This Isn’t an E*otic Game?

The expeditionary force was halted at the entrance to the 6th floor.

The moment the Berserker Flame Dragon appeared, soaring through the air—
No amount of firepower mattered anymore.
Which meant they had no choice but to put their faith in the Saint’s frankly absurd-sounding dragon theft strategy.

Of course, that didn’t mean the expedition had just been sitting around doing nothing.
“How’s the machine gun emplacement coming?”
“In progress.”

“Do we currently have enough firepower to pierce a dragon’s barrier?”
“Of course. We planned to descend all the way to the 7th floor—why wouldn’t we have brought weapons capable of facing a dragon?”
The expedition was converting their base camp into a fortified position.

Machine gun nests were being constructed all around, and anticipating the possibility that Lucifer’s followers—masters of taming—might bring a monster horde, they laid booby traps of landmines and grenades around the perimeter.
In the midst of all this—
The Golden Company had one job: fire anti-materiel sniper rifles powerful enough to kill a dragon.
“This one fires 14.5mm rounds. And this one here uses 20mm rounds.”

Faced with the absurdly large sniper rifles brought by the Labyrinth Hunters, the Golden Company troops looked stunned.
By their standards, these weren’t small arms—they were absurdly large and overwhelmingly powerful weapons for a single person to wield.
But the Hunters looked displeased even with these.

“These still aren’t ideal for piercing a dragon’s barrier. You have to hit the same spot repeatedly to just barely break through.”
“If we’d brought the 8.8mm cannons installed deeper in the Labyrinth, it would’ve been easier… but those can’t be loaded onto transport beasts like the Barg.”
“For now, this is the best we’ve got.”

The Hunters began teaching the Golden Company how to operate the anti-materiel sniper rifles.
“Each gun requires a two-man team. One fires, the other handles reloading and ammo supply.”
“Let us show you how to use them.”

The Golden Company were the Empire’s elite—handpicked, top-tier troops.
It didn’t take long for them to master the use of the rifles.
“The important part is this: concentrate all fire on a single point. The moment you start spreading your shots, the barrier will never break.”

“Once the barrier’s down, the rest is easy. All the weapons we’re using are powerful enough to pierce dragon scales.”
Mayor Lagote made a poking gesture with his finger against his palm.
Captain Jerome and the Golden Company soldiers understood the meaning.

“So all we need to do is pump rounds into the breached point, and it’s our victory.”
“Exactly. We currently have ten anti-materiel sniper rifles. Twenty personnel will focus exclusively on breaching the barrier. The rest of you—cover fire.”
Mayor Lagote pointed to his own chest.
“To cast magic down here, you must have mana stones. Just smashing the black mages’ mana stones will make things a hell of a lot easier for us. If this becomes a battle of bullets and gunpowder, we won’t lose.”

“Understood. If Lucifer’s followers decide to come after us, when do you expect they’ll arrive?”
Captain Jerome had just assigned which squads would operate which sniper rifles when he asked.
Mayor Lagote shook his head.

“We can’t say for sure. The basic rule of 6th-floor expeditions is to never intrude on dragon territory. That means the paths we can take are basically fixed.”
“But the enemy has a Berserker Flame Dragon.”
“Which changes everything. Since they can enter dragon territory without provoking a fight, they’re free to create and use their own routes. That means we have no way to predict where they are now.”

Sending out scouts wouldn’t help either.
The scouts were limited to established paths, but the enemy would be moving through places the scouts couldn’t reach.
“They must’ve spent a ton of time and resources taming that Berserker Flame Dragon. Even allowing for a brief period to reorganize… they’ll probably launch their attack today or tomorrow at the latest.”

“From their perspective, the faster they strike, the better.”
Before the expedition could prepare countermeasures against the Flame Dragon, the best strategy for Lucifer’s cult was to hit fast and hard.
Which meant the odds were high they’d strike as soon as possible.

