The Sculptor's Idol, cupping ethereal fire, rose from the ground.
The gold-armored Goblin, despite being tied to the Amazon girl's greatsword, couldn't stop trembling. It seemed to sense the terrifying presence beyond the fog gate. It was a fear that stemmed from primal instinct.
In response, Isagi simply walked forward with a calm expression, while behind him, Lefiya remained as resilient and earnest as ever.
The Elf girl, having experienced many adventures, had now completely shed her past immaturity and naivety, taking on the air of a "veteran adventurer."
As for Tiona.
Although she had already seen the Lightless King, this was the girl's first time formally about to face a so-called "BOSS." She couldn't help but wonder, was there something like the Monster Rex in here?
Although Isagi had said its vitality was nowhere near as exaggerated as the Monster Rex's, its other aspects were likely "only stronger, not weaker."
!!!
She inexplicably started to feel a little excited. Amazons were a warlike people. That was why they had the custom of adoring and falling in love with the men who defeated them, not to mention Tiona hailed from the distant Telskyura, far beyond the city.
She had long since left that country of blood and cruelty. But the fighting spirit in her bones was deeply branded into her very soul.
The fog quickly and quietly dissipated.
What came into view was an enormous pit illuminated by countless pale green fluorescent lights. The glimmers that were once bound in glass bottles were now free. Being intangible, they couldn't be eaten by the queen, which was why they were among the few things that still existed in this deep pit.
Between the still-barren cliff walls and the ground, beneath that pale green light, a massive, pinkish ball of flesh, as large as a mountain, appeared right before Isagi and the girls.
What a twisted and horrifying existence this was.
"Come back... children... return... to Mother's body."
"Turn everything... into Mother's flesh and blood..."
And so.
"Flesh and flesh will always be joined as one."
A giant head with long, filthy, disheveled hair drooped to the ground. Its shape was vaguely recognizable as a Kobold's, and it was emitting waves of whispers.
Countless short claws grew from the surface of the fleshy sphere, even thinner than a normal person's, like tiny tentacles. And next to the claws, large mouths gaped open on the sphere's surface, chewing on a mixture of fresh blood, shredded meat, armor, wooden planks...
Inside those innumerable mouths, large and small, it was swallowing a chaotic mix of "everything." Some of it couldn't be eaten and was vomited out, bulging from between its teeth, only to be shoved back in by the claws growing nearby.
As the "feeding" continued, a bulge on top of the sphere swelled larger and larger, gradually becoming a bloodshot membrane through which one could vaguely see something gestating within—
[The Meat Cup Queen Who Was Conquered by the Pale · Sonai]
"Hurry up and do something!"
The little Goblin Akshi shrieked, as if something even more terrifying would be born if they were any slower.
Isagi saw, at the bottom of the pit before them, countless Kobolds were gathered around the Meat Cup Queen.
They were lined up, constantly moving forward, quietly waiting for the claws growing on the sphere's surface to lift them up and stuff them into the mouths nearby.
Ceaselessly chewing and swallowing.
In such a direct manner, they returned to the body of the mother that birthed them.
And neither the Meat Cup Queen nor the Kobolds queueing up to be eaten paid any mind to the arrival of him and the girls, single-mindedly continuing what they were doing.
And without needing any further reminders from Akshi, Isagi already knew what to do next. It was definitely to kill as many of those Kobolds as possible to stop them from being eaten, and also to attack the Meat Cup Queen's main body to weaken her with damage.
In that case.
"Lefiya, you attack the main body."
"Tiona, we'll handle the Kobolds and cover Lefiya."
Not knowing how the subsequent BOSS fight would go, Isagi needed to reduce the number of times he used charged Combat Art magic, to avoid problems in the coming battle due to mental exhaustion.
So.
Time for 'brute force' mode!
Wielding the Glimmer Greatsword, Isagi and Tiona charged into the crowd of Kobolds like two lions and began the slaughter!!
These Kobolds were very weak; perhaps that was precisely why they were at the back of the line to be eaten.
Moreover, they had no intention of fighting at all, merely swarming forward single-mindedly, as if even in death, they had to be a little closer to their "mother."
And Isagi soon discovered something.
He drew his longbow and fired an arrow that obliterated the head of a distant Kobold just as it was being lifted by one of the Meat Cup Queen's tentacle-like arms to be eaten—empowered by the Character Card's innate [Sword Saint Esoterica], even without using a Combat Art, the iron arrow Isagi fired still possessed extraordinary power—but the Meat Cup Queen ate it anyway. The Kobold with half its head destroyed was still swallowed into her belly.
Just killing them was useless.
"Tiona, we have to destroy their Magic Stones!"
Killing them first and then digging it out would also work, but there was no time for that now!!
