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

Then, as if to deliver devastating news to Riveria, Fels, and the others, a "door" opened.

"So this is where you are—you little flying insects."

「!?」

Her blood-red hair swayed.

From a distance on the battlefield, Rivera spotted the pair of green eyes that had pierced her through the chaos of battle, and a chill ran down her spine.

It was Revis. She had healed her wounds, regained her lost arm, and, carrying the ominous, cursed twin swords (cursed implements), arrived at the banquet arranged by Death (Thanatos).

Rivera's face showed even greater anxiety and endless fear.

Now they have nowhere to retreat and are destined for total annihilation.

"Die."

Rives didn't even allow Riveria to try to deal with it.

She pulled one of the twin swords behind her back to gather strength, then threw it with superhuman arm strength.

The strong wind howled, and a dull, heavy thud blasted a hole in the air. The carnivorous plants and crystal striders in their flight path were reduced to minced meat, scattering like bursting balloons, while the heads and arms of the remnants of the dark faction flew into the air like broken toys.

The destructive sword arrows, which sprayed blood and rained down on the battlefield, flew straight toward Riveria.

However, before the flying sword could even reach her, an elf was destined to die by its blade first.

"—Alicia!!"

The only thing Rivera had time to do was excitedly call out her name.

In the chaos of battle, Alicia fought off a remnant of the enemy, but as soon as she looked up, she saw a deadly bullet rapidly approaching, causing her to freeze instantly. The pitch-black cursed sword that came into view silently and coldly proclaimed her death.

Alicia didn't even have time to let out a final scream before her head was blasted to pieces...

"Ugh, ah────"

"--Huh?"

Just a moment before that.

Golden wings unfurled in Alicia's vision.

A singing bird that had strayed into the firing trajectory crossed its wings and blocked a blow from the cursed sword.

The overlapping wings were pierced, even penetrating the right shoulder.

The cursed sword was originally going to pierce through the shoulder and continue flying backward, but the singing bird put all its strength into the muscles of its shoulder, preventing further killing.

"Rei!?"

Amidst the screams of the lizardmen and other "heretics" echoing all around, the Songbird could only let the sword pierce its shoulder, unable to completely offset its terrifying recoil, and fell to the ground along with Alicia directly behind it.

"…………Why?"

Alicia's back slammed hard against the floor. She slowly propped herself up, managing only to utter a single, barely audible sentence. The singing bird, its shoulders and face stained with blood, leaned limply against her chest.

She fluttered her long eyelashes, opened her eyelids, and smiled.

"I can't help but feel that I don't want to soil... your golden hair, which is more beautiful than my golden wings..."

"...!?"

"I can't help but dream... if I could be allowed, I would like to become your friend..."

Alicia looked down at the singing bird, who was barely breathing but still had a gentle smile on his face, and she could no longer maintain her expression.

Like a crying child, like an angry fairy, like a lost person who has lost their way, the fairy's expression was a jumble of emotions that could no longer be distinguished.

There is no way to prove it, no way to provide evidence, and no solution.

It lacks the reason and sincerity to convince those who hate monsters.

Among them, there is only unwavering love.

It was nothing more than wishful thinking, but it was a precious "philia".

Can this be called a "monster"?

Can such a noble creature, which yearns to love and cherish others and is willing to risk its life to protect them, be considered a monster?

If that's the case, then wouldn't the one who ruthlessly slashed and killed her be an even more despicable "monster"?

The breathtaking impact stirred up a torrent of thoughts, overwhelming her. The elves' strong sense of self-respect was shattered from the ground up, and the absolute marker of evil known as "monster" was about to be destroyed. Alicia's eyes trembled, unable even to hold her tightly, only looking down at the songbird in her arms, which was dying second by second.

The elves of the Loki Familia also unfortunately witnessed this scene.

Rivera stood frozen in place, her face contorted to the extreme, revealing a bitter expression.

Meanwhile, the "heretics" watched their compatriots' righteous act with tearful eyes.

"I missed... Oh well."

Regarding their farcical performance, Revis announced the end of the stage with a muttered, emotionless murmur.

"I will hunt you all down, including that half-baked monster."

Instead, she brandished her dark sword, announcing to Riveria and the others that a "tragedy" was about to unfold.

In this battlefield, she, capable of crushing everything, is the true "monster." Faced with the intense killing intent and chilling aura emanating from this monster who prides herself on overwhelming power, everyone, including the monster itself, stopped moving, and a moment of silence descended upon the scene.

Just as the elves turned pale, the "heretics" cowered in fear, and even the dark factions gasped...

Riveria acted first, chanting incantations to resist fate.

Fels, unwilling to accept death, shakes his black clothes, trying to break free from the predicament.

Just as Rives narrowed her eyes coldly, preparing to kick the floor...

"I'm sorry, I have no interest in seeing any tragedy."

Thump! !

A "door" opened with a loud bang.

Coincidentally, that was in the exact opposite direction from where Revis had come from.

From the front of the walkway separated by a large passage, the "hero" with swaying golden hair appeared.

"After witnessing the real 'heroic tales,' I lost all interest."

The man who stretched out his right hand to take out the "key" and held a long gun in his left hand was Finn.

"Finn!!"

Rivera turned around and looked behind her, and was shocked.

