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

"What—"

Immediately afterward, Bell began to doubt his own eyes.

"His right arm is still there!?"

Bell saw the right half of the "Zagnat" confronting them.

Beneath the thin, dark veil wrapped around her entire body, the outline of her right arm was indeed visible.

What happened? In the life-or-death battle on the 27th floor, Bell risked his life to steal Zagnat's right arm. His ultimate move, "Argo Vesta," should have burned the right arm along with the "Broken Claw."

However, upon closer inspection, even the tail, which had been cut in half, had returned to its original length.

Self-regeneration? The enemy possesses the same ability as "Black Goliath"?

Just as the arm that had been taken away at the cost of his life was revived, causing Bell to waver...

"...?"

Something was stirring in the depths of darkness.

It's right on the right arm, from the shoulder to the forearm.

It was unclear whether "Zagnat" was squeezing it out, but an annoying hissing sound echoed all around.

It's like collecting insects in a jar and having them eat each other.

It's like two gears that should never mesh, but a piece of meat is stuck between them and forced to keep turning.

Unconsciously, Bell's brain was sounding an alarm.

Soon after, the monster bearing the name of calamity took a step forward with a roar.

Under the concentrated illumination of phosphorescence, it dispelled the thin shadow that enveloped it.

"──────"

Bell's time stood still.

Ryūya froze on the spot.

The monster's exposed right arm is made up of countless white bone masks.

"...A skeletal sheep...?"

From the shoulders to the outer sides of the elbows, there were sheep skulls everywhere.

The dead sheep that Bell fought countless times on this floor became part of the "Zagnat's" body.

“Could it be…?”

Liu's lips trembled with shock.

The next sentence, which was avoided from being spoken, was continued by Bell's lips:

"It devoured the monster...?"

This is the "answer".

It's different from the "enhanced species".

It did more than just devour the "magic stone".

Instead, it completely absorbed its own kind (monsters).

You can directly devour a monster and obtain its body.

It's impossible for such a thing to happen; it's unimaginable.

However, without thinking this way, it is impossible to give an explanation for the "monster" in front of us.

Therefore, this is an unprecedented "abnormal situation".

It is an "unknown" that even the dungeon did not anticipate.

Adventurers, monsters, labyrinths.

Ryudai expressed the trembling feeling of all beings in this realm.

"Impossible... How could this happen...!?"

"Zagnat" raised its bizarre arm as if simply to demonstrate its power.

The right arm, made of white bone, presents a chilling contrast to the body covered in a blue-purple shell.

The sheep's ribs, leg bones, and twisted horns... countless bones interlock like puzzle pieces, depicting a deformed curve. Moreover, there are exposed, pale red muscles in the right arm.

Those huge fleshy fibers, glistening with blood, probably came from a large-scale (savage warrior).

The humanoid skeletons mixed among countless skeletal parts are genuine skeleton warriors (earth-born people).

The numerous scales covering the writhing tail may have originated from reptilians.

The armor shell, riddled with cracks from the rebound of "magic," was repaired using the body stone of an obsidian soldier.

It wasn't just the skeletal sheep that were absorbed. The Destroyer, lacking the "Magic Stone," absorbed all its kin who dwelled in the "Deep Layer," taking their flesh for its own use.

The hideous, enormous body had grown a whole size larger.

All the powerful enemies (monsters) that Bell had fought on this floor transformed into a collective entity to block his way.

(—"Chimera".)

Bell couldn't help but think of monsters that only appear in fictional works.

It was a fairytale monster with the body of a hundred beasts, a powerful demon purely a product of imagination.

Now it uses the calamity monster as a vessel, manifesting itself in the world in its worst form.

"Haaaaaah...!"

"Zagnat" transformed into white mist, and the breath he exhaled was like steam, as if he could not suppress the enormous heat generated within his body.

All I heard was a sticky gurgling sound, and certain parts of my right arm began to melt.

Bell and Ryu's cheeks twitched when they saw the skeleton sheep's skull and slime fall to the ground.

A strong rejection reaction.

The "fusion" that should not have happened caused the organizational structures of each monster to begin to repel each other.

The various parts wore each other down, groaning and squeaking incessantly, sounding to Bell like screams of agony. Like the involuntary whimpers of surviving monsters.

This armor, in principle, forces the "Zagnat" body to endure the pain of flesh and blood, and can undoubtedly be called the "Armor of Obsession".

By devouring their own kind to replace their lost bodies, monsters gain new "armor".

To eliminate the white prey—kill Bell.

"Roar!!"

Shattering Bell and his companions' trembling moment, "Zagnat" roared out the battle cry.

It bent its left leg, which had a reverse joint, and leaped towards Bell in one breath.

“Hmm!?”

Facing the "Zagnat" that came flying through the air like a bullet, Bell managed to dodge the "Broken Claw" while having Ryu hide behind him.

