By Zephyria 
A lithe waist arched back in a curve.
<Ryan, take flight!>
Around the same time, the summoned creatures that had reached the bridge swarmed in like a hive of bees, covering the ladder. They collided with each other, their forms crushed, but they gnawed at the ropes with their chattering teeth, finally severing them. Some clumped together like masses, swelling in size and rushing to grab the leaping lion.
But it was not enough to reach him.
<Ah, is that Orca? He slings Bell over his shoulder and supports Ryan!>
<Treating the lady like that, he’s going to get a big scolding later―.>
A crescent-shaped trajectory rotated and flew like a boomerang. Sharp Ultrasound tore through the air, instantly ripping through the swarming reptile cluster.
Shhh―
The sharp slashes instantly severed the necks of the creatures, and sticky mucus burst out as the corpses fell in a shower. The ear-piercing cries of the creatures mingled with their vaporizing forms and scattered into the air.
Only then, relieved, Orca readjusted Beatrice in his arms.
<The summoned creatures are being helplessly slaughtered! Still, great teamwork!>
<But where did Ryan go? He’s not visible on the bridge.>
The two commentators rolled their eyes around, trying to find Ryan, who had disappeared in the meantime. Toad, who had been anxiously giving instructions, was the same. Standing in front of the severed bridge on the 3rd basement floor, he grabbed the railing and scanned the surroundings.
At that moment, one of the defense team members, who had emerged from the wreckage of the lowest floor, shouted in a panting voice.
“Under the bridge! He’s attached underneath!”
Hearing him, Toad immediately looked up. But there was nothing visible under the bridge that crossed the 2nd basement floor. Tilting his head in doubt, he turned back, and a dark shadow fell before his eyes.
Thwack―!
<Ah, Ryan! He ambushes Big Boss!>
Thud, thud, thud, the heavy body was sent flying into a corner by the weight-bearing kick. The audience gasped, half-turning their eyes away as if feeling the pain vicariously. The body, rolling on the floor, collided strongly with a Boulder pillar, raising a cloud of dust and creating a hazy screen.
A figure fluttering a cloak landed silently in front of it.
<He was hiding under the bridge on the 3rd floor, not the 2nd floor.>
<If it was a moment of quick wit, it’s amazing! Thanks to that, Big Boss didn’t find him! But the prisoners should be aiming to escape, right? Ryan, you mustn’t waste time!>
“I know that.”
Looking down at Toad, who was groaning from the direct hit, Leonardo, twisting his neck from side to side, approached leisurely. The guy was clutching his broken nose, lying face down, only rolling his eyes to look up. Bending down to meet his gaze, Leonardo cracked his knuckles, making a bone-jarring sound, and grinned at his opponent.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?Toad’s gaze, with blood streaming from his nose, wavered uneasily. He didn’t seem to understand the meaning, so Leonardo, frowning, added another word.
“Originally, I was going to make you remember by examining your face one by one, but I don’t have much time right now, you know? Consider yourself lucky to end it here.”
“You―.”
Big Boss, clutching the discarded flail, abruptly raised his upper body and swung the weapon as if having a seizure. The sound of wind whooshed, and a purple aura writhed and spread.
“Oh, nimble.”
Leonardo, lifting his chin and dodging with a light step, jumped upwards. Then, he stepped on the end of the guy’s hideous spear with both feet and sat down, bending his knees.
The soles of his feet tingled as if the flail itself was imbued with Magic Power, but he didn’t care. Deliberately striking a pose like a common street thug, he leaned back and chuckled mockingly.
“But you’re slow, aren’t you?”
“You little―!Toad, raising his weapon, swung it once more to shake off Leonardo, who was sitting on the bow. Empowered by the force, Leonardo, leaping with all his might, soared into the air once again.
<Ryan uses Big Boss’s attack as a springboard!>
<The opposing team must be feeling frustrated. But who’s that behind him?>
At that moment, a huge figure in a disheveled state appeared and snatched Big Boss’s forearm.
<Ah, it’s Beast―!>
“Hey, let’s have the big guys fight each other.”
The weapon being swung was suddenly stopped before it could plunge down. Toad, startled by the considerable grip strength, looked back. Gillian, twisting his lips, grabbed the flail’s handle and prevented it from moving.
<Ryan, taking advantage of that gap, climbs up to the bridge on the 2nd floor!>
Still not fully satisfied, Leonardo, whom Toad had entrusted to his teammate, drew a semicircle and landed smoothly on the bridge. As soon as he set foot, summoned creatures rushed at him from all directions, but he quickly defended himself by wielding the shackles of his handcuffs. He immediately threw a hook, crushing their heads, and kicked the six or so creatures clinging to his legs, sending them flying far away. He twisted the neck of one creature, wearing it upside down on his head, and then dashed forward at full speed, instantly breaking through the wriggling swarm.
<Ryan quickly navigates the swamp of summoned creatures! No one can stop him!>
<However, all his helpers are below, so from now on, he has to climb up with his own strength. Is it possible?>
Leonardo, reaching the edge of the 2nd floor bridge, threw away the summoned creature he had used as a shield and drew high temperatures into both hands, which were covered in mucus. The green liquid bubbled and boiled, becoming thick like aged honey. In that state, he rushed at the pillar connecting the 2nd and 1st basement floors and plunged his fingers into the Boulder.
Sharpening his fingertips like the claws of a beast, he climbed the vertical pillar step by step, using only his brute strength.
