First, to confirm sothing he was curious about, Tatsuro spoke to Ai, who was carrying him princess-style while dodging the water cutters without stopping for a mont.
"Ai, try going behind and launching a sword strike from the blind spot with your jewel sword." (Tatsuro)
"Aye aye, sir!" (Ai)
Using her proud leg strength, Ai read the trajectory of the water cutters while running behind, and released an energy slash from her jewel sword.
However, the Dungeon twisted its waist to look behind, canceled the water cutter in its right hand, and deployed a water shield to block it.
Then it imdiately switched to water lasers, firing three at Ai and the rest at the other mbers.
Though the ones shot at Ai were accurate, those fired at the other mbers were slightly off target.
From this, Tatsuro deduced that the Dungeon had no detection-type magic or skills, and was only responding with visual tracking, high reflexes, and the ability to instantly generate high-level magic.
Then Tatsuro himself tried using magic.
This ti he used a mix of earth, wind, curse, darkness, and explosion magic.
First, he imbued a fist-sized chunk of earth with explosion magic, then added wind attributes using curse magic modified with dark magic, and carefully launched it using separately created wind magic to prevent premature detonation, firing it at the Dungeon.
The Dungeon imdiately reacted by deploying a water shield in the direct path of the explosive earth chunk to try to block it.
However, just before impact, the embedded wind magic activated causing it to turn right at a right angle. Then after passing the shield's width, another embedded wind magic activated making it go straight.
Then it turned left at a right angle beyond the shield and rushed into the Dungeon's left side before exploding.
"Did it hit?" (Ai)
"Nope. Looks like it slipped in a thin water shield between its body and the bomb." (Tatsuro)
"So the points?" (Ai)
"Still at 10." (Tatsuro)
When the attacks stopped after impact, Tatsuro thought he might have landed an effective hit, but Ai calmly reported the situation as she saw it.
Though Tatsuro was slightly disappointed it didn't hit, he rationalized that this attempt was to learn sothing else so it wasn't a problem.
As he was thinking this, the Dungeon dropped its shield and stopped firing water cutters, breaking the montary stalemate where they weren't sure what it would do next.
"Just now, you made magic activate and change trajectory on its own without doing anything, didn't you? That's quite an unusual type of magic. How did you do it?"
"It's a secret. But I'll tell you if you agree to lose." (Tatsuro)
"I can't do that~"
"Here it cos!" (Tatsuro)
Almost simultaneously with Tatsuro's voice, ten streams of water cutters began flying again.
Though Tatsuro found himself having to run around again while cradled in Ai's arms, he was starting to understand various things he wanted to confirm.
"Hey Ai, even you can't cut through that water shield, right?" (Tatsuro)
"Nope. Even my jewel sword's strike was easily blocked, and anything stronger than that—huh? What is it, Gun-chan?" (Ai)
During her conversation with Tatsuro, one of the five empty hands of Ai's divine bow Gundari Myoo tapped her on the shoulder.
Though it couldn't speak so the details weren't clear, Ai sohow understood what it ant.
So she relayed that to Tatsuro and stored everything except the jewelled sword in her [Item Box].
"I see, doing that might be able to break through that shield even if just for a mont." (Tatsuro)
"Yeah, though we won't know until we try." (Ai)
"Then let's try it. And I'll set things up to make it more certain." (Tatsuro)
"I'm counting on you, Tatsuro." (Ai)
"Yeah." (Tatsuro)
With that, Tatsuro took out a mo and made so adjustnts, then called out to Cardina who was still flying around dodging water lasers.
"Cardina! It's X!" (Tatsuro)
"Pewee" (Cardina)
"Oh, I wonder what you're planning to do this ti? I'm looking forward to it~"
While the Dungeon raised its carefree voice, seemingly absolutely confident it could block anything they tried, Tatsuro waited for the timing for Cardina to join them.
Then while exchanging eye signals with Cardina, Tatsuro first launched ten slightly modified versions of the earlier curving earth bombs simultaneously from his staff tip.
At first, they all flew straight in the sa direction, but without Tatsuro doing anything, they changed trajectory using embedded wind magic programd by curse magic modified with dark magic as intended, surrounding and impacting from ten different directions around the Dungeon's water shield.
The Dungeon stopped its water lasers and spread thin water shields over a wide area using both hands, guarding without moving a step from where it had been standing since appearing. However.
"—A smokescreen?"
"Ai, now!" (Tatsuro)
"Got it!" (Ai)
The mont the ten earth chunks exploded after being blocked by the water shield, darkness magic created within them blocked the Dungeon's vision.
At that ti, Ai hid Tatsuro behind her and received the jeweled sword from Gundari Myoo, holding it with both hands.
