The first person to discover Riveria's presence was Isagi.
Just as the two stood before the Great Bridge, discussing how to clear the Gatekeeper BOSS before them, a thunderous roar erupted in the distance, followed by billowing smoke.
That familiar crimson heavenly fire made Isagi freeze for a moment. He even wondered if there were monsters in the Deep Floors capable of unleashing such magic?!
Realizing something, he quickly flew over with Ryuu-senpai. Soon enough, they saw the Elf woman resting there.
"Miss Riveria!"
"Isagi? And... Miss Ryuu is here too."
"Greetings, Princess Riveria."
The senior adventurer appeared somewhat stiff; after all, the person before her was High Elf Royalty, no matter the circumstances.
Riveria, who had been somewhat groggy, finally seemed to understand the situation, revealing an expression of realization.
Suddenly arriving in this inexplicable place and encountering monsters powerful beyond words—sure enough, it was because she had entered the boy's "Special Dungeon."
Fortunately, she had familiarized herself with this in Isagi's dreams beforehand, so she wasn't too flustered.
But she was a Mage, after all. Fighting a monster of the same Level alone was still somewhat difficult. However, it was much better now—both for the Elf woman and for Isagi and Ryuu.
"With Miss Riveria here, things become much simpler..."
Isagi was telling the truth.
Soon, the three returned to the Great Bridge. Isagi and Ryuu-senpai had already attempted to clear the Gatekeeper BOSS here twice, and naturally, they had failed both times. The main issue was that their damage output was a bit too low. But with Riveria here, it would be completely different!
Isagi briefly explained the situation.
In reality, the Elf woman had also noticed the giant worm in the sky dome and the massive Magic Dragon being vomited out. And she was even more "sensitive" to it than Isagi and Ryuu.
As the city's strongest Mage, Riveria could feel it. The body of that swelling Magic Dragon indeed contained an unspeakable, colossal amount of Magic. If it really exploded, something truly terrifying would happen.
And not only that.
"We need to leave quickly, because..."
Following the Elf woman's warning, both Isagi and Ryuu looked behind them. Far away, amidst the pure white towers and castles bathed in fresh blood, a deep green color was gradually spreading.
In fact, Riveria had been chased by it ever since she arrived here. It was just that what she encountered was that strange man who had returned from the dead, the Executive of the Dark Familia, the [White-Haired Ghost], Olivas.
That guy looked extremely abnormal. Like a walking corpse, unusually difficult to kill.
Moreover, "It" seemed to be searching for something.
This was also a trouble. The mutations in the Artificial Labyrinth seemed far more complex than imagined. What had the God of Death and the God of Wine turned into? Those Dark Familia Executives, and even Filvis...
But now was not the time to think about these things. Leaving here was the priority!
Thinking this, and after sharing the intelligence on the BOSS ahead with Riveria, Isagi quickly walked into the Fog Gate located in the center of the Great Bridge with the two Elf women.
Immediately afterward, they saw the bridge railings and the ground, largely covered by brilliant colors. It was still writhing. Like slime, yet also like a quagmire, slowly spreading.
"You can't step on it, and you can't be touched by it."
Isagi reminded Riveria again. This was the BOSS's unique mechanic. At least, in the attempts he and Ryuu-senpai made earlier, they hadn't discovered any other mechanics. It fit his understanding of a Gatekeeper BOSS—purely a stat-check monster with few mechanics, so as long as one was skilled, even a lower Level could pass.
[Paladin Polluted by Miracles].
Standing before the bridge was a humanoid monster over three meters tall. It looked like a type of fellow that would exist in the Deep Floors, known as a "Barbarian." Tall and muscular, at first glance, one might think it was a Minotaur.
But it was indeed not a bull-headed monster, but a humanoid creature. It just happened to grow a pair of large horns. Its skin presented a pitch-black color, and it had fiery red long hair. It wore heavy fur armor.
Part of its body was completely covered by those brilliant colors, from which long, thin tentacles constantly extended. Half of its head was also damaged, and within the filling of intense colors, another human face seemed to have grown. No matter how one looked at it, it appeared somewhat grotesque.
Its weapons were the great axe in its hand, as well as the tiny tentacles growing all over its body.
Isagi's battle plan was simple: he and Ryuu-senpai would pin down the BOSS, and then Riveria would use Magic to annihilate it. They had to be fast. Time was extremely tight.
