"Haah!!!!!!"
Squelch—!!!!
"Hryaaap!!!!"
Crunch—!!!!!
Thud—!!!!!
The Serpents summoned by the [Amphisbaena] were being systematically thinned out. Ouka, Mikoto, and Chigusa, bolstered by the effects of [Level Boost], displayed exceptional coordination as they cleaved through the monsters with axe and sword, while arrows pierced through their ranks.
Boom—!!!!!!
Crash—!!!!!!!
In the meantime, Daphne and Aisha drew the [Amphisbaena]'s attention, buying time for the others to reduce the number of minor threats.
"[Hiyo]!!!!!!"
Crack—!!!!!!
The moment their footing was exhausted, Welf used his Magic Sword to continuously freeze the lake, creating new platforms while simultaneously launching attacks to keep the beast at bay.
"New footholds have been created!"
"Once you finish off the other monsters, rejoin the vanguard immediately!!"
Following Lilly's command, Mikoto, Ouka, and Chigusa quickly dispatched the remaining Serpents and rejoined the front line to maintain the offensive.
"Cassandra-sama and Haruhime-sama, provide cover as soon as your Mind recovers!"
""Yes!""
With Cassandra and Haruhime managing the rear—constantly replenishing the party's healing and buffs—they were gradually cornering the [Amphisbaena].
—Kwoooooh!!!!!!!!!!
"Take this!!!"
Boom—!!!!!!!!!!!!!
—Kyaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!
When Aisha's slash carved a wound into the creature, it attempted to dive back into the water to reposition, but—
"Mikoto!!"
Whirrr—!!
"Daphne-dono! Get away from there!"
"!!"
Boom—!!!!!
—!!!!!!!
Because Mikoto was constantly tracking its position, Daphne was able to pull back and evade instantly. Instead of a successful ambush, the monster had only exposed a massive opening.
Whoosh—!!!!!
"Hraaaap!!!!!!!"
Squelch—!!!!!!
"[Zekkei]!!!!!!!!!"
Mikoto's clean draw-slash tore through the monster's flesh, stripping away its thick scales entirely.
Thud thud—!!!!
"Hryaat!!!!"
Crunch—!!!
Chigusa's arrows embedded themselves into the exposed flesh, deepening the wound, while Ouka's massive axe delivered a devastating blow that widened the gash further.
Step—!
'The party's coordination is clicking perfectly. We're actually fighting the [Amphisbaena] on equal terms.'
Slash—!!!
"With this, the small fry are almost gone."
—.....!!!
'The beast is exhausted too!'
Watching the seamless party link-ups and the steady accumulation of damage, a smile formed on Aisha's lips as she saw the possibility of victory.
"Could it be... are we actually going to do this?"
"Yeah! The momentum has shifted to us!"
Daphne also realized they had a real chance of taking down a Monster Rex. But just as she was about to prepare her next attack—
Splash—!!!!!
"It's going back into the water!!"
"Mikoto!!!!"
Whirrr—!!!!!
Once again, the [Amphisbaena] hid its body beneath the surface to prepare an attack, and Mikoto's skill activated to detect it.
'As long as that swordswoman is here, it doesn't matter what it does underwater.'
That was the mistake.
Whoosh—!!
"The waterfall...?"
"What!?"
The position Mikoto detected was the massive waterfall. Startled, Aisha and the others turned their heads to see the beast swimming vertically up the colossal cascade.
"Where the hell is it going..."
"Don't tell me!"
An ominous thought flashed through Mikoto's mind, and her eyes trembled.
Crash—!!!!
Just as she feared, the monster used its sheer mass and the height of the waterfall to drop itself back into the lake like a meteor.
"It's falling!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Everyone, get back!!!!!!!"
Welf and Aisha screamed in horror at the sight.
Boom—!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With a violent vibration that shook the entire floor, the beast slammed into the lake.
"Kyaa!?"
"Uwaaaah!!!!"
"Group up!!!"
Whoosh—!!!!!!!!!!!!
A massive tsunami engulfed them. The sheer physical force, acting like a giant blunt weapon, swept away the entire vanguard.
"!!"
'I can't... breathe...!'
Mikoto momentarily lost consciousness in the wave. When she opened her eyes, she was already being attacked by monsters swarming her underwater.
Drip—!
"!!"
"Lion and I will watch for monster signs."
"Calm yourself and focus on moving forward."
".....Yes!"
With Bell in the lead, Akumo followed behind, carrying Ryu on his back.
Bell's nerves were frayed from their recent ordeals; he jumped even at the sound of a dripping water droplet, prompting Akumo to reassure him.
"If you hit a fork, take the narrow passage."
Step—
"We'll reach a room eventually."
Step—
"....."
'Is everything... going to be okay...?'
Akumo continued to cycle through potential solutions as they navigated the Deep Floors, but no matter how much he thought, a definitive breakthrough eluded him.
Step—
'Even if we reach a room... what then?'
Step—
'Even if we rest, what comes after?'
'Is there even a way out of the Deep Floors...?'
Thwack—!!
"Hyung...?"
"Just focus on survival for now, you brat....."
He knew the reality, but they didn't have the luxury of being swallowed by those thoughts.
"Right...!"
As the three of them took one step at a time, a light appeared ahead of them.
"""!!"""
"A monster?"
"No, that's!"
"It's a Magic Stone Lamp....!"
The orange glow visible in the darkness sharpened their focus, and a ray of hope finally touched Bell's face.
'.....Damn it.'
However, Akumo's expression remained dark.
To his knowledge, none of the First-Tier adventurers who were supposed to be in the Dungeon had plans to descend to the Deep Floors.
"A person! There's an adventurer!"
Step—!
'We're lucky, we can survive this!'
