Poem of Despair, Poem of Triumph Part 2

The wingless monster was floating in midair.

And then the terrifying roar of the falls broke through the frozen flow of time.

The Amphisbaena began to descend.

"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The moment Welf's scream ended, the floor boss plunged into the center of the lake.

The root dome exploded with an impact that seemed to shatter the earth itself.

Not only the twenty-fifth floor but the entire Water Capital shook as a mass of debris—

incomparably more than what had fallen from the colossal tree earlier—hurtled to the

ground.

The impact sent up a tsunami that overturned everything resembling an island of ice.

Aisha and everyone else who had narrowly escaped the dragon's body slam were

thrown into the water.

As the tsunami reached the shore, it swept the rear guard up and threw them against

the wall.

Even the blue flames that had been flickering on the shore and water were swallowed

by the violent waves and drowned in the frothing water.

Like wine overflowing from a glass, emerald blue water poured into the twenty-sixth

floor without slowing down.

The tremors opened an alarming lattice of cracks across the entire cavern.

"Ahhh—"

Mikoto was closest to the center of the floor boss's dive-bomb attack. It had clearly

targeted her. Buffeted by aftershocks and chunks of ice, she fell through the water's

surface and downward into a cerulean world.

Blood streamed from a head wound, tinting the water a hazy red.

Mikoto grew groggy.

As if to deal her a parting blow, her eyes delivered bad news.

A school of huge fish was rapidly approaching.

—Raider fish!

Unlike the aqua serpents, they could not emerge onto land. They jetted toward Mikoto

as if they had been waiting for prey to fall into the water.

One bared its long, sharp fangs and sank them into her right shoulder.

Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!

Another latched onto her left arm, and a third bit at her right foot.

As the hideous monsters swarmed in an attempt to make a meal out of her, she felt as

if they were violating her. Her tender body spurted blood, and even the undine cloth

she wore seemed to cry out as it was shredded.

Her silent screams only came out as countless bubbles while her body sank with the

throng of monsters to the bottom of the lake.

The last thing she saw was the massive stomach of the dragon rising toward the

water's surface directly above her.

"Cough, cough!… Shit!"

Welf grabbed onto one of the few remaining islands and burst through the water with

great force. He took a deep gulp of air, then spit out a stream of water and curses.

The cavern was a terrible sight.

The water was still as rough as a stormy sea, and its level had definitely fallen. The ice

platforms had been broken into thousands of pieces that made it hard to tell that they

were once used as bases for launching attacks on the floor boss. The root dome

directly overhead was a wreck, a yawning skylight in its center. Even the four walls of

the cavern were laced with cracks, as if they had been smashed by a meteorite.

The Dungeon had already been battered, but this was unprecedented damage. Ripples

overlapped across the water's surface as countless crystal fragments continued to

tumble down from the ceiling.

"Huff, huff…!"

"This is insane…!"

Daphne, Chigusa, and Ouka grabbed onto floating ice chunks and root fragments and

popped their heads out of the water.

Every member of the party was torn up with bruises and cuts. Some had even lost

their weapons.

"Ms. Cassandra…!"

"Uugh…!"

Those on the shore had suffered just as much.

Cassandra lay sprawled on the ground. A chunk of ice had collided with her back when

she shielded Lilly and Haruhime. Lilly's backpack was hanging from a dripping wet

crystal cluster.

The formation that the adventurers had so painstakingly built in pursuit of victory

was utterly demolished.

"Mikoto…? Where's Mikoto?!"

Chigusa was the first to notice that one of their party was missing.

As Welf and the rest of the vanguard clambered onto one of the few remaining ice

platforms—a large island that had been flipped upside down—Chigusa, now without

her bow and arrow, peered back and forth.

"No way… Mikotooo?!"

No sound came in response to her shriek.

But Daphne saw a geyser of red bubbles stain the water's surface. She stood stock-still,

her face twisting as she realized the fate Mikoto had met.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

"This bastard…!"

At the same moment, the two-headed dragon burst through the water's surface, its

eyes crazed.

From her perch on an ice chunk, Aisha hurled a stream of abuse at the beast.

The two heads mercilessly pursued the adventurers, their offensive line now broken.

The left head breathed out blue napalm.

"Ah?!"

"Moooove!"

As the adventurers leaped out of the way, the left head followed them, and soon the

water was scored with blue flame. Their enemy wasn't really aiming. Aisha jumped

from island to island, while Daphne dove headlong into the water.

In a berserking rage, the water dragon continued to shoot flames in every direction,

as if it was intent on burning down everything in sight. Crystals melted as the searing

waves swelled, and what little remaining air in the cavern thinned.

The moans of winged monsters filled the air. Though they tried to escape the swirling

blue sparks by fleeing deeper into the labyrinth, chunks of crystal falling from the

ceiling knocked them into the sea of blue flames.

The adventurers gripped their throats and shuddered.

Fire had spread to the wreckage of the root dome, creating a cage of flames.

The top floor of the Water Capital glowed blue.

And then the dragon shot a stream of blue flames at the northeastern shore where

Lilly, Cassandra, and Haruhime stood.

"…"

Lilly had only just pulled Cassandra to her feet. She watched the flames race toward

them. As the hot light illuminated their faces, they froze.

There was nowhere to run.

It was over.

Lilly and Cassandra were on the verge of succumbing to the azure death, when—

"Oh!"

A shock reverberated through their backs.

"Wha—?"

"Ms. Haruhi—?!"

Lilly's eyes met a pair of green eyes gazing back at her.

Cassandra shouted as the slender hands pushed her out of the way with the power of

the powerless.

Not a second later, the renart disappeared behind a veil of flames.

"Ms. Haruhimeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?!"

A sea of flames covered the shore.

The hellfire swallowed Lilly's scream.

"—Haruhime."

From a distance, Aisha was witnessing a scene she had hoped never to see.

She ran to the northeastern shore as if drawn by an invisible force and then stood

rooted to the ground before the fiery expanse.

She did not see Lilly sink to the ground from her knees, or Cassandra curl into a ball.

For the first time, the second-tier adventurer left herself exposed to attack. But it

didn't even matter.

