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

The man-eating flower monsters launched a massive invasion from the city walls, swarming towards Lefia and her companions' location.

Before Lulu could scream, the group decisively bypassed the monster corpse that Ais had defeated and rushed to the other end of the road. Just behind them, the carnivorous plant that had slid past them made a sound, twisted its long body, stopped, and then turned its face towards Lefia and the others again.

"Lefia, you go to the square first!"

"Miss Ais!?"

Lefia and the others became the monster's targets, and Ais took the lead and flew out.

She charged at the pursuing monsters, unleashing a storm of slashing blows. With her beloved sword, she tore her enemies to pieces, simultaneously halting the monsters' advance.

Lefia stopped in her tracks, watching the long, flowing golden hair of the retreating figure. Ais, single-handedly suppressing the monster army, stirred a sense of hesitation within her, but she quickly put aside her personal feelings, grabbed Lulu's hand, and ran.

Even if she stayed, she would only be a hindrance. Starting to chant without thinking in front of monsters that react to magic would result in a relentless attack, forcing Ais into a defensive posture. The enemy's strength is likely above, or equal to, Level 3 Lefia and Lulune; their biggest problem is their tough skin. The two of them alone couldn't even mount a counterattack.

If Ais were equipped with a sword, the mere man-eating flower monster would be nothing to her.

What Lefia needs to do now is to take the precious orb that Ais can't carry and return to Finn and the others as quickly as possible, and ensure Lulu's safety. After all, besides the monsters, there's also a vicious serial killer in this town.

Despite repeatedly trying to convince herself, Lefia bit her lip and kept running. She pulled Luluni along, her slender legs pushing off the ground as she ran.

Lefia and Lulune abandoned their current direct route to the plaza from the northwest corner and instead took a roundabout route to the north, where there were fewer monsters. Even if it was just a second faster, they were careful and hurried to get there without encountering any monsters.

After walking for a while through alleys far from the roars and clattering gongs, Lefia and her companions entered a corner of the town that resembled a crystal forest.

Cluster Street

This place, along with the Twin Crystals in Crystal Square, is a famous attraction in the town of Rivera.

The largest crystal cluster in the northern part of the town forms this street, with towering blue crystal pillars standing tall. Numerous intersections lead to narrow lanes, like back alleys winding around houses. Coupled with the beautiful crystal walls reflecting the silhouettes of passersby, it resembles a magic mirror maze. Only here in the town has it been deliberately decorated, with cobblestones paving the way.

Two footsteps echoed through the intricate gaps in the crystal, and the profiles of Lefia and Luluni, hurrying on their way, were faintly reflected on the crystal surface.

"Whoa! Explosion!?"

"That's... Lady Riveria's magic!"

With a deafening roar, massive, extremely thick pillars of flame rose continuously from the center of the town.

Luluni jumped heavily on her shoulder, and the town of Rivera, shrouded in the vast night, instantly burst into flames. Looking up from the road flanked by crystal pillars, one could see the sky dyed crimson, with tens of thousands of sparks flying everywhere.

At the same time, Lefia heard a loud cheer of "Whoa whoa whoa!" and knew that the city's strongest mage had defeated many monsters with fire magic.

"...!?"

Amidst the scene where the streets and sky appeared to be ablaze and dyed red.

A figure appeared before Lefia and her companions on the crystal path where sparks of light were scattered.

(Male, adventurer...?)

Leg armor, gauntlet, breastplate

He was a male adventurer whose arms, legs, and chest were covered in heavy black armor.

He wore a tattered scarf around his neck and a helmet on his head. His dark-skinned face was wrapped in bandages, and his exposed left eye stared emotionlessly at Lefia and the others.

Lefia's delicate eyebrows furrowed, unable to conceal her surprise, as the man walked straight toward them without a word.

"Please, please stop right there!"

Lefia cried out reflexively.

The man's chilling aura—like a black behemoth standing before her, an extraordinary sense of oppression—intimidated her, causing her to raise her staff. However, the man ignored her warning, taking large strides, step by step, closing the distance between them.

Perhaps out of orcish instinct, Lulu's ears and tail trembled uncontrollably, her face turned deathly pale, and her teeth chattered. Terrified, she stared at the black leggings that were steadily approaching, stepping on the cobblestones in the middle of a road at least five meters wide. Lefia's palms sweated, and her lips hesitated, unsure whether to begin her incantation.

Then, just as the distance between them shrank to within ten steps, the man's figure vanished in the next instant.

The speed of their advance was so fast that there was no time to react.

Before Lefia could even open her eyes, the enemy stepped into her arms and grabbed her neck with one hand.

"ah--!?"

Her body was easily lifted up, and her feet left the ground.

The arm armor pressed against her neck. The cold, terrifying metallic touch sank into her skin. Lefia released her grip, and the staff crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

She grabbed the man's right hand with both hands and tried desperately to pull it away, but his hand was firmly stuck to her neck and showed no sign of letting go.

Five fingers dug into her flesh with astonishing force, trying to tighten—no, trying to strangle her neck.

"Woo, woo-ga-aaaaah!"

Lulu, who was initially stunned, staggered and lunged at the man with a fierce look in her eyes.

She drew her dagger in an attempt to rescue Raphia, but the man didn't even glance at her. With a flick of his left hand, he slammed her body against the crystal pillar.

Lulu's back slammed into the crystal pillar, cracking it, and she slid down and fell to the ground.

"Ah! Uh, uh!?"

As Lulune fainted, Lefia's consciousness also drifted rapidly away.

Her feet and thick golden hair swayed in mid-air, while the squeaking sound of her bones and flesh squeezing inside her echoed continuously.

Her lips, barely able to breathe, emitted several groans, and her wide eyes brimmed with tears. Lefia's head was now completely upside down, and the man, expressionless, increased the pressure of his grip.

