"Looks like we made it just in time."

The voice dashed past me, reclaiming the spear back in his hands, and with a forceful thrust of his shoulder, pushed the mid-boss away. I fell to the ground, disoriented by what had happened. I was still alive, somehow, and in front of me stood a tall man with cerulean hair, gripping his spear tightly, wearing the Abyss Reaver's capelet.

He turned, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, slightly widening upon further inspection. "Oh, you must be a new member," he said, his voice friendly.

"Huh... yes," I stammered, blinking.

With a smile, he crouched before me, and patted my head reassuringly. "Thanks for all you've done while I was away. Now, let me take it from here."

"Help has arrived!" a new voice behind me shouted. "Who needs help here?!"

"Over here! Two people need it!" Carolina's coordinator yelled back.

I turned; a guy, along with another missing an arm, approached Carolina.

"Here, drink this," the one without an arm said, helping Carolina sip a potion.

"Who are you guys?" the coordinator asked.

"You may call me Luke," the one with both arms replied, flashing a proud smile before gesturing to his companion. "And this is Roland. We're from the Armonia; allies of the Abyss Reavers."

"You may call me Ceruleo," the one in front of me exclaimed loudly, introducing himself. "Of the Abyss Reavers."

I turned back at him. "Be careful. The mid-boss made all our books useless; we can't cast any spell."

He simply nodded, his attention on the armored creature. "I've noticed; a nullifier, huh? It offends me if the Deities think this is enough to stop me," he said with a confident smile. "I'm far more than a mere plaything of fate."

Ceruleo maneuvered the spear with ease, making it swirl and spin in smooth motions around his torso like a juggler. Then, without hesitation, he dashed forward. Taking advantage of the situation, I stepped aside; Ceruleo was exchanging blows with the mid-boss. It was stunning the speed at which he managed to confront it without the aid of a spell. But if this dragged on like that...

"Without spells, he'll never be able to win against it," Carolina's coordinator murmured.

"Oh, don't worry," Luke interjected. "A clean cut to the neck is all it takes. Besides, even if we can't use spells... we have this!"

From the backpack on his back, Luke triumphantly pulled out an object. "Behold!" he proudly exclaimed. "This is a guitar! No magic, just pure alchemic genius!"

He moved aside, taking the guitar in hand, readying himself. As the mid-boss invoked its spectral blades, a deep hum resonated through the air.

Strum. Drum-dru-drum drum.

Plasma. Jolts. Purple sparks shot from the little object in his grip, crackling through the air with surprising and formidable precision; they went against the blades, stopping them in their trajectory. Ceruleo took advantage of the opportunity and, mimicking the mid-boss's actions, grabbed one. He was now dual-wielding.

But the sparks didn't only hit the blades; they went for the mid-boss as well. Its focus was now directed towards the source of such sparks: Luke. Yet, he continued playing.

Drum, dru-dru-drummm.

More sparks, more jolts followed. The air vibrated, and his fingers continued moving, strumming the chords, plucking the strings, increasing the rhythm.

Twang, twang, strum-du-dumdum.

On and on, strong and stronger, loud and louder...

Twang, twang, twang, strum-drum-dum-DRUM-DU-DRUMMM.

"Yep, it's not working," Roland said, yanking the object from Luke's grip and pushing him aside just as the mid-boss plunged at him. He then smashed it against its head, shattering it to pieces.

"MY GUITAR!" Luke yelled in despair.

"Forget the guitar," Roland shrugged off dismissively. "You were about to lose your life."

"You owe me one, Roland! That cost me a fortune!" he shot back.

"I think I should be saying that..." he retorted with a sigh.

The mid-boss directed its attention to Roland; he swiftly drew his sword from his back and did the best he could to withstand the flurry of blows that followed. Ceruleo intervened, putting himself between the armored creature and Roland, redirecting the focus onto himself. He deftly used the spectral blade, until he tossed it away to comfortably use his spear.

