Chapter 57 - Perhaps The Hardest Fight to do is to not Allow Yourself to Change

Emmy is full of enthusiasm as she stands in front of our formation as the vanguard while opening the door towards the floor boss. What follows next are stairs going down as we have expected. Descending from the tenth to eleventh floor marks the end of the middle levels and the start of the lower levels. It's the floor level known for its reddish grounds. [Uwa… What comes after here is the lower levels isn't it…] [It's Emmy's first time, huh.] [Un. We've been able to defeat the Taurus floor boss in Hammond's middle levels but I can't use back then. I don't even know how to activate my skill… And more importantly, I can't recover with just one usage of .] Well that's… really hard. Now that she mentions it, I wonder if they'll be alright with Emmy leaving their party. Perhaps they had hired a new priest already. [Yep, by the way, Jannet was able to learn and she took the role of the recovery mage of the party.] [Isn't Jannet more proficient in offensive magic?] [Un. But she insisted that she'll still do it.] I see… That girl's really amazing as always, huh… She's probably handling not just offensive magic and recovery magic but also the management of the whole party's activities. [Ah, both of you, here comes the monsters.] [Couldn't you have mentioned that much earlier!] [It was able to immediately come close just as I noticed it, you know? Maa, maa. Stop dilly dallying and do your thing.] Why do you have to make it sound like we're just your pawns? Well, I know you're just fooling around so let's just let it slide. A purple giganto rushes towards us and Emmy takes it attack and blows it off away. It's time for me to switch gears too. [] I watched the not so fast double casted magic make its way to its target. [What appeared is a monster that's similar to the ones in the middle levels, huh.] [It is as you say. But I'd like you to keep your vigilance for they are now coming… A variation of monsters similar to how it is with black goblins.] Sybilla's words caused me and Emmy to remain cautious as we make our way as we carefully drill holes into the chests of the monsters, gigantos and black goblins. Sybilla lets out a sigh of relief as we are able arrive safely on the twelfth floor. [So it has finally appeared.] Sybilla says so while looking at the other end of the floor… I see. So that's what she meant. A new version of giganto is right in front of us with it's body colored pitch black. It gives off a different vibe compared to the gigantos that we fought earlier. The monster takes notice of us as well and walks towards our direction. This allow me to understand what really is different from the black giganto with the rest. It's this monster's weapon… It's made of steel. [Russell. Us mages even with our high levels does not guarantee our safety of which you are aware already, no? The black giganto's strength rivals that of a dragon's punch so a single hit, even inside the wind barrier, will immediately push us to the brink of death.] [Then it it's level isn't enough for us to meet an instantenous death.] [Your double casted is just abnormally sturdy. If not for that then there's no way you'd even put a fight against the fire dragon back then.] Well, I have to agree on that. Even for the peaks of the mage classes, Saint and Magi, to fight a dragon with their levels on the single digit is nothing but plain suicide. [That being said, Emmy-chan, there is no reason for you to panic and rush into our direction even if the monster is able to land an attack on us. I know this will contradict your personal objective of keeping Russell completely safe but I want you to keep these words carve on to your heart.] [Roger!] Emmy's reply is full of energy as she makes her way straight to the black giganto. The black giganto's movement is similar to the green giganto in the upper levels. It raises its club and swings it down. However, what differentiates that simple movement from the monsters we have previously fought before is the tremendous strength behind it. That is the case even for Emmy with her protection magic and help of my wind barrier…! [Guu…!] Hearing Emmy's voice filled with pain, I immediately use on her silently to help her recover. [I'll cast recovery magic every time you're hit! So hang in there!] [This, is Russell's…! Un, got it!] I decided to tell Emmy what the both us need to do before she even tries to turn around. She can't allow the monster get away from her eyes so she can properly defend herself from its attacks. Emmy realizes that the monster's strength is a grade higher than hers so she store her sword away and starts to hold her shield using both of her hands. [One-more-time….!] The giganto seeing that Emmy