Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

Lefia held the "choice" that represented both salvation and destruction tightly in her hands.

"I will defeat you! I will stop you! I will never let anyone tarnish your dignity again!!"

She drew two weapons from her waist, replacing the damaged wand, "Forest Tear".

A short sword and a short staff.

They are the magic sword "Tears of Pain" and the magic wand "Guardian's White Torch".

Rafia will use the weapon that Philweis abandoned to save her.

"...You want to defeat me with a weapon like that? That's a stretch, Lefia. It's impossible."

"...!"

"Now that you have no werewolves or companions by your side, you have no chance of defeating me..."

Phil Weiss exuded an intensely sorrowful murderous intent as she slowly turned around.

Even if what she said is true, Rafia will never change her mind.

As she assumed her stance, ready to face her best friend who was slowly turning around—

"Bert Roca──────!!"

An inappropriate female voice came from the side.

"Little Lina makes a dashing entrance to save her beloved male! Bert Roca, your beautiful wife has come to your aid—! Eh, noa ...

A loud, shouting Amazon caught the attention of Lefia and Philweis.

With an appearance somewhere between a girl and a woman, she was incredibly cute. However, after discovering Bert covered in wounds, she was devastated.

She is Lina, the Amazonian girl.

"It's so noisy, be quiet for a bit."

"Ouch!!"

Moreover, she brought a group of "reinforcements".

Led by Aisha, who silenced Lina with a single punch, the battle prostitutes who originally belonged to the Ishtar Familia made their appearance one after another.

"Why do I have to come too...?"

Asphie, who was forced to come along, was also among them.

While the Loki Familia was greatly surprised, more "reinforcements" arrived at the scene one after another.

"I've brought her here! Asphie!"

The dog-person Lulu appeared from another passage, waving her hands dramatically.

Behind her followed an elf wearing a long hooded cloak.

"Rion!"

"I apologize for being late, Andromeda. Although I'm still recovering from a serious illness... I'll still try to repay the favor."

Seeing the adventurer wearing various weapons, including swords borrowed from the Hermes Familia, Lefia felt that his profile looked somewhat familiar.

"Furthermore, to atone for my past unjust act of abandoning something halfway, I will definitely do my utmost to help this time."

This person is the "masked adventurer" who previously joined forces with the boy to save Lefia on the 18th floor.

"I didn't expect you to come too! This is wonderful news!"

"I will do my best. I heard a brief explanation of what happened along the way. Are there any other reinforcements besides me?"

"That's right, Bell Craney and his team have also come to help!"

"────────"

"Wait a minute... how did this woman trip and fall on a flat surface?!"

"Rion~!?"

This crosstalk performance came out of nowhere.

Faced with the sight that inevitably made people doubt whether this elf really had any skills, Luluni was so frightened that she shouted out loud, and Asphie couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as well.

As Lefia awkwardly broke out in a sweat and stood there dumbfounded, the masked adventurer wiped his dirty nose with his arm and got up again as if nothing had happened.

"Please don't mention him in front of me now. I won't be able to concentrate."

"What happened between you two...?"

"I don't know either, but I just feel a strange flutter in my heart."

Seeing that her compatriot ignored Asphie's gaze, which was a mixture of shock and doubt, and for various reasons temporarily stunned, Lefia finally managed to squeeze out a voice:

"Miss Asphie, Miss Lulune... everyone."

Aside from Asphie and Lulune, with whom she had worked together several times, Lefia couldn't hide her surprise at the various opportunities she had encountered along the way.

Aisha and the others who came to help looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy, and said:

"We're just heading in the direction of the series of loud noises... What on earth is going on?"

"Could it be... someone from the same clan?"

Whether it was Aisha, the masked adventurer, or even Asphie, who had heard Finn's "explanation," they all stared at the "enemy" in front of them with fear.

Faced with her overwhelming presence, even the most seasoned adventurers sensed the potential power she possessed.

Looking at Philwis's appearance, which could neither be described as human nor monster, Lulu swallowed hard.

"【Lijie】and 【Omnipotent】...and, could you be 【Swift Wind】? In any case, a mere Lv.4 is nothing to fear for me right now."

Philweis, exuding an evil aura, lazily glanced at the approaching reinforcements.

Aisha and the others, like the current Lefia, are all Lv.4 adventurers.

Everyone present was a highly capable individual in the labyrinthine city.

But now Philweis can easily defeat even Lv.6 Bert, so this little bit of power naturally has no effect on her.

The strange man's words were not exaggerated at all; he simply stated the difference in strength between the two sides in a straightforward manner.

