Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

Ais felt her gaze on her shoulder, but remained motionless.

She had no intention of exploring every corner of the floor as she had done before. Nor was she going to wait here for the monster to come.

There are other reasons why she stayed on this floor, in this "cave".

If I'm not mistaken, it should be—

Ais pondered silently, holding her breath and waiting for that moment to arrive, when suddenly...

A tiny, truly minimal vibration shook the boots I was wearing.

--really.

"coming."

"What?"

Ais's eyebrows shot up sharply, her gaze fixed on the center of the hall. Riveria was about to ask for clarification when she noticed her too.

The ground was shaking, and the tremors were gradually getting stronger.

"Could it be...?"

Riveria murmured, and as soon as she finished speaking, the ground in the center of the "cave" rose up.

Then—with a crack.

As the rocks howled, countless cracks appeared in the ground.

The earth split open as if cracked. The cracks that shot out in all directions seemed endless, and then a gigantic, pitch-black body burst through the ground, stretching its body all the way to the top of the sky.

Rocks and sand scattered and tumbled down from the massive body like a landslide. The hall shook violently. The behemoth, with deafening roars that seemed to shatter eardrums, finally revealed itself completely.

Before Ais and the others, the pitch-black monster gazed up at the dark sky.

"—Roar!!"

The endless wailing as it fell to the ground came from a colossal monster, whose size was comparable to the man-eating flower woman that appeared in "Rivera Town".

The intimidating aura emanating from its entire body is twice as strong as that of a woman.

This is the floor owner.

The "Lone King of the Labyrinth" reigns supreme on the 37th floor.

LV·6, "Udeos".

"Oh, I see. Three months have already passed..."

Whenever the "Lone King of the Labyrinth," which requires a certain production cycle, is defeated, it must wait a fixed period of time before it respawns in the labyrinth. About three months ago, it was the Loki Familia who used all their strength to defeat it. Riveria looked up at the huge body and murmured in a daze.

The skeletal monster "Udeos," seemingly a gigantic manifestation of "earth-born humans," is entirely black. Its black skeleton gives the impression of being sucked in, possessing a sharp, eerie luster.

Its lower body was buried underground, and its body above the pelvis was nearly ten meters tall. Its forward-leaning, curved spine—countless vertebrae trembled, as if they were waves rising and falling with will. Two horns, like those of a demon, grew from its head, and strange crimson flames flickered deep within its enormous, dark eye sockets.

At the center of that enormous body, inside the chest, was a magical stone of an unusually large size, as if protected by thick sternum and ribs.

That body had no organs that could be called internal organs, only a huge crystal that emitted a dazzling blue-purple light, just like the heart of the floor owner.

"Rivia, don't make a move."

Facing the floor master who appeared as expected, Ais drew the Sword of Despair from the scabbard at her waist.

This is a great opportunity to move on to the next stage.

To elevate her already peak potential, she must defeat the formidable floor master alone. Ais aims to accomplish a feat even the gods would acknowledge—that is, to overcome her limits.

I will become stronger, even stronger, and I will never submit to anyone again.

In order to break free from my weakness and to gain greater power.

Ais superimposed the image of the red-haired woman that appeared in her mind with the pitch-black monster in front of her, and raised her golden eyes.

"Ais, are you really planning to deal with it alone?"

Riveria spoke stiffly to Ais's back as she walked forward.

Facing "Udeos," who opened its jaws and roared at her in a terrifying manner, Ais quietly wielded the silver light of her sword.

"don’t worry."

With an unwavering resolve hidden within her, she opened her lips and said:

"It will be over soon."

The black-boned giant trembled.

One person stepping into its attack zone unleashed its ferocious fighting spirit.

Facing the strongest enemy whose bones creak and groan as they prepare for battle.

Ais kicked herself to the ground and threw herself into the reckless battlefield.

*

She ran straight toward the enemy.

Holding her only weapon in her right hand, and also her comrade-in-arms with whom she had fought many deadly battles, Ais rushed forward at top speed and rushed into the embrace of the huge body that was so tall that one had to look up at it.

"Roar!!"

Ais charged forward, causing Udeus to let out a roar that shook the very air.

