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

Asphie lifted Luluni's shoulder, stared intently at the man, and assumed a fighting stance.

"He is a notorious apostle of the dark faction... and the mastermind behind the 'Nightmare of the 27th Floor'."

“——!?”

Upon hearing this name, Lefia turned to look at Philwis.

"The Nightmare of the 27th Floor." That tragic event, with its heavy casualties, instigated by the dark faction. It was also the direct cause of the loss of her companions and her pride as an elf to Philvis.

Under Lefia's gaze, Philweis stood there, her face pale, frozen in place.

"He himself was cornered by the guild's Familia during that incident and ended up as food for a monster... Only his lower body, which was cruelly bitten off, remained, so he should be confirmed dead."

As Asfi described his tragic end, she stared intently at the man standing before her.

She wore an expression as if she were facing a nightmare, and asked Olivas:

"So you're still alive...?"

"No, I died. But after teetering on the brink of death, I came back to life."

Olivas answered Asphie's question with pride.

Severely injured—his body activated its healing power to revive him, as if this had become a catalyst, causing an expression on his face that was hard to tell whether it was joy or dazedness. He slowly stroked his tall body from bottom to top with his hand.

Seeing that Orivas's demeanor was completely different, Lefia felt a chill run down her spine.

Her gaze followed the man's caresses and she unfortunately discovered something.

Among the torn clothes on the lower half.

Its two legs were dyed a yellowish-green color, resembling the skin of a carnivorous plant.

The upper body was still healing, and the center of the chest was torn open.

A dazzling, colorful crystal was buried inside.

"————"

Lefia was truly terrified this time.

Others around noticed the same thing and turned pale.

Olivas grinned maliciously, his eyes widening as if to provoke the distraught Lefia and the others, revealing the colorful "magic stone" buried deep within his chest.

"I have received a second life! It was given to me by none other than 'her'!!"

The red light behind him illuminated the man's ominous, distorted figure.

The female fetus, parasitic on the source of the red light—the quartz main pillar—moved and made a "thump" sound.

Side Story: Sword Oratoria 3, Chapter 5: Hell and Hell

The man's vision was blocked in darkness.

Bloodstained ears heard the screams of others crying out, and the excited roars of monsters.

The screams of people overlapped, coming from all directions, and never stopped.

The man dragged his upper body away miserably, fleeing from the hellish wails filled with resentment.

The man was blinded in both eyes.

Bloody tears streamed from his tightly closed eyelids as the man wandered endlessly in the depths of darkness.

The lower half of the body, below the waist, had already been torn off.

He was like a dead man, having forgotten what it means to be human, crawling on the ground using only his two arms.

His body was completely mutilated, he was groaning, and his consciousness was clouded.

My body is so hot.

My throat is so dry and painful.

I can't clench my teeth.

Each time you climb forward, your body loses something you can't afford to lose.

The man truly became a living dead, not knowing where he could find refuge, and continued to advance into the dark abyss of the underground city.

The unbelievable pain was like a giant whirlpool, causing the man to lose his mind.

An ordinary person would have died in this hell long ago, but the "God's Grace (Pharna)" carved on his back refused to free him.

The gods' laughter turned into an auditory hallucination, reaching deep into the ears. The gods seemed to be making a joke of the defeated man, pointing at him from above and laughing heartily. Even if this was just a dream he saw in the labyrinth (dungeon) with no exit, it was still an extremely vicious curse.

Tears of blood welled up in his eyes, revealing his resentment; the man still wanted to live.

He hated everything except himself and was desperate for salvation.

Finally, the man, who had been wandering in the boundless darkness, exhausted all his strength.

He stopped moving, letting the blood gushed out, and his body sank into the blood-red pool.

There was no human presence here, nor the breath of any monster.

In a corner of the seemingly isolated labyrinth, the man's body gradually grew cold—suddenly, a hissing sound rang out.

Something crawled and moved to the side of the dead man.

From the depths of the labyrinth, a long tentacle extends.

At the tip of the tentacle is a brightly colored object.

As if luring the man into the other side of darkness, the tentacles crawled slickly, wrapped around the man's corpse, and turned him over.

The colorful light was buried in the body with its eyelids closed and only the upper body visible.

The next instant, the man's eyelids snapped open, revealing yellow-green irises in his previously blind pupils.

A beastly roar shook the surroundings.

■

Lefia's heart trembled as she watched Orivas's yellow-green eyes contort with ecstasy.

The dazzling, colorful "magic stone," along with the lower body that is the same yellow-green color as the eyes, proves that this person is no longer human.

Drowsiness and dizziness made Lefia unsure of where she was standing.

Then came a severe feeling of nausea.

