The first Boss battle upon arriving here made Isagi feel a certain indescribable level of absolute dogshit game design.
"Roaaaaar!!"
The entire forest was trembling.
Guided by the NPC hiding in the tree hollow just moments ago, Isagi and the girls found the guy who had been destroying the great trees and branches earlier—
[Manifestation of the Church · Foolish Arebols]
It was a humanoid Monster standing over five meters tall. It looked like a hairless monkey, its surface resembling a mound of pink flesh. Its limbs were long and thick, allowing it to swing back and forth between the trees. On its olive-shaped pointed head, only a large mouth filled with sharp fangs remained, constantly gnawing on everything in front of it.
Those incredibly tall, giant trees were being destroyed and smashed down under its tearing bites.
And yet.
It still wore an incredibly magnificent robe of sky blue and gold, though it had long since become tattered and slovenly.
"It's a Giant Fool!"
Heith and the others recognized the archetype of the Monster before them at first glance. It was a rare Power-type Monster in the Great Tree Labyrinth and the largest creature in the Middle Floors.
It didn't have any special abilities; it was simply extremely thick-skinned and incredibly strong.
In short, it was a—
"Stat Check."
If they were on flat ground, subjugating such a Monster would pose absolutely no difficulty for Isagi and the others. The problem was, they were on the damn trees!
There were traps and jumping puzzles everywhere, and even ordinary Monsters would intrude chaotically.
Coupled with the spikes shooting from all directions from time to time, this battle scenario was simply dogshit to the extreme.
Moreover, they had to be careful at all times.
The platforms and branches they were originally standing on or clinging to with grappling hooks could be destroyed by the Boss's sudden descent.
The battle became quite chaotic from the very start.
Fortunately, Isagi and Ais could fly. Immediately, just like before, one carried Lefiya on their back, and the other carried Heith.
As for Ryuu-senpai and Tiona, they could only fly over to provide cover from time to time.
"Grab my hand!"
"Okay!"
Accompanied by a flash of golden brilliance.
Isagi flapped his golden wings. Amidst the collapsing foliage and branches, he accurately caught the falling Ryuu-senpai, then continued flying toward the Boss prone on a large tree not far away.
"Isagi, Ais, look at me, look at me, look at me!"
Tiona, who had appeared from who knows where, suddenly crashed down from the top of this guy named the "Foolish Manifestation."
The large blade wrapped in blood energy stabbed straight into the interior of its head.
Then she swung her fists. At this moment, the girl was completely entangled in surging deep crimson blood energy, transforming into an incredibly ferocious beast.
Smash, smash, smash!!
Heavy punches rained down, smashing the Monster's bald, pointed head until foul ichor splattered everywhere. Accompanied by its miserable howling sounds, the Amazon girl was still laughing heartily.
Tiona's appearance made Heith, who was currently being carried on Isagi's back, feel a bit dazed. Quickly, she chanted a healing spell for the other party again.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The "songs" of the Elf girls began to resound through the forest.
"Proud warrior, forest archers, the encroaching marauders are before you, take up your bows—"
"Now, the distant forest sky, the infinite stars inlaid in the endless night, respond to the voice of the foolish one such as I, and grant me the protection of starlight once more—"
Wind and fire began to converge within the forest.
To tear open the defenses of this tall and fat Boss before them, leaving it to the girls' chant-less Glintstone Magic and Carian Magic felt a bit lacking.
Because they were instant casts, the amount of Magic stored would naturally decrease. This was a basic principle of the "Magic System" of this world; Mages mobilized their Mind to convert into Magic and shaped the spell through chanting.
Isagi felt that perhaps he could solve this problem.
But he still needed time to research it. As for now, naturally, the "old buddies" he used frequently were the handiest.
"[Fusillade Firebolt]!"
"[Luminous Wind]!"
Wind and fire intertwined, pressing down the branches and burning the foliage to ash.
Amidst that deep green gale that made it nearly impossible to open one's eyes, crimson radiance replaced everything, like an approaching doomsday.
"Let's go, Tiona!"
"?!"
Isagi first threw Ryuu-senpai out. While the Elf girl billowed her deep green cloak and fired a grappling hook toward a nearby tree trunk, he moved with extreme speed, arriving beside the Amazon girl who was still sitting on the Boss's head.
He picked this fellow up, just like picking up a little puppy.
"My sword!"
Tiona was still making idiot noises.
In the next instant, two Hornet Knights drilled out from the foliage, stabbing toward the place she had just been. Finding that the girl had already left, they immediately followed closely.
It was just that what greeted them became Ryuu-senpai's deep green spheres of light, as well as over a dozen crimson "javelins" heading toward the Foolish Manifestation.
"!!!"
Smoke and fire suddenly exploded silently.
The rolling heat waves scattering in all directions seemed about to submerge everything around them, leaving only billowing black clouds before Isagi's eyes, mist mixed with flickering, bursting specks of blazing stars.
"Roar!!"
The Boss let out an incredibly pained howl once again.
Subsequently, Isagi saw its massive, colossal figure actually leap up from between the large tree trunks. Disregarding absolutely everything, it pounced toward him!
Its head was covered in blood, the Amazon girl's large blade was still stuck in it, and the magnificent long robe on its body had been burned to nothing, leaving its body covered in foul-smelling scorched marks.
Facing its increasingly approaching ferocious face, Isagi simply continued to throw Tiona in his hand toward the distance.
Amidst the girl's silly cry of "?!"
"Miss Heith, hold on tight."
"Oh!"
"[Crucible: Aspect of the Tail]."
