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

The young man, however, abandoned the name of "hero" and chose the path of "fool".

Finn couldn't do it.

Finn couldn't bring himself to fight for "fame," which is probably the most boring thing in the world.

Therefore, Bell Craney's behavior is admirable.

Therefore, that boy was dazzling.

He was so dazzling that Finn couldn't help but wish he could be like him.

"...It's surprising that I have such a desire to destroy myself."

"Finn?"

Hearing Finn's muttered words, Riveria turned her head, but he smiled and said, "It's nothing."

Finn looked down at his palm and made a self-deprecating joke.

My right thumb was throbbing more intensely than ever before.

This kind of thinking is dangerous; it will kill Finn. The thumb seemed to be saying just that.

—I understand.

He murmured to himself deep within his heart.

He couldn't choose another path in the first place.

From the day he decided to become a race of "light," he was already prepared to embrace both the pure and the impure.

That's the kind of goal Finn was pursuing.

He is a "manufactured hero," a "treacherous villain," and a "hero of the masses."

Perhaps Finn is actually quite insignificant.

He used everything, and sacrificed everything. That bright-eyed boy from his own clan would probably be greatly disappointed if he knew Finn was this kind of person.

but……

"I will overcome this."

This is the path Finn chose.

Long ago, when he was a boy like Bell Crane, he chose the "Adventure of the Little People".

There was no longer any confusion in Finn's eyes.

The throbbing pain has completely disappeared.

He stood up, looked up, and told Riveria and Grace:

"I need to call a battle meeting. Please have everyone assemble."

*

"Let Bell Crane attract the attention of the Loki Familia—that's what they must be thinking."

In a corner of the labyrinthine street lies the stronghold of the Loki Familia.

The sky had completely darkened, and night had fallen.

Almost all members of the Youth League, including cadres, gathered together for a meeting.

"The armed monsters will likely use Bell Crane to create a diversion and take the opportunity to invade the 'artificial labyrinth.' Therefore, we need to lay traps elsewhere, and even pretend to fall into their trap. What we really need to watch out for is the direction exactly opposite to Bell Crane."

The lit magic stone lamps illuminated the faces of the group members like campfires.

Upon hearing Finn's announcement of future plans, the group members erupted in astonishment.

"Hey, Finn, is that brat really in cahoots with those bastards?"

"You seem very unhappy, Bert."

"Stop arguing!!"

"At least Bell Craney was used. Whether he did it willingly or was deceived is unknown."

Bert, with a sour face, finished asking the question and yelled back at Rivera, who had seen through his thoughts. Even though Finn had carefully chosen his words, the werewolf, who had been paying attention to the boy's movements, still seemed unable to accept it.

The group members reacted differently to Bell Craney, who had grasped the "key" to the incident. Some frowned as if they had something to say, while others, like Tiona, wore expressions of mixed feelings.

"........."

"What's wrong with Reifia? She seems really scary..."

"How would I know?"

Another elf emitted an unusually angry miasma for some other reason. Even Raul was frightened by her, and Anaquiti, who was being whispered in his ear, shrank her shoulders. Ever since being kicked out of the Hestia Familia's surveillance mission, the girl had been like this. Even the other members of the group kept their distance from her, leaving a large space between them.

"In any case, Bell Craney will not be on our side this time... Please recognize this."

Finn gave a special reminder—especially to Ais, who was still preoccupied—to remind everyone to be careful.

"Hmm, I'm not too sure, but just make sure we don't get distracted by Argonaut, okay?"

"Yes, of course we can't just leave him alone, so we'll still send people to monitor him, just like we're sending Koss and his team to keep watch now."

"How about we just arrest him first, Commander? Before he causes any trouble, let's forcibly take him down."

"Hmm—even though everyone sees Bell Crane as a bad guy right now, arresting someone without clear evidence might turn the blame onto us. The guild is already keeping a close eye on us, and offending the goddess Hephaestus, who has a close relationship with the Hestia Familia, could have dire consequences."

After Finn answered the Amazon sisters' questions, Tiony then asked:

"Commander, there's one more question. I already know that the armed monsters possess high intelligence, but are they really that smart? Could they even devise this kind of combat strategy…?"

"Because there's a 'leader' behind these armed monsters. Right, Grace?"

"Hmm, when we were fighting in the labyrinth street (here), that person was also looking down at the battle from the rooftop of a building. It's just that the other person was wearing a black robe, so it was impossible to tell whether they were human or monster... Well, it shouldn't be a problem to just assume they were a tamer."

Finn concealed the fact that the "Armed Monster" was a "rational being".

While keeping his team members from getting into chaos, he also made sure they understood that the enemy would employ sophisticated tactics.

Grace and Finn exchanged a glance, having already discussed the matter beforehand, and persuaded Tiony and the others.

"The thing we must be most careful of is that black bull (Minotaur)... That monster has an extremely strong ability to break through enemy lines, so we must not be careless even if it is seriously injured."

When Finn changed the subject and mentioned this name, the atmosphere in the room changed.

Bert and Tione both glared angrily, and even Ais tensed up.

"If Tione hadn't gone berserk back then, we would have defeated him long ago~"

"What did you say?!"

"The 'skills' aren't anything special; as long as you burrow into my arms, I can handle anything. The problem is... that thing's abilities (strength) are far too outstanding compared to any monster I've killed so far."

"It's really unusual that they can withstand that much damage. No matter how Tione and the others attacked them, it was like they were only slightly hurt. It wasn't until they directly faced Ais's 'wind' that they finally started to back down."