"Please! Help us!"
Step—!
"We—"
But what awaited them was not a living person.
Clatter—
It was merely the bleached skeleton of an adventurer who had died long ago.
'Are we really going to end up like this...'
Clatter—!
"!!"
'[Skull Sheep]...!!'
"Get a grip, Bell."
Akumo tried to calmly coordinate with Bell to handle the three [Skull Sheep] that emerged, but—
"..."
Tremble—!
"Don't come near me...."
"Bell, snap o—"
Whoosh—!!!!
"Stay away!!!"
Bell's mental fortitude had already been pushed past its limit.
"[Fire Bolt]!"
Boom—!!!!!!
"-!!"
"[Fire Bolt]!!!!"
Whoosh—!!!!!!!
"B—!!"
"[Fire Bolt]!!!!!"
Whoosh—!!!!!!
"BELL!!!!!!!!!!"
The sight of the wretched corpse, combined with the appearance of three monsters that had nearly killed him individually before, triggered an absolute fear of death in Bell.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Boom—!!!
Bang—!!!!
He had fallen into a complete panic.
Boom—!!!!
Crash—!!!!
"Bell!!!!! Snap out of i—"
Stagger—!
"!!"
'My head.....'
The [Fire Bolts] he fired weren't even aimed; they were just reckless bursts of magic launched in desperation.
Crumble—!!!!
"Huff...! Huff...!"
"Cranel-san, it's okay."
"Bell, the monsters are alre—"
Thud—!
"Hey...!!" "Cranel-san!?"
Bell had truly reached his breaking point.
From the Enhanced Species incident to losing his arm and being isolated in the Deep Floors—the sheer volume of trauma, followed by a Mind Down from magic overexertion, finally broke him.
"I'm done... right here....."
"Cranel-san, stay with us!!!"
"I can't... anymore....."
Slap—!!!!!!!!!!!!
But in this situation, even the luxury of falling into a panic and being comforted was a death sentence.
"HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
""!!""
Akumo, having set Ryu down on the ground, struck Bell across the cheek.
"Dad....?"
Grab—!!!!
"...Bell."
"Dad....."
Thud—!
Despite his own head spinning, Akumo knelt before Bell, cupping his cheek and forcing him to make eye contact.
"Don't you dare give up on me....."
Huff—! Huff—!
"Nothing is solved yet.... Nothing!!!"
'So please....'
"We have to reach the room, but we can't do it in this state."
Akumo forced his ragged breathing to settle and stood up.
Slide—!
"Lion, take him and sleep."
"Akumo-san, I should be the one—!"
"It's fine. You two sleep."
Step, step—!
Akumo walked over to a wall created by Bell's magic and slumped against it.
Thud—!
Ryu was worried about his condition, but since both she and Bell were also in terrible shape, she eventually led Bell toward the wall where Akumo sat.
"Ryu-san...."
"Let's trust Akumo-san and close our eyes..."
Step, step—
As Bell and Ryu sat beside Akumo, they began discussing their rest rotation.
"We will take turns resting for five minutes each."
"Five minutes....?"
"In our current situation, this is the best we can do."
".....Then what about Ryu-san and Dad....."
"Don't worry. When you wake up, I will have him sleep."
"...Yes."
Bell was too exhausted to question it further.
Slide—
"..."
"Five minutes, huh....."
Sigh—
Ryu took a breath and turned her head to check on Akumo.
Huff—! Huff—!
"Akumo-san...?"
"....Shit."
'If I fall asleep here, it's over....'
"Stay awake.... stay awake...."
"Akumo-san....!!"
Akumo's condition was worse than expected. He was drenched in cold sweat, desperately trying to fight off the dulling of his senses.
"Lion... pull this...!!"
Slide—!
"Akumo-san... this is...!"
"Just do it! Pull!"
"..."
What Akumo handed Ryu was the grapevine stem he had used to tourniquet his right arm. He was asking for shock therapy—using the pain of the tightened vine to force himself to stay conscious.
".....I'm sorry."
Tighten—!!
"Gugh....."
"I'm so sorry....!!"
Slide—
"Just be quiet and go to sleep already...."
If he loosened the vine, he would bleed out. But keeping it tied meant the intoxicating sap from the stem would slowly seep into his system, dragging him into a deep slumber.
"It's fine. Just sleep, quickly."
Smirk—
Even in that state, Akumo simply smiled and placed his hand over Ryu's to calm her down.
"Akumo-san...."
To her, he looked dangerously precarious.
Splash—!
"Cough...! Cough...!"
"Are you... alright?"
"Yes...!"
After the massive wave passed, the party members were struggling to catch their breath in the water.
"Gah....! Damn it!"
Thud—!!!
"What an absurd monster....!"
"Is everyone okay!!"
"Huff... huff....?"
Slide—!
Aisha immediately began a headcount, but Chigusa noticed something first.
"Where is Mikoto?"
"!? She's not here...!!"
Whoosh—!
At Chigusa's words, Daphne and Ouka scanned the surroundings, and they soon found it.
Swirl—
Blood, presumably Mikoto's, was rising to the surface of the water.
—Kwoooooh!!!!!!!!!!!
"This damn dragon...!!"
Whoosh—!!
"Get down!!!!"
As if it had given them enough time already, the [Amphisbaena] began firing its breath again, aiming for their lives.
"After resisting this much, are we just going to be swallowed by despair....?"
Whoosh—!!!!
Cassandra stared blankly at the flames approaching her.
As if she could no longer escape, as if she had given up on everything.
—'Then fight!'
"!!"
—'For the sake of the adventure you pursue!!!!!!!'
Nothing was over yet.
"It's dangerous!!!!"
For better or for worse.
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