Defense specialization and the fourth floor of the tower.

Time passed. The boss's movements changed once more. It began to soar through the sky.

Not because time had passed, but because health had been reduced.

"Ah, the neck takes more damage than the shell."

"...the seepage of chaos..."

While Sally attacks with sharp, rapid strikes of her short sword, Maple lies prone, clinging to the shell with thread, her movements slow and weary.

From behind Sally, the relentless sound of gunfire and the splashing of poison echoed.

She had said to keep some strength reserved, yet here it was gone.

...I'm sorry. I— I couldn't help it.

Maple had moved her body to the limit, playing and reveling to the fullest. By the time Sally pulled her up, she was spent, utterly drained.

Maple, pulled upward with a satisfied expression, only then recalled the boss battle.

Recovery won’t wait, now will it?

Yeah, but this feels cool—relieves the fatigue…

…Hardly seems like a boss battle.

Hehe, I know the shell well.

Well, no piercing attacks right now, and as long as we manage footing and suffocation, we’ll manage.

[Poison Dragon (Hydra)]!

With every powerful strike Maple lands, HP plummets, red damage effects flaring upward.

The backwash attack is blocked by Sally’s thread, and as long as Maple remains seated, the other attacks are meaningless.

Ah, Maple. The sea’s getting rough.

Really! We’d be in trouble if we weren’t riding its back!

They glance down at the spreading view now and then, continuing their assault as they endure the clumps of water, indifferent.

Sally, the boss is firing beams this time!

Shiroppu’s doing it too—standard, isn’t it?

Beams aren’t mounted properly, are they…? Huh? Ah, Sally! It’s stopped working!

They had been steadily draining their stamina, but the sea turtle’s shell and hide had hardened, rendering their attacks ineffective.

They searched for a new target, suspecting another change.

The sea is growing wild now… The boat might sink.

Oh… Ah, fighting inside that thing is impossible. Staying attached was the right choice.

Water stretched upward like spears, attempting to pierce whatever was within.

Not a direct approach… Then, here we go!

What now, Sally?

If the top’s no good, then the bottom?

Sally watched for an opening between the incoming water masses, released her thread from Maple, and jumped down together. She then expertly stuck to the underside, clinging tightly.

Here we go—secured!

Oh, like a remora, isn’t it?

Yeah, definitely.

Maple and Sally clung to the underside, adhering tightly. They circled above the churning sea and sky, riding the sea turtle’s flight.

“Never seen the view from beneath like this… even Shiroppu.”

“Should’ve moved to this side while it was still beautiful.”

The sea turtle rose higher, extending pillars of water around it, as Maple’s gunfire echoed.

They ascended, still locked together, unbroken in motion. When the ocean below stretched far and clear beneath them.

The sea directly below returned to calm, deep blue.

“Wah! S-Sally! It’s back… like before?”

At once—popping, the sea turtle dissolved into light and vanished.

That meant the support beneath them had vanished.

“Sally, hold on!”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you!”

After a moment of weightlessness, the two plummeted toward the sea surface.

Maple held Sally close, ensuring she remained within the range of Love That Offers the Body, then adjusted her form as she always did when leaping from Shiroppu, and struck the water.

When the spray settled, they bobbed on the surface, clinging to a large shield floating near the waves.

“Phew… done?”

“Looks like it. Was easier than usual with me. The entrance to the next area’s open. Let’s go.”

“Should we rest…?”

“Did you rest enough?”

“Hehe, yeah! I did!”

The absence of tension from the boss battle, and the ease with which they had won, had refreshed both mind and body.

“Then, to the fifth floor. I wonder what it holds.”

“Can’t wait!”

The two moved directly toward the island that appeared, stepping onto the magic circle drawn there.

A moment later, their vision filled with light, and the fifth floor unfolded before them.

They had arrived in a vast, open wasteland, dimly lit, where ancient tombstones, faintly glowing with pale blue light, stood scattered in silence.

“M-me, Maple… c-c-can we rest?”

“…Yeah, okay.”

Seeing Sally’s unease, her eyes darting restlessly around, Maple decided to temporarily leave the tower.