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

Upon receiving the goddess's "signal," a "smoke signal" immediately pierced the sky above Orario.

The "strongest warriors" lurking in the city received an "order" from a white elf.

As Hestia suddenly looked up at the sky, Freya declared in a cold tone:

"Then I'll have no choice but to take him away by force."

*

The attack was both brutal and "sudden".

A heavy blow.

The attacker landed on the roof, and before the target could react, the sledgehammer that struck the girl had already generated a shockwave like a gunpowder explosion.

"Huh────!?"

Before he could even prepare for the attack, he was caught completely off guard and suffered a devastating blow, his ribs shattered on the spot, blood gushing from his mouth, as he crashed into a nearby shop.

"...Huh?"

The next second—

Haruhime, Lily, and Welf, who were walking beside Mikoto, were not able to react immediately.

As bystanders were stunned and stopped in their tracks, four shadows had already surrounded the Hestia Familia and were brandishing their weapons.

Long spears, large hammers, giant axes, and greatswords.

Four identical little warriors, dressed in sand-colored helmets and armor, ruthlessly explained their purpose.

"The goddess has given her decree."

"So prepare to die."

The moment the eldest son, Alflick, finished speaking, his three younger brothers spoke in unison—

The crowd gasped in surprise.

"—My life!?"

The elderly, weak, women, and children screamed repeatedly.

People fled in all directions.

Chunji came to her senses.

She quickly turned around, wanting to run to her childhood friend who was lying in the store, but unfortunately she couldn't.

A block of iron was right in front of them.

Chunji was so frightened that she forgot to breathe, and the image of herself being crushed by the massive hammer that had severely damaged her flashed through her mind.

"Don't even think about it!!"

"...!! Sister Aisha!?"

The shrew's large broadsword successfully prevented a tragedy from occurring.

Aisha, who swung her sword at the hammer from the side to save Chunji from danger, clicked her tongue in anger after feeling the astonishing power that made her hands go numb.

"Ah, Lady Aisha!? Even the Hermes Familia has arrived...!? What's going on!?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask! Why did the Freya Familia attack you!?"

Lily, who was too terrified to move, finally came to her senses and asked a question loudly.

Besides the four Jariba brothers and Aisha, weretiger, elf, and chienthrope adventurers also quietly appeared around.

"I was wondering why the Supreme God inexplicably ordered us to 'monitor' them...!"

In fact, the Hermes Familia was ordered to monitor the Hestia Familia.

To be precise, they are responsible for guarding the Freya Familia.

All of this was Hermes's instruction.

After the attack on the second day of the Goddess Festival, and knowing about the relationship between Bell and Seele, the god sensed something was wrong and ordered his Familia to investigate the movements of the Freya Familia.

And that's what the first-level adventurers on watch witnessed.

"Hey, Aisha! Didn't Hermes say under no circumstances should you get involved...!?"

"I only agreed to join your faction to protect my little sister! I've been working like a slave for your god ever since, and now it's time to get my money back, with interest, Falgar!"

"...Whatever! Damn it!"

Faced with Aisha's rebuttal, the tiger-man adventurer who had initially tried to stop her drew his greatsword as if he had come to his senses.

To be precise, I've given up.

The four dwarfs had already regarded them as "obstacles" by the gazes they were receiving.

"Get out of here, all of you!"

The next second, a "sweep" that could hardly be called a battle took place.

"Huh!?"

"Ughhhhh!"

"Wa ...

The spear knocked away all the enemy's weapons, the giant axe knocked the tiger-man away, the greatsword wounded both the elf and the dog-man, and the great hammer forced Aisha back.

In this fierce battle, Welf and his companions, who were only at level 2, were completely unable to intervene.

(That's too fast—no way—it's ridiculous—)

Unlike Welf and Haruhime, who were too stunned to react, Lily was deeply gripped by fear.

Only she, who had once served as a commander, fully understood the "abnormality" of the scene before her.

