The breath weapon is poison fog? How is that possible? No… if this is its true breath weapon, then what it was using before was… bad breath?
Finn's razor-sharp mind grasped the truth in an instant, but that only made it harder to accept.
The edge of the beam brushed past the left leg of one of the members who had failed to dodge in time.
There was no wound.
That portion of flesh and bone simply vanished.
The pain had not even had time to register. The adventurers stared blankly at the place where their lower leg had been, their faces going empty for a heartbeat before unbearable agony swallowed them whole. Their running came to an abrupt halt.
Relying on his overwhelming physical strength, Finn barely managed to survive and keep fighting within that sweeping torrent of destructive energy.
In a single instant. Just a single instant.
The indestructible shield, the devastating spell, the lightning-fast assault—the iron triangle Loki Familia took pride in had completely collapsed.
Despair began to spread through every member of the party, as cold and heavy as the shadow Baror cast over them, so suffocating it seemed to choke the air from their lungs.
The surviving members collapsed to the ground, too weak to even grip their weapons. Cold logic screamed the answer in Finn's mind: if this continued, defeat was certain. Total annihilation was the only ending left. The pain in his thumb was so intense it felt like it would tear apart the last of his willpower.
Reality seemed to prove him right.
The poison had begun eating into them again. They could not inflict meaningful damage on the monster. They could not even touch its attacks.
At this point, they were merely dying slowly.
And yet, at that moment, the enemy stopped attacking.
As though savoring the sight of these "insects" sinking into helpless despair, the enormous scarlet vertical pupil gleamed with unmistakably human mockery. Its battle intelligence was no less sharp than that of the adventurers facing it.
Riveria struggled to open her eyes.
Every channel in her body screamed with the aftereffects of magical backlash, as though her insides had been scorched. On top of that came the steadily worsening poison. She still had magic left, but in her current state she could barely even speak clearly, let alone cast.
By now, the antidotes had completely worn off, and with the poisonous atmosphere now several times denser than before, this place had become a death zone.
Was hope… already gone?
It was not only her body. Even Riveria's iron will had begun to erode under the weight of helplessness.
The enemy's strength had far surpassed all expectations. The destruction of the whole team seemed inevitable.
And yet, for some reason, at that moment she thought of the boy.
If it were him…
Then she laughed bitterly at herself. What was she thinking? Entrusting her hopes to a Level 3 boy?
Even if he possessed astonishing combat power, what could he really do in a situation like this? He had already shown extraordinary tricks, yes—but in the end, he was still powerless to reverse this disaster, wasn't he? As a healer, he had done everything asked of him. But in this poisonous environment, unless the environment itself was somehow broken, all he could do was delay death a little longer.
The only real path left would be for him to use that giant spectral form again and heal himself through the battle while killing that monster in front of them.
But if he did that, then everyone else…
She looked at her companions, still stubbornly resisting, and bit down hard on her lip. Her heart burned with frustration at her own powerlessness.
Her pride as an elf and her dignity as a leader pushed her to try to do something—anything.
She examined her body again, desperately searching for even the slightest chance to cast a spell. Even if it meant burning away everything she had left, she wanted to carve out a sliver of possibility for the others—
That reckless resolve was noticed by someone else.
And then, in the dead silence of despair, a faint emerald light still flickered.
"So, you're really planning to give up just like this, Miss Elf?"
That was—
Not wind, not really.
Or rather, it was the sound of wind, but more than that, it was the voice of someone she knew all too well.
The shock gave her the strength to turn her head.
Through her blurred vision, she saw a figure walking toward her from behind.
It was Xien.
She had no idea when he had made it back here, but one thing at least was certain: he was still unharmed. That meant there was still a chance.
"Honestly, I knew this would be troublesome, but I didn't expect it to get this bad. A Floor Boss really is a Floor Boss. There's not a single second you can afford to let your guard down."
There was no despair in his voice. No fear.
If anything, there was… fighting spirit?
Still dazed, Riveria spoke.
"You… run. You should still be able to escape with your abilities. While that monster hasn't attacked again, use everything you have and run. We have to take responsibility for our own misjudgment… but at least one of us should survive…"
Hearing the hopelessness in her voice, Xien laughed.
"Ha… hahaha…"
"What's so funny? Do you even understand—"
Stung by the sense that her pain was being treated lightly, Riveria flared in embarrassment and anger, only to be cut off at once.
"Of course I understand! We're almost certainly facing a dead end here!"
She froze.
If he knew that, then why was he still—
"But 'certain death' doesn't mean it's time to despair. Run away? That's the one thing I can't do. Because I decided long ago that I was never running again."
As he spoke, a green wind began to blow.
It was the wind of hope.
Under Riveria's astonished gaze, the boy before her wore the confident smile she found herself almost envying.
"At a time like this, the song we ought to sing isn't a lament for death. It's a hymn of hope, one that belongs only to us—the protagonists of this story. So now… let me borrow the chant of a certain magus, and give this tale the most brilliant refrain possible—"
"This is where the climax begins!"
It was time.
Time to unveil the final crystallization of everything he had studied so far in magic—
The sword in his hand shifted with his will, transforming at last into a mage's staff.
A massive magic circle unfolded beneath his feet, glowing in the color of life.
"The inner sea of stars, the tower of distant sight—"
Riveria's pupils contracted.
That feeling… was this a super-long chant spell?
And the speed—far too fast…
"This is the primordial sky, without walls, without city, without kingdom. The origin-star that shines in the depths of the earth."
"From the edge of paradise, I proclaim to you: your story overflows with blessing."
It was unlike any spell she had ever heard. The incantation, the overwhelming activity swirling around him—everything screamed one conclusion.
This magic was no ordinary thing.
