The Final Floor

Eh-

The tenth floor. It was an open cave with a smooth stone floor.

Pale light emanated from the stone. The area was around ten meters wide, with a staircase that lead downward in the corner.

And there was a mirror at the end of the staircase.

It seemed they could return to the ninth floor right now. Judging from their previous exploration, it wouldnt be difficult to go further back up either.

Though Ria muttered in doubt, she went along with it.

Theres no signs of magical power. This is an ordinary place.

Before the final boss, I guess were meant to get ready to go here?

For now, lets rest.

Ria judged so. Though they had decided to advance, they originally planned to return right after, but it seemed they could sleep here.

Unfortunately, the stone floor was abnormally hard, so she was unable to dig a bath. They wiped down their equipment and bodies with water.

Laying out blankets, they laid down. The first to stand as lookouts were Maal and Ria. These two were best for the role because they were the least exhausted.

Im useless, arent I?

Ria hugged Maals shoulder, slowly caressing her ear.

There were no lies in Rias words. If Maal werent there, the amount of time it took to explore the labyrinth would have been several times more. But, she knew that without it being said.

Towards Maal, Ria was always gentle. A gentleness that one wouldnt associate with Ria-chan the Merciless.

Its not that she didnt understand that feeling.

Before, she was just a tool. Locate traps, release them, and pick the locks on treasure chests.

Here, she wasnt a tool. She wanted to become a comrade that could fight together with them.

Yes!

Maal held her mouth shut in a hurry.

Alright, lets go!

After sleeping, they didnt feel mentally fatigued even though it didnt appear in a numerical value. The group stepped onto the staircase leading down.

Rather than a labyrinth, this was like a passage.

A spiral staircase~? It feels somewhat like DNA, doesnt it

Isnt that a double helix? I think this is entirely different though.

He was likely being talkative due to being anxious. Not that she didnt understand how he was feeling.

Ah, wait a second.

Its alright, the path behind us wasnt closed off.

Roger that.

The depth is about five castle gates worth. Theres probably something like a door at the end. If theres a room on the other side of the wall, wouldnt it be the size of five town blocks?

There was probably a guardian in such a large place.

Ria muttered. The group all looked reluctant.

Whats a Dragon? The strongest living creature in the world. Its stronger than most demons.

After all, two thousand years ago and again a thousand years ago, there were large floods of demons. With the help of Darkness Dragon Valis strength, mankind finally won.

Well, though I said a Dragon that doesnt mean its one of the Five God Dragons.

If a Five God Dragon came out, even I would escape.

Itll be fine if its an Earth Dragon though.

Towards Lulus question, Ria threw her chest out and answered proudly this time.

Though Ria said such a terrifying thing as though it were normal, compared to the Ogre King, a large monitor lizard was nothing to be afraid of.

Nee-chan, have you fought a true dragon?

Nope. But it should be stronger than a Hydra.

Its because they experienced a Dragons wrath.

While talking about such things, the group arrived at the bottom.

Thats its made of mithril.

Its lucky.

Serge, collect the mithril.

Roger that, Nee-chan.

Shrewdly, he collected the masses of metal that used to be doors.

The party walked into the room.

Their vision plunged into darkness.

Even Maal, whose eyes were good in the dark, couldnt see.

Serge was able to understand what was inside.

It was time for a strategy meeting then.

First of all, in case of an emergency, Maal will withdraw to defend Serge.

Maal raised her voice in protest.

All of the loot is kept in his storage space, so its fine even if I die.

In their battles so far, they knew their opponent. So they were able to figure out about when they should retreat.

The weapons and armor weve collected at great pains, all of it would be lost. That is why, excluding the minimum required goods, everything was given to Serge.

He has my things for the time being as well.

When push comes to shove, Maal, were relying on you.

Understood.

Maal nodded with a resolute expression. It was a face that had realized the responsibility of the work left to her.

Lulu casted defensive magic on everyone. In addition to protection for physical and magical, she used magic that would prevent things from influencing their minds as well. That a Dragons roar could inflict panic in people was well known.

Well then, lets go.

A ball of light emitted from Lulus cane,ripping apart the darkness as it traveled forward, then exploded.

At that moment, the huge room was illuminated.

Looking in, there was a huge chunk of rock.

No, not a rock, it looked more like a hill.

A giant.

With a maul in its hand, the giant stood up.

It was larger than Gigs huge figure, easily twenty times larger.

It had just one eye. Horns sprouted from his head.

A Cyclops

A descendant of the fallen gods.

With a savage appearance having just a loincloth and the maul, it evoked more than fear.

The giant inhaled, then bellowed.

If it werent for the defensive magic, it would have been impossible for some people to move with just that.

Aaaaaah-!

Ria also bellowed. She began to run towards the giant, nodachi in hand.

Then, the battle began.