Darkness: Blade Downpour

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the battle against Goliath was drawing to a close.

Vines continuously wrapped around it, while barbed chains kept binding it in place.

Yet Goliath proved itself worthy of its status as a Floor Boss. Though it had been pulled to the ground—

It suddenly slammed down with tremendous force, its massive body shattering the ground.

At the same time, it shattered the vines extending through the earth from a certain half-elf loli.

"It really isn't simple... Al, move farther away."

"But Goliath..."

"It's fine. Goliath has already entered its second phase. With so little health left, it's normal for Yunika's magic to be unable to hold it." After all, this world was essentially a game in disguise~ and a game in the eyes of the gods was naturally still a game.

So, based on Falan's impression of a boss's second form, Goliath was clearly already at low health. Like that foolish Goliath they had encountered last time, this world might not have health bars, but it was probably down to its last one.

[Dark Spirit, I am the Child of Darkness, possessing the Fourfold Authority of Darkness—]

[Intersecting Space, Radiance of Destruction, Hourglass of Recovery, Recording Brush.]

[I declare here: Dark Spirit, become a sudden downpour, become blades of darkness. Fall! Fall!]

Even with this kind of "Free Chant," Falan still vaguely felt that it was rather chuunibyou. But as long as it gave him power, it did not matter. At last, he brought his chant to an end.

[—Dark Spirit, gather, gather. I am the King of Darkness; bring me victory at this moment.]

In an instant, countless dark magic circles condensed around Goliath.

They swiftly descended like a downpour, though this was naturally no ordinary "downpour."

After all, in Falan's Free Chant, downpour referred to the speed and density of the falling attacks, representing strikes as dense as raindrops.

Fine, needle-thin raindrops turned into blades and fell upon Goliath, leaving not a single gap untouched.

For a time, only Goliath's unceasing wails could be heard throughout the room, leaving Falan somewhat speechless.

After all, it was clearly just a Dungeon monster~ Did it really need to act so much like a living creature?

It would have been one thing if ordinary monsters acted like living creatures, but even Floor Bosses were like this.

Of course, Falan was not about to let Goliath break free and escape.

Very quickly, he added another chant. [Dark Spirit, Silent Observer, become countless chains and restrain the Titan before me—]

After all, he had experienced firsthand just how monstrous Goliath's second phase at low health could be.

If the Goliath he had encountered back then had not been a little brain-dead, he could never have won so easily.

On the contrary, a Goliath like this one, which felt pain when injured and tried to evade attacks, was the normal kind.

Then, under the combined restraint and endless rain of black needles, Goliath slowly turned into black ash and was annihilated.

Clap, clap, clap! Applause rang out one after another. Looking back, he saw that all the Familias participating in this joint expedition had arrived.

The 18th Floor, Loki Familia camp.

Though it was only the first day of the expedition, the Soma Familia's challenge against Goliath—

Had apparently become the adventurers' reason to hold a feast.

"Congratulations on successfully defeating Goliath."

"It was nothing, really."

"Not drinking?"

"I'll drink..." Falan silently accepted the Divine Wine Finn handed him, took a large gulp, and set it aside again.

"Captain Finn, why aren't you over there joining the feast? Why come looking for me?"

"Haha, you're clearly the one involved—the star of this celebration—yet you're asking me why?"

"All right, you're right... You want to ask about the effectiveness of the restraints Yunika and I used on the Floor Boss?"

"Yes. After all, we're heading into unknown floors, although you've probably already been there."

"If your goal is the 60th Floor, then I roughly know the route all the way there."

"Then we can only thank you. So, to what extent can your magic and that half-elf girl's magic restrain them?"

"We've already tested it on Goliath. It should work on the Two-Headed Dragon on the 27th Floor as well. As for the other Floor Bosses, I don't know. My level was still Lv. 1 when I saw them before, so I can't be sure."

"Understood."

After that, the two captains quietly watched the feast from the side before ultimately choosing to join in.

After all, one was the captain of the Loki Familia that had initiated this joint expedition, while the other was the host of this feast. Neither had any reason to abandon it.

The night gradually deepened, and aside from those keeping watch, the adventurers slowly went to sleep.

As had been said before, the 18th Floor was one of the Dungeon's few safe floors.

It was usually the first stop during an expedition, as well as the night when adventurers could sleep most peacefully.

For tomorrow's expedition, whatever the reason, they all did their best to adjust themselves to peak condition.