Then four pairs of Gundari Myoo's hands overlapped with her hands gripping the hilt.
With five pairs of hands holding it, she rcilessly poured energy into the jeweled sword and raised it up, then swung down in one motion. This released a slash attack with higher output than when she was alone.
Unlike previous ones, this was a slash that was almost tangible, looking as if the blade of the sparkling, vividly colored jewel sword itself was flying through the air.
Timing it with this, Cardina who had arrived fired three consecutive mixed magic shots of magic bullets and explosions that she instantly completed with Tatsuro, following Ai's slash toward the Dungeon.
Then Tatsuro and Ai's pair and Cardina split off in opposite directions.
By that ti, the energy slash Ai had released reached the Dungeon.
When not using Gundari Myoo, the slash couldn't cut through the water shield.
But this ti, combined with Tatsuro's magic having thinned out the shield overall, it magnificently cut through the shield, creating a small gap in the water shield.
The explosive magic bullets from Tatsuro and Cardina slipped through that gap.
To carefully observe the result, Tatsuro used detection magic.
"—!?"
"Two hits! The last shot was too slow for the shield's recovery!" (Tatsuro)
While observing the results with detection magic and gathering more information, the effect of the dark magic smokescreen began to fade, revealing the Dungeon's face and the point display board diagonally above it.
The Dungeon smiled cheerfully as its points decreased from 10 to 8.
Tatsuro couldn't hide his surprise that they only took 1 point even though he thought the hastily created magic had considerable power.
Because it ant that hits of that level wouldn't do much damage to the Dungeon.
"I can't believe there are humans who can cut through my shield~ And after that, magic control with the ability to create magic with enough power to score an effective hit on in an instant... Are you people really human?"
"We're human. Really, you can find us anywhere." (Tatsuro)
"If humans like you were everywhere, the world would be much more interesting~"
The Dungeon seed to think it was a joke, but Tatsuro wasn't lying since he was just talking about their original world.
"Well then, shall we raise the difficulty a bit?"
"I'd be happier if you lowered it." (Tatsuro)
"For strong ones among humans like you... I want to carve the title of loser~!"
Then the Dungeon made twenty small water spheres float around itself rather than at its fingertips.
"Don't tell all of those are going to shoot water cutters like before..." (Tatsuro)
"That's exactly right~"
"Everyone just keep dodging for now!" (Tatsuro)
"Roger that!" (Ai)
"Pewee" (Cardina)
"Neigh" (Jeanne)
"Yes, indeed!" (Nana)
"Wawawa!" (Leah)
"Got it~" (Athena)
Ai and the others clearly responded though Leah couldn't properly reply as she was forced to move while being held at Nana's side.
Though they needed to dodge twice the number of water lasers as before, since the straight-line trajectories sweeping from top to bottom hadn't changed, it was still manageable for everyone except Tatsuro and Leah.
However, if the number increased any further, even that would beco precarious.
And worse still, the Dungeon wasn't showing its full strength at all. It could probably create more if it wanted and surely could use other magic too.
So Tatsuro and his group had no chance of victory except to end it quickly in a short decisive battle before it got more serious.
(For a short decisive battle that thod is all we have... Though even in a ga-like situation, it's not a thod I want to take. But, we don't have the luxury of hesitating. We've gathered quite a bit of information, so we have to do it now!)
After organizing his thoughts, Tatsuro took out paper and pen and began writing while in Ai's arms.
"Taking notes during battle? That's quite relaxed of you~"
"Shut up! I have various things I need to write down!" (Tatsuro)
"Is that so~ Well, please try not to get hit~"
"Tatsuro is fine because he has ~" (Ai)
"Then that's reassuring~"
Then Tatsuro created four mos and stored them in the [Infinite Item Field], made so operations, and closed the system.
A few minutes later, he took out four mos that looked unchanged from before from the [Infinite Item Field] and stored them again without doing anything.
"Ai, please prepare." (Tatsuro)
"Understood." (Ai)
To execute the strategy she had heard from Tatsuro during those few minutes, Ai launched the system, did so work, and closed it.
"The setup is OK." (Ai)
"Then let's begin—" (Tatsuro)
From within Ai's arms, Tatsuro readied his staff and prepared thirty of the sa earth chunks as before aid at the Dungeon, firing them in three sets of ten with ti delays in all directions.
Since it was obvious we were going to shoot due to the ti taken to prepare, more than half were destroyed by water cutters before impact, but the rest hit the water shield as planned, and dark magic smoke surrounded the Dungeon.
Just slightly before that, while the water cutter attacks were concentrated on Tatsuro's magic and attacks on our side beca careless, Athena used her Ring of Great Fortune and activated the skill [All or Nothing Strike].
