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

The next instant, the colorful upper body separated from the lower body.

"They escaped!?"

"Is that guy trying to jump into the lake!?"

The upper body of the woman rolled down the town's slope across the square.

The town is built on the cliffs of the island, with a steep cliff on the east side. If you jump from here, you will fall headfirst into the lake below.

The monster's separated lower body was still burning hot. Tiona and Tione leaned out from the edge of the square. In front of them, the colorful upper body was wildly swinging its green hair as it desperately ran down the slope.

"—O harbinger of the end, the snow-covered landscape. As dusk approaches, let the winds howl!"

Just then, chanting began.

Running down the slope in the same shape as the woman was Riveria, whose long emerald hair fluttered in the wind.

As she continued running, a magic circle of the same color followed beneath her feet.

"【Blinded light, frozen earth】."

"Parallel chanting".

Normally, to prevent activation failure or accidental magic explosion, mages would stop all actions and chant. However, "parallel chanting" is a thrilling technique that allows mages to deploy magic circles while moving at high speed. Once this chanting technique is available, mages who previously needed many people to protect them in battle will be transformed into high-firepower mobile artillery turrets.

However, "magic" is a weapon far more troublesome (difficult to deal with) than any other weapon, and those who can skillfully wield this technology are extremely rare, even among high-level adventurers. This is because it's like fighting while handling bombs with both hands.

Riveria reached a realm that Lefia and many other mages had yet to reach. She chased after the monster at her usual pace, wielding her magic flawlessly.

Carrying a magic circle, she moved faster than her enemies. Although only her upper body remained, the female form was still two meters tall. She crawled up the slope like an insect, her arms still bearing tentacles.

Running against the wind, its body wreathed in emerald-colored light particles, it watched as the distance between itself and the enemy continued to shrink.

"[Snowflakes fall heavily, three harsh winters have passed—my name is Alfre!]"

Then, the chanting ended.

This time, Riveria did indeed construct her own magic, kicking at the protruding sloping rock, leaping into the air, and simultaneously extending her staff straight out.

"[Ecstasy: Fimbulb Winter]!"

Two blizzards shot out from the tip of the staff.

The wide-ranging, fan-shaped barrage froze the slope, along with the completely destroyed shops and crystals in the town. The monster at the center of the barrage was instantly engulfed by pure white frost.

"————————!?"

Frozen solid, unable to even scream, the woman mustered her last strength and slammed her arm down heavily on the steep slope.

It used the reaction force from the impact, strong enough to shatter rocks, to propel itself into the air. Despite being frozen solid, it still managed to cross the precipice.

Reminiscent of a shooting star, glittering ice shards trailed behind it. The female figure fell off the cliff, her lips contorted into a reassuring (smiling) shape.

"Go around to the left!"

"knew!"

however……

Two ferocious beasts chased her as they jumped off the cliff.

"————"

Tiony and Tiona, who had passed Rivilia on either side, jumped off the cliff without hesitation.

They ran, kicking against the steep, vertical cliff face, hurtling downwards at an unbelievable speed.

For the monster, it was a nightmare.

The brown-haired female warrior (Amazon) will chase it to the ends of the earth, even if it jumps off a cliff.

「!?」

The female figure, falling headfirst into the lake, used all her strength to swing out her tentacles.

Facing the oncoming barrage of tentacles, the Amazon sisters, as if by prior agreement, kicked the rock wall together and leaped far to the left and right.

The tentacles flowed out of sight, and Tione slashed at the monster from the left diagonal.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Two recurve knives gleamed menacingly as they severed the woman's arms.

Having lost its last tentacle that could be used as a weapon, the monster froze. This time, it was Tiona's turn to launch an attack from the right diagonal.

She leaned back as far as she could, pulling her large double blades behind her to gather her strength—to deliver a powerful, all-out slash to her opponent.

"We're going to go, oh oh oh—!!"

A powerful slash.

“————————”

012

The destructive power unleashed by the giant double blades blasted the monster into pieces.

Body fragments scattered in the air, turning to ashes amidst a dreamlike blue-purple glow.

During its descent, the monster's remains dissolved into the atmosphere and vanished without a trace.

"Yay—!"

"Tiona, you idiot! How could you break the magic stone along with it!"

"ah."

Tiona was cheering, but when she heard Tione angrily say, "That way we can investigate the special monsters," she froze, her face blank.

The two continued their astonishing descent off the cliff, one muttering incessantly, the other bowing his head repeatedly in apology.

"...Are Ais and Lefia alright?"

After a while, Tiona turned her back to the lake, raised her face, and said softly.

Ahead lay the town of Rivera, bathed in a hazy red glow by Lefia's magic. Although the cause of the conflict was unknown, the red-haired woman fighting Ais exuded a dangerous aura. It was so obvious that it was visible even from a distance.

She gazed toward the town, her hair billowing in the wind. Seeing her sister's worry about her close friends and younger relatives left in town, Tiony said cheerfully:

"With Rivera there, and the captain too, of course nothing will happen."

