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

Forget about her beautiful figure; she was glaring at me angrily.

"This is the first time I've ever suffered such humiliation."

"I'm so sorry!!"

Even though I apologized desperately with tears in my eyes, the goddess Freya still turned her face away in anger.

"I'm so angry! Bell, please leave the room right now."

I accidentally made the goddess angry...

There was no chance to explain. Faced with this unsolicited order to leave, I earnestly reflected on my actions and dejectedly walked towards the door. As I pushed open the door to leave, I couldn't help but look back, but the goddess was still facing away from me. It seemed she wouldn't forgive me for the time being.

But... what exactly happened just now?

Am I just imagining things...?

Despite an indescribable feeling lingering in my heart, I was ultimately driven out of the shrine by that unyielding figure.

*

“…………”

Freya pressed her hand to her chest.

This appearance is completely out of place for the unruly queen; instead, she looks like a naive young girl.

After a long period of time, she seemed to unconsciously walk to the dressing table in a corner of the room, which was filled with various gold and silver jewelry, and opened one of the drawers.

She took out a pale blue hair ornament with her slender fingers.

Those were a pair of ornaments that the boy gave to someone.

The goddess embraced the hair ornament and stood there silently.

“…………!”

At this moment──

There was a person who looked exactly like the goddess standing outside the sliding door.

This sliding door is located directly opposite the oak door where the boy left.

No one is allowed to enter the divine chamber without the goddess's permission, so she, with a faint magical glow emanating from her body, lowered her head and leaned quietly against the sliding door.

Her face was more distorted than anyone else's at that moment.

"What are you doing?"

The magical light vanished the moment that voice was heard.

After the dim light dissipated, the outline of a girl clearly emerged. Herren, who had been looking down, raised her head.

"...Lord Hedin."

The white elf's expression remained unchanged.

Herren didn't say much and quickly walked past him.

The elf silently watched the pale-faced girl leave.

Then he immediately turned his gaze to the sliding door.

He seemed to be longing for his goddess through a door, closing his eyes and then forcefully opening them again.

"I swear I will be your most loyal servant."

He spoke to himself as if a knight were making a vow.

Volume 17, Chapter 5: In Her World's End

The battle on the plains, this sacred slaughter—

The "baptism" performed by first-level adventurers

The battle is becoming increasingly fierce.

"[Eternal struggle, undying thunder soldiers]".

「!?」

The extremely short verses, sung in a cruel melody, shot forth.

Even though I had just finished casting the "magic" not long ago, it was already preparing to launch again. Feeling desperate, I dodged with all my might.

"【The valiant and tragic undead soldier (Caurus hildr)】".

A large number of lightning bolts were then launched.

Each lightning arrow, almost the size of a human head, rained down on me like an army of countless soldiers. After dodging the first few, I was helplessly trapped in an endless hell of lightning strikes.

He was pierced, scorched, and had his bones and tendons severed by lightning, his entire body covered in electric current.

The blood inside the body was roasted to boiling.

In the brief moment when his vision was temporarily blinded by the lightning and his consciousness went blank, a merciless announcement suddenly came to his ears.

"【Eternal Suppression, Undying Thunder General】".

--The third shot!?

That's too fast!!

My master, displaying a chanting technique that cannot be described even with the word "exquisite"—"continuous high-speed chanting"—launched a barrage of attacks at me without pause.

"【The Valiant and Tragic Undying Warrior】(Varian hildr)".

A massive spear of lightning shot towards me, who was already stunned.

This is the devastation inflicted by a first-level adventurer.

To be precise, it originated from the "tyranny" of an elf.

The battle situation was already quite severe, but one day the master made some harsh remarks.

"Not enough."

And so it has evolved into what it is now, a fight that is entirely one-sided slaughter.

I was repeatedly crippled by my master, who wielded "magic." In a corner of the "Battlefield," lightning storms caused by elves constantly erupted. In this area where neither humans nor monsters could escape, I, clinging to life, focused intently on fighting for my survival.

"────Ah! Uh!? Eeee! Uh～ ...

I immediately activated [Hero's Wish (Skill)] – in less than a second, I concentrated my power in my right foot and kicked hard, barely escaping the attack range. Half of my body was already charred.

There was absolutely no chance to dodge. Just as I was being tormented by the perfectly timed artillery fire, like a trapped beast, my master was already upon me.

They pursued me as I was in so much pain that tears welled in my eyes.

"drink!"

“Ugh!!”