The two-headed dragon had already resolved to extinguish all life in the cavern.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

The wild stream of flames did not subside. They seethed like an act of the gods.

The remaining adventurers looked up at the dragon as its dual roar pealed.

"So this is the end…!"

Standing in the shallows where he had fled the flames, Ouka gripped his battle-ax,

Kougou, in one hand.

Welf glared at the dragon as blue flames raged behind it, distress coloring his sweaty

face.

Behind her bangs, tears streamed from Chigusa's eyes as she thought of her two

friends now absent from the battlefield.

"…Mikotoooooooo! Haruhimeeeee!"

Ouka poured the emotions ravaging his chest into his cry, burning with anger.

Anger at the floor boss for committing such an atrocity. Angry with himself for not

being able to protect them.

Within the mists of despair, this warrior who had lost his childhood friends burned

with anger.

"Haruhime… that bastard's gonna pay!!"

So did Aisha.

With Lilly and Cassandra still sprawled on the ground beside her, she clenched her

teeth and turned back toward the dragon.

As an ordinary woman, her clenched fists were trembling. But as an Amazon, her

instincts refused to let her succumb to sorrow. She wouldn't allow herself to reveal

any weakness by sobbing. In a sense, it was a type of desperation.

Plastering over the loss that gripped their chests with the anger they felt, the

adventurers glared up at the floor boss.

Ouka and Aisha.

As they turned their eyes away from despair and threw themselves into a battle

without hope of victory, each in their own way was thinking of the two lost girls. These

thoughts coalesced into the will to die as heroes in battle—to take down the dragon

even if they paid for it with their own lives. A hellfire as fierce as the blue flames

consumed the two of them.

The fire of their tenacity.

And then…

"Descend from the heavens, seize the earth."

…a song…

"Grow."

Only they heard it.

"——"

Only the man and woman who had not lost their will to fight heard the songs of the

two girls echoing from the depths of the hellfire.

That's—

Ouka saw it.

As everyone else stood frozen, only he who held fast to his determination to fight till

the end saw it.

Only he saw the band of light that ever so slightly blurred the water's surface, nearly

hidden by the glow of the blue flames.

Only he saw the particles of light forming a silhouette among the swirling sparks.

A sword—

The next instant he dashed forward.

"—Smith, shoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot!!"

The enraged scream shook Welf's hands into motion.

As if the vision he glimpsed in the corner of his eye of Ouka sprinting forward spurred

him on, or irritated him, or pushed him to compete, he gripped the hilt of his sword

with both hands.

Stop ordering me around! I believe you.

Precisely because they always swore at each other and butted heads, Welf was able to

act.

Precisely because he was Ouka's partner in crime, although he would never admit it,

he was able to swing the blade.

"Hiyo!!"

A missile of ice shot forward.

The battle cry of the magic blade quenched the blue flames as it raced ahead, leaving

countless icicles in its wake.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

The Amphisbaena interpreted this action as a threat. Its right head exhaled a powerful

gust of crimson mist. A storm of billowing snow met a flood of mist. Azure battled

crimson.

Welf squinted as more cracks spread through the magic blade.

Finally, the ice broke through the mist and froze part of the dragon's body. The dragon

narrowed its eyes and prepared to unleash its counterattack of flames from the other

head.

At that very moment…

"Shinbu Tousei!"

The spell rang out clearly.

"—"

"—"

It was a song they never should have heard.

A song of invitation that should have echoed underwater and vanished in bubbles.

Yet there was no question about what they heard.

Adventurers and dragon alike recognized the song.

The band of light on the water's surface became concentric circles imprisoning the

dragon.

The particles of light hovering in the air fused together to form a deep purple sword

of light that looming above its head.

The two-headed dragon was extremely wary of the magic blade. It breathed out mist

to form a shield in front of it.

There was no armor of mist protecting the rest of its body.

The magic blade shattered with a loud crack and the mist vanished.

In the same instant, she roared.

"Futsu no Mitama!!"

The wavy underwater world reflected the scene that had taken place several minutes

earlier, like the fragment of an illusion.

"Forgive my impudence as I beseech thee…"

The shoulder that monster fangs had sunk into was screaming.

The left arm missing a large chunk of flesh was shrieking.

The right leg that, even now, was on the verge of being pulled off was howling.

The wounds were deep. The bleeding wouldn't stop. Her consciousness kept flickering

in and out.

Sinking to the bottom of the lake as monsters tore at her flesh, Mikoto could no longer

fight.

And so she sang a prayer.

"I call upon the god, the destroyer of any and all, for guidance from the heavens. Grant

this trivial body divine power beyond power…"

As her consciousness sank into darkness along with her body, the words faltered and

became fragmented.

The only image remaining in the back of her mind was that of her companions.

"Saving, purifying light. Bring forth the evil-crushing blade!"

She sang a song of exorcism to sweep away evil and call upon the light.

"Bow to the blade of suppression, the mythical sword of subjugation."

A song to sweep away the poison of despair and call to the spirit-sword of the god of

combat that would lead to freedom.

She sang to deliver this to her companions.

"I summon you here now, by name."

That was when it happened.

"Mikotoooooooo!"

A scream rippled the surface of the water, and she thought she heard the voice of Ouka

calling her name.

And then the whole world glowed with white heat.

We haven't given up!

We won't give up!!!

Neither he nor I have given up yet!

That warrior who always fought with such courage!

That brave, strong man who fought on and on to protect his companions!

Still, still!!

Mikoto gritted her teeth.

With her one good arm, she lifted the best fist she could make.

"Descend from the heavens, seize the earth!"

She squinted as light returned to her eyes and then spit out a roiling stream of bubbles.

She was too groggy to properly guide her attack.

Underwater, she could not even see her enemy.

But if she aimed straight up, where that massive form hovered…

…She could trap it.

"Shinbu Tousei—"

Concentric circles formed at the bottom of the lake.

The raider fish grew uneasy as her magic flowed.

Mikoto roared toward the sword of light that had materialized above the water's

surface.

"—Futsu no Mitama!!"