<He’s climbing the wall with his bare hands! I didn’t expect this!>
<He’s using the sticky mucus like glue, his ability to assess the situation is outstanding. He instinctively knows how to survive in battle. He’s like a beautiful beast―.>
<That’s right, because he is Ryan―!>
The echoing voices and cheers of the commentators brushed against the back of his neck and spine. His body trembled slightly as if from a chill, but he couldn’t stop. Thick veins stood out on his clinging hands and forearms. Leonardo, who had climbed quite high, soon stepped onto the railing of the bridge located at the very top.
Above his head, a narrow escape route was visible through the gaps in the menacingly hanging stalactites.
‘I have to get to there somehow….’
As he caught his breath and racked his brains, there was a shadow moving stealthily on the other side of the bridge. He was unsure whether it was an ally or an enemy, but a small Magic Circle unfolded from where the guy was hiding.
Big Boss and the summoner, and two small fries that Gillian had dealt with. The opposing team he had confirmed so far totaled four people. Come to think of it, there was one more left.
Just as Leonardo, convinced that he was a hindrance, was about to rush out to deal with him first.
Phew―
A bright light flashed, and the sound of cutting through the wind like shooting off fireworks echoed through the arena. Leonardo, startled for a moment, lowered his stance. As he raised his head following the trajectory of the light, he saw a white flame with a long tail heading towards the escape route.
<Team Big Boss, they’re launching their final attack! But isn’t the aim wrong?>
“Shit.”
Unlike the commentators, Leonardo, who had grasped the situation first, let out a curse disguised as a sigh through his teeth. Just as the pale trajectory seemed to disappear beyond the escape route, it soon caused an explosion like a gunshot and erupted in the sky. As a result, a transparent spherical wave spread in all directions.
<Ah, no, it wasn’t! It’s collapsing the escape route!>
Kugwagwagwang―!
The dormant Ether was pushed back, and the hanging stalactites swayed precariously. Soon, they cracked with a dangerous fissure and began to fall like meteorites.
<The arena ceiling is collapsing! He’s almost there!>
<At this rate, the bridge he’s standing on will collapse again―.The sharp, pointed tip narrowed the distance rapidly. Leonardo, his pupils constricted, looked up at the ceiling, then jumped in place and shouted into the air.
“Orca―!”
At that moment, a fierce wave surged up from below. The Ultrasound, soaring up and encompassing the entire arena, pushed back the falling Boulder in the opposite direction. As the falling speed slowed, Leonardo, riding on the wave, stepped on the stalactite fragments that seemed to have stopped temporarily and jumped up without hesitation.
<Incredible, he’s using the falling Boulder as stepping stones! Did he get a hint from the previous match?>
<Truly amazing, Ryan―. He and Orca have great chemistry.>
<Now, it depends on his speed!>
Jumping widely and launching his body diagonally, Leonardo stepped on the stepping stones in succession, gradually increasing his altitude. Even without using Teleport or flight magic, his movements were incredibly agile.
He didn’t know why it came to mind at this moment, but when he was caught up in the collapse at the peninsula. It was because the image of Agrizendro reaching out to him flashed through his mind.
As the desperation and pitifulness of that time settled on his fingertips, strength was put into the legs kicking off the Boulder. Adrenaline was explosively secreted. Leonardo curled his body up with all his might, then spread his chest and reached out his arm towards the flashing red light.
<Ryan, approaching the escape route!>
The leaking light shone onto his outstretched palm, splitting into five strands.
The world was muted as if everything had stopped.
Suddenly, even time seemed to stop, and the Boulder fragments passed by in slow motion.
Just as he was straining his neck and holding his breath, Leonardo’s fingertips stirred the air by a hair’s breadth. His floating body tilted diagonally, moving further and further away from the exit.
<Ah, the jump is not enough―!>
The commentators, deeply immersed, shouted with anguish as if it were their own affair. Their shrill voices echoed widely through the arena.
Correspondingly, Leonardo, who had failed to reach by a paper’s width, stared at the fading light with a dazed expression.
‘Not enough?’
He wanted to check the remaining time, but there was no time to look back. His body fell backward due to the weight of his head. The audience watched him and cried out, clutching their hands together.
It was at that moment, when everyone was shouting desperately with one heart.
Woo woo woong―
A strange resonance that sounded like the wind or a series of explosions spread. A tingling sensation suddenly brushed against Leonardo’s back. The whale’s cry, which was now almost welcome, penetrated his ears.
Leonardo’s back, which was about to fall as it was, landed on someone’s arm.
Gold Eyes rolled, and Orca, wearing his usual confident smile, supported his back and the back of his knees. Then, he leaned in and asked innocently.
“Is this enough?”
Leonardo stared at the guy with a dumbfounded look. Before he could even ask ‘How?’, Orca, stepping on the Divine Beast, headed towards the escape route with the lion.
In that instant, Hugo’s eyelids, who had been watching from afar, reacted.
The fingertips covering his mouth and chin trembled with strength, and the pupils in his blue eyes dilated.
In his vision, the hem of the robe and tangled cloak passed through the beam of light. The red light flashing at the escape route slowly faded away.
<Orca, it’s Orca! He rescues the prisoner―!>
Waaaaaaaaa―
The audience, who had been anxious, let out an electrifying cheer. The time on the crystal board also stopped with 3 minutes and 25 seconds remaining.
Subsequently, a signal announcing the end of the match sounded.
<The preliminary round of Group D is over, Team Joker wins!>