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

However, her life-risking sacrifice did come at a price. The monsters remained motionless, trapped in the cave walls. Perhaps from the impact on their heads, they broke free of their spheres, opened their bodies, and saw stars.

"Fate, that's enough, let's reunite!"

"Feel sorry!"

The team gained enough distance and called for reinforcements.

Her lightly armored body was riddled with wounds, and she stumbled to her feet. With her back to the remaining unicorn rabbits, she ran at full speed.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I can fight again! Never mind me, what happened to Chigusa?"

One of the guards, having finished his incantation, bombarded the monsters with fire magic to slow them down. By this time, Ming had already reached the team, fleeing while worrying about his companions' safety.

She overtook the defenders and arrived at a position near the front of the squad.

"The situation isn't optimistic. Whether we have enough healing potions on hand is also a problem, but first we need a quiet environment to heal. It's too dangerous here."

If the wound can be healed immediately with elixirs or other means, that's fine. But if it's a serious injury that can't be healed instantly, then it's difficult to deal with.

After all, monsters could break through the dungeon walls at any time. If you treat them on the spot without thinking, you might be surrounded in the blink of an eye.

Considering that they not only had to cover their wounded comrades but also had to spare some time to treat them, they had to assess the team's strength and the level of danger on each floor, and try to find a safe location.

"So……"

"Okay, let's go back to the 12th floor first... I'm so sorry for causing you trouble."

"Don't say that! We're teammates!"

Facing the male member who was the team leader, Sakura excitedly said this. She told him that helping each other was the right thing to do.

The sound of boots stomping on the ground rose and fell. The Takemikazuchi Familia ran through a long, cavernous passage, with the roars of monsters relentlessly pursuing them.

While carefully protecting his aching left side without being noticed—the price of barely blocking the armored rat—he secretly glanced at his wounded companion.

A female member of the group was being half-dragged, half-carried by someone, leaning on their shoulder. A rough stone axe was still deeply embedded in her shoulder, the blood staining her armor. Her rapidly heaving chest was perhaps evidence that she was still alive.

That pitiful sight brought a bitter, twisted expression to Ming's face. Just then, Ming met her eyes, as she gasped for breath. Her usually well-behaved and quiet eyes, almost entirely hidden by her bangs, were now shrouded in gloom, conveying only apology through her gaze.

He kept shaking his head.

"...Oh no!"

"What's wrong?"

"The number of monsters has increased; even the hellhounds are chasing after us...!"

"...!"

Upon hearing these words from the group members at the rear of the guard post, everyone gasped.

Ming suddenly turned around and saw it too. Besides the hopping and leaping unicorn rabbits chasing after them, there were about four dark figures. They were the figures of demonic hounds with red eyes gleaming with ferocity.

Now, severely injured, they can easily imagine the horrific scene of "the scorching breath from the demonic hound turning them and their companions into charred remains."

Despair, slowly approaching from the depths of the labyrinth (darkness), began to flicker around Ming and the others.

"quick!"

The cherry blossoms seemed to be making a desperate sound, and the group members sped up like madmen. They were desperately pushing off the ground.

The group finally ran through the passage and arrived at a cavern. It wasn't square, but rather a dome-shaped space.

The ceiling was incredibly high. At its highest point, the central section sprouted sharp, massive rock formations that looked as if they might collapse at any moment from the slightest impact. The uneven rock walls resembled newly born monsters, with fragments scattered like those from an explosion blasted from the inside.

The sounds of fierce fighting echoed in the spacious area that could accommodate several small teams.

(That's... a newly arrived mid-level [Family]?)

In a corner of the cave, a small group of adventurers is battling a monster.

It was a three-person team consisting of two seemingly human men and a little human girl. It was a combination they had never seen before while exploring the 13th floor.

Destiny guessed that they were likely members of a newly ascended mid-level "Family".

"...Let's charge that way."

"!"

Upon hearing Sakura whisper these words, Ming turned around as if struck by lightning.

Before Sakura could finish speaking, she already understood what he meant.

"Monster Gift (pass parade)".

This is a combat tactic used in dungeons. It's a forceful emergency evasion method used during retreats or other situations to arbitrarily pass monsters encountered by one's own squad to another squad.

One of the unwritten rules in the labyrinth is to generally not interfere with the actions of others. However, adventurers often encounter urgent situations that prevent them from attending to others. In dungeons where unexpected events frequently occur, this is also a common practice for frequent exchanges between teams.

"Wait a minute, Sakura! If we do that now, those people will...!"

Offering a monster now would be like asking the team in front of you to be the "sacrifice".

From an outsider's perspective, their battle was far from easy. Just like the previous one, they were desperately fighting off a large number of unicorn rabbits.

It's obvious that the balance between the two will collapse if they are attacked from the outside again. If they were ordered to give those people a new batch of monsters now—

"You are far more important to me than the lives of strangers."

"...!"

"If this order makes you sick, then feel free to curse me later."

Seeing Sakura, the squad leader, make such a cold-blooded and ruthless decision, his expression of suppressing emotions made Mei reveal an expression like a child separated from their parents.

Look back.

The figure of a dying companion, the faint breath that could be cut off at any moment, and the blood-red body.

