Could this be...

The cyborg lizardmen weren't limited to just the one we'd encountered. They appeared from walls to ambush us (blocked with Spatial Magic), dropped from ceilings to ambush us (crushed against the ceiling with Spatial Magic), and pincer attacked us from both directions (disposed of with a Spatial Magic pitfall).

Honestly, without Spatial Magic? Misha and I could probably handle ourselves, but Blade-senpai and the other adventurers would be in serious trouble against enemies of this caliber.

When they appear, the walls suddenly slide open like a ninja concealment technique, so you can't let your guard down in any direction. That's the exhausting part.

Mecha Ninja Lizardmen. Without Spatial Magic, we'd have been toast.

"What do you want to do, Healer? Continue the exploration?"

"Yeah. Fortunately, my magic seems capable of handling this."

That's what I said, but honestly? I was more than a bit anxious.

Turns out, in this dungeon, Spatial Magic only works within visual range. I could still escape to base or outside the dungeon, sure, but whenever I sent out waves of Spatial Magic to probe ahead, all I got back was a response of "wall."

What the hell? This is a Goddess's magic we're talking about here! In the Karkassa dungeon, I could see through even the walls!

And then it hit me. I couldn't perceive beyond the walls at all.

Whatever material or mechanism these walls were made of, they were actively repelling Spatial Magic.

My vision was already subtly impaired in the Healer outfit, like wearing a mask over my face, so not being able to check beyond the walls was really rough.

At this rate, I wouldn't be able to react to ambushes in time. Everyone except Misha would just be dead weight.

"… Actually, everyone except Misha should head back for now."

"Is that okay? Or rather… are we just not strong enough after all?"

"Yeah. This dungeon's nastier than I expected. I need you all to scout outside for any other entrances."

Blade-senpai nodded with a "Got it" and led the other adventurers back the way we came.

Once I confirmed they were gone, I peeled off my Healer costume.

"Haah, our minion count just went down, nya. Oh, Karina, hold my stuff for me."

"You should keep some on you just in case. We have no idea what might happen in this—"

The instant those words left my mouth, the floor split open with a snap, revealing a red grid of lasers beneath us.

"Nya? Ny-YAAAAA!?"

"Gotcha. You okay, Misha?"

I reflexively caught Misha with Spatial Magic, but some of her belongings weren't so lucky. They sizzled as they got diced into cubes and fell through.

"Ahhh! My potiooooons!"

"The killing intent sure went up all of a sudden… Huh? Wait, Misha, is your tail okay?"

Looking closer, the tip of her tail was resting right on top of a laser beam.

"Huh? Eek!? I'm gonna become a nekomata!! … Wait, huh?"

"It's… not getting cut?"

What the hell…?

As a test, I pulled out one of the Mecha Ninja Lizardmen I'd caught in the pitfall earlier and threw it in.

Whoa. The fleshy parts were fine, but the mechanical parts got sliced apart and fell through.

"What is this… Wait!? Could this be… No, is this seriously what I think it is?"

"What, nya? Did you figure something out, Karina, nya?"

"A laser that only shreds clothes!! This is totally a laser that only shreds clothes, isn't it!?"

"What the heck is that, nya!?"

It cuts even potion bottles into cubes but leaves a living tail completely intact? That's the only explanation. I have absolutely no idea what kind of technology could make this work, though!