The sight of something in human form before her eyes filled Lefia, an elf, with intense fear—a sense of repulsion and "ugliness."

"What kind of joke is this...?"

Asphie groaned, and the members of the Hermes Familia were also startled.

Is this enemy human?

Or is it a monster (or beast) that mimics a human form?

The nausea that had been building up in her stomach surged up her throat, finally making Lefia unable to bear it any longer. She couldn't help but ask him:

"What exactly are you...?"

Olivas smiled and tossed his white hair.

"I am a supreme being, possessing the power of both humans and monsters!"

The man dressed entirely in white looked down at Lefia and the others with disdain and spoke arrogantly.

As if to prove the man’s words, his countless wounds were slowly healing, and the chest where the “magic stone” was buried was gradually healing as well.

"You pathetic creatures who can only rely on the 'favor' of the gods... how could you possibly defeat me?"

Olivas deliberately mocked them.

As for Lefia, she was desperately trying to think with her chaotic thoughts.

The power of humans and monsters.

An individual possessing intelligence and ability (ability value), as well as monstrous brute strength and a resilient physique.

Indeed, several scenes in the series of battles to date have confirmed this almost absurd hypothesis.

He showed extraordinary resilience, refusing to back down even when directly attacked by a first-class adventurer (Bert); he possessed superhuman physical abilities, capable of catching "magic" bare-handed; and finally, he had an astonishing, ongoing self-regeneration ability. Each of these was a bizarre phenomenon that defied explanation by mere skillful "ability stats."

If we accept every word Orivas says, it means that "she" gave him life after he died, turning him into "some kind of being" different from humans.

In the distance, Lefia could see a female fetus clinging to the main pillar.

A "hybrid" creature that is both human and monster.

Could the Olivas before us—or even the red-haired woman—be such an absurd and ridiculous being?

The word "creature" flashed through Lefia's mind.

"...Are you a remnant of the dark faction?"

Asif tried to remain calm, her eyes sharp as she pressed on with her question.

Under the gaze of Lefia and everyone else, Olivas seemed bored and replied with a smile:

"I am not like those scum of the past; I am not a puppet manipulated by the gods."

Its yellow-green eyes scanned its surroundings.

All they saw were charred corpses that had exploded on the ground, and a group of robed figures who hadn't quite died but were barely alive. Olivas conveyed to them with his gaze that the Hermes Familia and the group that Lefia and the others had defeated were the foolish remnants of a dark faction. At the same time, Lefia, judging from his tone, deduced that the two sides seemed to be merely cooperating.

The cave was deathly silent.

The large red pillar, parasitized by the giant flower, and the unborn pearl both emitted an eerie glow. Asphie spoke again:

"What is this place? What are you planning to do here?"

In response to Asif's repeated questioning, Olivas answered simply:

"This is the seedbed (plant)."

"seedbed……?"

"That's right, let the giant flower (monster) parasitize the food storage and give birth to man-eating flowers... This place is like a relay station, allowing the monsters from the 'deep layer' to reproduce on the shallower floors and then be transported to the surface."

The description given by Olivas left Lefia utterly astonished.

It turns out the man-eating plant is a monster from the "deep layer," and more importantly—

"Monsters can give birth to monsters... I've never heard of such a thing."

Monsters are born from dungeons.

The dungeon is the "mother" of the monsters.

This is absolutely correct.

It is a world truth that even the gods acknowledge.

Within the vast cavity enveloped by the giant flower's body tissue, buds bloomed everywhere. As everyone heard the carnivorous flower cry out again, Lefia's voice trembled as she said:

"So, you, as a beast tamer, used monsters to create this space?"

"No, that's not it. I'm not an animal tamer."

Olivas emphasized his words and spoke at length:

"The carnivorous plant and I are both compatriots originating from 'her'. Only when I act as 'her' agent will the monsters obey my commands."

As if overwhelmed with excessive honor, Olivas explained in a blissful tone.

Asphie looked at something incomprehensible with disgust, and her question went straight to the point:

"What is your purpose?"

Olivas smiled, a cold glint hidden in his yellow-green eyes.

"Destroy the labyrinth city (Oriella)."

This statement left many people stunned and speechless.

Several people around Lefia gasped in shock, and she herself was no exception.

Perhaps it was an unconscious action, but Luluni gripped her trembling tail firmly with one hand and spoke:

"Do you...do you know what you're saying?"

Orario is a massive city built directly above the underground city, serving as its breakwater. This ancient fortress, along with the Tower of Babel, which acts as a "lid," has blocked the "great hole" underground for many years, preventing monsters from invading the surface. It is a protective wall that isolates the outside world from the labyrinth, and can be considered humanity's last stronghold.