Once again changing the point of view, here in the darkness.
"It's coming, Lili-doll!"
"There's one behind us too, Welf!"
In this place, the three of them were in the middle of an exciting(?) game of tag.
Kiri-kiri-kiri!
With the chilling sound of an iron snake crawling across the floor, two pairs of tentacles emerged from the darkness.
One of them lunged for Lili's arm.
Welf swung his greatsword to knock it away.
Boom!
"Ghk! It's disgustingly heavy!"
But the monstrous strength packed inside it sent him flying backward instead.
Still, thanks to that, Lili was able to dodge safely in the meantime.
Clack, ping! Ting!
"I knew it wouldn't work."
Putting some distance between them, she fired the bolts from the small crossbow mounted on her hand.
But as expected, the arrows bounced uselessly off the metal tentacles.
So this time she aimed for the body behind the tentacles.
Ping! Ting!
Of course, that was blocked too, as the tentacles writhed and deflected the attack.
Lili's brow furrowed on its own.
She already knew this, but... good grief, what kind of cheat was that?
"That really is perfect defense. Isn't that a little too unfair against a Level 1 Pallum and a Level 2 smith, An?"
"As they say, life is real combat. I used to say that a lot, didn't I?"
"You don't have to say it; I already know!"
Ping! Ting!
Even so, Lili refused to give up on harassing him and kept firing arrows.
To begin with, she didn't have any other real way to attack, so this kind of petty interference was all she could do.
If she didn't at least do this, they'd be caught in an instant and that would be the end of the game.
Then all the effort she'd gone to in declaring war from this side would be meaningless.
So Lili never gave up, and kept thinking of her next move.
'Still, it's a relief that An isn't moving aggressively.'
Just as she thought.
The magus was still acting with complete ease.
His true body barely moved at all, only strolling around as if on a walk.
He wasn't using any other magecraft either.
The rest was all handled by the steel tentacles as they moved to attack or defend.
That alone was already a huge problem, since they were so powerful and sturdy that Lili and Welf could barely handle them.
'Because of Welf's magic, An isn't using magecraft. But those tentacle-like magic tools seem different. I think it's probably the same principle as us using magic swords.'
The difference between an ongoing flow of magical energy and a completed spell.
In other words, it was only a small difference in whether or not an outside element could interfere.
That was the only weakness in Welf's magic, which looked like a perfect mage counter.
"Then I guess..."
After thinking and thinking, Lili stared at the magus in the darkness with certainty.
Then she nodded to herself, as if she had reached a conclusion.
That magus was probably...
'The giant outside is, when you think about it, just another magic tool. But if it were being remotely controlled, then Welf's magic would have triggered a chain explosion like those attack-and-defense spells from earlier. If that had happened, the battle would have ended easily. But that dreamlike thing never happened.'
Then there was only one answer.
The magus was carrying another magic tool right now.
And it was surely some kind of controller used to manipulate and command the giant outside.
Based on the magecraft knowledge Lili had learned from the magus, there was no other answer.
So then.
'The best case is for us to steal that magic tool! Or at the very least, we have to break it. There's really no other answer.'
In the end, Lili and Welf didn't need to defeat the magus directly.
They had exchanged those tearfully dramatic words about challenging him and going all out, but...
For Lili, as the strategist planning the operation, the most important thing was to turn the battlefield outside in their favor.
That was the most important thing, and the wisest choice.
So right now, she wasn't simply running away.
Even while fleeing desperately, she was carefully watching the magus in the darkness and searching for the controller he must have on him.
Of course, Welf, who was running with her, already knew the rough outline of all this and was going along with it.
In other words, Lili's thought was that there was no need to force themselves too hard for now.
'But there's no way An wouldn't know what I'm thinking.'
And yet he still acted so relaxed, right in front of her, as if to show it off.
That obvious carelessness and arrogance were something Lili understood perfectly, but it still made her inner feelings twist unpleasantly.
So Lili had to think even more persistently, even more thoroughly, even more exceptionally.
She had to keep thinking, and thinking, and thinking beyond what she was already thinking now.
