Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka - Volume 12 - Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 

THE HERO’S SACRED FLAME 

Roars gushed through the passages, accompanied by an unending thunder of footsteps. 

Plagued by the parasitic vines, the monsters howled in rage and charged forward toward their prey. 

The adventurers stood paralyzed before this terrifying scene. 

“A monster’s pass parade…?!” 

“Stop joking around! It’s not funny.” 

As Lilly and Welf watched this artificially created—no, monster-created—event unfold, their panic mounted. 

A pass parade induced by a monster. It was unheard of. This time the enhanced species wasn’t using itself as a decoy—it was using its superhuman strength and seed bullets to route other monsters from their lairs and drive them into the main route. They appeared from one passageway after the next like clockwork, cutting off the adventurers’ retreat. 

“OOO…” 

Aisha gritted her teeth and glared straight ahead. The enhanced species had disappeared from her field of view when it crossed the main route into another tunnel. The hideous, intelligent giant was hopping about deep in the labyrinth precisely as if to prepare a new assassination attempt. 

“Run, you guys! Escape!” 

The second-tier adventurer’s decision was instantaneous. She turned toward the party behind her and, with an urgent expression on her face, ordered them to flee. 

“That enhanced species is planning to use the other monsters to destroy this area! There’s no way we can fight them with magic swords!” 

Welf and the others were astonished by Aisha’s ability to accurately read the monster’s intentions. No matter how fierce the firepower of the Crozzo Magic Swords, they worked in only one direction at a time. Attempting to take down the monsters pressing in from every side would simply take too much time. The moment they succumbed to the enemies’ superior numbers and were overtaken by the horde of monsters, it was over. As friend and foe mingled pell-mell, the battle would descend into chaos, and most likely all that would remain in the end would be the mercilessly trampled corpses of the adventurers. 

But more than anything, the life span of the magic swords would do them in. 

If the parade of monsters set upon them again after their blades had crumbled— 

“Shit!” Welf spat out, even as he obeyed Aisha’s command. Returning his magic sword to its sheath, he took off running at full speed alongside Ouka. With them leading, the party dove into a passageway that branched off from the main route. 

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” 

The howling monsters pursued them. Haruhime didn’t even have time to use the trick she had been holding back, her Level Boost. In the middle rank, the dwarves ran desperately, dripping sweat as they struggled to stay ahead of the nightmare barreling down on them. The elves on their backs, too, were hot with a fear unconnected to the parasitic vines wrapped around them. 

“Huff, puff…Curses, I’m falling over my own feet!” 

“Damn slow-footed dwarf…Run faster!” 

“What?! Some nerve ye have when I’m carrying ye on my back!!” 

As Dormul cursed the vines that were robbing his strength, Luvis whispered insults into his ear. Fueled by a spurt of rage, the dwarf increased his speed once again. Lilly watched from behind, her backpack swaying as she ran. 

“I can’t tell if they’re friends or enemies…” 

Luvis’s words certainly weren’t the equivalent of a carrot dangled in front of a horse’s nose. The same dynamic was playing out between the other dwarf-and-elf pairs. 

As the injured adventurers desperately whipped themselves on in an attempt to keep the party’s speed up, Welf and Ouka launched into intercepting enemies. 

“Get out of the way, Big Guy!” 

“Oof!” 

“GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!” 

Welf brandished his magic sword as he ran toward the scattering of blue crabs blocking their way forward. His magic dagger—which he was carrying in addition to the crimson sword—released a streak of lightning. The monster’s flesh fried. 

Ouka used his huge battle-ax to bat any enemies that got past Welf into the stream next to them. Their priority was to clear the path in front of them, not to pointlessly crush their opponents. 

Aisha had fallen back to the rear guard to take on the horrendous pass parade. That inevitably left Welf and Ouka to defend the vanguard. 

“…Crap!” 

Welf’s magic dagger crumbled noisily in his hand. Kicking aside the fragments of blade with a combination of distress and regret, he drew his greatsword from his back. In order to preserve his remaining magic sword for later, he would have to engage in hand-to-hand combat without the benefit of any tricks. 

“Here I go, smith!” 

“I’m right here by your side!!” 

With the ax-wielding Ouka next to him, the young High Smith charged forward toward his enemies. 

“Bell, this way!” 

Mari’s voice leads me forward. 

We’re inside the labyrinth on the twenty-fifth floor. I’m pumping my arms as I run while Mari swims forward, beating her tail against the water. The dryland path parallels the water, so we’re able to move ahead side by side. Again and again, I follow her pointing finger and turn into small passages that branch off one another. 

“Bell’s friends are far over there! Many of my kind are there, too!” 

Again and again, she urges me to hurry toward the adventurers, whose location she has determined by using her song. She seems to think the enhanced species is there, too. Sweat dripping down my cheeks, I kick off the crystal path to increase my speed. 

“—GUAAAAAA!” 

“An aqua serpent! Again?!” 

The immense monster breaks the water’s surface with a tremendous splash, undulating its long light-green body so it is stretched across the stream. It’s aiming not for me but for Mari, who’s right below me. 

“Mari!” 

I thrust out my right hand. 

“…!” 

Her body has disappeared into the water. 

“GUA!!” 

The aqua serpent roars in surprise as its fangs meet air, and I pause in astonishment, too, still poised to shoot a Firebolt. In that instant, I catch just a glimpse of her. With a swift, graceful movement, almost as if she’s dancing, the mermaid slips past the long serpent’s body stretched across the stream. 

—She’s unbelievably fast!! 

Even among water-dwelling monsters, mermaids are often called “the birds of the water.” They are able to move with complete freedom within the water, and their speed and ability to turn in circles are unparalleled. Once they are in the water, they are impossible to kill. It’s one reason adventurers search so insanely for these rare monsters. 

I thought she was a little absentminded, but she’s managed to avoid becoming prey for another monster. 

Since she’s a Xenos, she’s probably even faster than ordinary mermaids. 

“Bell! Over here, over here!” 

“Ah, okay!” 

Her face pops up behind the monsters as if she’s teleported herself there. 

To my surprise, she swims faster than I can run. We leave the angrily roaring aqua serpent behind and continue forward. As the mermaid points the way, I can’t help but feel like the sort of spirit that might appear in a fairy tale is guiding me. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean we can avoid combat altogether…! 

I’m flying solo here, so I persistently fight each monster I encounter along the water’s edge. There’s a crystal turtle with multiple crystals projecting from its body, and a hideous devil mosquito that latches on to adventurers and sucks their blood, and even a light quartz that shoots out rays of light. I try to defeat them as quickly as possible, but I don’t have time to take on every single one. Making my way through the sprawling twenty-fifth floor to reunite with my party on its own requires quite a lot of time. It’s also extremely inefficient for Mari to continuously sing her charm songs. As the flustered mermaid navigates through the labyrinth, we’re forced to change our route numerous times. 

After we change directions for the umpteenth time, something unexpected happens. 

“Uhh…” 

“The stream!” 

The waterway that has been flowing alongside the dryland path suddenly breaks off. While the dryland path continues forward, the stream dead-ends into a kind of cove. Perhaps we ended up here because we’ve made so many turns, but there’s no way Mari can follow the path on land. I won’t be able to rely on her navigation. 

“Bell, I’m sorry…From here on, I…” 

Her shoulders sag dejectedly. Standing beside her, I try to think of another option. The solution that blares across my adventurer’s brain a second later is totally simple and totally primitive. I feel a strong resistance to using it and frown, but this is no time to worry about appearances. I decide to go with it. 

“Mari, I’m sorry!” 

“Huh?—Eee!” 

I splash into the cove and lift the mermaid into my arms. Then, like a prince carrying his princess, I climb back onto the land and dash forward. 

“S-see, we can go together like this! I’m sorry!” 

As I utter this half-excuse, half-apology, I accelerate even faster. 

If there’s no place for her to swim, I might as well carry her. It’s completely obvious. But it also feels totally foolish…to run along carrying this girl with a fishtail for her lower body. 

Her tail waves softly back and forth. She’s as meek as a lamb, but her shoulders are tense, and I catch her staring into my face, which is right next to hers. Her cheeks flush faintly when our eyes meet, and she rests her head against my chest. 

This may well be the first time in history a human has run overland carrying a mermaid. 

I wonder if this counts as outstanding excelia…For a moment, I let my mind wander away from the present situation and laugh drily. 

In contrast, Mari’s eyes are sparkling. 

“Wow!” 

For the first time, the dryland scenery expands before her unsteady eyes. Crystal caves she has never seen before pass one after the next as the landscape changes dizzyingly. It must be like a dryland adventure for her. Her eyes are full of excitement and more joy than I’ve seen in them yet. 

“Bell! This is amazing! I love it!” 

“Okay, but heyyyyyyyyyyyy!! Please don’t hug me like that!” 

She’s so excited to experience this unknown world that she’s gripping my neck. I can feel her firm breasts pressing onto me underneath her shell bikini top. I take a huge rabbit-like leap and jump over the swarm of blue crabs blocking our way forward. 

