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

"You've changed, you've changed, Tione... You've become stronger, but also weaker."

Then, she gave Tiony a look of genuine disappointment.

"You are no longer a warrior."

Algana seemed greatly disappointed, and lost her will to fight.

Ais and the others were still trapped, and the sound of metal clashing could be heard; Tiony stood up unsteadily.

"You used to never protect that kind of trash. You should have stayed in your homeland (Tir Sculla) and continued fighting us."

"What are you talking about?! Who wants to stay in a place like that...!"

Seeing Tione answer her with a resentful look, Argana narrowed her eyes.

Her lips were painted with mockery.

"Are you... still regretting killing Serudas?"

Time seemed to stand still around Tione.

"Didn't you become stronger because you killed her?"

Immediately afterwards, her vision turned completely red.

"——————————————————!!!"

A roar that could not be uttered came from his mouth.

Tiony forgot his injuries and pain, indulging in a violent impulse, and punched his opponent again.

"—Okay, that's enough."

However, just as the fist was about to reach Alganna, who was preparing to receive the attack.

The sound of clapping echoed throughout the street.

The calm yet powerful voice caused Tione's body to sway reflexively, and her clenched fist stopped as if regaining its senses. Algana also turned towards the direction from which the voice came.

It was Loki, who appeared with a panting Lefia and the other adventurers.

"If you continue to get agitated, you're not just causing trouble for others, you're causing disaster."

In the direction of the fishing port, the goddess who appeared behind Ais and the others slightly opened her eyes and called for a halt to the battle. The rabbit-man Sakta, with the agility of a rabbit, carried the girl who had collapsed to the ground away from the battlefield.

When Tiona and Ais, who were fighting with Baje and the others, saw her, they also lowered their clenched fists and swords.

"Argana, Baje, you too, stop!"

From the exact opposite direction from Loki, a voice also came from near Tiony and the others.

It was Kali, the goddess, accompanied by several Amazons.

"Sorry, Loki, these girls seem a little too excited about coming to the outside world."

Kali pretended to be troubled and grumbled, then looked at Loki.

"Can we just consider this a lose-lose situation? Your [Sword Maiden] also beat my child terribly."

"Ah—okay, I know, hurry up and go. And don't ever show your face in front of us again."

Unlike Bajie, who skillfully dealt with Tiona, the other Amazons were all injured to varying degrees. Unable to retaliate, they glared at Ais as if she were their mortal enemy. Ais, however, felt a little uneasy that despite their superior numbers, the Amazons had managed to stop her.

Loki waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away insects. Kali smiled back at her and then turned and left.

Goodbye, Tione.

"..."

Algana, who gave a sidelong glance, and the silent Bajie, strolled leisurely past Ais, Tiona, and Tione. The Amazonian group obediently followed behind the main god and left.

"Miss Ais! Miss Tiona! How are you both?"

"I'm fine, but..."

"Ouch... I got beaten up so badly!"

Ais thanked Lefia for bringing Loki so urgently, then sheathed her sword, while Tiona rubbed her arms. Her brown skin bore several marks of bruises and sprains.

Like her sister, Tiona was also being suppressed by her opponent. Although she seemed unwilling to give up, she shifted her gaze to the person she cared about more now. "Miss Tiona..."

Lefia and Ais also looked in that direction.

In the middle of the deserted street, Tiony stood with his back to the viewer.

She kept watching the Amazons as they walked away until they disappeared.

"It seems more serious than we thought..."

A gust of wind carried Loki's murmur directly to Tione's side.

The girl with long black hair fluttering in the wind forgot to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, and tightly gripped her still aching chest with one hand.

"..."

Serudas.

The name buried along with a few memories disturbed Tiony's heart.

The hateful memories that were revealed, the fragments of the past that I didn't want to recall, swirled rapidly in my mind.

Tiony didn't know how to deal with this overwhelming emotion, so she looked up at the same vast blue sky above her head, just like the scenery she was reminiscing about.

✿

The sky was just as blue that day.

The arena, scorched by the blazing sun, was enveloped in an astonishingly fiery atmosphere.

The vast battlefield (arena), covered in mud, was stained red with blood.

"—Flat-top, majestic! Flat-top, majestic! Flat-top, majestic!"

A thunderous chorus of praise erupted around Tione, who stood motionless in the center of the battlefield (arena).

The Amazonians, looking down from the stands, showered blessings upon the petite figure.

"Ze Wei Gao". This is a phrase unique to the race (Amazons) and only to the nation of Tir-Skula.

It means – “You are the real warrior.”

The continuous blessings she bestowed upon herself rendered hearing meaningless; young Tione became deaf to all sounds and walked to the presence before her. With trembling hands, she removed the mask of her brethren lying in the sea of ​​blood—the Amazons she had killed.

That was a familiar face.

It was to heal Tiony's wounds, to snuggle together and fall asleep, to soothe the face of her parched soul.

She was Tiony's beloved, like a sister, and Tiony may have sought maternal love from her.

"Cerudas..."

Even if her convulsing lips utter her name, her dull, lifeless eyes will never respond again.

"Rituals" do indeed have rules.

But Tione and the others misunderstood that rule.

