"I've never seen a fighting style like that—literally grinding a monster to death with healing... You two really gave me quite a surprise!"
As the two girls lay on the ground, the rest of the Loki Familia approached, the air thick with an unprecedented sense of shock.
Generally speaking, when Adventurers want to kill monsters, they rely on a few specific combat styles.
Instant kills.
Kiting.
Defensive counterattacks.
But regardless of the style, Adventurers must consider their physical condition, because while the Dungeon has many monsters, an Adventurer has only one life.
If you can reduce damage, you reduce it as much as possible.
If you can avoid getting hurt, you avoid it as much as possible.
This fits the fundamental theme of this world: 'An Adventurer must never take reckless risks.'
Even the current Two Walls of Orario, the Loki and Freya Familia—and even the former Two Walls, the Zeus and Hera Familia—adhered to this rule.
Because once injured, an Adventurer's strength is greatly compromised, which in turn drastically reduces the damage they can deal to monsters.
However, just moments ago, a scene that shattered these rules had played out before the Loki Familia.
Once Hyacine and Barbara realized that attempting to dodge the Floor Boss's attacks would consume more stamina, they simply gave up on dodging altogether.
Then, relying solely on the healing output of two powerful Healers, they tanked the Floor Boss's attacks and faced it head-on.
As long as the opponent couldn't kill me in one hit, my health would recover instantly until the monster was ground to death...
Wasn't this fighting style a bit too bold?
Even Finn had never seen such a terrifying war of attrition, let alone the other Adventurers of the Loki Familia.
The Big Three—Finn, Gareth, and Riveria—were fine; as the captain and vice-captains with years of experience, they wouldn't lose their composure too much over this. But the younger generation couldn't suppress the shock in their hearts.
The Lv. 4s like Raul and Lefiya, along with the lower-level members, didn't have as many complex feelings; they couldn't deal with such a terrifying Floor Boss themselves, so they mostly felt awe and admiration.
However, the expressions on the remaining four were exceptionally vivid, as they were the ones closest to Udaeus's level...
Bete the werewolf gritted his teeth, veins popping on his clenched fists as if he were furious at his own weakness, mixed with a hint of worry about being overtaken.
Ais felt happy for her friends on one hand, but on the other, she felt a trace of sadness that she couldn't solo a Floor Boss herself. These two conflicting emotions made things quite difficult for her...
As for the Amazon sisters, Tione looked solemn, as if she were visualizing a confrontation between herself and Udaeus, but her expression eventually turned grim because she realized she couldn't win.
Her younger sister, Tiona, was a bit more carefree...
"Wow! You guys are amazing! To actually beat Udaeus! If only I were that strong!"
Who could have imagined that two girls would literally use their massive healing output to grind a deep-floor Floor Boss to death?
This proved both the girls' tenacious vitality and their exaggerated healing capabilities.
"Regardless, let's go to the Safe Floor to rest for a while. If we enter the lower floors in this state, we won't have a chance to heal."
Looking at Hyacine and Barbara gasping on the ground, Finn naturally wouldn't continue diving; he had to at least wait until the girls recovered some stamina before moving.
Except...
Just as the Safe Floor was in sight, an unprecedented, bloody wind suddenly blew out from the cave ahead, causing everyone in the Loki Familia to drop into combat stances.
Cold sweat trickled down the foreheads of the three in the lead—Finn, Gareth, and Riveria—because they felt an unprecedented threat within that strong wind.
Isn't the floor below supposed to be a Safe Floor?
Why is there such a strong scent of blood coming from it?
They hadn't heard of any other Familia conducting an Expedition recently, let alone reaching the 37th floor...
The answer was soon revealed.
As green vines snaked out of the cave and greedy eyes fixed upon the Adventurers of the Loki Familia, Finn's expression instantly turned pained.
Because at that moment, his thumb felt an unprecedented throb of pain, as if it were telling him...
Run!
If they didn't run, only death awaited them!
"Run! Retreat toward the upper floors at full speed!"
"Gareth, Riveria, we'll cover the rear!"
Without any hesitation, Finn barked out the order. The ten human-like monsters before them brought a sense of crisis he had never felt before—meaning they were monsters with at least Lv. 6 potential!
"This is bad..."
—
'Corrupted Spirits? Why?'
Hyacine and Barbara, who had just defeated Udaeus, looked grim the moment they saw the Corrupted Spirits arrive.
In the original story, the Loki Familia only encountered Corrupted Spirits after descending past the 50th floor.
But now?
They had only just reached the 37th floor, and those green monsters had charged out of the tunnel, intent on killing them all!
This dire situation was a constant reminder to the girls that the plot had completely changed; what they were about to face was more terrifying than typical monsters!
"But I... I have to stay here..."
The previous battle with the Floor Boss had drained too much of Hyacine and Barbara's stamina and mental energy. This wasn't something healing alone could fix. Even without physical wounds, the mind would still feel exhausted.
And disaster always comes knocking at the worst possible time!
The moment they received the order, the Amazon sisters Tione and Tiona hoisted the two girls onto their shoulders and ran toward the upper floors at their maximum speed.
Because even without Finn's warning, the battle instincts honed by the two Amazons over many years told them that the things in the distance were monsters... monsters unlike anything before!
Watching Finn's trio fight while retreating in the rear, tears welled up in the corners of Hyacine's eyes; it was the same for Barbara.
It was such a critical moment, yet they couldn't heal their companions because of the previous battle... If anyone was injured because of this, they would never forgive themselves!
'We have to recover quickly...'
Due to the double exhaustion of body and mind, Hyacine and Barbara could only be carried away on their companions' shoulders, but that didn't stop them from thinking.
Hyacine was, after all, Teacher Natsu's teaching assistant; her logical reasoning skills were quite sharp, so she quickly identified the key point.
Why did the Corrupted Spirits arrive at such a perfect time?
Not earlier, not later, but specifically after the Floor Boss died?
It was as if it had been orchestrated.
Because they knew the plot of Danmachi, Hyacine and Barbara could analyze the situation from an outsider's perspective.
As a certain red figure flashed through their minds, the girls' eyes widened.
Why attack the Loki Familia now?
Perhaps because... a certain monster was looking for an opportunity?
An opportunity to tie down the Big Three of the Loki Familia?