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

To prevent the city's collapse, to eliminate the "armed monsters" roaming the surface—these are sacrifices made for the labyrinth city, a noble mission. At least, that's what Lefia, as an elf, believes; she thinks the Loki Familia is doing the right thing.

But why do I feel so uncomfortable?

It was all because they saw that scene, saw the young man stepping forward to protect the dragon girl.

In Lefia's eyes, it seemed like the "right" thing to do. Protecting a "monster," an act that should be condemned, seemed "not wrong."

That's how hard and dedicated the young man was.

(That human just wouldn't say anything! So of course I don't understand either!)

In short, that's where her anger comes from.

It was Bell Craney's refusal to tell her the truth that infuriated Rafia. Her thinking was completely detached from the other person's perspective, but it was also an extremely reasonable protest: "How am I supposed to know if you don't tell me?"

Therefore, Lefia abandoned those complicated methods and adopted the simplest approach.

"Rei... Refia?"

"Hey, where are you going?"

Seeing Lefia leave the room without a word, Elfie and Kos both asked her questions, but she didn't answer.

Lefia leaned forward and walked straight out without hesitation, heading directly towards the "Heathouse." From behind the building came the voice of a girl (Elfie) calling, "Wait!?", but she ignored it. As Lefia easily leaped over the tightly closed main gate and iron fence with her Lv.3 jumping ability, a young man (Coss) let out a scream of "Hey!?" that echoed all around, but she still ignored it.

Under the gloomy sky, Lefia strode across the mansion courtyard, climbed the steps, and rang the doorbell without any hesitation.

Clang, clang. No response, no one answers the door.

Clang, clang again. Nothing happens; it's playing dead.

Lefia remained expressionless and silent, and rang the doorbell even more intensely.

And when the clanging started to turn into a terrifyingly loud crash, the sound of someone moving around inside the door finally came through.

After Rafia stopped ringing the doorbell, the door slowly opened with a click.

"Excuse me, who are you...?"

A renarts girl, who looked obedient, docile, and pitiful, peeked out from the crack in the door.

She was dressed in a maid's outfit, and her long golden hair resembled Ais's. Although her features were different from those of an elf, she was still beautiful and captivating. It was unclear whether she was a maid employed by the Hestia Familia.

Most importantly, she seemed both fragile and tragically destined for a short life. Having such a beautiful young woman standing before you is like saying: You can't possibly be violent towards such a delicate girl, can you? So, it's better to let things slide and leave—

(—They actually sent out such a pitiful girl; it makes me feel guilty!)

That's despicable! Unforgivable, Bell Craney!

While inwardly condemning the boy who had been unjustly accused, Lefia spoke as calmly as possible:

"Please call Bell Craney out. I know he's inside."

"Uh, well... Lord Bell is currently unwell... If you need to speak to him, I can relay the message..."

Seeing Lefia skip the usual greetings and get straight to her request, the fox-girl responded somewhat nervously. Several furtive figures lurked behind her, clearly wary of the sudden visitor—how cunning!

Upon closer inspection, a particularly thick chain hung between the doors, preventing Lefia from entering. The timid fox-girl's face seemed to say, "Please go back..."

As expected, Lefia was not welcomed, and finally, she took a deep breath.

Then, she grabbed the slightly open door and forced her face inside.

"Bell Craney! Come out and explain everything to me!!"

"null!?"

The elf lost his mind and resorted to drastic measures.

The poor fox-man jumped in fright at her angry face.

A host of problems exceeded Lefia's tolerance limit, leading her to resort to force, which finally threw the Hestia Familia into a panic.

"Lady Haruhime!? You must run!!"

"I knew they'd just start attacking without warning! Lily was right!! That's why Lily said adventurers aren't trustworthy!! Pshaw!"

"Is this the time to say things like that?! Kick her out! Protect Belle!!"

The girl from the Far East, who had been observing the situation, panicked. The odd-tempered little people cursed loudly, and the goddess called out.

The Far Eastern girl suddenly reached out from the crack in the door and shoved Lefia away. Lefia staggered two steps, and the door slammed shut in front of her.

*Snap!* *Crack!*

"Huh!?"

The fox-girl shrank back inside and closed the door, locking it.