It's nothing serious. The reason why our fellow countrymen in the same room don't fight is to wait for the right time.

While exercising their bodies, they also build relationships with their roommates, encouraging them to love others.

Then, let them kill each other with their beloved.

To help them overcome anger. To help them transcend sorrow. To help them shed their tears.

Only those who transcend emotions and dedicate themselves to the struggle can become "true warriors".

Everything is paving the way to becoming a "true warrior".

"Ah, ah—"

When she removed the other person's mask, Tiony heard the sound of the world she was in collapsing.

Perhaps it was by killing her beloved that Tiony first gained an understanding of ethics.

In the midst of the battle between monsters and her own people, the distorted ethical concept of taking lives without question became, for the first time, no different from that of an ordinary person in Tione's heart.

Like a sister and a mother, she taught Tione something both ordinary and important at this time: the grief of losing a beloved person.

At the same time, she also inflicted harm on Tione. No, not on her. It was this country, that supreme god, the vulgar pursuit of "true warriors," and her fellow countrymen—

Thione, with tears of blood streaming down her face, roared toward the sky.

"You are the true warrior! You are the true warrior! You are the true warrior!"

The people who witnessed it all roared with joy, blessing the girl who cried out to the heavens. It was like praising an ancient warrior who, through ritual, drew closer to the gods.

The blessings of the Amazonians are nothing but curses.

On her fifth birthday since birth, Thione killed her beloved and advanced to Level 2.

From that day on, her eyes gradually became cloudy.

✿

The moon, hanging high in the sky, illuminates the mountains, forests, and lakes equally.

Night fell in Mellen.

From the port city surrounded by low walls, the massive city wall towering to the northeast is visible from any time and place, even at night. Behind the city wall, whose interior is unseen, a flood of light emanates like a fountain. As if affirming the claim of being "the hottest city in the world," the sleepless labyrinthine city seems to have its day and night reversed, shining brightly into the night sky. This is a familiar sight to the residents of Melen, and an exciting spectacle for travelers heading to Orario.

Although it pales in comparison to Orario, Mellen's nights are still quite lively.

The magic stone lamps hanging on pillars and building walls lit up, filling the bustling streets with orange light. The market, lined with vendors, resembled a festival, teeming with people. The figures of shipyard craftsmen and fishermen were particularly conspicuous, and travelers, drawn by the seafood dishes, entered their respective shops.

The port city, teeming with foreigners, can only be described as a sea of ​​people.

In the tavern, numerous demi-humans and a few gods drank with strangers.

"How is Tione now, Riveria?"

A tavern near the inn booked by the Loki Familia.

Amidst the clamor of the patrons, Loki sat at a round table for two and asked Rivera, who had just entered the establishment.

"Tiona and Ais were with her, but... no, she lost control of her emotions. You could tell she was in a complete mess."

She pulled up the chair opposite Loki, sat down, and said briefly, "Judging from her expression, she doesn't seem very optimistic."

Rivera hadn't met up with Ais and the others before, and was gathering information on her own. At this moment, she seemed to regret not being there when the commotion occurred during the day.

Hearing the commotion, she and Alicia and others rushed to the scene, only to find the once bustling street deserted, Tione standing motionless, and Ais and the others watching her from the side.

By the time they apologized to the hastily appearing guild members, including Rupert, repaired the damaged shop, and handled all the aftermath, it was already evening. Back at the inn, she had been treating Tione and comforting her until just now.

Seeing that Rivera was holding back her sigh, Loki tilted his head back and gulped down the cheap beer (ale) he had ordered earlier.

"Now that the man-eating plant has appeared, we can only continue our investigation. However... in the worst-case scenario, I might have to send Tione and the others back to Orario first."

"Leaving aside Tiona, I don't think Tione will obediently listen to me right now..."

"Hmm. I'll talk to both of them later."

Loki and the others worried for a while, then decided to put Tiony and the others aside for now.

They discussed their main purpose for coming to the tavern and exchanged information about the carnivorous plant they had tracked down.

[Family] The chief god and the vice-leader temporarily left the members and began to discuss the matter between the two of them.

"Let's organize the intelligence first. Tiona and the others said there's nothing unusual about the cave at the bottom of the lake. The seal is intact. Although we haven't searched the entire lake, if the lake is completely unrelated to the second entrance to the dungeon..."

"This means that the carnivorous plant that appeared yesterday was lurking on the surface in a brackish lake."

"That's exactly it. Man-eating plants lurk in Orario's underground sewers. Some guys... some mastermind smuggled some suspicious stuff out of the city, like boxes or cages that might contain monsters, and secretly moved them to the lake."

Rivera nodded in agreement with Loki's assessment.

The remnants of the dark faction, or those connected to the eccentrics, are very likely in the port city (Merlen).

"Did you find anything while you were walking around town today, Rivera?"

"I'm probably in a similar situation to you. The area around the water is generally safe, and I've heard that pirates are currently more troublesome than monsters. As for the man-eating plant, there haven't been any sightings from yesterday to today."

"What about the guild branch?"

"It was the branch manager, a guy named Rupert, who spoke to me the whole time, but... there were some suspicious things about it."

After saying this, Rivera closed one eye.