Rei's Death Scythe, Set's forelegs, Elk's Axe of the Thunder God, and Ara's Power Axe — each blow struck true, and despite its massive six-meter frame, the Silver Lion was sent hurtling across the room.
Given that its fur was as hard as metal, Rei couldn't even begin to imagine how much the Silver Lion actually weighed.
Even so, there was no mistaking that the combined assault had carried enough force to send it flying, and had inflicted fierce damage.
The area suffering the worst of it was likely its right foreleg. Having taken damage to the joint from Rei's Power Slash, a slight sluggishness was visible in the way it walked.
(Should I use Dragon Language Magic? ...No, Dragon Language Magic is powerful, but its area of effect is just as wide. And ultimately, since it's still magic, whether it would have any effect on the Silver Lion is...)
Elena pondered this as she recalled Mirage to her hand, but quickly dismissed the idea.
Since it was ultimately an attack that relied on magic, it would have no effect on the Silver Lion.
She understood this well enough. Even so, the sight of her beloved man bleeding in his fight against the Silver Lion was not something pleasant to watch.
Normally, Rei boasted impenetrable defensive power thanks to his Dragon Robe, a Magic Item... but right now, his face was covered in numerous lacerations, and though he himself might not have been consciously aware of it, his movements were favoring his side.
Elena was confident that she had known Rei for a fairly long time, but in all that time, she had never seen him bleeding so blatantly from his injuries.
To Elena, Rei had always been someone who defeated his enemies without a scratch — that was the image she held of him.
Of course, having lived on the battlefield long enough, she knew that the word "absolute" didn't exist.
Even so, she had believed that Rei would absolutely win without injury.
(Good heavens, so I too was a maiden in love.)
The romance play she had watched together with Ara. At the time, she had thought it was utter nonsense... but now that such things were happening to her, she found herself able to understand them all too well.
"But... even knowing that, still, I do not doubt Rei's victory!"
As she cried out, she began heightening her own magic power. Elena's magic power — and the power she had inherited from the Ancient Dragon whose lineage she carried.
Raised to its utmost limit, that magic power was inferior to Rei's, but it was so tremendously powerful that no one else could ever hope to match it.
"What!?"
Marina and Min, who had been attacking the Silver Lion from Elena's side using Spirit Magic, bows, and magic, cried out in shock at the enormous magic power that had suddenly appeared right beside them.
The ability to sense magic power was somewhat rare, and it was precisely because the two of them possessed that rare ability that they were so surprised.
But Elena paid no mind to their reactions and shouted.
"Everyone, get some distance from the Silver Lion!"
As she shouted, she channeled her magic power into Mirage.
...Mirage was a Magic Item specially crafted for Elena, made using numerous extremely rare materials. Even so, if Elena's enormous magic power were channeled through it now, it wouldn't have been strange for it to simply break.
But... in this case, perhaps because Elena's magic power was not purely her own but was mixed with the Ancient Dragon's, or perhaps there was some other reason — regardless, Mirage did not break even when infused with far more magic power than it had been designed to withstand. If anything, it shone more brilliantly than ever before as it was brought down.
Despite being in whip form, it struck like a longsword itself. Rei, Set, Ara, and Elk — the three people and one creature who witnessed that strike descend upon the Silver Lion with their own eyes — saw an attack that could almost be mistaken for a blow from a Dragon Species.
"Gyan!?"
For the Silver Lion, that blow was completely unexpected. Letting out a scream that seemed unfitting for an S-Rank monster, it was slammed down onto the floor.
...Even so, the fact that it only screamed and its body wasn't severed was a testament to the Silver Lion's resilience.
But the Silver Lion had already been struggling against the attacks of Rei, Set, Elk, and Ara. It was precisely because it possessed strong resistance to blades — against slashing and thrusting — and extremely high magical defense that it had somehow been able to hold its own against them.
However, that last blow carried enough power to slam even itself to the ground. At this rate, it might die.
Such a thought took root in the Silver Lion's mind... but still, the option of retreating did not exist. Part of that was the directive to protect the Dungeon's core, but more than anything, it was the Silver Lion's pride — the pride of a creature that had lived its entire life as a powerful being — that would not allow it.
Monsters that existed within a Dungeon were, almost without exception, in a state that was more or less akin to brainwashing to some degree. Otherwise, it would be impossible for monsters of different species to act together.
