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

"That was...?"

The residents' commotion also came to an abrupt halt.

The members of the Loki Familia, who were engaged in battle, stopped; even Haruhime, who was not part of the fighting force, stood frozen in place, her beast tail trembling slightly as if instinctively feeling fear. Hestia, the goddess, also widened her eyes.

Soon after, I heard...thump...thump...

As if asserting its own existence, an unsettlingly dangerous bass voice shook the ground and echoed all the way back.

Without needing confirmation, it was clear that it was the sound of some kind of creature's footsteps. The approaching sound came from the direction of the ruins of the wall that the Dragon Girl had destroyed when she appeared.

All eyes were focused on the spot where thick smoke was still billowing.

Many heretics fell to the ground and never rose again, and all sound disappeared from the road.

very quickly.

The figure emerging from the depths of the thick smoke made a sound of shattering rubble, finally revealing its true form.

"--Varied……"

One adventurer blurted out.

Its jet-black skin seemed to have been born from the darkness of a labyrinth. Rock-like muscles covered its massive body, which was over two meters tall, and it was also clad in adventurer's armor.

The breast armor, shoulder guards, gauntlets, waist guards, and foot armor were almost bursting.

The various parts of the full-body armor could not completely cover his massive body, so he wore it as if it were light clothing. He carried a huge double-bladed axe in his right hand, and another large axe was strapped to his back. Both axes were stained red with splattered blood.

The two horns that grow from the head are red.

The word that comes to mind when you see that majestic presence is "fierce bull".

An "unknown monster" that is not recorded in the guild's records and that even the battle-hardened Loki Familia has never encountered is there.

Finn, who always maintained a calm demeanor, loosened his arms and leaned out with a drastic change in expression.

His thumb was twitching as if in a spasm.

“——”

The "monster," exhaling heavy breaths, turned its thick neck.

The moment the camera caught sight of the fallen heretics (monsters) and the adventurer's figure.

It cried out.

"Roar!!"

A powerful roar shattered the silence.

After the massive, dust-filled mass of sound roared and echoed, the residents of Daedalus Road rolled their eyes and collapsed to the ground.

"----ah……"

"Supporter! Haruhime!?"

Following the crowd, even Lily and Haruhime's knees buckled, and they collapsed to the ground, pale-faced.

Hestia cried out, and Welf, Faith, and the members of the Loki Familia all leaned back sharply.

An extraordinary "roar".

That is the intimidation of a monster that binds the mind and body of creatures with primal fear (singing).

This shout can render those who are not qualified to fight you powerless—a state of forced restraint.

Welf and his companion knelt on one knee. They looked down at their trembling palms; even after leveling up, they were still unable to move normally. Among the Loki Familia, many were nearly losing their will to fight, quickly plunging their swords into the ground for support.

"!!"

When only those qualified to fight remained on the battlefield, the "monster" began its run.

The massive, dark shadow hurtled toward Tione.

"!"

As the monster surged toward her like a giant wave, Tiony raised her eyebrows.

She raised two recurve knives, assuming a fighting stance.

"Get out of the way, Tione!"

Finn's excited shout was drowned out by the howl of the double-bladed axe, and the gleaming silver blade slashed down at the ground just a meter in front of Tione.

First came the explosion and impact, then the feeling of floating.

Tiony's eyes widened in astonishment.

As flying pebbles and sand obscured her vision, Tiony's feet left the ground, depriving her of any chance to dodge. In the blink of an eye, as if precisely aimed, a powerful horizontal sweep of his left arm came hurtling towards her.

In desperation, Tiony crossed her recurve blades to defend herself, but when struck by this palm strike, neither weapon offered any help.

The twin swords were shattered to pieces.

"—Ugh!"

The blow, which pierced through the defense and was absorbed by the side of the body—coincidentally, the same situation as the heroine (Aisa)—sent Tione flying sideways into a corner of a house.

"Tione!"

It happened in just a few seconds, but the scene was enough to steal the adventurers' consciousness and time.

Just as the younger sister (Tiona) screamed, the "monster's" massive body unleashed its power on the other members who stood frozen in place.

"Woohoo ...

As he took a step that shattered the ground, his clenched left fist spun halfway around like a whirlwind. All the adventurers who were near the heretics were swept up in the chaos, just like Tione, and were wiped out.

Their bones were shattered, they coughed up blood, and then crashed violently into other members outside the area, screaming in agony.

"Wa ...

The screams of the male members echoed in the air as the Loki Familia was ravaged, with most of them disappearing from the battlefield.

"hateful--!"

"Coss, get out of the way! Don't get in my way!"

Tiona charged at the enemy with her large double blades, and then Bert shouted at the top of his lungs to drive them away.

