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

Before Anaqidi, also an orc, could feel at ease or relieved, her first feeling was fear.

The boar-man warrior, wielding a massive black sword, was alone.

"Get out of the way, [Noble Cat], a wounded beast is of no use."

Annaquite had no time to savor the glory of being remembered as the city's strongest, and quickly made way for them.

The Fifth Division, including Anachiti, lost half its members due to the Masked Man's trickery, preventing them from inflicting serious damage on the "Altar Pillar." The three giant faces on the lower half of the pillar remain intact, and there should be "counter-attack magic" along the way to this large cavern.

Even so, the boar-man warrior was completely unharmed.

A giant, whose muscles seemed to be made of rock, walked past Annaqiti, stood up, and confronted the fairy.

"...?"

The "Fairy Clone," which had been singing and wearing a cruel smile, now showed other reactions for the first time.

Despite the vast distance between them, the original being seemed unaware of why it kept twisting its body, as if it couldn't ignore the martial artist. To onlookers, the scene resembled a giant feeling pressured by a dwarf.

A red magic circle then appeared.

Sensing the tremor of the fairy spirit's true form, the "Altar Pillar" decided to unleash a powerful attack.

After consuming a large amount of "magic power", an enormous red fireball appeared.

Otto gripped the black greatsword with both hands and cleaved the fireball in two.

"──────────────"

Not only Annakidi and the other adventurers, but even the fairies were terrified.

Realizing it had been cut in two, the fireball seemed to finally remember its predicament and exploded behind the martial artist.

This resulted in a raging inferno.

Faced with the "strongest adventurer in the city" approaching against a backdrop of massive flames, it's clear that the "fairy clone" is indeed showing an emotion called "fear".

"Destroy it quickly! This is the garden where the goddess resides; no one shall be allowed to violate it."

An "invasion" thus began.

Neither tentacles nor magic could stop the man's leisurely pace.

In the next instant, it displayed a speed unbecoming of its massive size, suddenly approaching the base of the pillar and sweeping its jet-black greatsword forward with all its might.

Even so, the giant pillar of immortal essence began to tilt.

"~ ...

Although the massive pillar wasn't cut down, it was split in half.

The fairy cried out in sorrow and decided to prioritize "self-regeneration," but it was unable to straighten its body and began emergency repairs while maintaining its tilted posture.

As the enemy's head descended, the resolute and imposing warrior made no sound, but continued his destruction without mercy.

"...Commander, [Fierce Warrior] has gone forward alone to fight...and has already suppressed the enemy."

Annaquite whispered this in a trembling voice to the "eye crystal" in her hand.

"That's normal, what can you do when he's Otto?"

This was immediately met with a barbed response.

The two should be opposing enemies, yet they seem to trust him implicitly. The little warrior smiled mischievously from the other side of the crystal.

"...We'll attack together! The faction led by the captain...we, the Loki Familia, aren't pushovers!"

"Ooh o ...

Even though she was covered in wounds, Anaquiti still raised her longsword and gave orders.

The other members followed closely behind her, launching their own attack.

Oo glanced at the proud cat-man but did not stop him, indicating his agreement to let him join the battle.

The smile on the "Fairy Clone"'s face had completely disappeared.

*

After receiving reinforcements, the situation of each unit began to improve.

The situation within the artificial maze of "Demon City" has changed.

In this process—

"Fels! Don't we have any reinforcements?!"

Reed yelled at the crystal in his hand.

After receiving reinforcements led by the Freya Familia, all the units gradually turned the tide, but the "Heretics" unit was slow to receive any reinforcements.

Although they barely managed to destroy the two giant faces of the "altar pillars," the "counter-attack magic" that had been haphazardly bombarding the cavern remained intact. The scales and fur on the "heretics'" bodies were tattered and torn; they would be annihilated by the enemy sooner or later.

"You don't need reinforcements."

"What?!?"

I never expected the answer I received to be so cold and heartless.

After hearing Fels's nonchalant reply, Reed glared angrily with his yellow eyes.

"What do you mean by this!? Fels!!"

"As the words say, you don't need to."

Despite the furious lizardman warrior, Fels' tone remained unchanged.

There are very few adventurers who know of the existence of the "heretics" and are willing to come to their aid. In fact, even if reinforcements were sent, they would likely not only fail to receive support from the other side, but would also be attacked along with the "fairies".

Because Fels' performance was so lackluster, Reed's first guess was that the lack of reinforcements was what had caused Fels' "impact".

"You bastard, you scoundrel, you dead bone"—just as Reed was about to unleash his limited vocabulary of common language on Fels—

Bump, bump.

