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

Facing the distraught and dejected boy whose left gauntlet had been shattered, the Destroyer relentlessly pressed his advantage.

It raised its "broken claw" and swung it down.

Just like that, the boy's armor burst open.

With one arm missing, Bell was unsteady on his feet and barely managed to avoid the direct attack. As he watched the countless silver fragments scatter in his field of vision, a wave of despair washed over him.

Shoulder pads, waist supports, knee pads, and chest protectors.

They were all crushed into fine powder.

Even the leg pack on her left leg flew off, spilling its contents all over the floor.

Whether from excruciating pain or fear, Bell grasped a crucial point amidst his blurred vision filled with blood and tears.

The reason why "durability" is extremely low is because it is unnecessary.

His terrifying arm strength, his "Broken Claw" that can shatter everything, and his overwhelming annihilation power that no one can imitate.

When faced with prey that can be slaughtered in an instant, what need is there for defense?

The specially enhanced attack power is solely for the purpose of annihilating the enemy.

The "monster" before us is the embodiment of destruction and slaughter.

It is the "Exterminate the Apostles" that liberates the underground city.

Bell danced a wobbly, unsteady dance like a puppet with its strings cut. The boy, who had miraculously survived, was being corrupted by a deep, dark shadow.

Bell heard the voice of defeat within him.

It was a deeper, more profound, and more disheartened sound than when he was defeated by that one-horned bull (the Minotaur).

When faced with a prey in a contorted position, "Zagnat" ruthlessly sweeps its tail.

A crystallized weapon that shattered everything.

The blow landed on Bale's neck.

"────────"

A part that shouldn't be making a sound is emitting a cracking sound.

—Death.

Bell heard the sound of the end.

The boy's consciousness was cut off at that point.

*

The boy, who was swept away, flew far away like an arrow.

Blood splattered everywhere from the severed arm, and the boy's body rolled several times on the ground before finally coming to rest at the boundary between land and water.

And so it remained motionless.

"...Mr. Crannie..."

Standing frozen in place, Liu could only manage to murmur this sentence.

Time passed slowly.

The unreal scene became flat.

Even the flow of water seemed to have stopped.

The adventurer's screams and his own heartbeat seemed distant.

Only the boy's pitiful appearance, lying face up on the ground, stood out vividly.

"—Bell!?"

Immediately afterwards, Ryu let out a scream like tearing silk and rushed over.

She tore off the chains binding her psychological trauma, rushed forward, and almost collapsed beside the boy.

"...!?"

The moment Ryuichi knelt beside him, she was speechless.

Not only was his right arm severed and torn off, but his entire body, now stripped of its armor, was covered in numerous lacerations, fractures, and bruises. Blood was also gushing from his mouth. His eyes, hidden by his bangs, revealed no trace of consciousness. One could even say it was strange that he hadn't been decapitated after being struck on the neck by that tail.

The fatality of that blow made the word "death" flash through Ryu's mind.

Ryu's face was deathly pale as she placed her trembling fingers on the boy's neck.

"...! Still alive...!?"

Ryu was greatly surprised to hear a faint, in fact extremely faint, breath.

Despite being swept away by such a powerful attack, the Goliath Scarf remained unscathed. The Giant Scarf, renowned for its impenetrable defense, blocked the fatal blow and saved the wearer's life.

However, although it deflected the attack, the impact force alone could not negate it. The severe damage caused the boy to have the illusion of death. Part of his cervical spine was likely fractured.

Stop the bleeding from this arm—no, treat the neck first!

As Liu shed several spurts of sweat, he chanted the incantation.

"【The song of the forest that has now faded away. A melody of life in remembrance】──!"

The elixirs I had on hand had been used up during the battle to conquer the artificial maze and the pursuit of Jāra's accomplices.

Even the chanting time felt like an eternity, so Ryu activated the only usable "healing magic".

"[Noah's Healing]!"

The warm, sunlight-like rays shone through the leaves, embracing Bell's neck.

This all-powerful "magic" can heal wounds or broken parts and restore physical strength. However, its drawback is that it doesn't work immediately like a elixir, and it takes time for the injury to heal completely.

While receiving treatment, Ryu tore her cloak with her teeth and one hand to stop the bleeding from her right hand.

She cursed herself for being too embarrassed to move earlier, while continuing to treat the boy as if atoning for her sins.

