Dying of old age—
This was, without a doubt, the gentlest death Ron had experienced since arriving in the world of DanMachi. There wasn't much pain; all of his senses had been completely numbed.
He simply… reached the natural end of his life.
How much time had passed?
Ron couldn't remember anymore. That was what a life flashing before one's eyes felt like—until the powerful beating within his chest gradually awakened his dormant consciousness.
Revival!
He moved his body slightly, testing his limbs.
There was nothing more reassuring than realizing something was wrong and having his expedition teammates rush over at full speed to the Floor 17 area to provide support.
"...."
It was just—
Looking at the Fire Giant in the distance, now having entered an entirely new phase, Ron couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. He had already consumed a use of Revival just to get things to this point.
However—
The good news was that everyone had fully regrouped.
Two Lv.5 adventurers, Lefiya whose firepower could reach the same level, and Mikoto, who possessed bug-level gravity magic.
The Fire Giant might be powerful, but it wasn't necessarily unbeatable!
Noticing that Ron had fully recovered, Cassandra felt relieved. But when she looked at the Fire Giant in its peak state, she couldn't quite feel happy about it.
She lifted her head, tucking the blue strands of hair that covered her cheek behind her ear.
"...Captain Ron, you're okay."
"Mm."
Those who turned to look at him weren't just her, but also the Hiryute sisters and Lefiya, whose attention had been drawn to the Floor Boss's new phase. In such a short span of time—
Ron, who had been at death's door, practically a dying old man—
Now stood before them completely fine, as if nothing had happened.
Even though they had already witnessed miracles before, seeing it happen again right in front of them—
The complexity in their eyes betrayed their emotions.
'Near-Death Recovery'
Even—
A natural death caused by exhausting one's life force would still trigger it!!
The implications behind this were far more shocking than when they had encountered the ancient dragon Lansseax. Looking at it from another angle—
Perhaps the very concept of death had completely lost its meaning for Ron?
But compared to prying into that secret, dealing with the immediate danger was clearly more important, especially with the Floor Boss Fire Giant having fully gone berserk after completing its sacrifice!
"...Ron."
"What do we do next?"
"Fight."
"This thing is really strong. We absolutely can't hold back. If we want to complete this Familia expedition, we have to find a way to kill the Fire Giant."
Right now—
Ron could only feel that the cheat abilities he had weren't enough. He didn't have a skill like Bell's that could turn the tide in desperate situations. Continuing to rely on conventional combat methods—
Those methods might not work well against the Fire Giant.
Not only that—
In a battle of this level, Daphne and Elfy wouldn't be able to contribute much. If they joined recklessly, they might even get caught in the crossfire.
As for Cassandra—
Being able to give early warnings through her 'prophetic dreams' was already her greatest contribution.
Besides—
The original purpose of this Familia expedition was for them to face Soulslike-type ordinary monsters and achieve overall improvement in their status.
But a boss fight?
And against a Fire Giant whose strength rivaled top-tier Lv.5 adventurers?
Seriously?
"..."
"I'll put up a defensive spell for you."
As a member of the Familia—
Daphne naturally understood this. In a situation like this, her strength clearly didn't match the level of the main combatants, so she focused on providing support.
Raumure.
A laurel armor.
It could enhance endurance and greatly increase the target's agility—this was the most effective support she could think of for this boss fight.
"Alright."
"Make sure you watch your own safety."
Ron had no objections.
In the end, he shifted his gaze toward the two Amazoness girls beside him, their expressions solemn. Their presence would determine the final outcome of this Boss fight.
"Sorry to trouble you, seniors..."
"Don't say that."
As expected, no such thing as an easy job...
What he thought would just be a routine Familia expedition had now reached the point where even she had to go all out. Tione waved her hand dismissively.
This is still just the Middle Floors, damn it—
If they really teamed up with Ron and went down to the Lower Floors or even the Deep Floors, she didn't dare imagine just how strong the monsters and Floor Bosses would be!
Looking at the Fire Giant, supporting itself on both arms as it advanced step by step—
She let out a helpless sigh: "This might be a bit tough… but we can give it a try."
"..."
And at that moment—
Mikoto, who had already finished her battle preparations, wasn't holding the katana at her waist. As the Fire Giant drew closer, the girl's gaze turned resolute.
She murmured softly: "I respectfully speak to you, my War God that can break through any thing, lead me from the precious heaven. Give my petty body divine power of your grand body. Rescue them light of purification, sword of crushing evil. Sweep sword of suppression, sacred sword of conquest..."
"It arrives here now by my order. Descend from heaven, rule the earth."
As her magic surged—
Her body was locked in place, unable to move. Even beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Then, a gravity field constructed from magic—
Formed directly beneath the towering Fire Giant in the distance, manifesting as a magic circle. Along with it, a massive purple greatsword formed of magic lightly pressed against the ground.
Only then did she finish her chant: "Shinbu Tousei!!"
BOOM!!
An over-spec gravity spell—
Using the point where the purple greatsword touched the ground as its center, began spreading outward, continuously applying crushing force.
The ground, already battered from the battle—
Now cracked further, fractures spreading like a spiderweb. Even the Fire Giant's body was forcibly pinned down.
Its advance came to a complete halt, its mobility drastically restricted.
"From here on…"
"I'll leave the fight to you!"
The Futsunomitama she wielded—after her level-up—was being used on a Floor Boss for the first time. As for how long it could last...
Probably a few minutes.
Gravity magic
Since when did the Hestia Familia have someone like this?!
However—
There was no time for Tione and Tiona to dwell on it. From the Far East girl's tense expression alone, they could tell the spell's consumption was enormous.
She was buying them an opportunity to attack!
After the brief separation in the Dungeon—
The two inseparable Amazoness sisters regrouped once more. Their eyes met.
No words were needed—
Fighting alone was never their strength. What mattered was the battle coordination they had built through constant companionship. In this boss fight, they had no hesitation whatsoever!
"Kind of looking forward to it."
"After taking down this Floor Boss Fire Giant… we should be able to level up to Lv.6 through this great feat, right?"
"..."
Why is someone raising a flag right now?!
Ron really wanted to complain.
Looking at the blasphemous flames of an evil god spreading across the Fire Giant's body, he lightly rubbed his cheek, suddenly thinking of a way to rapidly increase his own strength.
'Power Within'
Absorb the flames—temporarily increase strength and endurance.
And—
The boost depended on the power of the flames themselves. Those flames, judged as belonging to an evil god by the Golden Order… the enhancement should be quite significant, right?
"Why does it feel like…"
"I'm either about to self-destruct, or already on my way to it?!"
...
Meanwhile—
Sensing the violent disturbance on Floor 17 caused by the abnormal situation, the members of Evilus, who were searching for Ron under Filvis's instructions—
Quickly advanced along the cavern passage leading straight to the Boss room...
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---