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

A sweeping attack. There's no escaping it.

He thrust his sword from its sheath. He knew this move.

Roundhouse kick. A direct hit.

They don't match. They match. They don't overlap. They overlap. The "skills" she taught herself, the "tactics" she learned by stealing, were precisely what proved most effective at this moment.

Each time he was struck by the sword's spine, and his vision blurred with flashes of light, Bell would think in a daze:

What am I doing?

He becomes enemies with the girl he admires, leading to a conflict.

They were beaten badly.

However, during training, he still gets beaten up badly.

The unfunny fact made Bell laugh as he stared intently at Ai's merciless swordsmanship.

The attack couldn't reach her, and the counterattack couldn't even get close. She simply refused to listen to her own cries or accept her own feelings.

Did Belle hate her coldness? No, not at all.

Bell was angry that she wouldn't listen to anyone? That would be a huge mistake.

Her sword forced Bell to witness a lofty realm, making Bell experience the high wall between reality and ideals.

That's the sentiment Bell held. The decision to save the girl (Winnie) was incredibly difficult.

I have to catch up with her no matter what.

I have to let her know, no matter what.

I have to surpass her no matter what.

The more you are forced to recognize your own powerlessness, the more you must run, rush forward, faster, stronger.

“──!!”

My back is burning, my back is scorching, my back is screaming out a crazy wish.

So far away, so incredibly far. He already knew; he knew it was an endless peak.

Therefore, we must do our best to catch up.

They carried with them the intention of helping that girl.

"—Aa ...

Bell roared.

The roar of tearing silk shook Ais's arm, and her hopeless focus did indeed diminish the swordsmanship of the [Sword Maiden].

The two daggers, imbued with their last remaining strength, accelerated and posed a threat to the girl for the first time.

「!?」

Ais shook off her shock and swung her sword to repel Bell. The crimson dagger was deflected, and she immediately unleashed a second slash at Bell. Bell faced this attack—stabling out from behind his left arm guard.

He made the [Sword Maiden]'s slash glide across the armor made of super-hard metal.

A surprising spark and a screeching sound erupted between them as Bell used all his skills to finally snatch the spot in Ais's arms.

Approaching to an extremely close position, almost face to face—the attack range of one's own weapon.

Bell wielded the Blade of God.

"Aa ...

The blue-purple blade light traced an arc towards the sky.

Her long, golden hair flew in the wind.

Ais retreated with astonishing speed to dodge in an emergency—startled, she put her hand to her chest.

"...!"

The silver breastplate on the equipment had marks from something rubbing against it.

It is a mark left by some sharp object.

It proves that Bell's shouts have been heard.

For a moment, Ais was speechless.

Ais watched the panting Bell, her brows furrowed in bitterness, and swung her sword again.

“Wu!?”

Bell quickly pulled the dagger back.

He defended against the silver sword that was raised high and slashing down at an angle. The excessive weight of the sword forced him to use both hands to brace against the [Hestia's Blade], and the blades clashed together with a screeching sound.

This time, Ais took the initiative to fight, and she spoke:

Why did you go to such lengths?

This was Ais's first question.

The Sword Maiden, who had initially refused to listen, now stared intently into Bell's eyes.

Bell was initially stunned, then he stared intently into Ais's eyes and exclaimed:

"I want to save that girl!"

"Are you serious? Seriously? It's not a person, it's a 'monster'?"

Bell, unwilling to succumb to the weight of the sword, retorted:

"She's different from ordinary monsters! She can talk, laugh with others, and shake hands—she has the same emotions as us!"

"No, it's different. Others wouldn't do that."

At least humans (others) cannot be friends with "monsters" hand in hand.

Ais, wielding her sword with only one hand, refuted Bell's dagger along with his rebuttal.

“Wu!?”

"Monsters can kill people, they can kill many people... Many people will cry because of this."

Looking into Ais's eyes, Bell uttered the words as if he were cutting his own body:

"But! Aren't we...we adventurers the same?"

"...!"

"Miss Ais's sword is one, and so is my dagger!"

If Bell and his fellow adventurers wanted to, they could easily slaughter large numbers of people.

They didn't do it purely out of reason. Out of the compassion that even "heretics" possess.

Some monsters are gentler than humans.

Some hunters are more repulsive than monsters.

What is the line that separates humans from monsters? Bell, having repelled Ais's sword, pleads for it.

"I……"

Seeing the girl widen the distance between them, Bell opened his mouth as if to say something, but then hesitated.

Bell hadn't completely overlooked what Ais said. She was right; they both knew which side Bell should have chosen.

However, what came to Bell's mind was the smiles on Winnie's and Reed's faces.

Those were their tears.

The man's (Dix's) loud laughter echoed in his ears, along with the fool's (Fels's) words.

Bats – “hypocrites”.

Bell swallowed it all and made a decision.

He told Ais his true thoughts, the last words he had kept hidden in his heart, and the last words he had never been able to say.

"...I want a place to stay, a place where I can live with her and the others."

Faced with his dream girl, whose time seemed to stand still, Bell actually blurted it out.

"I want a world where Winnie and the others can laugh freely!"

The foolish wish shocked the girl's ears.

Ais was stunned and whispered:

"What are you saying...?"

Her golden eyes told Belle that she couldn't understand, and didn't want to understand.

The moonlight that illuminated the girl and the shadow that covered the boy distinguished their positions.

Ais looked away from Bell and shook her head.

"That's enough... Get out of the way."

Upon hearing [Sword Maiden] indicate that she had said all she needed to say, Bell's already battered body, as if indicating its limits, slumped to the ground. The boy looked up at the girl with a troubled expression, his gaze lowered.

However, he still wouldn't move.

"I don't want to..."

"Don't be like that."

"don't want……"

Please.

"I can't do it!"

"Get out of the way!"

The two shouted at each other at the loudest voices they had ever used on each other.

Ais flicked her hair, closed the distance, and thrust her sword straight at Bell's eyes.

"I'll... chop you up, okay?"

"...!"

"Really, it hurts a lot? So..."

The clumsy words were the girl's final warning.

The chill emanating from the sword made Bell's throat tremble, but he remained motionless.

Ais's eyes were filled with sadness, and Bell's chest was overflowing with unhealed pain.

The next instant, Fiora, relying on her willpower, glared fiercely and exerted all her strength into her sword.

The silvery glow reflecting the moonlight made Bell squint in one eye.

"—No!"

It's too late to say.

The door behind him opened wide, and a figure ran through Bell's field of vision.

The robe swayed, and the hood fell off.

A girl rushed out with her arms outstretched, cutting in front of Ais and Belle.

"Don't bully Bell!!"

The girl's high-pitched voice, indistinguishable from any other person's, resounded throughout the surroundings.

Bell watched her back as she grew a single wing, while Ais stared at her exposed silver-blue hair and her strangely pale-blue appearance; time seemed to stand still.

"Wei, Ni...?"

A fragment of sound escaped from Bell's lips.

The boy broke free from the frozen time and shouted at the eye crystal held by the girl:

"Gods, why!?"

"..."