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

Bell tried his best to avert his gaze, avoiding the questions that were welling up in his mind.

Now, he must focus on getting himself and Ryu to safety.

The monsters' incessant roars terrified Bell and his companions even through the fur robes they wore.

(...Why was this kind of space created for the underground city...?)

Bell pondered as he stealthily carried out his "covert" operation under extreme conditions.

According to the management (guild) records, this "arena" appears to have appeared suddenly about thirty years ago.

The adventurers' reports indicated that this place was originally just a vast cavern with many huge rock formations stacked on top of each other, but it had unknowingly transformed into this special terrain.

An endless stream of goblets, an endless struggle. A cycle of monsters (monsters) where the beginning and the end lie at the same point.

This "arena" is a labyrinthine trap (dungeon gimmick) designed to kill any adventurers who invade this place.

Or is it a stage where monsters fight each other?

Or is it that no will intervened at all, and it was merely a product of chance?

The surrounding darkness refused to answer any questions.

As if to say that the question of an adventurer was not worth mentioning, a barking sound came from afar.

"The bridge on the east side..."

Soon, Bell and the others arrived at the bridge extending to their left.

A stone bridge, constructed in the same way as the one Bell and his companions crossed on the north side, extends all the way to the walls of the Great Chamber.

"Miss Ryu... After crossing this East Bridge, is the east side leading out of the 'Arena' not connected to the main route? If it is connected, then we don't need to go to the South Bridge...?"

"Unfortunately, we can't get to the proper route from the east entrance. The south and west exits lead to the maze by bypassing the 'Arena,' but... we can only take the south path."

Overwhelmed by the intense tension, Bell blurted out a naive idea, only to be rejected by Ryu. The fact that they could have left the "arena" from the western exit if it weren't for the massive group of pillars on the northwest side filled Bell with frustration.

In short, we've finally made it halfway.

By simply following the fan-shaped outer edge from east to south, you can reach the bridge to your destination.

—Just as I was thinking this, it happened.

"...!!"

The two "cunning wolves" jumped onto the sixth level where Bell and his group were.

The distance was very close, less than ten meters. Bell and the others quickly lowered their bodies, their breathing stopped.

The sound of my heartbeat vibrated violently inside my chest.

“Wuwuwu…”

The wolf-headed monster was peering around.

It brought its face close to where it was standing, then turned its neck several times, its nose twitching frequently.

It seemed to have caught a whiff of something. Bell's body temperature rose as if burned by anxiety. He could feel Ryu's face contorting.

(Go away, go away! Go away...!)

He silently prayed, pleaded, and murmured beneath his fur robe, which blended into the dim space.

then……

His eyes met those of the beast as it turned its head, their gazes meeting through the fur robe.

(────────)

Just as Bell's heart trembled so violently it nearly burst.

"...Gurgle..."

The monster turned its back to Bell and the others and left.

Five seconds, ten seconds passed, and they still showed no sign of turning back. The two monsters failed to detect Bell and his companions' "secret" operation, and they escaped completely.

In an instant, the muscles that had been stretched to their limit relaxed.

The overwhelming feeling of exhaustion almost made Bell sigh out loud, but Ryu gently covered his mouth with her hand.

(I escaped a disaster...)

The elevated heartbeat gradually returned to its original rhythm.

Bell was dominated by a sense of security.

"Gaa ...

at this time.

Somewhere in the "arena" unknown to Bell and his companions, a monster met its end.

The individual even had its "magic stone" destroyed, returning to dust.

Just as it takes its place, naturally, new life is born into the world.

The crying sound as they fell to the ground came from directly below the two humans.

"──────"

With a crackling sound.

The cracks that appeared beneath his feet caused Bell's time to stop.

Ryūya froze on the spot.

They were not allowed to react—a skeletal arm flew out from the cracked rock.

"Roar!!"

The skeletal fingers gripped Bell's foot.

The skeletal warriors, whose full forms appeared menacingly from the floor, were called "Earthborn".

The monster grabbed the boy's ankle, lifted him high into the air, and removed the "camouflage cloth" covering them.

Countless eyes scattered throughout the "arena," the monster's murderous intent...

All the attention was focused on the two humans who had been exposed.

"—Ughh ...

With a scream that seemed to come from fear, Bell used the Blade of Hestia to sever the bony arm that was gripping his ankle.

Just before Bell was about to fall to the ground, Ryu slammed his shoulder into the "Earthling," knocking it out of the "arena." First came a cry, followed by the sound of something being smashed and pierced.

But it was all too late.

"Hoohoo ...

The monsters roared and charged toward Bell and his companions with battle cries that shook the entire cave.

“Run!!”