A deep, resonant sound assaulted Reed's hearing.

"what?"

"This is……?"

"Footsteps...?"

A shaking sensation, as if some enormous thing was shaking the ground, came from within.

Not only Reed, but Winnie and the other heretics also realized what was happening and began to turn around to observe their surroundings. The "Fairy Clone" even showed a suspicious expression.

"—Luckily, I made it in time."

"Guros! Where did you run off to!?"

The gargoyle Guros flapped its stone wings and appeared before the crowd.

Despite his monstrous appearance, he wore the kind of expression humans would describe as "troublesome," and coldly replied:

"You know I was sent by the magician to 'run errands,' right? To put it bluntly, I was sent to 'pick up people.'"

"Picking someone up...?"

Before Reed could even confirm who the other person was, "The Answer" had already appeared in front of him.

--Bang!

With a deafening roar, an overwhelmingly huge figure burst into the area.

His body, composed solely of muscle, resembled steel. Because of his muscular physique, the full-body armor he wore, typical of adventurers, appeared almost like light armor. The massive double-bladed axe in his hand was stained with blood, a testament to the countless prey it had slain.

Its imposing horns complement its jet-black body.

A bull's head and a human body.

With a bull's head, "he" puffed out his rock-like chest and let out a roar full of fighting spirit.

"Moo hoo ...

This roar, which even made his own people tremble, shook the entire cave.

Unlike Winnie and the others who covered their ears, the "Fairy Clone" also stared at the newcomer with surprise.

"That's why I said you don't need reinforcements."

Ignoring the stunned Reed, the "eye crystal" in his hand emitted its own light.

From within came the magician's nonchalant voice.

"Because the strongest extra-specification has already arrived."

A roar that continued to echo.

The earthquakes never stopped.

The astonished "heretics," including Reed, revealed the name of the newcomer.

"Ah...Asterios..."

He was the "strongest heretic" who, a month ago, struck fear into the hearts of adventurers as the "Black Bull."

He was standing before Reed and the others as reinforcements.

"After I rushed to the 'deep layer' to rescue the little devil, I followed the magician's secret orders and split up with Unicorn Rabbit and Black Dog to search for the whereabouts of Fierce Bull."

“Chuck!”

"Woof woof!"

The "Unicorn Rabbit" standing next to Guros quickly raised her furry little hand, while the "Cerberus" on the other side barked triumphantly twice.

Reed and his companions had gone to the 37th floor to carry out a "rescue mission," but these two continued to venture deeper into the floor, searching for their comrades without incident.

Thanks to the information provided by the "Guardian" who once stopped at "Heretics' Secret," Gross was able to find Asterios and eventually persuade him to bring him here.

"With his brute fighting prowess, how could we not send him into battle? If we continue to let him run rampant, I'll be thoroughly scolded by the [Hero]."

The voice that Fels came from the crystal carried an urge to sigh.

Before Reed and the others could recover, Asterios, having stopped roaring, slowly looked straight ahead, staring directly at the colossal "Fairy Spirit" pillar towering at the deepest part of the cave.

He smiled.

He showed his teeth as if he wanted to laugh.

Then he hoisted the double-edged axe onto his back and braced his fists against the ground.

He lowered his center of gravity, bent over, and stretched his head forward.

By the time Reed and his companions realized the motive behind this "pose," he had already rushed out.

"—Moo-hoo-hoo-hoo!!"

Before the signal for battle was given, Asterios charged toward the enemy, transforming into a black shadow and launching an attack.

Not only the heretics, but even the fairies were taken aback as he headed straight for the "altar pillar".

"Hey, Asterios, wait a minute!!"

The massive shell ignored Reed's warnings and continued its rapid ascent.

The "Fairy Spirit Clone" widened its eyes, suspecting that the enemy had lost its mind. At the same time, it naturally launched a counterattack, bombarding from all directions like a sudden rain.

Asterios was hit by multiple bullets.

Various "magic" elements, including fire, ice, lightning, earth, light, and darkness, exploded one after another from all directions and angles.

The bull was roasted by fire one moment and frozen by ice the next, its body covered in sores, and even the strongest physique would bleed.

Nevertheless, he did not stop.

「!?」

The jet-black bull did not slow down at all from beginning to end, nor did it even deviate from its direction of travel, charging straight ahead.

Witnessing the bull seemingly transform into a meteorite rampaging across the ground, the "Fairy Spirit Avatar" only now realized the danger and immediately interrupted the incantation, hastily beginning a high-speed chant.

Then, lightning spears were launched from the magic circle set up by Zhang.

The thunderous roar, accompanied by a blinding flash of light, was rendered ineffective by the bull.

"──────"