The slender Adam's apple was squeezed flat and twisted.

The hands, which had resisted until the very end, finally slumped down, unable to move.

She heard the sound of Death's scythe rising and falling.

—Miss Ais.

Looking up at the fiery red sky, a tear rolled down her cheek as Lefia softly murmured that name.

The next moment.

"Roar!?"

A long, slender body, riddled with cuts and bruises, crashed into them, destroying the crystal pillar.

The screaming, man-eating flower monster crashed through the Crystal Street like an explosion. Countless shards of blue crystal scattered in all directions, and Lefia's wide eyes witnessed the scene.

Next to appear was a swordsman with fierce eyebrows, dark eyes, and blond hair.

"!!"

She raised the silver military knife and slashed at the man who had turned around with wide eyes.

The man released Lefia and dodged quickly, leaving sharp marks on her armor.

Lefia's body landed with a thud. The Sword Maiden, who had rushed in a straight line from the path created by the destroyed monster's body, shielded her with her back and confronted the armored man head-on.

The sky burned a fiery red, and Aiss swung her silver sword, producing a clear and melodious sound.

*

"Ugh, ugh!?"

Hearing Lefia coughing behind her, Ais, not daring to be careless, kept her eyes fixed on the person in front of her.

The male adventurer wore black armor. His only weapon appeared to be a sheathless longsword worn at his waist. The armor itself was of at most medium quality among most equipment, not a particularly outstanding type.

He squinted his unnaturally sunken left eye and clicked his tongue.

"Lefia, are you alright?"

"I...I'm fine..."

After finally managing to catch her breath, Lefia answered Ais. Unable to stand up, she pressed her throat, wiped away her tears, and looked ahead.

The dying carnivorous plant lay half-buried in the wall, and a section of the crystal pillars along the straight path had collapsed. The armored man, maintaining a distance from Ais, seemed to have originally intended to take Lefia and the others' lives during the brief moment Ais was away.

Although Ais used all her skills to annihilate the swarming monsters and immediately caught up with Lefia and the others, stopping his attempt, the opponent's methods were so clever that Ais felt as if she had been tricked.

"...So you're the one who killed Mr. Hassan?"

The shouts of adventurers echoed from afar, and Ais asked the person.

According to intelligence, the murderer should be a woman, but Ais's intuition tells her that the person in front of her is the real killer of Hassanna.

Under the watchful eyes of Ais and the others, he opened his mouth, which had been pursed and silent.

"So what if it is?"

The moment they heard that voice, Ais and Lefia's eyes widened as much as they could.

Because that high-pitched, loud voice was completely at odds with her appearance—it was a woman's voice.

"You...you're not a man...!?"

"Staring intently at the clearly male features, Lefia exclaimed in confusion."

Although bandages covered half her face, there was no doubt about it. Her expressionless, unsettling face, with its dark complexion and sharp features, didn't look like a woman at all.

The expressionless person explained calmly:

"This is just what was peeled off."

“Eh…?”

"I just peeled off the corpse's face and put it on my face."

Lefia was speechless.

Even Ais gasped when she heard that.

"You didn't know that soaking human skin in the bodily fluids of poison vermis could prevent it from decaying?"

His...her monotone words sent a chill down their spines.

In other words, the person in front of you stole someone else's eyelid.

She broke Hassan's neck, killing him, and cruelly peeled off his face.

The horrific state of the corpse (Hassana)'s face was not caused by the killer trampling on it in revenge.

Rather, this method was used to destroy evidence so that no one would discover that their face had been peeled off.

"So, that face... is Mr. Hassan's?"

She stopped talking abruptly, her face turning pale.

The person wearing the human mask—the armored woman—neither denied nor confirmed. It was as if she were saying that there was no need to answer now. Ais carefully observed the face. The bandages covering half of her face were likely used to conceal a distorted part because the mask didn't fit properly.

"Ugh, damn it, it's so tight I can't stand it."

Ignoring Ais and the others, the woman began to irritably remove the armor she was wearing.

She grabbed the breastplate and crushed it. The woman easily destroyed the armor and tore it off, revealing her full breasts, which were encased in a shirt, emerging from the peeling armor. Then she forcefully ripped off the scarf and other parts of the armor, exposing her fair neck and supple limbs.

The impression and stereotypes associated with men's faces are too strong. She wore a human mask while searching for the goods Hassanna brought, and no one suspected her of being a woman, thus eliminating her from the list of suspects.

The face above the neck is that of a man, and the body below is that of a woman. Just as this appearance exudes a strong sense of incongruity, a gurgling sound is heard.

Perhaps the preservative effect wore off, and part of the human mask melted away. The skin around the left eye peeled off, revealing the woman's fair skin.

Finally, she raised her head, lightly dressed only in a helmet, knee pads, and arm armor.

"Have you made enough of a scene? Hand over the pearl to me."

After saying that, the woman drew the long sword that was hanging at her waist.

Then she charged forward and attacked Ais.

"!"

"Wow, that's really impressive."

The two engaged in close combat.

Ais herself rushed out from beside Lefia and slashed at the enemy. The Sword of Despair clashed with her opponent's longsword, sparking fiercely.

Seeing Ais react to her incredible speed, the woman narrowed her eyes and then unleashed a series of attacks.

"...!?"

The two abandoned the speechless Lefia and began a fierce sword fight.

Longswords raised high for slashing, sabers gliding sideways. Swords clashed and rang out in a frenzied dance, silver blades flashing repeatedly in mid-air. Their figures blurred, moving freely across the narrow path, constantly shifting positions.

The two figures reflected on the crystal wall seemed to spread outwards like clones, with countless azure figures displaying their power on the crystal streets.

—So strong!