Our progress through the dungeon was steady, and we had reached the 12th Floor.
As Cygnil was a labyrinth-style dungeon, wide-open spaces were practically non-existent. As a result, most of the monsters we encountered ranged from small to medium-sized. And yet, an incredibly massive entity now loomed directly in front of us.
"What a bizarre monster..." Rei muttered, sounding exasperated.
He wasn't wrong. The thing was so peculiar that "bizarre" felt like the only fitting description. We had come across it in a section of the corridor about four meters wide; its bulk spanned the entire width of the passage. Stretching all the way to the ceiling, it was, for all intents and purposes, a wall.
The material, however, was a different story. Unlike the rugged, natural stone of the surrounding environment, the monster's surface was smooth, reminiscent of polished marble. Ripples occasionally disturbed its surface, and shapes would push through the undulations like objects rising from water. These manifestations varied wildly, ranging from humanoid figures to various animal forms.
"Is that another new species?" Halfa asked.
"I’ve certainly never heard of one," I replied.
"Me neither," Lowell added.
We both shook our heads in response to her question. I hadn't seen anything like it even in the archives of the Adventurer’s Guild.
"I haven't either. It’s almost certainly a new species," Rei agreed. As the Acting Governor of Cygnil, Rei stayed informed on Guild reports; if he hadn't heard of it, there was no mistake. The 12th Floor was supposed to have been mapped and cleared by other adventurers. While clearance didn't guarantee total information disclosure, a creature this bizarre would have definitely sparked rumors. That confirmed it: this was something new.
New species weren't unheard of. Occasionally, wild monsters evolved, or creatures that had remained hidden for centuries were finally discovered. Even so, encountering them was usually a rarity.
"Not again..." Mil shook her head with an exhausted look. This was becoming a pattern.
I'd expected the Silver Abominations to launch an assault once we passed the tenth floor, but there had been no sign of them. In fact, we had hardly seen any silver-parasitized monsters at all. In their place, we were finding new species. Between this floor and the one before it, we’d encountered more than I could count on both hands. It was an impossible anomaly.
Still, it felt familiar. It reminded me of the dungeons the gods had remodeled, which were teeming with strange, unknown monsters. The current situation felt exactly like that.
『It's because the dungeon's mastery is being stolen bit by bit! I can feel the disgusting presence of those wiggly silver things coming from everywhere!』
I couldn't sense it myself, but according to Shiroru, the very atmosphere of the dungeon was shifting. It meant the Silver Faction was gaining mastery over the dungeon. It also implied that the gods—Garna included—were failing to reclaim control.
"Things don't look good. The lack of Abominations is unsettling..."
When I voiced my concerns, Spira tilted her head slightly. "Do you think they lost their strength because of your efforts, Tort?"
"If that were true, the gods would have already regained control," Lowell countered, dismissing the idea. "But the reality is the opposite; they’re still powerful. We aren't seeing the silver ones because they're likely concentrating their forces for a final stand."
Spira nodded in agreement without further argument; she had likely just been floating a possibility. Still, assuming the Silver Faction had lost its will to fight was far too optimistic.
Survivors of the earlier attacks had reported several individuals believed to be executives of the Cult lurking in the dungeon. We hadn't seen hide nor hair of them yet, which meant they were likely waiting for us in the depths.
"Essentially, these monsters are just a stall tactic," Mil remarked.
"Then we'd better move fast," Sally added.
The two of them shifted into combat stances. Beside them, the Petit Golems—fully prepared in their life-sized bodies—readied their weapons as well.
"It doesn't look like it's going to move on its own, so let's try a long-range attack first. For a target like that... Halfa, I think your Shock Voice is the best bet."
"I'm on it!"
The distance between us was about twenty meters. A typical monster would have lunged at us the moment we came into range, but this strange wall remained motionless. Taking advantage of that, I decided to let Halfa strike first.
Halfa drew a deep breath and let out a piercing cry.
"Sha-a-at-ter-r-r!!"
Since her Shock Voice was a directional shockwave, there was no risk of collateral damage as long as we stayed out of its path. Even so, the air rippled visibly from the force. She had clearly put her all into it. Though invisible to the naked eye, the powerful vibration slammed into the strange wall.
"The wall is distorting!" Sally cried, pointing her staff toward the creature.
Even without her prompting, I could see it—the wall’s surface was rippling violently, its marble-like texture turning into a chaotic mess.
Then, something began to push its way out from within the undulations.
—GYAGAAAAAA!!
A massive, reptilian head thrust itself out from the center of the wall. It was a dragon—or at least, the upper half of one, dragging itself out from the surface just like one I had encountered once before.