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

They had no concrete way to fight off or get rid of the horde of out-of-control monsters.

The distant howl of the monster echoed into the silent cavern where the curtains had fallen once more.

The approaching "death battle" filled the squad with a chilling anxiety.

Lily and Daphne racked their brains to find a solution.

Sakura and Chigusa let the unconscious Mikoto and Haruhime lie on the ground, and with bitter expressions on their faces, they held the hands of the two girls.

Aisha and Perth stared intently at the entrance, wary of any signs of an enemy.

Cassandra desperately tried to decipher the remaining "prophecies".

(What should I do?)

At last……

Welf, too, stood frozen in the narrow crevice of frustration.

(How can I get to Bell's side? How can I overcome this obstacle?)

Just like Lily and the others, Welf also wanted to find a way to overcome this predicament.

He repeatedly challenged seemingly unsolvable situations, searching for solutions.

(At least one would need a "demon sword"...!)

Instead of the answer I couldn't come up with even after racking my brains, these words, which sounded like complaints, came to mind.

("Stop comparing personal convictions with those of your companions on the scales..." Yes, I won't do that anymore, I'm not doing that anymore! But the most important "Demon Sword" is still not in my hands!)

Should he curse himself for being careless and using up all the "magic swords"?

Should one be ashamed of their own abilities, for only being able to forge a "magic sword" that breaks after one use and is not hard enough?

No matter how you look back on your past actions, it will only bring regret.

(What can I do for these guys? What can I, the blacksmith, offer in return to the adventurers (these guys)!?)

He closed his eyes and asked himself a question.

Clench your fists and use your own value to challenge the world.

(Goddess Hephaestus, what... should I do?)

Spineless. Absolutely spineless.

But he couldn't help asking.

When Welf was truly, truly troubled.

Each time, it was a goddess who would speak the words he desired to him.

Seeing herself in this pathetic state, and seeing the blacksmith (Wilf Crozzo) who has accomplished nothing, what would she say?

The desire to depend on women disgusted Wilf.

But Welf, setting aside shame and pride, poured out his heart to the supreme being within him for the sake of his companions:

(In a place like this (the dungeon), what can I possibly do...!)

then……

"As long as you have a hammer, iron, and a burning passion (flame), you can forge weapons anywhere."

The voice of the beloved goddess.

The supreme light that was sworn to be achieved.

These all became divine revelations, piercing through Welf's brain.

"──────"

He opened his eyes wide.

He let his arms tremble.

The words that Hephaestus, the goddess of forging, had spoken to him in the past came vividly and strongly back into his mind.

Welf, who had been standing there blankly, looked up as if he had been electrocuted and scanned his surroundings.

The cave has only one entrance and exit.

Lily's backpack is filled with various tools.

Finally, there was the "Demon Sword" on the verge of destruction, and the "Refined Metal" still in his hand.

The flickering flames danced within the cracked blade, the metal gleaming with a steely gray sheen.

Welf looked down at his hands and gasped.

A moment later—he made up his mind.

He clenched his teeth so tightly they were almost broken, tearing his eyes open with the power of his will, and gripping the "Demon Sword" and "Refined Metal" with all his might.

Welf took a step toward his companions.

"Hey, listen to me."

A resolute voice rang out in the deathly silent cave.

Welf drew the attention of Lily and the others, and asked:

"Can you entrust your lives to me?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared back at him in disbelief.

No one could understand the meaning behind Welf's words or figure out his true intentions, and they panicked.

"...Blacksmith, you wouldn't...?"

Only cherry blossoms were among them, and intuitively sensing the young man's "answer," she spoke in a trembling voice.

Welf looked back at his companions and told them:

"I will forge the 'Demon Sword' here."

This sentence made time stand still at the scene.

“…Huh?”

"I mean, I'm going to forge something here. I'm going to create a new 'magic sword'."

He spoke to Cassandra, who had paused in thought, in a tone that suppressed his emotions.