But the Silver Lion, at this very moment — because its life had been placed in mortal danger — was freed from what could be called that binding. It was an act possible precisely because it was an S-Rank monster, but being freed from the binding did not mean it would flee. It was now able to fully unleash the power that had been restricted to prevent damage to the Dungeon.
"Gururuaa-oaa-aaa-aaa-ooo-oaa-aaa-!"
What echoed through the room was a Silver Lion's Roar more powerful than any it had released before.
The shockwave generated by that roar created numerous slashing wounds like Sound Blades across Elk's body, who happened to be right in front of the Silver Lion. Still, the fact that most of the wounds were only what could be called light lacerations was likely because the Sound Blades themselves were purely secondary effects.
Elk, having heard the released roar at point-blank range, lost his hearing for a few seconds and, unable to comprehend what had just happened... still reflexively swung the Axe of the Thunder God down in front of him.
"Gaahhh!"
That strike, swung in a blind frenzy, could be said to have saved Elk's life. The Silver Lion's foreleg, swung as if completely disregarding the burden on its own body, clashed head-on with the Axe of the Thunder God.
But between the six-meter Silver Lion and the human Elk, the difference in weight was inevitably vast. Even with the strength Elk possessed, he couldn't resist the Silver Lion head-on.
Blown away along with the Axe of the Thunder God, Elk had lost his sense of balance from the roar received at close range, yet he still managed to land on the floor half by instinct. Killing the momentum from being sent flying, he somehow kept himself from collapsing... and when he raised his head, what entered his vision — warped by the shock of the blow — was the figure of the Silver Lion.
It had kicked off the floor to close the distance and was about to slam a foreleg strike into Elk's body...
"I won't let you!"
Elena's Mirage entangled the Silver Lion's foreleg, halting its movement. Despite the Silver Lion possessing enough power to easily send Elk's body flying, Elena was able to stop it — undoubtedly because she was drawing on the Ancient Dragon's magic power.
The Silver Lion noticed Elena's intervention, but as if it didn't matter, it tried to slam its other foreleg — the one not restrained by Mirage — into Elk...
"It'd be a problem if you forgot about me!"
Rei, having deployed Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, sent Deep Flame flying once more at the Silver Lion's face while unleashing a Power Slash with Death Scythe.
The Deep Flame that had been adhering to the Silver Lion's face earlier had already been blown away when it unleashed its roar. While Deep Flame couldn't deal damage, it could narrow the field of vision, obstruct hearing, and interfere with the sense of smell. Of course, it couldn't completely seal off all of those senses, but it would undoubtedly have a certain effect.
The simultaneously unleashed Power Slash was driven into the Silver Lion's body, which had momentarily slowed due to its face being engulfed in Deep Flame.
"Gruaa-aa-aaa-ah!"
A cry escaped the Silver Lion's mouth, as if it could no longer endure the pain. But that only served to further enrage it.
The Power Slash had unquestionably dealt damage to the Silver Lion's body. Even so, prioritizing rage over pain, the Silver Lion used its tail like a whip and slammed it into Rei's body.
"Guh! ...Is this all you've got?! I need your heart. ...Give me your he-art!"
The Silver Lion's tail was raining down on Rei. The Dragon Robe didn't offer as much protection as the Silver Lion's fur, but it still possessed strong physical and magical defensive power. However, it shared the same kind of weakness as the Silver Lion's fur — while it blocked blades and magic themselves, it could not absorb the impact of those attacks. In the most literal sense, it shared the same properties as the Silver Lion's fur.
For the Dragon Robe, the Silver Lion's tail, nearly two meters in length, was an extremely troublesome weapon when wielded like a whip. A whip could easily tear through whatever it struck — skin, for instance. But when someone truly skilled wielded one, rather than tearing, they could deliver the full force of the impact directly to the opponent without dispersing it. And for the Silver Lion, which used its tail as one of its primary attack methods, there was no way it would be unskilled at wielding it.
In less than a second, several — perhaps more than ten — tail strikes rained down upon Rei.
Naturally, Set, Elk, Ara, and the others weren't simply standing by and watching, but the Silver Lion, having removed the restriction that had been preventing it from damaging the Dungeon, possessed extremely high physical abilities. Its tail strikes, which seemed to slice through the very air, made it impossible for even Elk and Ara to approach.
A space that could truly be called a barrier of tail-whips was created... but there was one being who charged into it without hesitation.
It was Set, who couldn't stand by and watch Rei being attacked.
Though his body was being torn apart by the tail strikes, Set closed the distance with the Silver Lion.
"Gurururururururu-!"
Though it wasn't a diving attack from high altitude, the strike — backed by the Bracelet of Herculean Strength, his power as a Gryphon, and the activated skill Power Crush — slammed into the Silver Lion's torso.
"Gallogalloorl-!"
That strike had a considerable effect on the Silver Lion, and the barrage of tail blows raining down on Rei loosened slightly.
Rei would by no means let such an opening — created by Set — slip by.
"Give me your he-art!"
Enhanced by Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, he forcefully thrust the Twilight Spear, charged with magic power, into the Silver Lion's face.
The Silver Lion's fur possessed high magical and physical defense... but conversely, that meant the areas where its fur didn't grow lacked that same defense. Of course, being an S-Rank monster, its fundamental baseline abilities were very high. But even so, there were areas that didn't possess as solid a defense as its fur.
...For instance, the Silver Lion's eyeball, into which Rei had more or less forcefully thrust the Twilight Spear.
"Gaagaaa-garulua-oooh-aaa-!"
The Silver Lion let out the loudest cry it had made thus far. With its right eye pierced by the spear, an incessant, searing pain naturally coursed through it.
Driven by that pain, it swung its foreleg wildly, and the strike of its sharp claws assailed Rei's face. Thanks to wearing the Dragon Robe's hood, his face wasn't slashed by the claws, but it was still a foreleg strike from a six-meter Silver Lion — one with absolutely no restraint behind it.
His head was knocked aside as if he were a rag doll... and yet, Rei immediately turned back to face the Silver Lion.
The impact had cut the inside of his mouth, and his face was visibly swollen. Even so... even so, a ferocious grin was forming on Rei's bloodied lips.
That was because he had understood. Within the Silver Lion, which blocked weapons and magic alike, there was one place where his attacks would get through. With Deep Flame adhering to its entire face, there had been no sign of it taking damage — but he now realized that against a place like the eyeball, he could deal damage with the Twilight Spear or Death Scythe charged with his magic power in his current state.
"Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
He channeled even more powerful magic into Death Scythe than he had put into the Twilight Spear... but the Silver Lion, too, must have instinctively sensed that it would die if things continued as they were.
Since it couldn't kill Rei with tail strikes or foreleg blows, it would need to use a more powerful attack. Judging this more reflexively than consciously, the Silver Lion opened its great maw to tear off Rei's face.
The six-meter Silver Lion had opened its mouth wide — wide enough to literally swallow someone of Rei's height in a single bite.
But for Rei, who held Death Scythe in his hand, that moment was the instant he had been waiting for.
He swung the blade of the magic-infused Death Scythe toward the Silver Lion's upper jaw. With his current strength, arm power alone would likely not be enough to finish off the Silver Lion. Judging so, Rei swiftly spun his body once in place, adding the force of rotation to the strike of Death Scythe.
"Gagagaa-aaa-aaa-aa-!"
A scream erupted from the Silver Lion's mouth. As it forcibly tried to close its jaws, its fangs scraped wounds across Rei's face, and its thrashing forelegs battered Rei's body through the Dragon Robe.
But knowing that damage was accumulating second by second — no, instant by instant — he focused on attack over defense.
To amplify the damage from Death Scythe — which had pierced through the Silver Lion's upper jaw, through its skull, and reached its brain — he forcefully moved the embedded weapon, and using the red magic of Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, he violently jerked the Twilight Spear, still stabbed into the Silver Lion's eyeball, up, down, left, and right.
Naturally, such an assault would be a fatal wound for the Silver Lion... but as if determined to at least take Rei down with it, it tried to unleash its last ounce of strength...
"Like hell I'll let you!"
"I won't let you!"
Elk and Ara's strikes — the Axe of the Thunder God and the Power Axe — slammed into the Silver Lion's body...
"Gurururururururururu-!"
Set, who had ascended after delivering the previous blow and had risen to near the ceiling, went into a dive. Gaining the effect of the Bracelet of Herculean Strength, he slammed Power Crush into the Silver Lion's back, driving its body into the ground.
Those strikes caused Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear to wreak even greater devastation within the Silver Lion's body...
"Give me your heart!"
With a cry from the very depths of his soul, Rei — having literally poured every ounce of his entire being into the blow — forcefully scrambled the Silver Lion's head with Death Scythe...
"Gah..."
The Silver Lion let out one final, small sound as it extinguished its Flame of Life.