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

"...!?"

"...!"

Ms. Ryu and I stared at the ground, raising our weapons.

The ground trembled constantly beneath my feet as the giant serpent monster dug its way forward, intending to swallow its prey whole.

Where is it, and from where will it come out?

From land—or from water!?

"You guessed wrong!"

The cat-man mocked us as we increased our vigilance on the ground.

The next instant, accompanied by a deafening crash, the massive body appeared from the side.

On the west side of the cave, crystal shards sprayed out from the wall closer to Miss Ryu, and "Lymton" opened its giant jaws and launched a surprise attack.

"Miss Ryu!?"

「!?」

Faced with the approaching giant snake, Ms. Ryu displayed an astonishingly fast reaction speed.

She pushed off the ground with both feet, regaining the first moment she had been too slow to act, and leaped into the air, her long cloak billowing. Just as the monster's long body passed beneath her line of sight, she made an emergency dodge in mid-air, skillfully avoiding the attack.

I and she, who was lying on the ground beside me, stared intently at the monster that had crashed violently into the center of the cave.

"Is 'Lemton' such an illogical monster...!?"

"Since it's a rare species, and I've only encountered it once, I can't be sure..."

Aside from the floor master (Goliath), this is probably the first time I've dealt with such a large monster.

My breathing became erratic, and Miss Ryu, who was holding the wooden sword, also seemed hesitant to speak.

Neither the attack method nor its scale makes sense.

This is the monster from the "deep"...!

"Are you out of options, Leon! If this continues, you and [White Rabbit's Legs] will end up in this guy's belly together in a loving embrace!?"

The cat-man burst into loud laughter at us.

Faced with such an opponent, Ms. Ryu leaned her face close to my shoulder.

There's no need to play along with the enemy.

I snapped out of my daze and immediately nodded.

After a brief conversation that barely qualifyed as a discussion, we immediately started running forward.

I moved parallel to Ms. Ryu.

Facing the roar of "Lambton" towards us, I stretched out my right hand straight.

"[Flame Lightning]!"

The lightning bolt hurtled forward and struck one of the nine holes around the enemy's mouth.

This is using "magic" as a threat. Of course, the opponent is super-large, so it won't cause much damage.

However, the three pairs of bloodshot compound eyes stared at me.

--They've taken the bait!

As the colossal body roared angrily and moved toward me, I was sweating, but I also clenched my fist and cheered.

This is my first time dealing with a beast tamer, but even I know that the best approach is not to attack the controlled monster, but to target the tamer. Because they must hone their taming skills, beast tamers are generally less capable than pure adventurers.

Lure the tamed monsters away and attack the unprotected tamers.

In this operation, Ms. Ryu was the "spear" that pierced through the beast tamer, while I was the "bait" that lured the monster away.

Taking advantage of the moment when "Lambton" turned its attention to me, Ms. Ryu sped up.

She was like a falcon gliding across the land, speeding along with a forward-leaning posture.

She squeezed through the tiny gap between her long body and the ground and ran toward the beast tamer who had been blocked by a monster.

"Jala!"

"Alas!?"

Hearing Miss Ryu's fierce roar, the cat-man couldn't help but let out a pathetic groan.

However, although his face was stiff, he still managed to put on a smile and swung the whip he held with his one arm at the ground.

"!!"

"ah!?"

The head of "Lambton," which I had been trying to distract, suddenly turned around!

To my astonishment, the giant snake monster changed direction and launched an attack on Miss Ryu's back.

"Miss Ryu!"

「!?」

Just moments before the wooden sword was about to strike the beast tamer, the attacking monster forced Miss Ryu to leave her spot.

She narrowly avoided the snake's fangs, and the man gave her a grotesque smile.

"Lambton" did not harm its master (the tamer), but circled around him, curled up as if protecting him.

"Ha, hahaha...! Yeah, of course I'd target the animal trainer (me)! But did you really think I didn't prepare beforehand?!"

"...!"

"I'm tired of instilling these movements in myself!"

With a still-stiff smile, the man spoke arrogantly to Miss Liu, who was biting her lip.

As for me, I was completely astonished.

I don't know much about the profession or skill of beast tamer. I haven't even seen the Monster Philia of the Ganesha Familia, so I have no idea how omnipotent "beast tamer" is.

But... I never expected that the tamed monster could perform such correct actions!

Although I only heard Miss Eina teach me, I know that "taming" a monster does not mean "making it obey" but rather "making it unable to resist".

Making monsters understand the power relationship between themselves and their tamers is, in other words, the technique of subjugation.

The best evidence is that tamed monsters still attack people other than their tamers, and it is said that it is very difficult to make them remember complex commands.

However, the man manipulated the monster as if it were his own limbs.

"Miss Ryu... is that person such a skilled beast tamer?"

"No... his skills are indeed quite good, but at least he wasn't as good as the beast tamers of the Ganesha Familia before. That's what I knew of Jarrow Harma five years ago."