He used the giant scarf for defense. Sparks flew between the scarf and his claws, and a sharp pain shot from his left arm all the way to his head, but the situation didn't allow him to utter any more words.

However, this move gave Bell certainty. The enemy's mobility had been reduced.

Bell's shattered "knee" joint, combined with the severe damage to half of his body caused by the "Holy Flame Heroic Slash," slowed down the Destroyer's jumping speed. Even the now exhausted Bell could catch up with the naked eye and neutralize the attack.

But──

"Haaaaah!"

"Zagnat" landed on the wall of the passage, stretching out its right arm, woven from bone.

It was almost like a mimicry of Bell's "Flame Lightning," striking out sharp white bones.

"────"

A total of four white spears shot out from various parts of the right arm.

Bell was speechless as he watched the multiple spearheads form a ring and fly towards him.

"A 'sharp stake'—!?"

In a split second, Bell and Ryu narrowly escaped the approaching death spikes.

Thump! Crack! Crack! Crack! The four bone stakes sank into the ground with a loud thud.

With a thin layer of skin sliced ​​off his right shoulder and bleeding, Bell could not hide his inner turmoil.

"That's from the 'Skeleton Sheep'...!?"

It was the "sharp stake" that had repeatedly caused him trouble.

Unbelievable! The enemy not only absorbed the monster, but also took over its attack methods.

Bell cast a trembling glance at the monstrous creature that was staring at him.

"────────!!"

The saboteurs launched an overwhelming attack.

A series of deafening roars echoed as the monster, clinging to the wall, fired out sixteen "spiked stakes" in succession.

Bone stakes of varying sizes traced different trajectories, hurtling fiercely towards their prey. Bell and his companions turned and dodged without hesitation, their sharp tips shattering the ground like rapid-fire cannons, spraying out a rain of gravel.

Not only that, but as Bell and his crew broke through the smoke and fled in all directions, the crimson eyes followed them all the way.

"Zagnat" sank heavily on his knees and immediately lunged forward.

「!?」

It approaches its prey immediately after firing, transforming itself into a projectile to launch an attack.

As the colossal creature rapidly approached, Bell and his companions took defensive action. Although they narrowly escaped the surprise attack using their "skill and tactics," the monster launched another "spiked spike" as it violently landed.

It gave them no time to catch their breath and left them no room for surprise.

Fire from the ground, or from the air after jumping.

The monster fired its extended "spiked stakes" at high speed like a hail of bullets.

Its momentum can be described as a raging storm. "Zagnat" threatens its prey's life at any time with its deadly "Broken Claws" while also trying to skewer its opponent with "Sharp Stakes", leaving Bell with no choice but to take the beating.

In addition, one must be wary of "magic reflection," so one cannot use quick-attack magic (fire and lightning) to fight the opponent.

"The 'Zagnat' now has ranged weapons...!"

Ryu narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene.

Normally, such "spiked stakes" would be superfluous for the destroyers. "Range weapons" that are slower than their own speed would only become a burden. However, now that the monster's reverse joints have been shattered by Bell, there is no better weapon to compensate for the lost mobility.

It repeatedly engaged in shooting and hand-to-hand combat, even resorting to hit-and-run tactics.

The monsters' tactics stole the adventurers' forte.

The massive diagonal line created by the leap of "Zagnat" itself, along with countless "spiked stakes" of gunfire, darted and danced through the eyes of the two adventurers.

(Too fast!?)

(Can't see clearly!!)

Faced with the crimson gaze that trailed a trail of light and danced rapidly in the darkness, Bell and Ryu inwardly cried out in despair.

Including the area directly above the head, the "sharp stakes" have come from all directions and have now evolved into intense three-dimensional movements.

Forced to take the hit, Bell and his team were tossed around in all directions.

The terrain was also unfavorable to Bell and his team.

This was a wide, unobstructed passage. On this well-organized route, roughly the size of a cavern, "Zagnat" leaped about as if it were empty, arbitrarily disrupting its opponents' movements. Now that the enemy's astonishing jumping speed had slowed, fighting in an enclosed space was more advantageous for Bell's pursuit.

The wave-like attacks were pushing the two adventurers to the brink of despair every second. Despite the fragments of its shell flying off with each leap and the melting limbs of its own kind peeling away, "Zagnat" showed no sign of slowing its onslaught. With a ferocious roar and the gleaming light of its "Broken Claws," it raised high its will to slay its enemy.

Even without its peak mobility, "Zagnat" remains a killer.

Encased in an "Obsession Armor" composed of countless monsters, it ravages its prey in an unprecedented new way.

It can be described as the "Exterminate the Apostles," a death calamity that reminds adventurers of despair and crushes the light of hope.

(My hands are shaking, it's so scary, I'm afraid of that "calamity"...!)