"Long time no see, Amphisbaena!"
Elise sat at the edge of the cliff, carefully sensing the two-headed dragon below.
Amphisbaena—an old friend!
The last time they met was when Elise was only Level 2. This thing had an incredibly long respawn time, lasting several months!
And after being reborn, it would often encounter other adventurers, which was why Elise had not seen this dragon for a long time.
"But last time, I was the one who dealt with you. This time... perhaps even my members will be able to defeat you."
"Thank you for helping them grow!"
...
"I see it! The floor boss is here—it's right above the waterfall!"
Among everyone, Noin, who was positioned by the waterfall, was the first to notice something unusual in the water and immediately warned the others.
However, the rest of the familia quickly understood the situation as well—because the number of monsters had decreased.
Where the floor boss resided, there seemed to be a powerful aura that caused other monsters to avoid approaching.
If one observed carefully, it was clear that the number of monsters they were fighting was steadily decreasing—and still dropping! Even with the potion attracting monsters, they no longer dared to come closer.
There was only one explanation.
The floor boss was approaching!
As the last Minotaur fell beneath Kaguya's blade, not a single other monster could be seen on this floor.
However, in contrast, the disturbance at the waterfall grew more and more intense. The splashing water even reached the entrance of the 24th floor—the farthest point from it!
But at this moment, no one cared about the water anymore.
Because a massive monster had already appeared before them.
The two enormous dragon heads were proof enough.
This was their target for this expedition—the floor boss, Amphisbaena!
"ROAR—!"
As if sensing the intruders, both dragon heads let out a simultaneous roar and lunged toward the girls.
"Dodge!"
Facing such a massive floor boss head-on was not a wise choice. Moreover, the highest level present was only Level 3. Even with Elise's Stigmata boosting them to Level 4, it was only a pseudo-Level 4—fundamentally different from a true monster like the floor boss.
If those two gaping maws caught anyone, not even a corpse would remain. Even Asta, who had the highest endurance among them, had no choice but to evade.
"Roar...?"
After missing its strike, both dragon heads lifted and looked around, clearly surprised.
It had not expected these weak little things to dodge its attack.
Strange.
From its perspective, these creatures felt incredibly weak—yet they could actually avoid its strikes.
Perhaps this was the effect of the Stigmata.
"Everyone, fall back! Neze, lure it away from the waterfall!"
"Got it!"
Among everyone, the fastest was undoubtedly the werewolf Neze. After all, she was Level 3. If Ais were the same level, it might have been her instead.
"Hey! Big idiot, over here!"
Neze abruptly stopped and began waving her arms at Amphisbaena, trying to draw its attention, while the others used the opportunity to retreat.
Seeing the tiny figure gesturing at it, Amphisbaena only let out a low growl and did not recklessly pursue.
"Tch... didn't expect a monster to be this cautious."
"Lyra, give me a hand!"
"Sure thing—but be careful! Don't kick it too hard. It's filled with specially made stuff. If it splashes on you, you won't be able to wash it off for a whole week!"
Lyra, who had been retreating, suddenly stopped and pulled out something from her pocket that looked very much like a bomb.
"Catch this!"
With a forceful throw, the bomb flew toward Neze.
"Hehe, of course I won't mess it up!"
Neze leapt up from the ground, instantly adjusting her posture to receive it.
Her legs spun rapidly, generating a powerful whirlwind that sucked the bomb into it in an instant.
"Two-headed snake, try this!"
With a powerful kick, the bomb shot forward along with the swirling wind, heading straight toward Amphisbaena.
"ROAR—!"
Faced with such a small object, Amphisbaena paid it no mind.
Weak was weak—nothing else mattered.
So it simply opened its massive jaws, intending to swallow the object whole to demonstrate its overwhelming strength.
But upon seeing this, Lyra's lips curled into a rather unnatural grin.
"I didn't expect it to actually try to swallow it... hehe!"
"No need to even cover our noses."
Boom!
As the enormous jaws slowly closed, a dull sound echoed out—clearly the bomb detonating.
Everyone present understood instantly and retreated far away. Even Neze, who had kicked the bomb, fled at top speed.
"ROOOAR!!!"
To their surprise, the floor boss, the two-headed dragon Amphisbaena, suddenly let out an extremely strange scream.
So what exactly had happened?
The answer, naturally, lay in Lyra's bomb.
In the original story, Lyra also used bombs for attacks, though their power was not particularly great.
Before Elise helped her, Lyra had already intended to make bombs like this.
But at that time...
"Why not add something... special into your bombs?"
"Something special? All my bombs are already specially made. What do you mean?"
Faced with Elise's question, Lyra showed a puzzled expression. In her eyes, as a weapon, a bomb should simply be as powerful as possible.
"Something special—like chili extract, tear gas mixtures, or sleeping agents."
"And of course... there's one more thing you can't leave out..."
Elise whispered a few words into Lyra's ear.
Lyra's eyes widened instantly as she stared at her in disbelief.
"You... are you really the Saintess people talk about?"
For the second time, Lyra began to doubt Elise's identity, because what she said and what she did seemed completely out of sync.
"What are you talking about? My title is Saintess of Scales, you know!"
"Fine! I admit it—I can't outdo you when it comes to being ruthless!"
At that moment, Lyra truly grew a great deal.
And so later on, she turned Elise's idea into reality—creating truly special bombs.
"If even this doesn't draw the floor boss' aggro, I'll write my name backward!"
Under Elise's guidance, Lyra had created many special bombs—tear gas bombs, chili bombs—but the one she used now was something even more... unique.
A stink bomb.
Amphisbaena shook its heads wildly, trying to spit out whatever was in its mouth.
But unfortunately...
It was specially made.
It wouldn't come off for an entire week!
When collecting the raw materials, Lyra had even worn protective gear.
And now, after receiving this "special service," Amphisbaena's eyes had turned blood red.
It was furious!