So hard to kill!
The strength of the monster before them far exceeded Isagi and Ryuu's imagination. It could teleport and fire transparent ranged attacks that were invisible to the naked eye. Since it made no movements to telegraph these strikes, they were impossible to predict.
And ever since they "defeated" it once, it had grown those magnificent, colorful tentacles, writhing like worms in a sea of stars. This made the monster's sheep-bone-like head incredibly hard. Even if they landed a hit and cracked it, the flowing iridescence would swiftly fill the gap, rendering the attack completely harmless.
As for Magic—
When Ryuu-senpai's deep green orbs of light exploded against its body, a similarly magnificent, neon-like illusionary barrier unfolded, blocking everything.
It actually had a Magic Shield!
It had no body. Aside from the sheep-bone head floating in mid-air, there was nothing beneath its tattered robes. However, that brilliant astral stream flowed out, transforming into long tentacles that launched physical attacks like an octopus.
Sweeping, piercing, chopping.
The tentacles' attack patterns seemed simple, like soft, long sticks, but their angles were bizarrely tricky, and their sheer number made them nearly impossible to defend against completely. As a result, they could only put distance between themselves and this thing.
But it would always arrive silently in their blind spot within an instant, just like a ghost from a horror movie. One second it was far away, the next it was right in their faces!
Isagi guessed its Magic Stone might be hidden somewhere under the robes, but given the current situation, finding it would be extremely difficult. After all, he couldn't just stab his weapon in and thrash it around to "rummage" for it, could he?!
Unless...
Taking out his great bow, Isagi dodged the opponent's transparent attacks while raining down countless scorching red-gold arrows, completely enveloping it. Arrows composed purely of Magic bloomed with countless magnificent iridescent colors amidst its body.
Since it was a Magic barrier, it had to have a limit, right? Next up was a contest of endurance!
Sure enough, just as he thought, under the sustained barrage, in a quiet instant, its tattered robe was finally pierced by a light arrow, revealing a small hole that leaked a deep darkness from within.
On the other side, Ryuu-senpai seized the opportunity. The deep green orbs of light swirling with flowing fire gathered together, transforming into an incomparably brilliant miniature sun. Swiftly, using the opening, it sank into the interior of the opponent's tattered robes.
"—Come, wandering wind, traveling wayfarer. Fly across the sky, gallop through the wilderness, and race with speed surpassing all things. Harbor the brilliance of the stars to crush the enemy."
"[Stellar Splendor]!"
A blinding light exploded silently. Accompanied by a small sound like shattering ice crystals, the monster's body finally turned to ash and vanished, leaving only a few small Magic Stone fragments on the ground.
"..."
"..."
So tired.
The battle had lasted for at least several minutes. At this moment, the platform at the edge of the tower was riddled with potholes, full of traces shaved away by the monster's transparent air cannons.
The tentacles had shattered almost all the surrounding corridors. Visibly, the Dungeon seemed to be repairing these "injuries." Slowly, as if growing new flesh and blood, everything was restored to its original state before long.
That guy was at least Level 6?
Fortunately, his and Ryuu-senpai's attacks were still effective.
They didn't stay in place for too long. Right now, the most important thing for him and Ryuu-senpai was to seize the time to leave. If this really was the 37th Floor—
"The [Great Tree Labyrinth] we explored before, which is that [Spiral Road of Inverted Pain], is located on the original 24th Floor of the Dungeon."
As they walked, the two began to analyze the situation.
"As long as we return there, we can take the elevator directly back to the 12th Floor. There won't be any danger then."
"Meaning we have to cross from the 37th Floor to the 25th Floor, an entire Lower Level region."
"Mm."
This was obviously not simple. Even in the ordinary Dungeon, a veteran Adventurer party starting from Rivira would cross the [Great Tree Labyrinth] of Floors 19 to 24, arrive at the starting point of the Lower Levels—the 25th Floor region known as the [Great Fall]—and from there, eventually reach the [White Palace] where the two currently were.
This would take at least several days.
The good news was that the 28th Floor midway was a Safe Floor called the [Elf Flower Sea], where they could rest. At the same time, the 36th Floor above, being part of the [Golden Desert], also contained oases for rest. Of course, specifically what they would look like due to his Skill was currently unknown.