If another adventurer saw me like this, my reputation would be done for…! 

Bell Cranell tried to take a mermaid home with him. If word of that got around, I’d be branded as someone who has a monster fetish for real. 

Dripping sweat and prodded on by all sorts of fears, I rush with renewed energy toward my destination. 

“…Damn, I’m getting used to carrying women like this…” 

“…?” 

Mari tilts her head quizzically as I mutter this sudden thought. 

First it was the goddess, then recently Haruhime. I even carried Lilly in all the confusion…I think back on these incidents and let slip a pathetic chuckle. I feel like I’ve ended up so far from where I started… 

I have a funny feeling that if Lilly and the others saw me like this, they would be extremely critical of me right now. But I take my mind off that and charge forward as Mari shouts gleefully. 

“OO!” 

The blue crab’s giant claw came swinging down. 

Welf barely managed to parry the attack with his greatsword. Stumbling, he returned the blow with the massive blade. He jumped back as sparks flew from the crab’s hard shell. Finally, on the third blow, the blade found a seam in the shell and slashed through the fleshy body underneath. 

“Damn…!” 

He wiped the sweat that had pooled beneath his neck. 

This was not easy. Aisha had said that even a Level-2 adventurer could fight the monsters on this floor. She was right. If Welf put his all into it, he could unquestionably prevail. 

But the fights were bitter. Killing a single monster took a lot of time and effort. In the Dungeon, where monster attacks came one on top of the next, that could be fatal. He would be cornered by the Dungeon’s prime weapon—its resources—and crushed. 

The experience was teaching him, painfully, the meaning of the floor standards that the Guild set. 

He could not keep up with the demands of the vanguard. The number of monsters in front of the party began to increase. Welf grimaced as the group continued its attempt at escape. 

“Yaaaaah!” 

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” 

“…!” 

But support was what a party was all about. 

A single blow from a fiercely swung blade bisected the blue crab charging Welf. 

“What’s wrong, smith? All tired out?” 

“…Man. You look pleased with yourself as usual!” 

Ouka was gripping in one hand the battle-ax that had slaughtered the crab. Welf smiled spitefully at him. 

“I guess I can forgive you in light of how well you used that weapon,” the smith said. 

“Yeah…This one is really saving my ass.” 

Welf chugged down one of the potions he was carrying and leaped forward toward the monsters. Ouka was at his side. 

“Arrr!” 

Using a martial-arts move incongruent with his hulking body—a technique he’d learned in the Far East—Ouka ripped off one flank of the blue crab directly in front of him. He followed up with a swipe of his silver ax, easily smashing the enemy’s hard shell and pulverizing its soft flesh. 

The Kougou battle-ax. 

Welf had forged it for Ouka using varmath, a high-quality Dungeon ore that Hephaistos had given him as part present, part assignment. It was found only in the lower levels. Welf had used the leftovers for Ouka’s shield. The heavyweight gear was exceptionally powerful, sharp, and protective. 

Even though he’d gotten the materials for free, Welf made it a rule to sell whatever he could as a smith, and therefore he charged 700,000 valis for the set. That included a steep discount. 

Ouka channeled his indebtedness to Welf back into fighting strength and roared with rage. 

“UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!” 

Blue veins popping in his powerful arms, he wielded Kougou with both hands. 

His abilities were undeveloped compared to those of a second-tier adventurer, but his gear—guaranteed by Welf as equivalent to second-tier level—made up for what he lacked, allowing him to crush the monsters. Swinging the ax sideways, he sliced the crab in half horizontally so forcefully that its magic stone shattered along with the rest of it, and everything turned to ash. 

The wall of monsters blocking the party’s path had thinned, and a way forward was now open. 

“Amazing vanguard work! Thanks, you guys…!” 

“Lady Lilly, now is our chance!” 

As Daphne gave the valiant Ouka a sweat-drenched smile, Mikoto urged the party forward. 

Daphne, who was concentrating on unexpected attacks from the sides, swung her baton-like dagger. While she defended Lilly and Dormul and the others in the center, Mikoto supported the vanguard. 

Mikoto was single-handedly filling the gap left by Chigusa. Using her skill, she would instantly identify approaching enemies, then throw her knives at them before they reached the party. 

The throwing knives, called sakuya, were stained crimson at the tips, as befit the meaning of their name—“red nights.” Welf had made the ninja weapons according to Mikoto’s specifications. They were forged from blood onyx, an ore found in the middle levels. Although they entailed some sacrifice in throwing distance, the weapons handled far better than a bow and arrow. Mikoto gripped four of the throwing knives between her fingers and aimed for the eyes of approaching monsters. When the enemies faltered, Ouka and Welf rushed in to kill them using their ax and sword. Sometimes Mikoto even ran forward herself and bravely filled the gaps between the two boys. 

My head is about to explode…! 

Aside from Aisha, who was drawing forward the pack of monsters at the rear and then slaughtering them, Mikoto currently bore the heaviest burden of anyone in the party. She was not only providing support from the center and filling in at the vanguard, but she was also scouting out enemies. Her role of course demanded physical stamina, but her continuous use of Yatano Black Crow was also sucking away her mental energy minute by minute. Although it could be revived with items or magic, the psychological burden was heavy. Her all-around talent with various weapons and positions was precisely what made it so weighty. 

Since Sir Bell isn’t here right now, I have to keep pushing myself…! 

As sweat poured down her body, she mentally whipped herself to fight harder with both her throwing knives and katana. Just then, Ouka and Welf started making a commotion. 

What’s that?! 

A figure about as large as Ouka was charging toward them straight on. 

Mikoto’s net of perception hadn’t registered it—in other words, it must be a type of monster she hadn’t encountered yet. 

“A crystallus urchin! All of you, clear out of here!” Aisha shouted from the rear. She knew more about this floor than the others. 

The monster’s ball-shaped body was covered in long, sharp needles. The blue marine species was charging toward the party by rolling at high speed. Watching it crush the crystal ground as it advanced furiously, sending up fragments, it was easy to imagine that anyone who got in its way would be similarly split into a thousand pieces. 

As Mikoto watched, her violet eyes zeroed in on a hideous jaw in the center of the rounded surface. She could see a large glob of mucus hanging from the circular mouth full of countless teeth. 

“Hey, Big Guy! What are you doing? Get out of the way!” Welf shouted, turning pale. 

“Chigusa and the other wounded can’t run! If this thing makes it to the back, someone will be caught in those needles!” Ouka replied, raising his shield. 

He was right. The dwarves, weakened by the parasitic vines, could not run fast enough to escape. The same was true for the elves they carried. But given Ouka’s status, he and his varmath shield would be turned into a mincemeat pancake if he tried to take on the huge needle-covered shell head-on. 

Mikoto watched Ouka drip sweat as he prepared to intercept the urchin, and her eyes narrowed. 

Ah—there’s something familiar about this scene! 

Over three months ago, she had been protecting the injured Chigusa in the middle levels when a hard armored charged them from behind. The fight had ended with injuries on both the monster’s side and theirs, and ultimately they had been in such a wretched condition that they even decided to lead a pass parade into Bell’s party. If only she had been stronger then! She still regretted what had happened. 

She smiled at her current difficult situation. Then she moved forward as if something was pulling her. 

“Mikoto!” 

She moved past the startled Ouka and leaped to the very front of the party. Returning the Iron Tiger Kotetsu to her hip, she pulled a new weapon from her back, sheath and all. 

It was a new blade made by Welf, called Shunsan, meaning “Spring Hail.” 

The cutting edge at the sword’s tip was like a flame. It was far superior to the two blades at her hip, Kotetsu and Chizan. 

As Mikoto leaped out into the path of the crystallus urchin, it hurtled forward, cutting up the monsters in its way. A cloud of blood and flesh filled the air. Mikoto sped forward, her awareness sharpening as she went. 

The voices of Ouka and the others behind her grew faint. Even the sound of the monster rolling toward her disappeared. 

She was prepared for this. Takemikazuchi had taught her new skills. She had a fantastic new weapon from Welf. If she couldn’t get through this—if she couldn’t overcome the same setup she’d encountered before—then her whole life up till now would be a fiction. 

—I can be like Bell, too! 

The next instant, her body was on fire. 

She slipped the sheath on at her hip and placed her right hand on the hilt. Taking a fighting position, she prepared to draw the sword. 

Of all the moves she had learned during her ten-day training with Takemikazuchi, the one she was about to use was as powerful as the Full-Moon Throw. It was the most advanced quick-draw she knew, and her teacher, the god of combat, had ordered her to name it. 

“—!!” 

The monster groaned as it rapidly narrowed the gap between them, crushing crystals as it went. The instant it was about to make contact, Mikoto loosened her sword from its scabbard. 

At just the right moment, with just the right breathing, she slid the blade out. 

Takemikazuchi hadn’t looked very pleased by the name she selected, but she was satisfied she had chosen well. Actually, she had based the name on the one the god had given her. In other words— 

Zekka. Eternal Flower. 

The flashing blade whined piercingly as it bisected the hard body of the crystallus urchin. 

