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

Page 533

Could you please explain why?

"..."

Ryu stared intently at Bell, who remained silent in response.

Her sky-blue eyes peered into her deep red pupils.

"I've heard that you may have been caught up in the schemes of the dark faction... the Ikelos Familia."

"!"

"You've been looking listless lately. Seele is worried about you... and so am I."

"..."

"I don't know what got into you that you wanted to chase the monster. But... I don't want you to get involved with that faction."

Ryu's eyes held an overwhelming surge of excitement, yet also seemed to betray a hint of worry and fear as she extended her right hand.

It's like the scene of two people shaking hands on the same floor one day.

"Shall we go back to the surface?"

Bell and Ryu's eyes met.

When she reached out to hold him back, Bell took a step back.

He stepped inside the boundary line drawn beneath his feet, and coincidentally, the scene was reversed—just like himself being abandoned by Reed, keeping his distance from Ryu.

"Is that so..."

Seeing Bell respond with silence for the second time, and his unwavering will, Ryu lowered her gaze.

Bell responded to her tenderness with indifference, and as he was enduring the guilt, suddenly, an astonishing high-frequency sound came from the direction of the battlefield.

It is a song of destruction sung by the bird-like singer who is the last to finish off the "heretics".

The terrifying sonic wave, the largest in scale and the most powerful ever seen, made Liu narrow his eyes.

Then, her gaze returned to Bell.

"You've completely become an 'adventurer'."

"Miss Ryu..."

"It's probably no use trying to stop them now. Go."

After saying that, Ryu handed him the bag she had wrapped around her waist.

It contains a set of items, primarily high potions.

"However, I'll be going with you later."

After the crisis of the expeditionary force was resolved.

Hearing her continue, Bell couldn't refuse.

He accepted the sentiment that Ryu had given him.

"Thank you, Ms. Ryu... I'm sorry."

Bell dashed out.

Feeling Liu running in the opposite direction from behind, Bell gripped his bag tightly and sprinted forward.

"Dix, those monsters seem to be getting close to our place."

Upon hearing Big Han's (Gran's) report, Dix looked up at the slate-blocked ceiling.

"Did Baroi and the others leak information in town (Riverra)... I really want to beat them to a pulp, but I think they're probably already dead."

Dix sat on the empty little black cage, talking happily the whole time.

He turned his face back to the front and threw something to the big man (Gran) standing there.

It was a refined piece of metal (ingot) that could be held in the palm of your hand.

"Gran, go open the 'door'."

"D-Dix? Is this a good idea? What if we let the monster in..."

"Aren't Ganesha's group nearby too? It would be troublesome if they saw a group of monsters wandering around and became suspicious."

The man wearing goggles smiled.

"Let's invite those monsters over as guests."

He laughed, a vicious laugh.

"I'm going to wipe them all out here."

"Guros!"

"Why are you so slow, Reed!"

The lizardmen caught up with the "heretics" led by the gargoyles.

The location is on the east side of the great forest, at the end of the building. A towering rocky cliff leading straight to the sky stands before you.

We've reached the end, truly the end of the floor.

Numerous "heretics" uprooted and destroyed everything in sight, including the surrounding grass and crystal pillars, searching for something with bloodshot eyes.

"Where's the 'door'!? Did you find it!?"

"No, I can't find them!! I've called out to my fellow countrymen who are trapped, but there's no response!"

"I can't hide my anxiety," Guros roared back. At the edge of the treeless forest, Reed looked around, but saw only the same endless landscape, without a single thing out of place.

Were they really deceived? Just as doubt filled Reed and the others with unease, they remembered the man's last words—"You can't go."

"—Reed!"

at this time.

The little red-hatted goblin called out Reed's name in astonishment, extending its finger.

Reed turned to look in the direction he was pointing.

"That is……"

Leaping over thick, undulating tree roots that resembled tentacles, and running through countless trees, a dark figure came into view.

"Fels!"

"Bell Craney! You're here too!"

Bell approached Fels, whose black clothes were billowing in the wind as he headed in the same direction, and sped alongside him.

