"ROAR—!"
As the earth-shaking roar rang out, everyone in the Astraea Familia gave up attacking Amphisbaena, because they knew very well—the plan had succeeded.
After all, how could a monster not be furious after swallowing Lyra's specially made stink bomb?
That kind of pungency was simply unimaginable!
Feeling the lingering stench in its mouth, then glancing at the tiny insects fleeing in the distance, Amphisbaena's eyes seemed to burn with raging flames.
Without hesitation, it chose to leave the water and charged toward those detestable little creatures.
So what if it would grow weaker on land? It would make those insects pay the price!
Even if it meant harming itself, it swore to avenge this humiliation!
Not only that, both of its heads opened their mouths wide. A dragon's unique ability—breath—was already gathering.
"It's breath! Get ready!"
The scorching heat from behind was far too obvious to ignore.
If they were hit by this breath attack, at least half of them would lose their combat ability. No one would come out of it unscathed.
So, in order to preserve the rest of their strength, a decision was made.
"Everyone, get behind me!"
If there was anyone in the Familia who could withstand Amphisbaena's breath head-on, there was only one.
The dwarf girl, Asta!
In the past, dwarves typically wielded massive tower shields, but Asta was different. Her equipment had been changed to a pair of small, seed-shaped shields.
When both hands came together in defense, they could form a powerful barrier, covering a larger area than even a greatshield.
Not only that, these shields could also be used effectively for offense, much like a pair of greatswords.
Elise had gotten the idea from a certain movie, which was why she created such an unusual shield. Even Asta herself had spent a long time training before mastering it.
...
Just as everyone gathered together, Amphisbaena seized the moment and unleashed its breath.
Blazing flames surged toward the girls, and within the firelight, their figures completely vanished from sight.
However, Elise in the distance showed no concern. She trusted her Familia. As long as their plan was solid, clearing this would not be a problem.
The only question was—who would act recklessly on the battlefield? When that happened, Elise would definitely reward them with a special training package.
Oh?
How is it that everyone else is fine, but you're the one in trouble?
Were you slacking off during training?
Don't worry, I'll make sure you make up for it!
So...
"Go! You can do it!"
"Don't lose!"
...
Within the surging flames, Asta was struggling to withstand the overwhelming heat.
Under normal circumstances, someone like Asta at Level 3 should not have been able to endure the attack of a Level 5 monster. Even with the enhancement from a Stigmata, it should have been impossible.
If it were just an ordinary Stigmata...
The Stigmata worn by the girls had all been crafted by Elise, then chosen by themselves.
Back then, Asta had taken a liking to this one at first glance.
Aside from basic stat enhancement, it possessed an extremely powerful special effect.
When attacked, defense would increase drastically. When continuously attacked, the defensive boost would double.
In simple terms, it was a specialized defensive Stigmata, forcefully raising Asta's defense to the limit of Level 4.
There was still a slight gap to the next tier—after all, the difference between Level 4 and Level 5 was enormous.
When the twin dragon's breath finally ceased, what emerged from the flames was the unharmed group—and Asta, kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath.
At the cost of injuring herself, she had successfully protected her companions from any harm.
"Sorry... I might need to rest for a bit."
"It's fine. Thank you for protecting us, Asta," Alise said, pointing her sword toward the distant monster. "Maryuu, I'll leave Asta to you..."
"Everyone else—let's go together!"
They had already lured Amphisbaena far from the waterfall. Its strength had been further reduced. There was no need to retreat anymore!
"Got it!"
With that, Alise activated her magic, her entire body engulfed in flames, making her look like a blazing figure.
The other members also brought out their specialties and began attacking Amphisbaena.
"Celty, together!"
"Mm!"
Ryana and Celty began chanting magic almost simultaneously. The abnormal surge of mana immediately drew Amphisbaena's attention.
Just as it prepared to counter with another breath attack, a black figure suddenly appeared before its eyes.
"Five Lights!"
Several flashes of sword light streaked past. One of Amphisbaena's heads had its eye struck violently, throwing it into chaos, leaving only the other head barely holding on.
But on the other side, there were two opponents.
The werewolf Neze used her sharp claws to slash across the remaining eye. At this point, of Amphisbaena's four eyes, only one remained.
As long as Ais succeeded, this floor boss would be completely blinded.
"Dragon..."
Ais lowered her head. Although this creature was not the black dragon that had taken her parents back then...
It was still a monster.
A dragon.
And that was enough.
"Sweep them away!"
"I will drive every monster out—without leaving a single one behind!"
The gleaming blade pointed straight at Amphisbaena's final eye. If Ais succeeded with this strike, then the subjugation of this floor boss would be more than halfway complete.
However...
"Huh?"
What happened next truly shocked Ais. Amphisbaena actually clamped her sword between its eyelids?
The blade was indeed sharp enough—it still left a bloody mark even while being held.
But Ais lacked the strength. No matter how talented she was, she had only just received the gods' blessing. There was a limit to how strong she could be.
Against ordinary monsters, she could manage—but against a floor boss like this, she could only struggle.
And in that instant when her movement stalled, danger struck!
The other blinded dragon head lunged at her at incredible speed.
"Not good!"
Not having encountered the others, it had no idea where they were—but Ais was standing right in front of its eye!
Wasn't that the same as a living target?
"Ais!"
Neze, the closest to Ais, rushed forward immediately, intending to shove her out of the way with her own body—but things would not go as smoothly as she imagined.
Humans could use feints. Why wouldn't monsters do the same? Perhaps the attack on Ais was only a diversion.
The strike that had been aimed at Ais suddenly changed direction and charged straight at Neze.
Facing a floor boss head-on, even Neze couldn't withstand it. She was slammed violently into the ground.