As he fought, even more unfamiliar people stepped into the arena; members from the Armonia. One of them yelped upon witnessing just how close the mid-boss came to slicing Ceruleo in half with each swing. Yet, Ceruleo continued, smoothly dodging and evading as if he were made of water. With footwork and using his spear as a lever, he managed to lift himself in the air, landing just behind the mid-boss. He twisted, aiming his spear at the creature's neck. But without even looking or turning, the mid-boss blocked the blow, and the battle resumed.

"Let's end this together, Luke, Ceruleo!" Roland exclaimed, rushing towards the mid-boss.

"Oh, so we're doing it like that?" Luke chimed in with a laugh; Ceruleo seemed to have understood their intention with just a glance.

The three surrounded the armored creature. It swung at Ceruleo, summoning more spectral blades, yet none landed. It shifted focus. It did it once more, again and again. At some point... its equilibrium wavered. At that same instant, the mid-boss swung again, and so did too, Ceruleo. Though, unlike the mid-boss at that moment, he did have a clear mark.

He twisted with far more force, so much that I feared his back might snap, and his fingers tightened around the spear so hard that it could have very well broken had it been an ordinary one. With a sweeping arc, the spear struck the mid-boss neck.

But it didn't cut through, and he managed to dodge the creature's attack by a hair's breadth.

"Roland!" Ceruleo shouted.

Roland screamed, and with all its might, followed exactly where Ceruleo's spear had lodged. The blow drove the spear deeper, and finally... it pierced through. The armored creature's head flew off, and shortly after, the sound of it clattering onto the ground echoed.

Luke whistled. "That's how you do it."

And the light returned.

Many of the Amalgamated Thorny Roses cheered in unison. "You did it!"

"Our spells are back!" I shouted as soon as I noticed. "Hurry, let's heal Carolina and Dorothy!"

Carolina's coordinator sniffed, holding back tears. "I'm glad you all arrived..."

With the healing done, the calm returned; everyone could let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright, Dorothy?" Ceruleo asked, offering a hand to help her up.

Dorothy looked up at him before reaching out, accepting the help. "Do we know each other?"

Ceruleo tilted his head. "Hmm? Don't you remember me? We trained together at Goldenovum some years ago."

"Ah, sorry... I don't."

He gave a good-natured shrug. "It's alright."

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Roland approached me friendly. "You're the new guy of the Abyss Reavers. It's nice to meet you."

I nodded. "Yes, it's my pleasure meeting you. You really saved our lives."

"Oh!" Luke joined with a cheerful grin. "That means the baddie is somewhere here, isn't she?"

"The baddie?"

"Oh, I'm just as confused and curious as you are," Ceruleo commented laughing, stepping in. "He talked a lot about her."

"Her name is Argenta," Roland corrected.

"Ah... Unfortunately, she didn't join this dungeon," I replied.

"She didn't?" Luke said, crossing his arms behind his head with a disappointed expression. "Aw maaan..." he murmured, turning away.

"You broke your guitar, and the baddie's not even here," Roland consoled, patting his shoulder. "Not your lucky day, it seems."

"You broke it," he retorted.

Ceruleo tried to bring some comfort. "Cheer up; I still have to meet her."

After some more chattering, Carolina also stepped in, her expression exceedingly serious. "Thank you all for what you've done," she said with a slight bow, bringing her hand to her chest. "Hadn't been for you, my members might've lost their lives... I'm indebted to you."

Her demeanor was so out of place that it left us all surprised, except for Ceruleo, who moved closer. "Bowing down does not suit a beautiful lady like you, Carolina."

"It's my fault for misjudging the situation, Carolina," her coordinator said. "I should've assessed the situation better before moving."

Carolina straightened, shaking her head. "It is I who decided to press onward. It is my responsibility."

"Everyone is alright," Roland offered with a gentle smile. "That's what matters most. Don't be so harsh on yourself."

Though a hint of uncertainty still adorned her face, Carolina managed a soft smile, and moved away, returning to the rest of her members. With a proper and well-deserved rest, we decided to proceed with the dungeon, and a few more rooms later, upon stepping into a checkpoint...