Xien's voice was gentle, not especially loud, yet it carried across the entire battlefield, drawing the attention of every member of the Familia—
And that purest malice, too.
Seeing that one of the "insects" could still move freely within its own domain, the Floor Boss grew enraged.
Chaotic, violent magic surged into its maw once more. It would grant these insects despair and death again, without mercy.
"Not happening!"
"Not while we're here!"
It was Finn and Gareth.
Having used the healing elixirs Xien had given them to restore their basic fighting capacity, they roared and threw themselves in front of him. They had no idea what kind of spell the boy was casting, but the scale of the energy involved suggested one thing:
There might still be a chance to turn this around.
And if there was even the smallest chance, then they had to buy him the time he needed—
"Only the sinless may enter."
"Bear witness to the form the soul takes."
Barely three seconds later, the dark torrent blasted from the monster's maw, a scythe of annihilation meant to erase everything in its path once again.
Gareth planted his damaged shield before him while Finn supported his body from behind. If they could just deflect the attack—just buy a few more seconds—
They knew very well what it would mean to take that head-on. But now, both of them had already resolved themselves to die if they had to.
And yet, before the attack could reach them, the unexpected happened.
The spell completed.
"—The Eternal, Isolated Paradise. Garden of Avalon."
As Xien swung his staff, the world changed.
What flew toward them was wind—and petals.
Against that catastrophic beam, it seemed absurdly delicate, almost laughably weak—
But then, something happened that left everyone—no, every living thing on that battlefield—stunned.
Where the invisible wind passed, the land transformed into a sea of flowers.
The annihilating attack, which should have erased them all, was simply stopped outside the bounds of that ideal garden, as though blocked by an invisible wall. It could not create even the slightest ripple within.
The Floor Boss's massive vertical eye filled with confusion. It could not understand what had happened.
Where had its proud attack gone? Why had it simply vanished?
The wind brushed over its body, and unease rose in it. Though the flower field beneath its feet caused no direct harm, it loathed this alien environment. It was not what it wanted.
But reality remained reality.
The overwhelming disadvantage that had doomed the adventurers moments ago had been completely reversed.
The poison in the air was gone.
In its place came the fragrance of blossoms and the breath of life.
The adventurers stared at their own bodies in astonishment. The toxins were purged. Their wounds closed. Their stamina recovered.
And more than that—
They could feel it.
Their strength.
No, not just strength. Every attribute of their body had been enhanced.
The pain across Riveria's body faded. She rose to her feet, staring blankly at Xien's back. She caught one drifting petal in her palm.
It felt unreal—lighter than a real flower petal, but definitely present. A second after touching her skin, it dissolved into energy and flowed into her, healing her and strengthening her further.
It was unbelievable.
This was Xien's newest creation.
A support spell that combined magic theory, illusion, Abundance power, and spatial ability—an inspiration drawn from a certain flower magician.
A super-long chant support spell that purified all negative status, restored life force, and applied enhancements all at once.
The culmination of Xien's magic studies at this stage.
To be honest, even Fels had been astonished when he first heard the concept. He had never expected that after gathering so many powers together and paying such an enormous price, the young man would choose to create a high-level support spell instead of a destructive one.
So different from those who sought power for its own sake—
Back then, Xien had only smiled and said a single sentence:
"True power should never be measured by destructive force alone. As far as I'm concerned, the power to create, the power to save—that is what real power is."
Now Riveria stood fully restored.
At last, she was back at full strength.
"All right, everyone! The healer has opened a sanctuary for you. It's time to show that thing our second round!"
"OOOOHHHHHH!"
Every member roared together.
Finn included.
Leading from the very front, or rather, the moment he grasped the overwhelming effect of this field spell, he pushed himself to full power without hesitation.
His eyes reddened. Twin spears in hand, he charged at the very front of the formation.
But even that was not enough.
Not nearly enough.
Xien kept his eyes fixed on the enemy.
Its next attack was already beginning to form, and this time, it seemed to be deliberately increasing the charge time.
The enemy's body was monstrously durable, and up to this point, it had taken almost no real damage. So the first thing to do was remove that troublesome means of attack.
Conveniently, his ocular power still needed a little more time to recover—
With that thought, Xien raised Candlelight and gave his next command.
"Riveria, defense is yours. Buy me a little time!"
There was no help for it. That single giant eye had been locked on him the whole time. To ensure absolutely nothing went wrong, another layer of insurance was necessary.
"Ah… right."
Instinctively responding to his trust, the Elven Princess began chanting the defensive spell that was her specialty.
The hope that the boy had brought—
She would protect it with everything she had.
Then Xien raised Candlelight.
At his will, it shifted into the form of a greatsword.
It trembled. It rejoiced.
At last, the time had come to unleash its full power.
A tidal wave of emerald Abundance energy erupted around the boy, pouring into the sword.
The sudden surge drew both friend and foe alike to look his way.
Since the enemy was a dragon, then this line ought to fit well enough.
Thinking that, Xien began to chant—
"Awaken from the golden dream. Be released from the cradle."
The others attacked even more fiercely now, with only one goal in mind:
To buy him the time he needed, because Xien had never once betrayed their hopes.
"O spear of light, pierce through my head. Drink deep of blood."
Finn gave everything he had.
His eyes blazing red, he hurled both spears toward that giant eye.
This was Tir na Nog—
Finn's attack spell, a thrown-spear magic that converted all of his ability values into power, including his hidden potential. A trump card that could only be used once per day.
The Floor Boss sensed danger too late.
Though it shut its eye in time, the explosion of the magic spears still wounded it heavily, enough that the attack it had nearly finished was disrupted.
Having no time to deal with this nuisance, it casually swatted Finn away—
But then immediately resumed gathering power from the surroundings, preparing its strongest attack.
....
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