Receiving its grand order, the deep purple blade pierced the floor boss and deployed

a field of gravity.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~Aagh?!"

A tremendous force fell upon the Amphisbaena.

Because it had not been aware of Mikoto's underwater chanting, it never had a chance

to evade sustaining a direct hit. And with its armor of mist gone, it had no way to fend

off the gravity-controlling magic.

The force was so great it shattered the dragon's scales as it brought the two heads low,

forcing its necks toward the water.

Even the center of the lake was drawn downward by the relentless pressure of the

unnatural gravity.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!"

Directly beneath the dragon, Mikoto, too, was crushed by the gravity she had created

with her magic. An endless geyser of bubbles escaped her clenched teeth.

A human's fragile body would be destroyed by the spell long before it would affect the

massive monster.

—Can't win.

It seemed like the world was caving in as her vision narrowed.

Her slender fingers snapped with a dull popping sound.

Her internal organs deformed and a film of blood escaped her lips.

But Mikoto did not attempt to deactivate her magic.

If I stake my life on it—it can't win!

Silently screaming her readiness to face death, she set her very life ablaze.

The overwhelming gravity pressed her body against the bottom of the lake where

cracks were appearing one after another.

The raider fish were caught in the field of gravity along with Mikoto. Their eyes

popped from their sockets and their flesh was crushed with an eerie sound. As one of

the massive fish loosened its teeth from her right shoulder, she pushed her hand up

against the gravity toward the water's surface as if she were reaching for victory.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

—I won't let it escape! No matter what, I won't let it get away!

Beyond the water's shimmering surface, Mikoto's bloodshot eyes caught sight of her

enemy's form.

She believed in her companions who were outside this watery world.

In her heart, she held onto the image of her friend, the warrior who had called her

name.

"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

He raced forward.

Crushing crystals underfoot, Ouka headed for the purple field of gravity in the center

of the cavern.

"Mikoto, don't let gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Ouka leaped onto the wreckage of the root dome.

The roots of the colossal tree were ragged from the multitude of assaults it had

endured. Now blue flames were spreading along the lattice of wood, creating an everexpanding tangle of fire. As the flames licked closer, they burned the intertwining

layers of roots. But Ouka neither hesitated nor questioned his next move. Surrounded

by swirling sparks, he charged ahead through the only opening.

He raced down the last remaining route, a single unburned root—and jumped.

As Welf stared in astonishment, Ouka swung his great battle-ax down and dove into

the field of gravity.

"Gu—oooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!"

The world blurred before Ouka's eyes as a monumental force pulled him downward.

From his position directly above the dragon trapped within the gravity's field, he fell

rapidly toward its body.

Even with the level boost, he did not have the strength to sever the Amphisbaena's

heads. And so he borrowed the power of Mikoto's gravity-controlling magic and

turned himself into a guillotine.

"!!"

The instant before Ouka executed his attack, a scene from the past flitted across his

mind.

Mikoto and Chigusa were not the only ones to receive training from Takemikazuchi

before the expedition. Ouka, too, had sought a new special move befitting Kougou, the

battle-ax for which he had taken out a loan to buy from Welf.

In the dim predawn light, he had lain sprawled with arms and legs outstretched in the

large courtyard, battered and exhausted.

Above him stood the martial arts deity who had hammered the battle skill into him.

It was simple yet perfect, a daring technique that required him to use every ounce of

his powerful, huge form's potential.

Only Ouka could pull it off.

"If you use your skills at the right time with the correct breathing, you can become a set

of fangs with the power that can slay even a dragon."

Ouka was sure those had been the god of combat's very words.

He whirled halfway around.

Fighting the pressure of gravity, he exhaled air from deep within in his lungs. Instantly

it changed into sparks.

Like a set of all-engulfing fangs, Ouka unleashed his lethal move on the dragon's right

head as he bore down on it.

"Kokuu! Devouring Tiger!"

His ax fell.

"—Gaa?!"

A roaring flash of silver light hurtled across the dragon's field of vision, pierced its

scales, and split its flesh.

A fountain of blood sprayed out, blooming in the air.

The crimson-eyed head separated from the long neck.

At almost the same moment, the field of gravity vanished, its power spent.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The adventurer fell, the dragon's remaining eyes bulged, and a massive icicle hurtled

into the air.

Deprived of its other half, the left head roared.

This is—

Aisha heard it.

"That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes."

Aisha had heard that chant more times than anyone else in the world, and only she

was able to pick out the clear, beautiful voice that uttered it.

"Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion."

It was coming from the very center of the terrible ocean of flames.

Surrounded by those flames that returned all to ash—Haruhime sat and sang.

The Goliath Robe.

After the renart pushed Lilly and Cassandra out of the way but just before the blue

napalm swallowed her up, she had thrown the robe over her body and dove facedown

onto the ground.

It was the first and only tactical move ever executed by this magic user who didn't

know how to fight. The robe was an indomitable wall that blocked not only blunt force

trauma and piercing attacks but also lightning and wind; in the same vein, the floor

boss's river of fire could not burn it.

—I feel like I'm going to burst into flames!

Still, the fatal blazing inferno was alive and well. The world of flames that incinerated

people and monsters alike was truly hellish. The robe's wearer may have been

protected from catching fire, but the supernatural heat hounded her without mercy,

melting her consciousness like wax. The tongues of flame seemed to mock her as they

licked at the exterior of the robe, sending rivulets of sweat down her beautiful white

skin. She felt as if flames would erupt from her slender throat.

—No, no! It's fine even if I burn! Even if I turn to ash!

All the same, she sat cross-legged beneath the robe with her eyes closed and sang.

As long as this song rises from what remains and reaches them!

She poured all her remaining mental strength into the spell.

As she did, she envisioned the face of the woman she knew was waiting for her song.

"All you have to do is sing."

Several years earlier, Aisha had said those words to Haruhime during an Ishtar Familia

expedition.

Although Haruhime had been to the deep levels, she knew almost nothing of the

Dungeon's terrain. That was because the Amazons always stuffed her into a sturdy

basket, shut her inside, and carried her along with them.

She was treated exactly like a weapon or an item.

