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

Needless to say, Will and the soldiers were taken aback, as were Welf and Bell.

Further out of the enemy's encirclement, a number of demi-humans, outnumbering the soldiers, surrounded the entire warehouse.

Several portable magic stone lamps were glowing, and Welf squinted one eye to see the badges engraved on their uniforms.

Two crossed hammers and a volcano symbol.

"H-The Hephaestus Familia!?"

As Bell shouted, a woman stepped out from among the demi-humans.

"Just like Finn the Lilliputian said."

"Tsubaki!?"

Upon seeing the one-eyed female blacksmith with her black hair swaying as she appeared, wearing an eyepatch, Welf called out.

The world-renowned forging faction, with its many skilled blacksmiths, including Tsubaki, one of the strongest fighters in Orario, made their appearance, causing Will to let out a trembling scream.

"What...how did you all get here?!"

"Your scheme has already been seen through. I have been monitoring the situation around that man."

Chun raised the corners of her mouth and spoke to Will, whose face was twitching.

She said that the Loki Familia had discovered the true intentions of the Kingdom's army in maintaining the strange front on the battlefield, and therefore, under the Guild's instructions, they were ordered to monitor the Hestia Familia—specifically, to monitor Welf.

"You used me as bait...!?"

Seeing that Tsubaki had successfully lured her father and the kingdom's soldiers, Welf let out a low growl. He'd been seeing Tsubaki everywhere he went—even in the dungeon—for the past few days; now he knew why.

As Tsubaki shrugged, glared at by Welf, the goddess stepped out from beside her.

"Your accomplices waiting outside the warehouse have also been arrested by my children. Surrender now."

"The goddess Hephaestus...!?"

Upon seeing Hephaestus, who was the complete opposite of Tsubaki and wore a black eyepatch over her right eye, Will flinched.

Her distinctive features, including an eyepatch, and her striking red hair and eyes, made her famous throughout the land. The soldiers were terrified at the sight of the chief god of the Satin-Crafting faction, and Will shouted in a panic:

"It's not over yet!? I still have the 'Demon Sword'! I still have 'Krozo's Demon Sword'!?"

Upon seeing the man raise the red sword in his right hand—the real "Crozo's Demon Sword"—Bell and the members of the Hephaestus Familia tensed up.

That was the legendary "demon sword" that could "burn the sea." Witnessing that it was undoubtedly the highest-level weapon among military equipment, Tsubaki narrowed her right eye.

Hephaestus remained calm, only glancing at the silent Welf.

As if in response to Will's shout, the soldiers also drew their "magic swords".

"If you don't want the city engulfed in flames, then come here, Welf!?"

Will's listless eyes and face held an eerie aura as he shouted at his child.

"This is really unexpected, what should we do now... Hey, little brother Will?"

"Don't make a move."

"Welf!"

"You too, believe me."

As Welf walked toward Will, Chun called out to him, but he didn't turn around, only addressing the surrounding crowd. Bell, in a moment of desperation, tried to step forward, but Welf turned and smiled at him.

Seeing his son walking towards him, Will's face showed relief and joy.

"Very well, Welf!? Alright, come on, first hand over the 'Demon Sword'!?"

Welf walked toward his overjoyed father and stopped ten steps away.

Under the tense, breathless gaze of the surrounding crowd, he reached for the white cloth he was carrying on his back.

From among several swords wrapped in white cloth, Welf drew a longsword and raised it high.

"This is all I have."

"Huh...?"

"I mean, I only forged this one 'Demon Sword'."

He told Will that there was only one "Crozzo's Demon Sword" in both headquarters and workshop.

Upon hearing that there was only one "Demon Sword" and that the other weapons wrapped in white cloth were fake swords used to deceive them, Will's stunned face instantly turned bright red.

In response to his biological father's reaction, the son sighed and said, "How could you possibly summon the 'Demon Sword' in just half a day?" He shrugged.

"You brat, have you forgotten what I said...!? I'm going to plunge the city into chaos...!"

Before he could finish speaking, Welf interrupted him.

"The only 'Crozo's Demon Sword' left is the one you're holding now, right?"

"————"

Upon hearing his criticism, Bell and Tsubaki, along with the other members of the Hephaestus Familia, widened their eyes.

Only Hephaestus, the goddess of forging, remained steadfast, observing the unfolding events from the sidelines.

"I stayed in the workshop and calmed down a bit. Even if we can avoid destruction, the Kingdom of Lachia won't give up our family's 'Magic Sword' all at once."

Welf knew that the kingdom, clinging to its past glory, was as obsessed with the "Sword of Crozzo" as his own family. They would never risk all the remaining "Sword of Crozzo" for a plan whose success was uncertain. This was likely the reason Will ordered him to bring the "Sword of Crozzo" he had on hand.

The other side probably intends to win over Welf and then use the power of the "Demon Sword" to attack the faction alliance outside the city.

Welf saw through the fact that the other party had only prepared the "magic sword" in his father's hand, using it as negotiating material to win him over.

As if Welf had predicted, Welf stood frozen in place. The soldiers who had been threatening everyone with the "demon sword" that had nothing to do with "Krozo" also appeared panicked and wavering.

