Defense Specialization and the Castle Above the Clouds 2.

Light fades quickly. Maple opens her narrowed eyes and speaks to her companion.

“……! D-did you survive, Sally!? A-ah, wait?”

Sally is not there. She almost thinks Sally could not be protected—then notices the surroundings have changed.

“Ah, teleportation!”

They were not knocked down. They were teleported. Probably to separate locations.

Maple tries to send a message to Sally, but the messaging function bears a large red X, rendered unusable.

“A special debuff… [Severance]? Hmph. That’s probably it.”

Communication appears severed. She tries the potion for debuff removal given by Iz, a desperate attempt. Still, it does not work. Not a normal debuff.

“Only one way forward… Yes, Sally is surely safe.”

Sally would manage without her needing to worry. Maple made her peace with that, then began searching for what she could do.

No monsters nearby. Whether the same enemies as outside, whether they used penetration attacks, whether there were other traps.

Too many unknowns. Maple moved carefully. At the corner, she revealed something.

"Down...?"

Before Maple stood a staircase leading downward. Opposite the direction they had discussed before the transfer—upward. Yet if she explored this first, she could survey the entire castle.

She would examine every corner of the underground. If nothing remained, then she would proceed upward. That way, she could confirm whether any mechanism Sally had spoken of—requiring a specific解除—existed.

"Alright! This way!"

Certain she was on the right path, Maple descended the stairs she had found.

Descending one level further, the space was enveloped in thick fog, visibility no more than a few paces ahead. Even with the light directed forward, the way ahead remained obscured.

There was no choice but to move forward…

Standing still served no purpose. Maple stepped into the dense mist.

That’s right! — Predator! — Toxic Fission Form!

As she walked, an idea struck her. If she could not see whether enemies were present, she could summon allies who would sense them on their own.

A viscous poison seeped out, forming a duplicate of Maple. From the spreading darkness on the ground, two abominations emerged.

Even if Maple could not detect enemies, they would attack the moment any entered the area.

— Blade Deployment! — Residual Light of Salvation!

She pressed a hand against the wall, careful not to miss the turn, and advanced down the corridor, dragging the tip of her long blade along the opposite wall with a grating scrape.

She would preserve the power of Love That Offers the Body, and deploy the defensive field of Residual Light of Salvation, to protect the summoned underling.

As she did so, the underling’s monster reacted before Maple, dashing forward.

“What? What is it? Something there?”

At that moment, as Maple narrowed her eyes, staring into the thick fog, a white-armored giant, blending with the mist, surged past the vanguard monster and brought a massive axe down upon her.

“Eh!? Ah!? Uu…!”

A sound like metal meeting flesh—unlike anything human—rang through Maple’s skull as the great axe struck her crown.

Maple sank into the ground, her body buried except for her head.

—Fuuu, glad it wasn’t Sally… ah, but would Sally have dodged it anyway?

Trapped deep in the earth, unable to move, Maple’s timer reset again and again, marking the time she remained buried, unable to escape.

She would have fallen under the relentless assault, but the damage did not register—she was buried, yet unharmed. Still, she called out to the creatures still clinging to her head.

“[Taunt]! Leave the rest to you!”

She recalled the [Toxic Fission Form], untroubled by burial. It adhered tightly to the armored leg, pressing against the metal.

Cute in appearance, its core was a mass of deadly poison—enhanced, when used by Maple, to the point of instant death.

After clinging closely for a time, the HP, once high, collapsed in an instant.

Instant death by curse of venom. Attached to the giant like an intractable living poison with defense equal to Maple’s, the curse spread through his body and killed him.

……When will this be gone?

Though the enemy responsible had been defeated, Maple remained rooted in the ground like a vegetable in a field.

If it always ends like this, progress must be reconsidered.

Fortunately, attacks do not affect her. Even if more come, there is no danger. Maple considers, calmly and without haste, the proper way to use her skills without overexertion until she returns to normal.

Meanwhile, likewise severed from the others, Sally quickly assesses her surroundings and moves toward the upper floor.

Unlike Maple, Sally thoroughly scouted the floor she had arrived at. Several corridors were sealed by white walls resembling immovable partitions. Only staircases leading upward remained as viable paths forward.

"Maple... yes. Worrying won't change anything. I mustn't fall behind."

Among all players, Maple's solo capabilities stood out. Varied attacks. Impenetrable defense. Objectively, she had grown into a player who required no concern.

Having watched Maple closely all along, she would surely overcome this difficulty. That was why Sally could not afford to fail.

"Good thing the enemy isn't too strong."

Sally peered slightly around the corner, glancing down the corridor beyond.

Three anti-approach cannons stood on platforms, guarded behind barricades. Two massive men in plate armor, each wielding great axes like the ones Maple had seen, blocked the path to the cannons.

They were clearly guarding against intrusion. Sally stepped out from the corner without hesitation.

“[Water Dragon]!”

A long-range water magic, recently mastered and reliable.

A directed water mass passed through the front man and struck the rear cannon operator with precision.

The rear fire was disrupted. The great axe swung wildly—Sally slid beneath it, feet skimming the ground.

“Haze [Fire Child]! [Water Wrap]! [Double Slash]!”

Infused attack on the weapon. A relentless barrage of strikes, delivering heavy damage in brief moments.

“Hey!”

Using aerial mobility from the air machine, she evaded the enemy's attacks without pause, deflecting cannonfire from the gunner with flawless precision, swiftly dispatching the two large foes. She charged forward on momentum, rushing the gunner.

“[Cannon Water]!”

A burst of water disrupted the enemy’s stance once more. Taking advantage of the opening, she closed the distance with rapid strikes, ending the helpless gunners in an instant.

“Phew... firepower is sufficient.”

She dispatched five monsters effortlessly and continued forward without pause.

Whether she would meet up with Maple was uncertain. But it was fortunate the enemies she faced were ones she could fight.

“Fifth layer area had many area attacks... it’d be better if there weren’t any of those.”

Area attacks from rain and thunder did not suit Sally’s style. Yet she had fought this far without falling—this was fact. It was not impossible.

“The floor being divided troubles me… walking aimlessly won’t allow us to meet…?”

Sally severed each monster she encountered while considering defeat.

The first enemy she saw, she observed its movement, inputting every detail perfectly.

If any attack could land on Sally, it would be only the full-force first strike from an unknown monster.

Even that was blocked by the certain defense of [Divine Concealment] and [Empty Cicada].

“Must consider single-target boss elimination too.”

Ignoring the monster vanishing into light, Sally advanced through the path without taking damage, using a method different from Maple’s.