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

"──────"

At the same time, the shelling bounced back intact, hitting Perth and his men directly.

This is the armor shell's "magic reflection".

It is the only shield possessed by the "Zagnat" that is specially enhanced in terms of annihilation power but sacrifices durability.

Even with spells that were always accurate and had "auto-tracking" capabilities, they couldn't hit the monster.

Thanks to the magic-resistant defenses that could never be breached by artillery fire, the adventurers' last hope—"magic"—was extinguished. This despair could break anyone's spirit, just as it had with the Astrea Familia in the past.

Perth was lucky to escape being hit directly, and he fell to the ground with a thud, staring blankly at his companion's charred remains.

His eyeband was blown off, revealing his missing left eye. But he had no energy left to care about such a thing.

Because the monster with menacing eyes was already close at hand.

"Stop, stop it!!"

Perth burst into tears and screams.

He stretched out his arms straight up, unable to stand up, and even lost control of his bladder.

Even for a second-tier adventurer like him, that monster was still too powerful.

Soon, "Broken Claw" swung over.

“—Ah.”

The claws traced sharp, intense arcs, drawing a straight trajectory from the top of the head.

There's no need to even look at the revolving lantern of life anymore.

The man's brain heard the sound of his body separating into two parts.

There were also sounds of skulls being crushed, skin being torn apart, and objects shattering.

Perth died just like that.

"Get up!"

“──!?”

The "illusion" vanished at that moment.

After recovering from the hallucinations that had driven him mad with fear, Perth in reality was still alive, and an elf was fighting in his place.

Before "Claw Breaker" could hit Perth, she struck the enemy's forearm to stop the attack, and desperately fought back with her two katana.

The elf's silhouette still protects Perth to this day.

"Run!"

“You, you are…”

Looking at the woman's profile, now that her hood and mask were removed, Perth was speechless.

Because her silhouette was exactly the same as the brave elf that Perth saw on the 18th floor.

The silhouette is the same as that of the adventurer who single-handedly confronted the terrifying black giant.

Immediately afterwards, the monster's "broken claws" shot upwards at an alarming speed.

Liu reacted at the last second, leaning her upper body back, but the claw still grazed her and tore her shoulder.

The elf's slender body spewed out large amounts of blood like a geyser.

Just as the warm body fluid splashed onto Perth's face, Ryu, whose body went limp and who almost collapsed, clenched her teeth.

"Hurry up!!"

"Eek, eek ...

Perth fled in a panic.

To protect the back of the figure whose legs were repeatedly tangled and unable to run far, Ryu, covered in blood, endured the ravages of "Zagnat".

"!!"

“Ugh!?”

Its long, thick tail slammed into my leg.

Since it is not a "broken claw", although its power is much weaker, the hard tail covered with a black and blue-purple shell is already synonymous with a club.

His right leg, which was covered by a long boot, was broken.

A crisp cracking sound rang out from his shinbone as Liu was swept away.

"Ah! ~~ ...

Ryu let out a muffled groan of anguish, one hand resting on his bent foot.

The excruciating pain nearly made her lose consciousness, but even that wasn't allowed.

With a loud "thump!", she heard the terrifying footsteps of a massive body advancing.

"...!"

With a shard of crystal stuck to her left cheek, Ryu raised her trembling face.

Apart from Liu, who was struggling in agony like a bird with broken wings, there was no other moving figure in the enormous cavern. Even Jaluo was gone. She didn't know if he had escaped; she had lost track of the situation.

Destruction is imminent.

A monster symbolizing despair has arrived.

Faced with the "Zagnat" landing right in front of him, the wounded Ryu was unable to put up any resistance.

(Unable to stop my enemy (Jaruo)'s schemes, and having revealed my ugly side, I'll just have to do it here...)

Very unwilling.

I was so frustrated that I wanted to scream and cry my heart out.

Thinking about how her mistakes had once again brought about a "tragedy," Ryu was so resentful that she wished she could curse herself to death.

Besides, she hasn't told Xier and the others anything yet.

He has yet to repay their kindness in giving him a place to call home.

To repay them, I cannot stay here...

...Ah, but...

(Now, I can finally go to my confidantes (Alicie) and the others...)

Finally, I was able to reach my companions.

Finally, I was able to apologize.

Finally, they were able to vent their resentment towards him.

(Finally, I can escape the sin of killing them...)

I can finally be free from the guilt that has been buried deep in my heart.

That was a kind of salvation for Ryu.

It is a ritual that can bury one's own cowardly existence.

A knowing smile appeared on his lips.

Tears welled up in her sky-blue eyes.

The scales of the heart are about to tip from the attachment to life toward the peace of death.

at this time……

“Eh…”

Ryu saw that.

*

A piercing scream suddenly rang out.

That was the tragic song of adventurers before their deaths.

The calls echoed back and forth.

That was the spirit's fighting, wounded, and unyielding will to resist fear.

Hearing the sounds of the battlefield echoing all around, the boy's fingers trembled slightly.

An exceptionally strong tremor etched cracks into the crystal floor, causing it to crumble and throwing the boy's body, which lay at the boundary between land and water, into the water.

In the underwater world where the sounds have faded away, red mist spreads outward from the severed arm and falls into the deep, cold water.

"—Bell!"

A tearful voice came from beside the slowly descending boy.

The mermaid, her turquoise hair flowing, reached out her hand to him, who looked so miserable.

What the boy held in his arms was his right arm (his clone), which still held the dagger. The girl bit her own wrist.

He pressed his right arm against the wound, sucking the girl's "blood".

The boy's body sprayed healing bubbles, and he regained his lost right arm (his clone).

"Bell... Bell!"

The girl burst into tears.

She placed her hand on the boy's tightly closed cheek, repeatedly cutting her own body with his dagger, and held his sinking body tightly in her arms.

Blood flowed from the girl's wounds, which had come into contact with each other, into the boy's wounds and dissolved into his body.

Enveloped in a red mist of mingled blood, the boy's previously battered body gradually began to heal.

"You must survive." The monster girl murmured repeatedly.

He opened his eyes. Marie pressed her lips to his ear again and again.

The boy responded.

"!!"

He clenched his fists, widened his eyes, and exhaled countless bubbles.

The jet-black dagger emitted a resurrected light.

Their foreheads touched, and they gazed into each other's tearful eyes.

Thank you.

The boy expressed his gratitude to the girl.

—I'm sorry.

The boy apologized to the girl.

—I absolutely have to go.

The boy demonstrated his will to the girl.

The boy the mermaid loved was not the prince from the wrecked ship.

Instead, it refers to "adventurers".

For the sake of the spirits (comrades) who are still fighting, he revitalized their hearts, which had been eroded by despair, and rekindled the flames of resurgence.

Ma Li burst into tears, wanting to reach out and stop him, but she had given up on the idea.

Because the boy was very stubborn.

Because the boy is an "adventurer".

Because Marie would do the same for her favorite "heretics (family)".

So, instead of taking his place, she hugged the boy once more.

Then gently release him and send him on his way.

The boy left the mermaid's embrace, kicked and swam, and floated to the surface in one breath.

"It's a promise—"