A kick, like a spear thrust, struck my shoulder. With a cracking sound of bones breaking, my charred left hand was completely destroyed. My master swung his long sword. I desperately blocked the attack with my right-hand short sword, gritting my teeth and fighting for survival.

I tried to fight back with hand-to-hand combat—but it didn't work; melee combat was also ineffective. In close combat, my master still had the upper hand. If I tried to unleash a quick-attack spell (fire and lightning), my right arm would be severed on the spot by his longsword. He was Orario's foremost "magic swordsman," how could he overlook the fluctuations in mental energy? The moment I superficially thought of relying on magic, my death became a reality.

(Master...why...!?)

They're completely different, worlds apart.

This was completely different from the master I remembered, the Mr. Hedin who had guided and led my dating training. He seemed to want to completely erase my impression of him, as if to say that it was just my superfluous delusion, revealing a cold and frosty look, as if he really intended to kill me.

I let out a roar from my dantian, choked with sobs, unleashing what I considered the most perfect counterattack.

But then a crisp sound rang in my ears. My counterattack was easily parried, and while I was stunned, an impact struck my right cheek. As I spun around, a snake-like elbow strike landed on my abdomen. Unable to breathe, I was like a puppet with its strings cut, my legs buckling and leaving me vulnerable.

Then──

"idiot."

"Uh────────"

The longsword transformed into a merciless flash of light, slicing directly through my body.

The slash that came down diagonally from my shoulder caused me to spit out a lot of blood; it was a truly fatal wound.

I could no longer muster any strength, and as I staggered backward, I saw my master preparing to continue the pursuit, intending to chop my head off with a single blow.

With time frozen, I watched as the long sword slowly descended—

"Stop, Hedin."

—But in the end, it failed to hit me.

Mr. Alfred, Mr. Duvalin, Mr. Bellin, and Mr. Gell all held their weapons against their master's neck, preventing the longsword from swinging downwards.

As I was sucked to the ground, lying on my back, four menacing voices echoed across the field, my fatal wounds causing me to fall.

"You've gone too far."

"Have you forgotten that you should have shown mercy?"

"Are you really planning to destroy him?"

"Even Haici and the others didn't have time to treat her."

Those who could be seen nearby, including Miss Haici, who were preparing to help with the treatment, were all terrified by their master's cruel actions, their faces turning pale.

The healers simply couldn't treat me in time. The main reason was that the rampant lightning made it difficult for them to approach, and my body would be injured again immediately after treatment.

The nearby group members all showed the same reaction. Mr. Paine and his men stared in disbelief, completely forgetting that they were in the middle of a battle.

The sky had somehow turned a blood-red hue. It turned out to be dusk; I hadn't realized so much time had passed.

"Are you alright, Bell?"

"Ah, uh, ahhh...!!"

After Mr. Hegney helped me use the panacea, he helped me sit up from the ground.

A large amount of mist emanated from the wound, and the backlash from the treatment immediately struck me, causing me to let out a silent wail of pain.

Mr. Hegney steadied me from behind and glared fiercely at my master.

"My nemesis, what are you plotting? What is the point of this act, so indistinguishable from that of a tyrant?"

"What's the point of asking that?"

Bathed in the reproachful gazes of his fellow first-level adventurers, the master naturally uttered harsh words.

"This foolish rabbit has been favored by the supreme goddess, so proving his worth is of utmost urgency. If he cannot prove he possesses a soul worthy of our supreme god... no one can swallow this insult!"

The master became more and more agitated as he spoke, eventually unleashing a genuine roar of fury.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Hegney and the others all fell silent for a moment.

The roar of the warrior on the "battlefield" was perfectly justified.

"Therefore, it has nothing to do with your own situation! Your duty is to fulfill the goddess's wish!"

Having lost too much blood, I lifted my head, my mind reeling.

The elf with the red coral eyes stared straight at me and shouted loudly.

"Get up! Stand up now!"

"...!"

You absolutely have to pull yourself together!

Those sincere eyes, filled with heartfelt devotion to the goddess, were fixed on me alone.

"Prove to me that you are the 'hero' the goddess has been eagerly awaiting!!"

The elves' roars echoed through the sky, striking deep into my heart.

As the days went by, the master's "baptism" became more and more intense.

*

"What are you really planning, Hedin?!"

Even when Hegny glared at him and questioned him, Hedin remained unfazed and deflected the questions back.

"You seem to be asking me what I'm thinking. What do you mean?"

"You're lying through your teeth! The White Rabbit is an offering to the goddess!! If you continue to torment him like that, his pure heart will surely decay! Then I have no choice but to become the White Rabbit's knight!"