"Let me make this clear in advance. Only you will participate in the subjugation of the floor boss. Est and I will observe from the side."
"If any of you end up in a life-threatening situation, I will immediately pull you out of the battle. Once that happens, you will not be allowed to continue participating."
Before reaching the designated floor, Elise informed everyone first.
"Have you all gathered enough information about the monsters?"
"Of course, hehe!" Alise grinned and rubbed her nose. "We've always been under your protection, Captain, but don't treat us like flowers in a greenhouse."
"Mm!"
Seeing the members confidently draw their weapons, Elise said no more and entrusted the battlefield to them with peace of mind.
"Since you're so confident, I'll be looking forward to it."
"Just watch from the side!"
At the bottom of the 24th floor.
The path leading to the lower floors was a cave wrapped in crystals. Elise and Est stopped here, standing in place and silently watching as the other members advanced.
"Is everyone ready? It's time for us to show what we can do!"
As they moved forward, the sound of rushing water grew louder—this was the paradise of water, the Great Fall.
The cascading water, illuminated by the surrounding crystals, shimmered in a beautiful blue emerald hue.
The entire waterfall was like a staircase, stretching from the 25th floor all the way down to the 27th. Although massive, there was actually a land route that allowed descent.
However, Alise and the others had no intention of going further down. This was the most suitable battlefield for them, as there was a relatively wide area of solid ground.
"We'll set up here. Begin!"
The floor boss Amphisbaena was a mobile-type boss, constantly moving back and forth within the waterfall that spanned these three floors, making it difficult to pinpoint its exact location.
But Alise showed no panic, because they had already found a way to deal with it.
If we can't find you, then we'll make you come to us.
Noin stepped to the edge of the waterfall and poured a bottle of potion onto the ground by the shore.
"This is a stronger version. There'll definitely be a huge number of monsters rushing in soon, so... I'm counting on all of you. We'll do everything we can to hold them back."
What Noin carried was a monster-attracting potion.
Its scent alone could draw in nearby monsters. It spread through both air and water, and the longer it lingered, the farther it would reach.
"But... are they planning to attract monsters from above the 24th floor as well?"
Elise remained at the entrance of the 24th floor. If they were thinking of relying on her to deal with those monsters, that would be wishful thinking.
"I said from the start that I won't participate in the battle. The rest is up to you."
With that, Elise took Est and flew away, choosing a better vantage point to observe.
As for the members, they simply watched silently.
"As expected... looks like the monsters from behind will be up to you, Ryana and Ryuu."
Among the team, Ryana, a fire mage, would have her strength greatly reduced in a battlefield filled with water.
But as long as she didn't enter the water, her magic was among the highest damage outputs in the entire familia, aside from a few exceptions.
Combined with Ryuu's magic, Luminous Wind, which further amplified the spread of her flames—
With such overwhelming firepower, even against hordes of monsters on land, they could be reduced to ashes.
"The monsters coming down from the 24th floor are yours. Don't let a single one through!"
"Leave it to me!"
Lyra, the team's strategist and commander, handled all tactical distribution.
"And Celty, the monsters attacking from the water are yours!"
"I will complete the task."
Celty, the team's lightning mage, was only Level 2—one level below Ryana. However, she had just reached Level 2 and already obtained the development ability Magic, making her exceptionally formidable. Her spells could unleash power beyond her level.
And this battlefield was water. What happens when water meets lightning—no one needed it explained.
Water conducted electricity, amplifying lightning magic several times over, both in power and range.
So with Celty alone, she could completely hold off the monsters surging from the water. She might even have it easier than Ryana.
"Iska, Kaguya, Alise—handle the remaining monsters coming down from the 24th floor."
"Asta and Noin, block the monsters attacking from the water."
"Neze, Ais, and I will eliminate any monsters that try to ambush us from other directions."
"And Maryuu, leave everyone's healing to you!"
After assigning everyone's roles, Lyra took out bombs she had prepared in advance from her pocket.
