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

◆

"Lord Bell—"

Lily, who didn't have time to hand the weapon to Bell, watched the boy's figure take flight.

Disregarding everything else, she rushed out from a corner of the battlefield.

◆

"Bell..."

Welf's voice trembled as he called out a name that couldn't reach the boy's ears.

As all the surrounding sounds gradually faded away, a sentence resurfaced deep within my mind.

"Don't compare your stubbornness with that of your companions on a scale."

The admonition of the supreme deity (God) pierced his chest with a reproachful tone.

Remorse and self-reproach contorted his features like those of a child about to cry. He stood there for only a brief moment before turning back to the forest behind him.

"hateful!"

Welf threw down his greatsword and rushed into the eastern forest.

□

"Cherry blossoms……!"

"Sakura-sama!"

With tears streaming down her face, Chigusa and Miko, their expressions filled with sorrow, ran towards the fallen cherry blossom. They picked up his limp, blood-covered body, his eyes closed, and carried him away from the battlefield.

"Tsk—!"

As for Bell's body, which rolled in a different direction from the cherry blossoms, it was quickly picked up by Ryu, who arrived at breakneck speed. She, too, disregarded everything and only wanted to transport the boy to a safe place.

"Mr. Crannie, Mr. Crannie! Answer me!"

Ryu laid Bell's body on the south side of the floor, on the grassland between the central tree and the small hill at the supply base. The boy, lying on his back, remained silent, showing no reaction.

"Of all times...!"

Liu ripped off her hoodie and reached into her bag, filled with regret.

There were no high-grade elixirs left. The boy's body was severely injured, and ordinary elixirs were too weak to treat him. His entire body was cut and lacerated by shards of tooth fragments, and his entire set of light armor, including his breastplate, was almost half destroyed. Palpation revealed that several parts of his body, including his ribs, were fractured.

Seeing Bell's body covered in wounds and bleeding profusely, Ryu looked down at him with sorrow.

"Bell!"

"The goddess Hestia..."

Hestia arrived from the nearby supply depot.

Seeing Bell on the verge of death, her face turned ashen as she rummaged through her pouch, but like Ryu, she wore a bitter expression. In the heat of the battle, Hestia had run out of supplies.

"Masked lady... no, elf lady! How is Belle?"

"He's still breathing, but his wounds are deep. The bones in his hands and feet are probably..."

Hestia and Ryu knelt down, looking down from their left and right at the boy's body, which had been hit by a Lv.5 cannon shot (roar).

At that moment, a shout from afar reached their ears.

"Li'ang, come back soon!"

That was the scream of Asphie, who was fighting Goliath all by herself. Immediately afterward, the enemy unleashed a "bowl," which she stared at in disbelief, quickly covering herself with her pure white cloak for protection.

Through the homemade impact-resistant cloth, she was bombarded and "whoosh!" Her slender body was sent flying.

"...Miss Elf, go ahead. Try to buy as much time as possible."

Hestia, with a tense expression, told Ryu, who had turned around.

"Bell will get back up. He will rise and defeat that monster."

"Goddess Hestia, but..."

"You saw it too! Bell can do it! Bell has the ability to defeat that monster!"

Ryu looked back into the goddess's unwavering eyes and said, "I understand." She nodded.

As she put her hoodie back on, a righteous and awe-inspiring expression appeared on her profile as she hurried toward the battlefield.

"...Wake up, Bell!"

After Ryu left, Hestia grasped Bell's right hand, who had been left behind with her, and called out to him repeatedly.

The boy, whose bangs covered his eyes, simply opened his mouth slightly and remained motionless.

"You heard their voices! Everyone is fighting, everyone is standing up against such a terrible enemy!"

The shouts of adventurers, including Ryu, surrounded Hestia and Bell.

The distant cries of those trapped in battle, along with the songs of brave warriors, made her tighten the grip on her right hand.

"You can do it! It's all up to you! Only you can save those children...!"

Even though his clan was severely wounded, Hestia, with tears in her eyes, still drove him back to the battlefield.

She screamed desperately, pleading with those deep red eyes to open.

She shouted from the depths of her chest to the boy who had exhausted all his strength:

"Stand up, Bell!"

◆

He heard a sound.

As Bell's consciousness floated in the dark crevice, he clearly heard the voice of the goddess he respected, loved, and cherished more than anyone else. He lost sensation in his body, only feeling something enveloping his right hand, which felt as hot as flames.