"How dare you do this?! Bell Craney, you despicable scoundrel! Come out here! Explain yourself properly!!"

"You guys have to stop Lefia!!!"

"What are you doing, Lefia!?"

Seeing her fellow members of the faction pounding on the door repeatedly, almost breaking it, the Loki Familia stepped forward to stop her. Lefia, held captive by Kos and Elfie, struggled and fought with surprising strength, her face flushed as she howled and screamed.

In the end, the entire surveillance team had to be mobilized to drag Rafia away.

The faction that was monitoring the Hestia Familia, outside of the Loki Familia, witnessed the entire incident and trembled, exclaiming, "The Loki Familia is terrifying..." and "The Thousand Spirit is no joke..."

Naturally, Rafia was subsequently kicked out of the surveillance group.

"Drink up! Aa ...

A loud, resounding crash accompanied by shouts erupted as a large hole appeared in the wall.

The stone slabs crumbled and fell, followed by fragments of ultra-hard metal (steel) that landed on the floor.

After squeezing through a narrow cave that could barely accommodate one person, Grace and Tiona stepped into the space.

"It seems I was right... it's an 'artificial maze'."

"Ouch, my hands hurt so much! Digging into such hard metal walls is so tiring!"

The Loki Familia, following the path taken by Daenerys Targaryen who appeared on the surface, discovered the secret passage of Daedalus Road and the "Door" made of the hardest metal (orientalite) leading to the man-made labyrinth.

Finn's orders were to excavate the super-hard metal walls to infiltrate the man-made labyrinth. This aggressive strategy was solely for obtaining clues about the "armed monster." The task of sabotaging the project was undertaken by Grace and Tiona, two of the most powerful and capable members of the faction.

The walls near the entrance to the artificial maze were thicker than those inside, designed to deter intruders. The two had expended a tremendous amount of time and effort, wearing out several "white diamond" tools, before finally managing to breach the interior. Tiona tossed aside her tattered pickaxe and glanced around.

"Wow, this is huge! ...This isn't the maze we've been wandering through before, it's a chamber. And we've climbed so many stairs since we came down here, could we be near the 'middle level'?"

"Hmm, that's very likely. And this space does resemble the 'Wall of Sighs' on the 17th floor."

To guard against an enemy counterattack, Raul and the Loki Familia's forces waited outside the labyrinth; Tiona turned to look behind her and Grace—at the entrance where they had been infiltrated.

According to Finn, who questioned the god Icarus, the master craftsman (Daedalus) who dreamed of building this artificial labyrinth was deeply influenced by the original dungeons. If this was designed with reference to that underground labyrinth, then Grace's sense of déjà vu would be explained.

"Waaaah... there's a corpse..."

"It seems they were killed by a monster... Although there's no emblem to identify them, judging from the events leading up to this, they were probably from the Icelos Familia..."

The two walked cautiously through the stone-built space that could be called a hall, and soon several corpses came into view. There were more than ten, each torn apart by claws or fangs, their eyes wide open as they died. Dried bloodstains were spread across the stone slabs covering the ground.

The stench made Tiona frown, but if this was the fate of villains, she felt there was perhaps no better way to describe it.

"The underground staircase leads straight here, so this place is probably a 'warehouse' for smuggling monsters. Or it could be a 'relay station' between the city and the underground city. Assuming they used this as a starting point and transported the monsters to the surface via multiple underground passages (routes)..."

In the vast, dimly lit space, seemingly confirming Grace's conjecture, there were "black cages" of varying sizes. Most of them were damaged, and the "chains" that had bound "something" were broken.

"...So, the captured monster got angry and rebelled...or something like that?"

"..."

"Hmm—so that means... those monsters we fought on Daedalus Road escaped by breaking through these cages?"

"Well, thinking about it this way is definitely the simplest way..."

Tiona bent down in front of the broken cage, staring intently at it, racking her brains with her not-so-bright mind. Grace, on the other hand, seemed to be considering other possibilities, her answer less decisive.

They split up to investigate the surrounding area, looking for any other intelligence.

Fortunately, there was no reaction from the enemy as we had anticipated.

At the same time, apart from Grace and the others, there was no one else alive.

"Grace—there really is a 'door' ahead, we can't go any further—although the walls can be broken down..."

