However, the Death Web had no intention of letting Aiden go so easily.
It crouched slightly, and the ground shattered beneath its feet. Its massive body, carrying a terrifying shockwave, instantly crossed dozens of meters at a speed that defied logic. Appearing right in front of the mid-air Aiden, it once again hoisted the giant road sign high.
"Holy crap!"
Aiden's mouth twitched.
Being mid-air with nowhere to pivot, dodging was impossible. He could only cross his arms and gather all his flames in front of him to form a final barrier.
At the rear of the formation, Jeanne, who had been watching the battle closely, turned deathly pale. Biting her lip, she took a desperate gamble and channeled almost all the magic power sustaining the entire barrier directly onto Aiden.
The golden glow covering the entire field instantly dimmed, but a thick, tangible armor of golden light materialized over Aiden's body.
Boom!!!
As if struck head-on by a speeding truck, Aiden took the hit directly.
The terrifying force pierced through the flame barrier and the golden armor. He was launched like a cannonball, slamming heavily into the distant rock wall. The sturdy wall instantly caved in and cracked, and a shower of rubble rained down, burying half of his body.
"Hey, hey, hey, you've gotta be kidding me..."
Seeing this, Bors and the others turned pale with fright.
Aiden's previous fluid, relentless chain of attacks was flawless in both power and timing. If it had been the original Floor Boss, the Goliath, it would have been dead beyond dead.
But this new Death Web acted as if nothing had happened and launched such a terrifying counterattack, knocking away their last hope, "Flame Scion," in a single exchange.
"Flame Scion, are you still alive?!"
Bors roared at the top of his lungs, a hint of a tremor in his voice. "We can't fight this! This monster's stats are way too broken, we need to retreat!"
His shout echoed what everyone was thinking.
The other adventurers were now terrified out of their wits, thoughts of retreat budding in their minds.
Although the surrounding mobs were annoying, they could be managed with the buffs from Jeanne's barrier. But this new Floor Boss was so terrifying it bred despair, making it impossible for them to muster even the slightest will to fight.
"Not dead yet."
An annoyed voice came from beneath the pile of rubble.
Aiden pushed aside the rocks pinning him down and stood up unsteadily.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, fully wanting to curse right now.
Although he knew early on that the Death Web would be strong—certainly far exceeding the previous Floor Boss, the Goliath—he didn't expect it to be this difficult to handle.
He even used magic for internal detonations, yet not only did it fail to kill the thing, it didn't even count as a severe injury.
If his reactions hadn't been fast and his intuition on high alert, he likely would have ended up dead or gravely injured just now.
This Death Web's potential capability was at least Level 5!
Those few Level 3 adventurers like Bors were practically useless; they couldn't even give it a proper scratch.
As for him, although he could break its defense, the damage he inflicted was just a drop in the bucket compared to the Death Web's terrifying regeneration.
Aiden highly suspected that even if he threw caution to the wind and used his trump card, [Genos Angelus], it might not finish the monster in one strike.
As for rallying all the adventurers for a siege?
Aiden glanced at the crowd struggling against the mobs and shook his head.
With the Death Web's terrifying attack power, those Level 2 adventurers would be injured by a mere graze and killed on contact. Having them join the siege was no different from lining up to feed it kills.
However, Aiden did have one other method.
And that was having Robin use her rank-up magic—Vox Harmonique, Opus Cosmique—on him, Bors, and the other elite Level 3 adventurers.
As long as the whole team was temporarily "ranked up," they would definitely have a fighting chance.
But Aiden didn't want to expose Robin's trump card this early.
Furthermore, he strongly suspected that this Death Web had other forms.
After all, according to the memories from his previous world, the Death Web's current appearance was merely its weakest "initial form."
As for exactly how many forms this Dungeon-spawned version had, or whether it only had one, Aiden couldn't be sure.
After all, the Dungeon was a treacherous entity that never played by the rules. The monsters it spawned would naturally have some deviations from the original prototypes in his memory.