All for the sake of her precious hero, Bell Cranel, who was suffering out there right now.
And to make sure she landed a proper blow on the magus, the source of all this!
"But since you haven't shown any sign of using another magic tool, I just can't tell..."
"Lili-doll! In front of you!"
"Huh? Ghk!"
Boom!
In the middle of all that thinking and worrying, something big and heavy flew straight toward her face.
She hurriedly ducked and barely managed to avoid it.
Immediately afterward, one steel tentacle swept past the spot where her face had just been and smashed the rubble wall behind her to pieces in a single blow.
If she had been even a little slower or made one small mistake, that would have been enough to retire her on the spot.
But there was no luxury of relief, no time to breathe a sigh of thanks.
The other three tentacles were already rushing in after her.
"Dodge it, Lili-doll!"
"Ghk, this is—!"
As Welf shouted in panic, the steel tentacles came at her from three directions at once.
Lili bit her lip hard and, in a rush of desperation...
"Damn it!"
She pulled out one of the trump cards she had been hiding all along.
Kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri!
Thud!
"Lili-doll!"
A violent impact rang out in the darkness.
Startled, Welf shouted.
But fortunately.
And strangely.
"Huh?"
Lili herself didn't get sent flying backward at all.
Instead, she succeeded in blocking the incoming tentacle with one hand.
"Hoo."
Then, as if steeling herself for something, she took a deep breath.
"[Impact!]"
Bang!
With a rough explosion, she sent one tentacle flying far backward.
And the flung tentacle seemed to have been badly dented or damaged somewhere.
It let out a rough metallic screech, kigig, and its movements became a little slower than before.
"What?! Lili-doll, how did you...?"
It was a sight so unbelievable that Welf, standing beside her, couldn't even trust his own eyes.
But the person in question, Lili, didn't feel the slightest bit of joy or awe.
More importantly, she didn't have even a moment to answer the bewildered Welf.
There were still two more tentacles coming at her.
"Tch, [Impact!]"
Bang!
Once again, just like before, she blocked the tentacle's attack and used some unknown force to send it flying.
But her astonishing struggle ended there.
Kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri!
"N-no...!"
The final, third tentacle charged at her.
However, after the repeated impacts, her stance had completely collapsed.
For some reason, even the arm she should have used to defend herself wouldn't lift properly.
As if she knew she had no way to block it any longer, she squeezed her eyes shut to dull the fear as much as possible.
And then, in that split-second of life and death...
Faaah!
"Huh?"
This time, Lili was saved in a direction she never could have expected.
Feeling a strange tug from behind, she turned her head.
And sure enough, a red cloak was pulling her body backward.
The steel tentacle swept violently through the empty space she had just occupied.
Thanks to that, Lili escaped the crisis.
"Ah, magic cloak-san!"
Flutter!
Surprisingly, what saved her from danger was the same EGO cloak the magus had once secretly given Bell as a gift.
Seeing that familiar form, the magus looked a little surprised and pleased.
So it had come in at this timing, of all times.
"Well now. There was another familiar face after all."
But why to you, and not the boy?
At the magus's question, Lili answered as if it were nothing.
"Bell got badly hurt on the 18th Floor this time."
"So it got roughed up then too."
"Yes. I'm the one repairing it right now."
"No wonder it looked a little dirty."
Flutter, flutter, flutter!
"Oh? Now you're even complaining to your parent? You really did a number on the kid's personality."
"No, Cloak-san being aggressive was always—"
"Well, whatever. Since I've seen a familiar face too, I suppose..."
Shall we keep going?
Kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri!
After the brief reunion greeting, the steel tentacles began moving again.
Seeing that, Lili also closed her mouth and struggled to her feet once more.
In the meantime, she hid her injured arm behind her back.
Watching that pitiful sight, the magus gave a bitter smile.
"By the way, an Impact Dial, huh. I never imagined you'd secretly borrow and use something that dangerous. I'm disappointed, Lili."
"You're the one who said items from surface shops don't need individual permission for lending, An."
"Yes, I did. Because even that is nothing more than a failure to me."
