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

Page 700

From the severed neck, a large amount of blood gushed out like a geyser, and the lower half of the giant bull seemed to lose its strength and sink.

The adventurers also suddenly scattered and disappeared with the whip of light, collapsing to the floor.

"...Huff—, huff—...!!"

When the Amazonian warrior sisters couldn't even move a finger, the dwarf slowly stood up on his own.

He let himself catch his breath, his toes pointing toward the convulsing, gigantic "celestial clone."

"--it's over."

Grace started running, rushing toward the enemy's brainless, immobile body.

He picked up 'Ulga,' which had transformed into a greatsword, shattered the rubble, and leaped into the air.

Grace descended from directly above the monster, the upper body of the "fairy spirit" whose blood had stopped gushing—raising her weapon high and delivering a fatal blow.

"Turn into dust, Aa ...

The explosion scattered the debris.

The moment the upper half of the "magic stone" was shattered, the enormous body of the "immortal avatar" immediately turned into a large amount of dust.

The final vertical strike cleaved the paving stones.

Dust filled the air, forming large plumes of smoke.

As the lingering, shattering sound faded, a figure emerged from the depths of the smoke.

The great dwarf warrior, freed from the dust and fog, returned to the side of the young female warrior.

He carried his immobile twin sisters on his left and right shoulders respectively, and walked with them on his back.

"...Grey, S..."

"Don't speak, Diona. Let's pray we can escape before we run out of energy."

"Help me... pick this up... Urga..."

"It's impossible, give up."

"Ah—I'm going to be in debt again—…Tione~, help me—…"

"You little devil, tear... away, die..."

"I don't think you're going to die."

All three of them were covered in wounds.

The first-level adventurers thus left the hall, where the "fairy spirit" corpses were covered in dust.

★

"【The Staff of Dionysus】!"

Philweis's short staff unleashed a lightning bolt that incinerated the entire horde of monsters.

The enemies in the passage were wiped out, and several pairs of feet rushed through it.

"Lefia, are we not here yet!?"

"It'll be soon, I think it should be soon...!"

"Angie called out as she carried the injured man on her back," and Lefia answered while sweating profusely.

The main team that launched the escape operation is nearing its limit due to repeated attacks from monsters or assassins.

At this critical juncture, the enemy's pursuit began to show signs of impatience.

"They didn't close the 'door' at all. They were opening and closing it like it was free before we met up...!"

"It seems the enemy has misjudged something too... Oh my!?"

Angie and Raul spoke breathlessly as they used their free hands to hold small shields and longswords to defend themselves against the attacks.

Just as Angie and her team had predicted, the enemy, within their sight, did not take out the "key" to use. It was as if, more than any other problem, the loss of the "key" terrified them the most.

Unbeknownst to Raul and the others, the artificial maze had been severely damaged by the fairy clones, driving Baka completely insane. The only mind capable of manipulating the maze malfunctioned, halting the previously possible remote control.

Unable to obtain the full benefits of the labyrinth, the remnants of the dark faction could only risk their lives to try and stop the Loki Familia.

(Mr. Grace and the others haven't arrived yet...! Even though we've been marking the way...!)

Lefia kept turning back, her face showing anxiety.

Bert and Ais served as guards at the rear and middle of the group, fighting desperately to prevent the enemy from entangled them, but they didn't know how much longer they could hold out. More and more members were suffering from too many injuries and exhaustion, and their knees were about to give way.

"—! Lefia!?"

“Eh!?”

Suddenly, a group of man-eating flowers appeared from the side road.

Someone may have opened a nearby "door," and the trap, using carnivorous plants, affected the remaining members while charging in.

(Oh no!?)

Neither Lefia's "Parallel Chanting" nor Philvis's barrier magic could keep up.

Seeing that the large group of monsters reacted to Ais's "wind" and approached from the front, Lefia tightly closed her eyes.

"[Ecstasy: Fimbulb Winter]!"

However, the absolute zero white wind halted the attack.

The cannon fire froze a large group of monsters.

“Eh…”

"Run, Rafia!"

It's Rivera.

