After a spectacular display of power, Sarie walked over to the rest of the group with little sign of injury.

 Although…. She did seem a little tired.

 “If this chamber follows some of the other patterns, and this is the boss room, we should have been able to get out of here finally,” Lyn had said while looking at the crater created by Sarie.

 Dalen had sighed.

 “Well… let’s just hope she hadn’t destroyed any mechanisms that allowed us to.”

 “What she did to the floor was very impressive, I must say,” commented Ethym.

 Alum wasn't sure what he was talking about and had sent him a questioning glance.

 “What do you mean… Father,” Alum had asked.

 He had been a little shy about it, but Emerine insisted he called them Father and Mother.

 A somewhat proud smile had crept up his face; it’s nice to have a son finally. He thought.

 Ahem

  “You may not have noticed, but had any of your spells dealt any significant damage to the surroundings?”

 “.....”

 Now that he thought about it that surely had been the case, hadn’t it?

 “Some ruins are like this, and that’s what makes them worth entering and exploring,” said Emerine.

 “Though, there are some dungeons that operate similarly to ruins.”

 “Right… those get mixed up pretty often, don’t they?”

 Looking at Ethym and Emerine talk to each other in a relaxing manner had made Alum feel happy; he wasn't sure why exactly, but it was probably because his parents never spoke.

 (….. The atmosphere is relaxing around these two.)

 He then worried a little.

 (It’s still our honeymoon phase… and I’m not sure we will end up like these two… still if Ame stops loving me, and we go our ways…. No, I think we will have a healthy relationship that lasts for years to come.)

 “What are you thinking about?” Jan had asked.

 “Huh? Oh… about the future?”

 Jan smiled and lightly tapped Alum’s shoulder with his fist.

 “That’s a good mentality.”

 Alum had nodded and glanced at Sarie.

 “Exhausted?” Alum had asked.

 She had let out a small breath and relaxed.

 “A bit.”

 “Hopefully, you hadn’t destroyed any mechanism that allowed us to leave….” Rika said.

 Sarie hadn’t said anything… since she had damaged the chamber pretty badly despite its astronomically high durability.

 “.... It’s probably fine,” Sarie had said while looking away from Rika’s glare.

 “.... Saire, you don’t have much mana left, do you?” Nela had asked.

 Sarie had shaken her head and sighed.

 “... Not a lot, but enough.”

 “..... Okay then. How about you?”

 Rika had glanced at Alum.

 “Well… can’t say I used all that much in this fight,” he had replied.

 “Oh? Great, we still have absurd firepower.”

 “Huh?”

 Alum had been a little confused.

 He was sure that he hadn’t used any spectacular spells that made her think he was capable of such destruction.

 “Good eye,” Jua had said.

 “Well… I assumed, but now that his own party member says it, it's great news.” Rika sighed with relief.

 “..... You don’t have to worry about injuring anyone, okay?” Nuli reassured him.

 And then continued.

 “After all, we managed to block Sarie’s Spirit Bomb.”

 “Okay….”

 — :::: —

 After the fight, they looked around the chamber more freely and collected some of the treasure that hadn’t been incinerated by Sarie.

 After all, the things that hadn’t been destroyed were magic items. And those were the items the researchers had been looking for.

 They had hoped to discover new tools and ways to use or recreate them.

 “Hmm, this is….”

 As Emerine pondered her husband, Ethym looked closely at it as well.

 “An artifact….”

 “A big find?” Turen had asked the couple.

 “Yes… very much so… but it’s ominous.” Emerine had said in a low voice.

 “Hey! Over here!” Someone had yelled.

 Everyone had turned their attention to the voice and walked over.

 It had been a keyhole in the shape of a sword.

 “.....”

 “The artifact….” Ethym had muttered.

 “Right….” Turen had said and looked at the sword in his hand.

 Everyone had gathered around and discussed for a while.

 “What do we do?” Jan had asked.

 “I’d say it’s the only way out….” Dalen had commented.

 “Right…” Keelen had said.

 “I… I think we should rest…. Or not….”

 As Lyn had said that, the chamber had started to crumble, and the space around them had gotten strange.

 They all looked at each other and sighed heavily.

 “Right….” had come out of Sarah’s mouth.

 “Well, we wouldn’t want to get lost in chaotic space now, do we?” Ethym had commented.