Everyone's tasks had been arranged beforehand. The battlefield by the water allowed those who relied on physical combat and fire attacks to stay away from the water.
The land area was for close-combat specialists, while the roaming role in the middle suited the fast-moving Neze and Ais perfectly.
As for Lyra... although she wasn't fast enough to roam, her bombs were.
Not long after the monster-attracting potion was released, the girls present could already hear deafening roars.
As time passed, the number of roars increased, and the volume grew louder and louder.
They're getting close!
The monsters are getting close!
The mages began chanting their spells, while the warriors tightened their grips on their weapons.
"Awaken."
Ais softly invoked her short-chant magic, Ariel. Immediately, a green whirlwind began to swirl around her body.
"They're coming!"
With that final call, the surrounding noise reached its peak.
At the entrance of the 24th floor, countless red stars began to appear.
No—that was the monsters' eyes!
"ROAR—!"
Amid an earth-shaking roar, the monsters surged out like a tidal wave from the entrance. It was hard to imagine how so many of them had squeezed through such a narrow cave.
But this was not the time to think about that!
"Take this!"
"Luminous Wind!"
Wind and fire magic intertwined in the air, forming blazing storms that erupted within the monster horde, reducing countless creatures to ashes in an instant.
However, despite their immense power, Ryana and Ryuu's magic was not limitless. They had to conserve their strength to deal with Amphisbaena, so it was inevitable that some monsters would take advantage of the gaps and continue advancing toward them.
A Minotaur finally forced its way through the burning flames, only to be met head-on by a cold flash of steel.
Shing—!
Kaguya sheathed her blade, and the Minotaur was instantly sliced into multiple pieces amid countless streaks of sword light.
Iaijutsu draw slash!
After cutting the monster apart, Kaguya said nothing and immediately rushed toward the next target.
And she was not alone—the other monsters were also intercepted by Alise and Iska.
Iska raised her fist and struck a monster that had just burst out of the flames, sending it flying back. Though she did not possess Kaguya's one-hit killing power, she was by no means weak.
The monster she struck was blasted backward as if hit by a massive weight, crashing into several others and knocking them down. This greatly slowed their advance, keeping them trapped in the flames for a longer time.
As for Alise... she was even more formidable.
She charged straight into the burning flames, swinging her crimson sword at the monsters struggling within the fire.
A magic swordswoman, Alise not only wielded fire magic, but also possessed absurdly high resistance to flames.
Incidentally, the image of Alise rolling on the ground while burning in the game was purely because her clothes lacked fire resistance and could catch fire.
Now, with her new equipment, that weakness was gone. She could move freely within the flames of magic. Unless it was fire far beyond her tolerance, her maximized endurance would allow her to withstand it.
"Everyone, keep it up! Stay ready to face the floor boss at any moment!"
"We can't fall behind."
Asta and Noin also moved to the edge of the waterfall. Although they faced numerous monsters as well, they did not need to kill them like those on land—simply pushing them back into the water was enough.
With Celty's lightning magic, the shoreline had become a living hell for aquatic monsters.
Whenever a monster leapt out of the water, Asta would slam it back down with her large shield.
The battle continued like this. As monsters died, countless magic stones dropped to the ground.
But it still wasn't enough, because the floor boss had yet to appear. As long as it did not show itself, this Monster Feria would not end.
Everyone was doing their best to conserve stamina, because fighting the floor boss would be no easier than this ongoing onslaught.
"Not bad at all."
From a high cliff, Elise sat and carefully observed the battle of her members.
This was likely only their second expedition, yet reaching this level was already impressive.
Everyone had their roles. Their offense and defense remained organized, and healing kept up without delay.
Elise estimated that, even now, each of them still retained at least seventy percent of their stamina.
Using such minimal cost to endure a Monster Feria was well worth it.
"But the real target is already approaching. How will you deal with it?"
Within Elise's perception, an enormous monster was surging upward against the current of the massive waterfall with astonishing momentum, rapidly closing in on Alise and the others.
That was the floor boss of this place.
Amphisbaena!