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

Finn is running, running at full speed.

He rushed down the steps at the end of the alley, and after confirming that no one was around, he put his hand on his forehead as he ran.

"【The Voice of Apocalypse at 12 o'clock】."

The moment the incantation left his lips, Finn's form instantly dissolved into the air.

"Success!"

It was Lily; needless to say, she used transformation magic.

"Although I feel bad for Lord Finn, that previous proposal commotion came in very handy!"

Even though transformation magic can mimic appearance, it still needs to replicate the internal structure as well, otherwise it won't fool anyone. In this respect, the previous proposal to Finn greatly helped Lily understand Finn's character. His way of speaking, temperament, and character were thoroughly analyzed by the former thief (Lily).

Thinking of Finn's sincere feelings at the time, Lily couldn't help but feel heartbroken, but the fate of the "heretics" rested on their shoulders, and she had to do whatever it took. Lily thus successfully impersonated Finn and deceived the Loki Familia.

In the "Daedalus Road" campaign, Lily's assigned task, like Bell's, is to use a feint attack to cover up enemy activities and gather intelligence on enemy secrets.

The Loki Familia consists almost entirely of high-ranking adventurers, and the guild has made their basic profiles public. Lily, in order to be a competent spy, memorized all their profiles. The reason she chose to target the "Superhuman" was because her former thief instincts told him he would be the easiest to deal with.

"Just as easily fooled as Lord Bell!"

Lily expressed her rudeness to the two adventurers and took out an eye crystal from her pocket.

Her cheeks flushed as she shouted out the stolen information:

"The defensive positions of the 'artificial maze' are as expected, in the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast!"

"Well done, Miss Supporter!"

"Lady Lily is amazing!"

Lily's report came from the crystal, and Hestia, upon hearing it, cheered along with Haruhime.

"That's how we found a breakthrough...!"

Hestia and the others' ultimate trump card is the "Daedalus Handbook".

Just as Fels had said, the Loki Familia likely hadn't yet discovered the entrances and exits they had obtained through the "artificial maze" blueprints. Lily's purpose as a spy was to find out the unobstructed and smooth route.

Hestia ignored the map of the labyrinthine street spread out on the floor and instead picked up the "Daedalus Handbook" to turn the pages. In the highest level of the "artificial labyrinth," which is the underground section of "Daedalus Road," besides the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast entrances, the closest exits to the "heretics" are—

"—West! Fels, the 'gate' on the west side is unguarded!"

"Thank you, goddess Hestia."

The last of the row of eye crystals, a blue crystal connected to Fels, radiated light.

*

In the western part of Daedalus Road.

The back alley with a sign that reads "Ninth Eighth Street" on the wall.

"Hey, they say a monster has appeared on the south side, causing a huge commotion. Shouldn't we head over there quickly?"

"Yeah... Damn it, we guessed the wrong location."

The two adventurers, one human and one dwarf, were making their way through a deserted tunnel-like path. Their two companions, waiting nearby for prey, had already heard the commotion to the south and were rushing towards it.

They were a step behind others—as the two were saying this, something overheard their conversation from the ceiling above.

“──!?”

A slick, crimson tail dangled from the dwarf's back, silently wrapping around his neck.

The man couldn't even scream before he was pulled upwards in an instant.

"Huh? Hey, what's going on—wait a minute!?"

The hand axe, dropped from his hand due to the impact, drew his male companion's gaze behind him, then directed it upwards.

The man looked up and saw a lizardman clad in armor, his limbs pressed against the ceiling. He easily lifted his companion's (the dwarf's) massive body, his bright yellow eyes staring down at the man.

Just moments before the panicked humans were about to scream in agony.

"Excuse me."

From behind the man came a beautiful female voice, inappropriate for the occasion.

"Ahhh!!"

"Kah────"

The next moment, a strange sound wave emanating from extremely close range—right next to the ear—caused the human body to convulse violently.

Consciousness and balance were shattered; the man's eardrums bled, and he collapsed to the ground. The dwarf, foaming at the mouth and unconscious, also fell from the ceiling, and the two adventurers lay on the stone floor.

"Thanks to Little Bell and the others, there are far fewer adventurers... but there are still some left."

"It's impossible for everything to go as planned."

With a thud, Reed jumped from the ceiling to the floor, as the singer Rey said to him.

The half-human, half-snake creature and the large (giant) monster, who had been peeking out from outside the tunnel, trotted over and began hiding the unconscious adventurer in the shadows. The dragon girl (Winnie), who was still watching and learning, desperately tried to help.

"That was such a swift and skillful technique..."

"Yes, really. Just like the ninjas of my hometown..."

"In the labyrinth (dungeon), you often encounter these unavoidable situations."

Welf and Fate had witnessed similar scenes several times before, and couldn't help but speak up. The gargoyle Gross, standing beside them, calmly explained: He too had just been hiding among the many statues in the labyrinthine street, launching a fierce sneak attack on the adventurers from behind.

"Lady Haruhime, is this the right area?"

"Yes, my lord. The closest one is... Lady Winnie."

"I?"

Speaking to the crystal eye that had been taken out, Winnie tilted her head upon hearing Chunji's voice. A pale blue hand touched the tunnel wall, and soon a "thud" was heard as a stone slab dented. "Whoa!?" Just as the dragon girl was surprised, the wall slid open, revealing an entrance. It was a secret passage.

"Let's hurry inside before the Loki Familia arrives. According to the goddess Hestia, the Hero seems to be a step ahead of us."

Fels and his companions used secret passages and hidden doors to advance along the "Road of Daedalus." This was to avoid the sight of other adventurers or Loki's Familia scouts. Even though they hadn't found all the shortcuts, Fels still instructed Hestia to ask Uranus for the "Master Craftsman's Legacy," precisely for this reason.

