A fortress-like stronghold was completed, and the intense battle in the boss’s chamber began.

Just like the previous rooms, this area also had a mixture of demon-type and beast-type monsters, both of considerable strength.
That said, our strength was equally formidable. We generally faced about 20 monsters per battle, but so far, we hadn’t sustained any damage.
The battles themselves didn’t even last ten minutes; the fights were over before the effect of 【Purple Wings】 could take full effect.

The role of baiting monsters fell to Luban and Fiora, who rode on 【Floating Orb】.
Thanks to their speed and long-range attacks, they managed to handle monsters at a slight distance efficiently.
Although it wasn’t as many as when I had taken on this role in the middle floors, it was still effective enough.

As for me, I mainly took on a supporting role.
While I had the long-range option of 【Danrem’s Thread】, its cooldown time meant I couldn’t use it recklessly and needed to save it for emergencies.

“I’ve got nothing to do… No monsters are coming from above, and I can’t stray too far from here either…”

Having no better options, I continued spreading the poison of 【Purple Wings】 around.
It didn’t affect our allies and caused no harm in the process.

To put it bluntly, this was still the warm-up.
When the main event started, surely my moment to shine would come.
…It would, right?

“Whoa!?”

After several more battles, a change finally occurred.
The stronghold was situated at the eastern edge of the central area of the boss chamber.
We had begun our offensive from the western side, focusing on the southern entrance, but without detecting any trace of the boss, we continued defeating the monsters.
The respawn rate couldn’t keep up, leaving gaps of inactivity…

“Be careful! Monsters are coming from the north!”

Though their forms weren’t visible yet since we hadn’t elevated our vantage point, I still detected monsters approaching from the north.
They were still some distance away, moving slowly, which gave us some leeway, but this wasn’t just one or two groups.

While some monsters had been drawn by the commotion of our battles, there had been no activity on the northern side until now…
Could this mean the boss was finally making an appearance?

◇

The vanguard, who had been fighting outside the stronghold, returned inside for resupply after I reported the situation, conveniently during a lull in monster activity.
In the meantime, Fiora and I ascended near the ceiling to observe the approaching monsters from the north.

I activated 【Fairy Eyes】 and relied on the snakes’ vision while simultaneously deploying 【Amber Shield】 and 【Wind Cloak】 to defend against projectiles. Anything else could be handled by Fiora.

“How’s it looking?”

“…Mostly beast-type monsters. Many are influenced by the Demon King species, but I don’t see a Demon King itself.”

I relayed my observations to Fiora.

Some of the monsters defeated earlier had also been influenced by the Demon King species, but their numbers weren’t particularly high—about one in every 10 groups.
However, nearly 30% of the approaching monsters exhibited such traits.

“I see… The others seem ready below. Should we thin them out a bit from here? Sera, could you relay this information to them?”

With that, Fiora grabbed a fan from her waist.
Was it the 【Moon Fan】? I vaguely remembered hearing it was an artifact that manipulated magic attributes, though I rarely saw her use it.
Was it due to its high mana consumption?

“Got it!”

As I replied, Fiora began unleashing her magic.

Zighart’s magic worked like a proper beam, piercing through in straight lines, but Fiora’s magic formed spheres that exploded upon impact.
It seemed to be a matter of personal affinity.
With enough practice, one could add variations, but it was easier to handle magic aligned with one’s compatibility.
Though I had been training to fire beams, perhaps I might be more suited to spherical attacks.

As much as I wanted to stay and observe, it would be irresponsible not to pass on this intel.
Reluctantly, I descended.

◇

“Ha! Take this! And that! …Looks like that’s the last of them.”

Having wiped out the swarm of Giant Bats trying to attack us from atop the walls, I took a brief moment to catch my breath.

As the battle with the northern monsters began, it triggered an unexpected response: attacks from monsters on top of the walls, which hadn’t been a problem before.
Giant Bats, lizard-like creatures, and something resembling bees…
Fortunately, they didn’t seem influenced by the Demon King species, and while stronger than usual, they were still manageable for me and the snakes.

The fights below occasionally pushed back into the stronghold, though not out of desperation. It was likely a tactical retreat to lure the monsters into a bottleneck before wiping them out with magic.

“Hmph!”

I accelerated the spread of 【Purple Wings】’ poison using 【Wind Cloak】, dispersing it farther.
While it took some effort and focus, 【Wind Cloak】 allowed for limited control over its effects, enabling such combinations.

The monsters west and south of us seemed hesitant to approach, as though sensing something amiss, unlike those from the north or beyond the walls.

“Heh heh…”

I didn’t know what kind of monster the boss would turn out to be, but if they took too long to act, they’d regret it.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sera ・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Wind’s Cloak】 ・【Floating Orb】+1 【Shadow Sword】 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 ・3 cards

Seriana ・【Area Identification】 ・【】 ・28 cards

Elena ・【】 ・【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】 ・3 cards

Alec ・【Power Strike】 ・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】 ・5 cards