It stared at the golden figure with its flickering crimson flames, pulling its exposed long bones and gleaming black, twisted left arm—the huge blunt weapon—behind it to gather strength.

It dug through the air and unleashed a sweeping attack on the short figure.

"【Awaken! (Tempest)!!"

Faced with an impending fatal blow, Ais recited a very short incantation.

In an instant, a gust of wind, along with her armor, enveloped her entire body. Ais then increased her speed, slamming her left foot into the ground and accelerating in one go.

She leaned forward, burrowing into Udeus's arms before his left arm struck her. Invaded at extremely close range, outside the swing's range, with the speed of someone disappearing into a blind spot, the monster's eyes momentarily lost sight of Ais.

As for Ais, with the hollow ribs right in front of her, she jumped up.

The sword pierced through the air, approaching the enemy's left armpit. She raised her sword towards the unsuspecting left chest where the arm had missed its target. She further enhanced the wind power added to the sword, increasing its power and attack range.

She twisted her waist, pulled the "Sword of Despair" in her right hand to her left shoulder to gather strength, and then unleashed a sonic slash in retaliation.

"Ugh!?"

"!"

Udeos's wind sword strike, aimed at the massive "magic stone" located inside his sternum and intended to penetrate deep into the ribcage, was blocked by the vertical movement of his fifth rib. Faced with Ais's sudden attack on his central nervous system, Udeos was able to search and react in an instant, and simultaneously take defensive action.

--pity.

Looking sideways at the jet-black ribs that weren't even scratched, let alone cut, Ais muttered to herself expressionlessly.

As long as a crack can be left in the central area, the opponent's movements will be greatly slowed down. Although such good opportunities are rare, one should still be bold and attack whenever the opportunity arises.

Passing through the left side of her body, Ais landed behind Udeos and immediately turned around.

She slashed at the floor manager's back, whose spine was riddled with openings—in the next instant.

Black pillars shot out from the ground beneath Ais's feet as she ran, resembling long spears extending upwards.

"!"

She only moved her upper body to avoid the sharp blow that stabbed upwards from below her chin.

A black pillar brushed past her ear, ruffling her long golden hair. Then, five spears shot out from the ground, and Ais quickly dodged to the side.

Breaking through the forest of spears that appeared on the ground, or rather, as if Sword Mountain was stubbornly pursuing Ais, launching an attack from below his field of vision.

—This is it.

This is why even large raiding teams (squads) cannot defeat this floor master (Udeos) who lacks the ability to rotate in one go.

It could prevent enemies from getting close by using these endlessly shooting piles from the ground. Anyone who dared to jump into the enemy's arms would be pierced by these sword-like mountains. This was Udeus's weapon, combining offense and defense.

Udayus, whose lower body is only shown as his upper body, is not simply buried in the ground meaninglessly. In fact, to be precise, Udayus did not have a lower body.

It was like a giant tree with its roots intertwined underground, its numerous body parts extending from its pelvis to the floor of the entire hall. In other words, beneath Ais's feet lay countless sword-mountain mines planted by Udeos.

It can be said that this entire vast "cave" is the battlefield. The projectiles set the attack range on the entire foothold (ground) in space—the entire battlefield.

Once you reach Udeus, any attempt to escape will be blocked by the dark mountain of swords. The Bone King will not allow his enemies to escape the "cave" until the carnage is over.

"Lulu ooh ...

“Wu!?”

Contrary to the heavy turning motion expected of her massive upper body, a series of swords shot out at terrifying speed, relentlessly attacking Ais. By this time, countless dark pillars had already formed a dense forest around Ais.

As if whispering "Come here," the dark pillars guided Ais's movements. Forced to dodge continuously, her body was unknowingly brought back to Udeos's front.

With the strange fire in its eye sockets blazing brightly, the floor master attacked mercilessly with both arms. Faced with the combined onslaught of falling pillars from the ground and steel arms swinging from above, Ais, her face contorted in bitterness, struggled against the strong winds and barely managed to break through the encirclement.

"Ais!"

Rivera called out from outside, pleading with Ais not to intervene.

She remained undiscovered by Udeus near the entrance to the cave, her presence as still as the calm before a storm, yet she was filled with anxiety as she observed the course of the battle.

