Defense Specialization and the Tenth Floor — 4.

The Boss Room divided itself, roughly, into two halves. Not by physical structure, but by concept.

On the left, a flowing stream and lush greenery. Ice walls stood as obstacles, scattered at intervals. On the right, barren ground and erupting magma. Periodically, lightning surged between floating yellow crystals.

At the farthest depth of the room, two silhouettes stood back to back. One was a slender man, clad in a white-robed garment richly adorned, holding a long staff studded with blue gems.

The other was a man over two meters tall, his limbs covered in dragon scales and head, wings large and folded, armored from head to toe, gripping a great sword the size of his own height, crackling with lightning.

As Maple and the others take one more step inward, the two who had been back-to-back pivot and turn their weapons toward the front.

Water and magma erupt from the ground. The scene before them shifts completely.

A battlefield collapsing. Water and magma pour like a waterfall, falling far below. The battlefield, composed of stone pillars as before, emerges in view.

Some platforms are covered in ice and water, others in magma and lightning—none can be used without damage.

The mage-like man turns his staff toward the disrupted 【Maple Tree】.

Five blue magical circles unfold. Anticipating the outcome, Sally looks at Maple.

“【Throne of the Heavenly King】!”

A pure white throne placed upon the spot.

From the blue circles, a torrential vortex emerges. To touch it is to fall into the abyss.

Sally and Kasumi dodged quickly. Crom blocked with his shield. Yet none could avoid it entirely.

“…! D-don’t worry! I’m fine!”

Maple raised her voice to cut through the thunder. Pressed by overlapping knockback, she could not move, but the throne held firm, shielding her from being blown backward.

Still, should she rise, she would slide from the pillar and not return.

“If I can’t move… then 【Ancient Weapon】!”

The cube shattered with a clatter, scattering, reforming, merging into a massive tube.

Every impact absorbed by someone else converged instantly upon Maple, supplying the 【Ancient Weapon】’s activation with overwhelming force. Maple could no longer leave the throne. Her only choice now was to become a fixed turret.

Blue light streaks shoot out, returning to each of the five streams. The target is the source of these currents. Yet just before impact, a massive white magic circle spreads before them, forming an ice wall of equal size and blocking the beam.

"Keep firing, Maple! That attack can't be used on all of them!"

"Unn!"

Still. Sally thinks. If Maple's assault does not land the final blow, the other seven must break through. But the terrain and the streams are troublesome. 【Love That Offers the Body】 covers a wide area, yet still does not reach the magic user.

It also means reaching Mai and Yui directly is difficult.

She twists her mind, searching for a way. Then, without warning, the situation shifts on its own.

The dragon warrior ascends into the sky, approaching on their own. Clearly a close-combat type. The space available for movement differs, and no advantageous position can be secured here. But if it comes closer, that is far better.

"I'll bring it down from here!"

"Got it!"

"Stabilizing the platform!"

Iz pulls out a metal plate and sets it upright, connecting it to the stone pillar.

Flames descend from above. Iz endures them unharmed, the plate's reinforced durability holding firm, thanks to Maple’s meticulous crafting.

"We'll slow it with speed."

"We'll restrict its movement."

"Understood!"

"Then let's make it easier first—[Provocation]!"

Crom draws the dragon warrior's attention, redirecting it from Mai and Yui. The warrior plunges downward, swinging a massive sword. Crom intercepts the blow head-on.

"Gh...!"

A blow so heavy it feels like crushing. The special greatsword cannot be fully blocked with a shield alone. Lightning explodes—instead, Maple is stunned.

It meant the attack from the 【Ancient Weapon】 had ceased.

A red and white magic array spreading across the entire ceiling. Just as the thought of disaster arises, countless ice pillars and magma streams descend.

"I’ll block it—handle the boss! 【Guardian】【Spirit Light】!"

Two shieldbearers exist. By layering his shield over Maple’s 【Love That Offers the Body】, he draws the attack onto himself—nullifying damage, weathering the wide-area assault.

In the time gained, Maple recovers from stun and resumes the spell duel. Izu works with Kanade to stabilize the footing.

From within this, Kasumi and Sally emerge.

"Coming from the right."

"I’ll circle from the left."

Jumping across the stable footing, Kasumi leaps down toward the dragon warrior first.

Unable to ignore an attack from within the embrace, the boss turns toward Kasumi. At that moment, Sally extends a thread from the ice pillar she has summoned and flies backward.

“[Cannon Water]!”

Disrupting formation, creating footing, even enabling escape. The skill, natural to Sally’s hand, draws forth water and pushes the dragon warrior aside.

Even so, as soon as freed, the dragon warrior attempts to leap again—when violet mist overflows.

“Necro [Weight of Death]”

“[Slow Field]”

“Now!”

Crom, Kanade, Izu. The three debuff the dragon warrior, stripping away its movement speed.

It grants Mai and Yui, already positioned in advance, enough time to launch their attack.

“[Final Form][Double Strike]!”

The dragon warrior’s greatsword, so heavy it seemed almost comical, struck with crushing force. It was hurled backward through the air, rebounding directly opposite its original trajectory.

It crashed into the wall behind the mage with a loud impact. The sight of the HP bar vanishing confirmed it—this was certain.