was able to withstand it's first attempt to kill her makes an attack once again. With two of Emmy's hands holding the dragon shield, a heavy punishment has descended to her once again from the gigantic black monster. But this time, the voice that reaches my ears isn't tinged by pain but has signs of relief instead. [Thank goodness…. The impact was still there but it isn't painful defending using my two hands!] Emmy's shield then which she holds with her two hands shines and blows away the black giganto to the other end of the dungeon. Sybilla beside me is completely immerse with Emmy's fighting ability shouting 'Oooooohh!' as she watches her. [Isn't Emmy-chan ridiculously strong!? In a dungeon where dragons and golems do not exist, there would be no other monster that would best a black giganto in physical attacks and defenses!] [Emmy is amazing even by your own standards, huh.] [Her strength is comparable to other generation's holy knight but her technique with the shield is not within my expectations.] Sybilla stretches out her hand and made spears of fire fly towards the giganto as she said her reply. …Casting magic without chanting while using your mouth to speak words that are entirely different from the chant is something I believe more challenging than alternate casting. But… for Sybilla to talk to me while casting off an offensive magic, did she start practicing on her own after seeing my own attempts to master it? Her mind is as good as ever. Really… I just can't really let myself lose out in here! [!] Pillars made of dark mana rose up from the ground and strike the black giganto up into the air. Each pillar's strike cause enormous damage enough for the monster to stop from moving again. [Are you alright, Emmy-chan?] [Yes. Russell cast his recovery magic again to me after I receive the monster's last attack earlier.] She appears to be fine but I just can't help but worry. Anyway, seems like the black giganto can't overpower Emmy if she puts her efforts onto her shield, huh. Not to mention, her evasion and ability to dodge is not comparable anymore the Holy Knight I last seen before. …Perhaps, Emmy, with her sword and shield, is now stronger than Vince? [Tt-the black giganto!! To defeat it just like that…! Emmy-chan, so good…!] Seeing how Sybilla who knows how strong a black giganto is starts to speak like that then this might have been a bigger win than I thought. If I have to fight it alone, I don't think I will be able to defeat it as easily. [Oh, I just notice that the way we fought the black giganto is similar with how we fought the previous ones as well but is it alright to keep this up?] [Ah, that line of thinking is dangerous, you know? I rather keep our pace the same as much as possible.] Dangerous, is it? I think that facing stronger enemies should require changes and adjustments accordingly but… [Doing the same thing every time leads to boredom. And boredom leads to initiative in changes and variation. But you see, changes and variations should only be applied to enemies we are already very familiar with or enemies where we are guaranteed to win.] [So what you're saying is we shouldn't try or test any new ways to fight against enemies that can threaten us, huh.] [The way we fight right now is very stable, however, any of us changing something on the way they fight will definitely make our formation crumble. And when someone gets in danger, we will definitely move to save the other. One's change in movement leads to another's danger. For example…] Sybilla then looks at me then to Emmy. [If we put Russell in front then, Emmy-chan, there's no doubt you will follow him after him, no?] [O-ofcourse!] [Then in that moment, I'll be left with neither Wind Barrier nor the Holy Knight at my side and be left completely vulnerable, no?] [Ah] [But that will lead Emmy-chan as well on to an unfavorable position to defend against any attack and it will ultimately lead to a greater danger for the party. A stable footing is necessary for defending after all.] …Sybilla's words stabs me real hard. Emmy already gotten herself in danger before for forcibly trying to protect me. It was back then in the hero's party which eventually led for me to be kicked out. [That's why we have to put our attention not to the monsters but on the way we how we fight. Let's do our best to put our formation and strategy as our top priority.] [Got it.] [Roger!] There are a lot of points in Sybilla's words I find convincing. The scariest thing for us right now is for our way of fighting to crumble. Emmy had the dragon shield clad with her mana when she took the swing from the black giganto earlier with her one hand and still got hurt. Emmy still got hurt earlier when she took the black giganto's attack by holding her dragon