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

She said this to herself with her clear, honest eyes, which Phil Weiss envied.

Are you even going to stand by and watch that gentle young girl die?

As I questioned myself, scenes deeply etched in my heart resurfaced.

The cries of my lost predecessors (comrades) echoed vividly in my ears again.

—Run, Phil Weiss!

Run! Run fast!

—Aa ...

—That's right, let's go... Phil Weiss.

—Run! Phil Weiss!

—Philip…Weisi…

——Save me.

The voices of her companions, swallowed by the "nightmare," haunted Philweis. The "nightmare" scenes that had been eroding her heart ever since had stained her vision blood red.

The heroic shouts, the blood-stained screams, the mournful murmurs gripped Phil Weiss's heart.

(I--)

The enemy before him seemed to find it amusing, mocking him. Right behind him, his fellow young women were preparing for battle.

Standing frozen in place, Philweis finally exclaimed, "Damn it!?"

He turned his back to Olivas and charged into the battlefield.

"...!"

Lefia deflected the approaching whip with her wand.

The mage's clothes were tattered, and she barely managed to withstand the torrential onslaught of tentacles.

Even without the energy to chant, Lefia managed to protect herself, all thanks to Rivera's guidance. Recalling what Rivera had taught her—"A mage must not let their magic explode unintentionally; under any circumstances, one must remain calm and composed, like a towering tree"—Lefia forced herself to maintain her composure. By carefully observing the incoming attacks and utilizing the staff techniques Rivera had rigorously trained her in, Lefia could withstand the monster's onslaught on her own.

Moreover, she was utterly fed up with the attacks from the man-eating flowers.

Lefia had fought this kind of monster countless times lately, predicting the direction of the whip and repeating her dodging movements. The giant flower's tentacles stirred up wind pressure and swept across, but Lefia fell to the ground to dodge. The other man-eating flower, preoccupied with catching its prey, was immediately hit by the whip and easily sent flying.

Despite the physical pain and shortness of breath, Lefia propped herself up.

Oh no, I have to get up quickly...! Lefia saw the monster attacking and was about to move when a golden current passed before her eyes.

"Viridis!"

"Miss Philweis!"

Philvis, who had burned a large number of man-eating flowers with "magic," rushed to Lefia's side.

Lefia had been worried about her ever since they were separated, and seeing her face now, she couldn't help but sigh with relief.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you."

Seeing Lefia stand up, Philweis seemed relieved and narrowed her eyes.

"Do you have a weapon?" Rafia asked, opening the lid of her backpack. Philweis reached into the cylindrical bag with her right hand and pulled out a one-handed sword.

She threw away her sword sheath and began fighting the monster to protect Lefia.

"What should we do, Asphie?!"

—As for the adventurers who directly confront the giant flower.

Lulu screamed in agony because the monster was too difficult to handle. Asphie, suffering from excessive blood loss, swung her short sword, her anxiety turning into sweat that poured from her face.

"Although I really want to ask the Thousand Spirits to use a powerful 'magic', it would be pointless to send out a human wall of vanguard against such a massive body."

No matter how many people line up with their cards, they will all be crushed when faced with a serpentine run of a giant suit. It's not a question of whether you can stop it or not.

After glancing at Lefia, who was fighting off the attack alongside Philvis, Asifi turned to face forward.

"It seems we still have no choice but to target the 'magic stones'."

If the "magic stone" can be destroyed, the enemy will turn to dust. A prolonged war will only drag us deeper into trouble; there is no other way but to directly attack the monster's "core".

The question is, where is the "magic stone" buried?

Based on basic theory, it should be located in the center of the body, or, like the carnivorous plant, at the front of the flower head.

As Bert's powerful spinning kick altered the giant flower's trajectory, Asphyxi's gaze swept over the monster's long, massive body. —Even if they could pinpoint the correct location, whether their attack could penetrate that thick flesh and strike the "magic stone" was still uncertain. Asphyxi swallowed this doubt and gave instructions to Lulu and the others.

"it's useless."

Olivas simply laughed off the adventurers' continued resistance.

The giant flower, which has grown infinitely large by parasitizing the main pillar of the grain storehouse, is so enormous that it is beyond the reach of other monsters and cannot be defeated in a few moves.

Before these people can figure out a strategy, let's send them to their doom. Olivas narrowed his yellow-green eyes, intending to summon a new giant flower.

And just as he was about to raise one arm above his head...

An explosion occurred in a corner of the wall with a large hole.

「!?」

The loud crashing sound drew the attention of everyone inside the large cavity.

The one that flew out, trailing several plumes of smoke, was a red-haired woman.

She crashed violently through the wall as if she had been thrown back, her back slamming into the ground with a series of loud cracking sounds, carving a deep groove in the air.

Her body, which had been advancing like an arrow, came to a stop far from the battlefield ravaged by the giant flowers.

"Gurgle...!?"

The woman groaned and threw away the broken red sword.