Riveria understood this as well, so she quickly formed a plan in her heart—to settle it in one blow. In that case, she could only use that...
Watching the backs of the boy and the girl heading toward the BOSS, the Elf woman tightened her grip on her staff. Looking at the tall "Paladin" in the distance, she quickly and professionally calmed her mind and entered her "combat state."
"Hoo..."
Although it was her first time fighting alongside Isagi and Ryuu, and in this Special Dungeon facing a so-called "BOSS," as a veteran—arguably one of the city's strongest adventurers—Riveria naturally felt no panic or unease.
In battle, any strange thoughts could cost one their life. So, the only thing to achieve was to be "like a forest"—[Mind of the Great Tree].
Like [Concurrent Chanting], it was a high-level technique a Mage had to learn, and one of the most useful things passed down by the High Elves for a thousand years, aside from numerous magic theories.
It wasn't as simple as just emptying one's mind. At this moment, Riveria seemed to enter a certain "abnormal" state. Before her eyes, aside from the sticky colors on the ground that couldn't be touched, only the tall BOSS and her companions fighting it remained. Beyond that, there was nothing.
The forest is "simple and pure."
[Mind of the Great Tree] allowed the Mage to enter this ethereal state. All spirit and thought would be placed on only two things: "Chanting Magic" and "Evasion."
This was Riveria's fighting style.
"—Harbinger of the end, white snow. Face the twilight hour and summon the wild wind..."
Freezing Magic began to gather. As if to freeze everything around them, in this deep Dungeon, it suddenly seemed to truly snow. A biting chill blew past, accompanied by floating specks of ice crystals.
"—Closed light, freezing earth. Blizzard of three severe winters—My name is Alf."
"[Wynn Fimbulvetr]!"
The first-stage Magic was chanted smoothly. And it didn't take much time; for the incomparably skilled Riveria, this was almost no different from a "Short Chant."
Thus, cold ice crystals began to slowly climb up the BOSS's body, bit by bit, turning it into a giant block of ice within seconds.
Then came the crushing, the deformation, continuously piercing into its body. Accompanied by this, Isagi and Ryuu launched their strongest attacks simultaneously—
The thunder hammer in the boy's hand flashed with light, exploding violently on the BOSS's head. At the same time, he flipped backward, swapping the Great Bow from inside his cloak and beginning to draw the string.
On the other side, the Elf girl surrounded by starlight also wrapped herself in that crimson flowing fire, activating her friend's "Slashing Magic."
In the instant the ice crystals shattered, the pillar of red-gold molten fire and the drifting bloody slash landed together on the Paladin's tall body.
The effect was very subtle, including Riveria's Magic. It looked like they only made the sticky colors growing out from inside its body "shrink" a little bit. Only a tiny bit.
This was the headache Isagi and Ryuu had just now. One Level 4, one Level 5; even if they seized the opportunity to attack the BOSS together, it was hard to deal any significant damage.
And Riveria's first-stage Magic was mainly focused on Ice-attribute control; the damage was relatively lackluster. But it didn't matter, because the Elf woman hadn't stopped her chanting since the beginning.
"—Soon, the flames shall be released. The creeping war, the unavoidable destruction..."
The moment the Magic was released, she immediately began the next chant. This was her unique "Chant Connection."
By sustaining it like this, it was equivalent to connecting the original first-stage Magic chant with the second stage, making the chant lyrics longer. Naturally, its power would also become greater. This was this world's most basic "Magic Theory."
The longer the chant, the more Magic could be poured in, and naturally, the stronger the Magic's power would be. It was that simple and pure.
"— The horn of war sounds shrilly! Cruel violence surrounds everything! Come, crimson lotus flames, merciless fire! Thou art the avatar of hellfire! Sweep away thousands of troops, and bring the grand war to a close..."
The battle was much easier than imagined. Isagi and Ryuu clearly knew how to coordinate with a Mage's combat. Their cover was very thorough. Although they couldn't actively pin the BOSS in place, they constantly harassed it, leaving it little time to pay attention to her.
The only drawback was that the activity space on the Great Bridge was indeed a bit small. But it was okay; the opponent wasn't some gigantic fellow.
"—Burn everything, Sword of Surtur—My name is Alf!"
"[Rea Laevateinn]!"
That incomparably crimson heavenly fire appeared in mid-air once again, then transformed into a burning sharp sword, crashing down directly onto the BOSS's head.