I don't know how many secret passages this is, but it's still covered in dust.

Reed breathed fire to create a makeshift torch, propelling himself through the stone passageway, which lacked even magic stone lamps. The unicorn shook its silvery-white mane and hissed, sounding almost like a cough.

"Your name is Reed, right? There's a fork in the road ahead; take the right one downhill. The next exit will take you to a location quite close to the Loki Familia."

"Okay, God."

With a guide (Hestia) behind them, the situation is completely different. Not only can they smoothly navigate the labyrinthine streets where adventurers have repeatedly lost their way, but they can also make good use of secret shortcuts like this. The reason why the "heretics," who move like a circus troupe, have not yet been discovered is largely thanks to her and Haruhime's help.

"You were the one who measured the maze street, weren't you? Don't you remember where there were secret passages?"

"After all, the map was drawn six hundred years ago, and there are some places I can't remember clearly."

When asked by Welf, Fels shook his black clothes as if sighing. "Back then, I was commissioned by the old god (Uranus) to draw maps, and it took me five years just to draw the roads on the surface..." he said, talking about the hardships he had endured.

"Didn't you find the way to the 'artificial maze'?"

"No, perhaps the map I drew only scratches the surface. Or maybe it was six hundred years ago, before they began to expand the labyrinth's area."

"That's just stubborn refusal to admit defeat," Fels said, but the person asking the question thought it might be true. She guessed that the Master Craftsman (Daedalus) family, who colluded with the city's "evil forces," probably didn't have enough assets or manpower at the time.

"Bell... I don't know if it's alright."

"Just trust that kid now, Winnie. Weren't you going to 'repay a debt of gratitude'?"

"……Um!"

In the secret passage where the monsters' shadows stretched out, Winnie's murmurs echoed. Guros beside her spoke these words, and the dragon girl nodded firmly.

"Wait a minute."

Upon seeing the end of the shortcut, Fells told the "heretics" to stop.

The group had one last discussion in front of the hidden door leading outside.

"Once we leave this place, the Loki Familia's formation will be right in front of us. And there are no more secret passages to use."

"So you have to rush to the destination in one go, right?"

"Yes, the underground passage leading to the 'artificial labyrinth' is located deep in the enemy's territory. We need to proceed along the path that leads directly to the western 'gate'."

While affirming what Rey said, Fels spread out the "artificial maze design drawings" that he had drawn and pointed them out to everyone.

"Thanks to Bell Crane and Lilyluca Erd, the Loki Familia and the adventurers are in complete disarray. The only way to break through is now. Welf Crozo, Wo. Memoir... I ask you to meet them head-on."

"Leave it to me, I'll handle it."

"I am willing to go through fire and water to protect you all."

Welf and Fate, both wearing the same black cloak as Bell—the Double-Sided Invisibility Cloak—nodded together.

Beneath the cloak, besides a Japanese sword, Ming wore a blue short sword at his waist, while Welf wore both a similar short sword and a long sword. In the dimly lit secret passage, the hilt of the blue sword gleamed.

"...I'll start the countdown, everyone get ready."

The group stood up, their voices heavy with tension.

They regrouped and adopted a "spear" formation suitable for an assault.

"Five, four..."

With Reed, wielding a longsword and a scimitar, and the unicorn as the vanguard, Rey, whose face is smeared with blood, the half-human, half-snake, the winged monster, and Fels as the center-backs. Those of smaller size (giants) or those with weaker combat abilities, such as Winnie, are placed in the defense, while Gross, flapping his stone wings, stays at the rear.

"Three, two..."

Ming and Welf, standing at the front, donned their "double-sided invisibility cloaks" and reached out to open the door.

The darkness of the passage sent shivers down their spines, and Hestia and Haruhime held their breath on the other side of the eye crystal.

The dragon girl's slender hands gripped the thin robe on her chest tightly.

"Let's go!"

The moment the order was given, the door was flung open.

“──!!”

The "heretic" leaped into the darkness like an arrow shot from a taut bowstring.

The location was a narrow, long road resembling a canyon. Overlooking the black brick buildings, the entire team sped across the single road.

The lizardman's strong feet kicked the stone slabs, while the golden wings of the singing bird and the gray wings of the gargoyle soared through the sky.

"Enemy...enemy attack!!"

Soon, the adventurer's shout was heard. It was the Loki Familia.

A high-level adventurer sensed a horde of monsters emerging from the depths of darkness and launched a signal light from the building's rooftop platform, intending to ring the bell directly. However, Ming, now in "invisible" form, charged upwards like a ninja, kicking against the wall, grabbed the man's ankle, and slammed him off the roof.

Before they could even scream, the unicorn's raised horn sent the adventurer flying, its body spinning as it slammed into the ground—but only the first person was hit.

Another guard rang the bell, the sound echoing throughout the labyrinthine streets.

"We've been discovered!"

"Whatever, let's move forward!"

Clang, clang, clang! Sharp bell tolls and roars filled the maze street as the "heretics" rushed through it.

The monster parade is now beginning.

*

Let's go back to a slightly earlier moment.

"—Raul?"

Finn was the first to notice the movement of the western troops.

The group members left their posts and were moving south. From a high point in the central area, Finn saw the phosphorescent lights flickering.

"The western troops are moving south! Personnel on the ground report a large horde of monsters has appeared, and the troop movement is to surround them!"

"We haven't received any information! Besides, the commander hasn't given any instructions, how can they act on their own!"

"This...this is because...they said the commander personally went to see Mr. Raul and gave him instructions..."

"What!?"

After the messenger repeatedly looked at Finn while explaining, the main camp immediately became noisy.