Silas propped his hands on his hips and looked up at the stone wall. “This wasn’t here last time.”

“I told you, we need Jaro! Need!” Alice insisted, shaking her head at Silas.

Ha! I did it! Stella thought, nodding smugly.

Milo licked his lips. He walked up and rapped his knuckles on the wall. “I don’t think it’s that thick. I might be able to break it with a sandtrap spell.”

“Ah, see? Not a problem at all! We don’t need Jaro, like I said,” Silas declared boldly, looking at Alice.

Shocked, Stella stared. Not a problem at all? No! Come on! I built that wall with my mana! Was it a total waste?

“But… I’m almost out of magic, and the sandtrap spell takes a lot of magic. If I cast sandtrap, I’ll be out. I might have one more Heal, but… that’s it,” Milo said, concerned.

Stella let out a sigh of relief. Okay. Not a total waste. I took out their healer with a wall! Good, good.

Alice cut her eyes at Silas and quirked her brow. “Hmm? We don’t need Jaro?”

“Oh, shut up. It’s not like a new boss could spawn that quickly. We’re pretty much done with the dungeon. We can rest in the boss room, Milo can recover his magic, and we can head out tomorrow,” Silas said, shrugging.

You’re going to rest in my boss room? Ha! Just try! Stella thought, crossing her arms.

“It’ll take a few minutes to cast the spell. Watch my back,” Milo requested.

Silas and Alice nodded. Milo closed his eyes and began to chant.

In the wall, Stella propped her chin in her hand. Who do I go after first? The fast, sneaky girl? She’s dangerous, but she’s hard to hit. All the snakes working together could barely hurt her. She can do a lot of damage, but if I go after her, I can’t guarantee I hit.

The healer? He’s almost out of magic, though, and he can’t do a lot of damage. He’s important, but I don’t think he’s my first target.

That means… the instrument-player! He is their leader, and he’s able to make the whole party stronger… or weaken my monsters. If I take him out, the boss will be able to fight at his full potential, and he won’t be able to make the other two stronger any more.

She nodded decisively. I’ll go for him!

Unless… where’s Aster? She flickered her consciousness through the dungeon and found him near Daiyo’s room, exchanging a few terse words with Daiyo. Daiyo pointed, and Aster ran on.

Close, but not close enough. I need to stall for time! And that means taking that instrument-player out.

But how? The other two defend him and heal him. I saw that in the snake room.

Stella put a finger to her lips. I have to get past their defenses. The girl is fast, and she’s good at parrying and knocking people back. The slime probably won’t be able to get past her quick attacks.

The priest has that blocking spell. He’s low on mana, so he probably won’t be able to use it too many times. Still, I need to hit that music player immediately. If he gets his song started, my boss won’t stand a chance.

Stella furrowed her brows, thinking hard. She pressed her lips together. How do I attack against someone fast, and someone who can pop up a shield at any moment?

She thumped her hand in her fist. Oh! I’ve got it! I need to catch them by surprise!

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Stella drew out her core and peered at it. To her surprise, it shone slightly brighter than before. A small ball of glowing mana gathered in its center.

That much, from three humans? Maybe Aster is right…

No! No humans. I hate humans!

Shaking her head, Stella turned her attention back to the boss room. She threw her hand out, pointing at the floor around the boss slime. Tiny crystals sprouted in the floor, barely poking through the stone. She lifted her finger and pointed at the ceiling. Crystals poked through the stone, quickly inflating to hand-sized, then head-sized crystals, crackling as they grew.

That should surprise them!

Hmm… what else? Stella looked at the mana in her core. The small ball of magic there still glowed brightly.

I know! More slimes! She pointed at the ceiling. Behind a few of the largest crystals, mana gathered, swirling into slimes. Three ordinary fire slimes perched on the ceiling, glowing gently but not yet lit.

Stella bit her lip and glanced down. Her core grew dimmer again, as bright as it had been at the beginning. Spawning crystals doesn’t take a lot of mana, but spawning monsters does.

I should save a little in case I need to run away and save myself, like Aster said. Then… I’m done.

