The black Goliath's strength far surpassed that of any ordinary one. Finn burst free from the swirling dust, his sharp eyes locked on the monster ahead. The creature stopped its sonic barrage and stomped forward, charging straight for him.
It's fast.
Despite its massive size, the thing was moving even quicker than a normal Goliath. Finn's frown deepened. High attack power, monstrous defense, long-range magic, sharp reaction speed, and rapid regeneration—this thing was far beyond what any Level 4 Adventurer could handle.
A large-scale, high-damage spell might work, so long as it could overwhelm the Goliath's regeneration. Otherwise, the only option was to strike directly at its Magic Stone.
Finn's mind raced through the calculations, dissecting every weakness he could find. Within moments, he'd completed his analysis.
He stopped in place. His left foot slid forward, right hand reversing its grip on the spear. A deep breath filled his lungs. Then he shouted, channeling his full strength—and his once-per-day throwing magic—into the attack.
The spear flared with blue light.
In the instant it left his hand, it broke the sound barrier, slicing through the air and driving straight for the Goliath's chest.
"!?"
Sensing danger, the Goliath roared and threw both hands up in defense.
"Clang!"
The sound of impact rang out—then the spear punched straight through its palms without slowing, piercing its body clean through. The penetrating force was absolute.
The giant froze mid-motion, like someone had hit the pause button on reality.
Then, in the next heartbeat, its towering body disintegrated into white ash, scattering across the floor. A massive Magic Stone crashed heavily onto the ground, the surface marked by a small, perfectly round hole at its center. That was the fatal wound—the strike that had ended it.
"Phew..."
Finn exhaled slowly, tension leaving his shoulders. The fight was over.
"Here."
A familiar voice called out. When Finn turned, Tsuna was holding out his spear.
"Thanks, Tsuna."
Finn took it back, gaze still fixed on the enormous Magic Stone.
"The Dungeon's 'abnormal situation' even warped the Goliath itself... this is getting troublesome. A monster like that would give even a first-class Adventurer a headache."
"I'd say more than a headache," Tsuna replied. "If you hadn't gone all-in with your throwing magic, your spear wouldn't have had the power to pierce its body and hit the Magic Stone inside. Those things are even tougher than the monster's outer shell."
Finn sighed. "Yeah... that's the weakness of us Pallums. We don't have much going for us in terms of raw strength or durability. That thing had insane defense and regeneration—any normal wound would've healed in seconds. If I couldn't kill it in one shot, I wouldn't have lasted long."
It was exactly the kind of enemy Finn hated facing—monsters that could outlast even the most precise attacks. A prolonged fight against something like that would wear anyone down.
"In terms of sheer power, Gareth could probably match it," Finn mused. "As for finishing potential, Riveria's magic could kill it in one hit. But..."
"But Gareth's attacks can't outpace its regeneration," Tsuna continued, picking up the thought smoothly. "And Riveria's magic—though powerful—requires chanting. The Goliath's sonic waves would interrupt her before she could finish."
Their analysis was clean and professional. Tsuna's tone stayed even as he compared the two. Gareth had brute strength to rival the beast, but not enough speed to end it before it healed. Riveria had overwhelming magic, but her casting time made her vulnerable.
Finn nodded. "Exactly. Each of us has our own limitations. But together, we could've handled it a lot easier. Separately, it would've taken far more effort to bring that thing down... right?"
"Yeah."
Tsuna agreed softly. The three of them—Finn, Gareth, and Riveria—balanced one another perfectly. Each excelled in a different area, covering the others' weaknesses. Alone, their power dropped sharply. Together, they were a force of nature.
"Even though we've handled this one," Finn continued, his tone growing grim, "if the floor bosses themselves are being affected by the Dungeon's abnormalities, then we might have a much bigger problem on our hands."
That thought made his stomach tighten. The black Goliath had already been a nightmare. If more floor bosses mutated like that, it could spiral out of control.
"Are you sure the Amphisbaena at the Great Waterfall hasn't respawned yet?" Tsuna asked again.
"No," Finn said firmly. "The Guild tracks the refresh cycles carefully. The Ishtar Familia killed it just a week ago. It won't respawn for another three weeks."
Before the expedition, Finn had confirmed every floor boss's schedule. Goliath and Amphisbaena were both frequent targets—one marking the end of the upper floors, the other deep in the middle levels. Their spawn cycles were some of the most precisely recorded in Orario. There shouldn't have been any mistakes.
"In that case," Finn decided, "we'll move for the next safe floor immediately. Still... I can't help but wonder what's really happening in the Dungeon to cause this kind of distortion."
Tsuna nodded, frowning. The situation reminded him of something from the stories—but in those, the Dungeon had only reacted this violently after the gods themselves entered its depths.
Now, however, there were no gods here. So what had triggered such a powerful response?
"We'll have to wait for the investigation," Finn said at last, gripping his spear tightly. "But whoever—or whatever—caused this... I intend to find out."