[Team Dragon King] had unexpectedly dropped out without accomplishing anything.

Reasonable. That word crossed my mind. [Team Dragon King] had been completely shut down by water attacks from start to finish, only to be dominated by the Black Armor throughout the Dungeon Battle.

"Well, if we'd sent the Sahagin squad against that boss, they would've been wiped out."

Thanks to the Black Armor we didn't have any particular problems, but against a big shot like that Poison Wyvern, we would've had no choice but to fully submerge the room. That would've taken quite a bit of time.

"Ichika, how's the attack on [Team Demon King] going?"

"Almost done. The Sahagin squad arrived, so we've got this."

Inside the submerged room, the Sahagin squad and a shark were overwhelming the boss, a large Skeleton.

In particular, the Sahagin Rider mounted on a marlin seemed to be dealing decent damage. Judging by how much the bones were getting gouged, it looked like they'd finish it off soon, just as Ichika said.

"Still, rather than going back to defend, they come attack us instead. That Black Armor, I swear."

"Full-on offense mode. Let's use a [Big Ball] on this side too."

"Yeah. Let's use them all up while the Black Armor is on the lower floors. Also, send water their way. And keep collecting water from the first floor and dump it outside."

[Team Dragon King]'s gate, which had been swallowing all the water we sent, had shut now that they were eliminated. If we didn't manually dispose of the accumulated water, it would just keep piling up.

Though, that would make it a proper submerged dungeon.

"What about Core 666's Black Armor?"

"It turned back before reaching the middle layer. It seems they intend to regroup before advancing."

"… Is it troublesome that they're regrouping, or should I be glad I can wipe them out all at once? What do you think, Rokuko?"

"I'd say troublesome. At the very least, Core 666 has [Summon Skeleton]."

Isn't Core 666 getting tired using [Summon Skeleton] that much?

Not that I can talk, given my [Summon Gargoyle] usage.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

So, I tried hitting the second Black Armor with a [Big Ball] too, but this one caught it with a grinding screech and stopped it dead. Its feet sank into the floor, clearly showing it had pushed back with all its might.

What's more, it shattered the [Big Ball]. Making sure I couldn't reuse it, huh…

However, the armor had many scratches on it, so it did seem to take some damage.

"Hmm, well, this one didn't have Skeletons, but information must have been passed from Core 666. It was on guard. So, by intentionally hitting it the same way, I let it learn it 'can handle it,' and then on the upper floors, I'll combine it with water current."

"Well, since there'll be two enemies now, they might be able to handle it."

"Then we'll want to take one of them out in the submerged area of the middle layer, right?"

If we can, that is. If we can.

Now then, the two Black Armors entered the submerged area. They'd already seen the orichalcum wire. They probably won't fall for it at this rate.

"Rokuko, I'm deploying the Gargoyles and the octopus. We're taking them out if possible."

"Okay～, here we go!"

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Team Demon King's Side

"Shall we proceed, then?"

"Yeah."

They stepped into the submerged area.

With Skeletons in the lead, they advanced slowly, ready to respond even if a sudden water current appeared.

This passageway was essentially a single path. The impassable orichalcum-thread direct route intersected it at right angles about four times.

… At the intersection, on the straight route, there were several Gargoyles. The orichalcum thread strung up there made the path impassable, though it was hard to see.

Despite being underwater, the Gargoyles were casting spells. One might say that non-living types that don't need to breathe can operate like this, but underwater, the level of attack magic Gargoyles could use was nearly ineffective.

Whether they tried to produce fire or water, the surrounding water got in the way regardless.

By process of elimination, all they could do was throw stones. That would do some damage to Skeletons, but it wouldn't even scratch this Living Armor made of black steel.

"Should we just ignore them and proceed?"

"Then I'll go first."

The Living Armor operated by Core 666's master took the lead.

The clanging of stones hitting them was noisy.

The first intersection had a dead end to the right. Though if one needed to breathe, there appeared to be an air pocket above it.

After bypassing the first orichalcum thread passage, they reached the spot where the Gargoyles had been. It was only a few steps in a straight line, but having to detour around the dungeon trap was somewhat tedious.

The Gargoyles from before had retreated further in and were now throwing stones from the other side of another orichalcum thread passage. More annoying than obstructive, really.

Then, a monster swimming through the water appeared.

"… An octopus?"

"What is this thing? I've never seen this monster before… Do you know it, Jii-sama?"

"I believe it's… some kind of octopus monster… I don't remember well."

Core 6 wasn't particularly knowledgeable about monsters. He especially didn't bother with weak ones. Naturally, he didn't remember their characteristics either.

So when that monster suddenly spat ink and their vision went pitch black, he was a bit surprised.

"Tch… I can't see a thing like this."

"Watch for attacks. Strengthen defenses."

The clanging of stones hitting them continued as before. After a few seconds, their vision cleared. The octopus was already gone.

"What was that supposed to accomplish?"

"Who knows? Whatever, let's keep moving."

"! Wait!"

Ignoring the stone barrage from the Gargoyles on the left, the master's Living Armor stepped forward.

And then… its leg was cleanly severed.

"… What?!"

Though underwater, the armor's weight caused it to topple forward, and its body was sliced into pieces. The Living Armor was dead.

"I was killed…! Aidi, what happened?!"

"A rotating floor. We got caught."

When she checked the map, it had rotated a clean ninety degrees.

The Gargoyles that had been attacking from the left fled the instant the Living Armor was chopped to pieces. There was no wire between them and the Gargoyles' escape route.

She belatedly regretted not sending the Skeletons ahead first instead of holding them back. She could summon them limitlessly as long as she had magic power.

"666. Stay calm and advance while checking your position on the map."

"Yes, Jii-sama… Master, you're getting punished later."

When Core 666 started to move forward, the water flow began to shift.

"Tch, Skeletons!"

With clattering sounds, the Skeletons formed a perpendicular formation to brace against the water current.

Immediately after, a violent flow suddenly slammed into them. Underwater, you could barely tell when it was coming, making it all the more troublesome.

"Wait, Aidi! That spot…!"

"! Cra…"

The rotating floor spun. She'd forgotten.

Already in water where footing was unreliable, taking the water current head-on, the heavy Living Armor body was lifted off the ground. The Skeletons were swept away and easily chopped to pieces. The fragments of the Living Armor her master had been operating were carried off too.

The wire loomed before her eyes.

"Tch, haaaaaah!!"

SCREEEEECH!! She held her magic sword out like a shield, crashing it against the orichalcum thread.

Against the orichalcum thread, that magic sword held. It was not cut. It endured.

"Aha! As expected of [Indestructible]! It doesn't break!"

Confirming the sturdiness of her magic sword, she laughed happily.

"Oh… so you had that enchanted."

"Yes, I used a good chunk of this battle's 500,000 DP on it, but it paid off!"

Once she got used to the water current, she escaped to a side path… the original route.

It had been quite close, but she survived.

And so, Core 666 broke through the submerged area.