232 - - Sanj巴r巴a攻t attack.

"The skeletons in this labyrinth are basically mortal. They're already dead."

The red-haired beauty explained in a light tone and held out her staff slightly.

Immediately a line of bright red flame is produced, striking the skeleton, whose arms have been transformed into swords.

Caught in the hot fire, the monster takes a few steps forward, but its knee joints seem to have burned out and it crumples to the floor.

The monster groans in place, scattering ashes as it burns to the ground.

"Oh, but it's all gone, isn't it?"

"Look, take a closer look."

At Ninessa's suggestion, Sola, who had been holding her hand over the still-burning skeleton as if it were a bonfire, tilts her head and peeks in.

The young child in the white beast costume clinging to her legs also stretches her neck as if to match.

"Oh, Moo-chan, look!　It's amazing."

"Oh, you're all squishy!"

As the two of them look on, white scattered ash particles start to move around on the floor.

Then, as if swarming like ants on candy, small pieces of bone were formed.

Behind the clapping Sora and the others, a beautiful swordsman murmurs in his usual tone.

"Hmm, I guess there is no more comical and beautiful spectacle than a person who clings to life even after being reduced to ashes.

"You know those words, Sippo Ni-chan, those words are so hard to understand..."

Stratchia nodded in an exaggerated manner as Moe smacked him on the thigh with a casual smack.

"It seems to take quite a long time to regenerate when you turn them into ashes," he said.

"About two or three hours. So, it's best to defeat this level once so that you can explore the area undisturbed.

It is said that there are several levels in the abandoned underground prison.

The first to the fifth basement floors are called the "white corpse level" and are guarded by guards who revive endlessly.

These skeletons roam the corridors without rest, making it very difficult to avoid combat.

Furthermore, if you carefully destroy them with spirit-based martial arts or magic techniques, you can buy time, but if you only fight in the usual way, they will rise up endlessly and the battle will drag on and on.

And to my annoyance, even if I defeated the guards, I did not get any skill points because I had not defeated them.

The only right thing to do is to go through the place as quickly as possible, but there is a reason why that is not possible...

"Oh, there he is. That's the warden."

Moe led the way for 30 minutes, chatting with the others.

Ninessa, who had spotted a group of large bones surrounding them around a corner, shouted happily.

Reaching into a heap of rumbling bones, Straccia finds a small ring of bones.

The rings are dangling in a tight cluster of long, thin bone fragments.

"This ...... looks like some kind of key, doesn't it?"

"Oh, I'm glad you noticed, Sora. Here, I'll give you a kiss as a reward."

I'll do the same for you, Moe!"

The girl was kissed from both sides and closed her eyes happily.

"Well then, please try to open it properly with this."

Toll selected one of the bundles of bones he received and inserted it into what appeared to be a keyhole in the prison's grating.

The bones seemed to snap together, and the next moment they fell apart.

At the same time, long, sharp bone spurs are ejected all at once from the lattice.

"You missed it, I'm sorry. Well, let's try the next one.

Ninessa called out to Thor, who had returned to his original position a moment too quickly with the , in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Is this the mechanism that breaks if the key doesn't fit?"

"Yes, that's why we need so many keys. So the trick is to take the head guard who has the key with you without burning him.

"I see, only for bones."

Silence prevails at Sola's words.

The girl who had looked around with a proud look on her face twisted her head curiously and said again, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what to say.

"Only bones have a knack for that, don't they?　Why are you spanking me, Moo-chan?"

"Somehow, mmm."

"So, what happens when you open this prison?"

"If it's a hit, these sometimes fall out."

Ninessa offered me another small piece of bone.

About five of them were in the palm of her hand.

"Put them ...... like this, like this, like this. Yes, it's done."

The result was a small skull.

Moe immediately reaches out his hand with a gleam in his eye.

"Let me try it, Moo!"

"Yes, don't break it."

I got it!

"So there's one of those little skulls on each floor. And to find it, you have to open every single one of these prisons.

"That's a lot of work."

Yes, it was a lot of work. But once you get used to it, you start to find the right rooms.

"How many times did you try before you got to that point?"

"Hmmm, I've lost count."

Ninessa's profile was proud but also somewhat sad as she said this simply and simply.

