The moment they descended the stairs, they felt a massive surge of evil and powerful magic.
"Everyone, step back!"
The girl in the Miko (shrine maiden) outfit, El, shouted as she shoved her way to the front and immediately deployed a sacred defensive barrier. The two colliding forces counteracted each other, dissolving with a sharp burst. The two Half-Elf sisters quickly supported El from behind as she stumbled and fell to her knees.
"Attacking us right away, isn't that a little unfair!?"
A bolt of light, sparks of fire, and silver arrows. The counterattack, intended as a diversion, was effortlessly nullified by the single figure standing in front of them. Just a wave of an arm. Even though it wasn't a lethal strike, that's all it took.
A solemn voice answered.
"You have come, warriors from the other world. ...The ritual to summon the Evil God was almost complete. Was my deed so intolerable that you could not overlook it?"
The enemy, the Demon Lord, was a truly monstrous sight. Its height easily exceeded two meters. Its head was a skull. An eerie glow resided deep within a complex bone structure different from a human's, and it had two pairs of wings on its back. It had three tails: a scorpion's, a snake's, and a tentacle. Its left arm was that of a dragon, covered in scales and equipped with claws. Its right arm was a bundle of countless tentacles. Its left leg was like a lion's, and its right leg was hoofed, resembling a horse's. Covered in self-grown armor around its torso, and emitting intense magic and pressure from its entire body, it was truly the strongest of the Demon race.
"You were waiting for us to come?"
"Precisely. I recognized that destiny had shifted the moment you interfered. ...No, was I captured? Or is the me who is thinking right now merely a temporary construct you created?"
"It doesn't matter what you are. ...You are evil itself, one who has stolen countless lives, destroyed buildings, and scorched the earth. You are the very symbol of destruction. As the Saint, I will never forgive you!"
"A Saint, you say. ...To think I would face such immense sacred power at this juncture."
The Demon Lord opened the skull's mouth wide and loudly proclaimed, "Very well!"
"Either way, I will die unless I defeat you! Then I shall resist with all my power! The ritual to summon the Evil God can wait until afterward!"
From multiple doors in the vast hall, which could accommodate hundreds of giants, countless monsters poured out. Their eyes held killing intent. Their morale was at its peak under their master, the Demon Lord. Since they were forces held in reserve until now, their individual abilities would undoubtedly be exceptional.
Ren nodded, smiled, and raised her right hand.
"We've come with our full power too. We won't be defeated easily...!"
The battle was ferocious. When Mei shot a Sessho-seki (killing stone) created by Shion, the Demon Lord caught it with its dragon hand and crushed it with all its might.
The storms generated by the Half-Elf, Dark Elf, and Wind Sylph hammered, tore, and blew away the hordes of monsters. Undeterred by the onslaught, the monsters charged forward, not just stepping over the corpses of their comrades but using them as shields.
The bombs scattered by the Golem mother and daughter spread explosions one after another. Ren's friend party and the younger party led by Shou positioned themselves with the stairs (which had formed near the center of the hall) at their back, protecting Ren's group from the small fries.
El's massive Holy Light canceled out the Demon Lord's邪闇 (Evil Darkness). Ren's continuously fired Mana Bolts, unleashed while she was flying at high speed, were either deflected by the tentacle arm and the three tails, or momentarily blew the limbs back, prompting their regeneration.
Numerous demonic swords, which had been decorating the hall, floated up on their own and charged forward one after another. Ren dodged more than half, and the ones she couldn't block she batted away and shattered with her magic-infused tails and both hands.
When the dragon arm opened a maw hidden deep within its palm and unleashed an immense heat, Huri literally flew in, merged into Ren's body, and generated a fierce gale, scattering the flames as if slicing them.
"Hmph, ha-ha-ha! You cannot kill me with that, warrior from the other world!"
Ice spears, and lances transformed from the flagstones, assaulted Ren from unexpected directions. The Fox Fire, which had reached $9 \times 9 = 81$ tails, burned them to ashes and then attacked the Demon Lord. A deployed defensive barrier blocked the flames, and a pair of wings transformed into the ultimate demonic swords.
Kicking off the floor, the Demon Lord and Ren, who aimed for close-quarters combat, performed a dizzying dance. Light and darkness flew back and forth, and monsters caught in the crossfire were obliterated as if they were a joke. It was a hell where even with the power of two people's magic, two hands, and tails, Ren couldn't land a decisive blow. Even her trump card, Deepened Life Drain, couldn't take effect, as the Demon Lord would sever the targeted part the instant she aimed. Worse, the severed parts would explode, inflicting damage.
Perhaps I should have brought the Sage and Kent.
They had just chosen to regress their age, anticipating a long-term campaign. They hadn't expected the Demon Lord to appear so soon—on the 70th floor—but conversely, it meant there was a high possibility of an even greater enemy ahead. Having come this far, she didn't believe there would be a gentle ending where it "ends on the 70th floor."
If so, they had to be able to overcome this much on their own, or there was no future.
The Golem mother and daughter reversed the situation by generating blades of light and cutting into the fight. However, after a few clashes, the Demon Lord saw through their sword style and, in turn, used his demonic swords to slash their limbs.
The Golem bodies were sliced like butter. The painful sight made Ren gasp for a moment, but she immediately used Heal. Combined with El's healing magic, the damage instantly vanished. The Golems, which possess no pain sensation, aimed for the Demon Lord with their remaining weapons, not allowing a pursuit. Gradually, wounds began to accumulate on the Demon Lord's body.
"Then, how about this!"
Ren and the others were blown away by a blast of pressure. When they recovered their stance and looked, there were four huge monsters. The Four Heavenly Kings. Behind them stood the Demon Lord, whose limbs had transformed into a demon-like appearance.
"Are you surprised? The Four Heavenly Kings were originally my creations. Although they are a tier or two below those who have grown through battle experience, I can produce the same things like this—"
"What, is that all you've got?"
"What...?"
"We've already defeated the Four Heavenly Kings. Not once, but two or three times."
"We worked hard to gather this very group here."
Holy Flame—Fox Fire, whose power was reinforced and Holy Attribute added by a skill, danced wildly and incinerated the bodies of the Four Heavenly Kings. Three hundred bolts of light further pierced holes in their bodies, and a silver arrow, blessed by the wind, accurately shot through their hearts.
"Drain Blade."
The Succubus sword, which semi-materialized the power of Life Drain, rushed toward the Demon Lord. When it was deflected by a demonic sword, it stole a portion of the magic contained within and converted it into Ren's magic power.
"Meteor Strike."
The superior magic, rearranged by Ren, was reduced in power but was generated from the void and impacted like an ordinary fireball. The wind blades unleashed by the possessing Huri stole the escape routes, and close combat was sealed off by the Drain Blade, Ren's tail, and Deepened Life Drain.
"Don't get carried away...!!"
A second shockwave. A giant skeleton dragon roared. While raging with a physical strength that seemed impossible for a creature without flesh, the dragon absorbed the 'deaths'—the lives of its subordinates—created in the hall to power up. Just when Ren and the others thought the bones were shattered, the scattered pieces turned into weapons and flew, aiming for a blind spot. Just when they finally managed to shave off half its body, a massive surge of Evil Darkness erupted from within. As El desperately used her magic to cancel it out, the Demon Lord transformed the remaining bones into a sword and armor, shrinking to human size, and leaped out.
Just as Ren was about to exchange blows with the Demon Lord, it instantly teleported without warning. Ren's friends and Shou's group, who had finished off most of the small fries and were watching the battle from a distance, began to fall to the mad slashes. Healing was performed immediately, but the Demon Lord kept teleporting and slashing, increasing the damage. The more damage was inflicted, the more the Demon Lord's power increased, making it unstoppable.
How many times does he intend to transform?
A power worthy of the name Demon Lord. If left unchecked, he might be able to destroy the world by himself. But even so,
"That's our line, not yours!"
Dispel. The Drain Blade pierced deep into the Demon Lord's body after the teleportation magic was canceled. Finally, a successful Deepened Life Drain. A Sessho-seki was pounded into the hole left by the withdrawn sword, and three of the highest-grade Golem-made bombs hit the Demon Lord's body all at once.
"Not yet... it's not over yet!"
The Demon Lord, unable to maintain a coherent body, transformed into a mass of tentacles and began to spread out, threatening to fill the hall.