"Ah!" Mereoleona exclaimed.

"Honey!" Carolina shouted happily.

"Everyone!" Melissa followed.

We rushed to each other, finally regrouping.

"Ceruleo, you're back!" Louise greeted with a big smile, followed by Leonard right after.

"It's good to see you all again," Ceruleo greeted back warmly before glancing around. "But isn't someone missing?"

Leonard sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Crimson didn't join... along with Argenta. Elizabeth and Selena are still lost somewhere in the dungeon."

"Some of the Armonia members went with Laura," Roland informed. "Hopefully, they'll find them."

"Laura is here, too?"

"Herbaleon requested backup," Ceruleo added. "Sounded weird that the top three guilds were taking this long to clear a dungeon."

"It's a tough one," Melissa lamented with a sigh, a hand on her hip.

"So you had the chance to meet Joey?" Jerald asked him, arms crossed with a smile.

Ceruleo replied with a small nod. "Cool guy."

Jerald nodded back approvingly. After the introductions, along with some chattering, the Prince gathered everyone's attention and decided it was time to move forward. We left the blessed area that had allowed us to rest and found ourselves in another wide, circular room packed with monsters. Beyond them, however, it was possible to see it... a big, tall, red door.

"So we're finally at the end," Mereoleona said with a grin.

"No guardian?" Ceruleo asked, scanning the area. "That's strange..."

"It'll likely make its appearance once we clear all these monsters," Melissa shared.

"Let's go, everyone," the Prince commanded, stepping forward.

With caution, yet decision, we all followed the Prince. Spells flew, swords clashed, and fighters fought. Though with some difficulty, we were slowly making our way through the monsters, carefully measuring the spells so as not to hurt ourselves in the making. Until, at some point, a voice rang out from behind us.

"Oceanum Orbis Terrarum!"

I came to a halt; droplets of water manifested across the entire floor, until they shot upward. Had I blinked, I would have missed it completely; the whole area became immersed in water, but where the enemies were taken and swept away by a relentless current, we were instead cradled by its soft and gentle waves. Whales made of water manifested, followed by tiny fish; the arena transformed into a magical spectacle of water.

Mereoleona laughed. "This is so cool!"

"This is Laura's spell!" Leonard exclaimed.

We were practically floating, bouncing lightly atop cute glowing jellyfish created by her, witnessing a mesmerizing and, at the same time, brutal force that obliterated every enemy in the wake. Laura approached the center of such cataclysm standing as its heart, controlling the current with such a grace as if she were dancing for a crowd, smiling while the water caressed her form. Her hair floated weightlessly in the water, enchanting her movements and the fun she was having even more. And though the water soaked her clothes, making them seem like a hindrance to her swings, she appeared completely undisturbed by it; in fact, she seemed to welcome it all.

"What a show-off," Mereoleona commented, grinning.

It definitely looked like she was showing off, but if someone told me I was witnessing a Goddess at work, I would've very well believed them.

Shortly after, all the waves calmed, and we were gently swayed to the ground. All the monsters were dead, and the area was clear.

"Absorb," cast Elizabeth, drying us all.

"Selena!" Jerald shouted, rushing towards her.

"Sweetheart!"

The two hugged, while the others greeted Laura and Elizabeth, as well as the other Armonia members.

"To witness the mastery of the strongest mage..." the Prince said, approaching Laura. "It truly is an honor."

Laura chuckled softly. "The honor is mine, Prince," she returned with a gentle bow.

"Well, well!" Carolina quipped with twinkling eyes. "Among the three Guild Leaders and one of the strongest fighters, even the strongest mage is here! Is this, or is this not, a display of grandeur?"

"Haven't changed a bit, Carolina."

Lighthearted chatter followed, creating a comfortable and friendly atmosphere. We decided to take a reprieve to recharge our energy and spells. Then, we finally decided to open it... the boss's door at the far end.

However, once open, and after we caught a glimpse of what lay beyond... nothing but confusion swirled through.

"What...?"