"Eee ...

"!"

Having dealt with its priority target (Bell), "Zagnat" resumed its attacks on the remaining adventurers.

It didn't target Ryu or Jaluo, but instead attacked Perth and the others, simply because they outnumbered it.

The killing storm has returned to the forefront.

"Help, help me—!?"

The cry for help sent a shiver down Ryu's spine.

"I have to go save people... No, but if I leave now, Mr. Crannie will—"

Ryu's frustration was ultimately meaningless.

Because in the briefest of moments, even hesitation seemed too short, the monster had already ended its killing spree.

Perth and a few others fled in the opposite direction; the other adventurers had all become gruesome corpses. The orc brothers and Amazon warriors that Bell had tried to protect were no exception.

Ryūren had no choice at all.

"—Ughh ...

The instant the light of recovery stopped, Ryu roared and charged out.

Driven by a violent impulse, she charged forward, stabbing the wooden sword into the blue-purple behemoth that had its back to her.

"──"

"Zagnat" reacted swiftly to this.

It unleashed the power stored in the reverse-joint leg, temporarily escaping Ryu's view.

It was affixed to the crystal pillar, making its crimson eyes glow, as if to say, "Are you next?"

Less than a second later, it attacked.

“Wu!?”

Faced with the "Broken Claw" that tore through space along with it, Ryu dodged by bracing herself with her hands on the ground and lowering her body.

When the hem of her long cloak was ripped open, Ryu shook off her anxiety and pounced on the monster that had landed successfully like a wild beast.

Even though her attack was blocked by a flash of its tail, Ryu stubbornly continued to attack the monster's embrace, getting closer to the enemy's body that evoked a sense of physiological disgust.

Ryu delivered a blow with his wooden sword from within the enemy's slender arms, which were out of reach of his own.

"!"

"~ ...

The unconventional monster leaped left and right in large crisscrossing leaps while simultaneously launching counterattacks, easily jumping behind her and leaving Ryu with no choice but to defend herself.

This is why Ryu is so determined to drive Bell away.

This was so that if "Zagnat" were to be born, Bell would not become a target.

If it were the usual Ryu, she would never have such negative thoughts.

This can also be seen as another aspect of the fear instilled in her.

She was stripped of everything; that "tragedy" five years ago was how she was tormented.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

The scene, now tinged with gray, flashed before my eyes.

A companion who collapsed to the ground, unable to continue.

Leave behind weapons and friends torn to pieces.

A comrade screaming as he was chewed up.

The back of a close friend pierced by a "broken claw".

All the images were burning in Ryu's mind, awakening fear and attempting to crush her fighting spirit.

So she yelled.

To mask their fear, to erase the past, they let out a roar that invigorates their entire being.

When this roar, this passion, dries up, Ryu will no longer be able to fight.

Faced with an overwhelming presence, she would feel defeated, hug herself tightly, and turn into a weak girl who sobs like a child.

Because Ryu understood this, he swung his wooden sword and roared even more.

"--Haa."

In contrast, "Zagnat" is...

It exhaled a short, sigh-like breath, causing the "broken claw" of one of its arms to flash past.

That's all it took for Ryu's wooden sword to be knocked away.

"──────"

The second-tier weapon "Elven Radiance," made from branches of the Great Sage's tree, shattered and scattered.

It met the same fate as Bell's armor, bidding farewell to Ryu.

"Zagnat" used its cold-blooded and ruthless brute force to "destroy the weapon." "Broken Claw" shattered the finger bones holding the wooden sword hilt with just the impact force, and Ryu was sent flying, his back slamming hard against the crystal floor.

Crack! The air in my lungs was forcibly ripped out of my body.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!? Now's the time, guys!? Charge! Aa ...

Just then, Perth shouted from a distance.

The other adventurers realized that running away was futile, so they took action by chanting while Ryu bought them time. In other words, they launched a simultaneous bombardment.

Perth himself also equipped himself with the "Demon Sword," and while in a state of panic, he and the others unleashed "magic."

"Stop it!?"

While struggling to breathe, Ryu let out a roar that could not be heard.

Her efforts were in vain; the "Zagnat" made its massive body—its "shell"—glow.

The simultaneous barrage, whose power was incomparable to a single-shot quick-attack spell (fire and lightning), was like a replay of the scene from his childhood, and was "reflected".