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

To this day, I have suffered rejection, been pushed to the bottom, and felt devastated... The memories that linger in my mind are nothing but pain.

"I've always been terrified! Heartbroken! Sad, and I never want to get hurt again!"

Even so, Cassandra kept talking.

"I'm only ever afraid, but I've never uttered the most important word!"

The appearance of the boy (Bell) made her feel redeemed.

She fantasized about how wonderful it would be if she could stay by his side forever, whispering sweet nothings, and let him accept her.

But ultimately, it's just dependence.

Cassandra did nothing.

She never seriously confronted the world that forced her to accept tragedy, nor the "prophetic curse" that was etched upon her.

She never seriously uttered those "words".

"You only need to listen to my 'precognitive dream' just once! So!!"

Don't succumb to despair.

We must resist the "curse" that attempts to tear everyone apart.

You must not lose to your weak self who is afraid of rejection and dares not face despair.

"Daphne, trust me!"

Firm and powerful words resounded through the crumbling void.

His outstretched hands grasped Daphne's right hand, enveloping it tightly.

Their gazes and eyes met.

Cassandra's eyes held a genuine plea, while Daphne's eyes rippled like water.

The two gazed at each other, and time and feelings intertwined in an instant.

At last……

"...How could I possibly believe in that kind of 'dream'!"

Daphne forcefully shook off Cassandra's hand.

Cassandra's eyes widened with tears, soon to be tinged with true despair.

then……

"Everyone! Head east!!"

Daphne made a "decision".

She turned to look at the astonished Lily and the others, and threw the "stay" option in front of them.

“…Huh?”

Cassandra stood there, stunned. Daphne turned to her and said:

"I don't believe your 'dreams'!"

She pouted, her cheeks flushed red.

Daphne pointed at her with her index finger and shouted:

"I believe in Cassandra Illion, do you hear me!"

Daphne did not believe in "prophetic dreams".

Daphne believed her "friend (Cassandra)".

It took Cassandra only a moment to grasp this.

But that was a fleeting moment that was almost eternal.

Tears welled up in Cassandra's eyes.

Daphne, her cheeks flushed, grabbed the girl's right hand again and started running.

Cassandra gripped her burning hot hand tightly in return.

"Hurry up! Quickly!!"

Daphne shouted as she and Cassandra headed "east"; Lily and the other team members reflexively obeyed.

Everyone accepted the girl's choice that tipped the scales of majority.

"Run! Run! Aa ...

Aisha's screams, coming from the very end, were drowned out by the screams of the collapsing building.

The adventurers leaped and ran between the icebergs, with a rain of giant crystal blocks close behind them. The screaming tree domes burned and collapsed, constantly shaking the lake.

The raging waves roared, and the azure flames danced, staging a grand finale. Daphne and the others, while shaking off the deathly accompaniment emanating from the dungeon, traversed the vast void, descended to the eastern shore, and raced at full speed.

Heading towards the passageway leading to the 26th floor.

The group rushed into the small gap between the tree roots that had driven into the ground and the ground.

"~ ...

The next instant, the great void roared loudly, and finally the mountains collapsed and the earth split open.

With a deafening roar, the waterfall pool was filled with crystal rubble, and the blast wave blew away Daphne and the others who had rushed into the cave.

"Wa ...

And at the same time...

The man (Tucker) and others who chose the "west" path were caught in the collapse and fell from the crumbling wall.

No one accompanied them on their final journey. They paid the price for destroying the dungeon by being crushed by a crystal avalanche.

"We escaped...we've escaped a disaster..."

"If we had tried to go back to floor 24..."

Lily and Chigusa propped themselves up, their shoulders heaving as they gasped for breath, their faces turning pale.

They looked up and saw that the cave leading directly to the 25th floor had been almost completely crushed and blocked.

"Daphne～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～!!"

"Don't hug me! We haven't solved any of the problems yet!"

Among the team that had narrowly escaped death, Cassandra hugged Daphne while crying.

Both of them remained slumped on the ground. Daphne, her face flushed, struggled to pull away the girl who kept pressing her cheek against hers.

"Thank you, thank you...! Thank you for believing in me...!"

Cassandra hugged her neck like a little doll and sobbed, but a smile was on her face.

These were tears of joy shed because her confidant believed in her.

Daphne, who had initially tried to pull her away, pouted again, as if she was shy and unwilling to admit it.

