Defense Specialization and Trial Six.

The two who had defeated the angel waited for any new change. Though they had fought continuously, they had still retained much of their resources. The skill used to defeat the major boss had mainly been Sally’s flurry attack, so Maple’s limited-use skill remained untouched.

"We can still win this!"

"Uh-huh. Judging from the pattern, next should be six..."

Sally’s expression darkened instantly. She had already foreseen what floor would come next, based on the prior pattern.

As if confirming her suspicion, a skeleton emerged from the corridor—its head crowned with a battered, once-glorious crown, wearing robes that had once been richly adorned. Behind it, a large number of undead followed, led by the figure.

"A—ah, that’s...!"

"Retreat! The throne room is still open!"

The sturdy resolve from moments before is gone. Maple pulls Sally, trembling like a newborn fawn, toward the passage where the teleportation circle lies.

“H-h, 【Ice Pillar】!”

Sally arranges ice pillars in a line, blocking the passage temporarily. She clings to Maple, who sits upon the throne, drained.

“The passage is narrow. Shiroppu can’t 【Gigantification】 here… can’t use 【Predator】… dead, so likely resistant to poison…”

Maple concludes that the only option is to use the 【Mechanical God】’s weapons, exploiting the advantage of their position deep within the passage.

The 【Ice Pillar】 barrier will not hold forever. When it melts, all the undead will pour through.

“Shiroppu, 【Red Garden】! 【Sinking Land】!”

Maple’s shots will not kill instantly. Then they must buy time until the enemy reaches them. Maple extends the damage from Shiroppu’s skill, altering the ground to make approach difficult.

“Sally, fire a skill at random! Just aim straight—should hit, probably!”

“Yeah….”

Sally wraps her scarf tightly around her neck, leaning against Maple, eyes closed, facing the hall.

A moment later, the 【Ice Pillar】 vanishes. The undead pour in with groans. The boss is at the far end, buffing the undead. They must break through this wall of corpses first.

“【Attack Initiated】!”

Maple’s weapon breathes fire, blasting the undead back one by one. They do not fall with a single strike. They press forward, stepping over corpses, their feet caught in the sinking earth, yet still approaching.

“【Cyclone Cutter】! 【Fireball】!”

Sally casts magic at random. It is nothing more than the bare minimum she has learned—better than nothing.

“Mm, they’re closing in…”

“S-so they are!?”

“Shiroppu, 【Great Nature】!”

Shiroppu’s skill summons a massive vine. Its weight hurls the undead back. The sheer number of them does not make them immune to magic this time. They are being destroyed steadily.

“【Torrent】! T-te, 【Cannon Water】!”

Sally generates a torrent of water, combining it with Shiroppu’s vines to push back the undead. If they are allowed to close in, even without damage, they will be rendered unable to rise again.

“N-no… maybe the damage isn’t enough.”

Maple pauses, considering. She recalls that Sally still has another way to fight.

“Aah! That’s it! Sally can deal damage with this!”

“W-what?! W-what’s going on?!”

Sally, unable to stand, listens as Maple explains the plan. Normally it would be the other way around, but in this moment, Sally’s mind is clouded—she cannot think clearly.

“U-understood. Haze… [Shadow Clone]!”

When the skill activates, a manifestation of Sally appears. It cannot be controlled by Sally’s will, so it cannot be kept active constantly to avoid exploitation of the weakness in Love That Offers the Body. But this time, the importance lay in it not reflecting Sally’s will.

Four duplicates mimicking Sally’s appearance advanced with light steps, launching attacks against the undead.

Oh—Sally fighting a ghost...

Even if the original body perishes, the doppelgänger continues attacking with consistent performance. Normally, it would either be overwhelmed by low durability or run too far to be protected. Now, however, it is forcibly halted within the range of Love That Offers the Body, due to the overflowing undead. As long as Maple remains, it is an invincible warrior.

Stay strong!

Four Sallys eliminate the undead with steady precision. If they can strike, the countless corpses are no threat.

