Eternal Darkness is a dungeon with twenty-five floors in all.
It’s not extremely long, but it’s not short enough for most beginners either.
Considering the beginner-friendly Moon’s Eclipse has five levels, and the Five Great Dungeons each have over fifty, Eternal Darkness sits roughly in the middle.
And in the middle of that midsize dungeon was the fifteenth floor. The most middle of the middles.
The boss of that level didn’t have otherworldly strength like the one waiting on the final level, nor did it have a cheap set of rules like the Lord of Death on the tenth floor.
Still, it wasn’t a complete pushover. It had a tough body, a healthy supply of spiritual power, and the area it called home was enough of a pain to make it way more of a challenge than the Grim Ogre and White Ogre on the fifth floor.
This middle-of-the-road boss made its home on the middle floor of a midsize dungeon. It was the midmost of middling midbosses you could imagine. That was the best way to describe the boss we were about to take on: Kamaku the Doomquill Condor.
✦ ✦ ✦
The massive baobab tree’s roots stretched across the infinite sky.
And there, sitting on a tree floating roughly a thousand feet above the ground, was the boss.
It had sickly purple plumage, and its massive body seemed imposing even from far away. It had the same dignified bird-of-prey glare we’d seen last time.
Kamaku the Doomquill Condor, guardian of the skies and ruler of the fifteenth floor, continued to stare down at us from its perch atop the tree, just as it had on our last visit.
“Long time no see, you boneless chicken. We’ve come back for seconds.”
I brandished Eckesachs and taunted the bird. Thinking back, I realized that a lot had happened since our last visit.
We had faced off against Szilard.
We had met Jupiter.
She and I had played dating sims together. I remembered all the exciting and serious conversations we had shared.
Ahh, the memories are coming back to me. It feels like it just happened yesterday…!
“What do you mean, ‘like it just happened yesterday’? It literally did happen yesterday.”
“You’re weird.”
“……”
I wished the others would take a hint. I was just trying to have one of those moments before a big battle.
“…What kind of moments? I don’t get it.”
“Jupi, I think this is that edgy chuuni thing he’s always going on about.”
“That’s not it at all!”
I couldn’t believe Haruka had the gall to teach a young kid words that she didn’t even know how to use herself!
“…I think she’s right. Kyouichirou, you’re very chuuni.”
“See?! I told you, I told you! Kyou’s a little chuuni edgelord!”
“Grrr…!”
These two are conspiring against me!
“Well, whatever. Point is, it’s time to get our revenge on the fifteenth floor! Are you punks ready to do this?!”
“The only punk around here is you.”
“…Please try that again.”
“…Are your preparations complete, oh beauteous damsels?”
“Wooow!” they cheered, raising their hands.
Man, these two are exhausting. Why do they have to be picky about every little thing like a couple of middle-school kids?
“I am a middle school kid!”
“I’m still in elementary school. Sixth-year, correspondence.”
Ah. Right, right. Everyone here’s literally a brat.
“I gotta say, though, you seem to be in much higher spirits today, Jupiter. It’s almost like yesterday didn’t even happen.”
As soon as I pointed this out, Jupiter, who had been talkative up until now, suddenly looked embarrassed and hesitated.
“Yesterday I…was a bit negative is all. But you both accepted me for who I am. So I’m going to give it my all for the sake of this party.”
“Sounds good to me. We’re counting on you, Bombardier.”
“Leave it to me,” she said with a nod. There was no sign of doubt in her eyes.
It seemed like we didn’t have to worry about her losing control anytime soon.
“All right, then. I think it’s about time for you to drop that birdy.”
“Okay.”
Jet-black spiritual power began to surround Jupiter.
Looks like she’s ready. Good. Hit it where it hurts.
“Fall.”
In an instant, a jet-black bolt crashed down onto the airborne tree.
There was a flash of light.
A terrifying thunderclap.
Suddenly, a pillar of fire erupted at the top of the massive tree.
A thousand or more feet above, a discharge point had formed, and black lightning bolts continuously poured out of it.
What’s your move, bird? Your favorite spot’s about to come crashing down.
“KRYYYYYYY!”
A deafening screech came from the blaze that had begun to encompass the tree. With its perch on fire, the large bird had finally decided to get off its butt.
The Doomquill Condor spread its toxic-looking wings and took to the sky.
Mere moments later, the massive baobab tree had been blown to bits by the dark lightning bolts. Chunks of what remained of it came crashing down in the distance.
That was one hell of an opening move.
Just having a bombardier on the team really makes a difference… Anyway, keep it together, Kyouichirou! I gotta start thinking about our plan of attack.
“Get ready to intercept it! Haruka, you start setting up Futsu-no-Mitama and keep an eye out for any incoming attacks. Send the copies of Azure Skies up above us, just in case this thing’s got any energy-based moves.”
“Gotcha!”
“Jupiter, you start frying that chicken! Try focusing on attacks that hit from the air in a straight line and have the least impact on the ground! Don’t worry about your positioning. I’ll take care of that and keep you safe!”
“…Are you saying what I think you’re saying…?”
“Piggyback time!”
The silver-haired girl paused for an unnaturally long time before nodding.
“I very reluctantly accept.”
“Don’t give me that. My back’s the safest place for you!”
“It’s not your fault, Kyouichirou. But piggyback rides make me feel like a little kid…”
“That’s silly, you are a kid! Just leave it to your big bro Kyouichirou and hold on tight!”
“…Boo.”
After voicing her complaints in the most obvious way imaginable, she climbed up onto my back.
“You got a good grip back there?”
“Yes… It’s like holding on to rocks.”
“That’s just proof that my muscles are primed and ready to go. Just hold on tight and—
“Here it comes!”
A giant fireball came falling down toward us from the sky.
Kamaku had begun its attack. It had produced three fireballs from its beak, and they were barreling down at us at tremendous speeds.
It’s not gonna be that easy, bird boy.
“Haruka! Intercept it!”
“You got it!”
There was no chance that those meteoric balls of fire would ever reach us. The treasured anti-magic blade of the Aono line was able to cut through energy itself. Our foe’s attack was as good as useless.
“Haaaaahhhh!”
Haruka let out a piercing scream as a destructive storm of blades danced through the air.
Shing! The sextet of swords sliced through the rumbling fireballs with a satisfying metallic sound. It was like watching a candle try and resist a typhoon.
Kamaku fought back by firing several rounds of fireballs but to no avail. The six sword clones of Azure Skies sliced through each of them with a single blow.
“All right! Looks like we’ve got its long-range barrage covered. You ready, Jupiter? It’s about time for us to begin our counterattack.”
“I’ll try.”
The pigtailed piggybacker rustled and squirmed on my back.
She seemed to be creating a discharge point.
Usually, long-range astral skills were fired by first creating a discharge point and then releasing the attack from those points.
If spiritual power was the gunpowder, and astral skills were the bullets, then discharge points were akin to the muzzle of a gun.
The most basic element of effective long-range attacks was creating discharge points capable of accommodating the scale, power, range, and trajectory of your astral skills.
Truly skilled long-distance attackers were able to create discharge points further away by using bypasses—arteries that connect the discharge points to the user’s spiritual power.
Jupiter was skilled enough to use bypasses to set up discharge points miles away from her.
I focused my ability to detect spiritual power as much as I could and expanded it before looking up at the sky.
Following the trails of spiritual power with my eyes to their terminal point, I saw something I could hardly believe.
“Ha-ha! Damn!”
The sight made me laugh unconsciously.