The sixth layer, the realm of aquatic demons and the 'deep sea'.
　The original Sixth Layer is a field of the sea with a passage made of sand that is laid out and traversed.
　Mermaids, fishermen, and aquatic sub-beasts target adventurers from under the sea.

　The pathways are also maze-like, making it difficult to choose the right path while dealing with monster attacks.
　If you fail to do so, the worst thing that can happen is that you'll end up in a dead end and the monsters will poke you in the back, and you'll be surrounded by the sea, leaving you nowhere to run.
　This time, that has been greatly renovated.

　The biggest change is around the corridors.
　Or perhaps I should say the entire field.

　Until now, it was a sandy path laid out above the sea (,).
　The new sixth layer is a sand path that runs into the sea.

　I've been there once before, and it's like an aquarium. It's similar to a tunnel-like passage with the exception of the floor, which is made of glass.
　It's not an aquarium where you feel as if you're in the ocean, but a dungeon where you're actually in the ocean.

　The adventurers had to be vigilant in all directions.
　On the other hand, the aquatic monsters are now able to attack adventurers from all directions because they are all in the ocean.

　Furthermore, in order to respond to Aerial's "grasp of space", we built a system that blocks the passage with water until the adventurers are ready to take the fork in the road.
　Even if they tried to read the path of the wind ahead of time, they would not be able to find the "correct path" because the path was blocked by water at that time.

　This is an evolved stage devised by the demon fanatic, Floor Boss [Ruler of the Water Region] Wepal-san.
　However, from the results, it couldn't produce any dropouts.

　There were five main contributors.
　First of all, Aerial-san and Ewan-kun deployed a wall of air on the borderline of the passage and water.
　This blocked the surprise attack from all directions. If they don't go through the procedure of destroying the wall, they can't touch the adventurers, and by the time they accomplish that, they will be ready to intercept them.

　Of course, this is to be expected. In the process of advancing through the long, long passage, the two [brave men] continually consume magic power. That alone is more than enough for a battle result.
　What I didn't expect was the movement of Wraith-kun and - the revived Helu-san.

　The two of them jumped out of the passage from themselves, that is, into the sea.
　Wraith-kun was to find the correct route from the ocean side, and Helu-san was to fight the aquatic demons.
　The demons of the sixth layer were scratched by this.

　Wraith-kun used the application of the Water Demon Method to create a space around his body where water could not enter, but Helu-san was a barefoot diver.
　In that state, he smashed the fishermen - even though they were under the sea, he was swinging his fist out and bursting the demon - and pulled out each leg of the giant octopus and squid sub-beast until they left, or surrounded by male mermaids with weapons. I even annihilated this while.

　The one who appeared in front of Wraith-kun, who was searching for the right passage, was 【Sea Monster】 Forneus-san.
　A sub-beast of a shark as big as a high-rise building, and a demon that can understand human language.

　Wraith intercepted it with wind and water magic, but Forneus approached him without a care in the world.
　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on it.
　There was someone who struck it from the side.

　It's Fran-san.
　As soon as she saw that Wraith-kun was being attacked, she destroyed the wall of air put up by her companions, jumped into the sea, and with her huge right arm, she cut through the water and struck Forneus with her flesh, and then struck him.

　It created an impact that looked like it could have been a huge wave, and Mr. Forneus' half of his body shook as if it were bouncing.
　But he is someone who has served in the Demon King's Castle since the days when my master was active. He's used to strong and powerful attacks.
　He immediately shook his head and ate Fran-san right after he shook his fist - he ate her.

　However, this was a blow that was originally intended to bite and crush him.
　Fran-san avoided it by scratching the water and advancing forward in a spur-of-the-moment maneuver.
　In other words, he entered Forneus-san's body by himself.

　No matter how strong a creature is, that's not the case inside the body. There's a part of the body that can't be trained.
　Gosh, gosh, gosh, the sea cried. It wasn't. It was the sound of Fran-san beating Forneus-san from inside his body.

　He still tried to drown Ms. Fran by swallowing a lot of water himself. Or maybe he was trying to spit it out. Either way, it didn't work.
　Wraith-kun iced me around my mouth.

　Instead of rescuing her childhood friend, [The Lake's Brave] believed that she could defeat the enemy from the inside.
　And it became a reality.

　Forneus-san's stomach popped and Fran escaped from there.
　The two ten-year-olds defeated Forneus-san through their unusual aggression, adaptability, and trusting relationship.

　No, I guess age doesn't matter. It was that those two were genuinely strong.
　After that, Wraith-kun, who returned Fran-san to the passage, confirmed the right path.

　Aerial-san and Ewan-kun protected their friends while consuming a large amount of magic power and reached the floor boss's area.
　A mysterious fleet of ships sailing under the sea appeared, but it was destroyed by Helu-san alone.

　During the Floor Boss battle, Skaha, who had previously saved her magic power, unleashed a thunderbolt with maximum power to defeat her subordinates.
　Although there were a few people who were on the verge of leaving, they were ultimately able to break through without any defections.

　About that matter, Forneus-san laughed calmly, ''I'll have to re-train myself, won't I?
　The beautiful mermaid Wepal said, ''It's frustrating.......I've simulated it many times, but they're a mess....... 'Okay, next time I'll show you how horrible the sea is,' he said with a vengeance.

'Speaking of which,'

　The time is back to the present, the living room.
　Lily cut her off when the conversation had died down.

'The seventh layer battle, that was a surprise.

　After saying it, she gracefully brings the cup to her mouth.

'....Oh, yes. We were surprised, too. I thought I knew, but to see it like that...

　The seventh layer, the sky and the realm of 'rugged' trials.
　A path is laid out in the sky and winged demons, including bird people, attack adventurers.

　This is just the sky version of the sixth layer, but of course it has its own unique characteristics.
　The seventh tier, which is based on the concept of a good old-fashioned dungeon attack, has traps, riddles, and an unreasonable reset - the one that takes you back to the starting point.

　And, if a person falls from a passage - technically, if a body part reaches below a certain point in the passage - that person is forced to fall forever and can only be released by abstaining.
　The exception to this is if the fall is riddle related and the person is returned to the starting point.

　With the resurrection right obtained in the second level attack, you can use the resurrection right to get Mr. Yuan.
　Use the resurrection right you got at the fourth level to take on Helu.
　The group of adventurers who have been resurrected respectively.

''We worked so hard to capture the seventh layer, but you managed to capture the seventh layer so easily...''

　With the resurrection right that was acquired in the sixth layer of the attack--Marguerite-san was brought back.
　She is the [Summoner] of the Helvall Party and the daughter of the Grand Chamber of Commerce.

　She has a soft demeanor, a gentle smile, a seriousness, but also has the audacity to be completely naked for a moment, even if it's for a costume change, and she's neat and clean.

　She can summon not only contracted creatures, but also her own possessions.
　She is a rare type of 【Summoner】 who calls up the appropriate equipment for each moment to fight.

　She is such a person, but she has an intelligence that matches her intelligent appearance, and this is what stung the seventh layer.
　She deftly solved all the riddles that the floor boss, Lord Thrush, Kaim, had happily created, sometimes with long periods of distress, in a pompous manner.

''The tears shed by the heavens run down, the one bound to the earth fantasizes as the top...'' - Ah, then, Sister Helu, please destroy the third and fifth. Yes, it seems that if you destroy the mountain object, you can proceed to the next step. Huh?　Number two is an ancient tomb, not a mountain, and number seven is a hill. The difference between a hill and a mountain?　The definition is vague, but the structure next to Hill 7 is a real one, and we can exclude it because it is called a hill by local residents.'
　And.

"'Whoever thinks he can be saved without asking heaven, go forward. Those who are unqualified...." - Okay. Only the Wraiths and Lady Frans are allowed to pass through the gate. Master Ewan to the same place as us.
　And.

''Live the tenth day in search of a better tomorrow than today...'' - I understand. The demons will now appear. I will give you instructions, so please let them leave as they do. Don't be too vigorous in defeating it, Helu-sister.''
　And.

'"Stop the hand of time and force it back to..." - I understand." "Judge..." - I understand." "I understand.

　By the way, the first one has nine numbered objects and a stone tablet that shows the mystery, and if you don't move it correctly, you won't be able to move on.
　If you read the whole sentence, you'll know that you need to move or destroy something, but when you read the long, poetry-filled text, you won't know what it is.

　The correct answer is 'tear down the mountain'. The second one is from a famous folklore.

　The second question was based on the motif of a gate in a famous folklore, which says, "An innocent child can go to heaven without having to check his or her aptitude.
　Many people know that much, but in fact, the "innocent child" in that episode is known to be of a certain height.

　In other words, another long and poetic sentence that, when properly interpreted, reads, "If you are shorter than the height of the innocent child in the legend, pass through the gate, and if you are not, wait.
　It's a much more knowledgeable question.

　Thirdly, the demons will land one by one in the limited space where the timer is set up, but if you only defeat them at random, it will be considered a failure.
　Once the timer goes off, it resets and starts counting again.

　The number of countdowns is 10, and the correct strategy is to make sure that the number of monsters you defeat the second time is greater than the number of monsters you defeated the first time. Repeat until the tenth time, 'Make the third time--from the number of demons you defeated the second time--from the number of demons you defeated the second time.
　What's a bit nasty is that in the middle of the game, there won't be enough demons on the field, so you'll need to kill the demons flying around you as well.

　In this way, the seventh layer, which would normally take a long time to complete, was speedily captured thanks to Margret's help.
　Of course, there were many situations that required strength, such as battling demons, and the other members also had opportunities to play an active role.

　The only ones who were able to contribute to solving the mystery were Wraith-kun, 【Hunter】Suri-san and 【Wizard】Michelle-san.
　However, it seemed like Aerial-san dared not to interfere.

　Although there was a bit of a pinch, that was how the seventh layer was attacked.
　Kaim-san said, ''Medium brains.......but it's a frustrating thing,'' and while acknowledging Margrette-san, he seemed to feel his own inadequacy in the failure of the defense.

　.........No, the problem was properly difficult.

　Riddles can be surprisingly well received by the audience.
　I wonder if it's the same as the "Let's think about it together, you on the other side of the TV" type of quiz show.

　It's rare these days, so that's probably part of it.
　Maybe it's a fresh take on the idea of a battle that can't be gotten through on combat ability alone.

'As I recall, in the Fenix Party, Lily and Fenix-san were mainly responsible for solving the mystery. Béla-san's free thinking was also brilliant.

　Mira says. Heartlessly, her words are softer than before.

'Thank you. Nevertheless, it was a reflective attack.'

　Fenix replied with a smile.

'I've lived in the forest for a long time, so I'm interested in the outside world. It's kind of a hobby of mine to find out things. I've found it useful in a surprising way. It took me a lot of time, but...

　Lily certainly has an appetite for absorbing knowledge.
　But solving a riddle also requires a flexible mind.

　Fenix looked at me.

''The Demon King's Castle has become more difficult than when we tried it.

It's a raid spec. We'll pretend you and Lily are in that category.

　It's unlikely that anyone will reach the tenth layer, but we can't call these two out every time they show up. The Fenix Party is very busy.

''If you ask for help, I'm always willing to oblige.

I'm good, I'm good. I'm good. I'm not looking for trouble with my people. I'll do it this one time.

"Ha-ha.

　Fenix laughed.
　At the same time, me and Fenix's belly rumbled at the same time.
　It was quite late, I realized. Dinner time.

'I'm going to make dinner now,'

Oh, yeah. Thanks.

If you would like, you two would like to join me?　........I actually bought enough materials for a few people.

All right, then, by all means.

Well, I'd appreciate it if you don't mind me saying so.

　Hearing Fenix and Lily's reply, Mira smiled at her.

'Can I help you?'

'Oh, thank you very much. Do you cook, Lily?

"On the road, it seemed like it was just me and Lark who could cook. We wouldn't want to disturb you.

　Mira's body shook.

''........!　So, then, Lily's home-cooked food, Leme, for years?

　Lily got impatient. Her frizzy hair flapped and moved busily.
　...I've always been curious about you, but you're responding to your emotions, right?　The hair. How does it work? Or is it an illusion?

'No, no, I didn't treat Reme personally, I just prepared a meal for all my friends...'

　Melanie, flames seem to flicker from around Mira-san.

'By all means, could you join us?　.... and if you know of any of Leme's favorite flavors or dishes, I'll buy the information at an asking price.

"A price...?　Um, no, I'm not sure.... I'm sure each member of the team had a certain dish that they responded to somewhat well. As for Alba, he's a simple man who is satisfied with a big piece of meat.

How much information do you have on Mr. Leme?

　I don't have a lot of specific things that I like about this dish. All of Mila's food is delicious, so I always say it's good, but that's not what she wants to know.

'How dare you ask me for money? I'm going to try to remember that while I cook, if that's alright with you.

　Mila smiled with a huff.

''I may have been wrong about you.

　A little closer between the two of us, I guess.
　I patted my chest and suddenly looked at Fenix, and he was smiling.

'What?'

No, no.

Tell me.

You care about her, don't you?

I knew it. Don't say another word.

　I'm not going to talk about love with this guy.
　If you talk to him about it, he'll take it seriously, but I don't want to say anything about it, regardless.
　At times like this, you have to change the subject.

"More importantly, have you thought this through?

Hmm?　...Oh, you mean him. I've listened to you and I've got my own answers. I think this could wake him up.

Hmm, and when you do, will you win?

　I don't doubt this.
　I'm firing it up, if you will.
　Fenix understands, and responds happily.

'I'm not going to lose,' he says. I will win in the end. Even you, Leme.

Hmm. I'll look forward to it, one way or the other.

　We continued to talk nonsense for a while as the ladies cooked harmoniously.
　Oh, we were allowed to take out the plates and clean up afterwards.
　And so, the four of us ate that day.

　The eighth layer of the attack is just around the corner.