[The quest was completed successfully.]

[The reward will be distributed soon.]

Vira was just one spot higher than Zaran, the number two among A-rank demons, and yet, Mika could understand how great the difference between those two was just by looking at her.

Being the number one A-rank demon also meant that she was the closest to an S-rank demon, a being that was most likely on the same level as the semi-transcendental beings Mika faced so far.

But despite that, her powers were off the charts.

"..."

Mika, the other two and Lily, who was watching from afar, were not able to move due to the pressure.

"How did that girl manage to capture such a thing in the first place...?" Vira muttered annoyed, ignoring the presence of the others.

In the back of his head Mika thought that maybe, just maybe, Vira would have been capable of dealing with the floor boss on her own regardless if Mika and the others were there or not.

It was only because of the floor boss’ carelessness and overreliance on its offense that it neglected its defense, leading to its defeat on Mika’s hand. And maybe its loss of human instincts also played a role here as those instincts were responsible for defensive reflexes among other things.

In return for its humanity, it gathered more power but that power was useless once it came in contact with Excalibur, which nullified its abilities.

"How much time do I have left...?" Mika murmured nervously.

[14 seconds.]

He gritted his teeth in fear and frustration.

The fight against the floor boss already drained them. Not only Mika but Sara and Belian were in rough states, making it impossible to go up against a new enemy, who was at least at the same level as the floor boss.

They had to find a way to escape.

Mika gripped his rusty sword.

"Get to Lily and find a way out of here! I will stall her!" Mika yelled with sweat rolling down his face.

Pressing their eyes shut, the two silently agreed and ran from there.

The three knew that they had no clue on how to get away from the sixth floor but they also realized that it was meaningless to stay on the spot. Even if they did not know yet, they had to try and find a solution.

"How brave of you." Vira huffed with a smirk.

"But do you really think you alone can handle me? You may be the wielder of Excalibur but in your current state it would be a piece of cake to kill you." she added.

Then without further ado, Mika was about to draw his sword.

"Ack!"

However, he suddenly fell to his knees, holding his head with one head.

[Reward will be distributed now.]

[You will receive the fifth installment now.]

"Aaarrghh!" Mika groaned loudly in agony, leaving Vira in confusion.

"You’re too noisy." she said coldly, delivering a kick to his temple and knocking him out.

In the meantime, Belian and Sara almost joined up with Lily, who also ran desperately towards them.

"L-Lily! We have to get away from here!" Sara shouted.

"We can’t leave Mika behind!" Lily yelled back.

"..."

Belian was biting his lip before he picked up his pace.

"Belian?! What are you doing?!"

Without saying a word, he lifted Lily up and carried her like a grain sack.

"We can’t let his efforts go to waste." Belian said frustratingly.

"Too late for that."

"?!"

Suddenly, Vira appeared in front of them, flying above them.

They stopped running and looked at her until they heard the sound of something falling bluntly down behind them.

"M-Mika...?" Sara said shakingly.

"N-No!" Lily shouted as she freed herself from Belian and went to Mika.

Belian immediately took out his relic and was ready to fight her.

Clearly knowing that he stood no chance, he still jumped at her with uneasiness accompanying his movements.

Vira sighed.

"Get down." she stated sharply.

At her words, Belian suddenly felt an immense weight on his body, dropping him down on his hands instantly.

"Ugh...!" he grumbled as he got pressed even further to the ground.

He tried to lift his face even though it felt like his neck was about to snap.

"!"

But as soon as he looked up, he saw Vira’s heel hammering down on him.

"Beli- Uergh!"

And before Sara could even draw her sword, Vira appeared in front of her and rammed her fist into her abdomen.

Out of four people, three were down, leaving only the teary Lily, who was standing in front of the motionless Mika. She spread her arms wide as if she wanted to protect him.

It was then that their bodies started to slowly glow, meaning that they were about to get transported somewhere else.

Still, Vira wanted to finish up and pointed at Lily’s right shoulder.

