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

Modo was like he was angry with himself, like he was yelling and shouting because he couldn't vent his inner emotions.

He stopped looking at his disheveled companions and instead surveyed his surroundings. There was a wall of wounded vanguard soldiers, and mages kneeling on the ground, clutching their injured arms. Modo cursed at these bewildered and immobile men:

"Hey! You annoying elves, do you only have one mouth?! You old-faced dwarf, are those muscles just for show?!"

The insults and encouragement from Modo were far less effective. Angry gazes were fixed on him as he swung his greatsword with a whooshing sound, and the people, their pride wounded, tried to stand up. Modo cut down the attacking giant beetle (the mad beetle), shouting again and again—at this moment, a bell rang.

“——”

The majestic sound of the clock tower reaches the sky, reaching the high and distant top of our heads.

The powerful sound reached everyone's ears and hearts, causing time to stand still for each adventurer, who stared in astonishment.

Looking back, he saw an adventurer in the south wielding a jet-black greatsword, with dazzling light gathering on it. Modo's eyes also reflected the figure of the white-haired youth.

No words are needed.

The adventurer's long-cultivated intuition detected a glimmer of hidden hope in the boy.

"—Charge! You bastards! Charge ...

With Modo's roar, all the adventurers launched an attack.

Sensing the threat, Goliath roared, drawing the monsters toward Bell. The adventurers shouted and slashed at the monsters, vowing to keep them away from the boy.

●

"Roar! Ro ...

The ringing of the great clock tower spurred Goliath to begin his advance.

Its roar carried an unprecedented tone of warning, commanding the entire monster army to attack Bell. Its red eyes changed drastically, staring intently at the single boy on the southern grasslands, and it began to move.

"Goliath...!"

"Does it consider Mr. Craney an 'enemy'?"

When Modo and the others clashed with a large group of monsters and a chaotic battle broke out around them, Asphie stared wide-eyed as Goliath began to run away, ignoring their presence; while Ryu stared intently at the giant who was making a rumbling sound as he tried to leave the grassland, his eyes narrowed.

"I must hold the battlefield to the death. I cannot allow Goliath to reach him."

Ryu displayed a strong tone and will, and began to walk briskly.

Goliath leaped forward, completely ignoring Ryu. The giant's frantic charge, accompanied by a deafening roar and strong winds, did not deter Ryu. She charged forward and, seizing the moment the giant's foot touched the ground, mercilessly attacked its knee.

Taking advantage of the disarray in his running posture, a surprise attack was launched—the short legs supporting that huge body were already prone to losing their balance, and after being hit, Goliath immediately lost his balance and fell to the ground in shock with a loud thud.

The giant crashed through the earth's crust, kicking up clouds of dust. It seemed that even it couldn't believe that this was the first time it had landed on its hands and feet.

"Really?!?"

The sight terrified Asphie, but she didn't miss this golden opportunity and immediately launched a pursuit. The floor master had fallen to the ground—a golden opportunity she couldn't afford to miss. She unleashed a continuous offensive on her opponent, who was now on all fours.

"Goo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh... ...!"

Face, hands, shoulders, thighs, back. Every part of his body was subjected to a rapid barrage of blows from Ryu's wooden sword and Asphie's short sword, driving Goliath into a frenzy. He temporarily forgot his initial goal of swatting away the annoying flies, and impatiently used "bowl" and his two arms to wildly swing.

Faced with the giants who had lost their reason and turned into a storm, Ryu began to chant.

"[The forest and sky that have now faded into the distance. The endless night sky inlaid with countless stars]."

The elven girl continued her attack on Goliath while chanting incantations. Seeing Ryu move around faster and more nimbly than herself, and even while chanting, truly terrified Asphie this time.

"[Respond to my foolish voice, and grant me the protection of the star once more. I give light and mercy to those who have forsaken you.]"

"Parallel chanting" during high-speed combat.

Needless to say, casting "magic" requires extreme concentration and proper incantation. The higher the output power, the longer the incantation, and the more precisely the sorcerer must control it. Therefore, without exception, those called mages stand still, focusing solely on incantation, preparing for powerful magic.

However, Ryu was able to handle both chanting and combat simultaneously. If her attention were diverted and she lost control of her magic, she might even cause a magical explosion, yet she was able to simultaneously perform high-speed attacks, movement, evasion, and chanting against the floor master. Even a first-level adventurer would be dumbfounded by such a sight.

