Ian and the party members stepped into the final room of this labyrinth.

It was a space wider than any other room they had seen in the labyrinth so far.

As soon as they took a step inside, a bone-chilling cold suddenly seeped in.

...This is unusual.

Everyone instinctively realized that something was here.

Ian moved his steps slowly and arrived at the center of the room.

As he raised his torch, something blurry and invisible shimmered in front of him.

Upon catching the light, it gradually began to take on a form.

It was the boss of this labyrinth, a Banshee.

Ian muttered silently to himself.

Of all things.

He really shouldn’t have thought that things were going well.

It seemed his mistake was thinking he might be able to clear this without using all the Purifiers and even have some left over.

Discovering the monster that had appeared like a ghost in mid-air, Rin and Lia took their positions in the front.

Ian shouted from behind so everyone could hear.

’It’s a Banshee! It’ll scream during the fight, and hearing it will build up erosion!’

’H-how do we block it?’

’You can’t!’

’What?!’

Since it was a ghost-type, methods like stunning it to stop its abilities wouldn’t work.

It was an attack they had to endure even while knowing it was coming.

’Then what do we do!’

’We have to finish it as quickly as possible!’

There was no choice but to take it down before it was too late.

Everyone immediately understood that they didn’t have much time.

It was an opponent that could be either easy or difficult.

If they were lucky enough to get bearable curses and buy time, the difficulty of the battle would drop significantly.

However, if the opposite happened, they could lose due to curses even in a situation where they were fully capable of winning.

How much erosion they could withstand while it continuously built up throughout the fight.

It was a match of luck and time.

The battle began, and just before Rin and Lia attempted the first strike.

The Banshee’s mouth opened, and immediately its scream echoed in all directions.

Along with a headache that felt like her ears were being ripped out, the largest amount of erosion they had ever experienced in the labyrinth rushed in at once.

Everyone curled up in pain, but fortunately, no one was afflicted with a curse this time.

’This thing...!’

A moment later, the screaming stopped.

The Banshee stood there defenselessly without taking any action.

An opening!

Rin, who had stumbled for a moment, immediately lunged in and swung her sword.

Rin’s sword flew toward the Banshee, which was floating still in the air.

However, Rin’s blade passed through the Banshee without any resistance.

Just like a ghost.

’Eh....’

Wait, come to think of it, it’s a ghost in the first place...!

Rin asked Ian in a fluster.

’What do I do about this?’

’Keep attacking! It’ll eventually work if you keep at it!’

It was the Banshee’s trait, Etherealize.

A trait that consumes MP to nullify attacks.

They had to keep attacking to deplete its MP before they could deal damage.

When the attacks from Rin and Lia, who had approached closely, slashed through the Banshee’s body several times, the cold grew stronger along with an eerie sensation.

The Banshee’s face whipped around and made eye contact with Rin.

’Rin, it’s magic! Get to the back!’

The Banshee’s eyes glowed as cold air gathered, and frost spread across the floor.

Sharp ice shards flew toward Rin, who was the closest.

Rin, who had already increased the distance after hearing Ian’s warning, ran to the opposite side and dodged the successive magic attacks.

Taking advantage of the opening, Lia approached from behind the Banshee and swung her sword wide.

Similarly, that attack passed through the Banshee’s body futilely, leaving only a trail of burning light.

...It doesn’t feel like the attacks are landing at all.

Lia thought as she swung her sword a few times before retreating.

Following Ian’s instructions, Rin and Lia repeated the process of attacking and retreating whenever an opening appeared.

Fortunately, the Banshee’s reactions were simple.

It didn’t care about being attacked and simply targeted whatever was closest.

The Banshee was following the simple behavior pattern characteristic of undead, devoid of intellect or reason.

The frost-based attacks certainly looked dangerous, but since the target direction and signs were obvious, there was no reason to be hit.

The Banshee’s attacks failed to deal any damage to Rin and Lia.

Occasional ice shards were blocked by Mika’s barrier.

Thus, the battle itself proceeded repetitively without any dangerous situations.

The problem was that there wasn’t much time left.

Once again, the scream.

The continuously accumulating erosion exceeded the threshold, and eventually, new curses began to appear one by one on Ian and the party members.

Rin and Lia, who retreated hastily, felt unknown curses binding their bodies.

[Halved Attack Power] and [Dizziness].

Upon confirming that both were afflicted with curses that affected combat, Ian shouted.

’Rin, Lia! Drink!’

In a situation where they had to finish off the opponent as quickly as possible, they couldn’t leave curses that dropped attack power and accuracy unaddressed.

Both drank the Purifiers they had beforehand and cured the curses immediately.

Curses also increased one by one for Mika, who was maintaining the barrier, as well as Tanya and Ian.

’Tanya. Holy Water next.’

’Yes!’

