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

"──"

A "girl" appeared silently to Allen's right, her eyes filled with tears as she reached out her hand to him.

The way she approached slowly and unsteadily suggested that she had just endured the most tragic ordeal.

The girl, who is a cat-person like Allen, is dressed in an adventurer's battle outfit.

She also wears gold shoulder pads that match Allen's and has brown cat fur.

Although she doesn't have it in her hands right now, Allen knows she possesses a golden spear.

Allen, who should have been a ferocious fighting cat, had now put aside his hostility and irritation and stood there dumbfounded.

"Please wait for me, brother... please don't abandon me!"

The person in front of me is Alan Fourmore's "sister".

(He got caught! Now I can get even higher-level experience points than I did!)

Hill was convinced he had the victory in his grasp.

He shifted his position, lying prone on the ground, using his camouflage cloak to blend into the desert landscape. Staring at Allen, who was standing there in a daze, he couldn't help but lick his lips.

From Hill's perspective, she didn't see Allen's "sister" at all.

Facing Eren was an assassin with a poisoned blade hidden behind his back, who was one of the executives of the La Sharp Familia.

[Beloved Amidst the Pandemic]

Just as Allen speculated, this was a "curse" belonging to the illusionary category.

Hill, as the one who cast the spell, had no way of knowing what kind of illusion the target was seeing.

But he knew that his target would see his "true love".

This is the effect of the curse "Beloved Plague". It is a spell that resurrects the target's deepest memories, like a "plague" that forcibly rips open someone's wounds.

Through this power, Hill has so far claimed the lives of many warriors stronger than herself. In the [Upgrade] [Ability Value] structure, those who achieve "great feats" almost always "sacrifice" something. Whether it's companions, family, or lovers, this is perfectly suited to Hill's [Plague of Beloved]. No matter how strong a warrior, facing loved ones or tragic memories will inevitably cause them to waver, revealing a fatal weakness.

(I practically leveled up to Lv.4 using this "curse" move~~)

Hill was acutely aware that he was the weakest Lv.4. All the experience points he gained from stronger opponents were obtained through underhanded tactics. His skills and tactics were mediocre, his ability was at its lowest level, and his adventures were no different from grinding down a maddened bull. His true identity was not that of a warrior, but a hexer.

However, Hill firmly believes that he is the "strongest".

Putting aside the monsters, it is at least the strongest in human-versus-human battles.

The "beloved" that Allen saw at that moment was not a fake.

It was his most genuine "love" that he projected his perception onto the other person.

The figure, voice, smell, and touch are all identical. Memory can be said to be a mirror reflecting the person involved; anyone who witnesses the past scenes imprinted in their heart will certainly have no doubt about it.

That's right, who could kill their own "beloved" with their own hands?

The scene presented to the cursed person is essentially "another path" to the mistakes they have made, which is completely undeniable and irresistible.

(The hidden weapons used by this subordinate were coated with a deadly venomous monster imported from the labyrinth city... No matter how powerful you are, you can't withstand it.)

Even if Allen goes berserk on the spot after being attacked and kills his subordinate, it doesn't matter.

Anyway, "chess pieces" wearing the mask of "beloved" can be found everywhere.

Although Alan is unable to see the bewildered soldiers around him due to the "curse," Hill only needs to make use of them.

The world Allen is currently in is both an illusion and a reality, and he will not be able to wake up from the nightmare of "beloved" until Hill lifts the curse.

"Come on, let me see how you cry and scream!"

Hill wore a cruel smile and watched silently.

“…………”

Allen kept his head down without saying a word.

Faced with the approaching assassins and Hill's unseen "sister," the man helplessly lowered his hands.

All he could hear was the constant, heartbreaking sobs of someone calling out for their brother.

When "Sister" came before Eren—to within striking distance of the murder weapon hidden behind her back—

He mustered all his strength and swept the silver spear forward, turning "sister" into pieces.

"────Huh?"

Hill was stunned.

The LaSharp Familia executives, who were well aware of Hill's strength, also had the same reaction.

The Valsha soldiers were gripped by sheer terror.

Allen, who killed his "sister" with his own hands, went into a frenzy like never before.

"How dare you show me such boring stuff—"

This whisper, which seemed capable of freezing everything, was evidence of the anger in his heart reaching its limit.

Sensing the extreme killing intent in the other person's tone, Hill broke out in a cold sweat and reflexively moved away from his original position.

The cat's eyes were sharp as blades, shooting straight at Hill.

Even though Alan only has his "beloved" in front of him—he has already seen through it all and knows that it is the source of the curse (Shell)!!

Hill shouted at the top of his lungs, disregarding everything else.

"Block him, block him for me! Aa ...

The Lashap Family and the Valsha soldiers reflexively obeyed their commander's orders.

Under Hill's magical influence, the soldiers imbued with the illusion of "Beloved" swarmed and attacked Allen.

In Allen's eyes, there are three versions of his "sister": one dressed as an adventurer, one in a bar uniform, and one with the appearance of a child.

