Defense specialization and trial four.

Thus the two await the next change, preparing for the next battle. If nothing comes, that is well. Yet as they expected, the next monster emerges from the front passage.

“Ugh…!”

“Predictable, as expected.”

The creature before them is the fourth-layer boss, the demon lord, Maple— the one who granted the skill 【Hundred Demon Night Procession】 to Maple. It bears a striking resemblance to her, wielding a massive blade suited to its form this time.

“Is this a top-tier boss rush? Or are the monsters Maple defeated being summoned? Can’t tell.”

“Different from when they were defeated! The weapon is different!”

“Stay alert.”

Sally readies her dagger as she speaks. Maple retracts her tentacle-like arm and takes up her shield. The demon, seeing this, raises its blade in response.

In the next instant, it reaches the space between the two in a flash of superhuman speed, swinging its blade horizontally in a single motion to cleave them both in two.

……!

Ku… uwa!?

Sally drops low, her body reacting with ingrained instinct to evade the blade.

Maple, holding her shield to the left, happens to block the strike. The curse activates, but the blade remains intact. She is not severed, yet the unnatural strength hurls her off her feet, sending her flying straight into the wall.

Meanwhile, Sally, sensing with instinctive clarity that the figure before her is a formidable foe, springs forward from her crouch and slashes with her dagger. Not a skill-based attack like that of the Machine God, but a standard strike without fixed motion. The demon responds with swift, unerring reflexes and catches the blade mid-swing.

She surpassed it... incredible. And now we fight together, like this.

Nothing could bring greater joy. Before her, strength. At her side, Maple. Sally felt her focus sharpening, overwhelmed by a thrill she had not anticipated.

The clashing of blades echoed—sharp, relentless. Sally’s attacks were all met, but so too were her own. If this continued, Sally, a mortal, would falter first. Her concentration would break. A gap would appear.

Just as Sally thought she needed a turning point, a laser tore through the dust rising from where Maple had been thrown.

“Sally!”

The demon reacts, swinging its blade to nullify the laser, but Sally understands the meaning behind her name, steps forward immediately, twists her body, and plunges the blade deep into the torso. Even if it means breaking the safe distance, she will not let go of the chance Maple created.

Damage is dealt, yet the demon presses forward, stepping toward Maple with force in its legs. Sally immediately circles around.

“[Hyper Acceleration]!”

Just before accelerating again and charging forward, Sally moves to the front, intercepting the blade—now moving at a speed beyond recognition—with two daggers.

“Where do you think you’re going? The opponent is me.”

Maple cannot properly respond to this speed, so Sally must take on the role of parrying the attack. The [Love That Offers the Body] remains active, preventing accidental harm. All that remains is to avoid a piercing strike.

"Maple, create an opening and I’ll break through!"

"Got it!"

This time, it is not just Maple alone. With this reliable partner, what can be achieved expands.

"【Attack Initiated】!"

As soon as Sally reacts to Maple’s shot, she steps forward and slashes. A single moment of delay in posture adjustment would leave her unable to counter, but in this state of focus, such a mistake does not occur.

"Strong, as expected. But with two of us, I don’t feel defeat."

Unlike the fourth floor, where one must face alone, being able to divide roles is a great advantage. If the demon’s movements surpass those of an ordinary player, Sally’s are no different. She never allows even a single moment for Maple—stationed in the rear—to approach her position. She holds her in place. This is beyond human ability.

She repeats the simple yet high-difficulty flurry attack. The demon’s HP diminishes. She steps back, creating distance. Purple flames erupt from around her. At the same moment, a great dog formed of purple flame appears from the inner passage, standing beside the demon.

Sally steps back, then moves to Maple’s side, confirming.

“Was this here the last time?”

“No. The flames were used, but different. The flames are fine. The weapon attacks were piercing.”

She had been blown back immediately upon engagement. There had been no time to speak. Only now, with the attacks paused, can they speak.

“I’ll hold it. Maple, take the flame attacks with Love That Offers the Body. Likely area damage.”

“Got it!”

"Sword Dance is at maximum stack. Damage will be dealt."

"Leave defense to me, in case anything happens!"

They both nod slightly in unison, then turn once more to face the demon.

The demon has a flame hound at its side. From here, the battle becomes two against two—different from Maple’s four-layer combat. With numerical advantage gone, caution becomes necessary.

They stare at each other, measuring the opponent’s next move. The demon acts first, sending the flame hound forward.

"Attack initiated!"

The hound charges straight ahead. Maple fires her bullets with full force, leaving no room to retreat. But the hound is made of flame. Her attacks pass through it harmlessly. No damage is dealt.

"Artillery Water!"

Sally raises a vast amount of water from the ground. The creature dodges it with animal-like agility. It roars loudly. The earth directly beneath the two glows crimson.