It must have taken many years to figure out these tricks.

Thor could not imagine what it must be like to have to leave the dungeon that you have been trying so hard for so long.

Thor scratches the bottom of his chin, unable to say anything, while Straccia and Ninessa smile quietly at him.

It all started with a letter that arrived not long ago.

It ordered them to return to Zuma's home country.

It is said that countless underground labyrinths have suddenly appeared in the smooth sandy sea to the northeast, emitting a noxious gas.

The two A-ranked members have been recalled because the oasis will be affected if left unchecked.

Not being able to ignore the seriousness of the situation, Straccia and the others decided to return home.

Naturally, since it is no longer possible to operate as "Platinum Flame", it is necessary to change the organization of the group.

The next leader chosen by Straccia was Ram Merulla, a water user.

Against this decision, Kikiriri, a purple-eyed warrior, and her sister Nenemimi, a lightning user, leave the party.

The twins newly recruited Chita and her brother Chiru, who had also left the "Platinum Flame.

They are joined by Moldamo, a member of the Soukei tribe who had served as a healer in the Raihododan.

He is a thin, nervous-looking man.

The "Platinum Flame" consists of three former members including Ram Merulla, and Barukkonia and others.

The "Heavenly Storm Alliance," which consists of the twins of the Purple-Eyed Tribe and the siblings of the Green-Winged Tribe.

The three parties, including Thor and the others, were now aiming to conquer this labyrinth.

Normally, Bettina and the others would have joined them.

However, the day after they defeated the witch, they received urgent news from Bossaria.

There were strange movements among the stone trolls in the valley of everlasting darkness.

At her father's request, Bettina chooses to take down the trolls as her first task as a Kongo-kyu.

As she leaves, the young lady smiles her familiar sullen smile and says in her usual tone of voice

"We'll be done soon and catch up with you. Well, don't you think it would be a better match if we had this much of a handicap?"

Thus, three parties were chosen to challenge the abandoned underground prison, the final hurdle to recapture the maze.

However, of the three challenging parties, only Thor's party is composed entirely of inexperienced workers.

So, before returning to Japan, Straccia offered to give us a short tour.

It is said that it is a way of repaying the favor he has received from us before and also as a check against the Tianrashi Alliance.

In the meantime, Thor and the others had returned to the first floor by the stairs leading back to the ground level.

Ninessa approached the large door next to it and held out her hand to the child.

"Can I have my skeleton back, Moo-chan?"

The red-haired beauty fitted the black object, which was placed silently, into a recess in the handle of the door.

"If you turn it like this, you'll see!

The feeling of the object wriggling and twisting in her hand caused Ninessa to open her eyes and let out an uncharacteristically cute squeal.

Then she hurriedly swatted away the black bug that had climbed up her arm.

"Kurosuke!"

"Blast, branch of the tree of fire..."

Wait, wait, Miss Ninessa!

The flame wielder, who had been about to fire a spell at the beetle but was stopped just in time, took a deep breath and glared at Moe and Stratchia, who continued to laugh behind him.

"What happened to the skull?　And don't laugh, prince. I'll burn your mouth off.

The words were as cold as ice. Moe shivered and shook his head, then shrugged.

"Well, it's been broken since the beginning, Moo, but I'm trying to fix it..."

"It wasn't broken in the first place."

"I don't know, did you look at it?"

"I looked. It wasn't broken."

"Really?"

"Yeah, well, it looks like someone other than me broke it."

"............ sorry."

Nodding, Ninessa ruffles the child's golden curls before accepting the bone fragments.

She turned it over several times and then ruffled Moe's hair once more.

"It will break after a few uses," she said. I'll just say that this happened the first time, too.

"Can you show me something?"

Thor receives a piece of bone that does not stick and quickly reads its history.

The next moment, a small skull rests in his palm.

The two Red Tails looked at each other and laughed at the easily restored skull.

"If you go down the spiral staircase ahead, you can get to the next level.

"I guess that's all the help we can get, huh?"

"No, you've been very helpful. This will save us a few months."　

After looking at each other for a moment, Straccia held out her fist toward her brother.

Thor matched it.

"We'll meet again sometime."

"Yeah, see you later."

The farewell was short and simple.