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

A sound similar to shattering glass.

I heard the sound of still time being shattered.

The masked man was like a puppet with its strings cut, his body limp and his hands hanging down.

He lowered his head as if his neck had broken, and his tightly clenched hands, clad in metal gloves, loosened weakly.

He looked like a "sinner" whose crimes had been exposed to the light of day.

The masked man slowly raised one hand and placed it on the mask on his face.

"...When did you find out?"

A mask that has been removed.

The hood then slipped off.

A pair of crimson eyes peeked out from below, along with long, beautiful black hair that cascaded down.

The elf Philvis Sharia, who should have died tragically in front of Lefia and the others, was standing there.

"...!"

Lefia almost burst into tears on the spot.

Even though she revealed the truth herself, she looked like a devout priest praying, desperately clinging to the hope of "guessing the wrong answer" until the very end.

"This can't be a lie, how could it be...!?"

On the other hand, Anachiti's direct subordinates were in chaos.

The group members, along with Lefia, witnessed Philweis's "death," and thus stared in disbelief at the "masked man's" true face.

What they saw was nothing more than the "dead" themselves.

They still cannot accept the truth and are at a loss, covering their mouths with their hands.

In the midst of silence, Rafia finally managed to pry open her lips.

"I didn't notice anything at all... Until I heard Loki and the others' explanation, I didn't even want to face the 'sense of something being wrong' that existed in my heart..."

Her fists clenched so tightly they trembled as she suppressed the urges churning within her and answered.

—The true identity of the "masked man" is probably someone Lefia knows.

Loki went to see Lefia before the battle began and said this to her, as she was in a state of disarray.

This suggests that the masked man is very likely Philvis Charlia.

When Lefia first heard this, she was so angry that her eyes were practically spitting fire.

Originally heartbroken, she became enraged upon hearing that her compatriots had been insulted, and began cursing at her own god in her room.

But—

"After hearing Loki's explanation, I'm even more confused! I'm starting to doubt if you're really dead! I'm starting to doubt if you're actually still alive!!"

The words of the Supreme God seemed to string together the scattered nodes in Lefia's memory called "a sense of unease".

The emotional root that helped Lefia recover was not "revenge".

She rallied herself to refute the hypothesis of the supreme god and to confirm the "truth."

After hearing the explanation from the commander and the others, I had no way out! I could no longer restrain myself!

Lefia walked out of the room under the watchful eyes of Ais and the others.

He then went to the office where Finn and the others were.

"Lefia, we will now share the information and insights we have gathered about the Masked Man. We hope you can compare them with your memories of Philvis Sharia and then give your conclusions on this matter."

Finn's voice was so calm it sent chills down your spine.

In stark contrast to Lefia, whose temper was as volatile as iron, they calmly explained the various pieces of information used to deduce the true identity of the "masked man."

"During the last expedition, the 'Masked Man' took advantage of our attack on the 'Dragon Pot,' which we had not yet reached, and led the colorful monsters to defeat us one by one as we scattered in different places."

"It was so that I could reunite with Lefia and the others to explore the 53rd floor."

Rivera and Finn first mentioned the incident that occurred four months ago.

Lefia and Bert fell into the vertical crater created by the cannon dragon, while Finn and the others followed the proper route to the rendezvous point on the 58th floor.

"The masked man is threatening us, but at the same time, he is searching for something."

While Ais and the others were filled with anxiety because of the attack, Finn noticed the enemy's movements.

"So who is he looking for? Ais?"

Finn immediately assumed that the target was Ais, who was being targeted by Rives and others.

But what if he's wrong?

"What if the masked man's target back then was actually you, Rafia?"

What if the masked man wants to confirm Lefia's safety and decides to save only her?

After hearing this, Rafia felt as if her throat had frozen, and she could not utter a sound.

"Lefia, the main question between us is how you were able to return safely with the White Witch when you first entered the man-made labyrinth."

Grace then cut to the heart of the matter.

Finn, Grace, Ais, and the others were scattered and faced deadly dangers due to the traps of the man-made maze, but Lefia alone escaped danger, and in an extremely unnatural way. Despite encountering death along the way, she repeatedly escaped the clutches of her enemies.

The most suspicious point.

Even though Lefia and Philweis did not possess the "Daedalus Orb," they did not encounter the traps of the man-made maze and survived.

As the exploration continues, the necessity of the "key" in the artificial maze becomes increasingly clear. Conversely, how desperate it would be to do without the "key." Yet, Lefia freely traverses the artificial maze under such circumstances, even miraculously finding Ais and the others. In fact, without Lefia and the others' efforts, Ais and the others would have already perished in the artificial maze.

