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

It was as if it had pried open a uterus itself; the crack gradually widened, spraying crystal shards as it went.

At last.

What gleamed deep within the crack was a blood-red light.

[Despair] I was born.

Volume Thirteen, Chapter Five: Calamity Descends

"Perth, this is bad!"

"I've never heard a dungeon make such a sound before! Let's get off this floor quickly!?"

The adventurers, who had been dispersed by the [Gale], were originally chasing after her and Bell, moving as a group.

The reason they did this was because seeing the legendary bounty target appear invigorated them, and they were determined to take her down personally. They believed that although they had failed in their previous surprise attack, their superior numbers would surely allow them to defeat her.

However, the situation has changed.

Countless "explosions" occurred on the 25th floor, and even more terrifying were the screams that had been echoing throughout the dungeon since earlier. The intense, high-frequency screams made it impossible not to cover one's ears, and everyone interpreted this as an "abnormal phenomenon."

The advanced adventurers were certain that something extraordinary was about to happen, and they unanimously demanded that the town leader lead everyone to escape from this floor.

"Did you hear that, Perth, Perth!?"

"……Wait a moment."

"what?"

The adventurers, who had been speaking urgently, stopped when they saw the hand stretched straight out in front of them.

The burly man, wearing an eye patch, released his hand from his ear and whispered:

"The sound has stopped..."

The mermaid hugged herself tightly in the water.

(No... I hate that sound...!)

In a place where the water is so deep that the bottom cannot be seen, shrouded in a dark, azure gloom.

Marie sank in the water, desperately trying to get away from the "crying" coming from her mother (the dungeon) and hide. She curled up like a fetus, desperately pressing her hands against the pair of fins that served as her ears.

(How scary, how scary, how scary...!)

Marie knew about this "crying sound".

This has only happened once before.

Yes, she remembered it was five years ago.

Marie had heard her mother's "weeping" from a deeper floor.

That was ultimately irrelevant to Marie, who was unable to escape the "Water City of Mystery." Even so, she was still terrified.

At that time, something "bad" was also born. Although Marie knew nothing about it, she understood what it was and was unfortunately able to comprehend it.

Marie covered her ears and closed her eyes.

She wanted to separate herself from the terrifying reality and lock herself in the deep water.

However, what returned to the inner corner of her eyelids were the figures of her friends and family—the "heretics".

And the silhouette of the boy she had recently met in this underground city.

Here are teenagers who are just as important as family, and who have become just as important.

That boy has also become one of Marie's most precious treasures.

(Bell...!)

She chased away her fear and forced her eyelids open.

The mermaid girl let her shed tears dissolve in the water, then slapped the water with her tail fin and floated to the surface illuminated by the light.

"That was close..."

Lily ignored the sweat trickling down her chin and murmured to herself.

Before me lay a collapsed crystal floor. Far below, a torrent of water flowed.

The continuous "explosions" caused a collapse in the 25th floor of the maze, and Lily and her team narrowly escaped death as all the roads collapsed.

I don't know how serious the disaster is, but it's huge. After all, they don't have the spare energy to deal with the monsters, and neither do their opponents (the monsters).

The water park has now been transformed into a city ravaged by catastrophe, with some roads (routes) becoming virtually impassable.

Lily was worried that she might not be able to return to the passageway on the 24th floor until the dungeon was repaired.

"Although the 'explosion' that happened here is also quite concerning...!"

"But that terrifyingly sharp sound just now... did it come from the 27th floor!?"

"If it's an 'abnormal situation,' how are Lord Bell and the others!?"

Aisha, Welf, and Ming, among others, were also thrown into chaos.

"Cassandra! Cassandra!? Cheer up, you hear me!?"

"Lady Cassandra!?"

However, the one with the most severe mental disorder was probably the girl.

Daphne knelt down and shook Cassandra's shoulders desperately, while Chunji also called out to her, but Cassandra had already collapsed to the ground.

Her legs gave way, she clutched her head with her hands, and her face turned deathly pale. Her utter lack of color was horrifying; it was astonishing that a person could be so utterly despondent.

This is very unusual.