"Since the number appearing is fixed, I could just destroy them all... what do you think?"

Maple pauses to conserve her bullets, entrusting the destruction to Sally's avatars. Sally herself uses 【Ice Pillar】, 【Cannon Water】, and 【Torrent】 in succession, holding the undead at bay without pause.

In truth, Sally's resistance ability has improved significantly through 【Water Manipulation】. The skill, when used well, can even accelerate her own movement. It is effective enough to strike blindly—its range is broad.

"D-Does it look okay, Maple?"

"Good! Keep going!"

Under Maple's encouragement, the avatars dismantle a number of undead several times their own, finally clearing the path before Maple and her companions.

The avatars charged straight toward the boss. As soon as they stepped beyond the range of Love That Offers the Body, they were consumed in an instant by the black flames unleashed at close range.

"Aaah! I could’ve protected you if you’d stayed near me… but thanks! Sally, you were amazing."

"Complicated… just the boss left now?"

"Yeah. No sign of any more monsters appearing."

The boss, for its part, could not employ any grand techniques. The Heavenly King’s Throne covered the entire chamber. It advanced slowly, inching forward to bring the two into range.

"The boss is coming closer too. If it would just come over here, we could fight."

Maple could not afford to rise from the throne recklessly. A single opening might be exploited by an undead summoning skill. Everything would be lost.

In that case, firing must cease temporarily. The best course is to wait as the boss approaches.

The attack had originated close enough to the avatar that Maple had assumed, at minimum, the boss would enter the corridor.

Maple’s prediction proved correct. The boss advanced, clattering its bones, until it stood within a few steps’ reach. At this distance, movement would be hindered by the effect of [Sinking Ground].

“Here? Here?”

“Yeah, it’s right there.”

“Hurry, hurry—take it down! [Ice Spire]!”

Sally summoned [Ice Spire] behind the boss, cutting off its retreat. At last, Maple deployed her weapon.

“This should strike without interference!”

“Take it down before it comes this way…”

“Of course! [Attack Initiated]!”

Maple’s bullets pierced the boss’s body in succession. Sally’s scattered magic flew somewhere beyond. The boss’s HP vanished. This time, its corpse would finally dissolve.

Skill acquired: [Peak of Darkness].

An announcement rang out the moment the boss fell. After a pause, no new monster appeared.

“End of the line?”

“Wait—end!? The chance to redeem our honor…?”

It was unsatisfying to taunt about coordination only to end like this.

Sally removed her scarf, her expression caught between words. She looked from the boss’s former position to Maple’s face.

“But you were great, Sally. You helped a lot at the end.”

“I just wish I’d struck more decisively…”

“But it felt like we were playing to complement each other!”

They came here this time to test their coordination. In that sense, this battle could be said to have been successfully navigated—Maple handling what Sally excelled at, and Sally taking on the opposite for Maple.

“Well, I suppose that’s true… How about it? Am I合格 as a partner?”

Sally spoke, her voice reaching out. Maple responded with a full smile, thumbs up.

“Of course! You’re so strong during the demon phase, I’d be the one asking if I’m合格!”

“Huh, if you weren’t合格, there’d be no one left to be your partner.”

“Eh? Really?”

“Yeah. …See, that’s how strong you are, Maple.”

“Ehehe, oh right—our skills have been acquired too.”

“Both of us got them this time. Hmm… let’s see…”

【Peak of the Abyss】

Doubles the stats of summoned monsters.

A brief description, plain and simple, declared only its overwhelming power.

"Seventh Layer, huh... Since it's passive, it really is usable."

"Got it! Shiroppu will get stronger!"

"Still, the description doesn't seem to limit it to just tamed monsters. If it's her own, maybe something like 【Predator】 would work? That one has strong attack power too."

"Right! Everyone gets stronger then."

"I could use it, but Hinata's 【Shadow Clone】 probably won't work."

"Sally isn't the one summoning it."

"That's right. Still, let's think of something. Then, shall we head back?"

"Yeah!"

And so the two left the dungeon behind.