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

"No need to listen to Winnie's instructions for leading the team anymore," Raniere said loudly.

She stared intently ahead at a huge, vertical crack in the tree bark. A warrior in full armor led the way, entering the entrance to the chamber connected to the passage.

Raniere and the others, along with Winnie, immediately followed, and their vision—they saw that.

"--this……!"

Along with the falling feathers, crimson water droplets dripped down.

In the center of the cave, illuminated by the light of the moss, beneath the only tree, a pool of blood spreads out.

Its slender body was bound to a tall tree trunk by chains.

Just as a shrike hangs its prey on a branch, "she" was nailed to the cross.

Her body bore numerous stab and cut marks, as if she were dressed in bright red—her entire body was covered in blood, a testament to the severe torture she had endured. Her outstretched wings and bloodstained lower body formed a cross, her head hanging limply at her sides.

A singing bird whose wings are fixed in place by steel stakes.

"Alas……!?"

The horrific scene caused Winnie to scream and gasp.

Crucifixion, the punishment for monsters (monsters).

Strange sights that shouldn't be happening in the underground city.

Above the tree, several giant, jet-black wasps, like death itself, hovered around her, their wings beating rapidly. Whether drawn by the same cry as Winnie and the others, they peered at the dying songbird with their enormous, mechanical eyes, ready to crush her with their mandibles at any moment.

"...!! Faye, Cliff!"

Raniere immediately gave a loud instruction.

Before she finished speaking, the half-human, half-bird girl spread her wings, flung off her long robe, and flew towards the "deadly wasps" together with the shouting eagle. The swarm of giant wasps tried to fight back, but bird feather projectiles and sharp beaks easily tore them to pieces and shot them down.

Driven by their anxiety, the half-human, half-bird creatures immediately approached the singing bird and used their claws to break the chains and iron stakes.

Having escaped her restraints, her body fell limply, and the beastman who had run over caught her.

"Hey! What happened!? Answer me!"

Lanie rushed to her side as she fell into Forl's arms, while Winnie and the others arrived a step later.

The Songbird had brown feathers all over her body. Even though she was covered in blood, her beauty was still evident, especially since she had been attacked by the monster, which further proved that she was one of Winnie's kin.

Unlike Lei Yi, the singing bird seemed unable to make a sound, its eyes were glazed, and its mouth was slightly open, murmuring something.

(hateful……!)

Monsters wouldn't do such a thing. It's clearly the work of humans.

The treatment of his compatriots nearly set Raniere's anger ablaze. Meanwhile, on his way here, the word "trap" emanating from the crystal flashed through his mind.

Raniere jerked his head back, about to warn his companions to be on alert—

"—Quick, run..."

The blood-covered singing bird opened its eyes wide and murmured in a trembling voice.

then.

"You monsters are truly moving to tears."

The man's frivolous voice echoed around.

"Even more loyal than adventurers."

From various parts of the cave, nearly twenty adventurers removed their camouflage, which was the same color as tree bark, and threw it away, revealing themselves.

They threw away the smelly bags used to eliminate body odor and surrounded Winnie and the others around the central trees.

Among them, in front of the stiff and motionless "heretics," the goggles-wearing man standing at the entrance of the cave passage taps his shoulder with the red gun in his hand.

"Yeah, they're so easy to fool."

The man's lips were outlined in a crescent shape.

"Adventurer...!"

Upon seeing the disguise removed—a group of humans lying in ambush—Rani's face twisted in pain.

Adventurers... no, I mean a group of hunters.

Humans, orcs, dwarves, and Amazons. The demi-humans, their faces bearing the same cold smiles as the goggles-wearing man who appeared to be the leader, each gripped their own weapons. Those blood-stained swords and spears must have wounded and pierced the Songbird's body time and again.

"The person who did such a thing is...!"

"Is that even a question, you little monster (human spider) girl?"

The compatriots nailed to the cross were actually "bait".

Those people tied her to a tree so she couldn't escape, tortured her body, and made her scream in agony.

In order to lure "heretics" to the vast underground city by using the extraordinary volume of the strange sonic waves emitted by the Songbird.

In order to summon the dragon girl (Vivel) with her keen hearing.

The man wearing goggles—Dix—squinted his red eyes behind his thin smoky crystal lenses as he looked at the speechless Winnie.

"We were waiting on the 24th floor to prevent you from going to the 'lower floor'... I didn't expect it to go so smoothly, huh?"

Leading about five accomplices, Dix cleverly blocked Winnie and the others' escape route by using his back to block the only entrance.

The man's cheerful voice echoed incessantly deep within the most deserted floors of the maze.

"!!"

It's too late to say.

Odd, who had been silent beside Winnie and the others who were gradually understanding the situation, broke the silence and attacked Dix.

The Dark Sprinter moves with a speed comparable to a mid-tier second-level adventurer. Clad in heavy, jet-black armor, the shadowy figure, like an enraged, armored undead, seeks to slay the brutal hunter with its finger blades.

Facing the rapidly approaching Od, the goggles-wearing man stood still, not even raising his spear.

Then, just as the outstretched arm was about to pierce through the man's face...

"—!?"

The greatsword that emerged from Dix's shadow cleaved Od's body in two.

