Chapter 82

A sound echoed in the dark room, and a purple flame lit up. Stained glass lanterns lined the circular room at equal intervals, and a swing entwined with black rose vines hung from the central ceiling.

Someone involuntarily held their breath, and tension spread.

"O, Master..."

"...If only I could say it's okay..."

Tart's small hand gripped mine, but my mind was in chaos. I was desperately trying to think of what to do.

If we had continued to level up, we could have defeated Luluyé. But that's a story for after we level up, not now. No, not now. Defeating the boss is out of the question. To put it mildly, the boss is impossible!!!!!!!!

"Sharon, this is the deepest part of the dungeon, right?"

In response to Tithia's question, I nodded.

"A boss, Luluyé, who is incomparably stronger than the monsters we encountered on the way, will appear. Defeating her with our current strength... is impossible."

"---!"

When I clearly stated this, Tithia turned pale and covered her mouth.

"But I don't intend to die just like that. Let's focus on escaping and think of a solution."

"Yes...!"

At my suggestion, Tithia, of course, and everyone else, including Leroi, nodded. The plan for this operation is to prioritize our lives at all costs.

A sound like something breaking echoed, and a figure descended from the ceiling and landed on the swing. Long, dark red hair tinged with purple reached her feet. She was wrapped in a fluttering, translucent fabric and wore a short, high-quality black dress, but her hands were chained. The monster—boss Luluyé—was characterized by the black lace covering her eyes.

We all froze, but unconsciously took a step back.

"What is this feeling... I can't stop shaking."

Blitz tried to control his trembling hands while looking straight at Luluyé. There was a fear that a moment's lapse in attention could lead to our downfall.

I took a deep breath and visualized the battle against Luluyé in my mind. Luluyé generally uses magic attacks with her staff. Sometimes, a strong wind pressure from swinging her staff can push us back. In the later stages, two bat familiars join the attack, making it even more troublesome.

There are pre-movements and timings for strong attacks, so if we dodge them, we shouldn't die... I hope. In the meantime, I'll try to think of a way to turn the tide.

"When Luluyé swings her staff, crouch as low as possible! The wind pressure will come. The first strong attack will come when the ground at her feet glows purple, so I'll use a defense skill then."

"Okay!"

Everyone responded, and I started casting support spells. We had a little time before Luluyé started attacking, which was a relief.

Blitz raised his sword and attacked Luluyé. Luluyé blocked it with her staff, but her expression remained cool, and the attack had no effect.

Wow, she's too strong.

If we were to defeat Luluyé at this level, we would need to stack our equipment and be well-versed in the Luluyé battle.

"Meow, <Potion Throw> meow!"

Tart threw a <Fire Flask> with all her might, and it hit Luluyé perfectly. However, as the explosion sound reached our ears, Luluyé swung her staff.

"Meoww!"

Tart, who didn't expect an immediate counterattack, was blown back by the wind pressure and rolled backward.

"<Guardian of the Goddess>!"

"<Heal>!"

When Leroi and I used our skills, Tart, though wobbly, quickly got up. "Thank you, meow," she said, looking ahead, but her legs were slightly trembling.

...Of course, it's scary.

However, Luluyé paid no attention to our situation. Her feet glowed purple, indicating a powerful attack was coming.

"I'll do it! <Sanctuary of the Goddess>!!"

"Me too! <Shield of the Cross>!!"

As Tithia and Blitz deployed their defense skills, Luluyé's staff released a beam-like attack randomly. The cracks in the pillars and walls showed that getting hit would be devastating.

"Good job dealing with that attack! Also, when Luluyé flies in the air or starts casting, handle it the same way. However, when Luluyé stabs her staff into the ground... a shockwave will come first, so jump to avoid it. Then, immediately use a defense skill!"

"Okay!"

Luluyé has several attack patterns, but they aren't that difficult to handle. The difficulty lies in her high attack power and frequency.

As we saw with Tart's <Potion Throw>, Luluyé also has high defense. So, a party with insufficient firepower will take a long time to defeat her, and in our case, without high-level firepower weapons, it's difficult even at a high level.

"---! Luluyé is stabbing her staff into the ground!"

"Jump to avoid the shockwave!"

At Mimosa's urgent voice, I gave the command. The next moment, a line of light, like a crack in the earth, stretched towards us, and the ground shook.

---If we get hit by that, we're done for!!

In the game, it wasn't a big deal, but in reality, it's a huge difference. I don't think we can survive that.

...Well, we might barely survive, but our spirits would be broken.

"Phew..."

Next, it was the same as the first time, with Luluyé's feet glowing. We defended as before and managed to avoid major damage. After that, we dodged the wind pressure from several normal attacks by crouching.

"<Potion Throw> meow!"

"<Merciless Judgment>!"

"<Hammer of the Goddess>!"

"<Judgment of the Cross>!"

After a few rounds of attack and defense, everyone got the hang of the timing. However, we couldn't deal any fatal damage to Luluyé. Watching Blitz drink a potion to recover mana, I realized that if this continued, we would be the ones defeated.

"<Body Strengthening> <Mana Regeneration>... haa, haa..."

After being attacked multiple times, I was physically and mentally exhausted. I thought this was getting dangerous. Tart's eyes were becoming vacant.

"What should we do? We're running out of potions, meow..."

...Could we die...?

Such anxiety began to grow within me. Despite always being positive and working hard no matter what.

"No. I absolutely refuse to give up."

As I declared this, Leroi was blown away by Luluyé's normal attack. He landed on the opposite side of the entrance, near the Luluyé statue.

...I usually didn't pay much attention, but this room was probably also for prayer.

It was hard to tell because it was a ruin, but broken chairs and other items were scattered in the corners.

"<High Heel>! Leroi, are you okay!?"

"Yes, somehow. I'll get back up---!?"

When Leroi touched the Luluyé statue to stand up, something glowed brightly. It seemed to be coming from something Leroi was holding.

"What is this...?"

"Watch out, Luluyé's attack is coming!"

Blitz looked puzzled, but Mimosa's voice quickly rang out. Luluyé wouldn't wait for us. After somehow defending, Leroi took it out from his pocket.

"Is that... the <Gem of Lament>!?"

The <Gem of Lament> was a drop item from the boss, the <Ghost of Elngora>, whom I defeated in the <Paradise of Elngora>. Leroi had put out a high-value request for it in the guild, and I had delivered it.

...It was an item whose use was unknown, but I never thought I'd use it here.

Despite the dire situation, I was excited by the new discovery. It's understandable, as it's a new discovery that didn't exist in the game! It's natural for my excitement to rise.

As I was getting excited, the Luluyé statue started to rumble and a path opened up behind it.

"It seems to be a secret passage."

"Wait, does that mean we can escape from Luluyé!?"

Surprised by Leroi's words, I tried to think calmly. The idea that there was a way to escape from this boss room was new to me. We didn't know what lay ahead, but since we couldn't defeat Luluyé, there was no other choice but to go forward.

"---<Resistance Strengthening> <Indomitable Will> <Defense Strengthening> <Guardian of the Goddess> <Regeneration> <Mana Regeneration>---"

I cooperated with Leroi to cast all the support spells we could and shouted, "Let's run and escape!"