Hill didn't realize that his actions were only adding fuel to the fire, and the next second he witnessed an unbelievable scene.

Witnessing Allen's figure vanish in an instant, killing all his "beloved" who approached him.

"Who—who are you?!"

Some were pierced through the chest by the tip of a gun, some had their skulls smashed by the butt of a gun, and some were dismembered into eight pieces by a series of blows.

Watching Allen clear out the enemies like a mini storm, Hill couldn't help but scream. She also raised her twin swords and launched an attack, intending to unleash her "Demon Sword" while the soldiers were holding off the enemy.

However──

Enraged, the cat killed all its "beloved" companions and then leaped into the air.

This kick caused an explosion in the desert, and then he unleashed his strongest thrust of the day, passing at high speed past Hill who was wielding the magic sword.

"Huh?!"

Hill thought he had been struck by a terrifying stab, but it turned out that his attack had simply missed.

wrong.

The front half of both hands disappeared.

The two hands, severed by the silver spear, still gripped the demon sword, soaring high over the stunned Hill's head. Then, two sounds of blades piercing the sand came from behind him.

"Wa ...

Hill let out a shameful wail.

Whether it was the shock of losing both arms, the lightning-fast attack he couldn't see clearly, the burning pain in his hands, or the overwhelming killing intent he had never seen before, all of these things eroded the elf's spirit, causing him to make a complete fool of himself on the spot, as if he had thrown rationality to the back of his mind and was sweating profusely and shedding a lot of cold sweat and tears.

"Hey, you piece of shit."

The male voice coming from behind was colder and more terrifying than anything else in the world.

Just as Hill forgot to breathe and was about to suffocate, Allen spoke in an icy tone:

"In my eyes right now, you are 'the scum I hate most in this world'."

Don't even think about lying! Don't even think about lying! Don't even think about lying!

What he saw in his eyes was clearly "true love"!!

She is the irreplaceable other half of his soul!

It can't be the "most hated" person!

—If that's the case, why?

Why could this man so coldly and ruthlessly destroy the "beloved" in his heart?

What did they see in those eyes, filled with a mixture of love and hate?

"Remove the curse immediately, or I'll kill you. I mean it."

"Yes, yes! I'll do it right away!! I'll untie it for you right now!!"

A low, oppressive killing intent threatened Hill's life.

The man, who had become only able to cry and scream, was so frightened that he wet himself and immediately chanted a spell to break the spell.

"Dissolve! The calamity of the plague...! It's over! It's all over! Your 'beloved' is gone! I only beg you... I only beg you to spare my life!"

After Hill informed him that the curse had been lifted, she forced out a complex expression that was hard to decipher—a mixture of laughter and tears—and loudly begged for mercy.

Three seconds have passed.

Allen gritted his teeth—gripping the gun in one hand, he thrust it downwards, piercing Hill from the top of his head to his groin in one swift motion.

"—You didn't solve it at all!!!"

Allen roared in anger.

Because what comes into view is still "younger sister", still "scum", still "stain".

His anger exceeded his limit, and his killing intent also exploded.

Driven to madness by fear and unable to control her own magic, Hill was unable to break the "curse" and was thus cleaved in two by a single shot, turning into a desolate skeleton lying on the desert ground.

Seeing that Hill had gone mad with fear, Allen realized that even sparing his life wouldn't break the curse, so he cleaved him in two, but to no avail. It turned out this was a curse that continued to work even after the caster lost consciousness or life—a curse that would only be broken after a period of time. Allen was now furious.

The enemy soldiers, who still retained the appearance of "little sister", were so frightened by this overwhelming rage that they ran away in all directions with deafening screams. When Allen saw this, he swung his silver spear forcefully.

Do not make jokes.

How could I allow such a thing to live in the world?

How can we allow this disgusting bunch of people pretending to be "sisters (scum)" to live on?

Allen would never admit that this thing was his true "love".

Therefore, he only uttered one sentence.

"—No mercy."

What followed can only be described as "utterly horrific".

Generally speaking, it is impossible for a war to completely annihilate an army of tens of thousands.

In most cases, the battle ends when more than 30% of the troops are lost.

But the 4th Valsha Division, which Allen had his eye on, was, as the name suggests, "completely annihilated."

Driven by rage, the fighting cat left no survivors.

To vent his anger at the extremely unpleasant sight before him, Allen unleashed a series of sandstorms.

*

"Hey, is Hill dead too?"

This is the supply corps responsible for managing materials; in other words, it is located at the very end of Valsha's army.

The god (La Sharp) listens to the news from the soldiers in this tent, and is quite surprised that the number of "blessings" he has given is indeed decreasing sharply.

"Ah, yes! Besides, Lord Rashap's elite clans have also been defeated one after another! Their troops fled and were annihilated! Only the main force led by General Gesar is still fighting...!"

"Wait, weren't there only eight opponents? You're not mistaken, are you?"

"Absolutely no false alarms!"

Rashap was slightly alarmed after hearing the unbelievable report and couldn't help but groan.

What exactly happened on the front lines is unknown even to the gods.