Then along with the sensation of magic being drained from her body, a twenty-centiter-sized ten-sided dice appeared before her eyes and began spinning. And the result was—
"A 10 right off the bat? Even with the item effect, that's a good start." (Athena)
|Magic power temporarily increases trendously|
When Athena heard that announcent, the smokescreen began covering the Dungeon.
So as planned originally, she laid Dragon Force rails straight toward the Dungeon. During that ti, the pair of Nana and Leah joined up with Athena.
After finishing laying all the rails, Athena gave lightning attributes to the dragon force that had beco amber smoke and deployed it like a shield in front and also changed the previously non-elental rails to lightning attribute.
At the sa ti she put her feet on the rails and readied her great scythe while carrying her luggage, and wreathing her dragon equipnt in purple lightning, she began charging at the Dungeon with the speed of thunder.
Using the temporarily multiplied magic power abundantly, she broke through the water shield with strength impossible under normal circumstances, and as she appeared before the Dungeon, swung down her great scythe.
"Again breaking through my shield—!"
"Whoa!" (Athena)
After reducing the Dungeon's points by 1 more with Athena's scythe slash, it hit Athena with water cutters.
Then, as Athena lost 10 points at once and began being forcibly returned, Leah appeared from behind her raising her hamr while shouting loudly.
"Haaaah!" (Leah)
"With that loud voice, it's totally obvious~"
Even in darkness, if you can hear the voice, even the Dungeon without detection abilities can tell the location. So without panicking, the Dungeon shot one water cutter in that direction.
"That's exactly what we wanted!" (Leah)
"—!?"
"Kyaa!" (Nana)
While the Dungeon's eyes were focused on Leah's direction, even further behind, Nana who had been hiding in [Adult Form] appeared right next to the Dungeon.
And the mont the water cutter hit Leah, she "True Ford" and delivered two Bites with her dragon fangs in both hands imbued with poison magic power, taking 2 points.
"—You!" (Nana)
"That won't do~"
While Leah was forcibly returned after losing all her points, Nana tried to deliver another hit. But before that, she was hit by water cutters and lost all her points.
At that ti, the Dungeon saw what looked like Cardina's shadow approaching from above the fading dark magic smokescreen.
So it fired ten water cutters upward and deployed a water shield.
However, what appeared there was an earth doll in Cardina's shape.
And furthermore, when it was destroyed, dark magic smoke rained down again from inside it.
The Dungeon's eyes widened and its movent stopped for a mont.
And taking advantage of that montary opening, the real True Ford Cardina unleashed [Dragon Wing Blade] from the side where the smokescreen was still thick.
"Peweee!" (Cardina)
"When did you set up such a trick!"
"pew—" (Cardina)
The Dungeon lost another point while hitting Cardina with water cutters to force her to return.
Then True Ford Jeanne deployed wind around herself as she fell from directly above, pointing her horn tip at the Dungeon.
Unlike with Cardina, this was clearly the real one so without hesitation it fired water lasers.
(Looks like you're trying to deflect our attacks with wind, but that alone won't be enough~!)
That's what the Dungeon was thinking. Indeed with that alone, Jeanne wouldn't be able to deflect the Dungeon's water cutters and avoid a fatal wound and would be forcibly returned.
However, Jeanne had more than just that.
"What!?"
"Neeeigh!" (Jeanne)
Jeanne had been hiding her divine weapon spear Justina in her large right fist, and the mont the Dungeon took its attack motion, she deployed a lightning storm with all her might at its vital center.
That succeeded, and Jeanne's full-power wind magic mixed with Justina's full-power lightning storm deflected the water lasers to the right and left shoulders.
As a result, though Jeanne lost 8 points, she avoided being forcibly returned.
And at that instant, Jeanne's horn imbued with [Dragon Horn Spear Blade] along with the montum increased by wind magic and spear power managed to slightly break through the Dungeon's water shield, with just the horn tip reaching its head.
"You—!"
"Neigh—" (Jeanne)
The Dungeon lost another point from that strike, and this ti definitely forcibly returned Jeanne with water lasers.
And at that ti, the Dungeon saw that the divine weapon spear Justina was also returned together as it was treated as Jeanne's possession.
Thanks to the sacrifice attacks by Cardina and the others that Tatsuro would absolutely never choose in reality, they managed to reduce the Dungeon's remaining points to 3.
However, only Tatsuro and Ai remained on their side.
Though they hadn't lost any points, it was a major setback that their numbers were reduced to just two people for the opponent to focus on, when one hit from the enemy could easily take 10 points.
But after everything Cardina and the others had done for them up to this point, the two couldn't afford to lose as they stood before the Dungeon to deliver the final blow.
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