The Berberas would take her out when they needed her and use her for their own

ends.

In fact, they did not require Haruhime to do more than act like any other tool. There

was no point in asking her for anything else.

"We don't expect anything else of you. Just focus on your singing."

All she could do during those battles was stand rooted in place while watching blood

and flesh fly as tears filled her eyes. She could barely keep herself from fainting.

A cloistered noblewoman had no place in the brutal world of the Dungeon.

All she could do was chant. Urged to use the mysterious power hidden within her, her

quivering lips had no choice but to utter the verses no matter what state her mind was

in.

"Finish your chant even a second late and one of us dies. Here in the deep level, that's

how it is."

It was a harsh fate.

The sturdy Amazons would fall one after the next, their limbs ruined. Even Phryne, a

first-tier adventurer, was often wounded so badly she vomited blood. The powerless

Haruhime was dragged to the battlefield, wanting nothing from it herself, then forced

to take responsibility for the lives of others.

For an innocent girl who knew nothing of the world's violence and cruelty, it was a

living nightmare.

It would be a lie to say she hadn't hated them.

"Well, I'm sure you must hate us.

"It's fine even if you let us to die."

That was all Aisha had said to her.

Her body half covered in blood, her eyes turned away, those were the words she tossed

in Haruhime's direction.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAvAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!"

Its right head sliced off by Ouka's special move, the Amphisbaena was wild with rage.

As long as it still had one head left, the dragon would continue to go berserk. And now

that the gravity field was no longer active, nothing restricted its movements anymore.

Its remaining eyes were bloodshot from top to bottom. The left head opened its mouth

so wide it seemed ready to split.

The blue light within its maw glowed brighter than ever before.

It had drawn up every last drop of dragon-bile propellant to unleash one enormous

final blast of blue napalm.

Welf and Daphne attempted to follow up Ouka's attack and slice off the remaining

head but they wouldn't make it in time.

This breath attack, powerful enough to immolate the entire cavern, would hit first.

Lilly and the others stared, still as statues, at the glow of impending destruction.

The symbol of obliteration was searing itself into the eyes of the adventurers.

And then.

Aisha took action.

Perhaps she acted out of instinct, or perhaps because she was guided by some greater

force. But in the midst of the most extreme of extreme situations, when neither a mad

rush nor a chanted spell could stop the insane flames, Aisha leaned forward.

Like a black panther crouching low as it gathered strength, she got into position for a

charge.

"How could I ever choose to let you to die?"

Haruhime's voice as she answered Aisha was hoarse and damp with tears.

That was because she had no resolve, weak and timid creature that she was. She could

not stand up to the heavy pressure of life.

But the people standing on that battlefield were people she wanted to save, even if she

could.

I will sing until my body disappears from this world.

And so she pledged herself.

She sang and sang.

"Grow."

And after singing day after day after day, her spell had gotten faster.

"?!"

The heightened power of the magic astonished the prum.

The singing voice sent shivers down the spine of the healer who had used her own

magic so many times.

The giant hammer of golden light that formed in the exact center of the sea of flames

filled the dragon's eyes with shock.

As the spell sped up, it left the blue flames in the dust.

Accelerated casting.

The pinnacle of magic's basics.

Spells woven faster than the wind could rescue companions and bring the fortune of

victory.

Haruhime could do nothing besides chant, but this was the one real skill she had

cultivated over time. It was the one polished and refined ability that belonged to this

magic user, who had been used so by others so much. After casting hundreds and even

thousands of times, the speed of her casting—and that alone—surpassed that of

upper-class magicians.

"Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above."

Haruhime's song raced through the cavern.

Throwing aside the safety she usually sought, she prioritized speed above all else,

shaking off caution even if it meant she might cause an Ignis Fatuus.

Yes, all she was good for was casting.

If that were the case, then she would stake her very body and soul on casting faster

than anyone in the world so that her spell would reach the brave adventurers.

"Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you!"

She opened her eyes wide and saw the warrior woman, facing away from her as she

stood before the sea of blue flames.

"Grow!"

In that same instant, Aisha—her body bent forward—took off running without a

backward glance.

"Give it to me, Haruhimeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

As Aisha roared her request, the hammer of light fell upon her.

"Uchide no Kozuchi!"

The spark ran toward Aisha, igniting a great burst of light particles.

Imbued with the glow of the level boost, the Amazon roared and shot forward at a

speed that stretched the boundaries of what was possible. Her tawny body had

become an arrow of golden light.

Kicking up crystals like they were gravel, she bore a hole through the dancing sparks.

As the dragon filled its lungs with blue flames, she took aim at its eye.

"—"

Wild with fury, the dragon finally realized its error.

Normally, as the left head prepared its fiery attack, the right head fended off enemies.

But now the right head was gone. Nothing remained to protect the left head.

The Amazon charged like a lunatic.

Her speed and the distance she covered would have been impossible for a Level 4, but

not for a Level 5.

There was a way.

A single path led across the lake.

A towering bridge of ice, laid down by Hiyo at the price of the magic blade's complete

disintegration.

"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!"

The roars of the adventurer and the dragon layered atop each other.

Intent on incinerating the warrior woman and the rest of the cavern along with her,

the dragon prepared to release the fiery breath. It had reached the critical point within

its throat.

But the combined light of Aisha and Haruhime was swifter.

A flash.

Aisha leaped into the air, a brilliant comet's tail slanting upward past the center of the

floor boss's neck.

One of the enormous scales shattered, exploding outward. Aisha's blade tore deep into

the flesh of the thick neck underneath.

An instant later, the propellant that had built up in the dragon's throat and mouth

erupted from the wound she had opened.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aaagh

?!"

Like a broken water main, the blue napalm gushed out and caught fire.

Burning in its own flames, the Amphisbaena writhed as if it had fallen into purgatory.

Worse than misfiring, the extra-large blast of dragon breath had set off a massive

explosion. The floor boss screamed as its flowing gushing fed the flames.

"Come, reckless conqueror!"

Aisha did not stop.

"Oh brave warrior, oh strong hero, oh covetous, cruel champion."

