“Flash!”

As I approached the Ogre, I cast a spell to blind it.

Until now, I had been taking them down one by one, but with those two Giant Apes that appeared earlier, it would be difficult to lure them apart and hunt them down while staying cautious of their movements.

The two hit directly covered their faces, groaning in pain.

Since I didn’t have the support of an umbrella or 【Dragon’s Lungs】, the spell’s brightness was reduced, so their recovery might be quicker than usual. This meant I had no time to waste. I needed to take both of them out in one go.

As usual, I planned to swiftly destroy their cores. I extended 【Shadow Sword】 and closed in on the two still groaning in pain. But…

“Hmm!”

Just a few meters away from my targets, I noticed something flying toward me from the side.

Of course, it was likely one of the Giant Apes throwing something.

I had fortified my defenses, so ignoring one hit might have been an option. Still, avoiding attacks altogether was my style.

Even if it meant wasting a spell, I decided to act as usual…!

“Ughhhhhhh!?”

As I glanced toward the incoming object to confirm what it was, I let out a strange cry.

The sight shocked me so much that my mind went blank for a moment. Thankfully, 【Floating Orb】 reacted instinctively, pulling me away at high speed.

Good job, Orb.

“Oh… it’s crushed.”

I managed to avoid the attack, but the Ogre, blinded and stuck on the ground, couldn’t dodge. It was spectacularly crushed by whatever hit it.

The object that had flown toward me was a Giant Boar, roughly the size of a cow and easily weighing several hundred kilograms.

The boss ape I had fought on the middle floors was a demon king-class, and that one had thrown massive boulders at high speeds.

While its velocity had been something I could dodge, even the standard Giant Apes had that much strength…

Both the Ogre and the Boar were still alive but visibly weakened.

Well, of course. The fact that they weren’t dead was more impressive.

When I glanced at the Giant Ape, it was wandering around as if nothing had happened.

Could it have just thrown something randomly…?

“For now, I should finish them off.”

I approached the Ogre and the Boar, swiftly delivering the final blow to all three.

That left only a few poisoned and immobilized monsters and the Giant Ape—effectively a one-on-one battle with it.

…What should I do?

Neither the boss ape nor the standard Giant Apes were particularly vulnerable to my attacks.

While it didn’t seem intent on aggressively coming after me, running away could still be an option.

“I haven’t tried using arrows yet…”

【Scarlet Bee Needle】 was ineffective, and 【Shadow Sword】 was too dangerous to use in close combat.

But I still hadn’t tested 【Danrem’s Thread】, my most powerful and far-reaching weapon, due to the chaos of battle or the difficulty of aiming it.

“Hmm… about ten more minutes.”

There were only a few minutes left until the one-hour limit Alec had mentioned.

If I played my cards right, I could fire off two shots. Let’s try it.

If it didn’t work, I’d just make a quick getaway!

◇

“Here we go!”

I activated 【Danrem’s Thread】, simultaneously triggering 【Ankle Bracelet】 and 【Snake’s Tail】 to prepare for shooting an arrow.

The distance to the Giant Ape was roughly 30 meters.

It was looking at me, but even from this range, it showed no signs of taking any action.

What was that earlier, throwing the Giant Boar? Was it reacting to magic?

In any case, it wasn’t paying much attention to the whirring 【Danrem’s Thread】, which was letting out a high-pitched hum.

Though it kept an eye on me, it leisurely wandered among the remaining paralyzed monsters.

If I shot now, I could hit a few monsters in the line of fire.

Focusing on the Giant Ape for about a minute, I noticed it crouch beside a fallen Ogre.

This was my chance!

Arrows fired with the assistance of 【Ankle Bracelet】 and 【Snake’s Tail】 were almost perfectly stable, though they occasionally veered slightly to the left due to my shooting angle.

While this flaw meant I couldn’t fully utilize it as a long-range weapon, at this distance, it wouldn’t be an issue.

“Take this!”

I carefully aimed at its torso and released the arrow.

The glowing arrow shot forth, carving into the dungeon floor as it streaked toward the Giant Ape, leaving a gleaming trail behind.

The arrow pierced straight through the Giant Ape’s torso, yet instead of slamming into the dungeon wall with a loud crash, it emitted a crackling sound similar to the spark of 【Scarlet Bee Needle】.

Usually, the arrows I fired didn’t make any sound beyond the noise of impact, but now there was a clear, sharp buzzing noise.

What was this sound…?

“The arrow definitely hit, right…? Wait, what!?”

Why could I still see the arrow?

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

Sera: 【Hideout】 +1, 【Prayer】, 【Mira’s Blessing】, 【Wind Garment】 ・ 【Floating Orb】 +1, 【Shadow Sword】, 【Scarlet Bee Needle】, 【Fairy Eye】, 【Dragon’s Lung】, 【Amber Sword】, 【Danrem’s Thread】, 【Serpent’s Tail】, 【Ankle Bracelet】, 【Amber Shield】, 【Purple Wings】 ・ 7 cards

Seriana: 【Range Identification】 ・ 【】 ・ 28 cards

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

Alec: 【Strong Strike】 ・ 【Red Shield】, 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】 ・ 7 cards