The goddess's repeated calls, a sound on the verge of tears, made Bell grit his teeth. As if drawn by her cries, he swam forward, pushing through the darkness.

Add fuel to the fire in your heart. Rekindle the inextinguishable flame (of Hestia).

The will to rise again swayed the wounded body. Light was already visible ahead of the darkness; all that remained was to stand up again.

Towards the darkness. Towards the light. Towards the place where the goddess calls.

Bell repeatedly encouraged his still body to channel strength into his warm, enveloped right hand. But he still couldn't move it. Not even a tremor.

He yelled "Damn it!" at his body, which had reached its limit, and urged it to move, trying to wake itself up—to the next moment...

"If there is one qualification that can make someone a hero—"

“——”

The voice echoed in the darkness.

"Hermes!"

Beside the goddess's astonished voice, the god's voice spoke.

Bell recognized those words and that voice—he remembered them all.

"Therefore, he is neither the one who wields the sword, nor the one who raises the shield, nor the one who heals people's wounds and relieves their pain."

Those are sounds I heard in the past.

In the early years of dreams and aspirations, it was an inspiration (a starting point) for the boy.

The words of my grandfather (the song of the past) were delivered by the messenger god.

"Only those who risk their lives can be called heroes."

The voice of God became the voice of my grandfather (in the past).

"Protect our comrades. Save the lady. Risk your life."

Emerging in the darkness, appearing before the thunder (light), is the figure of my grandfather (a memory from the past).

"It's okay to be frustrated, it's alright to be frustrated, cry your heart out. The winner is always among the losers."

He remembered; he used to remember.

Bell remembered what her smiling lips were about to say next.

"Follow your heart's desire, shout out your will! So—"

Yes, that is—

"—That's the most handsome hero (man)."

"!"

Awakening.

"Bell..."

Seeing Bell sit up, Hestia spoke blankly.

Standing motionless, gazing down at the boy's injured body, was the god Hermes.

Under his narrowed, orange-yellow eyes, Bell got up with trembling hands and feet.

Rise up, fight! Take up your sword once more! So that you may face her again.

To save his companions, who were more important than anything else.

To reach the limit—to surpass the limit, risk your life.

"Lord Bell!"

Lily, who had come from afar, used her entire petite frame to throw an extra-large weapon.

The black greatsword arced through the air, spinning as it descended, and Bell caught it with one hand.

He gripped the thick handle tightly with both hands, swung it downwards, and raised it to his eyes.

With its slanted, deep red eyes fixed on the ferocious, ominous black giant in the distance.

Burning with hope.

Shout out your wishes.

Ultimately, if Bell Craney had any ability to outdo others, it was only his foolish, naive, and irreplaceable—unwavering devotion.

"!"

It began to gather strength. At the same time, the markings on its back, which God had etched, began to burn with a scorching color.

Limit off.

Even the "Grace of God" can transcend and overcome all the limitations of one's will, temporarily elevating the power of a hero's desire (skill). It transforms a pebble that stirs up ripples in the battle into a sword capable of severing the head of a giant.

The power output, gathered from white light, has increased dramatically.

The chimes transformed into the resounding grand bell.

The solemn tolling of the bells resounded across the battlefield.

●

From the central battlefield where Goliath raged fiercely, southeastward lies the boundary between the steppe and the forest.

Modo's group, who were fighting the monster while mixed in with other adventurers, were about to lose their will to fight.

"It's no use, there's nothing we can do! We just can't win against this kind of opponent!"

"There's no other way but to run away! As long as we hide in the forest, we can still...!"

No one could stop the giants' rampage; monsters kept surging in, and no matter how hard they fought, they couldn't defeat them all.

Faced with the bleak and hopeless situation of the battle, many people declared their intention to give up and leave the area they were responsible for.

"Don't you dare escape, you bastards!"

It was Modo who forcibly kept these companions with him.

"What nonsense are you talking about, Modo! We can't handle the floor master (that guy)! What's the point of staying!"

"Just fight! How dare you abandon those brats and those women and run away?!"

Modo pointed at Ryu and Asphie, who were desperately resisting Goliath, and loudly pleaded. Seeing his clenched teeth, his companions all cowered, as if they couldn't understand.

"Will this go on? Absolutely not! We can't just run away like this without doing anything!"