The [familiar] emblem, stained with scattered blood, gleamed with a reddish-black light.

This time, I'm really on the verge of tears.

(…Please forgive me!)

There was no turning back. They were getting closer and closer to the group of adventurers and monsters.

Looking at the white-haired adventurer who bravely brandished his sword, he could only apologize in his heart; there was nothing else he could do.

●

The calls of the unicorn rabbit assaulted Bell's ears and skin from all directions.

The successive attacks by the monster horde have prolonged the situation, which cannot be taken lightly.

"It really is true, there's not even a moment to catch your breath!"

"There's no time for nonsense!"

Sweating profusely, Welf wielded his greatsword, while Lily fired arrows from behind.

Despite being surrounded on all sides, Bell and his team fought quite well.

Aside from "Agility," Welf's stats are all above or on par with Unicorn Rabbit's. As the forward, he used Lily's cover to maintain the front line, while Bell took the opportunity to reduce the number of monsters.

His speed in almost instantly defeating the unicorn rabbit was unmatched by most Lv.2 adventurers; from the monster's perspective, such a performance was simply unreasonable.

"Welf, get down!"

“Ouch!”

He shouted for Welf, who was almost attacked by two unicorn rabbits, and jumped up himself.

Bell bypassed the crouching monster, first slashing horizontally, then striking with his shield. The fluid series of attacks rendered the two unicorn monsters unable to fight any longer.

(That was close!)

While he continued to fight, things were not going smoothly for him.

The shadow of fatigue crept closer to his feet. Bell clearly felt the heaviness in his limbs that he had never noticed on the upper levels.

When exploring the group maze (team operations), those with outstanding strength will naturally bear more burdens, but the biggest reason is that "the environment where the quality and quantity of mid-level monsters have become more troublesome has made the situation even worse."

A quiet voice in his head warned him that his stamina was dwindling rapidly. The fact that he was a beat too slow in supporting Welf sent a chill down his spine, and he felt the need to rest.

(…?)

Just as Welf was chopping down a unicorn rabbit in the corner of his field of vision, Bell's eyes caught a glimpse of something.

A small team of five, no, six. Other adventurers from other [familias] were getting closer and closer to Bell and his companions.

A hint of confusion flickered across Bell's brow. Generally, in dungeons, to avoid conflict, teams don't get too close to each other. It's a different story if they're heading towards the entrance to the cavern behind them, but this one seemed a bit too straight.

It looked like they were running right towards Bell and his team.

“——”

The group of adventurers, including the wounded, deliberately flew past the edge of the battlefield.

As they passed by, Belle's eyes met those of the girl with her black hair tied up.

Tears welled in his eyes, his bluish-purple pupils almost spilling out, and met her deep red eyes.

"—! Oh no, they've given us a monster!"

As for the other side.

Only Lily was alarmed by the unfamiliar team's actions.

This is because during her time as a thief, she often made adventurers suffer in silence in order to get revenge, so she was all too familiar with such actions.

“Eh…?”

"We've been used as bait! The monster is coming!"

Facing Bell, who was frozen in place, Lily continued in an almost screaming tone.

She was right. The next instant, the monster horde swarmed in and appeared inside the cave.

The sight of unicorn rabbits and hellhounds outnumbered the monsters in the battle by more than double was almost completely unexpected, causing Bell and Welf's expressions to change instantly.

When Bell turned around abruptly, the adventurers had already disappeared into the depths of the passage.

"Retreat! Lord Welf! Head to the right passage, quick!"

"Hey, hey, hey, stop messing around!"

Bell and the others were in a state of semi-panic and quickly began to move.

Unable to hide his anxiety, Welf swung the large sword slung over his shoulder, sending the unicorn rabbit flying. Following Lily's instructions, he squeezed his body into a passage that could only accommodate one person at a time.

Belle and Lily quickly followed behind.

(They'll catch up...!)

As the narrow passage gradually widened as they moved forward, Lily's face showed terror, while Bell realized what was about to happen to her.

The monsters chasing them were faster than they were. Bell was one thing, but a supporter with low [ability stats] couldn't possibly escape the clutches of a mid-level monster on a one-way street.

The horde of monsters followed closely behind. A vast, overwhelming army of monsters filled the entire field of vision. If I could, I'd rather just faint on the spot.

Belle, running alongside Lily, had a contorted expression as she looked back at the nightmarish scene behind her.

"Lord Bell!"

"Hey, Bell!"

"You guys go first!"

The judgment is made in an instant.

Ignoring Lily and Welf's attempts to stop him, Bell turned his back to them.

In other words, he turned around.

The boy bravely faced the oncoming wave of monsters.

As he stretched out his left hand, which was equipped with a shield, the sound of cannons rang out.

"[Flame Lightning]!"

He fired three "magic" shots into the passage.

The instantaneous mass production of fiery lightning engulfed the somewhat narrow one-way passage. Crimson flames cleansed the passage, causing the attacking monsters to let out a series of death screams.

The sea of ​​fire whipped up hot winds once more. If other adventurers were mixed in, they would inevitably be caught in the crossfire. Although doing so could be considered a violation of the dungeon's rules, the situation was such that it was truly unavoidable.