Revis maintained her stance of confrontation, locking her gaze onto Ais.
Riveria's palm, which was gripping her staff, was slick with sweat as she focused her mind to the utmost.
This situation… is good. Time is on our side.
No matter what, stalling her here and ensuring that Finn and Fron can meet their conditions for the strategy over there is the top priority.
Neither side moved a muscle, a tacit understanding forming between them as the standoff continued.
...
"The halberd!!"
An anxious roar burst from Tione, as she shouted to the girl who was temporarily serving as her support.
"O-okay!"
The mage-and-support girl forced down her nerves and pretended to be calm, quickly pulling from her backpack the large long-handled weapon prepared in advance for gigantic enemies.
What she immediately threw toward Tione was the special weapon "Roland Halberd", bearing the Durandal Attribute.
This weapon had been prepared during their exploration of the unknown 59th floor, designed to counter new monsters with extreme corrosive abilities.
It not only possessed the Durandal Attribute, but was also lighter. The drawback was obvious: its offensive power couldn't compare to first-tier armaments.
But among second-tier armaments, it was top-class. With the advantage of being a large weapon, its attack power barely reached the lower range of first-tier gear.
Price: 110 million Valis.
Tione switched into the long-handle weapon, and her expression instantly darkened.
"You disgusting bastard! Dieeeeeeee!!" Her vicious glare locked onto the monster.
In the next moment, with a furious roar, she leapt up and swung the weapon downward from above, chopping toward the 'Barca Monster'.
"GROOOOOAAAH!!"
Splurt,
With the naked eye one could see the axe head of the massive weapon bite into the creature's bloated left arm, spraying blood.
Tione was inevitably splattered with the black blood. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and made full use of the long-handled weapon's reach, keeping her offense and evasion in sync.
As the main force successfully closed in and began dealing damage to the monster, the others also joined the assault at the right timing.
"Encircle it! Surround him!"
"Watch your defense! Don't get hit by it's cursed blood!"
"Rear guard! Rear guard! Mages, do not interrupt your chanting!"
"Supporters, use your magic swords, Suppress its pressure!!!"
"No, even if it's not that effective, it's fine! Just break its attack rhythm, disrupt its focus! Make it irritated, make it afraid!"
Inside the hall on the 13th floor, the situation displayed the fierce battle between adventurers and monster.
Following Finn's orders, the force greatly increased the number of shield-bearing frontliners, with the support team backing them, to defend against the monster's wide-range cursed attacks and launch counter-attacks.
Looking around, aside from Tiona, who normally used the ultra-heavy weapon, the others had all switched to longer-reach weapons with strong piercing power, long-handled weapons, bows, and crossbows.
Fron maintained his magic while keeping his gaze fixed on the monster, preparing the magic he had been suppressing.
On the left, the monster's thick arm continuously smashed down heavy blows to prevent adventurers from approaching, while even the magic attacks fired at it were swatted away by the curse-laden tentacles on its right side.
Seeing this, Fron's pupils shrank sharply.
This curse… can even negate magic…
He murmured to himself as he lowered his head slightly, his messy hair covering his eyes.
"Even artillery blasts can't break through… No matter how many times it's attacked, it doesn't even stagger, "
Having just retreated from the front line to replenish her magic tools from a supporter, Asfi stood beside Fron, narrowing her eyes.
Magic was ineffective; physical attacks couldn't deliver fatal blows; its massive size already indicated powerful vitality. Even Asfi, the Universal Genius, found this situation terribly troublesome.
"Heh… it's a defense-specialized type of enemy, Asfi."
"What?"
"If you observe carefully, you'll see that during its distortion, the monster sacrificed agility for that massive bulk. In exchange, it's practically like an ancient tree rooted deeply into the earth, giving the impression that it simply won't fall over."
"We've attacked it so many times, and even Finn, Tiona, and Tione's fierce strikes couldn't topple it. It defends and counters with those deformed arms, and during its counterattack, it fires cursed projectiles to keep everyone away."
"Even if someone breaks through, their posture is disrupted, they can't land a fatal hit. Even Tiona's heavy weapon couldn't cut off any of its body parts."
"Unlike the large monsters we've fought before, the 'Jewel Fetus' parasitizing it, its core, is exposed as that black sphere. There's no need to search for a weak point; that's clearly it."
"But with its mutated tough skin and strange plant-like structure, it can easily prevent itself from being killed."
Here, Fron paused, then slowly lifted his head.
Asfi looked at him, only to find that the deep contemplation had vanished from his face, replaced with something lighter.
This change made her heart skip a beat.
"Heh… with all these specialized abilities, plus that troublesome near-standard defensive-type trait, its Regeneration Ability."
The monster's blood vessels burst, spraying curses everywhere, yet it regenerated rapidly, returning to normal in an instant. This cycle repeated again and again, showing no end.
Even with the naked eye, one could tell: its regeneration outpaced their damage output. The adventurers were struggling, and even the experienced, powerful Loki Familia wore expressions of pain.
To Fron, Finn, Tiona, and Tione, the monster's mutated state gave it potential surpassing even the female-type monster they fought on the 59th floor.
[T/N: I doubt it, the monster on the 59th floor was able to take on all the high level adventurers of the Loki Familia; here Ais and Riveria are not there and Fron is not fighting it; the only issue is not enough fire-power. And this dumbass is busy maintaining a healing spell instead of fighting the monster. He can easily evade the rain of blood and attack it XD. At least this is what I think.]
Using high defense to endure enemy attacks, constantly launching suppression and counterattacks,
A brutal war of attrition. Without Amid and Fron maintaining everyone's healing, the combined force would've collapsed instantly.
As the fierce battle dragged on, the adventurers gradually felt a growing dread toward this monster.
"I have a way… but I'll need you all to cover me and Amid. Once I activate it… if I'm right, all of its attacks will focus on the two of us. But… if we can hold out a bit, there might be a chance to turn things around."
"What is it?"