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

Tsubaki aimed precisely at Grace, firing wildly at the "Demon Sword" while the smoke obscured her figure. As the battlefield became a mess, and Welf was suffering from a severe headache and displeasure, Tsubaki looked at the "Demon Sword" that had shattered into pieces in a few blows and said, "Hmm! It can only be used up to this extent. It seems there is still room for improvement." She threw away the remaining hilt.

Suddenly, Chun's demeanor completely changed; she glanced at Welf with her narrowed right eye.

"So what? What are you standing there for? Is that longsword tucked into your waistband just for decoration?"

"...!"

"What did you prepare that for? Idiot, hurry up and use it."

The blacksmith seemed to look down on people from the bottom of his heart, yet he was also earnestly admonishing them, piercing Welf's heart with his words.

"Weren't you supposed to be helping some 'Zenoth'? If you keep sitting here doing nothing and thinking about all sorts of things, those monsters will all turn to dust."

"...If this were used, even a first-level adventurer would..."

"Idiot."

Welf's unfounded worries were dismissed with a laugh by Chun.

"As I've said before, those guys are all monsters. It's no wonder that a mere brat like you can't kill them with your 'Demon Sword'."

"I don't have time to worry about the enemy," Tsubaki pressed, casting this question with one eye, leaving Welf speechless.

Instead, he frowned, gripping the hilt of his longsword with a resigned expression.

"...This black fog prevents me from seeing the enemy."

"I will be your 'eyes,' raise your sword."

Chun is a "Master Blacksmith" and a Level 5, whose strength is comparable to that of a Level 1 adventurer.

Hearing that she, a superhuman, could even sense the presence of others amidst the chaos of battle, Welf, with a sour face, drew his longsword and assumed a fighting stance.

"Two points, yes, right there. The other side is on guard, but it doesn't matter. With your extravagant 'magic sword,' there won't be any problems."

Are there any "heretics" on X-rays?

"No, don't worry. Now is the perfect opportunity—to make our move."

Chun went behind Welf and poked his spine with her finger. "Damn it," he cursed.

He swung his dark blue longsword overhead and brought it down in a single stroke.

"Ice Eagle!"

The wind and ice waves howled loudly.

Like a giant bird spreading its wings, the azure ice swarm raced through the black mist. It instantly froze entire stone slabs in its path, its sharp beaks poised to tear apart its prey.

The raging blizzard that was unleashed far surpassed that of the "Ice Swallow," forcing Grace to widen her eyes and take out the shield she was carrying from under her cloak, adopting a defensive stance for the first time.

He was protecting his bandmates when he was hit squarely by a blizzard that produced an astonishing sound of ice forming.

"Mr. Grace!?"

"...It's about the same as Riveria's 'magic,' so it's having some effect."

Grace's left side, along with the shield protruding from his left hand, was completely frozen. The dwarf warrior's beard was frozen, and frostbite formed on his face, but he still laughed boldly and fearlessly. "You all step back." He hid his men behind him, forming a human wall to block the second cannon shot.

"Look, she's perfectly fine."

"Stop your nonsense! -- Goddess Hestia, can you hear me?!"

Chun smiled and said, "See?" Welf retorted first, then took out the eye crystal.

"I can hear you. What is it, Welf?"

"We'll stay here and try to hold them off! Let 'Heretics' and the others go first!"

No matter how many shells were fired, the black fog did not dissipate easily. Welf judged that if he could cleverly utilize this dense fog, he could fight without revealing his true form, so he used his eye to ask Hestia to tell Fels to leave first. Fate seemed to have heard this as well, and replied through the eye, "I understand!"

Before long, the lizardmen's roars echoed through the sky. Hearing the call to advance, the surrounding monsters seemed to take action on their own. The adventurers' pursuit could also be sensed.

Welf gritted his teeth at failing to stop the latter, and continued to fire "magic swords" in the direction Tsubaki indicated.

(Only that dwarf insists on staying here!)

Welf transformed the entire road where Grace stood into an icy world, halting the progress of the first-level adventurer.

Southwest of Daedalus Road, in the outer area.

"Oh no, this is terrible...!"

"Ah, ahh...!?"

Hestia was sweating profusely, while Haruhime beside her was pale.

Under the onslaught of the Loki Familia, the names of the "Heretics" scattered across the "Magic Map." Their barely made way for the central area of ​​the labyrinth town, which could only be described as a rout.

Among them, the map seemed to bring more bad news, showing Hestia and the others a sign that was far removed from the group.

"No, Winnie!? You can't go there!"

The dragon girl is about to be isolated.

*

The scales peeled off, and bright red blood seeped out.

Winnie is running.

She ran through the black fog, clutching her injured left arm.

Fels's black fog swept across the avenue, filling the winding, spiderweb-like paths. This dense fog, separating the starry sky from the ground, must have been visible throughout Daedalus Road.

If they remained in the fog, adventurers would flock to them. Winnie knew this well, and she knew she was separated from her fellow adventurers, growing further and further away.

(Something's here...!)

However, she couldn't stop running. In the blink of an eye, an arrow flew from behind, grazing Winnie's pointed ears and robes. It was a member of Loki's Familia. The arrow, intended to kill Winnie, terrified her, and she turned the corner. The pursuers' demonic hands were about to seize the dragon girl.

"Haa, haa...!"