"If that monster is a 'subspecies' of the Deep Species (Black Rhinoceros), and the Black Rhinoceros's hide is already tough, if it's further strengthened, it'll be incredibly difficult to deal with. In my opinion, when fighting it, we can't treat it like an ordinary monster anymore; we should treat it like a 'floor master.' As long as we deal with it correctly, just like Tiona said, we can win."

After Tiona, Tione, Bert, Riveria, and Grace each gave their speeches, Ais, who hadn't spoken until now, moved her lips:

"However... that monster... will get stronger again."

None of the Loki Familia's officers denied her statement.

This is the common opinion among first-level adventurers.

They all believed that the pitch-black monster was, unbelievably, still growing.

The members of the group, including Raul, Lefia, and Navi, who had been ravaged by that monster, all gasped in horror.

"Only that black bull (Minotaur) must be dealt with. If its strength from last time was still in its growth stage, it's too dangerous. It could become a threat one day."

Even though Finn now has a complete picture of the events, he still considers this one of the "abnormal situations."

Unlike other "armed monsters," it lacked any sense of reason, acting more like a destructive symbol yearning for struggle and the annihilation of everything. If monsters possessed "reason," Finn could predict their actions, but the direction of the "black bull's" movements remained completely unpredictable.

They must be annihilated. Finn made it clear that the powerful "abnormality" must be eliminated.

"From the 18th floor to the surface... judging from the armed monsters' route, the enemy must possess the 'key'. We must defend every entrance to the 'artificial maze' we discover."

The leader of the little people raised his head and gave orders.

"I will deploy all the members on 'Daedalus Road' and set a trap."

The team members nodded firmly and resolutely, accepting the task.

Finn paused briefly at this point.

Then, his tone completely changed.

"Up to this point, it's just 'surface warfare'."

Before anyone could react, he told them:

"The real operation is to use 'armed monsters' as bait to lure out the remnants of the dark faction from the man-made labyrinth."

"!!"

Upon being informed of this information, not only the lower-ranking members but also executives like Ais were shocked.

"The 'armed monster' possesses the 'key'... This is a fact that even the remnants of the dark faction, who remain entrenched in the artificial labyrinth, cannot ignore. Because once we defeat the monster, the 'key' will be handed over to us for free, so they cannot choose to stand idly by."

When Raul and the others heard his explanation, they were all taken aback.

They anticipated that Daedalus Road would become a battlefield. There, monsters, along with the Hestia Familia protecting them, and even remnants of the dark faction would join the fight.

It's not just a three-way battle; it's practically a four-way free-for-all.

No, it depends on the situation; it could easily become five or six.

This possibility made Lefia and the others' throats tremble.

Only Riveria and Grace, who had shared the battle plan beforehand, and Anachidi or Alicia, who were even smarter than the executives (Ais and others), were not alarmed.

However, although the latter had foreseen the movements of the remnants of the Dark Faction, he never expected Finn to devise such a battle plan, which gave him a fright.

Their concern was the difficulty of the plan.

"Fighting on two fronts..."

"Controlling the monsters' actions, luring the dark factions, and mastering all the battlefields..."

"Hmm~!? So what does that mean!?"

"We can't defeat the monsters immediately, but we can't let them escape either. We can only leave them half-dead until we catch the 'big fish'."

"Why does it seem like the difficulty has suddenly increased?!"

Anachiti and Alicia were both groaning; seeing Tiona, whose head felt like it was about to explode, clutching her head in deep thought, Tione explained it to her in simple terms. In the end, Tiona's head still exploded.

"The enemy is unlikely to be so optimistic as to foolishly wait for the monsters to invade the man-made labyrinth... We must make them believe that the Loki Familia will certainly try to capture the monsters outside the labyrinth..."

"Commander...does this mean we have to guard the artificial labyrinth to prevent the monsters from escaping...while also dealing with the dark factions that escape from the artificial labyrinth...?"

"That's right, we will be completely 'sandwiched' from both sides."

Finn nodded readily in response to Raul's stiff expression.

They not only had to keep a close watch on the monsters heading towards the man-made labyrinth, but also keep track of the movements of the remnants of the dark faction. The movements within the man-made labyrinth were particularly troublesome, because in other words, enemies could also attack from the inside of the fortress they were guarding. This was a classic case of "keeping the tiger out the front door while letting the wolf in the back."

Operating within the vast urban area of ​​Daedalus Road, the intelligence gathered will undoubtedly be incredibly complex. Furthermore, with numerous adventurers roaming the streets, every member of the party understands that achieving their objective will be an extremely difficult task.

Even so, Finn still ordered the band members to "execute the plan".

"We absolutely cannot miss this 'opportunity.' The 'armed monster' is the perfect 'bait' to lure out the enemy who is holding firm... This is our first and last golden opportunity."

Finn intends to use everything.

One major reason he abandoned the option of "negotiating" with "rational monsters" was to use them as useful "bait." The "armed monsters" that move with "keys" are also a source of trouble for the dark faction.

Finn discarded the uncertainties, focused on reality, and chose to make the most of the current situation.

"I will deploy sufficient forces at the four 'doors' I discovered in the secret passage, under the command of Riveria and Grace. The enemy, who has been taking passive actions all along, will likely 'mess with' us this time, so be careful."

"it is good."

"Hmm."

With Riveria and Grace at the helm, Finn gave orders to the various members.

No one interrupted; they all followed the battle plan he had drawn up in his mind.

"Our primary objective remains obtaining the 'key.' In the worst-case scenario, the annihilation of monsters and the dark faction can be secondary. All members, do not forget the shape of this 'key.'"