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

In response to Mr. Hegny's remarks, Miss Lunova was so angry that she cursed him, while Miss Roy made a sarcastic remark, but it was clear that they were both sweating profusely with fear.

Even though Ms. Ryu remained silent, she did not lift her state of readiness.

The current situation is three against one. No, with me included, it's four against one.

Even so, we were still overwhelmed by the aura of the adventurer before us.

"What are you doing, Hegney?"

As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly.

Four sounds came from the scene at the same time, which startled us so much that we temporarily forgot to breathe.

"That girl is no longer needed."

"She has defied the unshakeable will of the goddess."

"In other words, they are no different from sinners and have no need to consult the Lord God."

"If you keep dragging your feet, we'll have to go on a killing spree and get rid of her."

If you close your eyes and listen, these four sentences sound as if they were spoken by the same person.

The four men were wearing the same style of sand-colored armor and helmets.

In her hands she held a spear, a hammer, a giant axe, and a greatsword, all of which seemed disproportionate to her petite frame.

Four little people seemed to want to surround us, standing on the surrounding buildings, looking down at us with cold eyes.

"They are the Four Flame Warriors... the four Jariba brothers."

Miss Lunova said the other person's name with a pale face.

She, who is usually cheerful and lively, now looked terrified like never before.

Miss Lunova struggled to control her trembling limbs. She first bit her lower lip tightly, then told me:

"Adventurer, take Seele and run!"

“Eh!?”

"One minute, that's our limit."

I was so shocked by this announcement that I was speechless.

Miss Lunova has not looked at me once, yet I can sense from her profile that she forbids me from raising any objections.

Because she doesn't even have the energy to refute me right now.

That's why I was told to leave quickly, right now, and to get away from here as soon as possible with all my might.

Otherwise, our side will be "completely wiped out" in an instant.

The encirclement set up by first-level adventurers represents this meaning.

"Run!!"

Urged on by Miss Lunova, I had no choice but to run away as fast as I could.

In order to rescue a girl from the "execution ground" where there was no room for confusion, I had no time to hesitate and immediately took the girl's hand.

The moment I turned around, the fighting spirit around me surged rapidly.

The black cloak flipped open, and four figures descended from above.

Miss Liu and the others also kicked off the ground, and a "one-sided ravaging" began.

A whirlwind composed of countless slashes.

Ryu, who should have escaped this deadly battlefield by any means necessary, is forced to remain in it.

The reason was that Lunova, Chloe, and Anya were desperately holding off the four terrifying Dwarf Warriors not far behind. Therefore, Ryu was left to confront the enemy before her alone—this black-clad kinsman.

"Get out of my way, my fellow countryman. Do you want your honor, along with those ears, to be cut off?"

"【Dark Elf Demon Sword】Hegni Ragnar...! Level 6 First-Class Adventurer!!"

This title signifies that he is an absolute powerhouse whose strength far surpasses that of [Swift Wind].

Whenever she clashed head-on with the black longsword, the "Short Sword: Twin Leaves" that Ryu wielded at high speed with both hands emitted a piercing metallic clang like a mournful cry, accompanied by an unresolved force that assaulted her.

(It's too fast!! And it's so heavy--!!)

Despite using all the tactics, experience, and inspiration she had accumulated, Ryu was unable to turn the tables and launch an attack. Faced with slashes that would break her weapon if she tried to defend herself directly, she could only focus on dodging, avoiding, and deflecting the force, and any opportunity to counterattack was taken away by her opponent.

This situation is exactly the same as Bell's before. Even though Ryu's "skills" and "strategies" surpass those of the boy, he is still no different from an infant in front of Hegni. To be precise, if he lacked "skills and strategies", Ryu would have died a violent death long ago.

Every second this battle lasts is enough to prove the combat experience she has cultivated through various deadly battles and fierce fights.

There is an absolute gap in ability between the two sides.

This is the chasm that separates Ryu and Hegni.

Unlike her white elf self, the dark elf swordsman truly terrified her.

Meanwhile, Ryu, despite being in adversity, remains highly motivated to prevent the formidable enemy from leaving.

"—I see, so you are... no, you are also the goddess's 'favorite'."

At this moment, Hegny narrowed his eyes as if he had noticed something.

"What?"

"What a hassle. You and the White Rabbit are both people we can't just throw away."

Hegni did not answer Ryu's question directly, and his offensive became even more intense.

Ryu's hands went numb as she parried the first attack, and she was forced to retreat by the fierce slashes, but she still tried to catch up with the enemy's speed by using her twin swords.

Even with more and more tears appearing in her uniform and blood flowing from her fair skin, Ryu, amidst the flashing swords and shadows, seemed to be dancing gracefully as she continuously blocked the enemy's attacks.

(Despite the bewilderment, the enemy began attacking my limbs! They couldn't take my life! Although it was humiliating for the enemy to show me mercy, it was still a glimmer of hope!)