“Whoooooaaaaaa!!” 

“N-no way!” 

“She cut it right in half!!” 

Welf, Ouka, and even Lilly forgot where they were and cheered as they watched Mikoto turn the monster into an enormous pile of ash. She swiftly returned Shunsan to its scabbard and raised her right hand in a fist. 

“Hurry, everyone! Onward!” 

Her heart still pounding with excitement, she turned to shout back at the rest of the group. The whole party—second-tier adventurers Luvis and Dormul included—was struck with admiration. They rushed down the open passage, their morale high. 

“M-Miss Mikoto, you’re amazing!” 

“Thank you, Lady Haruhime!” 

Haruhime was waiting for Mikoto when she returned to the middle rank. As the two ran desperately forward with the rest of the party, Haruhime handed Mikoto one of Nahza’s new High Dual Potions. As soon as she chugged it down, her physical and mental strength were completely restored. 

For a moment, Mikoto blushed under the excited gaze of Haruhime, who was serving as her supporter, but she quickly switched gears. Once again, she began using Yatano Black Crow to search for enemies. 

“Three on the right, six in the water, and another one hiding behind that crystal!” 

“Mr. Welf, please turn left and attack with your magic sword in four seconds!” 

As Mikoto told the party where the monsters were, the information was channeled through Lilly. She made all decisions at her own discretion, having been entrusted by Daphne with commanding the group. Drawing on experience gleaned as a supporter, she assessed her companions’ movements, coordination, and degree of energy and instantly filled any hole that opened. Unsatisfied to simply sit back and command, she also provided support with her hand bow gun and magic sword. In effect, she was controlling the party as if it were an extension of her own body. 

The combination of Mikoto’s extraordinary ability to identify enemies and Lilly’s decision-making skills saved the party from disaster numerous times. Now that the group had lost its core—Bell—these two were unmistakably steering it forward. 

Then there was Cassandra. 

“Miss Cassandra! Recovery, please!” 

“Yes, ma’am!” 

The girl was dispensing her healing magic according to decisions made by Lilly, who had the best overall grasp of battle conditions. 

“Heavenly light, once rejected. Merciful arms that save my shallow self. Rescue my miserable companions in place of my words that cannot reach them.” 

Cassandra passed Chigusa to Haruhime and began chanting as she waved her crystal rod. 

“Oh sunlight, may you beat back ruin—” 

The speed and confidence with which she sang the words were evidence of her abundant experience and skill in healing her companions. She adjusted the amount of magic power she dispensed depending on the severity of her patient’s wounds. 

Having come to the end of the chant, she activated the magic. 

“Soul light.” 

A magical light resembling sunlight poured down in a circle about ten meders across, with Cassandra at its center. This particular method, which allowed her to treat multiple people at once, was called area healing. All the adventurers aside from Aisha were within the sphere, basking in a healing light whose power was far greater than that of any ordinary potion. 

As their wounds closed, their movements regained a remarkable alacrity. Cassandra’s ability as a healer was obvious from the strength of her patients. They were fully recovered. 

“I’m ready to go!” 

“Thank you, Cassandra!” 

“That was a bit too close for comfort, wouldn’t you say, Li’l E?” 

“We can’t be using Cassandra’s skills every other second at a time like this!!” 

“Why are you arguing when I’ve just healed you…?” she moaned. 

As Ouka and Mikoto applauded Cassandra, Welf and Lilly were back to their usual quibbling. The healer looked on the verge of tears. 

The adventurers re-formed their battle line and, in a single surge, scattered the monsters blocking their way forward and once again began moving down the passage. 

“You guys aren’t half-bad…I thought when we lost Bell Cranell, everything would fall apart, but I guess I didn’t know what I was talking about,” Aisha said, gazing with narrowed eyes at the strenuous efforts of the party. 

They were still in a tough spot, but she let her admiration for the third-tier adventurers show as they cooperated to push through one lower-level attack after the next. At the same time, she revised her view of them. 

She could use these people. 

“Turn right at the next passage!” Lilly shouted. Following her order, Welf and the others found themselves leaping into a long, wide passage. 

It was a straight, dry path with no stream running alongside it. Although they could see small tunnels dotting the sides, large hordes of monsters would only be able to approach from ahead or behind them. The white crystals on the ceiling cast an unusually strong light. As the group approached the center of the passage, Lilly issued another command. 

“We will intercept monsters here!” 

“Here?! Seems like the kind of place likely to have a lot of them!” Ouka countered. 

“In this passage, they’ll only be coming from one direction! We should be able to keep them within the range of fire for our magic swords! Mr. Welf, burn them to cinders!!” Lilly screamed back, adding a command to Welf at the end. 

“Ha-ha!” 

Welf was overwhelmed by the ferocity of the party’s brain, whose eyes were practically popping out from the speed her mind was spinning at, but he couldn’t help chuckling. He had to admit—her plan was easy to understand. Annihilate the enemy on a single axis. 

In the depths of his heart, he didn’t want to admit it, but his insanely powerful Crozzo Magic Swords were unrivaled in this situation. 

As he crossed paths with Aisha, who was running up from the rear, he faced the pack of approaching monsters and swung the crimson magic sword he had drawn from his back downward. 

“Kougou!” 

As the sword descended from above his head, it breathed out a huge ball of fire. 

The surge of heat it created surpassed even that of the magic sword he had used against the Goliath, wiping out the pack of monsters about to reach the group. The roaring of the fire drowned their screams as a storm of sparks danced through the crystal passage. 

“The heat is incredible…!” Daphne said, throwing one arm in front of her face as the swelling flames exhaled their searing breath toward her. Blazing corpses of monsters and melting magic stones buried within piles of ash lay scattered before her eyes. 

But in the distance, she could see a new parade approaching. 

“We may be using the terrain to our advantage, but what are we gonna do when the magic swords crumble?” Aisha asked, sweating profusely as she drank a potion. 

“Whenever we run, the situation just gets worse! Even if we escape from this labyrinth, we’ll somehow have to bring down the overall number of monsters or else we’ll be trapped on this floor!” 

Lilly desperately scanned the map as she answered Aisha, searching for a solution. As Welf’s magic sword seared away the second wave of the parade, the Amazon—who had more experience as an adventurer than anyone else in the party—tossed back the rest of her potion. 

“We’ll just have to see how it goes.” 

“—” 

But the situation was about to get worse. 

It was Mikoto, of course, who first sensed the danger. 

“Mikoto?” 

“—This is bad.” 

She stood beside Haruhime, who was handing an item to Aisha, and scanned their surroundings with her violet eyes. 

As if to affirm her murmured words, a crackling noise shot through the passageway. 

“—” 

Fissures raced across the crystal walls. Thousands of them, covering a huge expanse. 

For Lilly, time stood still. Ouka and Daphne were struck dumb, while Cassandra froze, and Welf, in the midst of swinging his magic sword, looked up. Even the enfeebled Dormul, Luvis, and Chigusa turned pale. 

These adventurers who had made their way to the lower levels knew instantly what the fissures foretold. 

A monster party. Local monsters were about to emerge en masse. 

This dirty trick of the Dungeon plunged the adventurers into an abyss of despair. 

The fissures extended from the center of the wide passageway for about fifty meders, placing the adventurers completely within their boundaries. The Dungeon had revealed its malice and was clearly trying to murder the party. 

“This is insane!” Welf shouted as he took on the approaching parade of monsters. Even as he did, the ominous creaking and cracking of the fissures did not stop. It was as if the walls were proclaiming the number of minutes the adventurers had left to live. 

“It’s too huge…Can ye believe it reaches down there?” 

“Shit, we’ve made it this far…and now…!” 

Dormul and Luvis grimaced at the soul-crushing scene before them. Hopelessness crept over the faces of the other elves and dwarves, too, as they took in the incredible scale of the event. 

“Well…I don’t have any other choice.” 

Aisha alone clicked her tongue in irritation. Sweeping her bangs aside as if she was, in truth, reluctant to do what she planned, she turned to Lilly. 

“Okay, shrimp, I’m gonna do this. Get ready.” 

“…!” 

Not bothering to wait for a response from the surprised prum, Aisha walked toward Luvis and the other wounded. 

“Hey, you—promise me something,” she said to them. 

“Huh?!” 

Aisha thrust her podao at the elves and dwarves who lifted their faces toward her. Then she pressed its tip into the base of Luvis’s throat. He blanched with shock. So did Dormul, who was propping him up with one shoulder. Aisha swept her sharp gaze over the stunned dwarves and elves behind them. 

“You will never speak of what is about to happen…Do you promise me that?” 

“Wh-wh-what are you talking about?! Going crazy at a time like this?!” 

“A-aye! What the crikey are ye—?” 

“Do. You. Promise?” 

Dormul’s voice broke off as Aisha jabbed the tip of her sword into Luvis’s neck, tearing the skin. As a drop of blood trickled downward, the weakened pair of adventurers turned even paler. 

Aisha was not joking around. As the cries of newborn monsters rang out and the labyrinth walls strained as if they were about to fly apart, her eyes glinted fiercely. 

