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

"The sword, [Sword Princess] was with us just now... but then she was lured away."

"Huh? Were we lured away?"

"Wait, let's not talk about that now! Please! Save Asphie!"

Just as Bert and Rafia were wondering what was going on, Lulune straightened her upper body.

Following her gaze, one could see a man dressed entirely in white standing in the distance. Further away, lay a woman's body covered in blood.

The sinister-looking man, his dark white hair spilling out from his helmet, stared intently at them.

"That guy must know everything about this mysterious grain depot and those man-eating plants (monsters)! It must be his doing!"

"...!"

"We'll explain things to you later, so please, save Asphie first...!"

As if affirming Lulu's plea, the man waved one arm, and two man-eating flowers that had just sprouted from the wall dragged their bodies to his side.

Bert narrowed his eyes as he faced the white-clad man leading the monsters, while Lefia was intimidated.

The gaze emanating from deep within the helmet carried a clear hostility, and Philwiss also assumed a fighting stance beside Lefia and the others.

"Hey, bring me the sword."

"Okay, okay!?"

Bert stared intently at the man in white and spoke to Rafia.

She quickly opened the cylindrical backpack hanging on her shoulder and took out two swords with blades fifty centimeters long. This was the weapon Bert had asked her to prepare before leaving headquarters.

"It's a lot of trouble, but I'll do it anyway. Besides, I don't like the way that guy looks at me."

Seeing that their leader (Asphie) had been defeated by the enemy, Lulune knew that she and her companions could not win and sought help, which the first-level adventurer agreed to. Facing the white-clad man who was poised to attack and clearly intended to leave no survivors, Bert's amber eyes began to flash with a murderous light.

The moment he equipped himself with his twin swords, as if taking this as an opportunity, the man-eating flower let out a piercing roar and darted out from beside the man.

"We'll handle those robed guys! Please go help him too!"

“I-I understand!”

Luluni shouted as she watched Bert stride forward.

Around them, the robed group, having regrouped, was about to take action. Lulu's companions prepared emergency supplies and shouldered their weapons, while Lefia nodded in response to Lulu's request.

Phil Weiss nodded, and Rafia ran alongside her, chasing after Bert.

The second battle of attack and defense took place in the completely dismantled grain depot.

"————————!!"

"I'm in the way!"

Bert gripped his twin swords in a reverse grip to fend off the two carnivorous plants that were attacking from the front.

Two flashes of light pierced the enemy's body, inflicting fatal wounds. Bert tossed the writhing monster to Lefia and the others who followed behind, while he charged towards the man dressed entirely in white.

Phil Weiss cursed and delivered a fatal blow to the monster she had been forced to accept.

Stop showing off these boring tricks!

"They keep popping up one after another, those wretched adventurers!"

Bert engages in a duel with the man in white.

The scythe-like uppercut was easily dodged by the enraged man, missing its mark. Bert, his back exposed, was about to face a counterattack—but the gray-furred man turned around with even greater speed.

Bert switched feet and used them as pivots to unleash a series of spinning kicks, causing the man to raise his right arm in surprise to defend.

"Gurgle!?"

The forearm that blocked the kick felt numb and tingly; the powerful force made the man groan.

"Tsk!?"

Bert also clicked his tongue at the enemy's reaction speed and his steel-hard arms.

"【Vanargand】...I see, you are the 【Loki Familia】! You came after 【Sword Maiden】!!"

"Damn it, what have you done to Ais!?"

Seeing the man raise the corners of his mouth under his helmet, Bert bared his teeth and lunged at him.

The opponent narrowly dodged the twin sword strikes, and while counterattacking, replied:

"My comrade is her adversary. Don't worry, I bet she's missing an arm right now and being pampered by that guy, isn't she?"

"—I'll kill you."

Burt unleashed a killing intent surpassing that of the giant wolf (monster), increasing his speed.

He attacked fiercely, wanting to sacrifice his enemy's blood. The man dressed in white also twisted his lips and swung his strong arms to counterattack.

"Mr. Bert!?"

"Viredis, don't rush out! Provide cover—!?"

Lefia and her companions caught up with Bert, who was engaging in close combat, and planned to provide magical support.

However, both she and Philweis, who urged her to provide cover, were forced to constantly change the direction of the raised tip of their staffs.

(Too fast—)

—A target solution!

The man and Bert engaged in a lightning-fast hand-to-hand combat, leaving Rafia and the others no time to catch up.

The few times the attacks and counterattacks were visible to the naked eye were astonishing. Just as one person appeared to be defending, the other would immediately flank to the side, their shifting positions dizzying. Just as Lefia and the others were about to make their move, the two would turn in the opposite direction, causing the tips of their staffs to wobble and making it impossible to aim properly.

The werewolf's gray hair and the dark white hair protruding from his helmet drew a diagonal line, leaving a trail.

"A Level 1 adventurer, so powerful..."

Philweis's crimson eyes swayed, and Lefia's azure eyes were also shocked by the undeniable scene.

—A draw with Mr. Bert!?

