The earth collapsed, and the Dungeon's scream shook everyone's eardrums.
The explosions were like an avalanche bursting through a dam. Starting from the left passageway on Floor 53, the roaring never stopped.
This crimson flame was not a pillar of flame fired by a Valgang Dragon. Inside the Dragon's Vase, an area vast enough to rival the entire city of Orario, the explosion's blaze swallowed most of the left side.
And this was only the beginning.
As the walls and floor of Floor 53 crumbled, more thunderous crashes rang out from the floors below.
Fifty-four...
Fifty-five...
In the blink of an eye, the entire left side of the Dragon's Vase caved in. Monsters, walls, floors, ceilings. Everything was swallowed by firelight.
The roars of monsters mixed with the blasts, becoming the Dungeon's mournful wail as it echoed through the enormous hollow that stretched beyond sight.
"Tiona?! Get back!"
Finn shouted toward the Amazoness in the distance.
After reaching Floor 58, the group had split up in order to eliminate the scattered Valgang Dragons as quickly as possible.
Tiona happened to be right at the edge of the collapsing floor.
"What happened?! What about Argonaut-kun and the others?!"
Tiona obeyed the order and rushed toward Finn and the others.
The Valgang Dragon's searing fireballs followed close behind her, but in just a few moments, the rumbling reached Floor 57. The glossy black ceiling crashed down together with countless bursts of flame.
The fireballs, the Valgang Dragon, even that terrifying roar, were all buried beneath black and crimson.
"The Dungeon is collapsing?!"
Finn drove his spear into the ground, bracing himself against the overwhelming shockwave.
Dust billowed through the air. The crimson flames gradually turned black, as if draping the entire left side in darkness.
An unprecedented situation.
A natural disaster?
The Dungeon's malice?
No. This had definitely been done deliberately.
Finn narrowed his eyes at the vast ruins to the left and immediately reached a conclusion.
This was similar to the explosion on Floor 27. The enemy's objective had to be summoning the [Calamity].
Where would it be born?
And where would its claws strike?
"Change of tactics! Regroup and take out the remaining Valgang Dragons together!"
Finn made the call at once and issued his orders.
The enemy had gone so far as to set a trap on this scale and cause the Dragon's Vase to collapse. The combat power of the monster known as [Juggernaut] could not be underestimated. Right now, the most important thing was to avoid being picked off one by one.
"This is going to make getting back a real pain."
Tsubaki recovered from the violent impact.
During the battle just now, she had been quite interested in the high-tier Drop Items from the Valgang Dragons and had wanted to use them as weapon materials. But after the Floor collapsed, Tsubaki paid no attention to the crushed Valgang Dragons or their Drop Items. Her face was filled with worry.
"You're still thinking about how we're getting back? Worry about surviving this first."
Tione raised her ax-spear and knocked aside a Valgang Dragon's sweeping tail.
The indiscriminate collapse had wiped out a mass of monsters for them, but after the space on Floor 58 was compressed, even more monsters began surging in.
Wyverns, Violas, and Virgas fell along the edge of the collapse as if roaring for the Dungeon itself, streaming endlessly toward Floor 58.
"I'll handle the fireballs! You take care of the rest!"
Gareth raised his massive axe and brought it down hard against the incoming flames.
"Damn it."
Bete still had his Wind Magic Sword. Before Finn could even give the order, he charged toward the countless Virga monsters.
His twin swords and silver boots withstood the Dungeon's fury, trampling the corrosive monsters into pieces.
"Hey! What about the little bastard and the others?!"
Bete shouted while holding back the monster wave.
"I was thinking the same thing! Argonaut-kun and the others must still be up there. We need to hurry and help them!"
Tiona answered anxiously.
The boy was extremely clever. With him in command, Riveria and the others had most likely avoided this explosive trap.
But just as Tsubaki had said, after such a huge section of the floors had been destroyed, whether they tried to return to Floor 52 or reach the bottom of the Dragon's Vase from above, it would be extremely difficult.
Tiona tightened her grip on her massive double-bladed weapon and looked pleadingly at Finn.
"No. We deal with the monsters on Floor 58 first."
Finn firmly rejected the rescue proposal.
Everyone present was a first-tier Adventurer, and they could descend quickly from the top of the Dragon's Vase, but they could not grow wings and easily return the way they came.
[Calamity] had yet to appear. Even without that monster of unknown strength, climbing upward on foot through the Deep Floors, where the situation kept changing, would carry enormous risk.
Finn understood all too well that this was the moment that would decide the party's survival. Even if his companions accused him of being cold-blooded, he had to stop Tiona and the others from recklessly turning back.
"Tsk."
After hearing Finn's decision, Bete clicked his tongue at the helplessness of the situation.
As if venting his anger, he wrapped gales around his feet and tore through the monsters again and again.
"But..."
Tiona looked stubbornly into the distance.
Her gaze passed over the Valgang Dragons and the other monsters, climbed the towering pile of glossy black rubble, and reached the empty air that symbolized death.
Above, monsters were still falling. They used the collapsed ground as a buffer point before pouring toward Floor 58.
Part of the left side of the Dragon's Vase had been completely punched through. Tiona desperately wished that Bell and the others would be the ones descending from that hole, not these monsters.
Argonaut-kun and the others had surely run into trouble. They had to go help them.
"Bell Cranel is with them. He's the [White Rabbit Who Brings Good Luck]. Riveria and the others will definitely be fine."
Finn first reassured Tiona emotionally, then raised his spear and thrust it into a nearby giant Valgang Dragon.
He added calmly, "Because of this collapse, the Valgang Dragons' firepower is concentrated on us. Without the Flame Pillars attacking them, Ais and the others can slow down and advance step by step."
"Taking care of these Flame Dragons first and keeping them from shifting their fire is how we help the other team!"
Finn showed no fear in the face of the monster tide.
His clear, measured words gave the deeply worried party members the reassurance they needed.
"Got it!"
Tiona set aside the urge to turn back and focused on dealing with the attacking monsters.
What had originally been a chaotic surprise assault on Floor 58 had turned into a drawn-out battle in the blink of an eye.
"Tsubaki, give Gareth top-grade potions! Tiona, Tione, there are too many Wyverns. Prioritize the Valgang Dragons!"
Finn issued his orders calmly.
Of everyone present, he was the most worried.
Had [Calamity] already arrived?
With Ais's speed, could she hold it off?
Finn's fingers throbbed faintly.
Even so, he simply put on his iron mask and kept swinging his spear.
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