Yet, in the next instant, a white magic circle flared on the wall where it had been thrown. The light restored half the dragon warrior’s HP.

““Eh!?””

“The mage has a revival ability… no.”

“Perhaps simultaneous defeat?”

“Possible. However…”

One could be safely defeated. But not both, not while maintaining this formation.

The distance to the mage was too great. Mai and Yui could not perform delicate adjustments of firepower. If they joined combat, they would strike once and only once. To achieve simultaneous defeat, the two would have to be separated.

The range of Maple’s Love That Offers the Body became the issue. To execute the plan, risk had to be taken.

“Then we’ll have to go in with just a few?”

“There’s no other way. But who should…?”

Either Mai or Yui. The separation of Maple and Crom was necessary. Personnel required for footing generation and setup.

Securing both sides would leave almost no flexibility in formation.

Stability would drop sharply. If the first attempt failed, they would be split apart, and reuniting would become impossible.

If risk must be taken, it would be better to do so with greater certainty of success.

“Sally! What now!?”

“Maple, anything to suggest?”

“Huh, me!?”

Maple’s eyes widen. She did not expect to be the one singled out. There was reason behind Sally’s choice. With Love That Offers the Body at the core of the strategy, Maple’s will now carried weight.

“If nothing else, we must all dodge and move through the gap.”

The knockback comes from that current. If all can avoid direct impact, Maple may then move.

Still, it would take time. And effort.

“…There might be a way!”

Maple speaks as if struck by an idea.

“Ah, I see. Then I’ll draw the Dragon Warrior’s attention here, so as not to disrupt the strategy meeting!”

While Crom draws the Dragon Warrior’s focus, Maple and the others quickly grasp her plan. They weigh risk against reward. Conclude: it is worth doing.

Once decided, preparation begins immediately. Kasumi briefs Crom succinctly. Crom nods, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

To strike both at once, cleanly, Mai and Yui must separate.

Maple cannot guard both. This is Crom’s moment.

“Crystallization!”

Crystals spread across Maple’s surface, over the tufts formed by her hair.

“Un. Timing looks stable.”

“Then—let’s close in now!”

The moment draws near. Maple’s bulk now clings to the throne with difficulty.

“Now, Mai!”

“…Here I go!”

“Got it!”

“Fei, Item Empowerment!”

“Massive Magical Barrier!”

Sally waits for the precise moment. Mai raises the great mallet. At the same instant, Izu amplifies the item’s effect, erecting a barricade of solidified ice around the platform. Kanade deploys a barrier. It halts the torrent for a single, fleeting instant—pulling Maple clear of the barrage of knockback strikes.

The crystallized Maple ball tumbles from the throne. Mai’s great mallet strikes it dead center, launching it straight forward.

An abrupt, forced approach. Yet it will rebound off the current.

Then Maple uses the only counter available in this situation.

“[Heavy Body]!”

Knockback resistance. A skill that would otherwise immobilize her status, but while airborne, it poses no issue. The impact is now certain.

An ice wall rises to stop her. The Maple ball is not a solid iron sphere. Even if struck by Mai, it would not sustain damage.

But just before impact with the wall, the crystal dissolved.

"Brilliant, Sally!"

Perfect timing. Red light swelled within the wool. No crystal remained to interfere.

Immediately after, a roar. The explosive charge packed into the Maple ball detonated, consuming Maple and the ice wall in a massive explosion.

"«Provocation!»"

That was the signal. Maple and Crom each drew the attention of their respective bosses. A dragon warrior charged Crom. Behind him, an ice path rose into the air.

Mai took the boss from behind.

"Leave the rest to you!"

Maple tumbled onto nearby footing. Maple’s task had been the destruction of the ice wall. She had skills capable of damage, but they could not reach far. Simultaneous destruction was impossible for Maple.

Inside the Maple Ball was not only explosives. Another attacker, bolder and more reckless than Mai, capable of executing daring maneuvers.

Just beside the broken ice wall, the mage slid in. Yui raised the great mace.

““【Double Strike】!””

Even at a distance, the perfectly synchronized swing sent both bosses crashing through the wall.

Dust swirling. Flames bursting, water exploding. The high-pitched chime of two bosses vanishing. All watched, and all smiled in quiet satisfaction.

The field returned to normal as the bosses fell. Sally and the others met up with Maple and Yui, who had flown ahead.

“Nice one. Worked out well.”

“Yeah! Glad it went smoothly.”

Their offensive power is truly remarkable. This time, there was no damage cap or barrier like during the king’s battle.

Perhaps that was exceptional. Still, we should remain cautious.

We decided to proceed because we had damaged the dragon warrior first. If the mage had been able to withstand only minimal damage at once, this plan might not have succeeded.

We won this time, but we must keep in mind that Mai and Yui may not be able to finish opponents in one strike going forward.

"Then let’s go to the tenth floor. Look, a path opens up ahead."

"I wonder what it’s like. It seems quite spacious."

"Excited!"

"Then everyone, let’s go!"

Maple led the way. The eight of them ascended the stairs toward the tenth floor. After climbing for a while, a bright light shone from deep within the passage.

The tenth floor, at last.

Maple and the others stepped forward into the tenth floor’s field, their chests tight with anticipation.