Once the Magic Stone inside a Monster is destroyed, it will also disintegrate into ash. And generally speaking, the location of the Magic Stone within Monsters of the same species is fixed.
For veteran adventurers, skillfully memorizing the Magic Stone locations of different Monsters in the Dungeon and directly attacking them at critical moments would inflict extremely powerful "weakness damage," allowing for a more effective elimination of the enemy.
Of course, a shattered Magic Stone naturally meant that the Monster's most basic drop was also gone.
But now was clearly not the time to worry about that.
"The Kobold's Magic Stone is directly above the center of the chest, near the neck, about three centimeters down!"
Isagi shouted to Tiona.
As one of the most basic beginner Monsters in the Dungeon, just like Goblins, Kobolds were recorded in detail in the [Adventurer's Guidebook] that the Guild gave to every adventurer.
Even for the "special Monsters" that appeared due to the Dungeon's malice, whose bodies might change in size compared to before, the location of the Magic Stone was more or less the same, having clearly not changed much.
Tiona had only come to Orario after reaching Lv. 3 and was clearly unfamiliar with the Monsters of the upper floors; she was the type to "skip levels" and go straight to adventuring on the 19th Floor and beyond.
Now, with the boy's reminder, after "familiarizing" herself a few times, Tiona quickly became able to directly shatter the Magic Stones inside these Kobolds with her fists and feet.
Of course, what was even more efficient was actually Akshi, who was tied to her greatsword.
That guy's head... no, it must be his golden helmet that was truly hard!
With a casual swing, any Kobold she struck would be smashed to pieces, turning into dust along with its flesh, blood, and Magic Stone.
Isagi figured Tiona's strength had to be immense as well, otherwise this effect would be impossible. The Amazon girl may have been petite, but she was clearly an adventurer who focused on [Strength].
The contrast was just too great!
With the correct "tactic," under Isagi and Tiona's frenzied slaughter, clouds of ash from the disintegrated Monsters rose continuously from the depths of the pale green pit, even lingering for a long time like vaporous clouds.
At the same time, as crimson flames lit up the cavern, Lefiya also finished chanting her first [Fusillade Firebolt], blasting it straight towards the distant Meat Cup Queen. It succeeded, setting off a series of massive fireballs that exploded across her body.
Along with the rising flames, the pit began to tremble. The Meat Cup Queen's previous soft whispers and chewing sounds were replaced by a bloodcurdling shriek.
It seemed, visibly, after the smoke from the magic cleared, the originally massive ball of flesh seemed to have shrunk a little?
It's working!
"That's it! Adventurers!! Keep going!! Keep weakening... Oof!"
Akshi, being swung around by Tiona, was somehow still able to clamor on, though it seemed he was truly dizzy, as the sound of vomiting began to come from inside his golden helmet.
However.
Tiona didn't notice this at all. The Amazon girl was currently getting high on the thrill of battle!
And she could feel it.
The real battle was about to begin. This was just the "foreplay," albeit necessary "foreplay."
They had to race against time to eliminate as many Kobolds as possible while simultaneously damaging the Meat Cup Queen. If they failed, then soon...
Without a word needing to be spoken, Isagi, Tiona, and Lefiya all understood this.
So the Elf girl continued to chant her magic, while the boy and the other girl tirelessly continued to slay the Kobolds and shatter their Magic Stones.
It was a race against time.
Isagi even thought, it's a good thing I brought teammates; if it were just me alone, I probably wouldn't be able to handle this.
Seconds and minutes passed.
Just as Lefiya's fourth [Fusillade Firebolt] descended once more, exploding against the Meat Cup Queen's still mountain-like body, the last Kobold, which had already been lifted by the claws but was still pierced through the chest by an iron arrow from Isagi, its Magic Stone shattering along with it, disintegrated into ash.
At the bottom of the pit, a deathly silence and cleanliness were restored.
All the mouths stopped completely. The Meat Cup Queen had eaten everything she could eat.
Then, under the still-burning flames of magical power, the "hope" containing the blood and flesh of all the Kobolds was born.
"Go, my child."
As if using up all her strength, the "mother" whispered one last time.
"Oh, future of my kin, gorge yourself on your mother's blood and flesh..."
Amidst the Meat Cup Queen's sorrowful wails of pain, the bulge on top of the fleshy sphere suddenly tore open.
Dark red blood gushed out like erupting volcanic lava, and with it, a slender figure slowly crawled out from the warm blood and flesh.
Isagi and the girls' opponent was clearly not the Meat Cup Queen who had once been conquered by the Pale.
But rather—
[The Final Hope · Meat Cup Princess Iconia]
___
🔥 New stories are available now! 🔥
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan