The main unit, led by Creon, was about to finish the seventh layer of the attack.
　I'm following the attack team along with Filia and the others, but if I look around at the other adventurers, we've already had quite a few defections.

　The path of the seventh level wasn't wide, and each room of the palace was buried in rocks and dirt and sand.
　Fragments of extravagant pottery were scattered around, barely retaining the appearance of being an ancient palace.

　The black mage, Nasha, and the white mage, Lisa, both looked very tired.
　Although they were Filia's guards, they were still made to work as mages without a moment's rest as logistical support, according to the policy of the entire invasion team.

''Solon-san seems to be perfectly fine...!

　Lisa says, feeling a little surprised.
　As a magic swordsman, I'm also participating in the battle from the flanks with supportive magic.
　I've also asked Laskarus and the others to guard Filia, and I've been fighting on the front lines quite often.

　But I'm not that worn out.
　The same goes for Laskalos and Notaras next door, and even Creon, Arte, and Flora and the others haven't shown any signs of exhaustion.

　They are all senior leaders and senior members of the old Order of St. Sophia.
　Almost all of the old corps members have not yet dropped out of the attack.

　Even Nasha and Lisa and the others are among the top adventurers in the Empire.
　But the members of the St. Sophia's Knights, who were hypothetically sung to be the strongest, would be the members of the St. Sophia's Knights would be proud of their ability to be separated from the others.

''As expected of Sophia-sama's lover!

'Is Mr. Solon your girlfriend, Miss Sophia?'

　Lisa's words prompted Nasha to question me with interest.
　I didn't think that even the calm Nasha, let alone Lisa, would be interested in such a topic.
　As I was about to open my mouth to answer, Filia tugged on my sleeve.

　Filia stares into my eyes.
　What's wrong with her?

Solon isn't Miss Sophia's girlfriend, is he?

What?

Isn't that right?

'Yes. Yes, but....

　I look back and see Lisa and Nasha, and incidentally, Notaras smiling at me.
　They're all smiling and creepy.

'So the Princess is yakking!

　Lisa says with a chuckle.
　The other two nodded in agreement.

　Only Rascalos doesn't change his expression and says with a bored look on his face.

''It's about time for us to fight the boss of the seventh layer.

　He was right, and the lead Creon was about to open the heavy iron door.
　Based on the information he had researched beforehand, this was one of the most difficult places to attack.

　Many adventurers had either given up on the attack at the seventh level or had been wiped out.
　Filia nodded her head curiously.　

''Hey, Solon. What kind of enemies are out there?''

In the literature, it says it's a tiger.

Tigers?　A tiger, you mean the one that made the cat bigger and scarier?

Well, that's about right. Though they're not just animals, they're demons.

　Even so, it was strange that tigers had fought off so many talented adventurers.
　I can understand if it's a dragon, golem, or some other high-ranking demon race like that.

''Other than that, the only thing we know about them is that they are vulnerable to water magic laws.

Hmm. Then can my water magic attack do a little bit of damage?

'It might be possible if you try your best, but it's not safe, so you'll have to watch behind you, Miss Filia.

Shame.

　While mumbling, Filia easily agreed.

　There have already been some retreaters to the attack, and they must have noticed that the degree of difficulty has become greater.

　Even if Filia succeeded in attacking successfully, I don't want that to cause the eyes of the demon tribe to focus on Filia,

　Following Creon and the others, we went through the door.
　It was the great hall of a former palace, a pure white space paved with marble.

　There was nothing there except for four large pillars.

''There's nothing in there, is there?''

　Sage Arte muttered as if he was out of sync.
　It was true that there was nothing in the hall.

　But I noticed the enemy's presence.

'Up there,'

　Creon murmured briefly.
　The adventurers all looked up at the ceiling at once.

　Since it was only the palace of the ancient kingdom's royal capital, its ceiling was frighteningly high, and it nicely gave off the size of the hall.

　However, there were several large holes in the ceiling, and beyond the holes, it was surrounded by darkness.
　There was a void between the sixth and seventh layers.

　And out of the darkness, a bird emerged.
　No, it wasn't a bird.

　It was a winged tiger.
　It boasted a black and yellow striped body and stared at us with its majestic golden-brown eyes.

"A winged tiger........

　I've heard of them in legends.
　They appear in the ancient tales of the ancient kingdoms as spirit beasts that see right and wrong in people and punish them.

　The winged tiger swooped down and grazed over the heads of the adventurers.
　The tiger's legs were like claws.

　One of the sorceress women was kidnapped by the winged tiger and let out a high-pitched scream.
　The woman was swung down as it was and slammed into the wall.

　In the next moment, the winged tiger opened its mouth wide.
　Red lotus flames were spat out from its throat, coming at us.

　While many adventurers were in a panic, Creon pulled out his holy sword and stepped forward.
　The golden holy sword catches a stream of burning flames from the front.
　Me and Lascaros and others followed suit, and tried to join the defense as the vanguard.

　However, some of them couldn't support it, and the swordsman who was directly underneath the winged tiger was directly hit by the flames.
　The screaming was cut off in an instant, and all that remained was the pitch black shadow of the doll.

　Seeing this, some of the fearful vanguard adventurers tried to run away.
　However, they were unable to escape.

　I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results.
　A fence of flames will create a way for them to escape.

''The weak ones will be killed by the demons and those who run away will be killed by me. Now, fight for your lives!

　They looked stunned, then hurriedly turned back to the enemy.
　If they didn't do this, they would not be able to maintain their will to fight.

　They are, after all, a bunch of crows.
　The attack team is made up of excellent looking adventurers for now.

　Except for the leaders of the Salvation Knights, if they are pushed into an inferior position, they could lose the will to fight immediately.

''You shouldn't do it in such a way as to deprive your comrades of an escape route, Arte.

　When I said it as I fought, Arte made a disgusted face and stared at me with black eyes.

''I don't remember being told what to do by my seniors. At best, you should be a shield. You can't defeat that demon tribe with your senior's attacks, you know.

　As he said this, Arte chuckled and waved his willow wand high in the air.