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

But she really got angry.

It was the loudest voice Cassandra had ever heard in her life.

Because she roared so fiercely, even Haruhime's fox tail, which was on the same shore, twitched.

"Alas!" Cassandra couldn't help but let out a cry of pain.

"What are you doing, standing there like a medic?! The most crucial element in the main battle on this floor is you defenders, okay?! Do you think this will hold the line?! We're already short-handed in the midfield!"

Cassandra was terrified, and Daphne, her eyes bloodshot, gave her a good scolding.

It seemed she was so angry that she had temporarily left the battlefield and traveled all this way here to give the therapist a good scolding. "I have to run back from here again, making me go twice, twice! And at a time like this when I'm in a rush!" While Daphne was still throwing a tantrum, making Cassandra fall back in fright, she realized something.

Daphne was covered in wounds.

The arms or shoulders were cut, revealing red marks.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that Welf and the others also appeared exhausted.

They tore the "water crystal protective cloth" to shreds, their shoulders heaving as they struggled.

"Daphne...it's my fault...?"

"That's exactly what I told you! Get to work!"

Cassandra, her face pale, lowered her head, clutching the "water sprite protective cloth" she wore tightly. Unable to look up at anyone, she spoke:

"Why are you all able to fight against [Despair]...?"

"Huh?"

Aren't you all afraid that despair will engulf us...?

Faced with Daphne's furrowed brows, she knew she couldn't convey her true thoughts, but she couldn't help asking anyway.

This is an underground city, an endless labyrinth. Cassandra and the others' resistance is futile, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Cassandra asked her if she wasn't afraid of the dragon that would turn hope into despair, or of the symbol of the dungeon.

Daphne's phoenix eyes narrowed even more sharply at these questions.

"Can't you watch it?! I'm terrified, okay?!"

"what?"

After saying that, Daphne placed her trembling arm in front of her.

Facing a startled Cassandra, Daphne said to her face:

"But we must fight! To survive!"

She straightened her upper body and said in a determined tone:

"The word 'despair' is so useful! Because you know the more you struggle, the worse it will get! So you can use this amazing excuse to give up on the spot!"

「!?」

"I was like that too! But what could I do! Lily, Luca, and the others have all gotten back on their feet, which has made me not want to give up anymore!"

No matter how difficult it may be, I want to go back alive.

She had grown fond of her companions and didn't want them to die. Daphne stated resolutely that her motive was that simple.

"Aren't you the same? You fall for those pushovers too!"

"!!"

"If that's the case, then help them! Heal their wounds, protect them! You and we are still alive! Don't let despair defeat you!"

Daphne's words were tantamount to a slap in the face to Cassandra.

Tell her not to run away from reality; nothing is over yet.

To Cassandra, it sounded like she was being told: Do not succumb to a future that has not yet come to pass—a “prophecy” that has not yet come true.

No matter how difficult or painful it is, you must struggle until the very last moment.

Since we are adventurers who constantly accept challenges...

Yes, even if despair awaits them—

"—Looking to the future! Stand up and face the challenges!"

It's always like this.

Each time, it was Daphne who pushed Cassandra hard.

Although she refused to believe the "prophecy," she would rebuke the timid and cowardly Cassandra and take her hand.

Cassandra admired her, who was the complete opposite of herself, and became interested in her, hoping to become like her.

So Cassandra began to get close to Daphne.

So Cassandra thought to herself that she hoped to become Daphne's "best friend".

"……I……"

There was no time to waste. Daphne's retreating figure as she rushed forward told her this.

However, her retreating figure as she returned to the battlefield showed that she placed her trust in Cassandra.

Cassandra, who had been standing still, gripped the crystal rod with both hands and pressed it against her forehead.

One more time.

Just a little bit more.

Let's resist this despair one more time.

Cassandra couldn't save many lives. But the people and things she cherished remain.

So, once again.

Let us stand up and face this tragic "prophecy" once again.

"—The light of heaven that I once refused to see, the compassionate arm that rescued my shallow flesh."

A ray of light rose from the staff.

The radiant "magic" emitted a brilliant light, overflowing with warmth that dispelled the darkness.

"Lady Cassandra...!"

Chun-hime, who had been watching from the same shore until now, couldn't help but smile upon seeing this scene.

"[In place of my unheard words, save my pitiful friends. O sunshine, may you repel destruction.]"

The way she closed her eyes and weaved incantations made her look like a prayer.

The tragic prophet, rejected by the world, once again weaves a song of rebellion, then opens his eyes wide.

The gaze pierced through the central area where the fighting was most intense.

She mustered all her mental energy and activated a "magic" that extended the range to its maximum.