"Neze!"
Without giving the girls any chance to rescue her, Amphisbaena lifted its massive foot and stomped down toward Neze...
But how could that possibly be allowed to happen?
Thud!
The descending foot was blocked in an instant by something. Looking closely—it was Asta?
She had recovered that quickly?
Or was Maryuu's magic just that powerful?
But there was no time to think about that now!
"Everyone, buy time for Asta!"
"Maryuu, Neze is in your hands!"
At this moment, Ais, who stood beside Amphisbaena's eye, gradually turned expressionless.
Neze had been injured just now trying to protect her.
Fortunately, everyone in the Familia was strong. Otherwise, she would have lost someone again...
Lost?
At that thought, a black whirlwind began to swirl around Ais, and her entire aura changed completely.
Or rather... it became somewhat terrifying.
"Unforgivable, monster!"
"Die!"
A dark storm wrapped around her blade as she struck toward Amphisbaena's eye once more—but this time was completely different.
Ais' sword clearly began to damage the floor boss. Gushing blood splattered across most of her body.
Could this be...
"Avenger Princess?"
It enhanced damage against all monsters, and against dragons, it was an overwhelming boost.
However, the degree of enhancement depended on Ais' hatred. The more she hated the monster, the stronger her attacks became. Clearly, her hatred toward Amphisbaena had reached an extremely high level.
But the price...
Was the erosion of her sanity.
"Aaaahhhhhh!"
Little Ais stood atop the dragon's head, wildly slashing with her sword. She no longer cared about any plan—she only wanted to kill the monster before her.
Although she lost her reason, Ais could now deal effective damage to the floor boss. Serving as a temporary combat force like this was not a bad thing.
"Sorry, Maryuu. I'll have to trouble you again."
After being pulled out from beneath Amphisbaena's foot by Maryuu, Neze quickly received healing magic.
Feeling her body completely restored, she let out a somewhat helpless sigh.
"It's nothing. I'm a healer, after all!"
Maryuu smiled. Saving lives was her responsibility—especially when it came to her own Familia.
However...
With her own magic alone, it should have been impossible to completely heal someone in such a short time.
This was also thanks to Elise's Stigmata!
It could directly increase her healing effects by more than five times. Looking at it this way, their captain was truly terrifying!
Many of the Stigmata Elise created enhanced abilities based on a percentage of the user's existing strength.
Ordinary Stigmata only provided slight stat boosts. Mid-tier ones offered more noticeable improvements. Only the powerful Stigmata had special effects—and even then, they usually stayed within a reasonable range.
But Maryuu's Stigmata completely defied common sense. Not only did it grant a massive increase in stats, it also amplified healing magic fivefold.
This was simply an inconceivable Stigmata!
How had she even created it?
What were the materials?
Because this ability was too powerful, Elise had warned Maryuu not to tell anyone. Maryuu had only asked her about it in private.
"Your Stigmata?"
"Since it enhances healing, of course it's related to healing."
When Elise said that, her tone sounded somewhat awkward.
"It's nothing special... it's just milk."
Milk?
Since when did milk have such an effect?
Noticing Maryuu's strange expression, Elise quickly added, "I said it's milk—milk!"
"That's the truth. Don't doubt it!"
"It's just that the source is a bit... special..."
A special source?
Could it be—?!
Maryuu stared at Elise in shock, her face practically screaming, You've already had one? So you've given birth, right?
Elise couldn't take it anymore, but she still didn't reveal the truth.
"Don't get the wrong idea. It's not mine!"
"Mm-hmm, I understand."
Maryuu nodded—but her expression clearly showed she didn't believe a word of it.
Thinking about how Elise slept every night with Ais and Est like a mother with her daughters, Maryuu instantly came to her own conclusion.
Elise had definitely reached that stage!
"Hey, don't just assume things!"
"Don't worry, Captain! I'll definitely keep your secret safe!"
And just like that, Elise was misunderstood once again.
"Everyone's working hard—I can't fall behind!"
"Even as a healer, don't underestimate my combat ability!"
With that, Maryuu swung her mace and charged at the twin-headed dragon alongside the others.
While fighting, everyone moved as carefully as possible, doing their best to avoid taking damage.
Although going all out might defeat the floor boss faster, it carried too many uncertainties. If something went wrong right after defeating Amphisbaena—
By now, the floor boss was completely blind. Beaten senseless by Alise and the others, it couldn't even find the direction of the waterfall, crashing into walls several times.
"Mm, at this rate, victory is only a matter of time," Elise said as she stood up from the cliff. Prana formed steps beneath her feet.
Wasn't this scene a little familiar?
A radiant figure descended step by step from the sky, like a divine maiden—or perhaps an angel heralding the end.
Est, well aware of her sister's habits, followed behind Elise like a faithful attendant.
But now, no one was watching them—the battle had already entered its final stage.
The heavily wounded floor boss had completely lost any chance of escape, reduced to being battered by Alise and the others until it finally fell under the barrage of magic.
Huff... huff...
Although they had relied on clever tactics, these girls—with an average level of less than Level 3—had truly defeated a Level 6 floor boss.
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
Everyone except... Ais.
The girl had long since been consumed by the effects of Avenger Princess. For most people, it would be difficult to pull her back.
But unfortunately, in front of Elise, that side effect was meaningless.
She possessed a special ability—purification—that could remove abnormal states. No matter what kind of status effect it was, it could not escape her cleansing.
However... even without using that ability, she still had a way to bring Ais back.
"Ais! If you keep this up, I won't cook dinner for you!"
Ais, who had been relentlessly attacking Amphisbaena's corpse, suddenly froze.
"No!"
See?
Wasn't that easy?
Her rationality returned instantly. This method never failed.