 Although it had been a little strange for them to speak directly to the adventurers, Ethym and Emerine had been doing a lot ever since they announced Alum, their son-in-law….

 They had inserted the sword, and the space around them had changed in an instant.

 This had been even more bizarre since where they were right now… had been a field of flowers and a bright sunny sky.

 And in the middle of this field, they could see a black object in the distance.

 Shivers had been sent down their spines as they couldn’t classify the monster's rank.

 From the look of it, it had been a ghost armour that emitted so much mana the researchers had difficulty standing.

 “...So this is the real deal,” Sarah had complained.

 And although she had complained, she had had a grin on her face.

 “Your bad habit is showing….” Keelen had said.

 “Oh, shut it!”

 And before anyone had noticed, a blade had landed in front of them, and the armour had also been right in front of them and swung its longsword.

 Sarie and Sarah had managed to block the sudden attack, which had left anyone unprepared to get blasted away since the shockwave had been so strong.

 And despite both Sarah and Sarie parrying the attack, the armour hadn’t been knocked back, and its longsword instead had gone through theirs.

 Shocked by this, they dodged backwards only to get lightly cut.

 “..... Shit.”

 And rightfully so. This thing hadn’t been staggering despite the two of them working together.

 Alum and everybody else had regained their footing and activated barriers.

 Keelen and Turen had rushed to Sarah’s and Sarie’s side to act as shields, and Nuli and Rika had buffed them.

 Lyn had activated a barrier around the researchers, who fell unconscious, and Enio had stood guard.

 Nela had been pretty badly injured, and Jua’s arrows hadn’t reached since they would fly their way after she had fired them.

 “.... This one is going to be a hassle,” she had commented.

 “Seems like projectiles don't work….” Nuli had said.

 Alum had been healing the more injured people, and Emerine and Ethym, luckily, hadn’t been one of them.

 “Are you two alright?” he had politely asked them.

 “... Yeah, Ethym caught me….” Emerine had said with a slight blush.

 She had felt a little ashamed since this hadn’t been the right time to feel embarrassed, but she couldn’t help it.

 “Yeah… I’m fine, although…..”

 He had looked over at Sarie and Sarah, who had struggled to fend off the armour’s attacks.

 Even durable and strong frontliners like Keelen and Turen had struggled to defend against it. And the shockwaves could be felt even from this distance.

 “.....”

 Alum had pulled out Depth Cutter and drained mana from it.

 His eyes were now shining, and he had had a calm look. Emerine and Ethym had noticed the change.

 ““Be safe,”” they had said.

 Which had snapped Alum out of it, and he had turned his head.

 “Thanks,” he had said with a soft smile.

 Enhancing his physical capabilities, he dashed toward the armour.

 Although he hadn’t been as good with the blade as Sarie or Sarah, he still had known how to fight melee. At least it had been better than firing a strong spell only for it to come flying back toward them….

 Closing in on the armour, Sarie and Sarah looked a little shocked to find Alum going melee. Sarah had shortly infused her attacks with strong wind magic and managed to stagger the armour. Sarie followed with a swift blow, knocking the armour back.

 This had created an opening for Alum as he had stabbed the armour and blasted it backwards, leaving a static electricity trail.

 It had sent flower petals everywhere, and through the smoke had come a flying projectile.

 Keelen had attempted to block the longsword that flew their way and had been knocked to the side. Turen, who had been right behind him, had been pushed back a few meters and stopped the blade.

 He had sighed a bit of relief, only to feel shivers down his spine. The armour had been right in front of him, and in a swift motion, it had blasted Turen up in the air.

 Later, raising its blade, immense mana had gathered, and dark energy rose, hitting the chamber's ceiling.

 And it had slashed in a downward motion.

 “Shit! He will die at this rate!” screamed Sarah.

 She had dashed toward the armour as fast as she could, but Sarie had blinked beside it and struck its blade, which had caused the attack to miss Turen by a small margin.

 Sarah had noticed something was wrong with the attack itself and had dashed toward Turen, grabbed him, and launched them far away from where the attack was.

 And luckily for them, her hunch had been correct.

 The attack had caused a ripple of space, which slowly closed, and once the space ripple closed, nothing was left.

 Turen had been injured from being blasted into the air and gasped heavily.

 “Thanks….”

 “Hmpf, getting old?” Sarah had jokingly asked.