The battle was nearing its end.

The Banshee’s blurry body was becoming more distinct, and it felt like the attacks were starting to work bit by bit.

There wasn’t much left.

At the same time as that thought, the limit finally came for the two fighting.

The scream they had heard several times but could never get used to.

Along with a headache that felt like her skull was splitting, Lia eventually couldn’t endure it and stopped in her tracks.

’Ugh....’

- [Curse: Exhaustion]

Her whole body felt heavy, as if she were submerged in water.

After the scream, a large attack follows immediately.

Knowing this, Lia tried to retreat right away, but her body wouldn’t move at all.

Unable to withstand the weight of her armor, Lia eventually staggered and fell to her knees.

The Banshee’s gaze turned toward Lia, who hadn’t managed to get away.

Rin shouted urgently toward Lia.

’Watch out!’

The cold air emanating from the Banshee swept toward Lia.

’Lia! Raise your shield!’

Ian lunged in behind Lia.

As the holy oil burned, a pure white light flared up from the lantern he held high.

While the freezing cold poured out and frost formed on the floor, the white flames rose and blocked the chill.

Ian surveyed the situation from behind Lia’s shield.

The state of the Banshee and the mercenaries, the time remaining....

In this state, Lia cannot participate in the battle.

It’s not impossible for Rin to exhaust the Banshee’s remaining health alone, but if even one more critical curse appeared in the meantime, the entire party would be in danger.

If they pushed through... they could probably win.

However, the possibility of someone getting seriously injured or dying was also high.

Another attempt could be arranged somehow, but the loss of a key member is irreversible.

During the short window while the holy oil lasted, Ian examined every aspect of the situation and reached a conclusion.

What he had gained from experiencing various situations in the labyrinth over a long period was this:

Accepting failure without regret as quickly as possible before the losses grow larger,

And in the situation where the damage is minimized.

Ian decided to abandon this expedition and return.

’Let’s retreat. When I give the signal, drink this and run out of the room no matter what.’

’There’s not much left, if I can just hold on a bit more....’

’No.’

Ian handed Lia a health potion and shouted toward Tanya and Rin.

’Tanya! Use all the smoke bombs when I signal! Rin, draw the attacks for just a moment while Lia gets out!’

’Yes!’

Tanya bit her lip as she prepared the smoke bombs according to Ian’s command.

They were almost there.

Even for Tanya, who had entered a labyrinth for the first time, it was a flawless expedition.

No member had made a major mistake. Surely, nine times out of ten, they would have succeeded.

If only there had been one more Purifier left for Lia.

If she hadn’t used that critical Purifier herself back then.

Though Tanya understood with her head that it was an unavoidable situation, it continued to weigh on her mind.

A single Erosion Purifier shimmered before Tanya’s eyes.

Yes. If only... there was just one more of these....

’...Eh?’

’Tanya! What is that!’

She snapped out of it too late after hearing Ian’s shout.

An Erosion Purifier was gripped in Tanya’s hand.

It wasn’t an illusion; it was a real, physical object.

──.

Tanya heard a voice.

A sound like a singing whisper, similar to what she had heard at the spring.

...It’s this sound again.

In that whisper, Tanya felt a certain will becoming increasingly clear.

It wasn’t that the sound had changed, but that she was gradually coming to understand it.

It wasn’t a language.

It was a primal will that had existed before languages were ever formed.

It spoke to Tanya.

Something glowing flew toward Tanya.

A light more vivid than when she had seen it at the spring.

Tanya realized that it had granted her request.

’Did you give this to me...?’

...Affirmation.

Feeling that meaning, Tanya nodded.

However, she had no room to think about what was in front of her or what the situation was.

No time to even say thank you.

Since the battle was still raging right in front of her.

Looking down at the Purifier in her hand, Tanya muttered in her heart.

I have to get this to Lia quickly.

──.

The potion bottle disappeared the moment she blinked, just as it had suddenly appeared.

It felt like it had been an illusion, but she could now understand what was happening.

Something invisible took the bottle from Tanya’s hand and vanished beyond space.

’This is....’

Lia looked down at the potion bottle that was suddenly in her hand.

Not only that.

’Tanya! Did you do this?’

’I-I think so!’

Holy Water, Haste Orb, health potions....

The holsters that had been emptied as the battle dragged on were full once again.

The flying light moved as if it were reading Tanya’s thoughts.

In Tanya’s vision, the appearance of the something flying around the room became increasingly clear.

...A fairy?

Tanya muttered while looking up at the air.

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[Summon Fairy]

- [Spirit Magic] Trait

- Summons a fairy.

: Ignores impact and moves across space.

: Occasionally presents random items to the summoner.

: Performs non-combat actions on behalf of the summoner.

※ [Item Gathering] [Item Transfer] [Item Throwing] [Quick Slot Registration]

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