Death was confronting the party. Terror trampled Luvis’s mind. 

Faced with Aisha’s bone-chilling gaze, the dwarf and the elf forced themselves to respond. 

“I-I promise.” 

“I-I swear on the name of Her Majesty the queen of the elves.” 

“I’ll hold you to that,” Aisha said. As Dormul and Luvis nodded repeatedly, she withdrew her weapon. A second later, she smiled and called out. 

“Okay, Haruhime—do it!” 

A pair of fox ears stood up in surprise and a head of luxurious golden hair trembled. 

Then the renart girl gave Aisha a nervous but resolute nod and prepared to release her magic. 

“Get in a circle formation around Miss Haruhime and defend her with your lives!” Lilly shouted, looking up. Her order was simple and clear, and the others obeyed quickly. 

Ouka with his shield and battle-ax, Mikoto with her sword, Daphne with her dagger, Cassandra with her short bow, and Aisha with her podao formed a circle around the renart. Welf leaped back, kicking the ground to join them. In the center, the girl quietly pulled her black robe low over her eyes and brought her hands together like a shrine maiden performing a ritual. 

“—Here I go.” 

The next instant, the Dungeon walls around them roared like an avalanche as they spawned a huge swarm of monsters. 

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” 

The monster party had begun. 

As a sword bounced off slashing claws, a shrill metallic screech echoed through the passage. 

Haruhime could sense that Mikoto, her black ponytail tousled, had fended off a monster’s charge with her first blow. The renart closed her eyes and used the thread of her concentration to pull herself together. Then she unleashed the inner power that the grimoire had opened her eyes to. 

“Kokonoe.” 

Surprisingly, the new sorcery she had learned began not with a chant but with the announcement of the spell’s name. 

“Beloved snow. Beloved crimson. Beloved white light.” 

As Haruhime sang the chant, her body began to change. The magic she released turned to innumerable sparks of light that gathered around her buttocks. A sound like a bell being rolled rang out, and at the same time five tails made of light the same color as her fur sprouted from her behind. 

“Please let me be beside you—this love I have found at the end of two thousand nights.” 

Haruhime now had six tails, including the original one, all of them glittering with golden light. Her black robe absorbed the aftereffects of the magic and floated airily around her. Like the girl herself, the dwarves protected within the circle of adventurers were spellbound. Even the noble elves forgot their surroundings and stared bedazzled at this girl who resembled nothing more than a shrine maiden chanting ritual prayers. 

“Shit, we’re screwed,” Aisha murmured as the magic took effect. She had strictly forbidden Haruhime from using the spell except when she commanded it. The reason she had done this was that once its power became known, she knew an ugly struggle for the girl would occur yet again. 

The other reason was that it was their ultimate trump card, the only one that had the power to single-handedly break through a deadlocked battle. 

This is so hard. 

Beads of sweat formed on Haruhime’s forehead. She could feel her mental strength draining away. It was as if fragments of her life were being sucked into those tails of light. It occurred to her somewhat randomly that this must be what the sacrificial shrine maidens in the Far East felt like. 

“My name is Magic Fox, former destroyer. My name is Ancient Song, former dreamer. For you who beat your wings like a bird, I shall allow the nine spirits to dwell within me.” 

Her throat was on fire. Her body was burning. The golden light became ferocious fangs tearing into her tender flesh as it almost set off an Ignis Fatuus. 

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!” 

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!” 

She could hear Mikoto fighting a monster. The roars of her companions protecting her powerless self set her heart on fire. 

All Haruhime could do was sing. 

And so she would sing, until her voice dried up, until her life drained away, breathing a prayer for her beloved companions. She would fulfill their spirited hopes. And she would help the boy whom she yearned for. 

As her friends held back the ever-more-ferocious attacks of the monsters, Haruhime began to chant more quickly. 

Mikoto gathered what little strength she had left and slashed her blade again and again and again at the onslaught of violent assaults. Welf unleashed fire from his magic sword at close range. Ouka bellowed war cries as blood ran from his wounds. Aisha’s podao mowed down any monster that approached her. 

“Echo song of gold, sacred poem of Tamamo. White face, golden fur, king of nine tails.” 

The battlefield song shook Haruhime’s self-possession, yet still she was able to continue the chant without breaking off. Squeezing her eyes shut, she sang the next line of the song of golden light. 

“Oh tails of the auspicious beast, consume all, grant all wishes—” 

And then: 

“—Grow.” 

She was performing Concatenated Casting, linking two different chants to cast their spells one after the next. 

“That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. Grow.” 

As soon as she uttered the familiar words, the tails of golden light began to move as if they were looking upward toward the heavens. Each one undulated seemingly with a will of its own, sending masses of golden dust like the powder on fairy wings billowing outward. The crystals pulsated with diffuse light, then the dust swallowed them up. It was a truly mystical scene. 

“Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you.” 

As Haruhime sang these words, a thin mist of magic power materialized. Quickly, it changed into a cloud of light that summoned a spiral pattern and a hammer of light above her head. 

Even the monsters turned their eyes to the gorgeous sparkling light and stood still for a moment. 

“Grow.” 

Haruhime’s long eyelashes fluttered. She opened her eyes, raised her delicate eyebrows, and announced the completion of the spell. 

“Uchide no Kozuchi!” 

The hammer of light split open with a high sound, shattering into brilliant fragments that were absorbed by the tails. Now they shone with the same light that had emanated from the hammer. 

“Dance!” 

As Haruhime thrust one arm toward the ceiling, the tails tore from their base and danced into the air. These fat tails of light gathered in midair and then transformed into a glittering ball of light that danced down onto the party, still in the midst of battle. 

Masses of light were absorbed into the bodies of Mikoto, Ouka, Welf, Daphne, and Aisha. The next instant— 

“““““…!!””””” 

It was a chain reaction of level boosts. Five of them. 

All five adventurers instantaneously leveled up. 

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!” 

Their war cries sent the monsters stumbling backward, and their raging weapons easily broke through the enemy siege. They began a counterattack. 

“Wh-wh-what is going on?!” 

“Th-they’re moving differently!” 

Luvis and Dormul sputtered idiotically at the sight of multiple level boosts taking effect in front of their eyes. 

Haruhime’s new magic was called Kokonoe. The unique enchantment endowed its user with fox tails made of light, then concentrated the effects of a separate magical spell chanted directly afterward into the tails. Once this happened, Haruhime was able to activate the magic in as many iterations as there were tails, all with a single effort of will. 

Like magic swords, the multiple tails acted as mediators of magic. And like the killing stones that sealed off sorcery, this spell allowed her to give level boosts to multiple people at the same time. 

The elves and dwarves were in a state of confusion. 

“H-hey, what’s happening here?” 

“They’re all so strong I barely recognize them!” 

“Simply put, everyone leveled up,” Lilly said. 

““Huh?!”” 

On hearing Lilly’s overly straightforward explanation, the elves and dwarves rolled their eyes back in their heads, and bubbles foamed from their mouths. They were in shock over this skill that defied common sense and was illegal to boot. 

The magical combination of Kokonoe and Uchide no Kozuchi created a group level boost. It was Hestia Familia’s new trump card. 

According to Haruhime’s status, the maximum number of tails the spell could generate was nine. Currently, however, she was able to create only five. 

She had expended a huge amount of energy, and now that she was done, her legs folded beneath her. She was at her limit, one step from total Mind Down. Still, the adventurers had reaped more than enough reward from her magic. 

“Zhaaaa!” 

“GAAAAAAAAA!!” 

That magic was now a thick swirl of light particles encircling Mikoto’s body as she used her new power to the fullest. All five adventurers were filled with a feeling of omnipotence and excitement over the strength that poured from them. They thwarted the attacking monsters with newfound speed, force, and might, sending their enemies flying with their weapons. 

They’ve rallied. 

Aisha looked coolly at the battle under way around her. The morale of her fellow party members had skyrocketed in tandem with their abilities. They were putting up a hell of a fight against the numerous monsters that still surrounded them in a dense ring, slashing and mowing down their enemies. Through their combined efforts, they were holding back that most despair-inducing of all phenomena, the monster party. 

They had withstood the Dungeon’s ultimate weapon, its barrier of resources. 

For a minute there I was worried…but if we can reduce their numbers a little more, we should be able to get out of here. 

The absolute number of monsters on any given floor had an upper limit. On the lower levels, new monsters could be spawned at shorter intervals, but given that so many had just appeared in one area, there would probably be a lull once they got past this spot. The number of monsters they encountered would definitely drop off. 

Time still remained on the party’s level boost. Very soon, the scales would tip in favor of the adventurers. 

Of course, that assumes that they can keep up this energy level. 

Conversely, if they stumbled here, they would be in trouble. 

That was why Aisha was so wary of the insanely abnormal enhanced species. 

So what else have you got, huh? Overwhelming us with sheer numbers won’t work, as you can see, and neither will wearing us down by setting the small fry on us. Try any more of your little tricks and we’ll crush them. 

