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

This is a scene that could never exist between humans and monsters.

Everything is "heretical".

The monsters in front of you are "heretics".

This is the "secret" of the old god (Uranus).

These are the "heretics" who are neither human nor monster.

"..."

Riveria closed her eyes.

All sorts of scenes flashed before my eyes.

The journey began in the forest of my homeland, with my worst encounter with the goddess and the dwarves, and then I was soon joined by a dwarf with whom I had no affinity. And then there was the long journey I shared with them, which continues to this day.

She recalled the figure of that little comrade-in-arms who she had always cared for during that period—a man who loved to show off, was arrogant, and clumsy.

I recalled the glimpse I'd just caught of him the other day: sitting on the edge of the bed, clenching his fists, displaying both distress and determination—

"..."

At last……

Riveria opened her eyes.

"Loki Familia, please take this hand—"

Then...

She interrupted the magician and said decisively:

"You idiot."

Upon hearing Riveria's dismissive "refusal," time seemed to stand still.

"If it were our supreme deity, he would surely say that."

Under the astonished gazes of Alicia and the others, and staring back at the trembling Fels in black, ignoring the "heretical" composure that seemed to suggest this had happened several times before, Riveria continued.

"Can you prove it? Can you provide evidence? Do you have a solution? Can you truly demonstrate sufficient reason and sincerity to gain acceptance from those whose loved ones have been slaughtered by monsters?"

To Fels, who had discussed "ideals," Riveria laid "reality" before him.

She raised her eyebrows slightly, lifted her delicate chin, and narrowed her eyes coldly.

"What I want to hear now is not ideals or delusions, but extremely real problems. Not tears seeking our sympathy or a life of complacency, but 'means' based on clear theories."

"..."

"I cannot accept your explanation unless you provide these answers."

Faced with the silent magician, Rivera did not loosen her rebuttal tone, which was ostensibly accusatory.

Watching her articulate her reasoning so clearly, Alicia murmured in a daze:

"...Commander?"

Alicia doubted that she had seen it wrong.

The princess of the tribe she loved and admired actually overlapped with the figure of a little human.

That way of speaking, and that unwavering will, are just like that "hero".

No, they are exactly the same, completely identical.

"Magician, let me ask you about your 'enlightenment.' Not just a perfunctory answer, but something that, right now, is enough to touch my heart... Does this 'enlightenment' truly reside beneath your black attire?"

At this point, Riveria truly became "Finn Dimna".

Rivera respected his will, empathized with him, and spoke up for her friend who was not there at the time.

She accurately relayed to the other party what the "hero" would presumably assert, and shook off the monsters' hands.

"If you don't have it..."

In the end, Rivera coldly declared:

"What you're saying is even more utterly worthless nonsense than a child's dream of worshipping a hero."

With this sentence, she inscribed the word "break" into the word "negotiation".

To prevent further damage to her team's morale, she spoke with a tone so firm it bordered on cruel and harsh.

Upon hearing the unwavering declaration of the Elven royal family, Alicia and the others gasped in surprise before shaking off their confusion.

"...Rivia Leos Alf. No, Finn Dimna."

At the head of the groups led by both sides...

Fels stared at Riveria, who was confronting him, and subtly swayed his black clothes.

"You are intelligent, and you possess the essential elements of heroes... a belief that you will pay any price."

He saw the appearance of a "hero" in the elven royal who was blocking his way, and said to her with deep regret.

"I can't help but think, how wonderful it would be if you could be a part of us."

"Such assumptions are meaningless. No matter how many possibilities are discussed, our position will not change."

"That's right, that's exactly it. In that case... in order to survive, we must resist."

Fels reluctantly made his black gloves glow and got into position. The "heretics" behind him had distorted expressions of bitterness, as if they were unwilling to fight against humans.

Then, just as conflict was about to erupt between the Loki Familia and the Heretics...

"Go!!"

““!!””

The apostles of death have launched a massive attack.

"Remnants of the dark faction!"

"Choosing a time like this!?"

As the remnants of the army charged in as soon as the gates opened, Alicia and Lakta screamed in agony. Meanwhile, Riveria furrowed her brows to their furrows.

"That number of people can't be gathered immediately... So it was all about 'buying time' from the beginning!"

Facing her, who was beyond his reach, Fels also growled.

"So that's what they were trying to achieve all along... to force the two factions into conflict!"

As the two leaders saw through, this was Thanatos's conspiracy.

The Grim Reaper has a correct grasp of the map related to the Battle of Daedalus Road and anticipates that once the Loki Familia and the Heretics meet, they will be unable to ignore each other's presence. Whether they choose to fight or flee, conflict is inevitable, at the very least slowing each other down.

This would allow them to keep the Loki Familia within the artificial labyrinth, buying them "time" to prevent their retreat. Death anticipated this, and thus gathered his minions on the twelfth floor.

He wanted to instigate a three-way conflict so he could reap the benefits.

This is exactly the "situation" that Thanatos wanted.

"The number of enemy troops... is impossible to estimate!!"

