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

If someone were observing the battlefield from the sidelines at this moment, they would surely doubt their own eyes.

Monsters and Saintesses, "Curse"" and " reply"A tug-of-war ensued, with the midpoint between the two sides serving as the dividing line. The miasma and the radiant storms clashed, their territories locked in a fierce struggle, neither willing to yield, effectively splitting the battlefield in two.

Just as Amid had cured a group of people, more and more people began to fall victim to the "curse."

Having endured an endless cycle of regeneration and destruction, the troops, constantly in a state of "half-destruction," are in complete disarray. One wrong step, and the adventurers' formation will surely crumble and collapse in an instant.

"Baka Perdix...! Was his suicide a setup for this!?"

As she dodged while protecting her skin with her pure white cloak, she groaned as she spoke.

At that time, Baka stubbornly engaged in self-harm using the cursed artifact in order to allow the "treasure fetus" to parasitize the body that had accumulated "curses," thereby giving the monster abilities that could not manifest on their own.

A monster that uses "curses".

The worst definition made Asifi's face twitch again.

Amidst the fleeing adventurers, Luluni clutched her notebook and crystal, yelling incoherently:

"A-Asufi!? We'll have to ask other units for reinforcements now—"

"--no!!"

At that moment, Finn's loud shout cut off the girl's almost screaming voice.

Not only Lulu and her companions, but even the healers like Amid and the Loki Familia were astonished by the dwarf's reaction; he spun his spear like a windmill to protect his companions while shouting:

"If only Amid can cure him, adding more companions will have the same result! It will only lead to more casualties!"

"...!?"

Reinforcements are meaningless.

Just when these words filled Luluni and many others with despair, Finn continued:

"What is the objective of this operation!? Remember! The enemy mastermind must be arrested; we must not concentrate our forces in one place!"

"!!"

"Gres and his men will surely corner the gods, including Thanatos! Therefore, we must rely on ourselves to defeat that enemy!"

Finn's argument was not based on tactics, but on a strategic perspective, delivered with unwavering conviction and force.

The sheer determination in that single sentence was enough to revitalize the morale of troops who were at a disadvantage.

Timing the moment when the enemy's attack was temporarily interrupted, Finn raised his golden spear, held in one hand—the Spear of Fortia, named after courage.

"Attack!!"

It's not "the whole army," but "us."

This means that Finn will also be going to the front lines.

He declared that he would abandon command, take the lead, and fight his way through.

"Pick up your shields! Don't even think about dodging! Have the courage to block the enemy's attacks!! Now is the time to prove you live up to the name 'Adventurer'!"

Finn was once defeated by this "curse".

It was when they were attacked by Revis and found themselves unable to fight anymore.

There is no stain to wash away, no reputation to salvage. There is not even a disgrace to erase.

He simply raised the banner of "courage".

Finn, charging at breakneck speed without even a shield, charged toward the "Baka Monster" just as he had declared. Even the "curse" that had once brought him to the brink of death could not deter him; he threw himself into the torrential rain of curses before everyone's eyes.

He displayed his thin, frail figure to the adventurers who feared the fatal curse.

"Everyone, charge! Everyone, charge!"

"Follow the commander forward ——————————————!!"

The group members also responded quickly.

Their passion surged forth under encouragement and inspiration, and their morale soared above their fear.

The group equipped themselves with shields and chased after the little people.

At the same time, they recalled the courage to stand up and fight against any enemy, no matter how huge or powerful—the "courage" displayed by that petite hero—which was the true nature of the Loki Familia, the giant-slayer faction.

Tiona and Tione also shouted, leading their members in an attack from a direction different from Finn's. They abandoned the silent Hermes Familia, displaying the pride and ruthlessness of the city's largest faction.

The adventurers roared, their resolve to crush the power of the curse unwavering.

Side Story: Sword Oratoria 11 Chapter 6 And so, the Gods Laughed

"Elphie, hurry up!"

"I'm so sorry—Miss Alicia!?"

Lefia's roommate, Elfia, desperately chased after Alicia, who turned around and called out to her.

This is the ninth level of the man-made maze.

Elfie and her group, who originally belonged to Finn's forces, now formed a small team and raced through the passage.

After obtaining intelligence from the Hermes Familia, Finn instructed his troops to disperse, following the methods used by other teams. To construct a multi-level encirclement, Elfie ran around with Alicia's team. This squad, consisting of six members including Alicia, with the mage Elfie acting as a support, possessed ample combat power. Currently, the enemy's strength, including members of the Dark Faction, had been significantly weakened, making this squad more than capable of navigating the artificial labyrinth.

They've learned from Lulu's report that Baka has gone to the battlefield, so the enemy can no longer remotely control the "doors" to open and close. With Lulu, who possesses the labyrinth's "blueprints," as their guide, there's no need to worry about getting lost. Elfie and the others are doing their best to strip the enemy of their fighting strength.

"—?"

Just as Elfie, who often struggled to keep up with the fast-moving vanguard group, was desperately trying to catch up with her companions, something happened.

With a clang.

Elfie heard a sound like metal scraping against stone.

"What was that just now...?"

It's impossible for such strange sounds to arise naturally in a stone maze.

However, the sound was so faint that it failed to raise any suspicion of a trap.

The location is in a corner of the passageway.