Now that her status was up to Level 5, Aisha’s fighting prowess was truly incredible. 

From a monster’s perspective, the way she took down multiple large-category enemies with a single blow of her podao must have been a nightmare. She quickly cleared a wide circle around the point that she was defending. She was sure she could easily slaughter the enhanced species if it were to appear right now. 

As she looked around fearlessly with narrowed eyes, she finally spotted it. 

There it is! 

It was far in the distance, past the low-level monsters that were still throwing their weight around. The garish dark-green moss huge was paying no attention to the battle cries of the monsters or the bellows of the adventurers. It was simply roaming about the wide passage, crouching, standing, crouching, and then repeating the whole routine over again. 

…? What the hell is it doing…? 

Aisha stared dubiously at the enhanced species’s enigmatic actions, all the while sending monsters flying with her podao and long legs. 

Just then, it swept its eyes toward the party, as if to answer Aisha’s unspoken question, from its position beyond the thinning wall of monsters. 

It was gripping something in both hands…countless sparkling purplish-blue magic stones. 

“—” 

This Amazon who boasted the bravery of a battle-hardened soldier felt as if time had stopped. Her beautiful, long black hair trembled. 

She had just realized something. 

Their enemy was not trying to overwhelm them with numbers, nor to tire them out. 

That ass— 

It was after the masses of magic stones produced when Aisha and the others killed the monsters. 

The enhanced species met Aisha’s gaze and, for the first time, revealed an emotion. 

It grinned. 

There was no doubt about it. With mouth stretched wide and saliva hanging from its lips, it was definitely smiling. 

A moment later, it stuffed the magic stones into its open mouth. 

“…!!” 

The instant it crunched the crystals between its teeth, the giant’s body literally expanded. The pieces of moss covering it stood on end like pointed dragon scales. The armor-like wooden frame creaked as it grew larger, and thin, rootlike pieces of wood crawled down to the tips of the monster’s fingers and toes. It opened its mouth into a yawning cavern, completing this transformation into a veritable evil spirit. 

If its presence had been overwhelming before, it was far more so now. This monstrous figure slowly lifted its face and looked at Aisha. 

Flashing its eyes—which were now a muddy red—it kicked the ground. 

“…?!” 

Then it charged forward, crushing the other monsters under its feet and kicking their bodies aside. 

Aisha raised her podao as the menace bore down on her. 

As the monster’s enormous fist cut downward through the air, it collided with her sword. 

“Oof!” 

“OOOOOOO! OOOO! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” 

The thundering bovine bellow made her want to cover her ears. She stumbled backward. 

Even with the level boost, she knew this intense power would be a heavy challenge for her. Intoxicated by its own sense of omnipotence, the enhanced species let out a roar of joy that resembled the groan of a broken music box. As it pumped its fist into the air, rootlike spikes burst out from the wooden frame. 

Aisha understood now what had happened. The enhanced species had greedily devoured the magic stones of every single monster they had slaughtered on the way here. 

It had taken in the cores of dozens, or even hundreds, of monsters. 

Just how far…? 

Just how far would it go to undermine their predictions? 

At this point, all she could do was acknowledge the trickery and monster’s cunning she had underestimated before. 

Drops of sweat flew from Aisha’s face. 

For an instant she was overtaken by hesitation and anxiety, and that instant left her vulnerable to attack. 

She had been thinking that in terms of status, the odds were still in her favor. That she could still make a comeback. 

At precisely that moment, the moss huge stretched its neck out like a dragon. 

“…?!” 

It grabbed Aisha’s brown shoulder and sank its fangs into the base of her neck. 

Her flesh tore, her bones shattered, and blood spurted into the air. 

Lilly and Welf sensed something strange was happening and turned toward her at the same moment. What they saw left them speechless. 

“—!” 

Aisha glared angrily at the monster as blood spilled from her mouth. 

With all her strength, she slammed her fist into her enemy’s chin, pushing it away with her flesh still in its mouth. She added to its backward momentum by landing a spinning kick on it, sending it staggering away. 

“M-Miss…Aisha?!” 

Haruhime, who was sitting on the ground with a delirious look in her eyes, let out a piercing scream. 

The enhanced species retracted its neck and fixed a piece of moss to its crushed jaw. Meanwhile Aisha panted as she pressed her left hand against the gaping hole in her shoulder. She laughed with irritation as blood gushed from the wound. 

“I flunked…” 

She pulled her hand back from the wound. A parasitic vine had sprouted there and was slithering across her brown skin. It was already twined around her left shoulder and arm, her midriff and hips, and her full breasts. 

The sight of it sent a jolt of shock through the other adventurers. The monster had planted a seed in her when its teeth made contact with her body. 

“HA-HA-HA…” 

“That ugly ass—!!” 

Drool hanging from its fangs, the moss huge laughed mockingly at the sight of its offspring parasitizing the Amazon’s body. Then it mercilessly bore down for another attack. 

Aisha fought back, a sickly sweat covering her body. 

“—Get off!” Welf shouted. 

He had left his post to run to her side. Raising his magic sword, he set his sights on both the enhanced species and the other monsters surrounding Aisha. 

“Kouga!” 

“—!!” 

For the fourth time that day, a massive explosion of flames swirled through the passage. Aisha leaped back, watching as monsters danced in torment within the crimson flames. But as they roared a chorus of death cries…she made out the figure of a giant standing calmly among them, arms crossed over its chest. 

“Huh?!” Welf said, watching in astonishment. 

“It’s resisting Mr. Welf’s magic sword!” Lilly yelled. 

The enhanced species slowly raised its head as burning moss peeled off its body. As the moss fell to the ground, a shiny blue material came into view underneath. 

“Could that be…Undine cloth?!” Lilly asked. 

“Don’t tell me it took it off a dead adventurer!” Welf muttered. 

Mikoto, Ouka, Daphne, and Cassandra could not believe their eyes, either. The cloth was stretched to the point of tearing in order to wrap around the huge body, but there was no doubt about it—it was spirit protective cloth. As Welf had guessed, the monster had fixated on the need to address its single weak point—fire—and had stolen the cloth from the corpses of adventurers. 

“Of all the lousy coincidences…!” 

Welf drew his eyebrows together as he looked at the monster’s garment. A family that carried the blood of a spirit in its ancestral line made Crozzo Magic Swords. They were, in other words, spirit magic swords. A spirit was involved with the protective cloth, as well. The energy of the two spirits coming together seemed to have set off an extreme reaction. 

Furthermore, Kouga belonged to the flame class of magic swords. It carried the power of salamander, the fire spirit. Undine cloth, on the other hand, was imbued with the power of water. Their compatibility was extremely poor, and they had canceled each other out. 

Nevertheless, the enhanced species’ body had been burned somewhat. Welf was just thinking of giving the sword another try when a fissure cracked down its blade. 

“Shit…!” 

The next instant, the crimson sword crumbled with a high-pitched shattering sound. 

The magic blade had reached the end of its life span, the result of its heavy use against the parade of monsters. Not only Welf but Lilly, too, stared in shock as the fragments of sword pattered onto the ground. 

“—AAA!!” 

As if to inundate them with still more bad news, the final parade of monsters arrived in the passage. 

The flush drained from Mikoto’s face, which was spattered with blood—both her own and her enemies’. 

“OOOOO!” 

“Huh?” 

The enhanced species was ignoring Welf and the others and instead tenaciously going after Aisha. It had recognized her strength and determined that if she fell, the other adventurers would, too. As if spurred on by the appearance of this lone evil warrior, the other monsters rallied their strength and raged madly. Together with the newly arrived ranks, they set their sights on Mikoto and the rest of the party. 

“This is not good!!” 

“I can’t hold out…!” 

Gripping their shields, Daphne and Ouka shrieked as the monsters narrowed the circle around them with a powerful surge. 

The counterattacks from Mikoto’s katana and Welf’s greatsword were a drop in the bucket. Cassandra threw aside her weapon and tried to hold the line by using her healing magic, but as soon as she managed to close one wound, another was opened on top of it. 

The mass of light particles that had given them their level boosts swayed as if they, too, were groaning. 

“Oh no…!” 

The color drained from Lilly’s face as she watched the circle of adventurers who were protecting her being steadily pressed inward. 

Even when she wielded the lightning magic sword in her trembling hands, the monsters did not disappear. Soon they would fill the entire passageway. Aisha had disappeared beyond the fence of monsters, so they could no longer count on her help. To the contrary—with the parasitic vines covering her body, Aisha was on the verge of being trampled by the enhanced species. 

Lilly had misread it. 

She had gone and misread everything. 

The irregularity of the enhanced species. The threats of the lower levels. The unfathomable depths of the Dungeon. 

She had made a poor decision as a leader. 

She lacked experience, and at the very last moment, she had made a mistake. 

Lilly had not been able to transform herself into Braver. 

“Lend me yer ax…!” 

“Uh…M-Mr. Dormul?” 

“Even without my arm, I can at least serve as a shield!” 

“A-and Mr. Luvis, too…It’s impossible! You can’t!” 

