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

As she and Philwis stood there bewildered, Valette glanced at them from afar.

"Hey, bodyguard. At least take care of those two elves. I want to see Finn's mournful face as soon as possible."

After she finished speaking, she closed another "door," completely isolating the crossroads.

After thwarting the two men's attempt to rescue Finn and the others, Valetta disappeared behind the wall with a smile.

Whether she was trying to get revenge or not, she passed this instruction to Revis; Revis frowned unhappily and turned to look at Lefia and the others.

The cold gaze made Lefia's shoulders tremble.

"..."

Rives narrowed her eyes quickly.

Soon, the female monster ignored the presence of Lefia and the others, and went off down a side road.

"Varied……"

—She let me off the hook!

Did she judge that Lefia was not worthy of her help? Lefia's abdomen suddenly became burning hot.

The sound of a door opening and closing came from deep within the corridor. Lefia rushed over, but the side passage where the woman had disappeared was now sealed off by a metal door.

"...!"

"Lefia, wait! Calm down!"

Philweis caught up with Lefia, who was biting her lip.

Upon hearing her words, Lefia forced herself to control her emotions and exhaled heavily.

"Miss Philweis, the captain and the others... we have to go save everyone...!"

"I know, but we can't go to the [Hero's] place. We can't turn back either, blocked by the 'door' made of the hardest metal...!"

Philweis's tone was anxious, and Lefia noticed it too.

The back hall had already been closed by the hardest metal "door," and Valetta was interfering, preventing them from meeting up with Finn or Bert and the others.

Now, Lefia and her friends are isolated and helpless, trapped in this maze.

"Whether you need to rescue your isolated companions or escape the labyrinth to seek help from Lady Rivera and the others, what we need to do now is the same:

"—Find a new path."

Rafia continued, and Phil Weiss nodded nervously.

"Let's go. We must avoid fighting at all costs. We're already caught in their web."

They must find the right thread in the net to become a signpost (Ariadne).

Lefia held her breath and nodded in response.

The two elves entered one of the branching paths that led out from the surrounding area and began to run in search of a glimmer of hope.

★

“——”

Pi!

Seeing that the gauntlet had inexplicably cracked, Grace stopped what she was doing.

"Grace...? What's wrong?"

"...No, it's nothing."

Grace answered Ais, looking at her arm, then turned to look behind her.

He looked back at the road where he had parted ways with Finn and the others, wiping away the lingering attachment in his heart.

Despite feeling uneasy, Grace continued to advance with the team.

"here it is……"

"So big..."

The place they arrived at was exactly the same as what Finn and the others had seen: a large hall.

There was no other way out except in front of it, and the main passageway was located above. Its height was almost comparable to that of a two-story building, yet it had no stairs, a rather peculiar construction.

As Tiony and Tiona's whispers echoed, a man appeared from the front entrance.

"!"

"Nice to meet you... adventurers of the Loki Familia."

Emerging from the deep, dark passage, illuminated by the magic stone light, was a gloomy man.

The man wore a long, loose-fitting loincloth and light clothing that looked like work clothes. His clothes were old and dirty, far from clean. His unhealthy, excessively pale skin suggested he had never seen a ray of sunlight.

His hair, lacking pigment, was unkempt, and the front hair covered one eye.

The other eye that was exposed also had heavy dark circles.

Although it gives the impression of being a bit old, it's unmistakable—

"He's the man we've been looking for in the portrait!"

"You're the human who made a deal with the port's fishing god (the god of Melon), right?"

Tiona pointed at the man, and Tione asked sharply in her eyes and tone.

The figure looked down at Ais and the others from above, glancing briefly at the Amazon sisters.

"Yes, that happened... You're looking for me? I don't want to see you."

Upon hearing this almost inaudible whisper, Tiona and Tione blinked repeatedly.

"To be honest, talking to you all here is a waste of time. The long-cherished wish of our ancestors is so great and ambitious that no amount of time will be enough... Even if it is completed one day, I will not be able to witness it in person... It's a pity that I was born as a human... I should have at least inherited the bloodline of a long-lived race (elves)... Ah, what a pity."

Seeing the man muttering to himself, not only Tiona and the others, but the rest of the crew were also startled. Ais was also a little unconvinced; the other man was just leaving the enemy (Loki's Familia) hanging like that.