"In the oasis, we can replenish our water source. There are also some fruits. The lizards and snakes are ordinary animals, not monsters, so we can catch and roast them to eat."
Ryuu spoke, seeming to already be planning for the journey ahead.
The Astrea Familia of the past wasn't an exploration Familia, but under the Guild's mandatory requests, they had launched expeditions, reaching as deep as the 41st Floor. Thus, Ryuu was quite experienced. Although... the expedition planning was all done by Kaguya and Lyra back then; she hadn't helped with it at all.
The Elf girl lowered her eyes slightly, seemingly recalling the past again. Then, she quickly shook her head.
Stay focused!
Now was not the time for wild thoughts. Their situation was extremely difficult, and they had to begin their "escape" immediately. Not an adventure, nor a conquest, but a run for their lives! Ignoring everything else, they had to minimize combat and meaningless stamina consumption as much as possible.
"In short, let's head to the outer perimeter first and look for the entrance and exit to leave here."
No matter what, there were always connecting passages between every floor. This was inevitable; the Dungeon couldn't possibly have changed even that, right?
However, the situation was clearly not that simple.
What puzzled Isagi most now was this: he and Ryuu-senpai were brought here by the Dungeon from the Artificial Labyrinth, but why here specifically? Was there any meaning in capturing him and bringing him here?
Was it to do something, or...?
As if realizing something, Isagi raised his head and looked at the ceiling. Pale white light fell from the dome. Layers of firefly light covered the rock walls like a pure white sky, scattering illumination down so that all the corridors and towers before them were bathed in this glow.
But within that expanse of pure white, there was a pitch-black hollow.
Isagi saw it, and Ryuu saw it too. Inside the hollow was a pair of eyes, coldly watching everything below. Something existed in there.
What was that?
Not long after, it poked out slightly, allowing them to see that it was an incomparably massive, bloated black worm. Its head was entirely a large, split circular mouth, and inside its mouth, something seemed to be stuck.
A Great Dragon's head with long demonic horns was protruding from it, and the eyes the two had just seen belonged to this Great Dragon.
The Deep Crimson Great Dragon seemed to have magma flowing over its body. It was swelling, giving the illusion that it might explode at any moment.
What the hell is this?!
From the edges of the worm's mouth, countless black arms extended like tiny tentacles, struggling as if trying to pull the Great Dragon out of its mouth.
The scene before them felt both terrifying and comical. What the hell? Did it eat too much?!
Seeing the entity, Ryuu seemed to think of something and said to Isagi, "It's the [Great Serpent Well]!"
A Rare Monster active in the Deep and Lower Levels. Its massive body could shuttle between floors. It often swallowed adventurers into its belly, not to eat them, but only to take them to deeper floors and spit them out. The Guild regarded encountering it as a very terrible "accident."
Because once taken to the Deep Levels, one would fall into the predicament the two were in now. The fate of most adventurers was to lose their lives in the Dungeon.
Isagi had an impression of the "black hands" growing from its mouth. He definitely remembered that this was the thing that had dragged him and Ryuu-senpai down.
So, were they brought to the Deep Levels by a specialized [Great Serpent Well]? Since it was a Rare Monster, was it some kind of "miracle"?
And from the looks of it now, it seemed to have encountered an accident—it was somewhat weak and unable to move. Was it because of the Great Dragon stuck in its mouth?
Then, if it recovered its ability to move, would it continue to take him and Ryuu-senpai to even deeper floors? Perhaps even to the end of the darkness he had once dreamed of, that incomparably pitch-black depth no one could reach—the place where the [Dungeon] itself existed?
Vaguely, the cold sensation coming from the [Dark Bond Ring] on his finger was spreading bit by bit. It felt as if a pair of invisible hands were gently resting on it. Very real, definitely not a delusion.
This made Isagi feel that his worry just now might not be an illusion, but a fact. If they didn't hurry, or think of a way... It was very likely they would be taken by that thing to a deeper place. If that happened, they were truly done for...
*
Late at night.
Less than an hour after the Artificial Labyrinth operation was "forcibly ended," rescue operations were proceeding rapidly.
