We soon reached the 30th floor.
In the center of the boss room appeared a knight in armor riding on a black horse. From the neck up, however, he was not a human but a bat.
"Here it comes, leap!"
'Oooooooooooooooo!'
At my signal, my companions spread out to the left and right.
Immediately after, the bat-headed knight opens its mouth, and a shockwave of sound passes through the place where we had just been.
The guardian of the 30th floor. The Bat Knight—Boenac.
This guy could produce ultrasonic waves and shockwaves from its mouth. In addition, it is a boss monster with a well-balanced long, medium, and short-range attack, using a spear in its hand for physical attacks.
"Hadiss, advance forward! Shakuna, stay back and provide cover!"
"I'm on it!"
"I understand!"
On my signal, Shakuna steps back and Hadiss closes the distance to the enemy.
Haddis plays the role of a tank as usual, and I play the melee attacker. Shakuna steps back to the middle distance and fires a lightning spell to suppress the enemy. Ryuna, on the other hand, stands by a little further back and assists and heals as needed.
This is the formation we had discussed and decided upon beforehand.
'Gaa!'
"Ghh... It's heavy!"
Haddis frowns as he receives a great sword attack with his large shield.
As expected on the 30th floor, the abilities of the boss monsters had increased. Even a mere physical attack would do some damage if taken seriously.
"Defend it with all your might. If you get hit, the two guys behind you will be killed!”
"Of course, I'll take it with all my might. I won't let it get past Her Highness!"
'Gaa! Gaaaa!'
Haddis concentrates on his defense, and continues to receive Boenak's physical attacks.
Although Boenak's attack power is high, the large shield should be enough to prevent the attack.
In the meantime, I move to the flank and attack with my magic sword.
"Gravid Slash!"
The sword, imbued with dark magic power, slashes the bat knight on horseback. It is a dark magic that deals physical damage and also debuffs its speed by 10%.
The movement of Boenac slows down slightly, and the bat's head turns toward me reproachfully.
'Gaaaa!'
"Whoa!"
I leap sideways to avoid the shockwave of sound from its mouth. In return, I hit it again with a 'Gravid Slash' to slow him down even more.
"Go for it, Thunderbolt!"
Shakuna's lightning magic also landed on Boenac's torso.
As the attack is unilaterally launched, the bat-headed demon's fangs clatter up and down in frustration.
'Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!'
"...!"
The bat-head looks up above and lets out a high-pitched roar. At the same time, a brain-contaminating, disturbing sound wave pierces through our bodies.
It is the omni-directional range attack used by Boenac—'Nightmare Sorrow'.
No one within range can evade it. It is absolutely unavoidable. The curse contained in the sound wave causes 'confusion' abnormality.
"Ggh... Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?"
Haddis, who heard the bat's roar from a close distance, lets out a cry of "confusion". It seems that he has been affected by abnormality.
"Gravid Slash!"
'Gaaa!?'
However, I, who was also hit by 'Nightmare Sorrow', rather take advantage of the opportunity and hit it with my magic sword.
After all, I have mastered [Abnormal Immunity] skill, so abnormal attacks don't work on me. I attack Boenak, who freezes up after activating the technique.
"Gghhhhhhhhhh!?"
Unlike me, Haddis is confused and swings his sword around, but Ryuna activates her healing magic.
"Holy Cure!"
"Ggh!? I-I'm saved! I appreciate it!"
"Don't worry! No matter what happens, I'll heal you right away, so please fight with peace of mind!"
I had told Ryuna in advance that she must heal Haddiss immediately if he suffers from some kind of abnormality.
As Shakuna is out of the effect range of the 'Nightmare Sorrow,' there is no problem.
"It's a nuisance attack if you see it for the first time... but if you know it's coming, it's not a big move! If anything, it would be better if the boss uses it so that it will stop its movement."
'Oooooooooooooooo!'
"Hmph! I will not eat that!"
As if annoyed by my taunts, the boss unleashes a powerful shockwave, but I have no right to accept such an emotionally-driven attack.
Instead, I shower Boenac with more and more slashes and magics, draining its strength.
'Grrrrr... Gaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
However, when Boenak's strength was reduced to a certain point, something unusual happened.
Boenac, who had been riding its horse, suddenly spread its wings and flew up to the high ceiling. The horse on which Boenac had been riding dissolved into thin air and disappeared.
This is Boenac's second form.
If this guy takes more than a certain amount of damage, it begins to fly in the air and move at a high speed. Additionally, it attacks from overhead.
"This is where the real work begins. But..."
"It's so slow, Thunderbolts!"
"That's right. It's so slow! Shadow Slash!"
'GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?'
Shakuna and I unleash a magic attack on the flying Boenac overhead.
The demon spread its wings and showed its true colors... but its movements were slow. Naturally, It was only a target for magic attacks.
The reason for this is that although Boenac had entered its second form, it inherited its previous abnormalities and status reductions.
I have been attacking Boenac many times with my magic sword that has a speed reduction effect, which has slowed Boenac's speed.
So, even if Boenac flies into the air, its speed still will be reduced by half. This guy can't make the best use of its speed.
"Know your enemy, know yourself, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles. Even if a pilot flies in the sky, if he's slow, he's just a target to be shot down from below. So... you can die."
'GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?'
Shakuna and I cast a series of magic, and soon the bat-headed demon fell to the floor.
Boenac's face, which disappeared as soon as it fell, was etched with an expression of sorrow at the unreasonableness that was clearly visible on the bat's face.