Seeing the sharp look in his son's eyes as he confronted him, Will took a step back.

"Goo-gaa ...

The next instant, Will's eyes widened in horror, and he screamed like a ghost.

"Don't come near me!? With this sword, I can burn you all to ashes just the same!?"

Seeing the man's self-destructive attitude and the possibility that he might brandish the red sword at the crowd at any moment, the tense atmosphere at the scene escalated once again.

The atmosphere was tense, and Bell gripped his right hand, ready to unleash a quick-attack spell at any moment. Tsubaki placed her hand on the hilt of her katana, licked her lips, and prepared to close in on the enemy in an instant.

In this context, Welf said:

"Shoot!"

The biological father froze, shaking his red hair and urging him with a cold gaze:

"Try shooting it."

Will clenched his teeth as tightly as they could.

The provocative gaze of his own son seemed to have pushed his anger beyond boiling point, and ignoring the clamor of the surrounding soldiers, he raised "Crozo's Demon Sword" high above his head.

"You...you bastard!?!"

Then, it slashed down even faster than the crimson "demon sword".

Before Bell and the other blacksmiths could act, and before Chun could rush out.

Welf's eyes widened in surprise as he easily drew the crimson "magic sword" from his hand.

"—Crack in!!"

A burst of intense flames erupted in response.

Will's crimson "magic sword" also burst forth with flames, and the two clashed violently in one breath.

As all the servants stared wide-eyed, in front of Hephaestus's narrowed left eye, the raging crimson flames instantly engulfed the scarlet fire—they canceled each other out.

The scene generated a large amount of sparks, hot air, and blast waves.

Hit by the intense aftershocks, some were blown away, while others mustered their strength to survive. With a flick of her bright red trousers, a female blacksmith moved in front of the main god, shielding him from the blast wave.

Then, just as the field of vision, which had been dyed a deep red, began to return to normal colors.

Bell and the others looked up... and saw a charred patch in the center of the warehouse. Welf stood on his feet, while Will collapsed to the ground.

In Will's astonished hand, the crimson "demon sword" shattered instantly, while Welf's red "demon sword" remained intact in his right hand, gleaming brightly.

The difference between the limits of use and the strength, or simply the difference in power output.

The "Demon Sword" forged by the young man through painstaking effort and a profound transformation of his mind and body surpasses the "Demon Sword" of his ancestors, which relied solely on bloodline. That's all.

"……Why!"

Looking down at the shattered "Demon Sword," Will was lost and bewildered.

His body trembled more and more violently, and then he roared and shouted excitedly as if a dam had burst.

"With such extraordinary power, why won't you fight the 'Demon Sword'!?"

"..."

"Why won't you do your best for your family and your country?!"

Welf didn't respond to his father's shouts.

Under the watchful eyes of the boy Bell, the goddess Hephaestus, and Tsubaki, he gripped the hilt of the powerful "Demon Sword".

"Why are you the one who can fight the 'Demon Sword'?! If it were me, if I could fight it, I would be...! You unfilial son!?"

Will condemned Welf and stood up.

He flung his coat around, his eyes bloodshot like a wild beast's, and his emotions erupted.

"Are you still spouting nonsense about not wanting to see the 'Demon Sword Weapon' shatter?! Weapons are just consumables! We can just forge another one!!"

Welf's eyes narrowed.

Will, oblivious to his expression, said:

"'Forge more weapons, gain more honor'—have you forgotten the family motto of the forging nobles who share a symbiotic relationship with the 'Demon Sword'!?"

Upon hearing this, Welf finally snapped.

"What forging nobility!? What honor!?"

When Will was rendered speechless by a booming voice that could penetrate the warehouse, Welf strode recklessly toward him.

Then he clenched his fist and punched his father in the cheek.

"Gah!?"

Seeing Will fall to the ground, the soldiers, who had been speechless, were about to draw their swords—

"Don't move!!"

But Welf roared again, halting their movements.

The senior blacksmith's roar made the soldiers tremble, but his shout was also directed at Bell and Chun, who were staring in astonishment.

"Get up!! Stand up!!" "...!?"

He dropped the "Demon Sword" and all his weapons, and grabbed Will's shirt with both hands.

Welff forced his bleeding father to stand up and then delivered another heavy punch to his lips.

“Guh!?”

"The pride of nobility!? You're the ones who should never forget the blacksmith's lifelong ambition!!"

Will staggered back from the angry shouts and punches, then raised his flushed face.

Enraged, he retaliated by punching Welf, whose hands were hanging down, in the face.

"Before honor, our life's ambitions as blacksmiths are nothing but insignificant trash!!"

Welf caught the punch that Welsh threw as he asserted his will, and then immediately retaliated with a punch of his own.

A heavy thud, an iron fist sinking into the left cheek.

The astonishing power caused his opponent to stagger and turn pale with shock. Welf roared at him:

"What did you say about trash?! I can't hear you, is this the end of it?!"

"You, you! You stupid son!?!"

Enraged, Will swung his hands and beat his son.