-412- Doesn't want players to approach?

"Gu!"

"Gu!"

Saichou and Hanachou made warning cries.

Because, with Rozen and Asuna's charge, The Fatal Scythe unexpectedly swept towards them.

The giant scythe in its hand, the blade flashed with a bright arc.

The black Grim Reaper wielded such a deadly weapon, swinging it with tremendous force towards the approaching Rozen and Asuna.

This strike seemed capable of slicing through space, like a silver-white streak flashing at incredible speed.

Faced with this high-speed strike, Rozen had only one command.

"Jump!"

After saying that, Rozen himself jumped first.

Not upwards, but forwards.

In this situation, Rozen seemed to shoot out like an arrow, dashing forward.

Naturally, Asuna followed the same action under Rozen's command.

Both of them skimmed the ground at low altitude, allowing the high-speed strike to pass over their heads.

The fierce wind ruthlessly blew against them.

But it was unclear if it was a coincidence, this gust of wind actually propelled Rozen and Asuna just right, greatly enhancing their forward leap in an instant.

"Run!"

The moment they landed, Rozen once again issued a command in the nick of time. His figure shot forward like an arrow.

"Yes!"

Asuna didn't hesitate at all, even though the Grim Reaper was right behind her. She didn't turn back either. Following Rozen's instructions, she rushed towards the room at the fastest speed.

The actions of these two completely infuriated The Fatal Scythe.

In a silent growl, the black Grim Reaper flew provocatively towards them. The scythe in its hand spun as if it were a sharp steel blade, continuously cutting towards the running Rozen and Asuna.

However, even though Rozen and Asuna had their backs turned to The Fatal Scythe, they were not hit even once.

Whenever The Fatal Scythe's attacks were about to reach them, Rozen seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and loudly gave commands.

"Jump!"

"Right!"

"Duck!"

"Left!"

"Run!"

Rozen issued concise instructions again and again.

It was precisely these repeated instructions that allowed Asuna to constantly evade The Fatal Scythe's attacks, and Rozen himself was never once hit by The Fatal Scythe, bringing them closer and closer to the room.

Seeing this unfold, The Fatal Scythe seemed to grow anxious and launched even more ferocious attacks.

In that state, it was as if it had gone into a frenzy.

But in the end, The Fatal Scythe couldn't stop Rozen and Asuna.

"Turn around! Attack!"

At a certain moment, Rozen suddenly issued this command, and he himself turned around abruptly, launching his most powerful sword skill—"Vorpal Strike."

"Yah!"

Without hesitation, Asuna executed Rozen's command once again, almost simultaneously turning around and launching her highest-level sword skill—"Flashing Penetrator."

The sword skills, shimmering with red and white light, struck heavily.

Coincidentally, they struck the giant scythe that The Fatal Scythe had swung down.

"Clang!"

An intense clash, like the tolling of a bell, resounded.

A shockwave spread out like a storm.

The Crystal Sword and Silver Rapier simultaneously pierced the giant scythe, colliding fiercely.

However, even when Rozen and Asuna jointly executed their highest-level sword skills, they still couldn't withstand The Fatal Scythe's strike. They felt an unbeatable force coming through their swords, sending them flying.

But this was precisely the effect Rozen wanted.

"————!"

The Fatal Scythe finally let out an incredibly angry cry.

Because, as Rozen and Asuna were sent flying, they seemed to be rubbing against the air, like two bullets, flying backward.

There, they were heading towards the white room, which was the safe zone.

In other words, Rozen and Asuna utilized The Fatal Scythe's power to unexpectedly charge into the safe zone.

"Gu!"

"Gu!"

Almost simultaneously, Saichou and Hanachou swiftly flew into the room, leaving The Fatal Scythe no time to react.

The black Grim Reaper hovered at the entrance of the room, but it was as if it didn't dare to step into a minefield. It anxiously paced outside for a while before reluctantly retreating, emitting a resentful cry.

Rozen and Asuna successfully crossed this desperate situation and resolved the crisis.

...

"Huff... huff... huff..."

"Ha... ha... ha..."

In the white room, Rozen and Asuna lay on the ground simultaneously, disregarding their appearance, panting heavily.

Saichou and Hanachou danced above them as if celebrating the two's successful survival, looking incredibly joyful.

But Rozen and Asuna, who had narrowly escaped death, didn't have such good spirits.

"The last time we were this tired was when we fought the boss on the 74th floor by ourselves, right?"

"Yeah..."

Rozen and Asuna exchanged these sentiments with each other.

Although compared to when they faced the Gleam Eyes, this time they were only running, and it didn't take long, not even three minutes. However, in this world, stamina consumption was tied to mental exhaustion. In terms of threat and danger, this time was entirely comparable to the last.

Rozen and Asuna could only lie on the ground, trying to calm their breathing.

"Why was there such powerful monster here?"

Asuna asked with lingering fear.

Well, that was a valid question, wasn't it?

"Even though we're in the same dungeon, the monsters we encountered before were at the level of the 60th floor. Even if there were boss-level monsters here, they should be on par with the 60th-floor boss. Why did the difficulty suddenly spike like this, turning into something rule-breaking like this?"

To which Rozen replied, "Actually, it's not that surprising. Just look at its behavior. That monster isn't of the typical type; it has a different purpose."

"Different purpose?" Asuna looked at Rozen.

"Generally speaking, monsters exist for two main reasons," Rozen explained. "One is to provide players with kills at an appropriate difficulty level, granting experience and drop items. The other is to act as obstacles when players are underleveled, preventing them from entering areas with higher difficulty or obtaining overly powerful items."

Aincrad operated on this principle, with each floor having its own difficulty. Players needed to overcome lower-level floors to access higher ones, making it very straightforward.

However, if players' levels and abilities weren't sufficient, the floor boss would block their progress, preventing them from entering higher-level areas.

This was the role of monsters: to gradually make players stronger.

The Fatal Scythe clearly didn't fall into the former category.

So, it belonged to the latter.

"You see, it's not just about preventing us from entering this room. It even ignored the most basic aggro settings and targeted only those approaching this room, right?" Rozen continued.

"So, it must have been specifically designed as a high-difficulty guard to keep players away from here."

Rozen's words were met with a response.

"It's really no surprise that it's you, Papa. You guessed it right away."

When this voice rang out, Rozen and Asuna both felt a jolt of excitement.

A familiar voice.

A familiar call.

In this world, there was only one person who had that voice and would call Rozen and Asuna like that.

"Yui!"

"Yui-chan!"