"Then let's go, everyone!" Lydia gave a battle cry as she ran towards the monster, the rest of us following after her. Raul and others, support members, entered the battle again as well, trying to keep the weaker monster out of our way.
I jumped from one ice block to another. Before long, I was in front of the monster, my sword slicing through its tough hide, red blood splattering in the air, the monster rex tried to release fire breath, but…
"Eyes up here, tough guy!" Kaguya and the rest of the girls interrupted its attack, stabbing the monster's eye as it let out a pained cry.
Ryuu and Asfi took on the red head of the monster, with Asfi raining knives and explosives on the monster, leaving it with no breathing room.
While Alise, Ais, and I kept the monster form going underwater, following it all around the lake.
The battle raged on for a little while with magic and arrows raining down from behind us, until Ryuu and Asfi created an opening, "Arin!" Asfi signaled, giving me the much-needed chance to attack. I quickly leaped up at the monster's head, my blade wrapped in flames, as I cleaved the monster's neck, separating its head from the body.
"SHHYAAAAA!!" The monster's other head let out a pained cry, trying to muster up its breath attack, only to get overwhelmed by the teamwork of everyone, which had improved after the first round.
"Yosh! One down, another to go!" Alise exclaimed without losing focus on the battle.
The monster, seeing its other half was no longer there, started compensating with its tail, swinging it towards Kaguya. Kaguya twisted her body mid-air as she dodged the tail attack, only for the monster's mouth to come at her.
This time, the monster ignored the attack raining down on its body, determined to at least take down one enemy with it. But the moment it opens its mouth, Asfi quickly drops several bombs inside.
"ORYAA!" Iska, who was handling the smaller monster until now, lunged towards the monster and kicked its mouth shut. The force behind her attack made the monster rex bend backwards.
BOOMMM!!
A huge explosion sound came out of the monster, along with smoke, and several of its teeth fell off.
"Lion, Ais, Now!" Alise, taking the opportunity, jumped on its back, stabbing it repeatedly while Ais and Ryuu leaped at the head of the monster along with Lydia, before they attacked all at once.
Lydia stabbed its eye, her sword piercing through the monster's brain while Ryuu and Ais stabbed the skull and dragged their sword, cutting the monster's brain in half.
"Gulp, they are so ruthless." That was the only thing I was able to say, looking at the girls mangling the monster brain.
"I don't want to hear that from you…" Asfi replied, landing near me.
"Hm? And why is that? I don't think I am that ruthless." I asked, clearly confused by that accusatory look she gave me.
"Oh, yeah? I hope you could say the same thing after looking at the mess you made of those Evilus remnants. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to handle that?"
Oh crap! I stepped on a landmine. I quickly thought of a way to distract her, but I didn't have to look around much as Alise's voice rang out.
"And that's how everyone, the beautiful and perfect Captain on Astraea familia, defeated the monster rex!"
"You mean how we defeated the monster rex, right?" Lydia tried to correct her, but Alise was not the one to listen to anyone.
"We, us, same thing!" Alise waved her hand dismissively.
"It really isn't," multiple voices said at once, causing laughter to ripple through the group.
I looked over at everyone's condition, but no one was hurt too badly. There were some minor scratches here and there, but that was about the extent of it.
"Well done, everyone. I couldn't have expected any less from you all." Finn complimented as he walked towards the group with Gareth, and Riveria following behind him.
"I suppose Amphisbeana was not that big a challenge for you since none of you used your most powerful magic or skills," Riveria stated her observation, looking out at the group, most likely checking for injuries, just as I have.
"It was a great battle! Wish I could have joined! Hahaha!" Gareth laughed.
"Stop it, old man. If you had joined, then this wouldn't even have been a fight." Alise commented, to which all of us nodded our heads.
"Yes, besides, we have far more intense battles ahead of us, so you will get your fill, old man," I told him, since we are only twenty-seven floors down and our destination is the fifty-eighth floor.
In floors that deep, even with my magic, I am sure I would be having difficulty fighting alone.
"Okay, I think we can do this chatting on the next floor better, so we should get going now." Seeing that everyone was starting to relax their guard, Finn called out, and all of us got ready to move.
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We descended past the waterfall and found the entrance to the next floor. Because of the narrow stairs, we had to walk in groups of two to three people. I decided to walk at the very end behind the supports just in case we got attacked from behind.
While Finn led the group from the very front, followed by the first-class adventurers.
The descent seemed to take forever, the narrow passageway making conversation difficult and movement slow. The sound of dripping water echoed around us, mixing with the distant roar of the waterfall we'd left behind. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of stairs, I saw light ahead—different from the usual blue-white glow of the dungeon walls. This light was warmer, almost golden.
"We're almost there!" I heard Tiona's excited voice echo from the front.
