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

Facing the oncoming horde of monsters, the Loki Familia members, at the command of their squad leaders, drew their bows. They intended to rain down arrows from three directions: directly in front of the Heretic, and from his left and right above him, along the straight path he was running.

however.

「!?」

"So cold—Aaaaaaaah!?"

The orcs and elves who had nocked their arrows had half their bodies frozen solid.

What struck the girls was an unexpected blizzard—a fierce storm unleashed from the void. The demi-humans' arms, shoulders, and half-faces, along with their bows and arrows, were covered in icy armor, causing them to scream in agony from the biting cold.

"I'm sorry...!"

"Excuse me for the sneak attack!"

Welf and Fate, who had attacked them, whispered beneath the magical artifact. In the hands of the two invisible figures, they held the azure short sword "Demon Sword," drawn from its sheath.

The duo utilized the "Demon Sword" and the "Double-Sided Invisibility Cloak." Welf and his companions ran in unison with the "Heretic," keeping a safe distance and drawing the enemy's attention to the loudly charging monster, thus launching an impenetrable surprise attack. They skillfully used their "invisibility" to unleash artillery fire from blind spots, rendering even high-ranking adventurers of the Loki Familia helpless. The wide-ranging blizzard, once launched at close range, was impossible to dodge; even attempts to defend against it would be met with the azure icy currents that would encase the adventurers in ice.

The Demon Sword "Ice Swallow".

For this day, Welf worked tirelessly to forge two ice swords. The blades resembled cut ice crystals, beautiful in appearance, yet capable of unleashing cruel freezing waves that could freeze everything. Welf and Fate each equipped themselves with one of these "Ice Swallows".

Fire or lightning can harm adventurers, but freezing only causes pain and renders them unable to fight without defeating them.

"If we use ice, we won't have to worry about destroying the city!"

Because of his attachment to the "Demon Sword," Welf couldn't quite feel smug, and his expression was a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

His "Crozo's Demon Sword," combined with the magical artifacts of the former sages, was utterly vicious. The opponent had no idea that they (the Hestia Familia) would fight alongside the monsters, catching them off guard and depriving them of their mobility.

The adventurers on the rooftop platform were unable to draw their bows, their feet frozen to the ground, unable to move. When the ice sculptures that appeared high above their heads left the group members, who were waiting in the road ahead, speechless, Welf leaped from the building and fired another cannon shot.

"Ughh ...

The wind and snow blowing from the sky rushed towards them, and the adventurers in their path screamed in agony as the "heretics" attacked them head-on.

"Goo ...

The lizardmen and unicorns at the head of the procession rammed into their opponents, the monstrous ranks boldly scattering the adventurers whose movements were sluggish from the cold. Orcs soared into the air, humans were slammed against the walls, and fragments of weapons and armor flew everywhere. The "heretics" who had successfully broken through the enemy lines let out monstrous roars.

"Lady Haruhime! Please show us the way forward!"

"Keep walking a little further, and you'll see a fork in the road on your right!"

Ming shouted at her "eye crystal," and Haruhime gave her instructions.

She entrusted the pursuers coming from above the building to Welf for protection, while she went to confront the adventurers appearing from another path. With the support of Hestia and Haruhime, she smoothly circled around to the front, using a blast of cold air to greet the Loki Familia, who had predictably arrived. The adventurers, rushing to the scene, were wiped out by her "Demon Sword," which she had slew up from the wall above. Forced to freeze, they howled in agony and were compelled to stop moving.

The invisible Welf and his life stopped the scattered enemy groups (Loki's Familia) one by one.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Welf! Life! Come on~...!"

Hestia clenched her fist and cheered. Below her, on the "magic map," the "Heretics" were advancing straight east through the center of the labyrinthine street, while the symbols of Welf and Fate moved around them. Seeing her two servants fighting to keep the enemy from getting close to the "Heretics," the goddess gave them a strong shout of support.

"—Found it!"

However, the goddess's prayers were soon shattered.

"──!! Guh!?"

"Guros!"

The gargoyle Guros, responsible for bringing up the rear, noticed a flash of light coming from behind—a high-speed throwing knife. He spun around. He used his stone wings to protect his comrades in the rear, but the impact was so strong that the wings were shattered, as if struck by a sledgehammer.

