Our heroes, who have officially entered the 19th floor, are feeling on top of the world.
This is the result of two factors synergizing with each other.
First.
“Hmm, at this rate, I think I can start giving you an allowance from tomorrow.”
Due to a sudden case of “money amnesia,” they decided to pay the long-overdue salary with a promissory note.
“Kyaaaaaah! Yay!”
My eardrums almost burst.
She was always lively, but I never expected Ari’s voice to get this loud.
Even though she’s just going to spend it all on alcohol.
I almost pointed that out but managed to hold back.
Even though money comes from the sanctuary, surprisingly, Johanna’s spending habits are quite irresponsible.
Tina, who has recently developed a habit of collecting dolls, has also reached maximum satisfaction.
I apologize in advance.
I won’t have any spare funds for a while………………
Later, if I grab Rene and use food expenses as an excuse to “advance” some money, I can probably last another week.
Next.
“Finally! My body! Feels like it’s loosening up!”
At last, the condition to clear the floor—’Do not harm the beastfolk’—has been lifted.
The enemies that appear on the 19th floor are all demon beasts.
They have either lost their reason due to being heavily corrupted by demonic magic or were too ferocious to interact with humans from the start.
Even the space itself resembles ancient ruins, allowing Saha to swing her flaming hammer to her heart’s content, giving it a 5-star rating and leaving a comment expressing her joy.
“Woof!”
“Chu-chu!”
“Groooar!”
There were three other creatures who got excited along with her.
Well, Rumiya is understandable.
……………Why is that bear still following us around?
Has it become an item for Rumi?
And Renatel, moved by the fashionable tail fur, has been slashing through enemies with earth attribute techniques like “Wall-Splitting Slash—Six Consecutive Strikes.”
A party of heroes steeped in capitalism and violence.
Is this really okay?
Watching the heroes break all seals and destroy everything in their path, I couldn’t help but think that.
But it seems too late to turn back now………………
As they bulldoze their way forward.
19th floor, 7th area.
At the end of the long underground passage leading from Nekopia.
Finally, the exit came into view.
“Ok!”
“We’re out!”
Rumi and Tina ran ahead excitedly.
Well, Rumi is understandable, but Tina, being a demon, should prefer dark and damp places, right?
Still, after walking through the damp darkness for so long, the warm sunlight felt refreshing.
As they hurried a bit further outside the passage.
Finally, the grand entrance to the holy land of Perizoa, where all the roots of evil reside, came into view.
The name feels like a parody of the holy land that appears in the adventure to become the Pirate King.
But just changing one character makes the meaning so, well, really……………
“It’s hard to believe it actually exists…………….”
Renatel let out an exclamation of admiration next to me.
There’s a strict zoological distinction that cat ears are not furries, so I’m not sure what moved her.
The best I can concede is the ears and tail.
If I bend my pride a little more, maybe the hands and feet too.
But if fur starts growing past the elbows or knees, that’s unforgivable.
Setting aside such strict standards.
Most of the furries here were resurrected through forbidden necromancy.
Meaning.
We can send them back to their graves without any guilt.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Like the last stardust.
“Let’s wipe them all out.”
I issued the extermination order.
Today, Perizoa is closing its services.
* * *
“Ugh…….”
While observing the group of maniacal slaughterers.
Neb shuddered.
They definitely weren’t this ferocious or powerful up to the 18th floor.
Were these really the same heroes who couldn’t even subdue a single weak beastfolk no matter how hard they punched…………?
And now that I look at them again.
The lineup of heroes is quite destructive too.
A human knightess swinging her hammer wildly, dressed in what looks like underwear compared to traditional demon attire.
A dog beastfolk in a skimpy outfit, barely holding her bursting chest together with a single button, throwing punches wildly.
A wolf beastfolk in a thin outfit with her side and upper chest exposed, swinging her sword recklessly.
Watching them slaughter the dragonkin she resurrected with her spells.
“Are these…………… breast-obsessed perverts?”
Neb, the greatest intellect of the 20th floor, finished her analysis of the enemies she had to face.
Of course, there was also a dumb demon girl giggling in the background and a saintess who absentmindedly gave blessings while secretly eating snacks from her pocket.
But as the demon realm’s proverb goes, “The left hand is just support.”
They were undoubtedly playing a supporting role to the breast-destroying tanks leading the charge.
Neb calculated.
Can I win physically?
No way.
Can I set a magical trap?
The dumb little demon girl would notice.
•If I summon the strongest possible creatures?