BOOM!
The exploding smoke and sparks made everything around them tremble. In a trance, it even gave the illusion that the Great Bridge was collapsing because of it.
Riveria's Magic was very precise, but because the range was huge, Isagi and Ryuu couldn't follow up with attacks like before. But that was enough. She alone was sufficient. This was the city's strongest Mage.
When the smoke cleared, the sticky colors on the BOSS's body appeared scorched, presenting a filthy dark brown color like a mud swamp. It emitted an incomparably burnt and foul stench, making one suspect if this guy had suddenly entered Phase Two, causing something ridiculous like a "Stench Attack" to appear!
The effect was very good. The guy named "Paladin" had its flesh split open by the heavenly fire sword just now; the high damage was visible to the naked eye.
Thus, the combat strategy was effective. Next, they just had to return to the original "repetition." This was something Isagi, Ryuu, and Riveria were all quite familiar with.
But to save time, the Elf woman decided not to wait. So, she didn't restart chanting the first-stage Magic. Instead, she continued, chanting further.
Ancient and obscure incantations began to slowly spill from the woman's lips. This time, accompanied by the surging of Magic, even the surrounding air began to gradually distort. At the same time, a certain extremely "phantom color" emerged—a color different from the incredibly sticky, star-sea-like color on the BOSS before them.
It was something purer.
[Magic].
Even Ryuu and Isagi felt it. The entire Great Bridge, within this area sealed by the Fog Gate, began to gradually fill with a very colossal Magic.
This time, Riveria chanted for a very, very long time. In the Elf woman's hand, the staff inlaid with nine highest-specification Magic Gems—one of the [Magna Alves], capable of being an Elven "Heirloom Treasure," named [Magna Alves]—seemed unable to bear something at this moment, emitting a harsh humming sound.
And the crisp sound of gems cracking—Crack—was so incomparably real. Of the nine gems, four cracked right then and there.
Riveria very rarely used this Magic, because it was too powerful. If used on the surface, a moment of carelessness could raze the entire city to the ground; the destruction caused would be simply incalculable.
This was the strongest Magic of the city's strongest Mage, pouring out everything. It was the strongest Magic that once, in a single strike, sent several Gods of the Dark Familia back to heaven and annihilated the [Absolute Evil] summoned from the Dungeon.
"[Vas Windheim]."
In the instant the Magic was released, Isagi and Ryuu tacitly and quickly ran behind Riveria. Immediately afterward, they saw a giant emerald shockwave cover everything.
A thick pillar of light sprayed out, thoroughly swallowing the monster before them. Within that silent, wild surge of Magic, when the light dimmed, the BOSS had long since turned to flying ash and dissipated, leaving only a brightly colored stone on the ground, a Magic Stone, and a ball of "Blue Flame" floating in place.
It dropped a Spirit Emblem?
Isagi quickly switched his Character Card and loaded it into his Healing Gourd.
Insta-killed.
The BOSS that had originally caused Isagi and Ryuu-senpai such distress was blasted directly into dregs under Riveria's Magic. Is this a Level 6 Mage? Not only that, the Elf woman should also be considered a "Fully God-Tier Equipped" strongest Mage, right?
Scary!
"Let's go."
No rest. After releasing her strongest Magic, Riveria looked quite weak, but she still forced her body to hold up. After drinking a potion to restore Mind, she followed behind Isagi and Ryuu, quickly crossing the Great Bridge before them and disappearing into the fortress that looked like it was embedded in the rock wall on the opposite side.
The journey that followed was quite smooth. As Isagi expected, the opposite side of the Great Bridge was the entrance and exit of this floor.
Walking inside, they could directly see the elevator at the end. After activating it, familiar creaking sounds rang out. A few minutes passed. Passing through a long corridor again, the dim "sunlight" outside the huge door in the distance was visible to the naked eye.
And at the same time—
"?!"
Suddenly, the Siren Ray rushed in from outside the gate. Seeing Isagi, Riveria, and Ryuu, she didn't seem to react for a moment, almost crashing into the three of them.
"It's you guys?!"
"?"
An NPC in the Dungeon?
This was the first thought that popped into the heads of the boy and the women, until Ray took out an Oculus—but perhaps due to the influence of the Special Dungeon, it couldn't communicate at all. But that was enough, because the existence of the Oculus proved that they were the Great God Ouranos's "Secret Unit."
The Xenos.