"Stop making a scene! Stand up, all of you! They're coming!"

Aisha's voice flew in sharply.

Upon closer inspection, numerous monsters appeared and advanced towards them on the 26th level, a passage branching out like tree branches.

It was as if they were saying: We will never let you survivors escape.

"Misfortunes never come singly...!"

"Stop rambling on, big guy! Things have come to this, we have to get to Bell's side no matter what!!"

Sakura raised the riddled-with-hole "Royal Gang," and Welf, equipped with the spare "Demon Sword," stood beside him.

Daphne and Cassandra also quickly stood up.

The adventurers, who had narrowly escaped death, didn't even have time to appreciate the preciousness of life before being thrust into a state of combat readiness.

He handed the unconscious Ming and Chunji to the defenders, and the vanguard charged forward.

The female warrior led the charge with her greatsword, slashing at the monsters and causing them to bleed profusely; the adventurers' battle would continue.

Volume 14, Chapter 8: The Sound of the Hammer

It's too late.

Even Anya, who is generally considered not very bright, could at least understand this when she saw the scene unfolding before her eyes.

"What's going on!?"

"...Is the 'Water City' usually a hellish sight like this, meow?"

Lunova was horrified, but Roy spoke in a heavy tone.

They stood frozen on the cliff in front of the 25th-floor passageway.

Below, the vast void presented a terrifying sight.

The raging inferno and the remnants that looked like the roots of a giant tree burned away. The crystal rubble, enough to fill a vast waterfall pool, was so numerous that it wouldn't be surprising if it buried everyone in the great cavern alive. The heat waves and massive amounts of steam generated by the seemingly endless raging inferno even reached Anya and her companions. As Chloe said, calling it "hell" wouldn't be an exaggeration.

The ceilings and walls of the building were also collapsed and destroyed as if they had been gnawed by a giant dragon.

The beautiful water park is long gone.

"It must be that the floor owner caused a ruckus in this huge hole... but this is the first time I've ever seen anything like it."

Even Tsubaki, at level 5, narrowed her right eye, which was not covered by an eyepatch, with a serious expression.

She stated that this was by no means a natural phenomenon, but rather the result of the aftermath of fierce fighting causing the collapse of the large cavity.

"Someone had already fought here before the cats arrived, meow...?"

After the battle broke out in this huge cavern, it is unknown how much time had passed.

A few hours? Or half a day?

Has the floor owner (Amphispina) been defeated?

In a situation where everything is ambiguous, only one thing is clear.

That is to say, for those who "fought here", Anya and the others arrived too late.

"!...Ryu should be on the 27th floor, meow! Cats, go down there right now, meow!"

While her thoughts were in turmoil, Anya suddenly looked around and shouted.

Because she realized that no matter how long she stopped to think, she was just wasting her time.

The vast, hellish void below could not possibly harbor any living beings. With the azure flames still raging, breathing would be difficult, whether on land or in water, or one would be buried alive. Searching for survivors here was a waste of time.

They had already heard in Rivera Town that the main expedition team of [Gale] had headed to the 27th floor. Faced with this "abnormal situation," Anya, anxious for her elven colleagues, urged everyone to hurry on their way.

"That's true, but... everything's collapsed, there's nowhere decent to go! What are we going to do!"

"Sigh, I guess we have no choice but to climb down this cliff..."

"Wow, is this for real, meow..."

"There aren't any winged monsters (meow) in this huge cavity right now! As long as we don't get disturbed, it'll definitely be possible, meow! Besides... my brother... he often charges down this high wall by himself! So it's absolutely feasible, meow! I-I should be!"

Runova frowned, Chun tapped her shoulder with the back of her knife, and Roy politely stuck out her tongue.

Anya's completely unmotivating words echoed hollowly in the vast emptiness, and after a long while...

"Damn it! Let's go!"

Lunova and the others prepared for the worst, nodded to each other, and then leaned forward in one go.

The group broke through the stifling steam and jumped off the cliff.

They rushed down the cliffs without using their hands, and whenever their foothold collapsed, they would insert their weapons deep into the wall to hold it up.

The group nearly fell off the cliff several times, but they helped each other and made their way down to the lower floors.

○

"Damn it!!"

The spare longsword, swung out, severed the "half-fishman's" body.

The fish-man monster, cleaved in two, died, but new "half-fishmen" trampled the corpse and attacked. Seeing this, Welf cursed endlessly.