The moment she rebounded onto an ice chunk floating in the lake, she took off running

again and leaned into the Amphisbaena a second time. She attacked the dragon with

a torrent of swift, wild slices to prevent it from escaping into the water, even as she

intoned her concurrent chant.

"Prove your desire for the queen's girdle."

She kicked off one of the huge icicles formed by Hiyo, kept moving, and flew at the

floor boss with a freedom and speed that rendered her invisible to Welf and the others

watching from the shore.

All they could see was a path of golden specks trailing behind her. This was a war

dance truly worthy of the name Antianeira. She answered the water dragon's moans

with the final words of her chant:

"My famished blade is Hippolyta!"

An epic leap.

She flew into the air directly above the burning body of the dragon. As she descended

toward her enemy's trunk, where its core was buried, she lifted her podao. Then, with

all the power she and Haruhime could muster, she swung it down.

"Hell Kaios!!"

The podao struck the dragon's body, discharging magical glittering light.

The sword strike's crimson wave landed squarely on the monster's body, ripping into

its flesh and burrowing deep inside. Forging its way through the river of dragon blood,

it reached the large, deep-purple crystal buried within and shattered it.

—————————————

Its magic stone destroyed, the Amphisbaena's form disintegrated and a riot of azure

flames bloomed.

Ash erupted as the remaining blue napalm detonated.

The cavern thundered with the powerful explosion. For an instant, everything was

engulfed by the flash of heat.

As she watched this scene from within the sea of flames, the renart smiled faintly and

collapsed facedown onto the ground.

"Ms. Aisha?!"

The moment the flash ended, Lilly—who had thrown her slender arms over her face

and curled into a ball to avoid being blown backward by the explosion—shouted the

Amazon's name.

In the blizzard of ash, where flying fragments of drop items and purple crystal drew

parabolas in the air among countless hovering sparks, she had glimpsed Aisha falling

into the lake.

When an adventurer chose to carry out an extreme close-range attack, there was no

way to avoid getting caught in the aftermath. Lilly and the others who watched Aisha

conduct her assault stood pale and silent with fear… but before long, the warrior broke

through the water's surface, her long hair dripping.

"…"

As her beautiful limbs and bare coppery skin came into view, they saw that she was

covered in burns. Still, given the scale of the explosion she had weathered, the gleam

in her eyes was surprisingly bright. She walked slowly through the shallows, particles

of light still coating and protecting her body.

Embers of lit blue napalm flickered on one arm, and she was dragging her podao

behind her through the water; the palm of her hand was stuck to its hilt.

The onlookers snapped out of their daze and ran to her, but she brushed them off and

headed straight toward the sea of flames that engulfed the shore.

"Haruhime…"

With her left hand, she pulled out a vial of Perseus's fire-quenching potion, ripped off

the cap, and poured it over the flames on her other arm. Smoke billowed as the item

did its work. She used the rest of the potion to subdue the fire directly in front of her

before walking into the weakened flames. From above, it must have looked like a rut

was being drawn through the wild sea of fire.

Aisha arrived in front of Haruhime, who lay facedown under her fireproof robe, and

cradled the renart in her arms.

"…Aisha…"

"You've mastered it, haven't you… my dumb little fox."

Aisha smiled down at the girl. Haruhime's eyelids fluttered open as she lay in Aisha's

embrace. Filled with joy, she smiled weakly and rested her head limply against Aisha's

chest.

The pair returned along the path Aisha had used earlier and were greeted with tears

of joy by Lilly and Cassandra. Although the Goliath Robe had absorbed so much heat

that it burned both of Aisha's arms, for the moment she hardly even felt it.

"You saved me, Haruhime…"

The renart had closed her eyes again, but she still heard the words Aisha whispered

into her ear, like an older sister celebrating how much her younger sister had grown.

"Mikoto! Ouka!"

Meanwhile, Chigusa had crossed the iceberg to the epicenter of the Amphisbaena

explosion and dove into the water, which was now thick with ash. Using the site of the

gravity spell to guide her, she had set out to rescue the two missing adventurers.

She quickly found Ouka and Mikoto, who had wounds all over her body, and pulled

them to shore. Then she ran over to Cassandra.

"Hey! This is crazy, I mean it was crazy, but are you okay?!"

Meanwhile, Welf was lending a hand to Ouka.

"Grab my hand, big guy!"

Flames still flickered here and there in the cavern, so the adventurers gathered on a

piece of ice in the center of the lake.

"Everyone's alive…"

"We brought down the floor boss all by ourselves!"

Casandra and Lilly couldn't contain their happiness as they set about using their

remaining items to heal the rest of the party.

Mikoto had deep wounds on her shoulder, arm, and leg, and all her bones had been

broken by the gravity spell. Her eyes were closed and she was unconscious but

breathing. Haruhime had suffered a Mind Down and was barely aware of her

surroundings. As for Aisha, she might have used the fire-quencher and other potions,

but her Level 4 toughness was on full display given how she was still able to stand on

her own two feet.

"It's too soon to celebrate… but you guys did well."

They had beaten the floor boss by the narrowest of margins, and Aisha's praise was

genuine. As if to give shape to the adventurers' outstanding achievement, some

Amphisbaena bile, a valuable drop item, washed up on the ice float. Welf and the

others smiled at Lilly as she began to collect some as soon as her sharp eyes noticed

it.

The group was on the verge of giving a collective shout of victory when a loud bang

interrupted them.

"!!"

The Dungeon had not given them so much as a moment to bask in the warm afterglow

of victory before rearing its head once again.

"What's that?"

"The floor is swaying…?!!

As Welf and Chigusa cried out in confusion, the floor began to crumble with an earpiercing screech.

First there had been the explosion so massive it demolished a section of the labyrinth,

and then the fall of the root dome followed by the Amphisbaena's dive, and finally the

barrage of blue napalm. The cavern simply had not been able to withstand the savage

battle, and now it began to disintegrate in earnest.

"Hey, doesn't this seem bad?!"