"!"

A loud crack echoed in the vast desert, followed by Lily’s agonizing scream.

Vira, who closed on her, grabbed her face with one hand and slammed her brutally to the ground, making her unconscious as well.

The light engulfed their entire bodies now.

And then, they all disappeared from the lowest floor.

Returning to the present.

Vira, who was sitting on Dugea’s throne, deactivated her ability on Mika, Belian, Sara and Lily and let them fall down in front of Ophelia and the others, who were on their hands and were fighting against the immense pressure.

"Well, then Dugea... Shall we have a little talk?" Vira suggested with a smirk as she still sat comfortably on the throne as if it was her own.

"W-what do you want from me...?" Dugea asked nervously as well as annoyedly.

"Join my army." Vira stated.

"Hm? Join what?"

"Join me in my fight against Leviathan."

"!"

Dugea widened her eyes.

"Are you crazy?"

"I’m currently assembling a troupe capable of taking down that monster. And as I strolled around I thought that you may be a nice addition to my troupe."

"As if I would join you for such a ridiculous goal...! Why do you even want to take Leviathan down? Even our lie-"

"Watch your mouth."

All of a sudden, Vira’s expression turned cold and threatening, upon which Dugea flinched.

"In my army are only talented and strong people. Aside from humans, there are also a few promising demons. Heck, I even recruited a member from that so-called Grand Order. But I won’t stop just there, I will expand that army so that it will be able to kill Leviathan under my leadership."

"And I’m telling you that you’re delusional..." Dugea retorted carefully.

"Will you join me? Yes or no?" Vira ignored her statement and cut straight to the chase again.

"..."

Dugea gulped down her saliva before she gave her answer.

"N-no." she said.

"How unfortunate." Vira sighed.

She stretched her hand to her.

"Tch!"

Dugea immediately threw marbles at her, which were glowing. However, before anything could pop out of those marbles they shattered into dozens of pieces.

"Your ability could have really helped us, you know?"

"I-I don’t care! I don’t want to waste my life on something so idiotic!"

Dugea pulled out other marbles and activated them beside her.

Then, four demons appeared from there.

"What’s wrong, Dugea?"

"It’s rare for you to call us out."

"Are you unsatisfied with the Hell Floor?"

"Hm? Isn’t that Vira...?"

"There’s no time to explain things!" Dugea yelled.

"W-wait! Are we really fighting against Vira?!"

The demons she summoned were the demons, who supervised the Hell Floor and were responsible for the gimmicks which acted as the floor boss there.

"B-but it takes time to create a spell to fight her...!" one of the demons complained.

"Tch...!"

Dugea was in a tight spot. Knowing Vira, she would kill anyone, who was not agreeing with her. But there was no better option, after all, she had to choose between getting killed by Leviathan, a being whom she could not even dream of touching, or Vira, who was at least touchable.

"Just give it your best shot, guys!" Dugea yelled as she stormed to Vira.

"Truly... What a waste."

Five demons were charging at her but she still remained unfazed.

"..."

Ophelia and the others could only watch from the sidelines in utter shock and confusion.

"Die."

Following that, Vira clapped her hands vertically together.

And simultaneously, Dugea and the other demons were crushed midair in the same manner as the floor boss of the lowest floor.

The place started to rumble.

Cracks appeared in the dark space and light shone through.

"Ugh!" Ophelia groaned silently as she was blinded by that light.

Then, the entire space was engulfed in light, forcing everyone to close their eyes.

And following the loud sound of something shattering, like glass, the light dispersed.

"W-we’re outside...?"

"As a result of her death, the dungeon collapsed. Therefore, we’re indeed outside."

"!"

Ophelia turned her head to the person, who answered and stood in front of her.

Even after killing four high C-rank demons, one A-rank demon and a semi-transcendental being, knocking out Mika, Belian, Sara and Lily and having Ophelia and the others on the ground, Vira did not even break a sweat.