Tensions ratcheted up steadily over the next several days. As with Rhuun, no matter how badly they wanted to take back the city and punish us, mustering a large enough force to supposedly do that wasn’t something that Shirisho and Trioron could simply make happen with a snap of their fingers.

The reaction of Rhuun itself as well was extremely divisive. At least as many seemed to glory in our winning such a great victory for the nation as there were those railing against our rash action. The Council of Magi, Rhuun’s ruling body, was more against us, but not united enough to pass a sanction or something.

At the rate Shirisho and Trioron were readying their troops, it looked as though to finish the mission, we’d need to weather a siege for 5 days. The time before the battle would start went by in a blur of activity.

When it finally started, it was remarkable how unremarkable it seemed. The targeting priority was more complicated and changeable, but I was basically doing what I had been the whole time, and not just on this Floor—raining fiery death on enemies. However, after the besieging force temporarily withdrew after their first attempt at an assault, the situation changed. Anna called me over with the communication stones we’d both been given, and she’d had the rest of the team gather to her as well. Also present was a native mage in an ink-black robe—he was seated and subdued, his hands well bound.

General Ormin also arrived a moment after I did. “What is the meaning of this?”

“They tried to assassinate Lady Anna,” said Mewi, trying to be matter of fact but sounding a little shaken, “I only just got a barrier spell up in time, and he wasn’t easy to deal with after that.”

Anna nodded. “This one’s a dab hand at Space magic, quite a rare thing. I was wondering when something like this would happen, to tell the truth.”

“Space magic? Then who—oh...oh no.” Ormin maneuvered to get a good look at the captive’s face. “I recognize them—Zirin, a member of the Council of Magi! Wh—sir, why would you do this? Why would you take matters into your own hands, above the law?”

I was quite taken aback when he actually answered. “I thought I could do what the rest of the Council was too cowardly to. I reasoned that the mysterious ‘Lady Anna’ was the instigator of this and therefore, if she was removed as a factor, you would be more pliable to calling off this overly aggressive course of yours.

Although, I suppose I have little room to disparage others for cowardice. All of us of Rhuun, Shirisho, or Trioron could be said to be cowards one and all in any case...”

“Lady Anna,” said Ormin, “it disturbs me that a member of the council has acted so drastically. However, I recognize that we are past the point where turning back was possible. It was you he was after, then what would you have us do with him?”

“Well, it wouldn’t do to summarily execute a council member,” said Anna, “and I think we can spare ten or twenty to guard him. We’ll keep him prisoner for now, and we can talk terms of release once the siege is broken.”

“Hmph,” said Zirin, “past the point of no return indeed. I fear you are more right than you realize.”

“Either explain what the hell you’re talking about, or shut up,” said Arvallei, irritated.

Zirin cocked his head. “Very well. Play out the remainder of this farce, as you insist.”

He said no more after that. As it happened, we barely had enough time to finish arranging his imprisonment before the other two nations launched their next assault.

It wasn’t until two days later, just enough time for dealing with the siege to become slightly routine, that the real complication finally made itself apparent.

While we were still in the middle of another effort to repel the enemy armies, a tremor was felt throughout the city. It started as only a light rumbling, but that only lasted a few seconds before the ground shook enough to force just about everyone off their feet.

It was more than a few moments before I could get to my feet again. When I did, I saw that the besieging soldiers were now fleeing.

A moment later, I saw why. The creature was shaped like a bizarre fusion of eight centipedes, if each centipede was the size of an elephant. It moved with shocking speed, and its legs must have been razor sharp, since any soldier who got anywhere near a single one was instantly eviscerated. I’m guessing we still lose the mission if the city falls to this thing. I used Enemy Scan...

BOSS Monster (I)

It had nearly 100,000 HP, and its attributes were in the 150s. But that wasn’t the most worrying thing. For the first time, an informational note was displayed at the bottom of the information:

[Immune to attacks.]

I immediately went to warn the others. It didn’t take long to find them—our full team was already gathering together. Bruzigan’s brow furrowed when I told them about the attack immunity. “This will be a risky battle,” he said, motioning us to huddle, “we’ll have to rely on damage reflection skills. Lheticus, that’s you with Fiery Deflection at the front with my Shining Reversal and Ri’legh’s Counter Aura. Anna, defensive buffs. Mewi, you’ll focus on casting Lesser Mirror Shield on Arvallei and the three of us when our own reflections are on cooldown.”