As the bird-bird Lei Yi flew and shouted, she turned her head and saw two Amazons with black hair flying in the wind.

"Here it is!"

"We've caught up—!"

Both Guros and Rei's eyes trembled simultaneously.

They can't forget.

Those two were the ones who ravaged "Heretic Child," the strongest Level 1 adventurer, in this labyrinthine street.

"--Roarooooo ...

Guros immediately roared. This warning alerted midfielder Reid and center-back Fels to the approaching danger, and Welf and Ming instantly turned to their backs.

"Sisters Sirüt!"

"They're really here...! Let's go!"

"yes!"

Their eyes spotted Tiona and Tione approaching at incredible speed from behind, and Welf prioritized engaging them. The two retreated from midfield to center-back and then full-back positions, raising their "Ice Swallows" (a type of flank attack).

They ran alongside the "heretics" above the buildings on either side of the road, and almost simultaneously swung their short swords at their opponents.

Welf and Fate were certain that they had targeted the blind spot in their opponent's consciousness, just as they had done before, but—they were dodged (、、、、、).

「!?」

The moment the snowstorm appeared in the void, the Amazon sisters easily dodged it with astonishing reflexes, leaving Welf and the others speechless with shock.

"What's going on? There's an ice bird?"

"But for an Ice Bird, isn't that a bit too powerful?"

Unlike Tiony, who merely tossed her long black hair, Tiona ran while glancing back at the enormous ice sculpture that had appeared behind her. The Amazonian girl turned her gaze back to the front and spoke to her sister:

"Hey, Tione. I think there should be (、)?"

"Yes, I don't know if it's mimicry or invisibility... Anyway, there are two."

The sisters raised their heads and pierced through the two points in front of them with their eyes.

Welf and Fate, who were clearly in a "transparent state" but were found to be in the correct position, shuddered.

At the same time, they were certain that if those two got close, whether they became invisible or unleashed a blizzard, they would be instantly shattered to pieces.

A brown demon, twin female warriors.

The sight of a Level 6 adventurer relentlessly advancing was nothing short of terrifying.

The sisters' gaze sent a chill down Welf's spine like never before, but the two of them still struggled to encourage themselves.

"Goddess Hestia, is there any terrain ahead that we can use?"

"Let me see—no, Welf, there's nothing there! No forks in the road, no obstacles! The road just gets wider and wider, and there's only a downhill section at most..."

The wind pressure was so strong it almost blew away the invisibility cloak she was wearing. Welf's voice was drowned out by the wind, and her eyes gave a scream-like reply. Although Welf couldn't see her, he could still sense her anxiety; just then, he suddenly looked up.

"downhill……!"

Welf looked around and saw a slope far ahead on the straight road, seemingly leading to a depression.

The young blacksmith spoke again to the blue crystal he held in his hand:

"Goddess Hestia, please pass my voice to the two of them."

Hestia immediately understood which two he was referring to. She and the flustered Haruhime helped each other by placing the Crystal of Life, the Crystal of Fels, and the Crystal of Welf together so that their voices could be transmitted to each other.

The two readily agreed to Welf's "bet".

"I have no other choice. I'm betting my hopes on your cursed sword, Welf Crozzo. -- Reed, charge!"

"I will certainly do it, Lord Welf!"

"I'm counting on you!"

Taking this as an opportunity, the "heretics" mustered all their strength and sped up the process together.

Welf and Faith no longer directly attacked the pursuing sisters, but instead froze the road to slow them down, mass-producing ice barriers and ice pillars of swords to block their path. However, Tiona and Tione shattered all of this in the blink of an eye. Large double-edged swords slashed, kukri knives were swung, or bare feet were kicked. Seeing the female warriors' ferocious pursuit, covered in shattered ice, Faith's facial muscles stiffened.

"Run! Run!"

While Welf and the others bought time, the lizardman repeatedly roared in ways only monsters could understand, urging his comrades to quicken their pace. Winnie ran breathlessly, while the slower, larger (troll) monsters swung their arms comically. Welf and Meek were too busy to deal with the other members of the Loki Familia, leaving Reid and Fels to hold them off. Reid used his longsword and scimitar to cut down the members blocking the "heretics'" advance, the colorless shockwaves emanating from his black gauntlet making it impossible for anyone to cross the line.