The magician stood shoulder to shoulder with him, reassuringly saying, "You're alright." Bell replied, "Yes!"

"I made contact with Guros, but it failed. He said he wanted to take back his people... It seems the hunters really crossed their line. No one can stop the 'heretics' now."

"I saw Mr. Reed too!"

Bell recounted her conversation with Reed, detailing everything from the murder of the "Heretics" companions to the abduction of Winnie and the others.

Fels couldn't help but let out a heavy groan from under his hood.

"Although I hate to admit it, it seems the hunters really know what they're doing... This time it's definitely the work of the [Ikelos Familia]."

"...!"

"But he said 'door'... does that mean it's the entrance to the enemy's 'residence (secret base)'?"

Fels and Bell talked as they moved.

"Fels, and Miss Ryu and the others... the 'heretics' fighting the extermination team..."

"It's alright, I've already instructed the Ganesha Familia to tame the monster, so they shouldn't die. I'm more worried that the 'heretics' might kill us in their rage... But since Gross and Reid are gone, our forces are split in two, so I don't think we need to worry about that either."

Fels added, "Now is a good opportunity."

"Although persuasion failed, the situation has become more favorable for our operation. Let's find the enemy's 'location' and storm in." "Yes...!"

They had finally found a clue about the hunters. Bell recalled the last time he saw Winnie crying, and his anxious heart spurred him on, making him quicken his pace along with Fels.

The forest dome, its branches thinning; the rock walls shimmering between the trees; a forest of blue crystal pillars, resembling a crystal jungle within a stone circle. Bell and his companions passed directly through these areas, reaching the edge of the forest.

"here it is……!"

"The destination is on the east side of the floor. But..."

Bell looked around, startled, and Fels beside him whispered hesitantly.

"The 'heretics' are gone... How can this be? They've vanished..."

There were signs of destruction and attack on the forest along the way, and the grass and crystals were damaged everywhere. The "heretics" must have been here.

However, Bell and Fels could not see them. Even listening intently yielded no results.

I can't sense any presence. So many monsters have simply vanished into thin air.

"What exactly is the 'door'? Did Gross and his crew really find it...!?"

Bell and Fels stood back to back, while Bell desperately looked around.

However, he couldn't find any sign resembling a "door." Caught between the silent forest and the barren, flowerless ground, only his anxiety grew stronger.

Just as Bell was getting distracted by the sound of his own heartbeat, something brushed past his field of vision.

It was a blue crystal that had been destroyed by the "heretics" and was scattered all over the ground.

The scattered debris shone brightly; at the same time, the broken crystals began to repair themselves, slowly returning to their original state.

Bell felt uneasy seeing the crystal make a sound and revert to its original form.

This scene seems familiar...

"...The 'heretic,' Miri?"

He recalled the crystal cluster that concealed the entrance to the "unexplored territory," and the quartz that had repaired itself in the blink of an eye.

Seeing that the surrounding terrain was being repaired at a speed just as fast as that Crystal Garden, Bell's eyes widened.

Then, as if this strong sense of déjà vu became the trigger, Bale felt a heat in his waist when he took a step.

"what?"

"Bell Craney?"

Bell reached for his waist in confusion, drawing Fels's attention.

He rummaged through the bag that Liu had given him.

After clearing away the high-grade elixirs, antidotes, and other items, what appears at the bottom is a refined, processed metal (ingot) that can be held in the palm of your hand.

"Bell Craney, this is...?"

"A magical item...?"

Although it bears traces of being burned by heat, it is undoubtedly a magical item.

It is spherical in shape and made of silver-white metal, most likely "mithril".

The metal interior is inlaid with crimson spheres—objects resembling eyeballs.

The surface of the sphere is engraved with a "D" shaped symbol that is different from Koine or sacred script.

"W-how come..."

Wu Xiao felt a chill run down her spine as the spherical magical artifact intermittently emitted heat.

Even a slight shift in position changes the sensation and intensity of the heat. Just like a detector.

Bell and Fels remained silent, letting the magical artifact guide them forward.

The two finally arrived at a corner where the cliff stood tall.

At first glance, it's just an ordinary rock wall...