"...That's true!"

For some reason, a confident smile appeared on the sister's face as she said this with smug satisfaction.

Seeing her like this, Tiona also frowned and then broke into a smile. The two sisters looked up together, gazing at the increasingly distant cliff top.

Not long after, there was a loud "crash".

They fell heavily into the lake, creating a huge splash that would be enough for two people.

*

The sound of the broken gong disappeared from the town.

When the man-eating flower monsters were all wiped out, Ais and the red-haired woman moved the battlefield to the west side of the city.

They ran up the eastward-sloping hillside to the point where they were approaching the western edge of the city wall. The west side was the highest point in the town, which had originally been a flat area, but due to the monster invasion earlier, the rocks, shops, and crystals had been crushed, leaving an empty space.

Far from the fiery red sky, they were once again shrouded in a dim, azure light. Monster damage was etched on the distant city walls, and Ais and her companions advanced through the desolate streets, crisscrossing each other at high speed.

"!"

"What a convenient breeze!"

Facing the [Wind Spirit Swiftness] which enhances the sharpness and speed of the sword, the red-haired woman spoke calmly in a low voice.

The wind's enchantment returned her to the floor-lord (monster)'s fierce attack. All the swinging longswords were knocked down by the freely flowing blade light.

The startling sound of swords clashing rang out continuously as Ais, enveloped in a swirling aura, clashed with the red-haired woman's blades.

She forcefully swung the "Sword of Despair" to deflect her opponent's attack, and while maintaining distance, ran parallel to her opponent, making a rustling sound with her footsteps.

"Arya—where did you hear that name before!?"

Ais rarely showed emotion.

She exuded a chilling aura as she stared intently at her opponent.

Hearing her speak in a loud voice that Diona and the others had never heard before, the red-haired woman running beside her spoke up:

"Who knows?"

With her eyebrows raised in a downward motion, Ais slashed at the enemy once more.

The silver blade swung out at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, more than ten attacks danced wildly between the two, the blades clattering and rattling from the immense impact. His own silver gauntlet was lightly slashed diagonally, while several strands of his opponent's red hair were severed, leaving thin bloodstains on both of their skin.

The weapon was likely forged directly from the tusk (a dropped item) of a "deep" monster. The longsword, consisting only of a hilt and a lead-gray blade, also resembled a nodachi. In the dim light, the sword repeatedly painted a dark, lingering glow, and fought fiercely with Ais's beloved sword (the Sword of Despair).

—No, it was the enemy who overpowered Ais's "wind".

The enemy's longsword spun rapidly, knocking away the wind-powered military knife several times. The countless attempts to break through the enveloping airflow armor vibrated Ais's body.

Even though Ai used [Wind Spirit Swiftness] without reservation, her opponent remained relentless, using only pure melee combat to defend against Ai's fierce attacks, and even managing to turn defense into offense. Ai's wide golden eyes concealed surprise. Even so, she stared at her opponent.

The other party knows something—the name "Arya".

A surge of anxiety welled up deep in his chest. He gripped the sword hilt even tighter, increasing the speed of his sword strike.

Donning the mask befitting her nickname "Sword Princess," Ais shuts out everything else from her sight, focusing solely on wielding her sword against the enemy before her.

"—I thought you only had doll-like expressions."

then……

The red-haired woman didn't miss it; influenced by her intense emotional turmoil, Ais's swordsmanship became more impatient than usual.

After her green left eye narrowed, her figure blurred the next moment.

She dodged Ais's powerful sword swing and unleashed a gust of wind at her.

A powerful punch delivered from bottom to top.

With his left hand, now stripped of its arm armor, along with his airflow armor, he punched into her abdomen, sending her slender body flying backward.

「!?」

Ais was forced to retreat and lost her composure.

She adjusted her posture using the strong wind she was manipulating, but her opponent was faster.

The red-haired woman, blood streaming from her left hand, stepped closer to Ais, her longsword held high.

“——”

A chill ran down my spine.

A chill ran through Ais's entire body.

The enemy, his eyes wide with fury and his left eye bulging green, raised his longsword and slashed down in one breath.

Ais's eyes widened to their limit, and she unleashed the maximum power of her Wind Armor to hold the Sword of Despair in front of her body at an astonishing speed.

All of a sudden.

"—!?"

A deafening explosion occurred.

A supersonic sword strike. The longsword, slashing diagonally from the left, broke through the defenses and strong winds of the "Sword of Despair," its impact piercing through Ais's body.

The enemy's figure disappeared from sight in an instant, and Ais was sent flying, crashing hard into the rubble behind her.

“Wu!?”

His body crashed violently into the rubble behind him.

Air was forced out of her lungs. As if a nerve had snapped, Ais's body was momentarily out of control.

With a clang, the Sword of Despair rolled to the ground.

"It's finally over."

The red-haired woman threw away the shattered longsword and rushed forward.

She launched an attack on Ais, who was kneeling on the ground, pulling her right arm behind her back to gather strength.

Unable to cope.