Elfie couldn't help but stop and look around.

Her gaze was drawn to the wall diagonally behind her.

She discovered that the labyrinth walls, constructed from the ultra-hard metal <Drysteel>, had extremely fine cracks. The same sound was still emanating from there. The sound was frequent and faint, so faint that it would be drowned out by the surrounding sounds of battle if one didn't listen closely.

Elfie, who called herself a "curious little thing," forgot her surroundings and approached the narrow crevice as if drawn by something. She sensed something suspicious... no, something dangerous, but couldn't help swallowing and leaning closer to take a look.

The crevice appeared to be a hollow space. Lacking any light source, it was completely dark.

And in the depths of that darkness, something is stirring.

Along with the movement, a "whoosh, whoosh" sound, like chains being dragged, rang out incessantly.

Elfie held her breath, squinting one eye to try and see clearly—

Immediately afterwards, a bloodshot eyeball appeared before her eyes.

"—Oh my god!?"

She let out a shrill scream and fell backward.

The figure in the darkness, upon spotting her, thud! Immediately crashed into the cracked wall. Staring at her own one eye, Elfie jumped back in fright and fell to the ground with a thud.

"What, what is that!? A monster—!?"

Elfie's heart clenched, and she remained seated on the ground, raising her staff to her chest.

Eyeballs, vaguely emerging from the depths of the crevices, groaned like the undead (zombies) that the gods were deliberately mocking and spreading rumors, as if they were scratching the walls, making them creak.

"Elphie, what are you doing!?"

"Aaaaaaa, Miss Alicia!? There's something inside this wall...!"

"What nonsense are you talking about! Forget about that, deal with the man-eating plants! We'll be surrounded if this continues!"

Hearing Alicia call her loudly from the front of the corridor, Elfie exclaimed, "Oh no!"

Upon closer inspection, they saw that Alicia and the others, who were walking ahead, had already begun their battle, and the monster was approaching from the passageway they had just walked through.

"The terrain isn't good, let's change locations! Quickly rejoin the others!"

"Okay, okay!"

Urged on by her, Elfie hurriedly stood up.

Despite her doubts about the cracks in the wall, she still rushed to Alicia and the others.

The pupils that emerged from the darkness kept their unwavering gaze fixed on the girl's retreating figure.

"Armed forces, prepare to engage! They're coming!"

The moment they stepped into the open space, Riveria's command rang out.

The members of the Loki Familia had already deployed their forces in the main hall of the twelfth floor of the artificial labyrinth. They were a force of Lv. 3 or higher armed personnel, pre-positioned to intercept the "powerful prey that had taken the bait." After entering the artificial labyrinth, Riveria left a dedicated interception force in this suitable area.

As the mages, staffs raised, began chanting incantations with tense expressions, Ais, bringing up the rear, was the last to rush into the hall.

Before long, the woman with blood-red hair appeared.

"You really like running around everywhere, Arya."

"...!"

Rives's gaze pierced through Ais, who had stopped in the middle of the hall and turned around.

The strongest monster, wielding a cursed longsword, exuded her usual world-weary aura, staring only at Ais. She glanced at Rivera only once, completely disregarding the armed forces arrayed in formation.

"Lady Rivera...!"

"Don't rush. Ais and I will suppress the enemy first."

She urged the elves, who were nervous in the face of the strange man, to exercise self-control.

The battle plan against Revis involves placing the swordswoman <Ais> at the forefront, with Riveria providing cover, followed by artillery bombardment by the armed forces. Riveria shrinks her "magic"—the magic circle used to guard against Revis during dungeon exploration—from its "standby state" to a radius of five meters, while keeping her gaze fixed solely on Revis. Once the battle begins, her wide-area annihilation magic <Higher Sword of Victory> will unleash its true power.

Several human walls holding large shields stood in front of the armed mages who had long since finished their incantation, their eyes fixed firmly on Revis despite the cold sweat pouring down their faces.

An atmosphere, like a powder keg that could explode at the slightest spark, filled the hall.

"...?"

Ais, who was confronting Revis, raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Standing in front, Revis half-opened her eyes, watching Ais as if she were detached from the situation.

I just watched.

(Why aren't they attacking...?)

They didn't even raise their weapons.

Not only that, but they also showed no fighting spirit whatsoever.

Seeing the strange man simply standing there for some unknown reason, the armed team members behind Ais also exuded a sense of confusion. Riveria, too, emanated an aura of both vigilance and inquiry.

"...?"

Ais and that "fierce warrior" had accumulated combat experience and came "prepared".

She faced this battle with the determination to fight Revis to the death.

However, this "situation" was completely unexpected.

Ais didn't know what to make of her judgment.

She is prepared to fight if her opponent attacks. She has the will to fight to the very end.

However, she couldn't take the initiative.

Once the battle begins, casualties are inevitable. It would be best if the enemy wanted to waste time. Ais and her team also hoped to reach a stalemate in order to allow Finn and his group to conquer the artificial maze.

Even though it was an unexpected situation, it suited them perfectly.

That should suit their wishes perfectly.

However, no matter what, Ais just couldn't suppress the intense "strange feeling" that came from confronting a monster who could be considered her nemesis without actually fighting him.

"..."

Rives silently watched Ais, who remained in a sword-raising stance, her mind filled with confusion, as time passed.