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

A barrage of attacks rained down on Bajie.

Baje's body was rapidly injured. The light of [Valges] flickered and could no longer be maintained.

Its brown body spewed blood from all sides.

(Tiona, you—)

She was burning. Tiona intended to burn her life to the very last moment.

She wouldn't run away from the pain, nor from the suffering. She would defeat Bajie in the most difficult way.

Tiona's eyes blurred. This proved that the light of her life was about to go out.

However—only that smile never disappeared.

Instead, the aura of death, which had once filled them with deep fear, took the form of a snake (Algana) and crawled toward Baje.

"Ugh... Aa ...

To blow away her fear of death, Bajie roared for the first time.

The woman discarded her mask of taciturnity, her almond-shaped eyes widening. She mustered all her strength and squeezed out the last drop of insect venom to kill her enemy!

Will Tiona die first, or will Baje fall first?

Turning death into a final arena, Tiona and Baje accelerated even further.

"Aa ...

A truly heated battle.

A hail of fists and kicks rained down on each other's bodies. Their struggle burned fiercely, as if their very lives were being consumed. Their roars clashed, shaking the battlefield.

"Haha ...

The fierce roars of the girl and woman shook the hollow, causing the surrounding Amazons to lean back in shock. Only Kali opened her eyes wide, her gaze bright and alert.

"Tiona!"

With a shout, Baje threw a cannon-like punch that struck Tiona directly in the abdomen.

"Kha!" All the air inside Tiona's body was forced out.

"Can you still laugh now?!"

The impact and excruciating pain almost tore the whole body apart, and the venomous poison burned even the nerves.

Even amidst hellish pain, Tiona still smiled.

"—You can still laugh!"

She retaliated with a punch.

The same attack struck Bajie hard in the abdomen. Bajie's body curled up in a "く" shape as she coughed up blood.

"I will overcome all the painful and sad things with a smile!"

The same kick.

Bajie was kicked away, and the distance between the two increased.

"I'll laugh it off, including someone else's share!"

The story is a gift to her, an unwavering promise, and sisters who share her joy.

Tiona smiled, believing in tomorrow's happiness.

Their eyes met. The final blow was about to be delivered.

Tiona clenched her fist.

All the light converged on Bajie's poisonous fist.

The girl's smile and the woman's murderous intent simultaneously surged towards each other.

"——!"

Galloping.

The scorching breath exhaled, the blackish-purple light emanating from the fist, the zero-distance gap.

Facing her opponent's rapidly approaching smile, she moved faster and unleashed a deadly poison punch.

"Tiona ahh ...

Tiona ignored the poisonous punch that was thrusting towards her face.

She used her left hand to wrap around the arm that had lost its light membrane, except for her fist, and held it down.

Tiona lured the attack toward her smiling face, then gracefully deflected it.

“——————”

The woman's eyes widened.

"Bajee—"

Having repelled the enemy's fatal blow, Tiona burst into a radiant smile and roared.

"I want to... go for it! Oh my go ...

bombing.

“Ugh!”

Tiona's right fist slammed into her chest.

The astonishing force sent Bajie's body flying backward, crashing violently into the rock wall.

Great Destruction (Ulga).

Pushing himself to the brink of death, he unleashes the full power of the [Great Heat Battle (Skill)] to its maximum, a truly desperate and deadly attack.

This was Tiona's most powerful attack.

"—Ugh, ah..."

With her back detached from the rock face, Bajie staggered forward a step or two before her knee buckled.

Accompanied by barely audible fragments of sound, the powerless body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Tiona won.

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

The temporary interruption of the compatriots' excitement transformed into a renewed chorus of praise for the winners.

A scream powerful enough to shake the great void enveloped Tiona, who was panting and barely able to stand, and Bajie, who had collapsed to the ground.

"Fantastic, absolutely fantastic!"

A soft clapping sound rang out.

The goddess, a satisfied smile emerging from beneath the mask, blesses Tiona, who has won her victory.

"You did a wonderful job, Diona. I knew that letting you go was my only failure, my indulgence."

"..."

"You are the victor of the 'ritual'... However, the loser still lives."

Kali's gaze shifted from Tiona, who was looking up at her covered in wounds, to Bajie.

The Amazonian with sandy hair, lying on the ground with his eyes closed, was still alive. The "blessing" bestowed by the goddess had not yet disappeared.

"Come on, kill Baje."

Upon hearing Kali declare that such a "ritual" was complete, the ceremony was declared finished.

Tiona answered without hesitation:

"don't want."

With her body covered in blood and covered in wounds, just like the day she said she didn't want to fight her sister, she firmly rejected Kali's divine will.

"Because I am no longer a 'warrior'."

"..."

"Me, and Tione—we are both adventurers."

Looking at the silent goddess, Tiona said:

"Therefore, I will never kill again, Kali."

The soldiers' hymns and fervor have vanished.

In the silent stone arena, the girl and the goddess met eyes.

"...So, you've changed too."

Kali murmured slowly and forlornly.

However, she quickly put on a smile again.

"But you sisters can only rely on each other. That will never change, will it?"

The moment Kali raised her hand, the warriors watching the battle all landed beside Tiona.

She was surrounded by people.

"Tione and Argana are at sea and cannot come to your rescue."

"..."

"I will take you back to the Kingdom of Dou (Tirskula)."

Clearly, no matter how much Tiona says "no," it's all in vain.

This isn't just a metaphor; to unleash the devastation (Ulga), Tiona truly stood before death. Just standing there was difficult; she couldn't move a single finger. Even disregarding that, Baje's "poison" would eventually corrode her entire body, forcing her to collapse. Moving the doll-like Tiona onto the ship would be a piece of cake.

"Is it Argana, or Tione...? I want you to fight the survivors. Then, I will witness the 'strongest warrior' with my own eyes."

The goddess of war and slaughter would never distort her divine will. Tiona gazed up at her with blurred vision, unable to find a way to break free of the encirclement on her own. The Amazons, attempting to capture her, tightened their encirclement.

At that moment—there was a soft, gentle touch.

Tiona's hair was slightly ruffled by the movement of the air.

A gentle breeze came to her side.

"...No, Kali."

Tiona smiled.

She closed her eyes and revealed a serene and peaceful smile, unlike any she had shown before.

As Gali frowned in surprise, Tiona opened her eyes and said:

"We no longer only have each other."

The next moment.

A gust of wind flew out from the entrance of the cave.

"I have a companion now."

Ignoring the astonishment of Jiali and the others, countless blades flashed all around.

The swift wind sword blew away the Amazons who were trying to capture Tiona.

"【Fiora】...!"

The one who appeared was a blonde, golden-eyed female swordsman.

The female swordsman stood beside Tiona to protect her, and swung her silver sword.

"—Tiona, are you alright?"

Upon seeing Ais use "magic," he arrived to help her before anyone else.

Tiona gave her favorite girl companion a battered smile.

"Yes, Ais!"

As if pressing their advantage, the Loki Familia surged into the cavern with a deafening roar.

The male members of the group, armed with weapons, charged at the remaining Amazons.