The maze was built starting with the mother skeleton replenishing its magic.

Glenn is now going through a painful decision.

The choice is to save the people in front of you.

Or should we abandon them and bring the intelligence back to Earth to save more people?

Wait, a painful choice?

Glenn's body went limp, and he could only support himself by planting his longsword in the ground. He gritted his teeth and stared at Lilith:

"Sorry, I think I've been infected."

"Why are you in so much pain?"

"I want to save you all," Glenn said with a wry smile. "I don't want to let a single one of you go."

While the group was discussing countermeasures, the smaller monsters returned with renewed force.

This time it seems they're aiming to kill them, and their numbers are several times greater than before.

As the small, monstrous beasts surged in like the sea, even the air was filled with a sense of despair.

Once these small scourges have killed them, they will spread across the land and eventually repeat the tragedy that befell Somlius.

Glenn managed to stand up, and just as he was preparing to fight to the death... he thought he heard footsteps?

There were many chaotic footsteps and shouts.

The sound was getting closer.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

"It's a monster! Kill it! You'll be credited with a victory!"

To everyone's surprise, a large group of adventurers rushed in from the maze entrance, weapons raised and shouting.

Then, the moment they entered the first level, the adventurers collapsed due to [Belzahar's Domain].

The shouts were halved...

Immediately afterwards, they rallied their spirits, raised their weapons again, and fought against the small monsters that were about to charge at them.

The shouts are back!

The sounds of clashing swords, the bombardment of magic, and the battle cries of adventurers filled the first level of the Starfall Labyrinth.

"This is..." Lilith was somewhat surprised.

"You're a knight of the Church of Frey, right?" A bearded adventurer, wielding a giant axe, grinned at Lilith. "Don't underestimate adventurers. Judging from the commotion your church has been making lately, something big must be happening."

"So this monster is that calamity beast, right?"

Another female mage stepped forward, helped Lilith up, and smiled at her.

"After seeing you rushing to the labyrinth, the guild immediately organized adventurers to prepare to go to the labyrinth together."

"We can't always leave the most dangerous places to the Frey Church to deal with, and it would be terrible if this monster went to the ground."

The bearded adventurer roared, cleaving the small monster in front of him in two, then hoisted his axe onto his shoulder and laughed heartily.

"If protecting this world is the mission of you Freya followers."

"Protecting you is our responsibility as adventurers."

After the adventurers joined the battle, the human side's morale reached an unprecedented height.

The front line advanced step by step toward the heart of flesh and blood.

Even though these adventurers were all suffering from debuffs that weakened them, they still fought bravely.

Battles always involve casualties; some weaker adventurers were injured or even nearly lost their lives in battles with small monsters.

But everyone's beliefs were united.

They never backed down.

After the initial surge of excitement, the adventurers gradually began to show signs of decline.

Even the toughest adventurers have their limits. Faced with an almost endless stream of monstrous beasts, they fight off one wave only to be met with another.

As one side gains at the expense of the other, the adventurers' resolve began to waver: Could this monster really be killed?

How many more waves of attacks are needed to kill it? Ten waves? Twenty waves?

"Damn it...damn it, I don't want to die!"

The emotionally distraught, weak adventurer screamed and threw down his weapon, terrified. He turned to flee the maze, only to be slapped to the ground by his companion.

He sat there in a daze, looking up at his companion who was full of anger.

"You escaped here, but what about Byrondin behind you?!"

"I......"

"His Highness the King is surely on his way with his army! We must grit our teeth and hold out until they arrive!"

After speaking, the adventurer reached out his hand to his companion on the ground, gritting his teeth as he looked at him:

"Get up! Let's do it one more time!"

"Snap—"

His hand was slapped away.

"We can't do it! We simply can't! We're too tired, we have no strength left! What are we going to use to fight? Aren't our lives lives too!"

This is just one example of the situation on the front lines, and similar situations are becoming increasingly common.

The adventurers' fighting spirit is slowly fading, and fear and despair are spreading rapidly.

Klara licked her lips.

The despair felt by the adventurers who flooded in could help her regain her strength.

Unexpectedly, there was an additional benefit.

Once they have subdued the rampaging Lena, they can then absorb her power.

"Everyone! Don't be afraid!"

