Despite the sacrifice, we managed to finish the seventh level of the attack.

　One swordsman man was staring at the marble floor.
　There was a human-shaped black shadow there.

　It was the remains of an adventurer who had been killed by the fierce fire of the Winged Tiger.
　The swordsman did not show a single tear, but it was clear that he was saddened by the death of the adventurer.

　Perhaps he was a companion.
　He looked at Creon and the others with eyes that were filled with resentment.

　Near the corpse of the other sacrificed sorcerer, the girls, who seemed to be his companions, were sobbing.

　Just hearing such voices lowered the wariness of the other adventurers.
　It might be his turn to be next.

　Creon approached the sorceress's corpse and said, "Let's bury her generously," and tried to comfort her crying companions.

　The girls had complained that they wanted to take the corpse back to the ground, but imagining Creon's position, I don't think that's going to happen.
　They still had a long way to go before they could attack, and they didn't have enough time to take the remains with them.

　Anyway, with the death of the winged tiger, the huge door at the far end of the seventh layer opened.
　After making various preparations, we'll be able to move on to deeper levels.

　While we were resting, Filia was laboring over the whole thing.
　Even if it's only a formality, it has the air of a general commander of an invasion force.

　Lisa comes up to me and whispers.

''Solon-san!　I'm glad you're okay.

Thank you. That was a close call.

'But it was cool!　I risked my life defending the Sage alone and made it work!

　For Lisa, who admires the Knights of St. Sophia, perhaps the wise man Arute is also an object of respect.
　Lisa looked up at me with a twinkle in her eye.

　I chuckle a bit.

　Besides, I didn't do anything that great.

'That was all thanks to Flora's help,'

　Come to think of it, I didn't thank Flora.
　I looked for Flora, but I couldn't find her.

　Where did she go?

　When Creon was finally about to announce his departure again.　
　Underneath the floor, from the side walls, and from the far higher ceiling, there was a violent sound.

'What is that noise?'

　Lisa looked up at the ceiling curiously.
　I have a bad feeling about this.

　The next thing she knew, the marble floor cracked and began to crumble without pause.

'It's coming down!　Run to the eighth level door!

　Creon shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the screams of the other adventurers.
　The ground on the seventh level was crumbling and they were about to fall to the lower levels.

　Creon was right, they needed to get down the stairs to the eighth level first.

　Laskalos and Nasha take Filia and run to the eighth level.
　I was about to run out too, but before I could, Lisa next to me wobbled.

　The floor Lisa was standing on collapsed.

'Kyah!'

　He grabbed Lisa's screaming hand in the nick of time.
　Lisa's body is underneath the floor, and underneath it is pitch blackness.

　I pull Lisa up with all the strength I can muster, dangling only from my arms.　
　A teary-eyed Lisa looks at me.

'Oh, thank you so much,'

You're welcome. Anyway, we need to get out of here as soon as possible...

　Most of the adventurers seemed to have escaped the difficulty and moved to the stairs to the safe eighth level.
　The other two people left in the hall seemed to be us, Creon and Karelia.

　Karelia was about to be caught in the collapse as well, and she was thanking Creon with a red face, as if he had saved her from it.

　We got up and tried to start walking across the cavernous floor.
　Collapses of ruins happen every once in a while, but it's rare to see them on this large a scale.

　Perhaps this is another trap set in the ruins.
　I had researched beforehand the story that the descendants of the ancient kingdom had set a trap in the necropolis to protect its past palaces.
　If that's the case, it wouldn't be surprising if there was a more elaborate mechanism, I thought, and I looked up.

　Something was falling from the ceiling.
　As soon as I saw it, I pushed Lisa away.

　She screamed and sat on her ass, but I made the right decision.
　What fell from above was a muddy demon race.

　I pulled out my treasure sword tetracord and flashed it at him.
　The demon was cut in two and killed, but the problem came next.

　The mud-like demon tribe's corpse seemed to be quite massive.
　I'm on the same floor.

　And this layer of floor is on the verge of collapse.
　The marble floor collapsed easily.　

"Solon!

　I could hear Filia's mournful cries from the edge of the hall.
　Lisa's eyes widened, too, and she was staring at me as I fell.

　She was being sucked from my back into the darkness, and I thought as I watched the light move away.
　This is dead, I thought.

　I thought to myself that I was surprisingly calm for someone who was so close to death, but I felt a pang of regret when I thought about the rest of Filia and her family.

　He could only look to Laskarus and the others to protect Filia.
　And as a master, he could no longer teach Filia anything. I can see the faces of people like Sophia, Clarice and Lucy.

　I closed my eyes tightly.
　I was knocked to the ground with a thud.

　Fearfully, I got up.
　It was pitch black, but I wasn't dead.
　But I wasn't dead.

　I think I was wrapped in a muddy demon corpse, which cushioned me.
　And also because the next layer under the floor was surprisingly not far away.

　I had fallen into the space between the seventh and eighth layers.

'Light.'

　I tapped the floor lightly with my treasured sword.
　As I did so, a dim, thin white light enveloped the area.

　It was like a narrow cave, and in the corner I recognized a surprising figure.

"Creon?

Yeah. Looks like you and I are the only ones who have fallen here.

　Covered in the pure white garments of a holy knight and purple demon mud, Creon nodded to me with a sullen face.