"Alright! [Unbreakable Shield]!"

Immediately after Maple speaks, a pillar of flame rises around the two. Maple, having experienced it before, knows flames are more often a separate type of sustained damage than a piercing attack. She activates a damage reduction skill just in case. No damage is received. They pass through unharmed. The Bad Diet effect does not activate either. Nothing to concern themselves with.

"Phew!"

"Yeah, this we can ignore to some extent."

The two speak within the flame. This time, they step forward, one pace. At the same moment, the wall of fire obscuring their vision shatters. A blade thrusts through.

The sudden attack makes Sally reflexively strike the blade sideways, diverting it just enough. The cut slices through Maple’s shoulder, and damage effects scatter from the wound. Seeing Maple’s HP drop to nearly sixty percent despite the strong damage reduction from [Unbreakable Shield], Sally immediately decides to retreat.

“[Torrent]!”

Sally grabs Maple and moves, flowing through the shattered wall of flame, carried by the force of water to create distance. The flame hound, determined not to lose them, rushes forward in pursuit.

“Maple, dive once more!”

“[Cradle of the Earth]!”

To regroup, Maple uses the skill, and together with Sally, they sink into the ground.

“Phew… [Heal]”

“Thanks… ugh… still strong, that one.”

"Umm, if I try to dodge fire attacks, it'll be a bit too much. I'll need you to guard me with Love That Offers the Body."

"Uh-huh."

"I'll take all the piercing attacks in front. I'll be Maple's shield."

They would counter difficult attacks and neutralize them to gain an advantage. Since Sally would devote all her effort to defense, the offense would rely more heavily on Maple.

"Gunfire will be blocked by the sword..."

"It's fine. Aim for the opening. Besides, at zero distance, there's no guard at all."

If distance allows a blade to be inserted between, then press the cannon muzzle directly against the body. Some attacks, like Sally's, are physically impossible to avoid.

"Maple, attack with peace of mind. I won't let it through."

"Got it! I'll leave it to you?"

"Leave it to me!"

Both are sword and shield. The plan is confirmed anew. The effect fades. They return to the ground. As soon as they land, the blade swings down as if waiting. Sally guards. She parries again and again—vertical, horizontal—each strike deflected with precision.

“I won’t let another through.”

“Counterattack!”

While Sally presses the hilt, Maple presses her armored arm—now a cannon—flat against the demon’s abdomen. A zero-distance shot. A solid impact. A violent burst of damage effects. A painful strike lands. She does not pursue the demon’s retreat. Instead, the flames rise once more—walled by dogs—engulfing both within.

“There won’t be a second time.”

Even if the moment of attack is concealed, it matters not. With unwavering certainty, Sally raises her dagger. The flame splits as before, and the blade thrusts forth. Sally lifts both daggers high, striking upward from below to deflect the blade’s path. Immediately after, her eyes catch the demon’s form rushing in, and the second blade gripped in its other hand.

"Even so...!"

Sally forces her staggered frame back into alignment, crossing the descending blade with her daggers above her head. But holding one blade with two daggers is a disadvantage.

"【Oozing Chaos】!"

While one struggles, the other breaks through. Maple deliberately launches a long-range attack, provoking the demon’s guard. In that single instant, Sally regains her stance and lunges forward, slipping past the demon’s flank in one motion, striking once and vanishing behind it. The demon’s health is not high, not even for a prolonged battle. A few more heavy blows, and it will fall.

Maple!

Sally slips past, glancing back. Eye contact with Maple. Maple reads the intent precisely, acts immediately.

"【Cowl Move】!"

Maple moves swiftly toward Sally. Unlike 【Changing Form】, this is not instantaneous teleportation between points, but rather pure high-speed movement.

It meant that actions taken along the way were permitted, just barely.

"Hey!"

As Maple passed just beside the ogre, cutting through Sally’s path, she slammed the great shield sideways into its torso. Naturally, this activated [Carnivore], scattering a devastating wave of damage effects. A common monster would fall in one strike; even a boss might suffer a mortal wound. Yet the ogre still stood. It turned its blade-carrying arms with force, preparing to cleave down upon Maple, who had just taken damage and lost her balance from the shield swing.

"Your strength. I’ll match it with speed."

In that instant, the ogre could not move further. Sally slipped past again, twisting like a blade through the side.

[Change of Form]!

Maple and Sally exchanged positions in an instant. Before Maple stood an exposed back. Before Sally, two blades descending.

One more time!

Maple feels the demon’s torso split in two, and Sally feels the weight of the heavy blade vanish—almost at the same instant.

We were better at coordination, it seems.

Amid the fading flames, Sally murmurs, pleased, satisfied.