Chapter 69.1: New Skill And Vanishing Fairies

Aria and co started their day by going to the labyrinth in the morning. They arrived at a gate that had a floating black slate. They knew it was the gate to the Boss Room due to the keyhole on the surface of the slate.

「This is… The gate to the Boss Room.」

The gate itself was fed by mana. Blue ripples of some sort of energy constantly spread from the center toward the sides.

「Now, Aria, the path toward the Boss Room will open once you insert the key. 」

「Although you should have no problem fighting against this guy, please don’t let your guard down~!」

Lily and Faeri were the ones who guided the party toward the Boss Room via the shortest route.

「Thank you very much for guiding us here, Lily-chan, Faeri-chan.」

「What are you talking about, Aria? We will be waiting for you here until you defeat that guy!」

「We’ll be togethe~er, we’re friends after a~ll.」

「Fufu… Okay then, Lily-chan, Faeri-chan. Let’s go and kick the ass of the Boss inside this room. Onward, Tama, Stella-chan!」

「Nyan~! (Aye Aye, Master!)」

「Those small fries bored me to death. I can finally rampage as much as I want against the Boss!」

Both Tama and Stella were in high spirits. They were very excited and replied cheerfully to Aria. Once she heard them, Aria pulled the key that they obtained yesterday from between her breasts.

The key was the perfect size for the keyhole in front of them.

With a flick of the wrist, Aria turned the key and the gate unlocked. The door vanished with a “Gachan!” and a shining road appeared before them.

「Beyond this road lies the Boss of the labyrinth…」

(Surely, this is the first time my master feels such horrifying killing intent.）

Tama had noticed how Aria trembled lightly as she spoke. Stella, on the other hand, was almost bouncing in place from excitement.

She couldn’t wait to fight the monster beyond the shining road.

「Well, then… See you later, Lily-chan, Faeri-chan!」

With a determined expression, Aria walked toward the room along with Tama and Stella.

◆

『GUOOOOOOOOOOO! 』

A roar resounded inside the room.

Aria and co advanced toward the Boss. Their path had no grass or tree, extending to a mysteriously spacious area. Waiting for them right in the middle was a bipedal dragon with a tree-like body that was almost 4 meters tall.

Its eyes were originally shut as if it was asleep. However, the moment Aria and co approached they must have crossed some invisible threshold because the dragon’s eyes opened and it let out a fearsome roar.

「As expected of a Drake! Such an impressive force! But we won’t falter! Stella-chan!」

「I understand! Nuun…!」

The moment she saw the Treant Drake she was momentarily stunned but Aria quickly regained her composure.

One order was all it took for Stella to jump forward with her Mega Shield, ready to intercept any attack.

『GUOOOO! 』

The Drake took Stella’s stance as a challenge and picked her as its first prey. It faced Stella and swung down its giant claw.

GAKI――IIIN!

The clash between the dragon’s claws and Stella’s Mega Shield created a shower of sparks.

Despite its low rank, a dragon was still a dragon. Stella was being pushed back by the Boss, even though she was in her dragonewt form and had Tama’s 《Divine Protection of Lion King》 buff on her.

But Stella had no intention of being the Boss’s punching bag.

She held her greatsword above her head and drove it into the Drake’s claws in a big swooping arc.

『GUOOOOOOO!? 』

The Treant Drake roared in pain. The claws that Stella hit were bent in an unnatural position.

Although it was a dragon, the Treant Drake’s body was made of wood. One physical blow from Stella was already a critical hit for the Boss.

「NYAN~! (NOW!) 」

Tama stormed out from behind Aria’s leg and swiftly moved around the Drake that was faltering because of the pain. His speed was greatly enhanced by his 《Divine Protection of Lion King》buff. He aimed at the dragon’s legs and fired one of his 《Elemental Howl》.

「NYAAAN!! (Here goes nothing, 《Flame Howling》!) 」

The howl conjured a fire so strong that it took less than a blink of the eyes for the flame to engulf the Drake’s legs. Although the dragon tried to extinguish the fire, it was to no avail. Its legs were completely carbonized.

After the fire fizzled out, the dragon’s legs snapped with a crisp sound due to the Drake’s struggle to douse the flames.

It was the moment Aria had been waiting for. She launched herself across the gap between her and the Boss with the speed of a bullet, making a beeline toward the monster’s chest.

DAN――!

The Treant Drake felt danger approaching and swung its uninjured claws toward Aria.

Unfortunately, Tama was ready to intercept it.

「NYAN!!!!! (OVER MY DEAD BODY, 《Summon Tentacle》!!!!!)」

Tama manipulated his 《Summon Tentacle》 and entangled the Treant Drake’s arms, shifting the orbit of the attack and protecting Aria.

Aria, having already guessed that Tama would make that move, didn’t falter even a bit. She plunged both her knives right into the dragon’s chest.

DOSUUUUU!

『GU-… OOOOOOOOOOO…! 』

The Treant Drake gave one last roar and died.

Aria’s boss capture strategy worked like a charm.

She knew dragons depended on the core inside their chests to live. Thus, she waited for the opportunity to strike it.

Leaving the defense to Stella and using Tama’s 《Elemental Howl》 as a decoy, she waited until it couldn’t move anymore before rushing in with the finishing move.

Once she confirmed the dragon was dead, she cheered the win with her companions.

「WE DID IT! Tama, Stella-chan!」

「Nyaaaa~! (Well done, master!)」

「Now I can eat more delicious food! 」

Tama was happy that his master’s strategies were executed smoothly.

Stella was already on cloud nine just from imagining how big the banquet would be after they returned.

「Tama, can you store this Treant Drake corpse?」

「Nyaa! (Yes, master!) 」