"The Colosseum... A slaughterhouse where monsters appear endlessly. Unlike other adventurers who avoid this place like a forbidden zone, for me, it's a fertile field to harvest Excelia."
Charlie gazed at the enormous chamber that stretched out before him.
The room was truly colossal. First, a gaping chasm fifty meters wide separated where Charlie and Aishia stood at the entrance from the rest of the chamber. Peering down, they could see sharp rocks jutting out from the dark, seemingly bottomless ground, clustered and pointed as if an invisible army stood ready with their spears. The rock formations covered the entire floor of the abyss. Falling there would mean instant death, even for a Top-Tier adventurer.
The only way to cross the deadly chasm was a long, sturdy stone bridge, which began right in front of them and extended far into the dimly lit center of the room. At the end of the bridge, Charlie could make out the vague silhouette of some kind of massive building, an ancient structure that resembled a gigantic gladiatorial arena. The swaying, moving shadows around the building were most likely monsters, their numbers too great to count.
"RAWRRRR—"
Suddenly, a terrifying chorus of battle cries reached Charlie's ears. The sound came from more monster mouths than anyone could imagine, a demonstration of overwhelming numbers enough to instill despair.
"According to the information gathered on the predecessors of the Hera Familia members, no matter how many monsters you kill here, the supply never runs out."
"In this room, as the number of monsters decreases, even more monsters emerge from within that Colosseum. There's no way to reduce their upper limit. In other words... the supply is inexhaustible."
Charlie recalled the notes Hera had given him before their parting.
"It's not wrong to call this room a miniature version of the Dungeon itself." Aishia calmly chimed in without a hint of fear, her eyes warily observing the movements of the shadows in the distance.
Charlie nodded in agreement.
Even in the Deep Floors where battles came fast and intense, there were always small pauses between monster spawns. But the Colosseum was different. Unlike the usual rooms and corridors in the Dungeon, monsters here appeared endlessly, no matter how many had been slaughtered.
The endless battle would continue until the adventurer perished in exhaustion and despair. However, for Charlie, this was not the end, but the beginning of a true Excelia harvest feast.
Charlie activated his Six Eyes, scanning the entire Colosseum area with a gaze that pierced through the darkness and the dancing shadows. After a moment, he sighed in relief.
"There really aren't any flying-type monsters. That means we can leave whenever we want by flying. If the situation gets too bad, we can just escape into the air."
"I'll take care of the rear. Charlie can fight to his heart's content. I'll make sure nothing bothers you from behind."
Aishia prioritized Charlie's well-being over her own.
Even Est, in the form of the Terminus Est sword held tightly in Charlie's hand, joined in with words of encouragement directly into his mind.
'Use me as much as you want, Onii-chan. I will be your sharpest sword.'
"Thank you for indulging my selfishness, Aishia, Est."
Receiving the full support of both his spirit girls, both physically and spiritually, Charlie mentally prepared for a prolonged battle, an endless slaughter feast within this silent and terrifying Colosseum.
A faint yet excited smile curled the corners of his lips. The Excelia harvest was about to begin!
*WHOOSH!*
Next, Charlie and Aishia shot off, flying directly towards the Colosseum that looked like a gigantic ancient arena in the middle of the vast plains of the 37th Floor.
From above, the scene inside the arena looked like a terrifying chaos. Thousands of monsters of various types brutally attacked each other, Spartoi slashing their bone swords wildly, Barbarians swinging their massive clubs, Elite Lizardmen charging with their shimmering blue scales, Obsidian Soldiers moving slowly but surely, and Loup Garou leaping agilely.
The sight of the carnage alone was enough to make any adventurer who came to the Colosseum for the first time shudder in horror.
"Let's start farming."
Without waiting any longer, Charlie gathered spirit essence in the palm of his hand and released it in the form of a devastating wave of light flares towards the ground below them.
*BOOM!*
A powerful sonic boom shook the entire arena, creating a massive crater in the middle of the monster crowd. The shockwave tore through the bodies of the surrounding monsters, sending them flying helplessly.
"ROOOAARRRRR—"
Charlie's blatant and provocative action instantly drew the attention of all the monsters in the Colosseum. Countless monsters stared up at them in the sky.
*WHOOSH!*
Charlie didn't give them time to react further. With lightning speed, he swooped down into the raging arena, Terminus Est in his hand glowing with burning holy energy.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he moved like a raging storm. His sword slashes were swift and deadly, mercilessly cleaving through the monsters' bodies.
*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*
Monster heads rolled, and severed limbs fell to the ground. Each swing of Terminus Est left behind a dazzling trail of silver light.
Behind Charlie, Aishia moved calmly yet lethally. Both her hands moved gracefully, manipulating the elements around her with her Spirit Arts.
*SHHHRKKK!* *TSSH!* *TSSH!* *TSSH!*
Water from the surrounding humid air suddenly hardened into sharp ice spears, shooting at high speed and piercing through the crowd of monsters trying to approach Charlie from behind.
*GRRRRKKKK!* *BOOMM!* *KRASSHH!!*
The ground beneath the monsters' feet trembled, and sharp stone pillars suddenly erupted, impaling and crushing their bodies.
*FWOOM!* *WHUUUMM!* *KRAA-BOOOM!*
Flames blazed in Aishia's palms, turning into giant fireballs that she hurled into the middle of the monster horde, creating devastating explosions that burned and melted everything around them.
*WHOOOSSHH!* *WHIRRRRR!* *THUD!* *THUD!*
Wind howled fiercely around her, transforming into deadly whirlwinds that lifted monsters into the air and slammed them violently against the ground.
*KRAKKA-THOOM!* *BZZZZTZZ!*
Bolts of lightning struck down from the high ceiling of the arena, hitting the monsters with searing and paralyzing electrical energy.
*SWISH!*
Charlie continued to advance, Terminus Est dancing in a deadly rhythm of death. He slashed, thrust, and cut relentlessly.
*PU-CHI!*
The Spartoi with their bone swords were no match for the speed and power of his blade.
*PU-CHI!*
The Barbarians with their massive clubs fell before they could even swing their weapons.
*PU-CHI!*
Even the Elite Lizardmen with their tough scales couldn't withstand the slash of Terminus Est.
*PU-CHI!*
The slow Obsidian Soldiers became easy targets for Charlie's attacks, their obsidian bodies cracking and shattering under the impact of the Holy Sword.
*PU-CHI!*
Even the agile Loup Garou couldn't avoid Charlie's attacks that were too fast and deadly.
Behind him, Aishia continued to unleash devastating elemental attacks.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The combination of piercing ice attacks, deadly earth pillars, burning fireballs, tearing whirlwinds, and paralyzing lightning strikes created a zone of death around Charlie. Monsters that tried to approach from behind immediately fell before they could reach them.
Thousands of monsters continued to pour in from within the Colosseum, but they all met their demise at the hands of Charlie and Aishia.
*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*
The sound of clashing weapons, monster growls and roars, elemental magic explosions, and the hiss of the holy sword mixed into a symphony of destruction that echoed throughout the Colosseum.
Charlie and Aishia moved without uttering a single word, their communication perfectly intertwined through eye contact and an instinctive understanding of each other's positions and movements.
They were a deadly duo, a storm that destroyed everything in their path.
The Excelia farming in the Colosseum had begun, and the harvest looked very promising.