"...You do look like someone to be trifled with. I hate to admit it, but you could probably wipe us all out in no time."

Aisha, who didn't dare to take her eyes off Phil Weiss for even a moment, readily admitted to the fact.

A bead of cold sweat slid down her cheek.

However, she still managed a fearless smile.

"The premise is that we all stay at Lv.4."

The next moment—

The "sorcerer" hiding among the fighting prostitutes unleashes his magic.

"【The Magic Mallet】—【Let's Dance】!"

A burst of golden light shot out.

The fox spirit Haruhime begins to use "sorcery" that only she is permitted to use.

Three beams of light shot towards Aisha, the masked adventurer, and Asphie, bestowing power upon the three of them.

"This light is...!"

"You've experienced it, haven't you, [Swift Wind]?"

"This is 'Level Ascension'... a cheating sorcery that made the goddess Ishtar ecstatic and led her to destruction."

The masked adventurers, Aisha and Asfi, whose bodies were covered in golden light spots, spoke one after the other.

"Level Upgrade".

This is an unusual power that the Loki Familia witnessed multiple times during the battles in Port City and Labyrinth Street.

As the name suggests, the spellcaster who used "spells" to help someone level up was none other than Sanjou Haruhime. This fox-girl, who had converted from the Ishtar Familia to the Hestia Familia, was growing a glowing tail and was desperately trying to regulate her disordered breathing, which was caused by the enormous consumption of magical energy.

"This power...!"

Even Lefia received the blessing of "leveling up".

Lefia felt the immense power bestowed upon her by the light, and trembled at this extraordinary authority.

It's a simulated "upgrade," and there are a total of four people involved.

In other words, it means—

"There are four Lv.5 adventurers present."

Even Philweis, an anomaly, was stunned by the facts before her eyes.

"Lina, quickly wake up [Wolf]! We need his power!"

"Hmm, um!"

"Lulu and the battle prostitutes must protect Sanjou Haruhime to the death, even if it means not participating in the attack. We'll be doomed the moment we lose her magic!"

“I-I understand!”

"Also, Lefia Viridis... I need your support from the sidelines. We can't control her on our own."

Lina nodded in response to Aisha's reminder. Asphie deployed a large force to protect Haruhime, assigning Lulu and others to guard her, and then requested that Lefia also join the battle.

This group of people came from different factions and races, and had never even worked together before; they were like a team that had been imagined out of thin air.

Using the power of this group of strangers to challenge Phil Weiss?

Lefia was unsure whether doing so was appropriate.

In addition, the temporary upgrade to Lv.5 gave her the illusion of being omnipotent, making her unable to distinguish whether she felt excited or shaken.

When Lefia didn't know how to respond to Asphie—

"...[Thousand Spirits], I don't know what happened between you..."

The elven adventurer, who had remained silent until now, looked directly at Lefia with her sky-blue eyes peeking out from behind her veil and said:

"But I believe that it is a mission you must accomplish to stop your compatriots from sinking into depravity, no matter the means."

"!"

After listening to what her fellow elves had to say, Lefia made up her mind.

With unwavering resolve, she uttered the following words as a "magician".

"Please protect me!!"

Lefia's voice boomed across the entire battlefield.

She gripped the only thing she could rely on—the short staff—and the dagger left by her friend, and spoke in a clear voice to Aisha and the others:

"I am a mage! Protect me, and I will save you!!"

Asphi and Lulu were very familiar with this phrase.

It was this girl who, in the battle on the 24th floor, transformed her inner will into a declaration of oath.

"I want to stop her! So...!!"

After speaking, Lefia turned her gaze to her former friend, who had now become her number one enemy.

Asphie glanced at Lefia and Philweis, who were glaring at each other, and silently adjusted her glasses.

"...We will follow the 'commands' of the Thousand Spirits. You don't object, do you? Leon, Aisha."

"She is Lady Riveria's successor and has shown such a firm will, I have no objection."

"She's the only defender we have, so how could we possibly have the capacity to give instructions?"

Neither the masked adventurer nor Aisha objected to Asphie's proposal.

During this time, he didn't even look at Asphie; his gaze was completely fixed on the "monster" he had never seen before.

Holding their respective weapons, they lightly waved them, assuming a fighting stance.

"...Alright, watch me take care of you all at once."

Phil Weiss's almond-shaped eyes widened, unleashing a terrifying killing intent as she confronted the group of adventurers protected by the Light.

Side Story: Sword Oratoria 12 Chapter 8: Heroes Sing Together