This is an unusual way of "cooperating".

They didn't even need to look at each other to "communicate," let alone speak. Yes, it's truly absurd. Their coordination was as if they were telepathically connected, without a single second of delay.

While Lily was stunned by the "Infinite Joint Offensive" that the Bringar warriors were so proud of, the second-tier adventurers of the Hermes Familia had already fallen one after another.

"A bunch of monsters!!"

Aisha, who barely escaped being instantly killed, shielded Haruhime behind her while cursing loudly.

They cannot retaliate; they will be completely annihilated.

In less than a minute of fighting, Aisha had already realized their ultimate fate.

(At least we have to find a way to get Haruhime to escape—!!)

The next moment after she thought this—

"Do you want to protect this renart?"

I heard the sound of someone falling to the ground.

The sound came from behind.

Aisha held her breath and turned her head away.

"Fool, who are you trying to protect like that?"

The dwarfs, wielding giant axes and greatswords, stood there.

And the fox-girl lying at their feet.

She lay in a pool of blood, her beautiful blonde hair now partially gone, and a new wound appeared on her back.

It was only for a moment.

The two soldiers had only been out of sight for a moment.

Two dwarfs wielding spears and hammers drew Aisha's attention.

The other two then seized the opportunity to kill Aisha's most cherished possession.

The upturned corners of the two dwarfs' mouths, meant to mock others, were reflected in the eyes of the female warrior (Amazon) who was frozen in place.

With blood stained around her mouth, Chun Ji reached out her hand towards Aisha with lifeless eyes.

"Ah...Isa...Sister..."

Snapped!

A small foot forcefully stepped on the back of the girl's head.

Haruhime, who was forced to kiss the cold stone slab, became completely unresponsive.

"──────────────────────────!!"

Aisha completely lost it.

Her almond-shaped eyes widened, her vision instantly turning crimson, and her anger surged beyond its limit.

At the same time, they cast aside human language and let out the roars of wild beasts.

But this overwhelming rage was subdued by a single blow.

"────"

The greatsword blocked the fully swung broadsword, and then the giant axe turned into a flash of light.

Like the fox-girl, Aisha was splattered with blood, and before she could even cry out, she became bait for the "joint attack".

"Ugh...!! Run! Riko!"

Brutal violence and evil deeds.

Still not understanding the situation, Welf flew into a rage after seeing his companion being slashed.

To protect the girls who, like himself, had not yet been killed, he was determined to fight to the end, no matter how brave or reckless he was.

As he drew the large sword from his back, preparing to advance—

"──?"

Suddenly a gust of wind blew up.

This is the most apt description.

A gust of wind, seemingly from nowhere, brushed against Welf's cheek, drawing his gaze to the side.

"You were... from the time we fought against the Ishtar Familia!?"

"..."

A cat-man holding a silver spear stood there silently.

During the battle against the Ishtar Familia, this Rank 1 adventurer displayed unprecedented strength and verbally abused Welf. To the blacksmith, calling him an enemy who had insulted him wouldn't be an exaggeration.

This person is none other than Alan Fourmore, the Chariot of Goddess.

"It seems your opponent is me...!"

Just as Welf was preparing to raise his greatsword—

All he got in return was a disdainful look from Allen.

"idiot."

And then he dropped a bombshell.

"It's over already."

Allen uttered those words as if he were genuinely bored.

"────"

It was only then that Welf, who was speechless, noticed.

He failed to assume a fighting stance, and the broadsword he had been holding slipped from his hand.

Then, as if he had finally remembered, a burning sensation came from his side abdomen. Looking down, he saw that his side abdomen had been dug out in the shape of a spearhead, from which blood spurted.

When he could no longer muster any strength in his limbs, he realized with a start that he had long since become a defeated foe.

"...This is just...outrageous...!"

While trembling at the sight of the enemy before him, Welf was also furious at his own incompetence.