Seeing the mage begin chanting a new incantation at the front of the passage, Lefia was taken aback at first, but Philweis gave her a push, and she began to run, staggering along.

After passing through the magic circle that Riveria had set up on the paving stones, Lefia saw a group of adventurers waiting for their companions to return.

"Bring the wounded here! Quickly!"

"Let's carry it out! Hurry up!"

The elf Alicia and the others reached out to the stunned group members and forcibly pulled them over.

The adventurers carried the wounded out on their backs.

"This is……"

"Well done, Lefia. The wand you left behind has become a 'mark'."

Lefia stood frozen in the passageway where the group members came and went, while Riveria, acting as a turret, kept the enemy at bay. She didn't look at Lefia's face, but just smiled.

Riveria repeatedly deployed the magic circle over a wide area, detecting the rare magic power of the "Magic Gem," and thus received the distress signal (message) left by Lefia.

After discovering the entrance, the group invaded the maze and forcibly began rescuing their companions.

"Rivia!"

"Ais, are you alright!"

"Grace and the others haven't returned yet...!"

"The enemy is thrown into disarray; now is the perfect opportunity to rescue them. Gather those who are still mobile and go get them. We must hold out until the very end!"

"Um!"

"You old hag, I want to go too!"

As the group members gradually arrived at Riveria and the others' side, Ais and Bert, who had quickly taken first aid measures, and even Raul and Angie joined the rescue team.

Lefia, who had been standing there in a daze, hurriedly wanted to join Ais and the others, but—

"Lefia, go back to the surface."

"P-Please wait a moment, Lady Rivera! I can still move! I want to stay here with everyone...!"

"Your mental energy is almost exhausted, what are you still saying? I don't have much strength left either, those who can leave should leave quickly!"

Rivera's forehead was covered in beads of sweat from the numerous large-scale spells she had cast, which had clung to her emerald hair. Her mental energy was being depleted too quickly, and her "Mental Recovery (Skill Development)" couldn't replenish it in time.

"Lefia".

"……yes!"

After being pulled on the arm by Phil Weiss, Lefia bit her lip and nodded.

The two left the front line of the rescue and ran through the single passage that was guarded by other team members who had formed a low wall.

After running down the last flight of stairs, they ran until they were out of breath, and crossed the thawing, frozen entrance.

"...Ahhh."

The team members are carrying their fallen comrade out of the maze.

Upon seeing their leader severely wounded, roars and screams erupted.

His comrade was a step too late in the rescue, and the already deceased comrade shed a torrent of tears.

Lefia and the others paid a price but finally escaped the man-made labyrinth that had caused severe casualties to the Familia.

★

"Damn it...he got away! That bastard, he escaped...Finn...!"

The woman, Valetta, wanders alone in the labyrinth.

She washed away the "powder" that attracted the monster with the blood splattered from the assassins, her whole body covered in blood and sweat like a severely injured patient.

The woman remained fixated on her fleeing prey, her anger lingering for a long time.

"Hurry, let's get going! If we hear any noise, everyone fight nearby!"

"...Huh?"

At that moment, a dying squad passed through Valetta's field of vision.

Some lost an arm, some were burned by the explosion, and some wept in agony because their wounds wouldn't heal. The fact that these people, who were on the verge of death, were still alive was probably thanks to the bespectacled healer girl. The way she encouraged everyone, her face covered in blood, as she let the wounded lean on her shoulder, was so touching that even Valeta found it moving.

She embodies the brilliance of hard work, sacrifice, and dedication.

"Line... that's enough... don't worry about me, you all should leave!"

"Hold on a little longer, just a little longer! If we just hold on a little longer, we'll be saved!"

Therefore, Valetta was able to immerse herself in dark pleasures.

What she's about to do will surely make that enemy show a pained expression.

The poignant brilliance of life, so vividly depicted in "trampling," ah, how—

"whee."

She licked her lips and approached the squad silently, like a ghost.

"Hehehe!"

Valette pulled a short sword from under her blood-stained long coat.

It was a deep, bright red blade, imbued with a terrifying, resentful "curse."

"Hey, you're the Loki Familia, right?"