This was the Dungeon's angry howl, or perhaps its sorrowful cry. In either case,

massive clumps of crystal began to fall from the ceiling with terrible crashing sounds,

raising waves in the plunge pool wherever they landed. The pale-faced, panicked

adventurers used their weapons to bat away this atrocious downpour.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The scream did not belong to anyone in their party. When they turned around, they

saw a party of four adventurers standing on the crystal bridge that skimmed the top

of the Great Falls on the northwestern side of the cavern, where it connected with the

maze inside the cliff.

One was a werewolf. It was Turk, the very same adventurer who had fanned the flames

that kindled the hunt for Gale Wind in Rivira. He was also the ringleader of the plan to

blow up the twenty-fifth floor.

"You lied to us, Juraaaaaa!! We never knew it would turn out like this!"

"Those idiots…!"

The band of four must have escaped the devastation that had destroyed an entire part

of the Dungeon and managed to reach this cavern. Aisha found it galling to have to

watch the people who were responsible for causing this terrible situation incoherently

complaining about it.

Seized by terror, the four adventurers flew down the crystal bridge in a haphazard

attempt to flee.

They landed high above Aisha and the others, onto the root dome that still capped

much of the cavern. Although the blue napalm fire had already spread there, Turk led

the fleeing adventurers onto it without thinking. When some of the flames spread to

the backpack of one of them, the wearer burst into a ball of fire, screaming until death

came.

"I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die!! I sure as hell don't wanna die here!!"

Dripping with what could have been either tears or sweat, encircled by smoke and

flames yet still clinging fiercely to life, the band of minor villains made it to the cliff on

the west side of the cavern and began crawling up it.

Ironically, this scene helped Aisha's party discover a way out.

"They crossed over the roots of the colossal tree…! Does that mean we can use the

connecting passageway now?!"

Generally speaking, ascending or descending the towering crystal cliff was not a

realistic option even for first-tier adventurers. But at the moment, because of the

dome, climbing up the cliff face was relatively easy. If they scaled the height and

emerged onto the path leading along its edge, they would be able to escape from the

passageway on the southern tip of the floor.

This was the sole signpost pointing toward a way out of the crumbling cavern.

"We can't exactly afford to be picky right now…! If we stay here, we'll be buried by

crystal debris!"

At best, their chances of climbing the cliff with the injured members of the party on

their backs was fifty-fifty.

The only route left across the still-burning dome was on its south side. Seeing how the

flames advanced toward their exit route by the second, Aisha screamed for them to

withdraw.

"Let's get out of here! Climb the western cliff!"

"Wait!! Mr. Bell is still somewhere below us!"

It was Lilly who protested.

Her small finger was pointing to the southeastern cliff—in other words, to the precipice

that rimmed the Great Falls and led to the twenty-sixth floor. She was suggesting they

could still enter the maze by descending that sheer wall.

"I'm against it, too. We've gotta rescue Bell before we split!"

"I understand how you feel… but…!"

"In this condition, Mikoto and Haruhime…!"

Welf had weighed in on Lilly's side, only to be countered by Ouka and Chigusa.

As Chigusa supported her childhood friend, who was limp as a corpse and still hadn't

opened her eyes, she held back tears.

"You guys…! Are you idiots?! Look at our situation!"

Due to her position and experience, Aisha's words carried more weight than those of

anyone else in the group. Now she shouted back at Lilly and the others, her face

contorted with distress.

Like Ouka and Chigusa, she had no desire to abandon Bell. In fact, she wanted more

than anything to rescue this male who had caught her fancy. But with the party in its

current condition, immediately after a fight-to-the-death with a floor boss, Lilly's

proposal was suicidal. Mikoto and Haruhime could no longer fight. Most of their

weapons and items were broken or used up. They were in no state whatsoever to go

searching for a missing companion.

Above all, Aisha was thinking of the renart still cradled in her arms.

As Aisha weighed the girl against the boy and was about to tilt the scale toward the

girl, a weak hand reached up from her arms and stopped her.

"Lady… Aisha… please… forget about me, just…!"

"…!"

"Please, help Sir Bell…!"

Aisha bit her lip as she looked down at Haruhime fighting so hard to cling to

consciousness.

"We cannot abandon Mr. Bell!"

"But if we stay on this floor…!"

Lilly, Welf, and Haruhime wanted to stay behind.

Aisha, Ouka, and Chigusa wanted to pull out.

The party was split.

Everyone has lost their cool. Even Lilliluka and Antianeira!

Daphne stood in the middle of these two extremes.

Her heart pounding and sweat dripping down her face, she forced herself to remain

objective. Only she, who still didn't know Bell and his familia very well, could do so.

Staying here is impossible! This is insane! We have to get out immediately!

Naturally, she came down on the side of retreat. It was a no-brainer.

Given the supremely irregular situation that left the floor itself on the verge of crumbling,

remaining in this part of the Dungeon was out of the question.

I'm sure this is the only floor that's going to crumble. The twenty-seventh floor is two

floors down! It should be fine! Bell Cranell of all people should have a good chance of

surviving…!

She didn't really believe that, but Daphne used this rationalization to put the safety of

the party first.

That was the job of the commander, and that was the responsibility that now fell on

the shoulders of Daphne Laulos.

Opinions are split three to three. If I cast my vote in favor of retreat, things will tip in that

direction!

Daphne knew that in a tight fix, the weight of the majority was decisive.

She would make sure the concern Lilly and Welf felt for their familia member didn't

lead them in the wrong decision.

With a resolve tinged by unease, Daphne prepared to speak.

"The cage of despair… shall become a coffin… tormenting thyself…"

However, a string of disjointed words spoken by the girl standing next to her stopped

Daphne in her tracks.

"The colossal tree is on fire, the floor is crumbling… the cage of despair has become a

coffin… is this place, this situation what 'tormenting thyself' means?"

Everyone stared at her.

As the unending rain of crystals beat down on her and the light of the blue flames

illuminated her face, the girl continued to mutter her soliloquy.

"…Cassan… dra?"

Her upturned eyes did not see the present world.

She was staring at another place, at events happening in another time, as if she was

being guided toward something.

"Now is the time of prophecy. This is the crossroads, the fork in the road, the place

where fate diverges—"

Daphne's gaze was fixed on Cassandra, who had gone into a trance like a shrine

maiden receiving an oracle.