Lesser Mirror Shield was a high Mana cost, high Intuition, exceptionally rare Water spell Mewi had at his disposal ever since the 3rd Floor, Edwin authorizing him learning it to help in the combat portions of it. It reflected all damage with a limit similar to Fiery Deflection’s, and stayed up for a while too, but could only reflect a single strike. However, unlike most such skills, the buff could be cast on teammates. This is going to be a slog...reflecting multiple tens of thousands of damage is probably going to take like, an hour!

It turned out I was lowballing it. The good news was that damage reflecting skills and spells did affect the creature. The bad news was that only a fraction of the damage that was being stopped was actually being inflicted on it. It was being worn down, but it definitely was taking a long time.

Time, it turned out, the thing wasn’t inclined to give us. When we’d finally reduced its HP by a quarter at no little mana and energy expense, it broke away from us and dashed toward the city.

Its blade-legs-feelers-whatever carved through the stone wall as though it was a giant block of cheese. The moment it did, a Tower notification appeared:

[Warning! Your captured city of has been breached! If the Destruction Rate reaches 50%, the city will be considered permanently lost! Current Destruction Rate: 1%]

“After it!” Bruzigan was practically screaming as he charged in through the hole it had made.

“Getting in the way of its attacks and reflecting them won’t slow it down or damage it enough!” said Mewi, “What should we do?”

“We have to try, we have to do whatever we can!” said Ri’legh, only a few steps behind Bruzigan.

But in the next five minutes, Mewi was being proven right. In spite of all attempts to slow it, the Destruction Rate had already reached 10%, and it had barely lost any more HP. I can’t believe we’re failing the mission this badly at the last freaking minute! But how do you destroy a creature apparently made of destruction?!

Wait a minute...?!

“Anna!” I called out, “Try casting a healing spell on it!”

“Are you stupid or something?! You want me to undo what little progress we’ve made on this thing?!”

“If I’m right, that’s exactly what won’t happen! There’s no way we won’t fail the mission at this point, what do we have to lose?!”

Anna cast the weakest healing spell she had on the creature...and it screeched in pain. The damage number that appeared on my helmet HUD resulting from Anna’s healing spell was at least fifty times higher than any I’d yet seen applied to the boss. Not only that, but some of its blades seemed to shrink slightly. It stopped in its tracks...and curled its legs into a ball shape bristling with spikes and rolled straight for Anna.

As I was closest to her, I managed to get in the way with a Fiery Deflection, which it bounced off, but that wasn’t going to stop it for long. “Bruizgan, Ri’legh, help me protect Anna! Mewi, Avallei, crowd control—slow it, hinder it, anything you can do! Anna, you’re our main damage source, hit it with the strongest heals you have!”

Bruzigan hesitated a moment—then headed back for us just in time to block the thing’s next effort. Anna had already started casting stronger healing spells mid-speech. In the ball form, it was faster, but it was also easier for Arvallei to limit its movement direction.

The battle turned frenetic as the boss’s HP plummeted. Once it hit half, it started using an attack that launched its blade-spines that would attempt to home in on Anna. However, her own defensive buffs were up to the task of repelling them, though some minor damage got through.

Occasionally now, a Winding Restrictions from Mewi would succeed on it. He was also adding to the damage we did to it by physically pelting it with healing potions he’d made as Alchemist practice during the Floor.

By critical health, it had substantially decreased in size. With less than 5,000 HP to go, it started glowing red hot—but one more cast of Anna’s strongest healing spell was ready, and between that and a couple more potions from Mewi, it hit 0 and burst into smoke instead of exploding.

Where it had been, it left behind a sizeable amount of a clear red-brown crystal that shone like amber.

[Destruction Quintessence]

Crafting material used in Grade 4 and above recipes of various professions.

“No way,” Anna breathed, “Quintessence is almost impossible to find in Area 1, and there must be at least ten pounds of the stuff!”

“Almost impossible sounds about right,” said Arvallei. He had already joined Mewi and me in dividing up the stuff fairly. “I still don’t understand how in the world Lheticus figured out how to damage the thing.”

“Well, I didn’t know for sure. But it seemed to me that the thing was some kind of entity of pure destruction. Now, there’s a concept in some of the games I’ve played known as ‘revive kills zombie.’ I didn’t want to risk it until we had nothing left to lose, since if I was wrong it would have been just about the stupidest thing ever, to heal the boss we were fighting, but I thought it might have been a similar case to those undead enemies that got hurt by healing.”

Anna shook her head at me. “You really are crazy. I couldn’t have thought of that in a million years.”

“Indeed,” said a voice, “I never thought there would be such a method to destroy the creature.”