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

"Let me go."

Ais gripped the Sword of Despair so tightly that it trembled slightly.

As if she could no longer distinguish between the sword hilt and her own fingers, Ais was gradually transforming into a sword.

The silver blade reflected the girl's profile, radiating a glow full of fighting spirit.

"..."

Faced with Ais's request, which she made while looking directly at Revis, Riveria couldn't help but close her eyes.

But this tranquility did not last long.

Riveria quickly opened her eyes and nodded instead of answering.

He remained completely silent.

Then, with their backs to Ais, the Elven royal family led their troops to continue the attack.

However, one could still sense what she wanted to say from that silhouette.

—Defeat her, don't lose.

—You must come back alive.

Ais nodded in response, silently watching the figure disappear into the distance.

Rives let Riveria and the others go.

It was as if they had no interest in a destiny that had already been decided.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"no."

"Do you have any last words?"

"There's no need for that."

The two people looked at each other with indifferent attitudes, not wanting to waste words.

It doesn't look like they're preparing for a "final battle" at all.

Although the two were like sworn enemies, they were extremely indifferent when they confronted each other.

They cannot possibly see each other as competitors.

From the moment they met, they were simply connected by the strange bond of blood and ice.

Neither side held a strong "belief" that would burn the other to death.

"I will defeat you."

But this is only on the surface.

"I'm going to defeat you and end all of this."

"I'm tired of hearing this kind of boasting."

Even without so-called beliefs.

Even if the motive is just to get rid of the trouble that comes knocking.

Both girls and women are indeed "warriors".

"You, who once lost to me on the 24th floor, were like a puppet, boasting with fighting spirit in your eyes."

Actually, Rives has a sense of "fulfillment".

Even she herself didn't realize that the "battle with the girl" that stemmed from a sense of mission that was almost habitual was now her only "meaning of survival."

Faced with this girl who, no matter how many times she was defeated, would rise again with a strong wind, Revis's "emotions," which had been dead for so long, were awakened once more.

Otherwise, she would never have spared Ais's life in the previous "tragedy".

Otherwise, there would be no reason to ask the other party to "fight one-on-one" at this moment.

"Then I'll return the same sentence to you."

Ais also exuded "overwhelming fighting spirit".

It displays an arrogant dislike of defeat.

Break free from the self that has been defeated by weakness.

The most important of these is the will to protect the people and places we cherish.

She was simply a girl who wasn't good with words and didn't have the eloquence to put those feelings into words.

The surging, burning blood that tormented his internal organs pulsed beneath his skin.

"I won't lose to you."

A flash of light appeared from the silver sword.

The Black Curse Sword emitted a high-pitched sound.

The passageway, however, remained in a wait-and-see mode.

It's unclear whether it was because of Revis's intervention that no magic was used to intervene in the battle.

Two gazes pierced each other's eyes.

"—Let's get started."

Rives announced quietly.

The real monster relaxes and lets its sword-wielding hand hang down, entering a "ready-to-fight" state.

Ais didn't adopt a fighting stance, but instead directly struck the "Stone of the Heart".

Quickly eliminate anything other than the "enemy" in front of you from your field of vision.

"That being said, the battle will only be one-sided."

Confident in her ability to achieve an overwhelming victory, Reeves hopes that her opponent can deliver a "last-minute" performance befitting a decisive battle.

Upon hearing this, Ais closed her eyes for a moment.

As Rives said, if it were her not-too-distant self, she probably wouldn't have been able to change the outcome of the crushing defeat.

Ais is in a position where defeat is inevitable.

But it's different now.

The current Ais is different.

"—Take this!"

When Ais opened her eyes, her vision "changed".

The strange man standing before me is a hybrid of human and monster.

It is an "enhanced species" that absorbs "magic stones" to increase its power.

Its combat power far surpasses that of Ais and other first-tier adventurers of the Loki Familia.

It's a genuine monster.

Yes, it's a "monster".

The "humanoid" silhouette reflected in Ais's eyes melted gradually, like heated maltose, after making a cracking sound.

The color became increasingly dark, gradually turning black.

Transforming from a human form into an "alien".

The switching sound comes from the "back".

A portion of the "power" gradually emerged from the depths of his pale and gloomy heart.

"……What?"

Noise appeared in the field of vision.

A diagonal line flashed by like a torrential downpour.

The being before them seemed to have noticed Ais's unusual state, but it was too late. No, even if it had noticed, it wouldn't have mattered.

Ais's golden eyes emitted specks of black light.

A "dark circle" surrounds the outer edge of the iris.

Constantly changing, changing, and changing again.

The things in our field of vision have changed.

From human to alien, and then from alien to a true "monster".

It transformed into a "monster" whose entire body was shrouded in blood-red and black shadows.

"!!"

Ais's back is burning.

It emitted twisting sounds and roars, accompanied by bursts of black sparks from raging flames.

Ais, who was caught in the torrent of "power," eventually managed to control it.

The guidance of the "fierce one" still resides in her heart.

Instead of letting this scorching black flame control him, he took control of it.

And instead of letting the black flames burn his body, he used these flames to defeat the "enemy".

Ais swung the silver sword in her right hand with force.

"【Activation】-Revenge Princess".

Then she sang.

Sing out that incantation to summon the "wind".

Sing out a forbidden blessing that connects the strongest "power" with the "magic" of the immortals.

The world around them changed abruptly in the next instant.

A deafening whistling sound instantly silenced all the noise around Ais.

The view before me transformed into a scene of raging, dark storm.

It curls up into a spiral made of wind.

It stirred up gusts of wind that pulverized the green meat.

Because of the storm that filled the walkway, everything lost its boundaries.

The beautiful melody of the wind is no more.

The strange man witnessed countless celestial winds, which transformed into "Dark Storm" that entwined around Ais's body.

"───────────────────────────────────!?"

At the same time—

Unlike the six large caverns where Ais and the others were, the six "fairy spirits" simultaneously let out screams.

"Huh...!?"

Finn, Grace, Tiona, Tione, and the Heretic, along with other adventurers who were battling the "Fairy Clone," all witnessed this scene.

The "Fairy Clone" body abruptly stopped chanting the "spell" and began screaming, clutching its head. With all "counter-attack magic" stopped, they seemed to be terrified only of "that" that originated "within their" bodies—appearing to be utterly fearful of the ominous "Dark Storm," and falling into panic.

"──────"

The entire demon city was plunged into a chaotic upheaval known as turmoil.

Time stopped for Rives.

She couldn't help but forcefully open her green eyes.

The reason is that, as a true monster, she witnessed another "monster" for the first time.

"────!!"

The previously silent "green flesh" immediately generated a large number of magic circles.

The "counter-attack magic," which had been suspended due to Revis's intervention, was simultaneously activated. Under the orders of the fairies, hundreds of magic circles locked onto Ais, completely surrounding her.