shield even clad in her mana with a single hand. If she let her guard down then she might have gotten plumped by that attack. …But it will be fine. It doesn't matter what kind of attack makes it way to Emmy, I will always make sure to make her unscathed afterwards. ( ) Now both of them are fully recovered. [I'll be using all the magic and mana I have too so don't fret and just move forward.] [Oh, looks like Russell has now decided to speak. I'll leave the recovery to you. It's the last people standing who are are the victors after all.] I got Sybilla's agreement and we decided to continue the dungeon crawl while I keep check of my own mana. Oh, there's something with the conversation in the floor boss area that intrigues me. [Sybilla, how far did my dusk magi senpai was able to explore this area?] The Seiris Demon Lord claimed that he had seen Sybilla before so I wonder how far they were able to explore the dungeon last time. It appears the question surprises Sybilla as she bows her head with a dark complexion. [Until the lower levels' floor boss.] I had a hunch but I guess I got it right. We are now heading towards the lower levels floor boss. It is the place where Sybilla and the previous dusk magi who came in here with her had failed, huh. [The floor boss isn't that different as it is still a giganto. The only difference is it's wearing an armor. But that poses no difference against dusk magi, no?] [Why did you lose, then?] Sybilla closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as she reminisce what happened back then. She then starts to look over the ceiling and starts to speak. [Gigantos. There's another variant of a giganto in there.] […What do you mean?] [It's a floor boss that was able to made use of the large space. A giganto clad in mana. Hey, you've heard of this already from Gale Thunder, right? The upper level floor boss.] So the floor boss of the upper level comes as an extra package in the lower level floor boss, huh… So that's how it was. [Dusk Magis specialize in dealing with heavy damage at the risk of their own lifelines. That's why facing multiple enemies of giganto from a long distance put us at a disadvantage. And ultimately… we lost.] I see… Seeing what enemies awaited them on that floor boss area must have been enough for them to feel horrible… And… Sybilla stayed and fought even so against despite the it being a battle of desperation. The Goddess of Dusk, Sybilla. She's someone who easily gets carried away and is relaxing to talk with but nonetheless, she is and will always be a Goddess…However, the human who understands what she feels the most right now is me…Or is it really, I wonder? Anyway, I know her well. She makes Dusk Magi and with just two of them, she continuously fights battles of desperation against the horrifying existences of demon lords. She sure won some but the memories of the losses can't be fewer. Then… perhaps these are the words I need to say to her right now. [It will be fine.] […Russell?] [If it's just long range attacks then if it's me all of it will all be deflected. And you have Emmy now too so forget about that blue giganto since we will just deal with it as easy as we'll be finishing off that annoying demon lord.] I confidently say so and I look at her as she widens her eyes hearing my words. Then… she started to laugh and jabs at me repeatedly. [Look at you taking the words out of my mouth. I'll be relying on you then.] Or so she says but now that I look at her she now lost the dark complexion she had for a while. Her face is now filled with her usual confident smile. Or so she says but the way I see it, the dark complexion hovering her face since a bit while is now finally gone. Instead, her face is now filled with her usual fearless smile. Seeing that change reminds me the obvious that the fact we are now together working with each other is enough evidence of her own share of failures. I know how caring she is towards others so I don't doubt the fact that she feels responsible with all of the Dusk Magi who lost. …I have to consider well how Sybilla feels deep inside of her. Nevertheless… The lower level floor boss who defeated Sybilla and my senpai the former Dusk Magi, huh. My… No, that isn't right. Our power will bring that monster down for sure, you'll see. If Sybilla successfully overcomes her past then perhaps it would grant me a stronger power. …Besides, for this girl to have memories of being defeated gets me frustrated for some reason. First thing to do is to wipe that floor boss out with everything we have. What's next after we overcome that would be the Seiris Third Dungeon's bottom level. Its hell. Dungeon Maker… Demon Lord. This time for sure I'll let you see how the fangs of my dark magic will reach and devour you.