Those summons are disappearing at a rate of four per second.
If I surrender, can I keep my life?
There are already three precedents.
Neb is the demon of sloth.
The slothful do not struggle.
They simply go with the flow………….
But before that.
“Pleaseee………..”
“Tsk.”
The slothful pursue ultimate efficiency.
She didn’t bother adding any extra field mechanics.
Instead, she built a massive treasure vault right next to her room to maximize the point attraction.
All the points she saved and collected were invested into deploying the strongest possible force, neatly arranged.
If they defeat this person.
Then I’ll just surrender and hand over all the treasure……………..
Neb pulled the blanket back over her head.
* * *
19th floor, 10th area.
“Thank you………… for liberating my kin, the dragonkin………..”
The boss of Perizoa.
The fallen queen ‘Hannah’ turned to ash and scattered, leaving behind words of gratitude.
“Woof! Don’t mention it!”
“As descendants of the Rangin tribe, we pay our respects to our great ancestors.”
Should’ve brought some salt.
Meanwhile, the beastfolk were all ears and wagging tails, getting way too immersed in the story.
If you had fur, you’d have plummeted in the popularity polls.
That Hannah was originally a playable character during the closed beta.
But after receiving the wrath of wise beta testers, she was temporarily shelved as dummy data.
Of course, the fact that she was a milf led to all sorts of unicorns raging on the official forums, spamming the galleries with Hannah fan art.
“Can we keep going without resting?”
“Eeeeh…………….”
“What’s this? Aren’t demons supposed to be superior beings who don’t need sleep? Why are you acting tired?”
“Hueeeeng……!”
Quickly suppressing the vice-manager’s attempt to laze around.
I tore up a stamina recovery ticket, a byproduct of the special gacha machine, and charged into the 20th floor with the gods of destruction.
Even though we defeated the queen, we still had to perform the same journey of exorcising the furry-ghosts lingering in this world.
Something.
Something feels like we’re missing something incredibly important.
“No hidden elements……?”
Throughout this journey.
We haven’t found a single treasure chest, let alone any hidden elements.
How is that possible?
It can’t be, right?
Look at our good Rene.
Even though her food expenses are five times that of the other heroes.
Considering the favors she’s done for us from the 11th to the 15th floor, we can forgive her for another two weeks.
Plus, she’s still regularly producing and supplying high-quality items like ‘Arachne’s Thread.’
………I decided never to ask where or how she produces them.
Elise, as an alchemist, is working hard in front of her cauldron, chanting “grow, grow, my hair” to boost our finances.
“Hyak?!”
I had to firmly discipline the lazy vice-manager who still occasionally makes calculation mistakes, causing gold leaks.
Tina’s eyes were spinning.
“Tina, why are there no treasure chests in the Great Forest?”
“Hueeeeuuuuum…….”
Even without Tina, the barbarian trio was handling the dragonkin exorcism just fine.
So, along with the saintess who no longer needs to show mercy to the enemy, the three of us took a short break for some deduction.
As we did.
“……!”
“Hahh.”
Suddenly, Tina and Johanna made lewd noises simultaneously.
And then.
Goosebumps rose on my back and arms.
“Chu-chuooouuuuk……!”
Immediately after, the bear let out a pitiful scream and simultaneously renamed itself to ‘floating in the air.’
No one caught it as it fell with a thud, then wriggled.
Amidst the intermittent wriggling and chu-chu sounds, an overwhelming pressure weighed down on the earth.
“Step back. This is my domain.”
A voice as cold as ice echoed.
Even a common villager with average combat power like me could feel the oppressive aura and majesty.
Moreover, the voice and face were eerily familiar…………!
“Why, why is that here…………….”
An entity that shouldn’t appear until at least the 20th floor.
According to the developers, ‘the strongest and most fearsome woman in humanity,’ who was supposed to debut in the mid-30s in the story.
Lucia was standing there, arrogantly blocking the entrance.
In the silence she created, no one dared to speak, all shrinking under the pressure.
Except for one being who withstood the oppressive aura.
“Huh……?”
It was Rumi.
As expected of a candidate for the Beast King……………!
I knew I could count on you, damn it!
Her tail, which had bristled in surprise, slowly relaxed and began to sway gently.
Her round, widened eyes gradually returned to their normal size.
A faint smile appeared on her lips, as if she was finally meeting a worthy rival and burning with competitive spirit—
“Mommy woof!”
—?
What kind of Rumi bark is that……………?