Dormul had stood up beside the dazed Lilly, and Luvis had followed his lead. They wanted to borrow equipment and stand alongside Welf and the others in the protective circle. Both ignored Lilly’s protest. They had no chance of winning, but still they wanted to fight stubbornly like adventurers until the end. 

“Uh, um…!!” 

It was no good. Everyone had lost their cool. 

Everyone was fighting like they were going to die here. 

Lilly could not blow away the heavy scent of death that lingered all around her. 

The mask of the leader fell from her face, and a film of tears formed in the eyes that had been putting on such a resolute act from the start of the expedition. 

“Use us as decoys and escape if ye can!” Dormul shouted with grim determination. 

“Someone has to tell everyone on the surface about this monster…! As many of us as possible must survive…!” Luvis added. 

Haruhime, who was still sitting on the ground, gulped. Lilly’s wide eyes wavered. 

“Leave us here…Hestia Familia!” 

In response to Dormul’s words, Lilly’s true nature—the nature of the filthy girl who had groveled in the dirt and slurped muddy water—slowly raised its head. 

From the perspective of the leader, there was no more logical argument. She hoisted it like a shield, a dark smile on her lips, eager to spring at this option. After all, what choice did she have? She had come this far, and she did not want to die. She did not want to give up even one extra moment of life. Yes indeed, they should leave the wounded behind! 

Her heart beat erratically. She could not breathe. Thoughts and emotions swirled dizzyingly within her. 

Now! Now! Now! 

Don’t hesitate! Say it! Make your decision! 

The realist in Lilly was screaming at her, insisting she was in the right. 

The girl of the filth was shouting that this was how she had stayed alive so far. Why hesitate now? 

Her small lips trembled. Her tangled tongue tried to speak. 

But then, the other Lilly, the one who was pressing on her heart, tearfully pleaded with the pure-white expanse that her mind had become. 

Save them. 

“…!!” 

Lilly’s left hand flashed. 

A lightning bolt from her magic sword shot between the elf and the dwarf, slaughtering the monster that had just flown at them. 

Dormul and Luvis stared at her, dumbfounded. Finally, she spoke. 

“If he were here, he wouldn’t leave you behind!” 

Another image from the Dungeon rose before her mind’s eye. 

A beautiful, warm Firebolt that had saved her when she was surrounded by a terrifying swarm of giant ants, and the extended hand of a boy. 

“He didn’t leave me behind!” she howled, tears flying from the corners of her eyes. 

Lilly hadn’t become Braver. At the very last moment, she had kicked away the best option. Human emotion and sympathy had swayed her. 

In a corner of her mind, the image of Finn sighed disappointedly. 

But no. Lilly didn’t want to become Braver. What she really wanted to become—what she wanted to pursue—was the person who had saved her. 

The kind hand that had not abandoned her when she was smeared with mud. 

“I can do it, too…! Lilly can change, too!!” 

Bell had had many experiences, and he had set his eyes on a distant goal, and he had changed. 

If that was true, then it would be a lie to say Lilly couldn’t change. It would be a lie to say she couldn’t take off running, too. 

If she didn’t, then she had no right to stand by his side. 

“That’s why I won’t! I won’t leave you behind! Do not give up!” 

Her hands and feet were shaking. Emotions were flooding her whole being. Although her small body was easily blown back by the cruel howls of the monsters, still she transformed her tearful voice into resolution. As Luvis and Dormul watched her, the shadow of death faded from their faces. 

A single tear slid from the moist chestnut-brown eyes. 

“I did it because I’m his supporter!!” 

Welf’s ears caught her words and his sweat-drenched face formed a smile. 

Just then, the exhausted Haruhime perked up her ears. 

“—!!” 

She widened her green eyes, bit her lip, and with her last drop of strength, reached out one arm. 

“Lady Lilly…!” 

Lilly turned in surprise as Haruhime grasped her Undine cloth sleeve. 

“He’s coming…!” 

“Huh?” 

“He will arrive…!” 

The animal girl had picked up a voice in the midst of the chaotic battle. She smiled, her face full of envy and encouragement. 

“That person is coming…!” 

The next moment… 

“Lillyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!” 

Bell’s voice reached Lilly’s ears as he shouted her name. 

“—” 

He was approaching from far, far away. At the very limit of her field of vision, way down at the other end of the wide passage, she could see him waving his arms. 

It was exactly like the day he had saved her from the horrible swarm of ants. 

The other Lilly, the one who had groveled in the dirt covered in filth, slapped her hand on the ground. She gritted her teeth, peeled her body from the dirt, and stood up. 

Her chest grew hot, her tear glands burst open, and soon countless drops were dripping from her cheeks. 

“…! Miss Haruhime, please get out of the way!!” 

At that moment, Lilly guessed the intentions of the boy who was calling her name. 

She moved in response to what she knew this boy, who believed in himself and made light fly from his right hand, wanted her to do. Using her quick wits, she thrust the magic sword into the ground by her feet, causing an explosion. The powerful lightning bolt carved a crater in the crystal floor. 

“Quick, everyone, get into the hole! Hurry!!” 

The adventurers encircling her responded to her urgent cry unquestioningly. Dormul and Luvis followed. They immediately abandoned their combat, grabbed Haruhime and the wounded, and flew into the hole. 

Without skipping a beat, the horde of monsters closed in. 

“Miss Aisha, run!” Lilly shouted as she shrugged off the Goliath Robe and spread it over the top of the hole. 

“…!” 

Aisha, still locked in battle with the enhanced species, stared in surprise. 

The monster could not understand Lilly’s words. For it, they were simply the screams of a human. And this was what decided their respective fates. 

The Amazon forcefully beat back the giant’s attack and dove into a tunnel just big enough to hold her. 

No sooner had she done so than Bell appeared on the battleground, bell ringing, launched himself off the ground with a powerful stomp, and thrust out his right arm. 

He had been charging for four minutes, a full charge. 

He aimed for everything he could see and shouted at the top of his lungs. 

“FIREBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLT!!” 

A giant bolt of flame. 

“—” 

As soon as the Amazon disappeared from its field of vision, the enhanced species saw the burning red jaws. 

The other monsters had pounced on the hole and sunk their claws into the black robe, only to be incinerated in the next moment by the Firebolt. 

The deadly stream of fire that washed down the passageway swallowed the entire horde. 

“O—OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” 

As the burning monsters howled, the enhanced species—which had also been swallowed up in the surge of flames—was thrown far down the passage with a force like a river overflowing its banks. It had avoided immolation thanks to the spirit protective cloth, but together with the rush of crimson fire, it was hurled against the wall at the end of the passage. 

The crystal wall exploded into fragments, and the horizontal column of flame raged on through the Dungeon. 

The enhanced species was burned all over its body. It fell through the broken wall into the large room on the other side, and it collapsed onto its back. 

“…Mr.…Bell!” 

Lilly pushed back the Goliath Robe covering the hole, stuck her face into the passage, and called his name like she had once before. 

She could see him there, farther down the passage that was cleared now of monsters and steaming with the heat from countless melted magic stones. 

A lone boy, walking through the shimmering haze left by the flames. 

To her, that figure walking quietly through the swirls of sparks looked incredibly heroic. 

Lilly trembled as she watched him. Even Welf and the others who poked their faces up gasped. 

Lilly wanted to fly from the hole and throw herself at him. She wanted to hug him, sobbing, and inundate him with a chaotic mess of apology and gratitude. 

But the flame of the warrior was still burning in his eyes. 

He was looking straight ahead, his whole body aflame with outrage and determination to slaughter his powerful enemy. 

In that case, there was one thing Lilly could do. She rolled out of the hole, withdrew a glass vial from the pouch at her hip, and handed it to him roughly. 

“Mr. Bell!” 

“—Thank you.” 

That was all he said after taking the High Dual Potion, one of Nahza’s new concoctions, from her hand. But it was enough. 

Aisha emerged from her tunnel, walked past the hole where Mikoto and the others lay piled on top of one another, and smiled at Bell’s back. 

“…Bell Cranell! Finish that thing off before we all drop dead!” she said. 

“Sorry about this, Bell, but we’re counting on you!” Welf added, a rueful smile on his face as he crawled out of the crater. 

Bell did not turn toward them, replying only by raising one hand. 

He drank down the last drops of the High Dual Potion, wiped the corner of his mouth with his arm, and walked toward the hole in the Dungeon wall. 

He was insane with anger. 

What was this? 

What had just happened? 

It should have been the perfect hunt. After he finished off the brown female, he was going to kill the other humans, and then eat their magic stones. But— 

Why is that human alive?! 

I thought you fell over the waterfall! 

Why didn’t you die? 

Why? Why? Why? 

This was the first time anything like this had happened. 

There was no way he could allow something like this. 

It was unacceptable for a human to exist who did not follow his expectations as a hunter. 

They were just prey, just food. Nothing more. 

Fury and loathing rose like smoke from his body. 

The blue cloth rubbing against his skin strained and screeched at its overuse. 

He gnashed his fangs and stood up. 

“UOOOO…!” 