"[The Light of Thor]!"

Daphne noticed the harbinger of sunlight before anyone else and immediately shouted:

"A reply is coming! Gather around [Not Cold]!"

A gentle magical light shone down from the sky onto the Iceland. Sakura and the others interrupted their battle and rushed into a circular area extending outwards from the center with a radius of five meters.

In the blink of an eye, all the adventurers' injuries were healed.

"good!"

"That way we can fight another battle!"

With exhilaration, Welf and his companions swept away the onrushing monsters with overwhelming force.

Overcoming their fatigue, the adventurers' actions are once again spectacular.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry! I'll fight again!"

Cassandra clutched her chest and screamed at the top of her lungs.

The escalating battle drowned out any apologies. Welf and the others had no energy left to respond.

However, as Daphne slashed down the monster as she passed by, Cassandra felt as if she smiled at her with her profile in the background.

"You've finally returned to the front lines! Lady Cassandra, you're so slow!"

“S-Sorry!”

"Lily, you and Lady Haruhime will have to work like slaves for us! Without the two of you, we really can't win this battle!"

"I...I understand!"

Lily was just as angry as usual... no, even angrier than usual, and insisted that Cassandra and Haruhime agree to her demands.

For some reason, this pleased Cassandra so much that she couldn't help but laugh along with Haruhime.

"Now is not the time to laugh! We need to move! The monster has noticed Lily and us!"

"yes!"

The three defenders moved together to change positions.

The number of participants (members) has returned to its original level, reaching maximum combat power.

○

"What's going on here?! Explain yourself!"

"It was Dorumur Borsta, a dwarf belonging to the Manni Familia, who spoke in a gruff voice."

The location is on the 18th floor, in the "Under Resort".

Dorumur, who was originally waiting on the safety point with the members of the [Family], questioned the adventurers who were slumped on the ground in front of him.

"I...I told you that 'Amphispina' appeared in the 'Mysterious City of Water'!"

"There should still be two weeks until the next production interval! Why is the poster posting this now!?"

"How would I know! We just heard it from the people who escaped up from the lower floors, so we rushed over immediately!"

The group that stormed into the labyrinthine inn town of Rivera was a member of the [Gale] extermination team. These men were Perth's underlings, who had previously taken over the passageways on each floor under their leader's orders to prevent [Gale] from escaping.

Upon hearing what had happened on the 25th floor, they immediately set off at full speed to deliver the message to this safe floor.

"Those who escaped from the 25th floor haven't calmed down yet...! They're saying the dungeon 'cried,' and the 'Giant Waterfall' has turned red. They're talking incoherently... But, I heard that there really were several amazing 'explosions' on the floor, causing the maze area to collapse."

"Collapse!? You mean that ridiculously large, multi-layered maze!?"

Seeing the other person's ashen face and his increasingly soft voice, Dorumur was also greatly surprised.

Dorumur and his team also had a clue. A few hours earlier, they had felt the ground "shaking".

It wasn't an earthquake, but rather a series of vertical vibrations that seemed to be coming from the lower floors.

"If the floor owner ignored the production intervals because of that 'explosion'... what caused that 'explosion'? Was it [Gale] and the extermination team bombarding each other with magic?"

Dorumur was speechless. Beside him, Luvis, a one-armed elf from the Modi Familia, whose right sleeve was empty, swayed with a grim expression and a distorted face.

Perth's underlings didn't join the main expedition to the "Water City," so they didn't know what the Beastmaster (Jarro) or the thug (Tak) had done, and therefore had no way of knowing the full story. Of course, the same was true for Ruvis and Dorumur, who were waiting on the 18th floor.

They were completely unaware of the appearance of the "Calamity" that was wreaking havoc.

"Those who escaped said that the Hestia Familia seems to still be in the Great Cavern, with the Floor Master..."

"What...!? You mean they just stood by and watched someone die!?"

"What can we do? Faced with a main battle on a floor where neither our equipment nor our numbers are sufficient, anyone would run away!"

"Besides, those monsters are acting strangely! They've started howling everywhere, and just now a whole bunch of monsters of all kinds managed to break through the 19th floor passageway we were occupying and escaped!"

It's almost as if the destination is the "Mysterious City of Water".

Upon hearing the news from his underlings, Dorumur and Luvis were speechless.

The information was complicated and confusing, and even Luvis and his men couldn't figure out what was going on. Even the loudly shouting underlings probably only understood less than half of it.

However, a single word came to mind for everyone present.

-- "Abnormal situation".

An "unusual situation" has occurred in the dungeon, making the task of defeating [Gale] seem trivial in comparison.