Lily couldn't understand what had happened.

Sakura and the others, who were holding their breath in tension, must have felt the same way.

Just as the chaotic state of mind began to dull my thinking...

Lily heard that.

"...Run...run away quickly..."

I heard that repeated wail fall from the girl's lips.

"Run! Run!!"

*

It played a high-pitched sound that shattered the crystal wall.

"That thing" quietly emerged from the crack.

The thing emerged from the large, hollow wall, fell downwards, and splashed a lot of water as it landed in the waterfall pool.

The cry upon falling to the ground was a warm breath.

It let the awe-inspiring roar of the giant waterfall pound against its skin, its silhouette blurred by the white mist.

Without shouting or barking, it wriggled its long tail and used its two legs to create ripples on the water's surface.

Amidst this, the blood-red light spot residing deep within the eye socket flickered briefly.

At the edge of a vast waterfall pool, as large as a lake, it bends its joints, making its knees creak.

The next instant, the thing disappeared.

It caused the water to erupt violently, invading the labyrinthine area of ​​the building.

"Hey, is it okay if we don't meet up with Perth and the others?"

"You bastard! Your own life is more important!"

That was a team of adventurers.

It was a small team that got separated on the 27th floor and failed to rejoin Perth's main group. The four-person team, consisting of humans and orcs, was hurrying back the way they came because they were terrified by the "strange phenomena" in the dungeon.

This was a perfectly natural conclusion for thugs who made a living by exploring mazes, so they acted quite swiftly.

however……

"...? What is that sound...?"

--Gagagagagagagagaga!

An unusual sound came from behind.

The continuous sound, almost like something hopping, made the adventurers stop and look back.

The sound was rapidly approaching.

A shadow flickered deep within the passage.

"what?"

"I need something—"

Snapped!

A crisp sound rang out, and the adventurers' heads exploded, unable to finish their last words.

After facing their death, they didn't even know what had happened to them.

And so it turned into a silent mass of flesh, splattering blood like a fountain, its knees kneeling on the ground.

Four people in total.

All died.

Ignoring the blood dripping from its claws, "that thing" trampled the adventurers' remains.

It casts a huge shadow in the maze while turning its body around.

Off to find the next batch of prey.

"Wa ...

A piercing scream suddenly rang out.

That was the cry of a spearman with tears streaming down his face.

The sudden attack of "that thing" ravaged the team.

First, the elven mage was murdered. A haughty, arrogant woman who insisted on purging her shameful brethren, the "Swiftwind," a woman everyone disliked—though not entirely honest, she inexplicably showed compassion for others, making her a decent woman in some way—became a victim of "Claws." Her upper and lower body were severed, her internal organs scattered everywhere, and crimson blood dripped from her empty eyes. The proud and unyielding elf could not tolerate such a gruesome death. So the man lost his mind and thrust his spear forward. But there was nothing before him; his vision was plunged into darkness. His head had been shattered.

As he fell, his hand touched her face, which was streaked with blood and tears.

"What the heck is this?! I've never heard of this before... What the hell are you?!"

The fifth person had been left behind, and the half-elf man, now alone, swung the "demon sword" to its hilt.

Explosion, fire.

When the black smoke dissipated, "that thing" had already vanished without a trace, and the sixth burned corpse lay in the passage.

The black shadows darted and leaped, causing the sound to spread.

It was a cacophony of shouts that filled the entire maze.

A painful wail adorned with blood flowers.

"Gahh ...

The number of corpses increased at an unbelievable rate, accelerating rapidly.

"That thing" could cruelly and precisely pinpoint the adventurers' locations, taking their lives one by one.

Its waving "claws" crush everything in their path, its fangs chew up flesh and armor along with its jaws, and its sweeping tail makes adventurers spit out blood.

On the 27th floor, more than fifty high-level adventurers were helpless and were brutally murdered.

"No!!!!"

Everyone who saw "that thing" cried out loudly.

"How can something so big—!?"

Everyone who saw "that thing" was terrified.

"Everyone... Ha, haha ​​...

Those who saw "that thing" went mad and were swallowed up.