Isagi did not dodge or evade. Hovering right there in mid-air, facing the pouncing giant Foolish Manifestation, he gathered golden radiance behind him, transforming it into a great serpent's tail.
He twisted his waist and turned.
The long golden tail was like a giant whip, ruthlessly lashing onto the Boss's blood-drenched head, sending its colossal body flying.
But it wasn't over yet.
"?!!"
Accompanied by Heith's disbelief as her rose-red eyes gradually widened.
She saw.
The boy flapped his twin wings again, chasing right after the Foolish Manifestation, almost crashing headfirst into its embrace.
Boom!
The forest trees trembled.
Using the greatsword in his hand to nail it directly onto a certain large tree, immediately after, that golden light gathered in front of Isagi's chest once again. This was—
[Crucible: Aspect of the Breath].
As the boy inhaled, a giant "stomach sac" suddenly materialized, expanding to some limit in an instant. Subsequently, golden flowing fire was spewed from his mouth.
Face to face.
The incredibly brilliant molten fire was sprayed directly onto the Boss's face at point-blank range, giving Heith the illusion that her eyes were about to be blinded.
Wait, why are all of the boy's spells golden colored? I'm the [Golden of the Goddess]! Is even the "special effect" of magic going to be stolen?!
"Isagi!"
From behind, the golden-haired girl's voice rang out.
Incomparable tacit understanding.
As high-level adventurers, there was no need for words, nor any need for prior planning.
Isagi quickly leaped up. At the same time he left the front of the Boss.
Wrapped in a gale that threatened to destroy everything, the girl had already taken his place in an instant, arriving in front of this giant Foolish Manifestation.
The Desperate Sword in the Sword Princess's hand once again emitted a sharp whistle that sounded as if it were about to break—
[Lil Rafaga]!
And.
Face to face, carried on Ais's back, Lefiya had already drawn an incredibly massive ice bow, with at least three "arrows" nocked upon it.
"Forest, become the bowstring. Ice crystals, become giant arrows! The drawn bow bears the will of the spiritual peak; this is—"
"[Glacier Arrow · Modified · Triple Shot]!"
In an instant.
The exploding gale tore apart the large tree behind the Boss and everything surrounding it. Subsequently, it was frozen within the Elf girl's surging frost magic.
With a crisp crack.
Amidst the lush, thriving foliage, a zone completely sealed in ice and snow appeared out of thin air.
The Monster's exploded body, the snapped great trees, the flying leaves—everything was frozen in mid-air.
Then.
The breathtakingly beautiful scene crashed downward with a boom.
"Ah! My sword!!"
After the battle ended, the only one injured was the idiot Tiona. Because the large blade she had stabbed into the Boss's head was first heated by Isagi's barrage of golden fire, and then suffered the double attack of Ais and Lefiya.
The result was—
It snapped directly with a clang.
"Hmph! If the old doesn't go, the new won't come. I won't need it soon anyway!!"
The girl was rather heartless.
Thinking that Cecil would soon craft a First-Class armament for her, who would still mourn for their previous weapon? Honestly!
As for what Isagi had said about weapons being Familia property and not being able to take them if she went back to the Loki Familia or whatever... Tiona blinked, thinking, wouldn't it be fine if I just didn't go back? Just like now, isn't it pretty great!
Hehe!!
It was even better than before.
Because now she could run to Isagi's room at night and ask the boy to tell her stories. Even if Cecil always ran over to drag her back to her room to sleep, that was still much, much better than before!
Digging out the Magic Stone, harvesting materials.
The Monster's body, frozen by frost and already blasted into several pieces, landed on a massive platform connecting one large tree to another.
Isagi found a place to sit and let Miss Heith down from his back as well.
Let's rest for a bit.
Incidentally, he took the dropped material from Lefiya after she dug out the Boss's Magic Stone. It was walnut-sized, warm to the touch, and soft—
[Brain of the Foolish Manifestation:
The brain of the Monster known as the "Giant Fool." It merely exists, nothing more.
The road to Paradise is incredibly arduous and full of suffering. If not for an utter fool, who would embark on such a pilgrimage?
Thus, due to the convergence of numerous believers, the cycle repeats, endless and infinite.
Foolishness manifests because of this.]
What is the use of this thing?
Isagi held it in his hand, wondering if forging it into a weapon would lower people's intelligence.
He silently put it away. In any case, there was no need to worry now. Resting here, they wouldn't inexplicably fall just because a Monster was "cutting trees."
According to the Great Tree Priest who hid in the tree hollow.
On the pilgrimage road to Paradise, all "suffering" was deliberately arranged by the Church.
That meant there were corresponding Bosses to fight, including the toxic area full of flower fields that he and the girls had gone to earlier.
As long as they found and defeated them, the problem could be solved. But as for where exactly they were, they still had to find them themselves.
Tsk.
It seemed they would still have to explore for a while.
Isagi dispelled the wolf-shaped armor on his body. While moving his body, he continued to look up toward that distant azure "vault of heaven."
The lush foliage blocked most of the view, but even so, the pale blue radiance of the algae still spread out to the end of his vision.
Come to think of it, he and the girls were currently inside the Dungeon, right?
Probably around the position of the 24th Floor?
Then what exactly was it like? Was it like the Goblin Kingdom before, where the Dungeon directly carved out a zone, or was it...
It was hard to imagine.
Isagi thought, if the Paradise the Church referred to was the Safe Floor located on the 18th Floor, then when the time came, what kind of changes would have occurred there?
No....
Changes should have already occurred, right?
____
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