"What good will that do!?"
Flames burned the tentacles, and wind blades sliced them. El drank High MP Potions, which were more expensive than regular MP Potions, like water, purifying the evil energy one after another, preventing regeneration, and simultaneously wearing down the Demon Lord's power.
Finally, the center of the mass of tentacles was revealed. Ren's bolt of light shaved away the clump of tentacles, exposing a black-and-red pulsating Demonic Jewel.
"If I absorb something like this, my stomach will probably hurt...!"
Saying this, she forcefully split it in two with the Drain Blade. The shattered jewel scattered into more than ten smaller jewels in all directions. Was it planning to resurrect from the remnants of its power?
"I won't let you...!"
The power of her comrades crushed and annihilated each and every one of them.
Damn you, damn you...! Is my ambition going to be crushed here...!?
The voice of resentment echoed loudly throughout the hall.
I will summon the Evil God and destroy all the world! Only then will true peace arrive—when the land, the sky, and the sea are all gone!
"If you did that, all that would remain is void. A true darkness, different from the darkness of night. Everything would be swallowed up, and nothing would be left."
Isn't that wonderful? If I had achieved such destruction, then that would be—
After the voice faded, a torrent of dropped items rained down on the silent grand hall. Currency and jewels enough to make them worry about carrying it all. Numerous magic items, and a generous amount of World Fragments, ten times the usual amount. The lineup, which even included multiple Reincarnation Stones and Reset Stones, made Huri, whose role as a thief had been neglected lately, cheer.
"...We did it. Saint-sama, Your Majesty. Everyone. I, we, have slain the Demon Lord."
El slowly approached the ominous magic circle at the far end of the hall, which still glowed despite the Demon Lord's demise.
"A 'true darkness is wonderful,' huh. ...It seems the Evil God was the one who destroyed the world after all."
"Yeah. I thought the Evil God itself was spreading the darkness at first."
Ren nodded in agreement to Meteor's mumble. In their battles so far, Ren and the others had protected the human magic city and had the opportunity to speak with the Sage residing there (naturally, a different person from "that old man").
According to his view, the fundamental destruction of the world was caused not by the Evil God's power, but by a flaw in the world. He compared it to a tumor that would continue to spread and swallow the world. If that was the case, it made sense. The temple where Ren and the others were summoned was the only place left in the world swallowed by darkness. It was likely a place to prevent the infiltration of darkness, create World Fragments, and repair the flaw.
Ren intently watched El, who was desperately purifying the magic circle while using the remaining potions.
"I wonder if our homeland will also be swallowed by such a darkness someday."
Defeating the Demon Lord here held no grand strategic significance. Stopping the Evil God's summoning wouldn't save their original world. They didn't even need to remove the magic circle. That was El's self-satisfaction.
Nevertheless, it surely wasn't all pointless. By doing everything she could here, El would gain a sense of closure, and she could prepare herself mentally for the next battle. The Evil God must have been summoned in their original world. Therefore, the next boss was almost certainly that one. Worst case, he might have been casually summoned on the next floor, forcing them to fight his subordinates.
"Who knows. If someone attempts something reckless enough to destroy the world, it might hasten the world's demise."
"...Ah. I have an idea what you mean."
"You do? Your world is quite reckless, too."
Demonic weapons that could blow away an entire area and leave adverse effects on survivors and the land. Ren was well aware of their scars. Even excluding those, there were rumors of terrifying bio-weapons and unmanned weapons being secretly developed. Environmental issues had been loudly discussed for decades, and it might not be someone else's problem.
"We definitely need to prepare a way to go back in parallel with the conquest."
She couldn't afford to be leisurely and wait until they "clear the dungeon." Even if they clear it eventually, the psychological peace of mind would be completely different if they could return to Earth sooner. If they could send back those who wished to return, the conquest would be much easier, as they could take their time.
Meteor sighed deeply.
"You really sound like you're going to do it."
"Of course she will. She's Ren, after all."
Huri, who had ended her possession, smiled and replied. Ren smiled at the two of them, then took out her remaining potion from her storage and said,
"El. If you need more potions, I still have some."
She called out to her reliable comrade, who had worked incredibly hard.
============
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