She was covered in wounds and immediately knelt on one knee, as if to show how much strength she had expended.

"Ha, haa...!?"

Next to emerge from the shattered wall of the woman was a blonde, golden-eyed girl named Ais.

She, too, was covered in cuts and lacerations, her shoulders heaving violently as she gasped for breath.

"Reverie!?"

"Miss Ais!?"

Olivas and Lefia both screamed at the same time.

Ais, carrying her silver military knife, stepped into the Great Hollow. Seeing the surrounding scenery and the appearance of Lefia and the others, she showed a surprised expression, but immediately nodded to everyone, as if to say that she was alright.

The reunion after only half a day, and Ais's safe and sound appearance, caused Lefia's eyes to reflexively well up with tears. Asifi, Lulu, and the others who had been fighting all smiled along with Bert.

Lefia hurriedly wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand and carefully observed Ais and the others' condition.

There's no mistake, the red-haired woman named Revis is the attacker who plunged Rivera into chaos. The two were probably engaged in a fierce battle before Ais's full-force attack struck Revis, causing her to be overwhelmed by the impact and crash through the wall, being forced into this large void.

Both were covered in wounds, their protective gear and combat suits were severely damaged, and large beads of sweat dripped down their backs.

Although both sides were exhausted, Ais seemed to have a slight advantage, which may also be related to the performance of the weapons.

Ais dared not be careless and stared intently at Revis, who had lost her red sword and was kneeling on one knee.

"...All you do is talk big, Rives. How pathetic."

Orivas, like Lefia, observed Ais and the others, casting mocking glances at his female companions.

Upon hearing his voice, Rives's green eyes only glanced in his direction.

Ais's gaze also turned to Orivas, whose smile had creased his brow.

"They actually called this brat 'Arya'... I can't accept it, but fine, if 'she' wants it."

Olivas seemed to be jealous of Ais, his words revealing hostility.

Olivas, his face twisted and hideous, raised one hand straight up. "Giant Flower!"

He called out to the main pillar behind him.

The monster clinging to the quartz shook its massive body, peeling its skin off the quartz and crashing to the ground like a collapsing tower. It shattered the surrounding ground, its long, undulating body slithering and writhing.

The giant flower, with another giant flower still entwined around the main pillar looking down at it, turned its flower head toward Ais in front of it.

"Miss Ais!?"

Upon seeing the second giant flower monster that had been summoned, Lefia screamed.

She wanted to rush to their aid, but perhaps at Olivas's behest, the monster lashed out with its vine whips, blocking their path.

Lefia was unable to reach Ais.

"As long as I can bring them back, it doesn't matter whether they live or die."

Olivas used the monster to slow down the adventurers, and then walked up to Ais himself.

He believed that Ais had exhausted a lot of energy, just like Rives, and that killing her now would be easy. He gave her a malicious smile.

"Hey, stop right now."

"Don't stop me, Rives. I'll help you deal with the opponent you can't handle."

Rives, kneeling on the ground, begged him to stop, but Olivas paid no heed. The dark-haired man ignored Rives's words, only glaring at the girl he was about to kill.

Ais quietly raised her silver sword as the giant, deep green flower crawled toward her like a snake.

Seeing the weapon, which was pitifully small compared to the enormous monster, Orivas sneered.

"Die, Fiora!!"

Olivas stretched out one arm straight up and roared.

Upon receiving the order, the giant flower accelerated rapidly, digging into the ground as it charged towards Ais from the front.

"--idiot."

Seeing this scene, Rives clicked her tongue.

"—Let's go."

As for Ais, she called out to her beloved sword (the Sword of Despair).

Then she parted her cherry lips slightly and uttered the incantation.

"【Awaken (Tempest)】."

In the blink of an eye, the massive tornado it generated pushed aside the surrounding air.

Faced with the approaching monster, Ais unleashed her maximum burst of power, a storm, onto her beloved sword (the Sword of Despair).

Then, a flash of light appeared.

The sweeping strike severed the giant flower's head in one blow.

■

Olivas, Bert, and others, as well as Lefia, all became mute.

The wind that swirled around the sword, the flashes of light from the slashes, and the roaring divine wind.

The whirlwind sword energy bursting forth in a straight line instantly separated the giant flower from its head, sending its severed head flying into the air.

As time slowed down, the enormous flying chunk of flesh came into Lefia's azure eyes.

The monstrous flower head, splattered with blood, traced a parabola before crashing to the ground with a thud.

"————————————————————Ahhh!!"

The jeweled fetus parasitizing the main pillar cried out.

She seemed to react to the force of the gust of wind, clinging to the quartz surface and beginning to struggle.

The endlessly extended physical sensation time was finally lifted, and Lefia and the others focused their horrified gazes on Ais, who was unleashing a massive horizontal slash with the "Sword of Despair".

one strike.

It was solved with a single blow.

Although the giant flower's abilities were not comparable to the floor master or the female's size, such a huge monster was defeated with just one sword swing.