But what if all of these are "inevitable" outcomes?

What if someone close to Lefia "intended" to do that?

What if someone had to make this painful choice to save Lefia?

"If the person next to you is an 'insider' sent by the enemy... they can indeed evade the traps of the man-made maze and help you escape to a safe place."

Philweis bravely stepped forward to protect Lefia.

She skillfully evaded Baka's traps, destroyed the "spies" set up in the maze along the way, and even swayed Lefia's thoughts.

Faced with Finn's accusations, Rafia instinctively wanted to refute them, but no sound came out.

Because of the growing sense of unease in her heart, she was forced to sever the words she wanted to refute.

"Another puzzling thing is that you once reached that 'door' that wasn't closed."

After welcoming the goddess of beauty who entered from the outside, the "masked men" that Lefia and her companions were following ignored the hardest metal "door" that was open.

Even if the "door" was designed to close automatically, leaving before the entrance to the base was closed was incredibly careless. Besides, Rivera and the others were waiting outside the artificial maze at the time.

In other words.

The "masked man" – Phil Weiss's "plan" is to pretend to welcome the goddess of beauty inside, but in reality, he is trying to help Lefia escape.

Lefia began to recall what Philweis had said back then.

"—Lefia... I think we should do this and find a way out."

—"I understand you're worried about your companions who fell to the ground."

"But right now, we should try to escape this maze and seek help outside; that's the best course of action."

Phil Wiss once said that.

And it was emphasized repeatedly.

At the very least, we need to get Lefia out of the maze!

"Why are you so willful, so stubborn... so...worrying..."

"Why won't you consider my feelings...?"

"I don't want you to die either."

When Lefia said to the exit, "I need to go back to the maze to save people," Philweis revealed her emotions with a bitter expression and spoke her heart!

"Lefia... let me hear your opinion."

After hearing the God's "reasoning" and with Finn and the others' investigation, the true identity of the "masked man" quickly came to light.

The various "unsettling feelings" that had been lingering in Lefia's mind all seemed to agree with the "suspects" they had identified.

"As we were invading the man-made labyrinth... when the captain was injured by the monster, Mr. Raul and the others fled to the lower levels, and Miss Philwis and I were separated from Mr. Bert and the others due to an enemy ambush..."

Lefia, returning from her memories, spoke her feelings to the reality before her with trembling shoulders.

He yelled at the heartbroken Philweis Sharia:

"That's the decisive 'sense of something not being right'!"

Lefia suddenly raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

Those azure eyes reflected the scene from that time, and she said, tears streaming down her face:

"The red-haired monster let me stay! But what if she didn't intend to let me go!? What if she saw her comrade beside me and decided it wasn't necessary for her to take action herself!?"

The red-haired woman did not let the girl go, but was convinced that "she was definitely doomed."

Therefore, the strange man decided to "ignore" Lefia's existence.

"And besides, can't you even handle one simple task?"

"Why is that guy still alive?"

This is a conversation between the red-haired monster and the "masked man" in a man-made maze.

Lefia was completely confused at the time.

“…………”

Philweis did not respond to Raphia's tearful complaints.

As if tacitly accepting that all of this was the "truth," he lowered his head and remained silent.

Seeing this, Lefia finally burst into tears, shaking her head like a sulking child.

"I want to scream that all of this is fake! I want to be genuinely grateful that you're still alive! But... but...! I...!!"

Joy and despair.

Two opposing emotions simultaneously arise in the girl's heart.

Lefia cried out her shattered heart, desperately suppressing the urge to burst forth.

"Wait! What on earth is going on!?"

At that moment, Bert shouted at the top of his lungs.

It was as if it were speaking up for the other adventurers who were also confused about the situation.

"What nonsense have you been spouting since just now?! I've clearly seen the treacherous elf and the 'masked bastard' in the same place several times now!"

For example, during the incident at the food warehouse on the 24th floor, Philvis and the "masked man" were in the same place at the same time.

During their first attack on the artificial maze, the two did indeed appear in different locations.

"Besides, she was eaten by a monster right in front of you!"

Phil Weiss's neck was snapped by the "masked man," and she died a gruesome death on the spot.

The very fact that she appeared before everyone at this moment was already an extremely contradictory situation.

As if to convey this meaning, Bert glared fiercely at the "dead man"—

That's why I advised you to put aside your personal feelings.

Suddenly, a figure descended from the pit directly above.

The newcomer wore the same mask and robe as Phil Weiss.

It is "another masked person" with the same attire.

"Huh...!?"

"--This whole situation is entirely caused by 'you'."