The magus's Impact Dial.
From his perspective, it was definitely a flawed item in many ways compared to the original.
What he had faithfully succeeded in recreating from the original was only the shock absorption and the complete nullification of impact.
Everything else had failed.
His Impact Dial didn't return twice the absorbed force; at best, it could only manage about 80% of it.
And even that would cause the dial itself to self-destruct if it wasn't used within a minute after absorbing the impact, unable to withstand the stored force.
Even after one use, the dial would break and could never be used again.
In short, it was an unstable item in every respect and a one-time consumable.
And on top of that, the part where it inflicted a fair amount of damage on the user when activated had been reproduced exactly from the original.
How laughable a failure was that?
And yet, for people like Lili, even such a failure was surely an astonishing magic tool unlike anything else in the world.
That was probably the funniest part of all.
"Using something so reckless and dangerous twice in a row. Sadly, that arm won't be usable for a while now."
"Ngh, Lili still hasn't lost!"
"Heh, yes, yes."
At his stubborn disciple's cry, the magus simply let out a small laugh.
At the same time, he gave the steel tentacles a sidelong glance to check their condition.
Three of them could still move normally without any issue.
As for the remaining one, perhaps because the hit had landed on an unlucky spot, its movements were badly impaired.
Unlike their appearance, the steel tentacles were surprisingly delicate things, which was why this had happened.
Looks like this one couldn't be relied on anymore.
In that case...
"I'll just throw it away."
After all, the hard hammering was Tsubaki's job.
As he said that, the magus casually detached one steel tentacle and let it fall away.
Watching that, Lili immediately turned and ran again without another word.
This time had been nothing more than a stroke of luck upon a stroke of luck.
Any more strain was absolutely forbidden.
"Hmm, more tag, is it?"
I'm getting bored of this.
But contrary to her intentions, the magus only gave a lukewarm reaction.
Then he grinned once, and said,
"In that case, I'll just get rid of the place you can run to."
With that, he moved the steel tentacles again.
But this time, something was different from before.
The steel tentacles writhed violently under his will.
Then, at last...
Kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri-kiri!
Clack
With a strange metallic sound...
Kiiiiing...
The tips of the tentacles began to emit a fierce light.
Just as the two fleeing people were about to turn around, wondering what was happening...
"What?! Dodge it, Welf!"
"W-whaaaaat!"
Light burst out in all directions from the darkness.
"Hahaha! Join in the glorious evolution!"
Fiuu!
Fiiiiiiiiiiiuu!
The steel tentacles were writhing wildly in all directions, their bodies twisting and thrashing.
The yellowish beams of destruction pouring from their tips melted, burned, and sliced apart everything they touched.
Within that, the only thing the two weak adventurers could do was hunch their bodies down as much as possible and narrow the area exposed to the outside as much as they could.
Only after that long period of destruction finally passed...
"Whoa..."
"What the hell..."
The darkness that had filled the space a moment ago was already completely gone.
There was no evil darkness left in a place this wide open.
What remained instead were only the cruel traces left behind by the ultimate light of destruction.
"Lili-doll, what kind of person was your master, anyway?"
"I don't know, okay? I don't know anything about stuff like this either."
The two of them wore completely stiff expressions, their faces drained of color.
At this point, even their firm determination should have been enough to break.
And yet, even now, the word "give up" still didn't appear in their eyes.
That strong spirit was more than worthy of praise.
Clap, clap, clap.
"Excellent. You 'happened' to avoid the hit, but even in a situation like this, you can still keep those eyes."
A single compliment mixed with just the right amount of mockery.
Of course, there was no reply.
The magus only gave a slight shrug.
He hadn't expected a sincere answer in the first place.
"But this is getting a bit too hopeless. Let's call it a reward for enduring this far. I suppose I can tell you now."
"What kind of nonsense are you trying to spout now?"
"Lili, I'm going to relieve one of your worries."
At that, Lili looked puzzled.
But then, at the magus's next words...
"Lili, the 'controller' for the golem you've been desperately searching for is none other than me."
Her expression twisted beyond measure.
The worst possible development.
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