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

The human man's eyes shone brightly as he called out the name of the supreme god.

Their meticulously planned hunt was flawless. Disguised as adventurers, these individuals patiently waited for the "key" to arrive. They hadn't just slipped past the Loki Familia's watchful eyes and escaped the man-made labyrinth in the last day or two.

They left the man-made maze four days earlier.

Since the day the "Armed Monsters" appeared, they have come to the surface through the tunnels connecting the man-made labyrinth and the underground city, and disguised themselves as adventurers without making a sound.

To this day, they continue to wait for the monster to appear on Daedalus Road.

They blended in with the surrounding crowd as adventurers, thus secretly monitoring the movements of the Loki Familia and gathering intelligence on the battle situation without being suspected.

This is what Sanatos referred to as the "special forces".

"Now the man-made labyrinth (Knossos) is safe and sound!!"

The man trembled with joy, his gaze falling on the injured monster, a smirk playing on his lips.

He planned to erase the events and evidence that had occurred there, and prepared to turn his weapons against the Red Hat with his men—just then…

"attack!"

「!?」

The sudden command caught them off guard.

A group of adventurers emerged from the spiderweb-like maze of paths that stretched out around them.

The remnants of the dark faction, caught off guard by the surprise attack, were unable to put up a fight and were quickly stripped of their fighting power.

"What... [Loki Familia]!?"

"Just as the captain predicted, they have indeed infiltrated the adventurers."

The human leader was stunned to see the clown badges engraved on the adventurers' equipment.

In the blink of an eye, Anaquiti knocked out three of the five enemies and swung the one-handed sword she was holding in her right hand.

The remnants of the dark faction's hunt, which they sought to ensure was flawless, was practically perfect.

Aside from the most fatal flaw—being manipulated by the "Hero" from beginning to end.

"The intelligence about the monster being discovered in the east... is a 'trap,' designed to lure out the special operations team (you)."

Finn had already deduced from the passive actions of the dark faction that the enemy had dispatched a "special task force." He guessed that more than one unit was disguised as adventurers, secretly searching for the monster's whereabouts.

Of course, it would be difficult to find the assassin among the thousands of adventurers who stayed on Daedalus Road.

So Finn laid down the "bait".

"A trap...!?"

"That's right. To make sure you heard everything clearly, I even lied to all my own people."

Finn, with Anachidi and others at his center, spread false information that even deceived his own people.

The current situation, with a real "armed monster" attacking from the west, is bound to cause panic among the Loki Familia members. This, in the eyes of the remnants who are closely monitoring the Loki Familia's movements, is certainly a "clear and opportune moment." So, as they moved among the many adventurers, Anachidi caught them red-handed.

"So, what is this 'key'...!?"

"That's just a copy. Didn't you notice?"

Anachiti told the leader, with a lack of interest, that the fine silver metal he was holding was actually a replica that Finn had shown to everyone during the war council. The man's eyes widened to their limit.

If they are the "special task force" that Sanatos refers to, then Anachiti's squad is also a "special task force".

It was Finn who set the "fishhook" to lure his prey ashore.

"Outrageous...outrageous!outrageous!outrageous!? Does this mean that this monster is also bait!? The Loki Familia is conspiring with the monster!?"

The leader, pinned to the ground by two members of the Loki Familia, stared wide-eyed at the monster sitting on the ground, unable to get up.

The monster, which had been terrified just moments before, trembled its lips:

"Ten—[The Voice of Revelation at Twelve O'Clock]."

The next instant, a gray light membrane covered the goblin's entire body.

After the light disappeared, the monster that had been slumped on the ground transformed into a little human girl.

"What!?"

"I was originally planning to catch a real (monster) to force you out... This saves me the trouble."

It's "transformation magic".

Upon realizing that the girl was merely a "phantom" of a monster, the leader's mouth opened and closed meaninglessly, unable to utter a single word.

Annaqiti finished speaking calmly, then shifted her gaze from the man to the girl.

"Thank you for your help. Your 'magic' is really convenient."

"You, you...you are..."

When Annaquite turned her head, the mind of the little girl, Lilyluka Erd of the Hestia Familia, was completely in a mess.

Lililuka's identity had just been exposed, and she had fallen into their hands. Lililuka thought she was about to be ruined, but to her surprise, Anachiti told her, "I want you to cooperate with us."

Lily Luca was brought to this underground passage without any explanation, transformed into an "armed monster," and forced to brazenly wander around with a replica of the "key."

Anachidi—no, Finn switched tactics as soon as he saw through Lily Luca's true colors.

Instead of using monsters, they instead use the power of girls to force out the "Special Forces" of the dark faction.

"What are you doing...!? Weren't you supposed to be annihilating the monsters that have appeared on the surface...!?"

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry, this is 'a completely different matter' from yours."

Even with her thoughts in complete disarray, Lilyluka Erd's brilliant mind still managed to unconsciously guess the meaning behind Anachidi's words.