The coffin is a symbol of death. But if I still have time to be tormented, then that's the

same as saying a death-filled future isn't inevitable yet. On the other hand, if we make

the wrong decision after being tormented, the prophecy will consume my life.

Meanwhile, Cassandra had sunk deep into her own thoughts.

The seventeen lines of the prophecy floated in a sea at the bottom of her heart. As the

prayer that went by the name of a nightmare shifted with dizzying speed, her

perception of time stretched to its limit.

In a world cut off from her surroundings, the prophetess of tragedy drowned in a sea

of verse as she tried to grasp the true meaning of the oracle.

In other words, the thing tormenting me right now in this "coffin"—is the decision itself?

This was the action Cassandra must take. It would determine the future of the party.

Certainly, two choices had split the party: remaining or retreating.

Cassandra knew the group's decision would determine their fate.

Do not forget. Seek naught but the light of the reviving sun.

Gather the fragments, consecrate the flame, beseech the sun's light.

Take heed. Such is the banquet of calamity…

Reviewing their situation, it was clear they had already plunged into the fourteenth

line, given the coffin reference. That left the last three lines of the prophecy.

The seventeenth line is simply a conclusion wrapping everything up, so I'll ignore that

for now. But there's no question the other two lines are a warning to avoid annihilation!

The line beginning with "Gather" clearly didn't match their current predicament of

choosing between two alternatives, so she set that aside as well.

That meant she had to minutely scrutinize the line telling her to "seek naught but the

light of the reviving sun."

Does "light" mean… hope? And I'm supposed to choose the option that relates to "the

reviving sun"? But what is "the sun"? Where is this thing "the sun" represents? There is

no "sun" in the Dungeon!!

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!

What should she choose? What should guide her decision?

What do I even want?

I don't want these people to die.

I want to go where he is.

Without letting anyone die, I want to go to whatever horrible place he's been forced to

go.

As the static of her emotions cut into her thought process, Cassandra stood before the

two choices confronting her.

Retreat or remain?

The twenty-fourth floor or the twenty-sixth?

Up or down?

The path along the cliff on the west side, or the sheer precipice to the east?

"———"

Suddenly, a jolt of electricity shot through Cassandra's body.

The light they sought… was that the single choice that would leave them alive?

The reviving sun… there was no one and nothing here on this watery floor that

represented the sun.

Did that mean it wasn't something she could see with her eyes? Not a person? Not

even a physical object?

A suggestion, an abstraction, an allegory.

A metaphor.

The reviving sun… the sun disappearing and then appearing again, so the sunset and—

Cassandra turned around as if she'd been stung, and that's when she saw it.

The connecting passageway to the twenty-sixth floor, on the southeast side.

The cave that should have been destroyed by the root cage.

Repeated shocks had deformed the terrain to the point that now, between the root and

the ground, a gap just large enough for a person to squeeze through had opened.

"—Oh."

The light flickered.

Everything before her eyes blinked in and out like sparks.

The pieces of the prophecy clicked together with an audible sound in her mind.

The light of hope that would allow them to escape despair and destruction had been

delivered into her hands.

"To the east!!"

The moment she arrived at her conclusion, Cassandra screamed it out.

"Huh?"

"Everyone, go east! To the twenty-sixth floor, quick!!"

She tried to urge on the startled party. She had thrown concern for appearances to the

wind and was shouting wildly, which threw everyone into confusion.

"Cassandra?! What are you sayi—?"

Daphne, her face pale, attempted to stop her reckless friend, only to be interrupted.

"I was wrong, Daphne! I was wrong!! The prophecy wasn't talking about a person or a

time!"

"?!"

"The 'reviving sun' represents a direction! I'd been misinterpreting the words all along!"

The oracle of tragedy interrupted Daphne with more revelations about her prophetic

dream.

During their time on the twenty-first floor, Cassandra had tried to deduce the meaning

of the line before. She'd guessed that the warning had something to do with things or

people related to Apollo, or that the sun might have even represented daytime.

But she had been wrong.

The "reviving sun" was a metaphor for the sunrise, which was essentially the

disappearance of the sun at night and its reappearance in the morning. The prophecy

was actually referencing the direction from which the sun rose.

"This floor has already changed from a 'cage of despair' into a 'coffin'! The only way

for us to escape the foretold death is to go east, toward the reviving sun!"

When she thought about it, her mistake was really quite simple.

She used to be a member of Apollo Familia, so it was only natural that her old patron

deity had come to mind, and that had restricted her thinking, blinding her to the

possibilities. She'd made things unnecessarily complicated.

Only when presented with the two choices of the western and eastern routes did she

finally comprehend the verse.

"I still don't know what the 'sun's light' is supposed to mean! And I have no idea what

the 'fragments' to collect are, or how to consecrate the 'flame'! But going east is our

only choice! Hurry everyone, head to the twenty-sixth floor!!"

Cassandra had understood at last, but…

"What are you talking about?! And at a time like this!"

Daphne snapped angrily at her. She didn't believe her.

"Stop talking nonsense! Drop it already!!"

Cassandra's heart cracked when she saw how her friend glared at her. To Daphne and

the others, Cassandra's desperate plea seemed like nothing more than a string of

illogical words. Disorganized, incoherent rambling.

No one believed what she said—this was the curse of the prophetess of tragedy.

Doubt fills the eyes of her companions.

The world twisted in on itself, changed shape, then shrieked and jeered at Cassandra.

She felt as if her teary eyes were going to burst into pieces and her knees were about

to give out.

It's always the same.

No matter what I do, it's always the same.

No matter what I say, no one listens.

No matter how I beg, my pleas never reach anyone.

It's always the same.

The world always tramples on my hard work.

The world always jeers at my tragedies.

Even when I gather my courage and struggle, even if I scream at the top of my lungs, I

always bump up against absurdity.

So many times, my desperate warnings have ended with inaction.

So many times, my determination has crumbled like a sand castle.

I have tasted defeat again and again.

Time after time, I have been hurled from the cliff's edge into the very depths of darkness.