Liu shouted excitedly without regard for anything else, and Bell's feet immediately started running the moment he heard the words.

He grabbed Liu's hand and threw himself into the great escape.

"Haa, haa, haa!?"

The worst had come; Bell's breathing became erratic.

He gripped his hand tightly, refusing to let go no matter what, and rushed across the remaining path to survival in the southeast of the fan-shaped "arena".

The monster's endless roars, hostility, and murderous intent relentlessly pursued Bell's profile and Ryu's back.

Bell couldn't help but turn around and look behind him, his cheek twitching.

The countless writhing figures and monster silhouettes illuminated by the phosphorescence looked like a giant black comet, about to gather around Bell and his companions.

This is not a metaphor; all the monsters in the "arena" targeted Bell and his companions.

The monster army charged toward the two adventurers.

Once swallowed by that raging, turbid torrent, not even bones will be left.

"Gaa ...

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!"

The monsters on the fifth and fourth rock layers appeared on the sixth rock layer, either jumping or climbing.

Blocking their way was a jungle called the Monster.

They gathered in small groups, attempting to block Bell and Ryu's path.

"Get out of here!?"

Bell's cry, which reached the heavens, sounded both like a scream and a plea.

He slammed the "White Illusion" into the chest of the "Lizardman Elite" who had raised his stone sword to challenge him. Before a cloud of dust could even settle, the three "Cunning Wolves" pounced, and he blocked them with a sweeping motion of his left arm, which was wrapped in a giant's scarf. The monsters' claws and teeth were shattered and sent flying by the wildly swinging, hammer-like fists.

However, as if mocking Bell, hordes of "earthlings" charged forward, wielding swords and spears.

"...!?"

"Don't take them too seriously! Just focus on clearing the way!"

Bell nearly fell backward as his skin was ripped open, but Ryu had no energy to worry about him. She adopted a beast-like forward-leaning posture, letting the saber flash past. Protecting her injured right leg, she lunged forward and delivered a strike that cut the shinbones of the "Earthlings" while staying close to the ground.

The three monsters fell down one after another. Bell opened his eyes wide, grabbed Ryu's outstretched hand with perfect understanding, pulled her up forcefully, and then took off running.

The powerful stomp of his boots crushed the skull of the "earth-born man," but Bell didn't even glance at it, instead stretching out his left hand straight towards the towering walls of monsters that were blocking his way one after another.

"【Flame Lightning】!!"

Using even his reserved mental energy, Bell unleashed a four-shot "Quick Attack Magic" to deflect the enemy's attack, ignoring the burst of heat and charging in with Ryu.

They squeezed their bodies into the horde of monsters, forcing their way out. Claws struggling in agony and stone swords (natural weapons) swinging wildly and indiscriminately cut and tore through their skin.

The two traversed the monster jungle, brushing past countless howls. As for those individuals that attacked relentlessly without gathering with their kind, they were either kicked or sent flying by the "Adventurer's Relic Sword," knocking them out of the "arena."

Faced with a horde of enemies swarming in from behind like a tidal wave, the moment he realized he would be overtaken...

"Mr. Crannie!"

"!!"

Ryukyu cast a crimson glow.

It was a treasured "Flame Stone." As soon as Bell turned around, he aimed and fired at the bomb that was thrown behind him along a parabolic trajectory.

The lightning bolt, which struck precisely, triggered a massive explosion.

"Ahhhhhh!?"

The massive sparks blasted not only the monsters, but also the outer perimeter of the "arena," sending many monsters crashing into the abyss below. A portion of the six layers of rock behind them collapsed like an avalanche, and at the same time, Bell and his companions escaped the imminent pursuit.

However──

"Aa ...

Every time Bell and his friends defeat a monster, a new cry of someone falling to the ground is heard.

This is the true power of the "Arena," which even first-class adventurers fear: an endless source of energy. Several times, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on Bell and his companions' path, and just when they thought they had narrowly escaped danger, another monster would leap out.

Killing the enemy is meaningless.

The monster's pursuit will never end.

(—No.)

Just as Bell leaped and kicked through the fifth layer of rock, desperately fending off the numerous attacking monsters, reason coldly whispered in a corner of his mind. In the instant that icy blood rushed through his boiling brain, a gloomy thought groaned.

He is now holding hands with Ryu, who is unable to run at full speed.

If he tries to escape with her wounded, they will catch up sooner or later.

Besides, even if they manage to cross the bridge and escape, they'll be doomed if the monsters from the "Arena" follow. The Infinite Parade will relentlessly hunt down Bell and his companions.

No, it's over. Ryu also said that it would be over once they were discovered.

This escape has become meaningless.

It's already impossible to save him.

"—It's not over yet!!"