The man dressed entirely in white was actually on par with Bert Roca, one of the fastest members of the Loki Familia. Lefia, belonging to the city's strongest faction, couldn't believe someone could be on par with a faction leader.

Although he was slightly slower, in terms of arm strength alone, that person was definitely superior to Bert, and also had exceptional resilience.

Despite the silver metal boots repeatedly breaching his defenses and striking him directly, the man in white showed no sign of injury. He contorted Bert's expression and unleashed a barrage of palm strikes that seemed capable of tearing flesh and bones apart. The downward blow swept across Bert's combat suit and shattered the ground.

That feeling—Lefia had a strong sense of déjà vu.

What flashed through my mind was the red-haired woman who had a fierce conflict with Ais in the town of Rivera.

The undisputed top-tier Sword Maiden was completely overwhelmed and unable to retaliate, and she even managed to deflect Lefia's Great Flash (magic) with her bare hands.

That kind of brute-force fighting style is very similar to the scene before us.

"Man-eating flower!"

When Lefia lost track of time, the situation changed.

High above Bert and his companions, among the countless flower buds atop the Green Flesh Cave, several had blossomed. The man-eating flower monsters, their hideous fangs and mouths exposed directly below, seemed to respond to the man's call, falling one after another.

Bert dodged the long shadow that was crashing down on him, followed by a loud bang. The carnivorous plant that had fallen to the ground stood up and began to attack him.

"You stinky bastard!?"

Bert used his twin swords to fend off the attacks of the four monsters, but the man in white leaped up with his long body and launched a pursuit on Bert.

The metal boots on her feet blocked the sneer of the man's palm from the front.

The heavy impact caused Bert to lose his balance, and in an instant, a barrage of whips came crashing down on him.

"Mr. Bert!?"

Bert fought off all the tentacles, but the man pressed his advantage and attacked again.

With Lefia in sight, Bert had no energy left to fight back against the monster and was completely at a disadvantage.

"—I'm sorry, Miss Philweis! Please protect me!"

Before Philwiss could answer, Raphia raised her wand and began to chant.

"[Unleash a beam of light, the bow of the sacred tree!]"

She set up a magic circle and chanted incantations in a loud voice.

Lefia took advantage of the carnivorous plant's ability to react to "magic" by using herself as bait to lure the monster away, thus easing Bert's burden.

"Ignore her, man-eating plant! Take down that werewolf first!"

「!?」

However, the man's voice stopped the carnivorous plant from changing direction.

The monsters, prioritizing the man's will, continued their attack on Bert. The tamer's single sentence thwarted Raphia's plans.

"Tsk!?"

Phil Weiss, carrying a short sword and a short staff, rushed toward Bert.

A wavering Lefia also realized that she could only continue to use magic as a cover, so she changed her mindset and focused on weaving incantations.

"You are a master archer!"

Anxious Lefia watched as Philwis severed the monster's tentacles with her short sword.

Amidst the screams and groans, she moved nimbly in her pure white combat suit. Utilizing her skills as a "magic swordsman," she swiftly severed the neck of a carnivorous plant.

Philwiss killed the monster with her right-hand short sword and then stretched her left-hand short staff straight forward.

"[Snipe, Elf Archer]—"

"【The Holy Staff of Destruction, sweep away my enemies!】"

She fluently sang a very short incantation to catch up with Lefia and completed the magic.

Having performed the "parallel chanting," Philweis pointed her short staff at the man dressed entirely in white.

"【The Staff of Dionysus】!"

A thunderbolt, imbued with immense mental energy, shot out in response.

The golden lightning pierced through part of the carnivorous plant's body on the firing trajectory and flew towards the man dressed entirely in white.

"Idiot!?"

Upon seeing this scene, it was Bert who cried out.

As he was barely managing to kill the remaining carnivorous plants, the man dressed entirely in white, with a mocking expression, charged towards the lightning strike.

Phil Weiss opened her crimson eyes wide.

The man's outstretched left arm caught the electric current, tearing it apart to the left and right as he moved forward. Although it was a very short incantation, it was still a Lv.3 magic attack, and the enemy was able to deflect it and continue attacking. It was absurd, and the elven girl froze on the spot.

Lefia, who was chanting but unable to scream, turned pale and her lips froze.

"Too weak!"

The man raised his hand, and Phil Wiss reflexively tried to block it.

She parried the short sword at an angle, but her small struggle was no match for the powerful blow that erupted from it. The sword shattered, and her body flew backward.

The man dressed in all white sped up and ran, attempting to send the collapsed Phil Weiss to her death.

"You idiot sprite!"

“Guh!?”

Just as the man's pursuit was about to hit Philweis's body.

Bert rushed forward while cursing and kicked Phil Weiss away.

The girl's body was thrown far away, and the man in all white clothes smirked coldly, the tattoos on Bert's face twisted and deformed.

As if mocking the werewolf who stepped forward to save the girl (woman), the man raised his arm, ready to take his life.

It was too late for Lefia to start chanting; the battle was completely deadlocked.

Facing the imminent, deadly attack, Bert prepared to defend himself in an unsteady posture.

“——”

However, suddenly.