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

If she has a normal expression and seems completely uninterested, that would also make me quite sad...

(…Huh?)

Seeing her expression right beside me, my thoughts faltered.

Her beautiful, well-proportioned profile revealed slightly sharper eyebrows, and her expression remained quietly tense.

I suddenly came to my senses.

As if struck by lightning, I looked around.

The back alley was quite wide. It was completely dark all around; in other words, there wasn't a single sound coming from the surroundings. The darkness was unnatural, without even a ray of light.

It was only then that I began to feel that something was wrong. Unintentionally, a familiar, stylish columnar magic stone street lamp came into view.

(...was it damaged?)

The magic stone lamp hanging on the exquisite pillar was broken, as if it had been damaged by a blunt object.

“——”

"!"

“Wow!”

Miss Ais stopped in her tracks.

Something that only she could sense made me stop abruptly. The fairy holding my hand stumbled and staggered forward two steps.

Those golden eyes no longer concealed their wariness. I followed her gaze and focused intently on what lay ahead.

Soon, several people emerged from the gaps between the buildings, appearing in the shadows.

(Cat people...?)

Dark armor, dark shirt, and dark face shield, seemingly blending into the darkness.

Its head, with its eyes and upper face covered by a metal mask, and its distinctive orcish cat ears, indicates it is male.

Is this person directly related to this unusual situation?

As I was pondering this, the orc adventurer, who was shorter than me, stopped in his tracks.

He left a distance of about twenty meters between us, slowly.

A soft thud was heard on the stone floor, then disappeared without a trace.

“——”

The next instant, a shadow appeared before my eyes.

Extremely close distance.

In an instant, the distance between them was swallowed up. An agility beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

My eyesight and reflexes were left behind.

The dark face shield emitted a somber glow, and the newcomer remained silent, attempting to fire the gun he carried.

Time seemed to freeze, and the word "death" flashed through my mind.

"——!"

"!"

In the blink of an eye, a military knife extended from the side deflected the opponent in front of him.

The silver rapier, drawn with lightning speed, struck the hastily erected gun, scattering a shower of sparks.

Time resumed its flow. I was drenched in sweat, finally able to react in astonishment to the series of attacks and defenses. Miss Ais, having drawn her sword, took a step towards her opponent, who had landed some distance away, without uttering a word.

Immediately afterwards, the two sides charged at each other, resulting in a fierce conflict.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!"

The immortals cried out in panic, but their voices were completely drowned out by the fierce sounds of swords and halberds.

—Too fast!

The trajectory of the gun, and the number of diagonal lines that can barely be identified as swords.

I can't catch up, I can't catch up at all, I can't see their movements at all!

Abandoning me and the immortals, shadows and golden light intertwine time and again.

“——”

At this time.

Above the man fighting the cat-man, four tiny figures swayed in the darkness.

The figures that appeared on the rooftops of the houses landed silently.

Sword, mallet, spear, axe.

Four weapons emitting a dangerous glow suddenly attacked from directly above the man.

"Miss Ais!"

As soon as I called out, the person's movements also swayed slightly.

She first temporarily cut down the cat-man male, and then with a swing of her saber, a total of four surprise attacks flying from directly above were knocked to the ground in a flash.

An unimaginable metallic sound suddenly resounded all around, and my eyes widened as wide as they could.

"Tsk...what a monster."

"Make way," the cat-man said unhappily.

"..."

Miss Ais remained silent, only flicking her dagger with a whoosh.

Behind her, four figures who appeared to have escaped unscathed clearly revealed their true identities.

Four little people (Palum). They are equipped with the same gear as the cat-man male, wearing the same masks, so they must be his accomplices.

They surrounded Miss Ais from both sides, giving her no room to breathe, and attacked her mercilessly from both sides.

"Beelzebub, let's go. There's no point in us getting involved here..."

The words of the gods may sound like a joke, but they are very much in line with the current situation.

