Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

This desperate declaration nearly severed Lefia's train of thought.

Not only Lefia, who was told this to her face, but also the adventurers who were lying on the ground and heard these words, and Bert, who was propping himself up with trembling hands, all seemed to have time frozen.

The strength to toy with Lv.6 adventurers like children.

The astonishing speed that can instantly kill a high-level adventurer squad.

All of the above facts are sufficient to prove that Phil Weiss's statement is true.

"Why did you come here? Lefia... why did you come to this place...?"

"...!?"

Philweis, who was confronting Lefia, lowered her head for a moment and whispered in a sorrowful, choked voice.

She used her bangs to cover her deep blue eyes, unique to the "Filthy Fairy" clan, and poured out her heart in a mournful tone as if she wanted to cast a curse.

"To get you away from this man-made maze... I didn't hesitate to kill myself... to break your heart."

Then──

The girl, now a "monster," suddenly looked up, a tear rolling down her cheek, and cried out:

"It's because I—don't want to kill you!!"

When Phil Weiss erupted in anger, she seemed to transform into a flying arrow.

In the blink of an eye, they were almost in front of Lefia.

Lefia was struck in the abdomen by a fist clad in a metal glove, and blood immediately stained her lips.

"Cough!?"

Despite Lefia's hasty retreat to cushion the impact, an endless shock still left her dizzy and disoriented, as if a bomb had exploded inside her.

The next second, she was completely embedded in the walls of the cave.

"None of you will escape! None of you will live! To fulfill the wish of Dionysus—whoever it may be, I will kill them all without mercy!!"

Lefia knelt on the ground, spitting out spots of blood from her mouth.

The freak, who should be stronger than anyone else, tossed his long hair into a tangle, tears streaming down his face as he cried out:

"You all should just die!!"

The strongest "monster" let out a cry like a newborn.

A brutal feast was about to begin.

*

The battle was extremely fierce.

A fierce battle is raging inside the large cavern on the tenth floor.

The incantation of the "Fairy Avatar" echoed smoothly, while the three faces on the lower half of the pillar—the "Altar Pillar"—relentlessly bombarded the adventurers with "magic," causing their screams to rise and fall.

The rain of bullets was truly deserving of its name.

Flashes of light imbued with various elemental powers shot out continuously, fairly showering upon everyone in this space. Even the strongest first-level adventurers were experiencing for the first time the powerful firepower of "magic" flying in from all directions, finding themselves in a hellish situation that the word "unknown" alone could not adequately describe. The peril of the battle far surpassed that of the "Dragon Pot" below the 52nd floor of the dungeon.

One second their companion was blasted away, the next another squad ahead vanished from sight. The adventurers roared in this hellish landscape. Even knowing their screams would be drowned out by the continuous explosions, they still tried to rouse themselves with shouts, abandoning their fallen comrades, charging forward to destroy the enemy's "counter-attack magic"—their "defense mechanism." Blood and tears gushed uncontrollably from those clad in sturdy armor.

Even if you are blasted to pieces, you must forge ahead; even if you are blown backward, you must fight your way out; even if the hand holding the magic wand is blown away, you must chant the spell.

Even at a terrible cost, the adventurers fought desperately to continue their attack.

So──

"Take this! Aa ...

This is the Fourth Division.

Tiona's twin blades hit their target.

Even though she was covered in burns and emitting black smoke, her full-force attack still managed to land on the left cheek of the "altar pillar".

Her straight vertical slash severed the thick lips of that big face.

Tiona seemed to leap into a dance, spinning like a top, wildly slashing at her enemies with her large double blades.

Simultaneously unleashing the strongest combo of the two "skills" [Berserk Attack] and [Great Heat Battle], the giant face was instantly slashed into a bloody mess, leaving countless horrifying knife wounds on its face.

"Gahh ...

With a shrill scream, the left side of the "altar pillar" turned into a pump that kept spitting out large amounts of blood.

Then it started to expand rapidly and just like that, it exploded.

The "magic stone" that existed in the core of the great tree was shattered.

"Oraa ...

Next up was Tione.

Despite her injuries being no less severe than her sister's, she plunged two recurve swords, the Zoas, into the pillar's right cheek and shattered it with a furious iron fist.

"────────────────────!"

"Ughhhhhh!?"

"Damn it, I finally managed to deal it a heavy blow...!"

Tiona and her companions, who had successfully approached the "altar pillar," were blasted away by the roaring central face with its giant tentacles.

The "defense mechanism" was halved in effectiveness, but to compensate for this, the surviving central giant face concentrated all the magic power used by the "counter-attack magic" to eliminate the intruders on the other side of the passage into the great cavern. It unleashed a continuous bombardment that resembled an angry roar, intending to annihilate the annoying ants before it.

"【Drops of Healing, Tears of Light, Eternal Sanctuary】"

Even when faced with an insurmountable battle situation, the therapist continued to chant.

On a battlefield with no chance of survival, the adventurers were able to continue fighting only thanks to the support of the [Deankaite Familia] to which Amid and the others belonged.

It was only because they kept chanting "restoration magic" until they were almost coughing up blood, and seized the opportunity to use items to stabilize the battle line, that they managed to barely maintain the last breath of their troops. If it weren't for Amid and the others, Tiona and the others would have had no chance to counterattack at all.

But──

"Ugh—!?"

"Amid!?"

The pure white magic circle that had been unfolded suddenly flickered.

A "magic" attack landed near Amid, who had almost single-handedly taken on the responsibility of healing.

Even with her exceptional ability to maintain the battle line, the Battlefield Saintess is unable to continue providing powerful healing if she is directly attacked.

The human shields protecting the healers were exhausted, and the battle line began to crumble.

The adventurers responsible for protecting the rear guard with their large shields fell one after another, and Amid and the other rear guards were forced to expose themselves to enemy fire.