"We're surrounded! Not just in front, but also in the passageways to the left, right, and behind us, there are man-eating plants (monsters)!"

"...!"

The elves' screams made Riveria grip her staff tighter.

Rivera had to admit that she had encountered the extraordinary "abnormal situation" of the "heretic," and had lost her composure. Her first and last oversight in the man-made labyrinth had brought about this predicament. If the enemy had even anticipated this situation, it could only mean that the opponent was not to be underestimated. The smiling face of the strange Grim Reaper (the man) flashed through Rivera's mind.

Suppressing her regret, Rivera roared:

"Break through a corner of the enemy's defenses! Open up a retreat route!"

"Reed, Rey! Fight back! The Loki Familia and the Dark Faction are enemies!"

Fels roared, and the monsters had no choice but to take up their swords and staffs.

Then the army of the dark faction poured into the great passage where the Loki Familia and the Heretics were located.

"Kill! Kill ...!"

"Oooooo oooooo oooooo oooooo oooooo oooooo oooooo oooooo oooooo!"

The unrestrained, frenzied atmosphere instantly transformed into vicious shouts.

Adventurers, monsters, and Death Apostles are thrown into chaos, and the war between the three forces begins.

*

"What's the current situation?"

Finn arrived at the northwest of where the monsters had descended—the outer area of ​​the labyrinth town—and asked the members who had arrived earlier.

The location is on the rooftop platform of a building that offers a panoramic view of the entire plaza.

"The residents haven't all evacuated yet! Adventurers from other factions, including the [Rookie], are still battling the monsters..."

After hearing the group members' report, Finn discovered that the boy and the gargoyle were fighting.

(It's you again... Bell Craney.)

Finn narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy's extremely nervous profile.

Although he had some ideas in mind, he focused on getting a better understanding of the situation for now.

The scene was filled with hordes of attacking monsters, panicked residents of Daedalus Road fleeing in all directions, guild staff struggling to evacuate but to no avail, and novice adventurers. The Ganesha Familia also prioritized human lives. While the advanced adventurers fought desperately against the monsters, they were struggling against the enemy's combat abilities, and many had already fallen.

As for the "Rookie," he was protecting the half-elf guild staff while fighting the gargoyle swords.

"...Everyone, take your positions. Use the ground troops to hold off the enemy while sniping the monsters from a higher position (here) to prevent them from escaping into the air."

"yes!"

Finn made a quick judgment and, in his capacity as faction leader, issued instructions.

As some members ran off to carry out orders with the surface troops, while the rest drew their bows and arrows, Finn looked down at what could hardly be called a "battlefield"—a "deliberately arranged stage."

(It has to be said that this doesn't seem like an "abnormal situation" at all. The monsters that were originally acting discreetly have deliberately appeared in front of the refugees... in front of the crowd. The surrounding monsters are "delaying" the other adventurers, and the gargoyles are deliberately fighting the person involved in the disturbance (the rookie) for the crowd to see... What a coincidence!)

The sense of unease that had been lingering in my heart turned into certainty after seeing the scenery of this outskirts.

This made him sense the intentions of a "third party." He sensed the "divine will" that created this situation, even putting a "collar" on the monster, and deliberately staging a play.

(Is it the Hermes Familia...?)

If there is someone knowledgeable about the "Armed Monsters" and capable of putting "collars" on them, it can only be the faction aligned with the old god (Uranus). It seems they are secretly manipulating things while the Hestia Familia is waging a major war, without anyone noticing.

This behavior probably even goes against the will of the old god (Uranus).

Bell Craney, who was still desperately defending himself against the attack, didn't seem to be acting at all.

Someone acted without authorization. Finn thought of his idol (Hermes)'s face, which never revealed his true intentions.

(Was that gargoyle manipulated? It only attacked the guild member that Bell Craney was protecting. Considering it might have used some kind of extraordinary magical item like the [Perseus], ​​that's a reasonable assumption...)

The half-elf guild staff wore purple bracelets that emitted a magical light. Finn made full use of the dwarfs' excellent dynamic vision and quickly saw through the "composition" of the scene.

After seeing through it, he frowned, still feeling quite unhappy.

I dislike this kind of arrangement where the gods manipulate the mortal realm according to their own desires, altering the story's outline.

"The plaza is the theater, the residents are the audience, and the monsters and adventurers are the supporting characters who liven up the atmosphere. The protagonist is... a boy who wields a sword to fight against a mad gargoyle."

Finn muttered to himself in a volume too low for the band members who were nocking their bows to hear.

Below, among the residents who hadn't had time to escape from the square—the "spectators"—a cacophony of sounds, distinct from fear, was about to erupt.

"[Rising Star]..."

"...[Rookie]? You mean Bell Craney?"

"Fighting for us..."

Adventurers who stepped forward to protect the attacked half-elves.

A brave young man who made a dashing appearance to rescue people from danger.

How would that look to the crowd who were constantly criticizing Bell Crane?

"Big Brother Bell..."

Among those spectators, one could also spot the orphans they had met recently.