After accurately sensing the change in the enemy's moves, Ryu, like Bell, discerned the "restriction" imposed on Hegni, and thus decided to keep the battle at a stalemate. As long as she didn't fall and could hold Hegni off for as long as possible, Bell and the others would have a better chance of escaping.

But—

(A slash coming from the lower right—then retreat!)

Ryū's plan-

"The better one's eyesight, the more likely one is to become fodder for the abyss."

It was easily crushed by Hegni's "killer move".

「!?」

The attack range of the evil black sword suddenly extended.

The sword tip, which should have only grazed clothes, tore open Ryu's chest on the spot.

(The sword got longer—no, that's not right—)

Even as she was about to suffer a fatal blow, Ryu successfully saw through her opponent's tricks.

(The range of the slash has increased!)

It's not that the sword has been extended.

Instead, it expands the "effective range of the strike" by generating a vacuum wave.

When her body blossomed into a horrifying flower of blood, Ryu got the answer.

"It's a cursed artifact—!!"

As Liu was stunned by his torn chest, Hegny immediately followed up with a spinning kick.

The cloak billowed in the strong wind created by the high-speed spin, and out of the corner of Hegni's eye, he caught the sight of an elf with torn wings crashing heavily against the wall.

"Cough...!!"

"My beloved sword, Sacrifice Abyss... also known as 'Frontline Killer,' has already slaughtered several swordsmen like you."

Ryu, his face contorted in pain, could feel the air being forced out of his lungs. Meanwhile, Hegni swung his longsword, flicking away the blood that clung to it.

This is the first-tier weapon that can cut through iron like mud, and it is also a notorious special weapon created with the help of a certain sorcerer—the Sacrifice Abyss.

Just as Ryu guessed, this was a cursed tool containing pure killing power.

Hegny displayed an overwhelming advantage and leisurely left the scene.

Unable to stop the other from leaving, Ryu could only suffer the torment of resentment in her heart, and collapsed to the ground.

"We've met before, haven't we?"

When Lunova heard the four dwarfs say this in unison, she couldn't help but frown.

"I don't know how many years ago that was."

"The 'Dark Ages' when those scum of the Dark Faction are still alive."

"I remember a reckless bounty hunter came and attacked us."

"Although I don't remember what the other person looked like, the only thing that left an impression was their boxing skills."

The tone sounded like mockery.

In fact, these quadruplets are just making fun of people.

The fight had begun, but no matter how Lunova attacked, her blows, powerful enough to shatter steel, repeatedly missed. The gauntlets on her hands only produced empty, hollow punching sounds.

Even with four targets, missing is missing. Despite the enemies not being particularly fast and clearly holding back, Lunova could feel her awareness, accuracy, and focus being completely disrupted when facing four enemies moving simultaneously.

The situation is exactly the same as it was back then.

Before being taken in by the bar owner, Lunova was a bounty hunter who made a living by fighting and killing.

She was given a job to attack four dwarf warriors, but ended up suffering a humiliating defeat.

"Damn it!!"

No matter how closely you observe, these four people look exactly alike, with identical eyes and figures, like a nightmare from somewhere.

Facing the four pairs of eyes hidden beneath the helmet visor, Lunova couldn't help but recall the humiliation and fear of the past, and roared in anger.

He fought desperately to avoid being consumed by despair.

"Don't be impulsive, meow! You'll only fall into a trap!"

"Lunova, no! Those four are...!"

Kroy and Anya's attempts to dissuade them were in vain.

The two launched an attack to cover Lunova, but ultimately failed.

Neither Chloe's Dark Sword, renowned for its "agility," nor Anya's attack, which borrowed a dagger from Chloe, could hit the dwarf quadruplets; they couldn't even shave a single hair off them.

Soon after, they silently brandished their weapons.

That's enough.

"Fall down."

After the eldest son, Alflick, made this announcement, his three younger brothers echoed it in unison.

In the blink of an eye, the battle was over.

Alfred swept his spear, simultaneously deflecting Runova's gauntlets, Chloe's dark sword, and Anya's dagger. As the three froze in shock, the youngest brother's greatsword struck Runova in the chest, the second brother's hammer hit Chloe's body, and the youngest brother's giant axe cleaved Anya.

The sounds of skin being torn open, tendons being sliced, bones being broken, and blood and flesh flying everywhere could be heard.

A stunned Lunova, a blood-spitting Chloe, and a severely injured Anya each flew off in different directions.

The human falling from the sky crashed heavily to the ground. The two cat-people smashed all the wooden crates placed to the side, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"You...bastard...!!"

Simultaneously engage, simultaneously approach, and simultaneously defeat.

The battle lasted only fifty seconds.

Seeing that all three were instantly taken down, Lunova, lying in a pool of blood, could only barely prop her neck up, groaning with both resentment and pain.

The four Jaliba brothers—

Although all four are Lv.5, they are said to be able to rival adventurers of Lv.6 and above. The secret to their strength lies in their ability to unleash a perfect quadruple attack without needing to communicate through conversation or eye contact.

This is the "Infinite Joint Attack," hailed as the pinnacle of urban combat.