If you’re coming, then come. I’ve eaten enough magic stones. 

He was different from what he had been a short while before. His power had swelled to incredible heights. It would be easy to twist and crush that human’s skinny arm. 

Fire could no longer affect him. Perhaps he should drag the human underwater again. 

The Dungeon was his mother. Within his mother’s womb, he could gain endless strength. But the humans had no tricks for gaining strength. This time, he would stop his prey’s breath at the source. 

His eyes gleaming with the desire to kill, he glared at the boy who appeared from beyond the hole. 

Bell stood on the rim of the hole he had blasted open with the Firebolt, looking down on the scene before him. 

It was a peaceful, watery room. Water covered more than half the large space, and in the center there was a mass of crystal fifty meders in diameter. It looked like an island floating in a large lake. He did not see any monsters. None, that is, except the enhanced species that stood in the center of the island, taking him in with a gaze full of murderous intent. 

Bell leaped down from the rim and jumped across the lake, using the crystals that protruded from the water’s surface as stepping-stones, until he reached the island where the monster waited. Nothing stood between them now. On the flat, sparkling blue ground, beneath the light from the white crystals studding the ceiling, Bell and the enhanced species faced each other. 

“GRRRRRR…!!” 

Bell’s eyes met those of his opponent as it let out a deep growl. It was quite a bit larger now. Standing before the grotesque giant, the emotion that the adventurer felt in his heart was almost certainly rage. This monster had hurt his friends and killed many of his fellow adventurers. It had cruelly tormented the elves. Bell was not the kind of fool who could stand by silently as this creature sadistically and calculatingly rampaged through the Dungeon to satisfy its own greed. 

But he also knew that from the monster’s perspective, his rage was absurd. Wounds and even life itself were the price of adventure. Everything was done at the adventurer’s own risk. It was a mistake to see this fight as revenge for Luvis’s arm. Bell and his party were intruders trampling destructively through the Dungeon. They were the invaders. 

Bell understood this, and he gazed at the enemy before him through adventurer’s eyes. He would obey the laws of the Dungeon—and kill the monster he now faced. 

“…” 

“HAA…” 

Bell silently drew both of his knives. 

The red-eyed monster exhaled a murderous breath. 

An instant later, their bodies quivered and they kicked the ground. 

Bell and the enhanced species charged at each other, shattering the silence of the room and transforming the little island into a fighting ring. 

“Oof!” 

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” 

The monster had the upper hand in their first collision. Its power had grown beyond what Bell expected, and its arm sent the thrust of his blade flying backward. To avoid the monster’s pursuit, he rolled over the ground and kicked its flank. 

The moss huge flew at him again, its teeth bared precisely as if it were smiling. Bell fought back. 

“Here they go…!” 

Hearing the battle cries, Lilly and the others raced to the hole in the wall. 

Welf panted, Ouka held Chigusa in his arms, Mikoto supported Haruhime with her shoulder, and Aisha stood with the parasitic vines twined around her body. Even Luvis, Dormul, and the other dwarves and elves pushed through their pain and gathered by the hole to watch as the fight began. 

“Hey, you guys! Are you just going to stand there and not help?” Daphne panted as she ran to catch up with the others watching the fierce battle. Her opinion, delivered with extreme frankness, was that in the current situation, they would together be able to give the monster a good beating. 

“Bad idea. If you get hit by those seeds and implanted with vines, you’ll just be a burden on Bell Cranell,” Aisha countered. Daphne flinched for a moment at the sight of the Amazon hugging the vine-covered half of her body, but then renewed her argument. 

“B-but…we can use arrows, and maybe we could get another level boost! Rabbit Foot shouldn’t have to take on that monster all alone—!” 

Cassandra interrupted her, pointing toward the room. 

“D-Daphne…look…” 

Daphne glanced suspiciously back at the fight. 

“OOOOOOAAA!!” 

“…!” 

Bell had managed to get his knife past the monster’s arm and was now slashing its body relentlessly. Taking advantage of his small size in relation to his opponent, he hopped from its left side to its right, then bent forward almost to the ground and slipped around to its back side. He was unleashing a series of close-range attacks—not so much hit-and-run as rush, dodge, and repeat. 

The flashing purple-blue and white blades pounded against the monster, chipping away at its wooden armor frame and mossy flesh. 

“D-did that monster get stronger by eating magic stones?!” Daphne blurted out. 

“I think so. But more than that…” 

Aisha narrowed her eyes. 

“…Isn’t Bell Cranell moving faster than the last time we saw him?” Ouka said from beside her, lowering his voice in terror. In his arms, Chigusa opened her eyes a tiny bit in surprise. 

Only Mikoto, standing next to the group, broke into a cold sweat. 

No way… 

There was something familiar about the feeling that came over her as she registered the difference between Bell now and Bell when he was last with the party. 

It wasn’t that he was moving faster. It was that his movements had much more vitality to them now. 

Kind of like when Haruhime gives us the level boosts… 

Mikoto cleared her throat, conscious of the weight of the renart on her shoulder. 

When Mikoto received level boosts, she often felt like her body was out of control. Her mind was not able to keep up with the suddenly increased power emanating from her physical body. 

What if Bell had been in the same situation before he separated from the group? 

What if his mind and body had been out of sync? 

That happened when the drastic physical changes that occurred when one leveled up outpaced the sensations produced by the mind. 

A shiver ran down Mikoto’s spine. 

So all this time, Sir Bell has been— 

Probably, first-tier adventurers were able to bring their mind and body into sync after one major battle. But Bell was still immature—and more importantly, his rate of growth was insanely fast. Even more so than an ordinary person, his mind couldn’t keep up with his body. 

But what if his experience in the lower levels had finally taken care of the problem? 

Mikoto’s violet eyes widened as she watched the boy toss his opponent about between his knives. She thought back to something Takemikazuchi had said when he was training her before the expedition. 

Were you fighting with your body and your mind out of sync? 

Mikoto was right. 

My body is working better than before. 

Bell realized it in the midst of fighting the monster. His body was following the exact track his mind laid down. The lags in his attacks, defense, and retreat—so small before that he wouldn’t even notice them without a conscious effort—were gone now. 

The sensations inside his body were clearer than ever before. 

That uneasy feeling is gone. 

Strangely enough, the grand battle with the iguaçu—those creatures who put their very lives at risk to dive-bomb him—had brought his mind and body into alignment. 

Now that his body was fully under his control, it seemed obvious. He could see just how much the vessel of his physical being had been throwing him around, even when he first arrived in the lower levels and even during his first fight with the enhanced species. 

Now his body was working how he wanted it to, as if all the gears had finally clicked into place. He was able to meet his opponent’s movements. 

“OO, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” 

He could see the uneasiness rising in the enhanced species’ eyes as it took in this new Bell, who fought in a completely different way than he had in their last encounter. 

The superhuman strength that crushed the crystal ground underfoot didn’t even make a scratch on the boy. The tree roots, which extended from the monster’s legs into the ground and then up again for a sneak attack, were severed before they could do their work. The attacks that had tormented so many adventurers in the past had no effect. 

The monster roared, as if to chase away its uneasiness. Then bumps rose all over its body. Facing Bell at close range, it fired a hail of seed bullets at him. 

They’re not as fast as the iguaçu!! 

Bell did not lose his composure. Compared to the terrifying crimson streaks he had encountered earlier, the seed bullets looked practically stationary. 

He tracked their trajectories, and moving his arms so fast they appeared to blur, he slashed down every last one with his knives. 

“…!!” 

The astonished monster had no time to regain its footing before Bell launched into a powerful slashing attack. 

“GUO?!” 

In response, the moss huge unleashed a counterattack fueled by its fighting spirit and superhuman strength. Blows nourished by the lives of countless of his own brethren rocked the scratched dir-adamantite armor covering Bell’s body. This time they inflicted real harm. 

The monster was the stronger of the two, and it had greater defensive abilities. 

In all likelihood, Bell could not match its overall potential. 

But Bell was faster. 

Now that his mind and body were fully linked, his true ability gave him an advantage on the battlefield. 

Even more importantly— 

He’s slow! 

The enemy standing before him was incredibly sluggish. 

Bell had a standard to hold this monster to. 

A monster that was truly beyond the realm of the ordinary. 

A monster that was far faster, far stronger, and far crazier than the one before him. 

Bell had fought that monster. And he had vowed to fight that worthy opponent again. 

I want to beat him. 

He wanted to beat the warrior who had appeared before him even after being reborn. 

I want to beat him. 

He wanted to beat the warrior who had battered him with his ferocious strength and his double-edged ax, Labrys. 

This time, I want to win! 

He wanted to beat the brave minotaur who had carved defeat into his body on that moonlit night. 

His status burned high. 

The fierce struggle with the moss huge had ignited the passion deep within Bell, and now, as he thought about the black minotaur, it exploded to the surface. 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!” 

“…!!” 

The extreme-speed slashing attack far outstripped his enemy’s ability to respond. It was a Rabbit Rush. 

