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

"I'll give you my little sword. Don't treasure it as a keepsake, just use it as much as you can. —May you persevere, my formidable first rival."

—Don't go.

Goodbye, Leon.

Please.

Like a farewell party with flowers, the girls smiled brightly.

The tears of Ryu in the past and Ryu in the present overlap.

"──────────────────────────!!"

After ravaging the Rudra clan, the destroyers roared out the signal cannon for another battle.

Alexie and the others responded to the roar and rushed forward, never looking back.

"...[The forest sky that has now vanished...]"

Liu began to sing, her voice trembling.

As the girls' figures receded into the distance, fear and despair filled the air.

Layla was the first to be sacrificed.

With a single swipe of its "claws," the destroyer slashed and killed her, who had lost her sight and was unable to move.

"【An endless night sky inlaid with countless stars!...】"

In her dying moments, Leila detonated the explosives she had been holding on her back.

That was a specially made (secretly hidden) bomb prepared by her skillful hands.

It took away Zagnat's right hand.

"[Respond to my foolish voice, and once again grant me the protection of the starlight...]"

Faced with the monster wailing in pain, Kaguya immediately grabbed her long sword and launched an attack.

She seized the opening Laila had created and struck the enemy's foot with a high-speed slash.

"Zagnat" roared angrily, and with a sweeping motion of its left hand, it sliced ​​Kaguya into several pieces and blew her away.

"[You whom I have abandoned! Light and mercy!]...!"

Besides singing, Liu was powerless to do anything else.

Unable to mend her broken heart, unable to stand up, she could only sob, the image of her fallen companion etched in her eyes.

A man looked at her like this.

The lucky Jala, who had escaped the brutal slaughter, sneered at the hateful elves who wept and sang, utterly ignoring their companions' plight. A chilling smile, etched with fear, twitched across his face.

"【—Come, wandering wind, drifting traveler (peer)!…】"

Finally, there's Alexie.

"【Red Chickweed】!"

With the girl's roaring magic name, flames took hold of her.

Alexandra Rofer.

This girl, possessing rare "skills," is a second-tier adventurer, yet her strength rivals that of first-tier adventurers. Her skillful use of powerful fire-attribute enhancement magic, creating flame armor around her hands, feet, and sword, has earned her the nickname bestowed upon her by the gods—[Scarlet Hernel].

The red swordsman shattered the ground with the flames gathered in his boots, accelerating rapidly and moving with lightning speed.

"[Soaring through the skies, racing across the wilderness! Moving at a speed surpassing all things!...]"

Kaguya's desperate attack severed the enemy's "knee" joint. The monster lost its high-speed mobility.

Facing the panicked and bewildered "Zagnat," Alexie launched her last hand-to-hand combat, living up to her name.

"[Imbued with the brilliance of stars, conquer the enemy!]!"

Faced with such an enemy, "Zagnat" swiftly and viciously lashed out with its claws.

What Ryu saw was the back of her confidante, pierced by the "broken claw".

In an instant, time stood still.

Compared to Ryu, who is in despair, Alisha is about to burn her own life.

"!!"

She deliberately allowed the "broken claw" to pierce through herself, immobilizing the enemy's hand.

Using her counter-attack technique, Alexie plunged her refined metal (mithril) sword into Zagnat's body, roaring:

"Arveria!!"

That's a spell key with added magic.

Like her burning red hair, a dazzling crimson brilliance.

Instead of remaining on the outer shell, the fiery torrents directly penetrated the body, deflecting the armor shell from the inside and shattering it.

As the piercing scream of "Zagnat" rang out, the girl, her head pierced by claws, called out without turning her head—Ryu.

He called her name in a weak voice.

"—Aa ...

Liu wept and cried, her throat trembling as she unleashed her magic.

"[The Wind of Light]!"

The flood of light and the storm of the great light sphere were born from this.

They illuminated the man's (Jara's) face and made Ryu's tears sparkle.

Along with Zagnat, who was horrified by the Radiance of the Wind, the girl's silhouette was swallowed up.

The deafening explosions echoed all around, the force of which shook the cavern.

Then, as everything was swallowed by light, Ryu saw it.

Upon seeing the monster's enormous body, they turned and ran.

Having lost its "shield" and unable to defend against magic, "Zagnat" chose to retreat in the face of the cannon fire. The monster squeezed the reverse joint of its remaining leg, unleashing its acceleration power. It was hit by several large balls of light, and as its body parts bounced off, shattered, and fell off, it escaped the cave with painful and mournful cries.

After all the impact and noise subsided, Ryu, who had no intention of adjusting her heavy breathing, could only see the severely damaged ground in her field of vision.

"Ah, ahh... ahhh..."

Ryu drove away the monster by defeating it, but felt neither moved nor relieved.

All that remained were the corpses of his companions and villains.

I can't find Alicia. It was Ryu who made her disappear.

It was Ryu who burned and killed her with a powerful light as she burned her life to its last breath.

"Aa ...

The weeping was like a burst dam, overflowing everywhere.

The cry, a chorus of all emotions, branded Ryu with the mark of incompetence.

