"[Noah Heal]"
Time flowed steadily as they finished their preparations, having rested to their absolute limit within the safety point.
"How is your leg?"
"Well..."
Ssh—
"The bone seems slightly misaligned, but I can at least walk on my own now."
Ryu examined her condition after casting her healing magic. Though a dull ache remained, her status was incomparably better than before; she was functional.
"You should have used that heal on your leg instead of wasting it on me earlier..."
"It is fine. This is enough."
"....."
"If the worst comes to pass, please protect me, Akumo."
"Got it, got it~"
Akumo replied with a mix of jest and sincerity. Ryu merely smiled, letting the comment pass with practiced composure.
"Bell, are you alright?"
"Yes! Most of my stamina has returned."
"...In truth, I would like to rest more, but..."
Despite the respite, their instincts craved even greater fortune. Yet, perhaps it was this very greed for survival that had kept them alive thus far.
"Your left arm isn't fully healed yet. Conserve it as much as possible."
"Yes, I'll only use it when it's absolutely necessary!"
Step—!
"That doesn't mean I'm giving you permission to break it again, you hear?"
"That depends on the situation."
"Ryu..."
She gave a thin smile.
"Well, if the situation demands it, I must!"
Akumo smiled, relieved they still had the mental leeway for such banter. He adjusted the weight of the object strapped to his back and stepped forward.
"Then, let's go!"
"Right!" "Yes!"
With Akumo in the lead, they stepped out of the 37th floor's sole paradise.
**
Tramp, tramp—
"To think such a place existed..."
"I've wandered the Dungeon for over ten years, yet this is a sight I've never seen."
Tramp, tramp—
As they traversed the cavern path, Akumo and Ryu shared their awe of the hidden sanctuary. Bell, too, marveled at the flowers blooming along the path.
"I don't think this was recorded in the Bestiary at the Guild..."
"Perhaps it is the only flora within the White Palace."
Ryu reached out, plucking a petal and tasting it. As she suspected, it held a delicate sweetness.
"Oh, let's try it too."
"Okay!"
They tasted the nectar.
""It's sweet!""
After a grueling period of eating boiled monster meat and deteriorating rations, the simple sweetness of the flower provided more comfort than they expected.
"I feel like my energy is returning a bit..."
"First the 18th floor, and now this. Why is everything sweet in the middle of this hell?"
Trading light jokes to bolster their spirits, they pressed on until they reached a dead end.
"A dead end..."
"I don't think we took a wrong turn, though."
Thud—!
'The color makes it impossible to gauge the exact depth...'
As Akumo ran his hand along the wall to find a path, Ryu noticed an anomaly near the top of the cul-de-sac.
"That rock over there... its composition seems different."
"You're right. It looks like crystal. We can break it."
Bell immediately drew the Hestia Knife and shattered the crystalline wall. As expected, an exit opened to the outside.
CRASH—!!!
"I'll go first. Stay on guard."
"Be careful."
Akumo emerged first into what appeared to be a standard passage. The familiar, oppressive atmosphere confirmed they had returned to the main area of the 37th floor.
"We're back... to the real Dungeon..."
"Let's keep moving. Toward the regular route."
Confronted once more by the grim reality of the 37th floor, Bell's body trembled slightly. Akumo and Ryu tightened their formation, maintaining absolute vigilance as they advanced.
Tramp, tramp—
'...What is this?'
"It's unnervingly quiet..."
"Indeed. An unnatural silence."
Instead of a monster ambush, they were met with a heavy stillness. However, their honed senses screamed a warning that their eyes and ears could not yet confirm.
"The presence of monsters..."
"Yeah, I can feel it. It's persistent."
Amidst the ominous aura, they maintained their combat stances until they reached a specific landmark.
Thud—
"""!!"""
"Ryu-san, could that be...!"
"Yes, the Great Wall."
"Ash-colored walls on the regular route..."
'The 4th Great Wall!'
Fortune seemed to favor those who refused to surrender. Their hope for escape surged as they passed the 4th Great Wall and entered the final stretch toward the 5th Great Wall—the gateway to the 36th floor.
Step—!
'I'm going back... I will make it back!'
Step—!
'To the surface... to where everyone is!'
Step—!
'With Akumo and Ryu-san!'
Steeling his resolve in the light of hope, Bell passed through the corridor leading to the 5th Wall alongside his companions.
"""!!"""
Snap—!
"Wait. Something is here."
Suddenly, a violent surge of killing intent pierced their nerves.
It was a murderous aura laced with raw battle spirit. As the trio maximized their focus and stepped into the clearing—
BOOM—!!!
"It's coming!!!!!!!"
""!!""
Dash—!!!!
—KIIIIAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As if it had been lying in wait, the [Juggernaut] descended from above, its massive weight threatening to crush them. They scattered instantly.
CRASH—!!!!!!!!!!!!
"The [Juggernaut]...?"
'It was waiting for us? Here?'
Schwing—!
'At the final gate of the 37th floor...!!'
—KIIAAAA!!!!
""!!""
As Bell drew the Hestia Knife and Ryu gripped her Green Fang, they were struck by the monster's grotesque transformation.
"Its left arm..."
"It regenerated!?"
'I'm certain I severed its right leg back then...!'
The Juggernaut's right leg and the right side of its body were no longer composed of its original skeletal structure. Instead, they were a patchwork of muscle and bone from other creatures.
Clatter—!
'[Skull Sheep]....!'
"It ate other monsters...!?"
"Impossible... how could it...!"
"Stop talking and focus on dodging!!!!!!!!"
""!!""
The left side of its torso had been reinforced with [Barbarian] muscle; its left leg was a reconstructed mess of [Spartoi] and [Skull Sheep] bone and flesh. Even its tail had been replaced by that of a [Lizardman Elite], restoring its lethal reach.
BOOM—!!!!!!!!
'It recovered by consuming monsters...!'
Dash—!!!!
—KIIIIAAAA!!!!!!!!!!
'It's like... a chimera...!'
Bell dodged the Juggernaut's charge, horrified by the monster parts absorbed into its frame. However, he quickly realized the extra mass had slightly blunted its god-like speed.
CLANG—!!!!!
'Its speed has dropped...!'
"If it's like this, we can fight—"
Thwip-thwip—!!!!
"[Pile]!?"
Slash—!
As Bell attempted to exploit an opening, bone spears—the [Pile] ability of the Skull Sheep—erupted from the monster's back. Caught off guard by the projectile attack, Bell suffered a shallow gash.
"...Urgh!"
'I have to help—'
Seeing the Juggernaut using strategic movements to compensate for its lost speed, Akumo prepared to intervene. But then—
"AKUMO!!!!!!!!!!"
"Ryu!?"
'Why...!'
Ryu, having parried a bone spear with her Green Fang, shouted at him. Her eyes blazed with a fierce resolve, silently telling him to leave the monster to them. Akumo understood instantly.
"...I see."
This was an extension of the battle on the 27th floor.
Which meant...
Grip—!!
"Let's settle this."
Akumo tightened his grip on the handle of the weapon strapped to his back and spoke to the figure standing by the entrance.
Tramp, tramp—
"I would have been disappointed if you told them to run while you handled this bastard alone like last time."
Schwing—!
"You've changed into something quite interesting yourself."
Standing there was Akuo, holding the Sword of Ares—the very blade that had claimed Akumo's right arm.
"No more introductions needed..."
CLANG—!!
""Let's fight.""
**
Clang—!!! Clang—!!!
""...""
BOOM—!!!!!!!!
CRASH—!!!!!!!!
Akumo wielded a scythe that appeared to be forged from crude iron, clashing against the Sword of Ares held by Akuo.
'What is this...?'
Clang, clang—!!!!
Akuo felt a sense of dissonance.
CLANG—!!!!!!!!!!!!
'I expected him to reveal something bordering on a Divine Weapon, but...'
THUD—!!!!!!!!!!!
"Guh...!"
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!
Akumo's condition was worse than anticipated. The scythe he had fashioned possessed no special aura or divine power. Seizing the opening, Akuo delivered a heavy kick, sending Akumo tumbling toward Bell and Ryu.
"Brother!!!" "Akumo!!!"
Bell and Ryu looked on with worry as Akumo rolled across the ground. Akuo, feeling a flicker of disappointment, prepared to follow up his attack—until.
Clatter-clatter-clatter—!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"!?"
"[Fire Bolt]!"
Ryu and Bell didn't just parry the incoming bone spears; they counterattacked with magic, forcing Akuo onto the defensive.
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!
"...They've grown?"
He was momentarily stunned by the sheer resolve in their eyes.
CLANG—!!!!!!!!!!!
"Focus, will you?"
"You bastard...!"
'You're determined to carry them to the end!?'
Akumo lunged at Akuo again, swinging his scythe in a lethal arc aimed at the neck. Akuo steeled his heart.
Clang—!!!
Clash—!!!!!
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!
'Fine.... I shall show you proper respect...!'
CRACK—!!!!
Akuo manifested another Divine Weapon in his left hand, swinging it at Akumo.
WHOOSH—!!!!!!!!!!
"!!"
'He's willing to take the less lethal hits just to close the distance!'
One arm missing, stamina depleted, and unable to use magic—Akumo was disadvantaged in every measurable metric. And yet.
'I can do this...!'
Whish—!!!
'I can see it!!'
Spin—!!
"Hah!"
Slash—!!!
His concentration reached a pinnacle beyond even his most bloodthirsty days in the past. He saw the lines of combat with surgical precision.
"What...!?"
Akumo leaped over the sword strike, used the scythe as a counterweight to twist his body mid-air, and slashed his opponent. It was a display of martial prowess that had reached a transcendent domain.
Clang, clang—!!!!
Thud—!!!!
Wielding the scythe as if it were an extension of his own soul, Akumo began to press Akuo back.
THUD—!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally, a roundhouse kick laden with his full body weight slammed into Akuo's abdomen. Without pausing, Akumo gripped the very end of the scythe's handle, swinging it at maximum range like a hook aimed at Akuo's head.
Dash—!!!
"Bell!!!"
"Ryu-san!!!"
Simultaneously, the battle against the Juggernaut was taking an unexpected turn.
Clatter—!!!
—KIIIIAAAA!!!!!!!!
BOOM—!!!
Back-to-back, Ryu and Bell expertly parried the barrage of [Pile] projectiles. They were intentionally teaching the monster that long-range attacks were futile as long as they were together, baiting it into close quarters.
"[Fire Bolt]!!"
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!
—!!!!!!
"Got it!"
As the monster attempted to use the walls to flank them, Bell's flames struck its right side. It dealt far more damage than expected.
'The right side has no shell—it can't reflect magic!!'
—KRAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!
Realizing it would be picked apart if it stayed on the walls, the monster dropped to the floor, looming over them.
Tremble—
'Don't shake...!!'
Faced with that colossal nightmare again, Ryu's hands trembled, but this was not like before.
—KIIIIAAAA!!!!!!!!!!
"Hah!"
Thud—!!!
—!!?
She refused to remain a protected elf. She refused to be a burden to those who stood by her side.
"Bell!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ryu caught a bone spear fired by the monster and hurled it back, successfully piercing the Juggernaut's eye.
Ding—!
Ding—!
Ding—!
"[Fire Bo—"
Bell immediately began charging [Argonaut], aiming for a finishing blow. But in that split second, he locked eyes with the monster.
—!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The sheer, unadulterated killing intent pouring from that singular, horrific eye was paralyzing. The monster's will to slaughter was still very much alive.
RUMBLE—!!!!!!!!!!
"....!!"
'The floor—'
THUD—!!!
A bone spike erupted from the ground, impaling Bell through the abdomen.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!!!!!!!!!
In an instant, the surrounding area transformed into a massive field of thorns, with bone spikes erupting like a grand-scale magic spell.
"Bell—!"
"Ryu! Get down!!!!!!!!"
"!!"
As Ryu's scream echoed, Akumo roared. He put every ounce of his remaining strength into a violent swing of his scythe.
"[Batto]!"
SHRED—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A massive wave of sword-qi erupted from the scythe, tearing through the air toward Akuo while simultaneously targeting the Juggernaut amidst the field of spikes.
CLANG—!!!
"You think that's enough to—"
Akuo blocked it easily, but a realization flashed through his mind.
'No. What he's aiming for is...!'
The energy wave wasn't meant to destroy the bone spears.
—KRAAAA!!!!!!!!!
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!
"So that was the target!!"
The Juggernaut, sensing a lethal threat from the sheer pressure of the strike, had no time to realize it was a feint. It instinctively leaped high into the air to avoid the blast.
"[Luminous Wind]!"
Ryu's magic detonated against the airborne target.
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 175
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T