to pierce through whatever defensive measures they might have.
The most significant factor was, of course, the fact that Rei had actually defeated a seven-colored scaled Dragonias.
Naturally, this was predicated on the assumption that the seven-colored scaled Dragonias he fought was about as strong as the other individuals.
"Anyway... first priority is to try approaching."
Muttering so, Rei began walking toward the Queen.