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

Hestia, standing next to Hermes, answered with her hands on her head.

She could only vaguely sense that the "blessing" bestowed upon Bell still existed, but she couldn't pinpoint its exact location. However, even though Hestia's abilities were now below human intelligence, she still wanted to reclaim her bond with her Familia, directing her consciousness toward a place deeper than the ground beneath her feet.

"Hmm..." She closed her eyes, her jet-black twin ponytails swaying towards the ground like a probe.

"Four votes in favor... then it's decided. We'll head to the 18th floor; that will be our current strategy."

Asifi announced her vote count, including her own. Sakura, Mikoto, and Chigusa also did not object to the majority vote result. The group continued their search as they moved down to the next floor.

The group maintained its previous formation, with the masked adventurer at the forefront, followed by Asphie and the others who each took their positions, surrounding Hestia and Hermes in the center. The formidable vanguard cleared away most of the monsters, leading the way one by one, while the others prepared to deal with any surprise attacks as they advanced through the labyrinth.

Using the gun and shield borrowed from their supporter Chigusa, the team, including Mei and Sakura, safely and steadily repelled the monster's powerful attack. With Asifi's guerrilla tactics regardless of distance, the team was virtually flawless.

"However, it's surprising that a team that has only just entered the middle level is determined to go to the 18th level..."

"Yes, it seems they have a very capable strategist among them."

As the conversation between Fate and Asphie echoed through the labyrinth, everyone arrived at the open cavern.

Before arriving here, they had seen this dome-shaped space surrounded by rock walls several times. At the center of the space was a plane that extended downwards at varying heights, leading all the way to the next floor.

These are the stairs connecting the floors.

"We seem to have followed the proper route, but there's a vertical cave in the middle, wouldn't it be faster to jump down?"

"No, Goddess Hestia. The vertical caves in the middle level will repeatedly open and repair themselves, appearing randomly. Jumping in randomly will make it impossible to know your current location... You might end up like a scarecrow putting out a fire, barely able to save yourself."

"Besides, Bell and the others might be planning to return to the surface. We might run into them along the way, so it's best to stick to the correct path."

Leaving the dungeon requires using stairs... a necessary connection to the upper floors. To avoid missing Bell and the others, the Hermes Familia replied to Hestia: "Taking the regular route as quickly as possible is the best way."

"I see." As Hestia nodded, the masked adventurer began to move.

Following her as she swayed her cloak downstairs, Hestia and her group headed to the next floor.

●

Like a bowstring stretched to its limit.

The air was tense.

"We've run out of odor bags..."

Lily's voice sounded like it was about to tremble with nervousness.

As if a taut string had snapped with that announcement, hallucinations began to haunt Welf's mind.

The location was on the 16th floor, in a corner of a passageway. Welf and his companions, relentlessly searching for a vertical cave leading to the lower levels, stopped in the very center of the cavernous path. They had to stop.

The air was heavy, breathing was hot, and the oppressive feeling was overwhelming.

The stench that protected Welf and the others from the monster attack has disappeared. In its place, a thick, murderous aura has taken its place.

Equivalent to losing their armor, the pressure they endured exceeded what Welf could bear. The violent pounding of his heart caused his vision to blur, a phenomenon he had never experienced before. He gritted his teeth, desperately trying to maintain his consciousness, which could be severed at any moment.

Bell, who was leaning on her shoulder, was also very hot. The stinky bag slipped from Lily's trembling hands, fell to the ground with a thud, and broke.

Welf and the others had their eyes fixed in front of them.

In the distance, lurking in the depths of the vast darkness, something stirred their sweat, their palpitations, and their trembling. The intense aura that constantly tormented their bodies—there was no doubt, it emanated from that source in the shadows.

Impossible! What is this? Are you kidding me?!

All the words that could be thought of passed through Welf's mind.

"I don't know, I didn't know such a thing existed. Until now, I've never encountered such an unreasonable situation," Welf asserted. Was that menacing killing intent truly emanating from a monster? Whoever it was, he really wanted to grab someone and get to the bottom of it.

Soon after, a loud "thump, thump" sound was heard.

A deafening roar approached from the depths of darkness.

The guillotine came to him. Welf was trapped by this illusion.

This is, this is, this is.

Welf's mind was on high alert. As if in defiance, he gripped the hilt of the greatsword mounted on his back until his hands turned white.

Then, as he strained to stare into the darkness—just as he passed through—he could clearly see the copper-red skin illuminated by the torch-like phosphorescence burning near the ceiling.

It exhaled heavy breaths, bulged its massive muscles, and stomped its rock-hard hooves.

As if displaying its magnificent horns, the monster appeared before Welf and the others.

“——”

A bull's head and a human body.

A colossal body exceeding two meters in size.

Holding enormous natural weapons resembling battle axes in both hands, the bull-like monster looked down at them.

Facing his first encounter with the enemy, the Minotaur, Welf held his breath.

"Moo hoo ...

It is impossible to compete with them.

First, their will was already low; then, their fighting spirit was thwarted; and finally, they lacked the strength and instinct to stand up and fight.

A strong "howl".

It was a terrifying intimidation that bound the mind and body of a creature with "fear." Faced with the howl of the Minotaur, classified as Lv.2, Lv.1 Welf was powerless to resist and forcibly stopped. He gripped the hilt of his greatsword, but could not draw it from its sheath, and remained frozen in place.