"Let's leave it at that. Although this place seems to have been abandoned and no one cares about it,... we can't afford to provoke the enemy and cause trouble. Let's ask Finn what his next instructions are."

The hall itself has several "doors." Although several narrow passages extend from the doors, a "key" is still needed to proceed. Grace wants to investigate the surrounding area, but Tiona cannot pursue him relentlessly, so she entrusts Raul, who is waiting outside, to deliver a message to the surface.

He called the other members into the hall and asked them to move the corpses of the Ikeros Familia away.

"Ah, Mr. Grace... the commander has instructed us to retreat from here. Also, to prevent the enemy from releasing carnivorous plants, the commander wants you two to carefully seal up the broken opening..."

"...Finn makes it sound so easy."

"Huh!? We finally managed to break through! And how are we going to block it now!?"

Grace understood that Finn didn't want to bring more troublesome problems to the surface, but as someone entrusted with the on-site work, he couldn't help but complain about the time and effort that would be required again.

Tiona was in a similar state, letting out a wail.

"Give up, Diona. As a dwarf, you think you can just show him this little bit of civil engineering?"

"I'm not a dwarf! Ugh, Finn, do it yourself!"

As the Amazonian girl cried out in agony, Grace sighed and silently began the evacuation.

At the same time, he was worried about the little people, whose "position" was even more difficult than his and Tiona's, who were forced to do physical labor.

*

"While gathering intelligence, each team must be fully prepared for action. The 'Armed Monster' will definitely appear on Daedalus Road. Special attention should be paid to the secret passages."

It was the morning of four days after the "Armed Monster" appeared.

Finn summoned almost all members of his Familia to Daedalus Road.

The location was on the outer edge of the maze street, and it was also the main road where they lost track of the "black bull".

In this corner where many buildings have collapsed, burned, and turned into ruins, guild staff engaged in repair work and members of the Loki Familia, who are busy running around, are all mixed together.

Not only in this location, but also throughout Daedalus Road, adventurers other than the Loki Familia were roaming around. Everyone cautiously kept their eyes peeled for anything and stopped residents to ask questions.

"Other adventurers seem to be noticing something strange about Daedalus Road as well..."

"Or perhaps it's an instruction from the gods."

Rivera walked over and spoke.

Finn answered without looking at her.

"Is it okay to just leave it unattended?"

"It's alright. Anyway, they probably haven't discovered the existence of the man-made maze, so it's fine to just ignore it."

"...What about the residents' refuge? The fact that adventurers (we) have gathered here is making more and more people uneasy, isn't it?"

"If my prediction is correct, this place will become a 'battlefield' again. Let the evacuation staff handle the evacuation; we need to continue preparing to resolve the incident, otherwise the efficiency will be too low."

"..."

Despite his insightful observations, Finn's response was so cold that it silenced Riveria.

The Loki Familia's pretext for deploying their forces is to rebuild the war-torn labyrinth town and prepare for its defense.

In reality, it was to seize the "Daedalus Orb," which the "Armed Monster" was most likely to possess.

"After being spotted on the 18th floor, the 'Armed Monster' suddenly appeared on Daedalus Road. Without a doubt, it must have taken the path of the man-made labyrinth. Now that the [Icelos Familia] has collapsed, their 'key' must be in the hands of those monsters. I must get my hands on it."

The "key" indispensable for navigating man-made mazes.

Finn was willing to use any means necessary to get it.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that had fallen from the sky, and he wasn't so kind as to let it slip away.

Finn, under the guise of preventing the collapse of the city (Oario), mobilized and deployed the manpower of his team members.

"Captain, there have been multiple reports of monster sightings in the city's underground sewers, from north to northwest! It seems all the adventurers who witnessed them were repelled... What should we do?"

"That's 'bait.' They're waiting for us to be lured from the southwest district (Daedalus Road) to the other side of the diagonal... Don't worry about it. Alicia, where's the 'door'?"

"Yes! We're still investigating deeper into the secret passage where the Dragon Girl appeared! We just found the third 'door'!"

"Please continue your investigation. I don't think they'd be foolish enough to open a 'door' and launch an attack, but if a battle breaks out with the dark faction, you should prioritize obtaining the 'key'. Lakta, I want you to quickly draw a map of the secret passage, using the newly found 'door' as the center."