He said he was going to create a "magic sword" in this labyrinth (dungeon).

Build a "Forge" to forge iron in the monster forge where you may be attacked at any time.

He was covered in sweat, and declared this with eyes that were devoid of any gloom.

"—It's impossible!!"

Lily loudly denied it.

"Please don't talk nonsense!! What are you thinking?! It's not even a safe floor, yet you're trying to forge iron in the very middle of a dangerous area!"

Aisha and the others were stunned. Even Lily, who had been friends with Welf for a long time, uttered a series of words that were almost a scolding.

"If we're really going to talk about it, where did you get your tools? A forge? Where did you find the materials to forge the 'Demon Sword'!?"

Welf, who was dismissed as talking nonsense, replied calmly in a low voice:

"Among the tools brought for repairs were a hammer and a hearth. The hearth fire can also be supplied using this 'magic sword'."

This answer left Lily speechless, and she glanced at the backpack she was carrying.

As Welf said, he brought everything he needed in his baggage.

That was a complete set of forging tools that Welf had prepared himself for the "expedition".

That is, the blacksmith "workshop" that repaired Bell and others' weapons and made the "Goliath Scarf".

"I just got the 'materials' too."

The twisted, ultra-hard metal that Welf held emitted a dark luster that burned into the eyes of the stunned and speechless Daphne and the others.

"In this situation, only the 'Demon Sword' can fight its way out. If we want to blast away those monsters and reach the 27th floor, we can only rely on the power of the Cursed Bloodline (Krozo)...!"

While venting his distress, Welf also shared his thoughts.

"Once I begin 'forging,' I will be unable to move. Therefore, please protect me until the 'Demon Sword' is completed. ... Please entrust your lives to me."

An unnatural silence pervades the cave, as if it were isolated from the world.

Scattered crystal shards shimmered with a pale blue light.

Lily, Chigusa, Daphne, and Cassandra all stared in disbelief, while Aisha and Sakura remained silent.

"Not cold? You little brat... are you serious?"

With his eyes twitching and spasming, Perth managed to squeeze out those words.

I've never seen a blacksmith as insane as you.

Even the town's headmaster judged Welf in the same way, but he roared in response:

"Whether I'm crazy or not isn't the point! Do you have any other ideas? If not, answer me: do you trust me or not?!"

Welf looked around at Lily and the others, and finally at the female warrior.

Looking at the second-tier adventurers in this small team who actually have the power to make decisions.

Aisha, who was facing off against Welf, slowly spoke:

"...Can you do it?"

She only asked that one question.

Before answering, Welf closed his eyes. He examined his own heart once more.

There is a sledgehammer.

There is an iron block.

So, is your "flame" burning?

"—Does that even need to be said!"

It's burning.

Welf's passion (flame) was burning hotter than ever before.

He opened his eyes wide and roared at the top of his lungs:

"As long as you have a hammer, iron, and a burning passion (flame), you can forge weapons anywhere! That's in our blacksmith's nature!!"

The sound of determination and vows resonated throughout the surrounding space.

Ignoring Daphne and the others' astonished breathlessness, Aisha smiled.

"Okay, then you do it."

Then, even the cherry blossoms, which had been silent, smiled.

"Okay, go ahead and fight."

Starting with their words, Lily sighed deeply, Daphne struggled to stay upright, and Chigusa clenched one hand tightly against her chest in a gesture of trust. Perth slapped his knee hard and said, "...You brat!!" a hateful smile spreading across his face.

Cassandra nodded courageously in respect of Welf's decision.

"Our lives—"

Give up, let go, and realize the truth.

Sakura, representing the team members who each harbored different feelings, spoke first:

"—It's up to you now."

Facing his trusting companions, Welf responded with a bold and fearless smile.

○

Welf untied the handkerchief (headscarf) from his neck and tied it on his head.

This is the procedure, the ritual, required for Welf to become a "blacksmith" from a mortal.

He wielded the "Demon Sword".