In the blink of an eye, the Minotaur kicked through the ground and charged forward, raising its massive stone axe high.

The bull's eyes reflected its own image, consumed by fear.

--die!

Faced with the monster looming before him, Welf was already resigned to his fate.

The next instant—the center of gravity lost its balance.

"!"

Welf's vision blurred.

The shoulders that were supporting the body have disappeared.

He almost fell because he lost his balance, but Lily quickly caught him. Welf managed to keep himself from kneeling and then raised his head.

I saw that figure had already rushed out.

"Roar! Ro ...

The Minotaur roared as the white-haired youth broke through from the front.

It was as swift as thunder and as agile as a rabbit.

Welf's eyes widened to the point of being unable to utter a sound.

The attack was launched in a lightning-fast flash.

"Moo!?"

The slash struck the monster squarely in the center, creating an impact that caused the giant stone axe to fall from both hands to the ground.

Facing the Minotaur, which was spraying blood and foam, the boy held a black dagger in his right hand and a red short sword in his left—and did not stop.

He used his lightning speed to strike the enemy.

"Aaaaaah!"

Countless slashes engulfed the Minotaur's body.

Blue-purple, crimson, then blue-purple again, arcs of light were carved out with each attack. The two daggers in his backhand clashed in rapid succession, shattering even the screams of agony into pieces.

Seeing the magnificent scene before them, Welf and Lily stared in astonishment, realizing something.

Bell's switch was turned on.

Facing an undeniably formidable foe, they unleashed their full power to defeat it. The speed and agility of their movements were a mere hair's breadth from what they had seen before—it was too fast. Each gust of wind from their strikes was too much for Welf and the others to keep up with, preventing the Minotaur from retaliating or resisting, repeatedly inflicting fatal wounds on its resilient body.

A series of swift and unexpected slashes.

It relies on speed and frequency, the rabbit rush.

Finally, it was slashed sideways, its body struck by a massive blow. The Minotaur's mangled body staggered backward, then let out a final, agonizing scream before collapsing.

The monster's body was completely silent.

"...!"

Seeing the defeated Minotaur, Welf and the others were stunned for a moment before Bell picked up the large stone axe that had fallen to the ground, ready to fight. Ahead of him, from the depths of the passage, three more Minotaurs appeared and charged towards them.

Hearing the plural roars of the approaching minions, Welf and the others were truly speechless this time. Even in his current state, Bell couldn't possibly take on three Minotaur simultaneously.

However, the boy did not run away, but instead made a "ring, ring" sound.

He played a delicate, chime-like melody, causing white particles of light to gather on his axe-wielding hands.

That is.

Just as Welf was digging into his memories of the light particles he had seen before, the three-headed Minotaur was already close at hand.

Converted to time, it's about ten seconds of charging. At this moment, Bell raised the giant stone axe to his right shoulder and dashed off.

In an instant, the distance between the two sides became zero. Facing the bulls that were thrusting out at sharp angles in an attempt to defeat the enemy, he swung his fist downwards.

"——!"

A dazzling, powerful slash was unleashed.

A dazzling, pure white light. The axe's powerful beam engulfed the charging enemies, causing the Minotaurs to vanish into the distance amidst a deafening explosion. The monster, along with the passageway, was shattered.

The ground, shattered into a circular crater, and the rock walls and ceiling, cracked as if struck by lightning, were exactly like the scene when aiming at and shooting the young dragon. Broken rock fragments and dust flew exaggeratedly, ravaging the entire passage.

Soon, the rain-like debris and gray smoke subsided.

The large stone axe, which had turned into dust, fell to the ground with a "clattering" sound.

The enemy has vanished without a trace.

"..."

Unable to move, Welf and Lily even forgot to call out to him, simply standing there motionless.

Bell, who stood with his back to them, had his shoulders rising and falling with his rapid breathing.

They knocked down the Minotaur in succession.

Even disregarding skills, one can still glimpse the brilliance of techniques and tactics.

Welf finally realized that the boy's solo defeat of the Minotaur was no exaggeration.

—Ox Slayer.

Welf held his breath, staring intently at the boy's retreating figure.

□

"It's about time you explained, Hermes."

Hestia calmly asked the question.

Enveloped in a somber atmosphere, the search party continued its advance through the dungeon. With each step, Hestia's magic stone lamp, designed as a lighting fixture, swayed gently, faintly illuminating the faces of Mikoto, Sakura, and Chigusa.

Hermes was also bathed in the light, his face shadowed.

"Explain what?"

"That's why you want to save Bell."

The team formation can be said to be centered around these two gods. In front are the masked adventurers, to the left and right are Mikoto and Sakura, behind is Chigusa, and at the very back is Asphie, to protect Hestia and Hermes.

Surrounded by protection, Hestia stared intently at Hermes beside her.

"Hey, didn't I already tell you? Helping your best friend is the right thing to do!"

"Don't give me that crap! We're already this far, so stop pretending. Explain yourself properly, Hermes."

Hestia emphasized her words. Her blue eyes were filled with seriousness and focus.

Seeing her unwavering gaze and her refusal to let Hermes look away, Hermes seemed to give up after a while, giving a helpless, bitter smile before saying, "I understand, Hestia."

His eyes, which had been curved into crescents, returned to narrow horizontal lines. A smile lingered at the corners of his mouth as he began to speak:

"To get to the bottom of it, the reason I returned from this trip so quickly is because someone asked me to do something."