But what can I do? I must be cursed.

What can I do, what can I do… what can I do?

...…Is that really true?

When did those words begin to invade my heart? When did I become so discouraged?

When did I start feeling this tinge of resignation? When did I start to lie?

When did I stop fighting?

When did even I stop believing everything and anything? When did I fall into despair?

Have I truly reached the point where I will even look away from my closest friend as she

stands here in front of me?!

It's always Daphne who breaks my heart.

And then—

"Don't let the word 'despair' beat you!"

"Look to the future! Rise up!"

It's always Daphne's words that give me courage!

The light in the altar of her heart began to glow.

Concealing the words that repeated themselves in her heart, she returned her friend's

penetrating gaze and faced the mocking world.

Cassandra clenched her fists and shouted.

"Listen to me, Daphne!"

"!!"

She leaned toward the stunned Daphne, focusing only on her as she screamed her next

words.

"I'd given up! No one ever believed me in the past, so I assumed no one would believe

me in the future, either!"

Pressing her right hand to her chest, she laid bare her true feelings.

The rejection, shock, and despair that had plunged her to a pit of dejection. Reliving

all those memories of the past was pure pain for Cassandra.

"I was always afraid! I was in agony! I was sad and I didn't want to be hurt anymore!"

But still the words kept coming.

"I was scared and I never said what was really important!"

When Bell appeared before her, she felt like she had been saved.

She had stayed by his side, whispering into his ear, living in the fantasy that he

accepted and believed her.

But that had merely been dependency.

She hadn't done anything.

Not once had she truly stood up to the world that imposed tragedy. She had never

sincerely confronted the curse of prophecy that dwelled within her.

She had never genuinely tried to speak those words.

"I don't care if this is the only time you ever listen to one of my dreams! Just listen!!"

Don't give in to despair.

Resist the curse that's trying to rip us all apart.

Don't give in to the weak self that is terrified of rejection and despair.

"Daphne, believe in me!"

The power of her words reverberated through the crumbling cavern.

Her outstretched hands grasped Daphne's right hand and squeezed it as if in an embrace.

Their eyes met.

Cassandra's eyes gleamed with her ardent plea. Daphne's wavered like a rippling pool

of water.

For a brief moment, their hearts were one.

And then…

"…You can't expect me to actually believe your dream!"

Daphne forcefully shook off Cassandra's hands.

Cassandra's teary eyes opened wide as they filled with more despair than ever before.

—Then Daphne continued.

"Everyone! To the east!!"

She had announced her decision.

Turning toward the surprised adventurers, she sided with those who wanted to hold

out.

"…Huh?"

Then she turned back toward the dazed Cassandra.

"I don't believe in your silly dreams!"

Daphne pouted, her cheeks bright red. Then she stuck her pointer finger toward the

other girl and yelled at the top of her lungs.

"What I believe in is Cassandra Illion!"

Daphne hadn't believed in the prophecy.

She had believed in her friend.

It only took Cassandra a second to understand what she was saying. But it was a very

long second.

Fresh tears spilled from her eyes.

Blushing, Daphne grabbed her friend's right hand and took off running.

Cassandra held tight to Daphne's hot palm.

"Quick! Hurry!!"

Daphne shouted as she ran with Cassandra toward the eastern passage. The rest of

the party followed on reflex. They accepted her choice because her vote had tipped

the scales.

"Run! Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!!"

The roar of the crumbling floor drowned out the scream coming from Aisha, who was

bringing up the rear.

A torrential downpour of massive crystal chunks pursued the adventurers as they

leaped from one ice-island to the next. With a crash, the burning root dome collapsed

into the lake.

The singing of wild waves, the dancing of blue flames, and a chorus of demise. Turning

away from the Dungeon's requiem, Daphne and the rest of the party cut across the

cavern and raced down the eastern shore.

Their destination was the passageway connecting to the twenty-sixth floor.

Reaching the tiny gap that had appeared between the root and the ground, they dove

into it one by one.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?!"

An instant later, the entire cavern caved in on itself with a terrific roar.

The plunge pool was obliterated by the wreckage of crystals thundering into it. Inside

the cave, the adventurers were blown back by the backdraft.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!"

In the middle of it all, Turk and his companions—who had chosen the western route—

were caught in the collapsing debris and fell from the crumbling cliff face.

Not a soul was left to attend to them. They were cruelly crushed beneath the avalanche

of crystals, forced to pay the ultimate price for their destruction of the Dungeon.

"Whew… we made it…"

"If we had tried to go back to the twenty-fourth floor…"

Lilly and Chigusa were panting and pale as they stood up. When they looked back at

the cave connecting to the twenty-fifth floor, it was already half crushed, the passage

completely blocked off.

"Daphneeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

"Stop hugging me! This isn't over yet."

Surrounded by her companions who had so narrowly escaped death, Cassandra was

wailing and clinging to Daphne, her cheek pressed to her friend's as they crouched

side by side. Daphne blushed as she struggled to peel Cassandra off.

"Thank you, thank you…! You believed me…!"

She wrapped both arms around Daphne's neck like a baby, sobbing and smiling at the

same time. She couldn't help but weep tears of joy now that her friend had finally

believed in her.

Perhaps out of embarrassment, Daphne pouted.

"All right, enough fussing, you two! Stand up! They're coming!"

The sharp reprimand came from Aisha as she ran past them. The pair looked up and

saw a horde of monsters racing toward them from the path straight ahead that split

off toward the twenty-sixth floor. Still alive, are you? We won't let you get much farther,

they seemed to be saying.

"Bad luck always brings friends…!"

"Stop babbling, big guy! Now that we've come this far, we're absolutely going to reach

Bell for sure!"

Ouka held up the battered Kougou, and Welf stood ready at his side with a spare magic

blade. Daphne and Cassandra leaped up as well. Without even having time to fully

relish the fact that they were still alive, the adventurers scrambled into battle

positions.

The vanguard dashed forward, having handed over the still-unconscious Mikoto and

Haruhime to their comrades bringing up the rear.

With the Amazon's podao leading the way through flying monster blood, the

adventurers continued their battle.