Mayor Lagote bit his lip.
“The Saint needs to finish taming Alcassas before they attack.”
“We have no choice but to believe. Let’s wait.”

With that, the conversation ended.
The expedition calmly completed their fortifications and prepared to face the approaching Lucifer cult with everything they had.
The Golden Company began zeroing in their unfamiliar anti-materiel rifles with test shots.

Evening came, amid a haze of anxiety and dread.
“Flame Dragon spotted!! Enemy incoming!!”
As the luminous orbs embedded in the Labyrinth ceiling began to dim—

Beyond the horizon—
A colossal Flame Dragon, along with a staggering number of monstrous beasts, began to appear.
 

****
Captain Jerome lowered his binoculars with a tense expression.
On the backs of the monstrous beasts crowding the horizon—each and every one of them carried a follower of Lucifer.

Judging by the size of the beasts, they weren’t the soft, squishy types seen on the 3rd or 4th floor.
These were clearly high-risk-class beasts from the 6th floor.
There were over a thousand of them on the ground alone, counting both the beasts and the cultists.

But they weren’t the real problem.
The true threat was the massive dragon hovering in the air.
A flame dragon over 100 meters long—its oppressive presence was something beyond words.

“There’s easily over a hundred wyverns surrounding the dragon, just at a glance. This is bad.”
“I know.”
At his subordinate’s words, Captain Jerome swallowed hard and picked up his rifle.

He took a deep breath.
He couldn’t let his men see him falter.
He stood in front of the soldiers preparing to fire and looked them all in the eye.

The Saint wasn’t here.
Alcassas—the one the Saint had promised to tame—had yet to appear.
If things kept going like this, it could be a massacre.

But Jerome didn’t give up hope.
He stepped forward and raised his hand.
“Do not fear! Remember your training! You are the Empire’s elite! You will survive and return! For His Majesty the Emperor and the people of the Empire! If you must die, then die fighting!!”

The Golden Company let out a unified roar in response to Jerome’s command.
Mayor Lagote and the other Hunter guild leaders were also shouting to rally morale.
They were shouting in Northern dialect—no one knew exactly what they were saying—but hundreds of Hunters roaring together made the ground tremble.

With a click-clack, the sound of machine guns being loaded rang out from every direction.
Jerome raised his own bolt-action rifle and chambered a round.
He sighted in with the long scope as he checked each bullet.

Then he planted the rifle against his shoulder, bracing himself.
“Come on, you sons of bitches.”
The enemy started moving.

The Berserker Flame Dragon let out a roar and surged forward through the air.
The ground forces began to charge as well.
All the wyverns lifted off and began flying too.

Despite the distance, the flame dragon’s roar rang out crisp and chilling.
Jerome’s body locked up for a moment before he forced it to relax.
“All units! Target the black mages’ mana stones! If you destroy those, the Hunters can take care of the rest!”

A massive rumble shook the ground.
Naturally, the flying beasts reached them far faster than those on the ground.
The wyverns and the Flame Dragon were rapidly closing the gap.

When they were finally close enough—
A sharp burst of Northern dialect echoed out, followed by thunderous gunfire erupting from the fortifications.
The Hunters’ heavy machine guns opened fire all at once.

Under the barrage of anti-air fire, the wyverns that had charged in boldly began to falter.
“Fire!! Aim for the black mages’ mana stones!”
The Golden Company joined the battle, opening fire.

Once the enemy forces were flying overhead, everything would be over.
The Golden Company’s shooting skills were exceptional.
Even in the darkness, they accurately sniped the mana stones hanging around the necks of the black mages riding the wyverns.

As the mana stones shattered and the Demon Lord’s authority dispersed, several black mages lost control—and were immediately torn apart by the wyverns they had been riding.
As casualties mounted, Lucifer’s cultists pulled their wyverns back behind the Flame Dragon.
They were using the dragon as a shield, minimizing the surface area exposed to bullets.

“Anti-materiel rifles! Begin firing! Target the dragon’s head! Everyone focus fire on a single point!!”
At Jerome’s shout, thunderous blasts—too loud to even call sniper shots—exploded from the fortifications.
With a heavy BOOM, the Flame Dragon, Dalloran, visibly reeled as its head jerked from impact.

All ten anti-materiel rifles had hit the exact same spot.
No matter how tough the Flame Dragon’s barrier was—
It couldn’t withstand focused fire.

As Dalloran wavered mid-air—
“Fire again!”
Without hesitation, the Hunters and the Golden Company focused their fire on the wyverns behind.

Though Dalloran quickly regained control, in that brief moment—
Eight wyverns lost formation and veered out of control.
“Good work! Again! Don’t stop now!”

The anti-materiel rifles fired once more.
Dalloran tried to evade, but in the face of the Golden Company’s marksmanship, it meant nothing.
Eight out of ten rounds hit Dalloran’s head again, perfectly predicting his evasive movement.

Cracks visibly spread across the dragon’s barrier.
A smile tugged at the corner of Jerome’s lips.
“That’s it! Just a little more! The moment that barrier breaks, [N O V E L I G H T] we win!…”

Just as hope began to bloom—
The Flame Dragon opened its mouth, sucking in air, and began emitting a chilling sound.
Dragons moved incredibly fast.

And the expedition camp was already within the breath’s range.
Jerome’s voice grew desperate.
“Fire the anti-materiel rifles again!! Break that barrier!!”

The ten rifles roared again, launching their rounds.
But it was useless.
Dalloran’s head flinched, and the cracks on the barrier deepened—but that was all.

The barrier held, and Dalloran merely staggered for a moment.
He continued gathering his breath.
Mayor Lagote’s panicked voice rang out.

“At this rate, that barrier should’ve broken!!”
Jerome raised his binoculars and peered at the dragon.
On Dalloran’s back, dozens of black mages were casting spells.

A dim black light shimmered around the Flame Dragon’s horns.
Jerome’s face twisted.
“They’re reinforcing the barrier with magic.”

The Golden Company scrambled to reload the rifles and prepare for another shot.
But Jerome—watching the situation—could tell.
They were too late.

Even if they fired again, the breath would hit before the barrier broke.
Just as the guild leaders had said—
As long as Lucifer’s cult had the Flame Dragon—

There was no chance of victory.
“Ground beasts approaching! Captain, what do we do!!”
The Golden Company’s frantic shouts rang out.

If the breath and wyverns swept through the expedition, it would be over.
Their combat capacity would plummet, and the beasts rushing in from the ground would tear them apart.
“Captain! Your orders!!”

A dark moment.
The moment there was no way to save his men.
No way to dodge the breath. No way to shatter the barrier in time.

And then—
The Flame Dragon unleashed its breath.
Over 100 meters away, yet the searing heat could already be felt—violet flames of unimaginable intensity roared toward the expedition.

The dim dungeon lit up like day.
And because of that—
Jerome saw it.

From the left side of the Flame Dragon’s flight path, something white was streaking in at incredible speed.
A white dragon.
“Alcassas!!”

Almost in sync with Jerome’s scream, the white dragon released its breath.
The ultra-cold breath clashed with the ultra-hot breath in midair—exploding into a massive cloud of steam.
As Dalloran turned his head in confusion—

Alcassas tore through the vapor and slammed straight into him.
The two colossal dragons tangled midair and veered out of formation.
With their barrier removed, the wyverns behind them were suddenly exposed to the expedition’s firing line.

“Light them up!!”
A deafening shout echoed from atop Alcassas’s back.
It was old man Ban’s voice.

That one shout changed everything.
“Fire!! Kill them all!!”
In the dim expanse of the Great Labyrinth—

Through the swirling steam—
A storm of bullets began to pour down like rain.