Glenn's shouts echoed throughout the first level of the maze.

To ensure his voice reached everyone's ears, the boy dragged his longsword and ran back and forth across the battlefield.

"The way to overcome Berzaha's dominance is to be firm in your own heart! Don't underestimate yourself!"

"Monsters get hurt and die too, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

"Everyone! Pick up your weapons! Let's fight our way out!"

What he was doing was not eliminating the despair in people's hearts, but awakening the courage in their hearts.

From the first era onward, human courage has always been the most magnificent epic of this continent.

After their physical strength is exhausted, their willpower will lead them to break through the encirclement.

The adventurers roared in unison, their spirits lifted, and they mustered their courage to swing their weapons and charge toward the heart again and again.

again and again.

again and again.

Lilith is level 45, but she is also the one who has been nerfed the most. She has at least three wounds on her arm, yet she is still wielding her sword.

Harvey had no magic left. He picked up the longsword that had fallen to the side and engaged in close combat with the small monster.

The front line advanced toward the heart once more, the despair grew ever stronger, and the courage that erupted after that despair became all the more pure.

Everyone knows that with the weakening effect of the [Domain], they are absolutely unable to kill the heart, yet they still wield their blades.

despair.

courage.

Two complex emotions intertwined.

Then, ancient and muffled bells rang out from the scene, ringing out in waves, momentarily drowning out the monster's roars and the clash of swords.

Glenn stared in disbelief at his right hand, which was flashing with a dazzling white light from the back of his hand, accompanied by the sound of bells ringing out, and the longsword in his hand also emitted light.

The light was warm and powerful, and the voice was deep yet full of hope.

Glenn looked at his right hand, as if he had some unseen realization.

The moment of deepest despair is precisely the moment when hope arrives.

[A hero's wish: When despair reaches its deepest point, a miracle will happen.]

Glenn started running, and the adventurers around him seemed to realize something and desperately cleared a path for him straight to his heart.

Ahead lay countless small, monstrous beasts rushing towards him. Glenn mustered all his strength and hurled his longsword toward the Crimson Heart.

The moment the longsword left his hand, time seemed to slow down around him.

The adventurers looked up at the longsword that shone with white light, flying slowly toward their hearts in a perfect arc. In mid-air, points of light, symbolizing all that is good, shone on them, warm and comforting.

They remembered many wonderful things.

As they threw their swords, they were reminded of childhood afternoons, playing with their friends, and the joy of those times.

As the longswords flew through the air, they recalled their first adventure, their first monster kill, their first bounty, and even... their first time walking with a girl on a street bathed in the setting sun.

As they spun their longswords, they thought about how they should have a good drink when they got back after this mission, and perhaps they should bring some gifts back for their daughter.

Then.

That sword, carrying everyone's hopes, pierced straight into the ground in front of his heart...

No, it missed?!

Couldn't you have used a little more force?

ended.

This was almost like a decisive blow from the protagonist in a shonen manga, but in the end, it ended before even reaching the boss.

That's great, I want to be an adventurer again in my next life.

After that sword strike, despair was amplified infinitely, completely overwhelming the adventurers' minds this time.

Nothing is more disheartening than falling into despair after being filled with hope.

The beasts roared, and the adventurers retreated in disarray.

At that very moment, the space around the longsword Glenn threw suddenly began to vibrate at a visible frequency, the magic in the air hummed, and a blue light curtain with unstable arcs of electricity flickering at its edges tore the space apart.

as if......

Glenn's sword strike wasn't meant to kill the Crimson Heart, but rather to open this portal.

Then, a skeleton emerged from the portal.

He wore a dark purple armored robe, and his eyes burned with a crimson soul fire.

Clearly, the skeleton was somewhat stunned when it stepped out of the portal, turning its head to look around at the scenery.

The small monstrous beasts around him pounced immediately. With a wave of his hand, the skeleton caused thunderclouds to gather above the first level of the maze, and blue and white lightning bolts struck the monsters present.

Moments later, only piles of ashes remained at the scene.

"Sixth-tier magic..."

A mage swallowed hard, staring blankly at the sixth-tier skeleton that had just started attacking.

Small monstrous creatures began to sprout anew from the ground.

The skeleton turned to face the adventurers, and then a deep and majestic voice came from him.

"You're courting death."