Therefore, he couldn't blindly trust his memory, otherwise the Dungeon would sooner or later deliver a massive "surprise" and teach him a bloody lesson.
"F*ck, again!"
Suddenly, Aiden let out a curse.
Without giving him any time to breathe, the Death Web stood in place and swung its giant road sign forcefully upward—the massive metal plate raised high above its head.
Then, aiming at Aiden's position, it leaped forward violently.
The five-meter-tall behemoth was like a fired cannonball, crossing over ten meters in an instant. The raised giant weapon, carrying the howl of tearing air, smashed down like a black meteor.
In the nick of time, relying on his combat instincts, Aiden rolled to the side.
Rumble—!!
Amidst an earth-shattering crash, the giant weapon smashed heavily into the rock wall where he had just been standing.
The entire wall collapsed inward as if hit by a directional blast. Countless rocks poured down like a rainstorm, kicking up a thick cloud of dust that instantly engulfed half the battlefield.
In the dust cloud, the Death Web slowly withdrew its giant weapon and casually swept it around again. The violent gale not only dispersed the dust but also forced back anyone trying to approach.
Aiden stood up unsteadily from the edge of the dust cloud. His white hair was covered in dirt, his image quite ragged.
"No other way. Fall back."
He shook his head, his face full of helplessness.
It was completely impossible to fight. The Death Web's strength had exceeded the limits of what their temporary team could handle.
His only hope now was that this monster would act like a normal Floor Boss and quietly stay on the 17th Floor. Otherwise, with its destructive power, many people were going to die here today.
"Ahhh, what is going on here? What kind of monster is that big guy?"
Just as the entire team was in a state of chaos, preparing to scatter and run for their lives, a crisp, lively, and confused voice suddenly echoed from the passage connecting the 16th and 17th Floors.
Hearing this somewhat familiar voice, Aiden quickly looked over, and then he froze.
At the entrance of the passage stood a large group of people, staring dumbfounded at the chaotic battlefield before them.
At the forefront was the small but imposing Prum "Braver," Finn Deimne. Beside him were the elegant, noble High Elf "Nine Hell," Riveria Ljos Alf, and the burly Dwarven "Elgarm," Gareth Landrock.
Behind them was the highly annoyed, teeth-baring Werewolf "Vanargand," Bete Loga; the excited, eager-to-fight Amazon sisters Tiona and Tione Hiryute; and the golden-haired, golden-eyed, ever-placid "Sword Princess," Ais Wallenstein.
Lefiya, Raul, Anakitty, Alicia... almost all the first-string and second-string executives of the Loki Familia were present.
Behind them trailed a large group of supporters carrying bags and supplies, as well as a large number of fully armed, battle-hardened adventurers.
This was... the main force of the Loki Familia, currently on a large-scale expedition. What were they doing here?!
Let's wind back the clock a little.
In Orario's Eighth District, inside the magnificent "Twilight Manor," Loki was lying lazily on the sofa, watching Finn handle a document from the Guild.
"Another mandatory expedition. Those guys at the Guild really know how to boss people around."
Loki curled her lips and complained.
"It can't be helped. It's the obligation of exploration Familias."
Finn put down the document and smiled helplessly.
The Loki Familia had already been preparing for their next deep-floor expedition. The arrival of this mandatory document merely pushed the schedule forward a bit.
"Hey, hey, Loki, aren't we going to invite little Aiden and his group for this expedition?"
The black-haired Amazon girl, Tiona, leaned over and clung to Loki's arm, her face full of excitement. "I want to go adventuring with that 'Saint of Battle Rhythm' and little Aiden too!"
Ais, who was polishing her beloved sword, Desperate, also paused her movements upon hearing this. Her golden eyes quietly shifted to Loki. Although she didn't speak, her interest was obvious.
"Yeah, yeah!"
On the other side, the human mage girl Elfy, sitting next to Lefiya, also said with anticipation, "That 'Saint of Battle Rhythm' named Robin has such a rare experience-boosting skill! If they could come on the expedition with us, wouldn't we have a chance to level up?"
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