Like he had with the iguaçu, Bell carved a whirlwind of black and sparkling white arcs in the air. Both his mind and body sped up. A typhoon of moss flew from the enhanced species’ body. 

Finally, a horizontal slash inflicted from directly next to him sent the massive body flying backward. Now a good distance separated Bell and the moss huge. 

“AAAAAAAAAAA…!!” 

“…!” 

But even as pieces of the monster’s body continued to peel away, new moss grew to fill the wounds. Soon it appeared the Rabbit Rush had never even happened. Bell gaped. 

Its recovery speed was extremely fast. Even when it was shredded to pieces, the living moss immediately began to regrow. A simple superiority in the number of wounds inflicted would not be enough to take down this monster that had consumed so many magic stones. With the Undine cloth wrapped around its body, Firebolts clearly wouldn’t do much, either. 

Plus, even though Bell had drunk the High Dual Potion, his whole body was still feeling the aftermath of the recent full charge. If the battle lasted very long, the balance would probably tip in the monster’s favor. 

So neither knife attacks nor magic would work, and a drawn-out battle would put Bell at a serious disadvantage. 

In that case—a single blow was the only option. 

Bell would take out his enemy with the strongest single blow he could manage, one that left no room for recovery. 

He slipped Hakugen into its sheath and held the Hestia Knife in his right fist with a backhand grip. He raised it to chest level, then thrust out his left hand. 

“Firebolt!” 

The column of electrical fire that required no chant to activate was instantly released. 

But Bell was not aiming it at the enemy in front of him. Instead, he channeled it into the jet-black blade of the knife in his right hand. 

“…?!” 

Neither the monster nor the adventurers watching from outside the room could believe their eyes. 

Bell’s actions did not end with his infusion of magic into the blade. As soon as the magic was released, he started charging. 

“—” 

Ring, ring. 

The chime vibrated in the giant’s ears. Its eyes fixed on something. 

The Firebolt, which should have sent masses of sparks flying when it exploded into the knife and whose mass of flame should have dispersed, was instead being pressed onto the blade of the knife by the particles of white light that the boy was releasing. 

No, not pressed—focused. 

“The flames are gathering in the knife…” 

“An enchantment…? No, I don’t think so…What is that?!” 

Even from their position at a distance, Ouka and Daphne could see what was happening. The crimson lightning was converging and condensing. The knife wore a blazing armor of flames, which in turn was wrapped in a thick gauze of light particles. 

The hieroglyphs etched into the knife pulsated with white light as if they were resonating with the flames. 

It was a dual charge. 

Bell’s investigations had led him to home in on the focusing property of Argonaut, and he’d used that to develop a new application of the skill. In other words, he’d figured out how to charge his magic and his knife attacks at the same time. 

By exploding a Firebolt into the blade and then encasing the whole thing in light particles, he was able to infuse it with two mechanisms of attack, and at the same time to strengthen it. 

As the heat of the flames focused on the blade, the Hestia Knife began to expand. The blade swelled to the width of a sword and the length of a dagger. It became hotter and brighter in proportion to the length of the charge, until crimson light filled the entire cavernous room. In the midst of this huge power output, a few flames escaped from Bell’s focus and danced off the knife in the form of sparks. 

The blow he was preparing pushed his power to its limits and seemed certain to thunder with the sound of fire and decimate everything around it once it was released. 

Bell had devised a completely absurd force-based combat technique. This deadly blow was expressly designed to defeat his greatest rival whenever they next met. 

Yes. It was just like the eternal divine flame— 

“—Goddess, I receive this from you.” 

Bell raised the flame-and-light-clad knife in his right hand and looked at the monster standing before him. 

Ring, ring. 

As if to announce that the monster’s time was up, Bell’s chime rang out. 

He was shaking. 

What was that? 

What was that?! 

What could that be?! 

He didn’t know. He had never seen anything like it. 

Many times in the past, he had heard songs followed by bombardment. He had been burned by fire and frozen stiff by ice, struck by lightning and stripped of parts of his body. 

But he had never seen anything like this. 

Never this merciless light. 

Never this flash of light and flame that seemed destined to destroy all and return all to ash. 

He was utterly petrified. So petrified that his will to kill and his hatred evaporated. 

Water! 

He had to get into the water! 

If he was in the water, the human wouldn’t be able to pursue him! 

He turned away from the boy. 

He left his anger and his pride and his humiliation behind him and was about to dive into the stream that his mother the Dungeon had provided for him. 

“Hiyo!” 

But before he could reach it, a blizzard of pure-white snow beat down from above and froze the stream as far as he could see. 

“?!” 

Standing astonished on the edge of the frozen river that he could no longer dive into, he looked up. 

“Thought we’d let you escape, eh?” 

A youth with red hair and a blue sword in his right hand was standing on top of a large crystal column, looking down on him. His other hand was on his hip. 

“Sorry, but that guy is gonna kill you right here, right now. Got it?” 

The human’s fearless smile made him crazy with anger. He roared, wanting to rampage as his desire to kill dictated. 

But the footsteps approaching from behind would not allow that. 

He held his breath and looked over his shoulder. 

The boy with white hair was walking slowly toward him. 

His rage vanished, and in its place the terror came again. The boy paced quietly toward him, repeatedly focusing that terrible light as he drew near. 

It’s getting closer!! Closer!! Closer!! 

The destruction that would tear him apart. 

The human who would kill him. 

The white rabbit with the deep-red light in his eyes. 

“—Game on,” the boy announced, raising his blade of light and flame. 

The boy’s walk turned to a run, then a sprint. 

He was rushing at him as fast as lightning. 

“U—UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” 

The deadly blade was bearing down on him. 

The white hair left a trace as it flew forward, sparks spilling from the knife and dancing in the air. 

He howled with terror and swung his powerful, all-destroying arms. 

But. 

The boy flashed toward him with a speed that surpassed his strength. 

“—” 

The bell had chimed for sixty seconds. 

The sacred letters carved into the blade threw off a brilliant light and released the roaring sound of fire. 

“Argo Vesta!” 

Just before it happened, as crimson and pure-white light filled the world, something occurred to him. 

If I’m reborn… 

I’ll never, ever go near a white rabbit again. 

That was his final thought before his consciousness exploded into a million pieces. 

“Argo Vesta.” 

There was a thundering of flame and a flash of light, and then a tremendous shock. 

That was all there was to the blow. 

“—O, OO!!” 

The exploding ball of flames swallowed up the death cries sputtering from the monster, and the crimson flash edged in white light flickered. 

The flaming knife blow had caused the powerful explosion. 

As Lilly and the others watched from above, their field of vision was filled first with white, then with red light. They threw their arms in front of their faces as the wave of heat and shock rolled toward them. Born in the space of an instant, the knife attack infused with electrical fire had generated a flare that incinerated all that it passed. 

As color returned to the flickering landscape, the adventurers slowly raised their faces. 

Two massive legs stood in the silent room, the upper body that once belonged to them now gone. A moment later, the legs, too, turned to ash and scattered into the air with a puff. 

Bell stood with his right arm outstretched at the end of its swing, quietly looking down at his knife as he released the tension from his body. The divine blade had matured along with him, and it was as smooth and un-chipped as before the attack. The flame and light still lingering in it turned to smoke and drifted upward toward the ceiling. 

“Mr. Be—” 

“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!” 

Lilly’s and Haruhime’s emotional cries were drowned out by the deep bellows of joy coming from the elves and dwarves. Daphne and Cassandra desperately slapped their hands over their ears as Welf, Mikoto, and Aisha joined in the battle cry. 

“Chigusa!” 

“Ah…Ou…ka.” 

All at once, the parasitic vines entangling the adventurers’ bodies disappeared. 

The vines had met the same fate as their creator, transforming like the monster into a haze of ash. As a smile of recovery spread over Chigusa’s still-enfeebled face, Ouka broke into a grin and threw his arms around her. 

The elves and dwarves, too, cried tears of joy as the monster’s wretched torment disappeared from their bodies. 

“Mr. Bell!” 

“Bell!” 

The boy winced happily as Lilly, Welf, and the others jumped down from the hole in the wall and stumbled toward him. As he raised his hands to show that he had suffered no harm, he heard a splash. 

The sound was coming from behind Bell, on the opposite side from the frozen stream. 

“Uh…” 

Surprised, Bell turned in the direction of the splash and smiled faintly. 

A beautiful mermaid had popped her head and shoulders out of the water. 

It was Mari, who had parted ways with Bell just before he saved the party. 

“Thank you, Bell…I love you!” 

The Xenos had delivered the boy to his companions, and now she blushed and smiled broadly. Then she touched her fingers to her petite lips like a precocious child and blew Bell a farewell kiss. As she waved, her lips silently formed the words See you later. 

Only Bell could see her; she was hidden from view of the rest of the party. The boy smiled wryly and returned her wave with a tiny one of his own. 

A moment later, the sound of Bell’s companions throwing their arms around him rang out, and a fishtail splashed the surface of the water. 

As the voices of the adventurers chatting excitedly on land drifted toward her in a soft, gentle murmur, the mermaid smiled faintly and returned to the world of water.