"Grace, something terrible has happened! The healers are under attack!"

"Damn it... give me the shield!"

Apart from the Fourth Force, other units faced the same predicament.

Grace and Chun's third unit also faced attacks on the healers, forcing Grace, who was on the front line, to protect the rear guard.

"Lady Riveria!?"

"Don't leave my barrier!"

On the second side, Rivera used her trump card, "barrier magic," to withstand the enemy's all-out bombardment.

Despite using her extraordinary "magic" to block various counter-magic spells, she was like a "turtle hiding its head" and was beaten without being able to fight back. Riveria knew that she would definitely lose if she fought a protracted battle against the magically powerful "altar pillar," and she narrowed her beautiful emerald eyes in frustration.

The fact that artillery fire was concentrated on healers on various battlefields was not accidental.

This is the six "altar pillars" unifying consciousness through a giant magic circle, the Great Ring.

After discerning the adventurers' vital point, the "defense mechanism" decided to launch a concentrated attack. The three large faces quickly learned and grasped the battle situation, revealing emotionless smiling, angry, and crying faces respectively, and relying on their boundless "magic power," they continuously cast "magic" attacks on the rearguard of each unit.

"Reed, something's wrong! The large-scale ships can't hold on!"

"Damn it... Since we're of the same race, let's settle this with claws and teeth! Don't try any of those petty tricks like 'magic'!"

Faced with the concentrated fire tactics of the "Altar Pillars," only the "Heretics" of the Sixth Division did not fall into a stalemate.

However, this was only because the team did not have any healers to begin with, and their recovery methods were not as good as those of the adventurers, making their situation more critical than that of other units.

Including the dragon girl Winnie, the monsters, lacking combat abilities, helped their companions use the magician's specially made panacea, but the stock was almost exhausted. After receiving a report from the red-hatted goblin, Reed roughly wiped the blood from his face with his arm, whose scales had been blown off.

"Where has that stinky gargoyle gone off to 'run errands' for Fels?!"

The lizardman's scream, pleading for his companion's swift return, was met with a direct hit from enemy magic, sending him flying.

The "Altar Pillar" possesses formidable combat capabilities.

The Loki Familia's first-class adventurers and Tsubaki, who had ventured into uncharted areas, all noticed that the six pillars were not as powerful as the "Fairy Clone" on the 59th floor; however, they also saw that after forming a giant "altar," they possessed endless "magical power," equivalent to the entire labyrinth.

These six pillars, like the passage filled with green flesh, possess a "regenerative ability" that allows them to instantly recover from injuries even when attacked. Even though most of their "magic power" is used for spells that destroy cities, their vitality remains extraordinary. Furthermore, given that the enemy possesses a flower armor that protects them, it is absolutely impossible to kill the fairy's true form with a single blow.

The only effective way to attack is to destroy the "magic stones" inside the three giant tree faces, but they have already sensed the adventurers' intentions through unified consciousness and have immediately become alert. Two giant faces have been destroyed on each battlefield, but the last one remains undestroyed.

The threat posed by all-round bombing is now self-evident.

Even though the adventurers were saved by the "Fairy Spirit Protective Cloth," it was still a drop in the ocean.

As the therapists responsible for the recovery gradually collapsed, the battle line was nearing its end.

In addition—

"Commander! The Fifth Division is still unable to attack the target!"

"...!"

"Even if you destroy five pillars, there will still be one left...!"

There is a lack of manpower.

Their combat strength is completely insufficient.

Because the adventurers split into five groups, each unit lacked the final push. In addition, Bert's fifth unit was intercepted, and Anachidi's anxiety, expressed through her "eye crystal," reached Finn's ears.

"All the meat shields here have fallen!"

"Captain, we can't block all the magic! If Amid falls, we're doomed...!"

"Are there any more troops that can be dispatched!? Requesting reinforcements—!!"

The cries for help from friendly forces in distress kept coming in.

The report, almost a scream, came through the "Eye Crystal," along with the continuous cries of the adventurers behind them.

As the commander-in-chief, Finn must simultaneously manage "six chess games".

Faced with a barrage of reports from his comrades, he had to issue accurate instructions on the unseen battlefield while simultaneously commanding the First Division he personally led. This meant that Finn, wielding a spear and engaging the enemy, also had to play five other games blindfolded. He was unique in Orario for his multitasking prowess, reaching a level of near-divine skill.

However, on the other hand, this also placed a huge burden on Finn.

"...!"

Finn narrowly dodged the laser, but the attack still grazed his cheek.

His mouth, constantly beating for air, craved oxygen, while his lungs gasped for breath in agony. His erratic breathing was no match for regaining his composure.

A voice told Finn he should use the High Spirits spell to sustain his waning body, but reason immediately rejected the suggestion. The reason was that if Finn turned into a berserker now, all the troops would lose their commander, and the faction alliance would undoubtedly lose.

For all adventurers who are hostile to the entire "labyrinth"... or even for Finn himself, it is undoubtedly an unprecedented threat.

The "Brave Warrior," who was constantly updating the battle situation of each unit in his mind and issuing instructions, felt a bead of cold sweat trickling down his cheek.

"...All units, switch from defense to offense! Since the enemy is concentrating their attack on the rearguard, it means the artillery fire targeting the vanguard will slow down! Everyone, do your utmost to destroy the 'defense mechanisms'!"

Finn issued the same attack order to all units.

The hero's spear, once thrown, destroyed one of the giant faces on the spot, but he was immediately forced to deal with a large amount of "magic".

The adventurers, who had unwavering faith in Finn, were now barely holding on.

*

While adventurers are engaged in a fierce, unseen battle—

The earth's surface is also undergoing "changes".

"Strange!? What happened!?"