Those five men were far beyond my physical capabilities. They were probably first-class adventurers, each wielding different weapons, displaying a level of teamwork that was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

The blonde girl single-handedly withstood all the attacks from these first-level adventurers.

No need to dodge; his swordsmanship had reached an unparalleled level. He could deflect multiple attacks with a single strike, and sometimes even counterattack, nearly slashing his opponent's body.

That is [Fiora].

Even though I cannot observe it with the naked eye, I can still feel the unattainable and unreachable realm of swordsmanship from the afterimages it leaves behind.

The difference in quality is too great.

(...Idiot, you idiot!)

I was so caught up in the blow that I suddenly snapped out of it, my shoulders jerked, and I shook off the thoughts that had been lingering in my mind.

How can I stand here looking like a dazed person! There are more important things to do right now!

If you have time to stand here, you should hurry up and help her...!

"Ugh...! Belle!"

"!"

I felt I should at least offer some support, and was about to approach Miss Ais and the others when suddenly, a voice from the deity grabbed my shoulder. Turning around, I saw four figures emerge from the shadows of the building and surround us.

There were half men and half women. They were all wearing the same protective gear.

His eyes trembled with fear.

—What should we do?

Just as I hesitated for a moment in my decision, they both took off running.

"!"

We must fight back. We have no choice but to fight back.

Facing the four-man group charging towards me, I drew my dagger and the Goddess Blade from their sheaths.

"Gods, please hide behind me!"

Before she could answer, I engaged the enemy in close combat.

The first to close the distance with me was a female adventurer wielding a short sword.

She glared at me from deep within her mask, brandishing her weapon as she attacked.

—I can see her movements!

The instant she launched her attack, I swiftly took a step into my opponent's arms.

"What!"

"call!"

Seize the initiative.

I swung my short sword toward my opponent's chest, striking through his armor.

Before she could even scream after being hit, she was thrown backward. I didn't pay attention to her fate and turned around instantly.

The fairy was startled when I suddenly turned around. I pulled her close with my left arm and narrowly dodged the thrust of the longsword. Then I swept my right foot at the male adventurer who was attacking me.

The man wielding the longsword lost his balance, so I kicked him again, sending him flying and crashing into another female adventurer who was charging at us.

(The other person is at LV.1, just like me!)

Can't go wrong.

Their skills weren't as exaggerated as the men Miss Ais had dealt with. Judging from our fight just now, they're on the same level as me.

In terms of abilities (ability values), they should be almost the same.

That person taught me about the skills and tactics for winning!

I had the deity hiding behind me, waiting for the late-arriving heavily armed male adventurer.

“Haaaa!”

With a powerful shout, the greatsword slashed down, and I swung out the Goddess Blade to meet the challenge.

The black blade drew a blue-purple glow, striking the enemy's sword spine from the side and violently deflecting it.

“Huh?”

Probably not expecting the greatsword to be no match for the dagger, the male adventurer made the same sound as before, but this time with surprise. I immediately spun around on my right foot and unleashed a spinning kick—which had become my signature move—directed at my opponent's face.

“Ah!”

The enemy wielding the greatsword was thrown to the side, and the weapon fell from his hand.

"Bell, someone else is here!"

"!"

The divine warning arrived instantly.

Centered on me and the immortal, the three of us formed a triangular formation and attacked together this time.

I almost stopped breathing for a moment, but in the nick of time, I lunged at the greatsword that the male adventurer had dropped on the ground.

"Please kneel down, you god!"

I swung the super-heavy greatsword with all my might, and at the same time, the god covered his head and fell to the ground.

"""ah--!"""

The spinning slash of the Great Slash sent all three adventurers flying as they lunged forward.

—I used it correctly!

The recoil from swinging the weapon made me stagger a few steps, but I managed to wield the greatsword with difficulty, which made me cheer inwardly. The thick hilt felt very reliable, clearly imprinted on my palm.

"Wow! Belle, you were so cool just now! I've fallen in love with you all over again!"