Even regret and repentance are not allowed.

The heart of "justice" has been shattered.

By this time, Jaluo had already vanished without a trace. Ryu didn't care at all; he was simply overwhelmed by his surging emotions.

Ryu, who kept roaring, sensed the approaching monster's presence and had no choice but to flee.

The tragic remains of Lyra and Kaguya scattered on the ground must not be allowed to die in vain here.

Dragging her battered body, unable even to collect her companion's body, tears streamed down her sky-blue eyes as she fled the hall of tragedy.

○

This is the whole story, Ryu's "sin".

In order to survive, she sacrificed her companions, personally burning Alyssa to ashes with a powerful light, killing her.

This is the dark truth that still lingers deep within her heart.

After the incident, Ryu was tormented by an unprecedented sense of loss and heavy guilt. Instead of returning to the goddess (Asteria), she healed her wounds on the surface and immediately returned to the dungeon.

The cave where the tragedy had occurred contained no remains of their companions, only the stark reality that the monsters had devoured them all. The blood-stained weapons the girls had stuck in the ground spoke volumes. This caused Ryu to cry out in despair once more.

Then, trembling like a child, she desperately fought against the deep-seated psychological trauma while searching for the "monster." Claiming to avenge her companion, it was tantamount to suicide, but she had to end it all. To avenge her companion's regrets and to atone for her own sins.

However, she ultimately failed to achieve her goal.

Deep within the labyrinth, Ryu found a large amount of dust that resembled the remains of a corpse—blue-purple dust that looked like the powder of a whole "magic stone" shattered into dust. Unfortunately, she discovered that this was the remains of that "monster".

Ryu was in despair.

The "monster" probably didn't die from Ryu's "magic," but rather from something that had nothing to do with her. Fear, passion, desire—all emotions had lost their place. Not even allowed to "make a clean break," Ryu collapsed to the ground, clutching her head. Leaving behind only a fairy, exhausted both physically and mentally, on the verge of madness.

Later, Ryu brought back the belongings of Alyssa and the others from the "lower levels".

Tears, never ceasing, streamed down her cheeks. Like a doll, Ryu made her grave on the 18th floor, a place they had especially loved in life. It was the labyrinthine amusement park where everyone had once half-jokingly said, "If we die, bury us here."

Having lost her companions and plunged into the abyss of despair, Ryu spent a period of time constantly questioning herself in front of the weapons that stood like tombstones.

He was the only one who survived.

What should I do myself?

I want to disappear, I want to disappear, I want to disappear.

I long to accept death and disappear without a trace.

However, she certainly could not choose to commit suicide.

How could we just throw away the life that Alexandra and the others saved without any purpose?

Doing that would be tantamount to letting them die in vain—

She had a mission to live, yet she also had a strong desire to die.

In the narrow space where the two emotions were locked in conflict, suddenly, a black spark exploded.

"—We can't let them get away with this."

My vision suddenly became distorted and warped, as if it were heated syrup.

The emotions that had been lost, recalling the "enemy" still alive, seemed not to be themselves, and all the cold voices fell from their lips.

Jala, [Rudraksha], the undeniable "villain".

They were the very culprits who brought disaster upon them, causing the deaths of Alyssa and the others. Ryu was filled with resentment and could not forgive them. If those people hadn't done that… it didn't take long for her to reach this conclusion in her mind. A dark, turbid anger burned like a raging inferno.

She found a legitimate reason for "revenge".

By surrendering herself to anger and hatred, Ryu justified herself. Only those people absolutely had to die. If they were allowed to escape, it might bring new calamities. There was no reason to let them go, no need to spare them. Ryu decided to use her own life to eliminate those "villains."

That was not done for the sake of the city, not for the suffering and wailing masses, not for any noble mission of protecting strangers.

It's for myself.

It was to make those guys pay for the lives of Alexandra and the others who died heroically.

At that time, besides this incident, Ryu couldn't think of any other way to use the life they had saved. Or rather, she pretended not to think of any.

Ryu carried out the final act of "justice".

It was probably the most vile of all the "justices" that Alexandra had discussed.

No, in fact, it doesn't even qualify as "justice".

Rather, it is the end of a fairy who cries incessantly, whose body and mind are torn apart, and whose wings decay and fall off.

Ryu's "Sword and Wings of Justice" were scorched by black flames, and at that moment, they were completely burned away.

After deciding to embark on the path of destruction, Ryu distanced himself from the chief goddess Astraea.

Ryu didn't want her to see her ugly self, manipulated by intense emotions. She didn't want the goddess to see into her own heart, a depth even Ryu herself couldn't control. Most importantly, Ryu didn't want this "revenge" to be stopped.

Seeing Ryu avoid eye contact, rubbing her forehead and pleading incessantly, one wonders what Astraea was thinking. Perhaps she was weary of the endless series of tragedies and hatred, or perhaps she was disappointed in the children who couldn't stop fighting.

Blinded by anger, sorrow, hatred, and resentment, Ryu couldn't recall what expression had appeared on Astraea's face at that time.

However, with a sorrowful tone, she said as she left: