Behind the wall of shields, Isagi and the girls were working the cannons without pause — loading, firing, loading, firing, over and over in an endless loop.
Beyond that, there was also the "Teardrop Big Bro" he had summoned — though against Alfia, Teardrop Big Bro was utterly useless. Being a magical construct of sorts, the moment it drew anywhere near her, her [Garden of Silence] would dissolve it on contact.
But in this situation? Completely fine!
The cannon barrage wasn't magic, and it couldn't be dodged. The only real concern was whether the firepower was sufficient to actually damage a high-level adventurer like Alfia.
Back when they had fought Zard.
The hunting rifle Isagi had used was a hunter's weapon provided by the [Night of the Hunt] character card — one whose power scaled with "the breadth of one's experience hunting beasts." The cannons they were using now worked on exactly the same principle.
And right now, every single person here was a seasoned adventurer.
Besides, Alfia wasn't exactly the type who specialized in [Endurance] — so it should be fine!
Isagi blazed away with both hands, firing the cannons at a blistering pace, left and right without stop.
That was also why he had switched to the [Land of Reeds] character card. With total proficiency across all weapons, that naturally extended to operating cannons — guns and artillery were weapons too, after all!
This was the true secret art of the Sword Saint!!
"How's it looking?!"
The barrage went on for what felt like an eternity.
Until, at last, Isagi and the girls had exhausted every last round of ammunition they had brought with them.
What surprised them was that Alfia had not retaliated at all. The woman had gone far too quiet — and that was clearly not normal.
Isagi had originally prepared a contingency plan specifically for dealing with Alfia's counterattack. But now, that plan sat unused, because...
Isagi slid the cannon barrel out and peered through the gap between two shields, trying to see what was happening inside.
The gunsmoke drifted slowly away.
The first thing that met his eyes was the woman's skin — impossibly pale and smooth.
"...?"
Through the gauzy, dissipating haze, the woman's tall and graceful silhouette emerged — and she was wearing almost nothing at all.
At that moment, standing not far from Isagi, the traditionally-minded and deeply conservative Elven princess had her very first instinct be to cover the boy's eyes.
He was, after all, the only male present!!
What on earth was going on?!
How was her clothing— no, wait. Come to think of it, this was actually perfectly logical. Alfia's enchanted dress served one primary purpose: to restrict her own magical output. The thing was a pure self-limiting device. It had essentially no defensive capability whatsoever, which meant it had vanished completely under the cannon bombardment. That made perfect sense.
Well. That was all true enough.
Fortunately, Riveria held herself back. She wasn't foolish — how could she possibly let her mind wander at a moment like this? Naked monsters in the Dungeon weren't unheard of; who in their right mind would be thinking strange thoughts right now? Though, the Alfia standing before them was admittedly...
Fortunately.
The situation shifted quickly. Alfia was slowly "disappearing."
It was visible to the naked eye.
As the smoke continued to disperse, the woman's body was gradually becoming transparent.
Was this her magic? Some ability?
No — everyone knew Alfia's profile well. She absolutely did not possess that kind of power. Unless she had been holding something back, or had gained some new ability after being revived inside the Dungeon.
Something like —
The boy and the girls all seemed to reach the same realization at once, turning together to watch the woman as she slowly faded away.
She was growing transparent, like something utterly without color — like a mirror, or perhaps... a crystal.
The woman vanished silently, and in her place, something formless began to swell and shudder in the air. And then, with finality, it took shape — a colossal, monstrous beast.
[Miracle Manifestation · Absolute Evil]!
Almost simultaneously, Riveria and Ryuu-senpai identified the enormous creature that now loomed before them.
The space enclosed by the wall of shields began to crumble under its presence.
Because it was too large.
Not even the abandoned chapel could contain its existence.
And so — walls, ceiling, all of it fractured and collapsed into ruin.
Isagi and the girls could now see the "sky" above them — the cold, mirror-like expanse that stretched above the ghost city at this level. Rivira still floated within that void, and above it, the holy city hung inverted.