 “Oh, shut it, we're the same age!”

 “Well, now you seem lively.”

 Sarie, on the other hand, hadn’t been so lucky. After changing the trajectory of the strike, her blade had gotten grabbed. She released her grip and tried to back away, but it was too late. She had been kicked in the abdomen and had been sent flying.

 Her armour had broken, and her mana had been almost depleted. Luckily, she hadn’t been severely injured. Before the attack had landed, she had poured a considerable amount of mana she had left into the mana armour covering her.

 But her muscles had been sore, making it difficult for her to move.

 She looked at the simulated sky and let out a short breath.

 (It seems like big sister will—)

 And before she had finished her train of thought, Alum had caught her in his arms.

 In her eyes, he had looked so reliable, and this had been the first time she’d been saved like this. Her consciousness had been fading.

 “Thanks…” Sarie had said softly.

 “You… should rest.”

 “I can’t but… I can barely move….”

 Alum sighed as he rushed toward the barrier and the others while Keelen and Sarah were distracting the armour.

 “Is she alright?!” Rika had cried as Alum had gotten closer.

 “She’s fine, but she’s too exhausted.”

 “I-I see.”

 She had been relieved, and so had everyone, but now that their strongest fighter was down, they could only hope that a miracle had happened.

 And as Alum had laid her down, Dalen had come out of the shadows with an injured Turen. Dalen himself had just regained consciousness and went to Turen and Sarah as fast as he could.

 “..... I’m sorry to say, but….”

 Before he could finish his words, a huge explosive sound could be heard, and Keelen had flown toward them. He had still been standing but had been roughed up very badly and severely bleeding.

 Sarah, on the other hand, had been fighting it with the help of Lyn and Nuli as Rika was healing both Turen and Keelen.

 Jan and Jua now had come back and had grim looks on their face.

 While they were fighting the armour, Jua and Jan had gone off to see if there was a possible exit. But they couldn’t find one.

 Everyone had been quiet and judging by how things were. They all knew they were going to die.

 Alum had taken a deep breath and killed his emotions.

 Emerine had grabbed his sleeve and had a sad expression on her face.

 “Don’t…. Don’t go!” she had cried.

 It had taken them all to realise this since they had been overly reliant on Sarie and Sarah, but… now that one of them was down and the other was fighting for her life, Emerine couldn’t help but feel lost.

 Alum hadn’t even looked at her, and he had closed the distance between him and the armour in an instant.

 Sarah had noticed that Alum was approaching and had used all the mana she had left to create an opening.

 The instant their blade had clashed, a powerful gust of wind had lifted the armour and sent it away, and manipulating that wind, she had created a powerful vacuum chamber, trapping it and shredding it little by little.

 She had fallen down on her knees and watched Alum as he had passed her.

 (Good luck.) she had thought before passing out.

 Around the vacuum chamber, Alum had created mirrors and shot a plasma ray at them, letting them bounce and shred the living armour. Even though the plasma rays had been powerful, they hadn’t done as much damage as he had hoped.

 Realising his attempt had been futile, he had created a large [Abyssal Depth] and trapped them in it.

 Later, Alum emitted so much mana that it filled the whole chamber.

 Suddenly, the armour took him more seriously, broke out of Sarah’s vacuum chamber, and threw its sword at Alum.

 It had pierced through his chest, but he hadn’t cared as he continued to release an immense amount of mana.

 The armour had teleported to its blade and pulled it out of Alum’s body. Still emitting a lot of mana, the armour had raised its blade, and before it could strike.

 Alum had a smile on his face. His eyes weren’t glowing anymore.

 Instead… they had lost their light.

 The armour had realised that it had been surrounded by Alum’s [Droplet bombs].

 It had tried throwing its sword away to teleport out of there, but it had hit a highly condensed droplet and stopped in the middle of the air.

 “Figured… you can’t use a barrier…. Can you…?” Alum had spoken softly.

 It had glared at Alum.

 “Ame…thely….. For…give, me.”

 Alum had lost consciousness, and so had the will that pressured the condensed droplets.

 And as soon as the droplets had gone off, his barrier had instantly blown up due to the explosion's pressure. Now, fill the chamber with water of a 5-meter depth and blast the armour to pieces.

 It still persisted, and the bits and pieces of the armour slowly pieced themselves together as it marched toward the survivors.