The diversionary attack, which should have been carried out by a team of thirty or more to spread the fire, was now all aimed at Ais alone. Even with the extraordinary speed granted by magical blessings, it seemed only a matter of time before she was caught.

Rivera held her staff and was about to take a step forward, but Ais's eyes stopped her.

She turned to Riveria with her golden gaze, indicating "I'm alright," causing Riveria's face to contort with the weight of some emotion she was carrying.

"...!"

Ais immediately turned her gaze from Riveria back to the front, using a large movement to avoid the hail of bullets coming from below.

Each of the fallen stakes varied in length and width. Some were short, less than a meter long, with sharp protrusions that blocked footsteps, while others were thick pillars over three meters long that extended out to obstruct the path or movement. Their shapes were varied and chaotic, some sharp and some rectangular.

While the continuous barrage of falling piles poses a threat, Udeos's direct attacks are far more powerful. Each time its palm strikes high and then swung down, the sword mountain directly below is shattered, and the floor is leveled. Even though Ais is clad in wind armor, a direct hit would be fatal. The female figures encountered on the 50th and 18th floors pale in comparison to this monster. Its strength and abilities truly live up to its title as the King of the Labyrinth.

The mountain of swords quickly engulfed their foothold. Ais cut down each sword as she passed by, while simultaneously glancing sideways at Udeos's body.

(If you're going to make a move, target the joints...!)

As the name suggests, the enormous, jet-black body had joints, including the shoulders and elbows, that shimmered with a blue-purple light resembling the glow of a "magic stone."

Udeos, lacking skin and muscle tissue, owes its skeletal body's mobility to the power of its nuclear joints. These joint cores, radiating immense magical energy, allow the massive bones to move freely and connect every part of the body. By destroying these nuclear joints—which, to the naked eye, appear as tiny specks of light—similar to those of the "Earthborn"—the enemy's body will disintegrate, significantly weakening its power. The best target is the bluish-purple glowing area, matching the number of joints.

The enemy's stamina is also inexhaustible; she must strike before she runs out of strength. Having reached a conclusion, Ais decided to switch from defense to offense.

She concentrated all her mental energy and uttered:

"Wind!"

Maximum output.

The Wind Armor increased airflow, thickness, and wind pressure, transforming Ais's body into a miniature gale. Ignoring the intense crushing of her already aching body, she harnessed the immense wind to her advantage, decisively implementing her maximum acceleration for the day.

「!?」

The disappearance of Ais from sight caused Udeus's fiery eyes to flicker.

She traced a right-angled path around to the rear of the enemy's massive body from its left side. The crimson flames, writhing in their throes, spotted the figure of the whirlwind and, not even bothering to utter a warning, immediately launched themselves into a stumbling block.

However, it missed. It couldn't even touch it.

It's too slow—Ais is too fast.

The overwhelming speed far surpassed the launch speed of the falling stakes. The sword mountain pierced through the spot where Ais had already passed, while the continuously fired pillars desperately chased after her.

Laying numerous landmines behind her, Ais's target was the enemy's spine and lumbar vertebrae.

She rapidly approached her opponent from the side and raised the "Sword of Despair." Ais charged past the enemy's waist while simultaneously swinging her arm, unleashing a silver saber imbued with tiny tornadoes.

"vomit!?"

Udeus took a vicious blow to the waist, just above his pelvis, and his upper body lurched to the right. As his back bent dramatically, Ais ran from left to right over his enemy's back, slamming her feet and left hand into the ground, then used the wind to apply a full-force emergency brake in the opposite direction.

Despite the body-ripping impact, she managed to counteract her momentum. Then, without pause, Ais kicked the ground, shattering it, and unleashed a storm of bullets that hurtled towards Udeos's spine once more.

This time, she switched to attacking from the right side—directing the nuclear joint deep within her cracked lumbar spine.

"Roar!?"

A vertebra in the lumbar spine was damaged, causing the upper body to lose balance and fall forward to the ground.

Udeus bent his upper body as if in worship. Seeing the giant monster fall to the ground, Ais, following the only way to defeat the floor master (the universal method), felt that the opportunity was not to be missed and leaped towards the enemy.