She surveyed the room, taking in the crystals on the floor and the ceiling, the boss slime near the door and the hidden slimes on the ceiling. I hope this is enough…

Silas perked up. He nodded at Alice. “He’s almost done. Get ready.”

Alice nodded. She raised her blades.

Yellow light swirled around the top of Milo’s staff. It danced in circles, spinning faster and faster. Milo’s chanting grew louder. His eyes snapped open. He spun around and thrust out the staff.

A thick beam of yellow light struck the wall. Where the light hit stone, the stone turned to sand. Milo moved the beam up and down, creating a doorway-shaped opening. Sand spilled down the wall, piling up on the ground. He swept the beam left and right, carving out more of the wall.

Bare inches behind the wall, the fire slime stared at them in surprise. They stared at the fire slime, equally surprised.

“Are bosses supposed to be this far forward?” Silas muttered.

Alice shook her head.

Stella blinked. They aren’t?

“Actually, how does this dungeon have a boss again already? Bosses don’t usually respawn this fast,” Silas replied, putting a hand to his chin.

The fire slime heated up. Its spikes bristled, and it swelled up threateningly, fire blasting from its top.

“It’s attacking,” Alice pointed out.

“Go, go!” Silas cheered, pushing Alice forward. She darted into the room, charging at the fire slime boss.

No! Come on! Send the musician into the room! Stella complained silently, balling her hands in her skirt. She gestured at the fire slime, calling it deeper into the room.

The fire slime inched backward unwillingly. Its body continued to puff up.

Alice struck at the fire slime. Her knives sank into the fire slime’s body. It let out a pained hiss and sent its spikes flying off its body. Surprised, Alice jumped back, but one of the spikes caught her in the side. She stumbled and pressed her hand to the wound. Blood ran between her fingers.

Stella blinked. It could do that?

“Milo!” Silas shouted. He stepped into the room, hurrying to Alice’s side.

“I’m on it!” Milo replied, raising his staff.

Alice glared at Silas. “Is a full boss! What happened to ‘easy dungeon,’ ‘won’t respond so quick?’ Liar!”

“Respawn, it’s respawn,” Silas corrected her.

Alice’s eyes narrowed further.

Magic built up on Milo’s staff. He thrust it upward. Healing magic spilled out. The wound in Alice’s side sealed over.

Now! Stella slapped her hand on the wall.

Crystals burst up under Silas’ feet and crashed down from overhead. Alice jumped back, quick reflexes saving her. Silas curled around his lyre, saving it. The crystals climbed up his legs, locking them in place. They grew larger and larger, swallowing Silas up. The crystal from above crashed down on Silas, sealing him where he stood.

At last, the last crystal crackled into place. Silas curled up inside a translucent blue crystal, utterly still. The crystal pulsed with pale blue light.

“Silas! Silas!” Alice shouted, slamming her fists on the crystal. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her lip trembled, and her voice broke.

Stella’s heart lurched. She shuddered, suddenly nervous. I felt like that when Momma died. Do they… feel the same as me?

But they’re the ones who killed Momma! They deserve to die! They killed the snakes, they… they’re…

Milo’s breath caught. He gripped his staff tight. Abruptly, he leaped forward, reaching for Alice. “Wait! What if it shatters and breaks him, too?”

They’re afraid. Just like me. They don’t want to die.

Aster’s voice sounded in her ears. Humans don’t respawn. Once we die, that’s it.

Stella hugged herself. But… Momma, but…

Dodging his reach, Alice whirled on Milo. “He’s suffocating! He’s going to die in there!”

But I’ve already killed him. He’s… Stella glanced at her core, then frowned. She tilted her head. Huh?

“But—if we aren’t careful—”

“He’s dying!”

Stella took a deep breath. She looked at her core again, then swallowed and put a hand on the stone wall. It melted away, and she stepped out.

Alice and Milo whirled, staring at her. Alice raised her blades.

“He isn’t dying,” Stella replied, somewhat put-upon. She shook her head, irritated, and jabbed her finger at Silas. “He’s still alive!”