The labyrinthine streets tormented Winnie. Without the eye crystal in her hand, she could not receive guidance from the goddess. The buildings were so tall that she had to look up, and the surrounding area, made of black bricks, resembled a grand canyon. Several branching paths, like cracks, beckoned to the girl, luring her into the abyss of thick fog.

The dense fog obscured the girl's normal vision, but Winnie managed to escape the fog.

"!"

Emerging from the black mist, the ruins ahead became even more stark. The black bricks transformed into old stone slabs, and many of the bizarrely shaped buildings of the Daedalusian beings were in disrepair. The vibrations and rumbles of artillery fire echoed from the battlefield, sending sand and gravel flying in a series of sharp, crackling sounds.

This scenery hinted to the girl that she had finally crossed the western boundary of the labyrinthine street and entered the northwest district. The roads in the northwest district were wider, and the complexity of the paths eased slightly. When Winnie stood there, momentarily stunned…

"There it is! Found it!"

"!"

The adventurer's voice spurred Winnie to take off again, dodging the rain of arrows that came flying in an instant, and turning the corner of the road.

Her pale, bluish skin and scales were covered in sweat, and her silver hair inside her robe was disheveled and flying wildly. Winnie was desperately running, clutching at an invisible sliver of hope.

however.

"──"

As if to shatter the monster's humble wish, the starlight on the ground illuminated the person.

Winnie caught sight of a girl in the distance and was so frightened she stopped breathing.

"Hmm—I was just browsing casually, I didn't expect..."

[The Great Cut] Brown bare feet firmly landed on the rooftop platform of the building, carrying a pair of large double blades on his shoulders that made people doubt their own eyes.

It was Tiona Schilüt herself.

(Why?)

Her figure left a threatening impression on Winnie's eyes. Winnie couldn't understand how one of the first-level adventurer sisters, who had been blown away by fate, could reappear in a place within her sight.

"Okay, now that we've found it, there's nothing we can do, right?"

As Tiona herself stated, her presence here was merely a casual visit.

If she had to give a reason, it was that she saw a patch of black fog spreading in the northwest direction.

After being blown away by the wind and finally landing, Tiona originally intended to return to the battlefield with the furious Tione, but seeing the thick black fog spreading northwest, she couldn't help but change direction.

The south side was alright; only adventurers were there. But Tiona had heard that some residents on the north side of the labyrinth street hadn't taken refuge. It wouldn't be good to let the enemy move through the fog and head towards the outer areas. This instinctive murmur led Tiona to the front of the fog that flowed northwest.

"I'm going to beat you up!"

The moment Winnie saw Tiona leap up with the large double blades in one hand, she immediately ran in the opposite direction.

Although she was only a few years old, she already understood that the situation was "a dead end." The Loki Familia members who had pursued them also joined Tiona, and Vinnie's face was filled with despair.

The dragon girl rushed out of the crossroads, and just as she was about to be cornered by the members of the Loki Familia and Tiona—an unexpected thing happened.

(Huh?)

A small child appears from Winnie's side.

(A human child...?)

It was a young half-elf, clutching a kitten tightly, his face pale.

Winnie saw her reflection in the child's eyes. Amber eyes peeked from the shadows of her hoodie, and a blood-red stone (her third eye) shone on her forehead. Her appearance as a non-human monster in a dark robe was enough to terrify a toddler into immobility.

Facing the terrified child, Winnie hesitated for a moment—thump!

The intense sounds and impacts of artillery fire from the other side of the battlefield returned once more.

The next moment.

"────"

It was almost like succumbing to a thunderous roar.

The building above the child's head shook and collapsed.

"A small path!?"

Heart-wrenching screams erupted from the mouths of the child (Ray) and Maria.

"Cherry blossoms!?"

"Ugh—!?"

Chigusa and Sakura witnessed the scene from the west side of the crossroads and ran out with their weapons in hand.

Just recently, they came to the scene in search of the child who had gone to the orphanage alone. They had just breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the half-elf child appear from the east road, when this unexpected incident occurred.

"Miss Tiona!?"

"Oops!?"

A monster draped in tattered robes burst into the crossroads with terrifying speed, freezing the half-elf child in fear and startling the Loki Familia. Furthermore, Sakura noticed a dilapidated building at the crossroads about to collapse.

--Too late!

As the tragic ending loomed, Sakura cried out in her heart.

(Ah.)

Winnie knew this scene.

A huge pile of rubble fell directly on the child from above. It was cargo that had fallen from a collapsed wagon.

-- It's better to leave someone in distress unattended.

Winnie's fearful heart whispered that if she did this, people would scream and she would be pelted with stones again.

Saying this will only invite hostility and malice, cause you to grieve all day long, wear down your spirit, and make you weep miserably.

(But—)

But Winnie questioned her own heart.

(Even so, Bell still saved me—?)

Winnie had heard from her fellow countrymen about the boy's situation. It was all because of them; the boy was now surrounded by hostility and malice. Hearing this, Winnie cried. At the same time, a pang of sorrow gripped her heart.

Even knowing he would be pelted with stones, the boy still saved Winnie.

Winnie, timid as she was, said nothing more, but instead gently pushed her back.

The back, gently pushed, began to heat up, and in the blink of an eye, it broke through the skin and robe, growing a new wing.

“──!!”