Needless to say, the man-eating plant (monster) is a type that has never appeared among the remnants of those dark factions who attack without warning.

"Wait, wait a minute! Don't get lost in your own world!"

"What exactly is wrong with you?! What do you want to do?!"

Tiona and the others were taken aback and managed to yell back with great difficulty. The man stopped talking to himself and looked up.

"Excuse me, my name is... please allow me to simply call myself Baka."

Baka's tone remained somber, but he politely introduced himself and then lazily squinted his right eye.

"I have been commanded to welcome you into the abyss of darkness..."

Hearing this, Ais and the others finally regained their sense of tension.

Healer Linne and other members of the group, including Koss, are also preparing for battle.

Of all the people present, only Grace, who remained silent, felt a sense of unease.

(Given our strength, they only sent a weak, frail man? It's not like there's going to be a monster... Ais and the others could just jump up and cut that man down.)

Baka's aura clearly doesn't belong to the fighting school; he's more like a mage or hexer. Even if he might possess some secret weapon, at this distance, even with short incantations, Ais and the others' attack speed is still faster. Sending him to deal with Grace and the others is obviously like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

They remained on guard against the appearance of monsters, but there was no sign of any surprise attack.

Thinking about it this way, the man still standing there leisurely might have already set a trap—

(—?)

At that moment, Grace's gaze swept over something.

(In the center of the floor, there is a red gem...?)

The jewel was hidden in the center of the hall, as if it were embedded in the paving stones.

As the group progressed through the maze, they saw several "jewels" of the same material, but this one was larger than the others.

"!!"

At that moment, Grace suddenly tilted her head back.

Looking down, Baka's gaze was fixed on the single point of the jewel.

As if in resonance, the inside of the crimson pearl swayed.

"Jump quickly—"

"too slow."

Cutting off Grace's roar, Baka tossed his hair back.

One eye was visible... Hongtong's left eye was branded with the letter "D".

The next moment.

*Crack!*

With a deafening roar, the hall floor opened up.

"————————————"

Ais, Tiona, Tione, Grace, and the other members were all frozen in place.

My footing suddenly vanished, an overwhelming feeling of floating enveloped my entire body, and boundless darkness stretched out into the distant depths below.

It's a "trap".

The "floor" of this hall is not just paving stones.

Instead, it was the same "door" made of the hardest metal that Ais and the others had seen along the way.

It is an enormous double door, concealed by stone slabs and exceeding standard specifications.

The labyrinthine trap that plunges intruders into the depths of hell...

"Farewell, Loki Familia—may you have a nightmare (or a good dream)."

Soon, Ais and the others began to fall.

"Ugh—Aa ...

The members who were sucked into the deep darkness screamed in agony.

The entire hall area was within range. Baka used the "key" to unlock it, personally turning the Loki Familia into victims of the trap without exception.

"A trap—?"

“Tsk!”

Hearing Tiona's screams, Tione and some of the group members hurled ropes and chains, some with daggers or claws attached, at the wall. However, the seamless, ultra-hard metal wall, with its sheer rigidity, bounced them all back. Seeing the tunnel structure where there was no other way to escape but to fall, astonishment filled Tione and the others' eyes.

Even a first-level adventurer would be helpless if their feet couldn't reach the ground.

More and more people's minds went blank from the shock and chaos, but the hardest metal double doors above them slowly and mercilessly closed.

"Ais!"

"!"

However, at that moment, Grace and Ais launched their operation simultaneously.

"Hmph!!"

"【Awaken! (Tempest)】!"

Grace hurled his battle axe at Ais, who was being buffeted by the wind.

Ais raised her wind sword and slashed it down, using the force to accelerate upwards. With the help of the [Wind Spirit Rush], she rose like an air current.

Just as the double doors were about to close completely, Ais squeezed through the extremely narrow gap and escaped the pit all by herself.

「!?」

She leaped in one breath and arrived in front of Baka, who was standing high up in the hall.

The man was astonished to see the Fiora land some distance away.

"This really surprises me... I never thought someone could escape the trap set by their ancestors."

"Open that 'door'!"

Ais became aggressive when her companion was in danger, and Baka quickly narrowed one eye upon seeing this.