"You say that every time," Tione's exasperated response came back.
As I emerged from the passage, I stopped dead in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat.
"Wow..."
The twenty-eighth floor spread out before us like something from a dream. A vast field of flowers in every color imaginable stretched as far as the eye could see, their petals seeming to glow with an inner light. The ceiling high above sparkled with what looked like stars, casting a soft, warm illumination over everything.
"It's beautiful..." I breathed, unable to come up with anything more eloquent.
"Right?!" Tiona was practically bouncing with excitement. "I told you it was amazing!"
"Welcome to the Under Garden," Finn said with a knowing smile, clearly having expected my reaction.
I was unable to reply as I was still trying to process what I was seeing. "I mean, I read about it in the reports, but this is..."
"Beyond words?" Ryuu offered gently, moving to stand beside me. Even though she'd been here before, I could see the appreciation in her eyes.
"It resembles the flower gardens of the elven forests," Riveria added. "Though I must admit, the dungeon's recreation is impressive in its own right."
"Impressive? This is like stepping into a painting!" I took a few steps forward, taking in the beautiful sight.
"It feels peaceful, isn't it…" Ais said quietly, appearing at my side, looking over the field of flowers.
I could see why she liked it. Although the scale of this flower itself was smaller than the eighteenth floor, the sheer beauty of this place more than made up for it.
"Alright, everyone!" Finn's voice cut through the moment. "I know all of you must be feeling tired after the whole day of fighting, but we need to set up camp before we can relax. Let's move efficiently, and then you'll all have time to rest."
"You heard the captain!" Lydia called out. "Let's get to work!"
As everyone began spreading out with practiced efficiency—clearly having done this many times before—I noticed how comfortable they all were. They knew exactly where to set up the tents, where the best spots were, how to organize the camp.
"Oi, newbie!" Lyra called out. "Stop gawking and help us with the tents! Those flowers will still be there after we're done!"
Asfi appeared beside me with an armful of tent supplies. "Come on, I'll show you where the adventurers usually set up camp."
"Okay," I replied, turning my eyes away from the beautiful sight of the flowers and following after her, though I couldn't help taking one more long look around.
As I joined the others in setting up camp, I watched how smoothly everyone worked together. They moved with the ease of people who had done this countless times—Tiona and Tione bickering about tent placement while still getting everything done perfectly, Ryuu and the Astraea Familia members efficiently organizing supplies, Riveria calmly directing people to optimal locations.
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"This will do, I think," Asfi said as she got up, having hammered the last nail into place.
"Yup, and it looks like the food is also about to be ready, so let's go, I am so hungry!" I put the hammer down and got up as well, looking over at people making food for all of us.
The aroma of cooking food wafted through the air, mixing with the sweet scent of the flowers. My stomach growled audibly in response.
"Sounds like someone's stomach is trying to communicate," Asfi teased, though her own eyes were fixed on the cooking area with clear interest.
"Can you blame me? We've been fighting and working all day." I stretched my arms above my head, feeling the pleasant ache of exertion in my muscles. "Come on, let's go before Tiona eats everything."
"I heard that!" Tiona's voice called out from near the cooking area.
As Asfi and I made our way over, I could see that most of the camp had already gathered. The atmosphere was relaxed, with people sitting in small groups on the flower-covered ground, their weapons set aside for the moment. The soft glow from the ceiling above cast everything in a warm, almost magical light.
"Alright, everyone, gather around!" Finn's voice carried across the camp as he stood near the central cooking area. The Pallum captain waited patiently as the last few stragglers joined the group, his expression calm and collected as always.
Once everyone was assembled, he continued. "First, I want to commend you all on today's performance. The coordination between our three familias during the Amphisbaena battle was exceptional, especially considering this is our first joint expedition." He paused, allowing a ripple of pleased murmurs to pass through the crowd. "However, don't let success make you complacent. The floors ahead will be far more challenging."
"Which is why," Riveria stepped forward, her emerald eyes sweeping across the assembled adventurers, "we will be spending the night here on the twenty-eighth floor. This is a safe zone, and everyone needs proper rest before we continue deeper into the dungeon tomorrow morning."
"So we get to sleep surrounded by pretty flowers?" Tiona asked excitedly. "This is the best expedition ever!"
"Don't get too comfortable," Gareth rumbled, though there was amusement in his voice. "We'll still be posting guards throughout the night. Safe floor or not, we don't take chances."
"Guard rotations will be assigned after dinner," Finn added. "For now, eat well and rest. We depart at first light."
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Alise declared, already moving toward the food. "The great Captain Alise needs her beauty sleep, after all!"
No one commented on Alise's words, as they had already grown accustomed to her personality.
"Now, let's get our food, shall we?" I was feeling really hungry, so I made my way towards the support members handing out the food with an entourage of people following behind me.