Fortunately, the intelligence preparation was thorough, and no accidents occurred during the initial combat. Coupled with Amid presiding over the main force, not a single participating adventurer died; most only suffered injuries of varying severity.
Although the Artificial Labyrinth underwent a mutation later, because it came and went quickly, it was more of a scare than substantial harm for most adventurers.
Eventually, after a period of rescue work to save the adventurers trapped inside by the collapse, the other side—without needing the Guild to take the lead—saw Goddesses Loki and Astrea already organizing a rescue team, preparing to head into the Dungeon to find Isagi, Ryuu, Riveria, and the others.
Only three people were missing. And due to the girls' eyewitness accounts, it was confirmed they were taken into the depths of the Dungeon by some kind of "force."
Under these circumstances, considering that the Dungeon itself would mutate due to Isagi's Skill, this rescue operation was led by Finn and Gareth of the Loki Familia. The participating personnel were adventurers of at least Level 4.
Tiona, Lefiya, and naturally Heith were included. There were also several Level 5s from the Ganesha Familia, as well as a large number of elites from the Loki Familia's second-line troops. Even the owner of the Hostess of Fertility pub was brought in.
Through Goddess Demeter finding Freya, and then through unknown means, the former Captain of the Freya Familia, the Level 6 [Mini Giant], Mia Grand, was invited.
Originally, Anya also clamored to go but was ultimately forbidden. According to the judgment of the experienced Lefiya and Tiona, this time they might encounter a "Special Deep Level" that had undergone changes. Inside, even the level of ordinary monsters might rise to Level 6 or even Level 7.
And even a "Special Lower Level" would likely have enemies around Level 6. If they encountered a Boss, it would probably rise to Level 7 or above—after all, they had already encountered a Level 6 Boss and [Silence] Alfia in the Middle Levels previously.
Under such circumstances, although the idiot cat's Level was sufficient to participate, her lack of adventure and combat experience over so many years would likely put her in danger. Or even... make her a burden.
Anya could not refute this and ultimately accepted the decision silently.
Subsequently, a team of about twenty people was quickly formed. After preparing supplies, they immediately began to advance into the Dungeon.
On the other side, Fels of the Guild also entrusted the Xenos to go deep into the Dungeon first to search for traces of Isagi and the others, and to explore ahead to gain more intelligence.
What was currently known was that the three had definitely been taken by a special [Great Serpent Well] to a place below the Lower Levels, but the specific floor remained unknown.
The good news was that as long as Isagi was there, the Dungeon that showed "changes" would be the location of the boy and the girls.
So there was no need to waste time; they just had to search downwards.
Having also departed quickly, the Xenos had already passed through the [Great Tree Labyrinth] and arrived at the [Great Fall] area, the entrance to the Lower Levels. They were following the path they were incomparably familiar with in the past, circling the giant waterfall located in the center of the zone, constantly descending.
"Well, I don't feel anything. Let's keep going down; it should be further below."
The Mermaid girl was a fellow summoned by the Dark Mother. What could be confirmed was that when she approached that boy, she would fall into that long "phantom dream."
The Xenos originally didn't know these things. But through Fels, after learning about Isagi's matter, Lyd and Ray confirmed this simultaneously.
But...
"I just feel something is wrong, Ray."
"What's wrong?"
"Very uneasy."
The Lizardman muttered to himself, feeling that something worse had not happened yet.
"I'll go down and take a look first."
As a Siren, Ray had the ability to fly, making her speed far faster than the other Xenos.
She flew quickly to the bottom of the waterfall. Beneath the bottomless pool, where the Monster Rex of the 27th Floor—the [Two-Headed Dragon Amphisbaena]—emerged, it had not yet respawned.
And continuing downwards, she arrived at the hot Golden Desert. Here, the damp chill from before changed completely, becoming scorching and burning. It was still almost the same as the Dungeon of the past.
So Ray continued downwards, spreading her wings amidst the light resembling a "sun."
Finally, in front of the corridor connecting the 36th Floor and the 37th Floor, she caught sight of it.
Seeming as if in the depths of the desert, like a mirage, bathed in fresh blood was a gigantic city ruin.
And, standing before the city gate, a colossal creation holding a giant bow.
——
____
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