Riveria still felt it was somewhat incredible that there was a group of humanoid, intelligent monsters in the Dungeon. Conversely, Isagi and Ryuu were incomparably calm. Isn't this just an "NPC"!
Isagi even couldn't help but twitch his mouth when he heard the name Marie, thinking that the silly Fire Keeper actually existed?!
But now was not the time to talk about this.
"Lyd and the others are about to come over. And the city's rescue team should be arriving at Rivira by now..." Ray spoke rapidly.
She was the first Xenos to arrive here. Outside the city, there was also a giant "Statue" monster holding a Great Bow. However, because its movements were clumsy, the Siren woman used her speed to shake it off, finding an opportunity to run directly in.
Hearing the other party say that along the way, aside from seeing the stone statue with the Great Bow outside this fortress, she hadn't encountered any other "Special Monsters"—or rather, aside from the place before their eyes, the rest of the Dungeon hadn't changed—Isagi revealed a thoughtful expression.
Seeing this, Riveria and Ryuu immediately spoke very seriously.
"Isagi!"
"Huh?"
"Are you thinking of letting us leave first, while you stay here alone!"
Both Elves revealed identical indignant expressions, certain of the boy's thoughts at this moment. If he continued to stay on the 37th Floor, then the Dungeon from the 36th Floor upwards would remain unchanged.
Then, letting the two of them leave first while he stayed on the 37th Floor alone, waiting for everyone else to leave before going up by himself... This was the "optimal" choice.
Because if they walked together, everyone might die. But this way, at most, only one person would... Many times, an adventurer party trapped in a Deep Level crisis would make such a choice if someone could sacrifice themselves to exchange for their companions' survival.
Ryuu was like this, and so was Riveria, so they directly judged him by their own standards.
But... Isagi really didn't think that way, because it wasn't reliable!
"How is that possible," the boy said.
"What if there's still a Gatekeeper BOSS above? With the Level gap, it's very hard for me to clear it alone."
This was a fact. So, Isagi's plan was actually:
"You guys can wait for me at the entrance between floors first. If the passage between floors changes, scout the surroundings to see if there's a Fog Gate. If not, continue upwards and wait for me at the entrance of the upper floor. If there is a Fog Gate, then wait for me to come and help clear it."
"In that case, you don't have to worry about food and water either—"
So that's it!
Riveria and Ryuu blinked. They had originally thought Isagi, this guy, might get heated and want to do something "great," but the result was that the boy was surprisingly calm. And the proposed plan was incredibly reliable.
"I can fly, and I can resurrect. Running the map alone is definitely better than dragging you guys along."
This was the honest truth. The atmosphere, which had been somewhat sentimental, was instantly dispelled. The boy's plan was too "correct," leaving the two Elves no room to refute, because if one thought about it carefully, it really was true.
Thus, a detailed plan was quickly made. Ray watched the three of them discussing with such incomparable seriousness, feeling very curious, and even couldn't help but glance at Isagi a few more times.
Subsequently, the boy turned back, taking the elevator to return to the original 37th Floor just to be safe—anyway, monsters wouldn't spawn on the Great Bridge where they just fought the BOSS, so waiting there would be fine.
Ryuu and Riveria handed over all the dry rations and water they carried to the boy. Because Ray had said that Lyd and the others who were coming to support them brought many supplies—the Xenos also ate that sticky "liquid" from the Dungeon's food pantry. But compared to that, they preferred various wild fruits, vegetables, and even small animals and fish.
In Rivira, and the Level 28 Safe Floor [Elf Flower Sea], there were ordinary animals and fish. Some were even Dungeon specialties, considered quite rare "delicacies."
On the other side, Isagi returned to the 37th Floor, walking out of the castle again and arriving onto the Great Bridge from before.
Far away, looking up, that giant worm had vomited out the massive Magic Dragon a little more. However, as if exhausted, the black arms that originally extended from the outside of its mouth were already hanging there motionless.
And on the other side, in the distance, deep green fleshy plants gradually covered many towers completely. Those fleshy tentacles danced; looking at them gave one a very eerie feeling.
Isagi didn't know what would happen to this worm, and that "BOSS" in the distance—formed by the Jewel Fetus occupying a God's body—after he left.
Who cares about all that? Just run first.
Moreover, looking at it, that Magic Dragon really seemed like it was about to explode. Hopefully, it would wait until he ran away before exploding...
____
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