"GYAAAAAAAAAA——"
A roar that shook every corner of the floor tore through the air. The monster's enormous body writhed and twisted as it hovered in the void, scattering tiny black particles that drifted downward like black snow falling from the sky.
[Feathered Serpent].
That was roughly the best description Isagi could manage for what he was looking at.
It clearly belonged to the dragon lineage — its body was long and serpentine, sleek and slender, flowing like a ribbon of silk. It bore great, sweeping wings, yet its form was unmistakably "human" — human skin, human flesh — which lent the entire thing a deeply nauseating, wrongness that twisted the gut.
And where its body stretched to its end and trailed downward was a gaping maw, like the face of something wearing a demon's mask.
Innumerable curved horns jutted in every direction, thick as thorns in a briar patch.
Between those fangs and that great slavering mouth, dripping with viscous fluid, a dark-crimson radiance was quietly gathering.
What a terrifying existence.
Isagi and Lefiya alike — none of them had ever laid eyes on this creature before.
During the [Great Conflict], the gods of the Dark Familia had offered several deities as sacrifice and used that power to agitate the Dungeon deep on the 37th floor, forcing this monster into being.
It had been called their secret weapon.
It was said to be a being capable of tearing straight through the entire Dungeon and toppling Babel itself — a creature whose strength was rumored to rival the Monster Rexes of the deep levels.
In actual performance, however, its real power was probably above Udaeus, but below Balor.
At most, Level 7 caliber.
Of course, most crucially, it did not possess the extraordinary [Endurance] of a true Monster Rex.
Which was why, in the past, Riveria had dispatched it in a single blow. But now, no one dared underestimate it — because its name was different.
[Miracle Manifestation · Absolute Evil].
Just a handful of extra words.
Yet those words alone were enough to make clear that this creature was something categorically different from before.
The Dungeon had strengthened it one-thousand-fold over. In which respects exactly... Isagi couldn't say.
And furthermore. And now.
Where on earth had Alfia gone?
Isagi was still puzzling over it when the next sequence of events left everyone even more bewildered.
Because the monster did not attack.
Instead, it simply raised its head — and then, without warning, slammed itself against the crystal ceiling above.
"CRACK."
A shattering sound came from above. And then, Isagi and the girls could see it — the holy city that had been hanging inverted overhead was now plummeting downward at a terrifying speed.
What was happening?!
The sky was falling.
That was the first thought in everyone's mind. And what made it even harder to comprehend was the black debris scattering from Absolute Evil's entire body.
Just like falling snow, it drifted down across the empty city below, piling up rapidly — until, in moments, it had dyed everything before them pitch black.
Yet strangely.
The city was not swallowed entirely in darkness.
Quite the opposite — the holy city, which had always been composed of crystal, was now glittering brilliantly.
It was simply that the background had turned black. Or rather — the "air" all around had turned black.
It reminded Isagi of the "Pitch-Black Zone" he had passed through far below, and of the "Darkness" that ran through the Goblin-built outpost town all the way to the 18th floor.
So that was it —
The two holy cities seemed to be slowly merging into one.
The city underfoot was rising. The inverted city was descending. And squeezed between them, caught in the middle, was Rivira.
In the adventurer town perched upon its little hillside, Isagi and the girls could even see the faces of adventurers there — expressions of pure terror.
They had clearly seen it too: through the shattered crystal mirror below their feet, the impossibly massive silhouette of Absolute Evil.
At last, both the rising and the descending came to a stop.
Isagi saw it — the tallest tower in the town below appeared to fuse with another tower above. Their peaks met and joined as one.
And through what had once been a chaotic and cluttered cityscape, a clear and direct path to the tower had appeared.
It was an invitation.
The vast body of the monster had vanished into the black curtain that now draped across everything. It seemed as though their battle with Alfia just now had not triggered a "second phase" or a "new boss fight" at all — it had been a trial. A performance.
And now, the true path to the final stage had opened before them all.
[Holy City · Under Resort].
____
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