I'm afraid, probably, definitely, there's no mistake, the Loki Familia—Finn Deem—was...

While facing "two situations" and being "surrounded from both sides," he still skillfully handled the extremely chaotic battle situation in the maze street.

--Huh? I don't understand what that means.

But even if you guess it, whether you can understand it is another matter entirely.

In this major event that affected the entire city, they were actually dealing with multiple forces at the same time.

"What kind of nonsense is this?" She couldn't stop smiling.

"I'm sorry to have dragged you into this for no reason... However,"

Lily suddenly snapped back to reality.

Annaquite came up to her and stared down at her intently.

"I'm very angry."

She raised her beautifully shaped eyebrows, bent down, and brought her face close to Lily's.

"Because you didn't use any other methods, but instead used the worst one to deceive Raul."

"Huh...!?"

"To Raul, Finn Deem is 'the one you can't betray.' Even if it's an imposter, that idiot wouldn't forget to show respect... And you, impersonating such a commander, fooled Raul. Yes, I'm furious."

Catman understands his fellow members who joined the group better than anyone else, and he also shows more genuine anger than anyone else.

The slender cat tail that extends from its small rump gently sways from side to side.

She pointed her index finger at Lilyluka, whose face was ashen and who dared not move, as if she wanted to pierce her chest.

So—that's how it's 'even'.

At this point, Annakidi smiled sweetly.

Seeing the black cat adventurer's beaming smile, Lily was terrified.

"I'm sorry, we used you. You can leave now. Even though we're enemies now, I don't want to drag you into our problems."

Anachidi Oldum. Nickname: Alchat.

Among the Lv.4 adventurers in the city, this second-level adventurer is undoubtedly among the highest level.

She is a beautiful cat-woman who possesses both beauty and talent, with a face that captivates the goddess (Loki) at first sight and harbors a cold yet fiery spirit.

It is a noble cat breed praised by the gods.

"Alas……!?"

Hearing Annaquite say these words with a smile, Lily Luca shrank into a ball in fear.

What a joke! Who wants to get involved with you guys?

Lily Luca cursed inwardly as she stood up, eager to make a run for it.

"Ah...right, right. This is what the commander asked me to tell you."

As Lily Luca fled, Anachiti tossed out a message:

"'To show my respect for your courage, I'll let you off this time. But don't let it happen again.'... That's what he said."

The little girl stopped in her tracks.

She was truly terrified this time.

She thought she had completely fooled the Loki Familia and Finn Demna.

But that's wrong.

Lily Luca is actually in the palm of the [Hero's] hand.

Goodbye. I won't let you off the hook next time either.

"Ughhhhhh!?"

Without even a moment to feel sad, Lilyluka Erd dashed out at top speed.

She unleashed her innate stray dog ​​instincts, determined to escape from "a pack of vicious thugs," fleeing as fast as she could without looking back.

"Is it really alright not to get the information she has, Miss Angie?"

"The little people who are prepared are troublesome, and we should know that better than anyone else, right? Interrogation or torture would just be a waste of time, so let's just forget about it."

Annaquite told the members of her group who asked her that Finn also felt that time was precious, which is why he gave the order to let her go.

"Come again... Sorry to keep you waiting."

Most importantly, Anachiti didn't have time to get entangled with the dwarf girl.

She spoke in a cold, deep voice as she looked down at the leader who was being pinned to the floor.

"You have the 'key,' right? You absolutely must have the means to navigate the man-made maze; otherwise, the 'Special Operations Team' won't function properly."

"...!?"

"Hoping to steal the 'key' from the monster is too unplanned. If you hid something somewhere before you came here... I'll force you to tell me."

The one-handed sword held in his right hand gleamed with the dazzling light of its sharp blade.

The leader shuddered, then his eyes widened in fury as he used all his strength to shake off the members of his gang who were holding him down.

"I dedicate my life to the god Thanatos—!!"

He wanted to reach his newly freed hands into his robes, but...

"I won't let you self-destruct."

Annaquite's hand flashed past, the blade pinning the man's hand to the floor.

"Guh-gaa ...

She stopped the other party from activating the "Flame Stone"—a self-destruct device—hidden beneath their equipment.

The leader, whose right hand was pierced like an insect specimen, went mad with pain and tried to pull out the stake called the Bloodstained Sword, but he couldn't.

The man struggled to pull the sword out with his left hand, but the silver blade, deeply embedded in the ground, refused to loosen its grip. It was as if the sword itself harbored a hidden "rage."

Facing the man who was sweating profusely from the pain, Annaquite uttered a single sentence:

"Don't make me put in too much effort; I'm not used to doing this kind of thing."

She told the other person with a cold look in her eyes.

The cat-man, whose companions and the girl (Lene) were murdered, smiled, harboring a quiet fire of anger within him.

"However, don't get your hopes up too high, okay? Because I've heard that cats—can actually be quite cruel."