The other members of the party dragged the wounded and the adventurers who were still under the influence of "bowl" as they retreated, and the raging bull clashed with the level 1 adventurers.

The double-edged axe swung forcefully, the large double blades not yielding in the same way. Even bearing an astonishing weight, Tiona still managed to deflect the axe back, and Bert, who was crouching low, immediately struck out, hitting the enemy's leg.

The "monster" momentarily lost its balance. The two Lv. 6s joined forces to suppress the enemy.

"Elphie, take all the unconscious residents to safety! Hurry!"

“Yes, yes!”

Finn roared at the mages below, whose faces were ashen and who stood frozen in fear. Hearing their leader's order, the girls jumped up, picked up the unconscious residents, and hurried to take refuge.

"Finn, should we use 'magic' to provide support?"

"No, once the incantation begins, the enemy's attention will be drawn to the inhabitants (us). Even your barrier won't be able to stop their attack."

Riveria looked up at Finn from the ground; Finn wanted her to wait at least until the refuge ended.

The elven royal family deployed a magic circle, putting the completed "magic" into standby mode, and stared at the battlefield in front of them with an expression that was almost astonishing.

"Black, the Minotaur...?"

"No... it should be a 'subspecies' of the deep-seated species (black rhinoceros)."

Ais stared intently at the "monster"; it continued its rampage unaffected by the repeated attacks from Tiona and Bert. Finn stopped Ais with his gaze, who was about to rush out at any moment, and deduced that this might be an "irregularity" occurring from the "deeper."

He believed that the "monster," like other armed monsters, was also an "enhanced species."

"...Ah, Asterios..."

The "heretics" lying on the ground raised their heads to the dark figure.

Severely wounded, Reed whispered the name of his last comrade.

“…You must be joking.”

—And in the pile of shattered rubble.

Tiony struggled to sit up in the house, spitting out blood-tinged saliva, and casually brushed aside the bangs that were covering his eyes.

Then, her almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise.

"How dare you ride on my head! You damned ox!"

Ignoring her broken ribs, she angrily launched into a tirade of curses.

Employing a loud voice unlike any human's, before the surprised Tiona and the others could react, Tione charged forward unarmed.

She pushed aside Tiona and Bert, and one-on-one, raised her left fist high in front of the dark, fierce bull.

The "monster" waiting to receive the attack did the same, pulling its left fist behind its back to gather power.

"Drink it! Aa ...

"Roar!!"

Tiony used his steel fist to strike head-on against the enemy's iron-like fist.

A heavy, ear-piercing sound erupted between the two.

The monster's fist was sent flying backward by the incredible recoil, while Tione's fist was shattered.

Thione gripped his left hand, his fingers broken and bleeding, and threw another punch at his opponent.

"!"

The bull's body swayed backward as it took its first direct hit from its opponent's thick chest.

"I'll grind you into mincemeat!!"

Tiony doesn't stop.

Like rage that overheated her body and directly transformed into power, she unleashed a furious barrage of attacks on the enemy's massive form. Ankles, elbows, knees, fists. The fierce battle dance, interspersed with hand-to-hand combat techniques, made her long black hair writhe like snakes, constantly shaking the "monster's" flesh as if it were steel.

"—Buo moo ooh ...

The dark, fierce bull was not afraid and stood up to fight back against the punches and kicks coming from the front.

"Slow down, slow down, Tione—!?"

"Shut up! You're so noisy!!"

Despite calling out to her sister, Tione roared and ignored her.

Seeing her sister like this, Tiona and Bert couldn't stand it.

"No, she's furious..."

Tione reveals her true nature, transforming into a berserker even more terrifying than her sister.

Regardless of whether her enemy's tough skin caused her fists to bleed or her foot bones to crack, Tione continued to fight relentlessly. She dodged all of her opponent's counterattacks, determined to annihilate the enemy before her.

As her nickname suggests, Tiony tossed her long hair wildly in a fit of rage.

"Shhh!!"

Finally, Tiony's left foot pierced through the enemy's massive arm, and with all his might, he delivered a powerful kick to the bull's face.

This high kick could shatter even the head of a "deep" large-scale (monster).

Tione, who had leaped up to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy, suddenly opened her eyes wide, her eyebrows raised in anger.

Even after his cheekbone was struck, the dark-skinned bull held on.

(This guy...)

It didn't work.

The monster's innate toughness and resilience are something adventurers can never acquire no matter how much they train. Despite possessing a sturdiness that could leave Tione with broken limbs, the bull still firmly planted its strong legs on the ground.

The black bull grabbed her left foot, which was embedded in her cheek, and threw her away.

「!?」

Just before Tiony was about to crash into the wall again, Tiona threw her large twin blades and caught her. But she still crashed into the house, blowing it up.

"Seriously! What are you doing?!"