"what?"

A soft murmur escaped from Winnie's lips.

In her vision, it was as if time itself slowed down, and her two war comrades, now split in two, slowly collapsed, weak and feeble.

The body, along with its armor, was slashed open diagonally—the upper and lower halves lay on the ground.

"You bastard, Gran. If those items are marketable, how do you plan to compensate us?"

"I'm sorry, Dicks..."

The one who felled Od was a large human man.

The man was bald and had black tattoos on his face. He was undoubtedly the face of a thug.

The man called Gran, with a speed unimaginable to his physique, leaped out of Dix's shadow, his greatsword flashing past.

And such a villain was deterred by Dix's single complaint.

"Austria, Germany...?"

Unable to accept reality, Winnie called out hoarsely to the slain War Shadow.

Od lay sprawled on the ground, the metal buckles of his armor clanging loudly. He tried to stretch out his trembling arm, but—with a gurgling sound.

Dix's foot crushed his head through the helmet.

Beneath the man's boots, black bodily fluids spread across the ground like a pool of blood.

A moment of silence fell among the "heretics." Dix ignored them, not even glancing at the monster that lay dead at his feet, and took a few steps forward.

"Much less than expected... Looks like we won't need it."

The man in goggles said, "What a disappointment."

But as he stared at Winnie, who remained frozen in place, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Good—hunt them down."

The command issued caused the hunters to roar.

"You guys go?!"

As Raniere shouted, the "heretic" roared angrily.

In an instant, the hunters, their faces contorted with savage grins, clashed with Raniere and his men, and the battle began.

"Ah, ah...!?"

Winnie was unable to move.

The clanging of swords and halberds, the violent shouts, and the swirling vortex of murderous intent terrified her, leaving her body stiff. Her kind-hearted compatriots forgot their human appearance, revealing their "monster" nature, baring their fangs and claws at the human race.

Blood splattered everywhere. Screams erupted.

Spider-man warriors unleashed their silk to entangle the hunters, while half-human, half-bird girls fired feather bullets, deflecting their opponents' equipment. A swift eagle spread its wings and swooped down from the sky at high speed.

Humans or beasts who carelessly closed the distance became easy targets.

「!?」

"Ha ha--!!"

However, the hunters were not afraid.

Even if someone falls, they will leap over that person's body and attack their opponent, first charging in with shields raised, then aiming at the legs, feet, and hands, trying to pin the "heretic" to the ground. They even use their own people as bait to repeatedly thrust their blades, and the most terrifying attacks are fire arrows or "magical" beams of light that heal the enemy.

The hunters were very strong. Most importantly, they were highly skilled.

Faced with "heretics" who are far stronger than ordinary monsters, they never fight alone. Instead, they attack from multiple directions, targeting blind spots, and defeat their prey with sheer numbers and beast-like teamwork. Forming factions (teams) to defeat monsters is a tactic that humanity has cultivated over many years.

Furthermore, they deliberately targeted the dragon girl (Vivel) in an attempt to break down the formation of Lanie and the others.

The "heretics" were only able to fight while protecting Winnie, who was unable to fight, and the situation became increasingly unfavorable.

“Wu!?”

The female warrior (an Amazon) used her own people as bait, burrowing into the arms of her prey and using physical skills to slam the half-human, half-bird girl to the ground. The eagle was also directly hit by "magic," and as it fell, it was mercilessly pierced by spears. Lanie protected Winnie from arrows and stones, her helmet being grazed and deflected by the greatsword of the giant (Gran).

The hunters used a variety of weapons and tactics in an attempt to crush the "heretics" in one fell swoop.

"Roar!!"

"What—oh my god!?"

Among them, the beastmen, accompanied by fierce roars, swung their large hammers and spears, sending a group of hunters flying in one go.

Only the "Large-class" Ful, whose height exceeds two meters, has never succumbed to the sheer number of opponents. No matter how clever the coordinated attacks, they are nothing but tricks in front of him. Whether arrows or "magic" come flying at him, he can use his predictive and dodging abilities, which ordinary monsters do not possess, to minimize the damage. With his overwhelming arm strength, he drives away the hunters one by one.

The hammer and spear, raised high and swung down, together with the dwarf who had raised his shield, pounded the ground, causing it to cave in.

"Oh no, Dicks!? This guy's too strong!?"

Faced with the beastmen that even five of them couldn't subdue, one of the hunters couldn't help but scream in pain.

"Please, there's only one."

Dix, who stood motionless at the entrance to the cave, muttered something dismissively and spat out a mouthful of saliva—then raised the crimson spear with its twisted tip.

The goggles-wearing man, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, took action.

"Hooohoo!!"

The beastman Fur noticed the man walking leisurely towards them.

He let the wounded hunters scatter and retreat, glaring at his opponent. The "Heretic" bulged his shoulder muscles and, with all his might, swept his raised hammer and spear at the enemy leader who was approaching him.

A horizontal sweeping motion.

Its terrifying power caused the space to roar.

Faced with a blow that would explode into chunks of flesh if it hit directly, Dix—by tilting the red spear handle, slid the approaching giant hammer-spear aside.

r—————”

The two generated a lot of sparks and intense friction sounds.