Flying through the air, Rey retreated to the rear of the group, near Gross, protecting not only Winnie and the others, but also Welf and his companions. Tione's throwing knives, aimed at them, were barely deflected by Rey's flurry of feather projectiles. The blades that escaped the feathers repeatedly wounded her body.

The momentum of the monster procession grew increasingly intense, as if out of control. Finally, just as Hestia had foreseen, the narrow road gradually widened, becoming a highway that might exceed eight meters in width.

"This is so worrying...! Tiona, you should lose something too!"

"Hmm~, I only have the Great Twin Blades (Ulga)... Hmph!"

Tiony clicked her tongue because she couldn't close the distance completely, and Tiona threw out her large double blades beside her.

A massive, undefendable metal block hurtled towards them. Welf, Life, and Gross's eyes widened in disbelief, while Rey screamed, "Get out of the way!!" urging her comrades to dodge immediately.

Winnie and the others didn't even have time to look back. After kicking the ground, the large double blades struck the ground in the next moment.

'～ ...

The powerful force that knocked the stone slabs off course scattered the "heretics." They managed to dodge at the last moment, avoiding a direct hit, and rolled down the black brick slope.

This is what Hestia meant by going downhill.

"Tiona, we'll handle this here—"

Tiona pulled her twin blades from the ground, and as Tione and her sister stepped down the slope, her words trailed off. The aura of the invisible figure who had just launched the cannon attack had stopped at the end of the slope, in the middle of the road.

--It's stopped!

--We want to fight back!

Tiona and Tione knew that the enemy was facing them and prepared to make their move.

The biggest bombardment of the day was about to begin. Tione and the others instantly realized this. Although they saw the monsters regroup and flee in the distance, they did not hesitate and made a decision immediately.

"I'll be your shield, Tiona, you take care of the opponent."

"Okay!"

Instead of retreating from the main road, the sisters chose to launch a surprise attack.

Tiony stood directly in front of Tiona, who hid in her shadow. The older sister would withstand the artillery fire, while the younger sister would rout the enemy; the objective was clear. Witnessing the female warrior's fearless breakout—her prepared life was etched with sweat beneath the magical artifact (invisibility cloak).

However, her heart remained as still as water, clear and calm.

Once you overcome your own hurdle, there will be no more chances.

The "heretics" will be caught and expelled in an instant—she will not let that happen.

Even though the Far Eastern girl concealed herself, her gaze still met that of the approaching Level 1 adventurers, her hand resting on the hilt of the "Demon Sword".

"!"

Ignoring Welf's final cover shot from the diagonal front, Tiony and Tiona took a sudden step down the slope.

Whether it's freezing or burning, we can withstand that little bit of power.

Both Tiona and Tione were certain that no matter how badly they were injured, they would be able to hold their ground against the enemy.

Then, just as the two were piercing through the air, rapidly approaching their unseen opponent, about to engage in combat.

The sisters' ears heard a clang, like metal striking metal.

"────"

What Tiona and Tione heard was neither the sound of ice crystals nor the sound of raging flames.

That was the sound of a gleaming blade gliding through its scabbard—brushing against the scabbard's opening.

He was destined to have a low waist, and he carried two Japanese swords at his waist. One was a third-level weapon called "Tiger Iron," and the other was a Japanese sword-shaped demon sword (、、、、、、、、、、).

Staring intently at the two Level 1 adventurers with wide eyes, she raised her eyebrows and prepared to draw her sword.

Welf watched all this, a smile appearing on his face, and said:

"Go, 'Wind Warrior'!"

"────!!"

The Iaijutsu, executed with unspoken power, unleashed the emerald-green brilliance of the sword.

The blades swung before Tiony and the others created an astonishing hurricane.

"How could this be—"

"No way!?"

The strong gust of wind blowing in front of them made Tione and Tiona fly into the sky as they were called (、、、、).

The "Wind Bombardment" was undefendable from the start. The twins, who had leaped into the air, had no chance to withstand the attack; their bodies were blown far back and then flew high into the sky.