Miss Ryu, who has a long-standing feud with the opposing faction and is a sworn enemy of both sides, probably never imagined that men could control monsters better than the Ganesha Familia, and seemed unable to hide her surprise.

The male animal trainer tenderly stroked the snake's slippery skin for us to see.

"Ugh, damn it... Even knowing there are ways to handle this... I'm still so scared! Leon! You damned [Gale]!"

The man, without hiding his trembling voice, said this loudly.

"Look at my trembling hands! They're shaking like this!! You, who once killed me, scared me half to death!"

That's when I discovered it.

The stiff smile the man had been wearing since then was one he had forced out.

"I still remember, Leon! No, I can't forget, it's impossible for me to forget!"

"..."

"The image of you wreaking havoc in a sea of ​​blood at the attacked headquarters is still etched in my mind, haunting me! I still dream about it every single day! To this day, I haven't had a single good night's sleep! Can you believe it!? For the past five years, it hasn't been!!"

"...!?"

"Back then, amidst the piles of my comrades' corpses, I was half-conscious and desperately holding my breath! Listening to your monstrous roars, until the moment you used 'magic' to blow up the entire headquarters! ... I couldn't believe I was still alive."

Watching the man vent his emotions, Miss Liu remained silent, while I felt utterly embarrassed.

The man's wide, sunken eyes revealed a glimpse of his morbid emotions. Not only his right arm, but even his left arm was overreacting to the presence of the [Gale], spasming uncontrollably.

I finally understand.

When the man deceived me or Mr. Perth through his "self-directed and self-acted" and "sabotage tactics," his fearful attitude was never an act. The reason I didn't doubt his fear was because it was "real."

For him, Miss Ryu was a symbol of psychological trauma.

He was more afraid than anyone of [Gale], who had cut off his arm, severed his ear, and pushed him to the brink of death.

"I wet my pants the moment I confront you, it's unacceptable—so! Instead of me being unable to fight properly, I'll let a monster fight you! I'll use my most precious servants (pets), who are stronger and more outrageous than me, to deal with you!"

Unable to overcome their fear, the tamer trembled as he whipped the beast. "Lemton" attacked us again, baring its fangs.

The man's laughter echoed incessantly. Faced with a monster that obeyed his commands, we could only wage a defensive battle.

The monster is agile in both offense and defense, and its every move prioritizes protecting the tamer.

The ability to accomplish all this is probably not due to the animal tamer's talent.

Instead, it was the collar attached to the monster and the red whip—"magical tools."

*

"Take them down, 'Lambton'!"

With a flick of his whip, the werewolf Tucker used his voice as a trigger, and "The Great Serpent Well" charged straight at him.

Faced with this undeniable attack, Aisha had only one option: to dodge.

"Go into the passageway next door!"

Faced with the immense mass that was destroying the narrow passage they were in while closing in, Lily and the others escaped into a side passage at the last minute.

Slurp! The blue-white skin slid through the passage with a soft thud. The echoing sound that followed was perhaps the scream of a monster being crushed to death.

Coupled with their physical aversion, Chunji and the others all turned pale.

"Just being hit by something like that...!"

"The entire army is about to be wiped out!"

Seeing the enemy's assault even create cracks at the entrance to the passage, Welf and Sakura cried out.

"Lemton" quickly turned around and began to pursue the disorganized adventurers.

"We can't fight properly here! Let's run!"

At this location, engaging in combat with a colossal-sized enemy would be extremely disadvantageous. Having fought for a long time at the "Deep Layer," the expedition site of the [Ishtar Familia], the fierce woman decisively abandoned it and focused on escaping.

"Little one, find the 'field'!"

"'Fields'!? What does that mean!?"

"The dead end on the 25th floor! As long as there's no water flowing through there, there must be 'fields'! Take us there!"

Lily's face changed drastically as she yelled back, and Aisha ordered her to find the destination on the map.

With Ming Yuqiancao shooting arrows, Daphne launched short sword-shaped "magic swords," firing repeatedly before barely managing to slow down "Lymton." Meanwhile, the group sprinted at top speed.

"Hey, the enemy hasn't caught up! Wait, it's gone!?"

"No, Lord Welf...it's still here!"

"It's burrowed underground! From below—no, from the side!! Get out of the way!"

Welf turned around to look behind him and activated the [Yata no Kuroku (skill)] to warn him to be on high alert. Aisha noticed the tremor and shouted at the top of her lungs.

In less than a second, "Lemton" crashed through the wall on the side of the team and launched an attack.

"Roar!!"

"Aa ...

"This is completely unreasonable!"

"Are the 'Deep Layers' teeming with these monsters!?"

The group narrowly escaped the attack, amidst the sounds of Haruhime's screams, Daphne's despairing cries, and Sakura's trembling voice. The fox-girl was now a complete burden; Aisha told her to discard her backpack, hoisted her onto her right shoulder, and clicked her tongue as she glanced back at the pursuing monster.