Seeing him leading his comrades behind him, Riveria's emerald eyes began to light up. The elven royalty, resolutely refusing to give up hope, had a glimmer of trust in their comrades shining in their eyes.

As for Revis, her eyes sharpened, and she kicked the ground.

She swung her sword, intending to decapitate Riveria before her opponent could react, but unexpectedly...

"Dream on!!"

"!"

The dwarf leaped out from Finn's side and blocked him with his battle axe.

Grace, summoned from the dwarf race's main camp, took the opportunity to engage in close combat with Rives.

A tremendous impact erupted between the two, shaking the entire space, but the dwarf warrior fought head-on against his opponent, confronting the monster's monstrous strength that even the [Sword Maiden] and [Hero] had defeated. Seeing the fierce and warlike smile on [Chongjie's] face, Ruiweis clicked her tongue.

"All personnel, cover Alicia and the others! Ensure an unobstructed escape route!"

As soon as the command was given, Finn himself dashed off. Seeing that Revis intended to chop Grace to pieces with speed rather than strength, he wielded the Spear of Fortia and intervened as he truly deserved.

Despite having been killed once, the brave little people still challenged their powerful enemies, diminishing the momentum of Revis's swordsmanship, and cleverly joined forces with Grace to force their opponents into close combat...

"Rivia!!"

Then they summoned the Elven royal family to join the battle, thereby gaining an "advantage".

"call!!"

"Tsk... Three Lv.6s!!"

Rivera, wielding her staff, joined Finn and his men in a massive, overwhelming attack.

The three leaders of the Loki Familia surrounded Reeves, attacking from three directions with masterful teamwork. Their fluid, continuous strikes were like a sudden storm, so spectacular that even the "heretics," who couldn't keep up, were filled with admiration and awe. Despite being a mage, Rivera's perfect coordination with the dwarves and tontatta in close combat was evident. Finn, with his unparalleled skill and tactics, eliminated any chance for Reeves to counterattack, while Grace compensated for their slightly lacking strength with his unmatched power.

Finn and his comrades fought side by side for longer than anyone else, which is why they are known as the strongest force in the Loki Familia.

"【—O harbinger of the end, the snow-covered ground!】!"

「!?」

Upon hearing Riveria attack with her staff while simultaneously launching a "parallel incantation," Revis's shoulders trembled.

Seeing the monster overly wary of the cannon that had taken away his arm, Grace didn't miss the opportunity to attack.

"It's full of flaws!"

“Hmm!?”

The great axe, raised high and brought down, struck the spine of the cursed sword, which was raised in haste.

As the sword was destroyed, Revis flew backward along a gentle parabolic trajectory, creating distance before landing on the ground. Riveria, without hesitation, stopped chanting her incantation.

She draws the enemy's attention to herself through chanting, allowing Finn or Grace to strike the opponent; this is the decoy attack they pioneered.

"This is the first time I've fought a weirdo...it's really tough. And that woman's perfectly fine!"

"That's why I said, confronting her head-on is not the best strategy."

Perhaps because it had been a long time since the three of them had fought together, Grace's tone became somewhat rude, just like before, and Finn also scolded him as if they had returned to the past. Seeing this, Rivera finally felt a little relieved.

"I'm sorry... Finn, Grace, you saved me."

"It's not over yet! The journey until we get home has been an adventure, haven't you forgotten!"

"Yes, don't let your guard down, Riveria."

Seeing Finn and the others keeping a close watch on Revis without daring to be careless, Riveria couldn't help but smile. She immediately tensed up and became more vigilant along with the two of them.

"Navi, we'll cover the rear! You take Alicia and the others back the way you came!"

Surrounding the three, the other members of the group rescued the "elf forces" in a surprise attack. They pushed aside the remnants of the dark faction who were eager to squeeze in, and escorted the elves back to the other side of the passage.

"Do you think I'll let you go, you little people?"

The strange man slowly stood up, his green eyes shining brightly.

She unleashed an overwhelming killing intent, indirectly declaring, "I will exterminate you all."

Although Finn, Grace, and Riveria were all gathered together, this was, after all, the lair of the dark faction. Even if they could suppress Revis alone, they would still be crushed by the sheer number of people.

First, Rivera, exhausted both physically and mentally, will break down, and their side will run out of energy before the enemy. Once the three's coordinated action falls apart, and they can't win one-on-one fights, Finn and the others are destined to perish.

Regarding Rives's cold words, Finn said:

"I'm sorry, I have no intention of confronting you directly."

He completely ignored her, as if he didn't care at all.

The moment Rakta and the other elves were rescued, Finn shouted:

"Lefia—do it!"

The next instant, as if in response to that "signal", a magic circle appeared beneath Finn and the others' feet.

"──────"

Seeing the emerald magic circle fill the entire passageway and even extend to the floor where she was standing, Revis paused time.

Far from the passage where Finn and the others had come, a golden-haired elf was left alone.

It's Lefia.

"Ah, I'm so unwilling, so unwilling, so unwilling—"

Lefia raised her wand, "Forest Tear," with both hands, radiating amazing magical light as she spoke forcefully.

"—I'm so resentful of that human! How could they make me feel this hot-blooded!"

Witnessing the battle between the boy and the bull, her mind and body were swept away by passion.

Just like Finn, Rafia was also deeply fascinated by the boy's "adventures" and her resolve was renewed.