His strong self-discipline, courage, and skills in hand-to-hand combat and singing.

With combat skills comparable to the Sword Maiden, Ryu leaps towards the giant while simultaneously constructing magic.

"Fighting while...!"

—Like Asphie, Mikoto also noticed Ryu's [parallel chanting].

Entrusting the dying cherry blossoms to Chigusa's care, she returned to the battlefield and witnessed the scene, gasping in shock. The giant strike that pierced through Goliath, like a gust of wind, relentlessly slashed at the enemy, truly living up to its name, Gale. Simultaneously, the interwoven melody of the wind gripped her heart and shook her to her core.

"How tall it is...!"

She saw a lofty realm in the elven warriors. She realized her own immaturity, incompetence, and weakness, which further ignited her fighting spirit as an adventurer, and she vowed that one day she would reach that realm as well.

She shook her head, confirming that the adventurers around her were in high spirits—a sight that showed they were evenly matched with the monster forces. She decided to go and support Ryu and the others, and ran towards Goliath.

Even though they were so weak, as long as this "magic" could become a little bit of strength for them... or for the boy (Bell)—not only that, but also with the ambition not to lose to them, they began to chant.

"【Calling upon the name of the Supreme One, I am filled with trepidation and awe—】"

He focused all his mental energy on this strike.

She disregarded everything else, pouring all her heart and soul into the magic of her chanting.

"[O invincible martial gods (deities), protectors of the noble heavens, grant this humble body the divine power to be of imposing nobility]."

Just as the chanting of Destiny and Ryu was halfway through...

Goliath, kneeling on the ground, raised its heavy waist.

"Just behave yourself for a while longer!"

Perhaps her mind had calmed down, or perhaps she remembered Bell's matter, but seeing the Titans about to launch another attack, Asphie clicked her tongue. A quick glance revealed that Ryu's magic was not yet complete.

"I really don't want to use it in front of everyone...!"

She had given up hope, yet it seemed as if she had made up her mind, as she gently touched the sandals on her feet.

"—[Talalia]."

The gold wing decorations rolled up on the sandals unfurled as if they had come to life.

In the blink of an eye, a pair of wings, a total of four feathers, spread out from her left and right feet, and Asphie took to the sky.

"!"

Goliath was astonished to see Asphie fly past. Ryu and the surrounding adventurers were also instantly drawn to her soaring through the sky.

Flying Shoes (Talalia). The ultimate magical item (secret weapon) of the [Omnipotent One].

This is a "mysterious" creation made by a sea princess who once yearned for the sky more than anyone else. With the power of these winged sandals, Asphie is able to wield unparalleled flight.

An aerial battle that seizes the advantage from the flying monster. With her pure white cloak billowing, she traces a huge arc in the sky like a bird, rapidly approaching Goliath's face.

The short sword, held in reverse in his left hand, was swung like the wind in a flash.

"——!"

The slash left by the red-eyed man caused Goliath to howl in pain.

"[—Come, wandering wind, drifting traveler. Soar through the skies, race across the wilderness, swifter than anything else. Conquer the enemy with the brilliance of the stars!]!"

Faced with the giant who was covering one eye and tilting his head back, Ryuka immediately stopped chanting.

Aiming at her opponent who had stopped moving, she raised her eyebrows and unleashed her magic.

"[The Wind of Light]!"

Countless large orbs of light, swirling with green winds, appeared around Ryu, unleashing a barrage of stellar magic that relentlessly bombarded Goliath. The magic blasted through its dark skin, creating countless chain flashes of light.

The powerful magic, befitting its status as a magical race (elves), forced Goliath to retreat step by step—and then…

"Aaaaaaaahh ...

"!"

Ignoring the barrage of light bullets hitting him, Goliath charged forward relentlessly.

As tens of thousands of light particles surged forth, simultaneously inflicting damage and healing, Goliath forcefully broke through Ryu's magic. Witnessing the giant charging towards them, skinning them to the bone, this unexpected attack left Ryu and Asif, who were facing him head-on, with no time to escape.

"[Descending from the heavens, unifying the earth—Divine Martial Conquest]!"

Just as the giant's outstretched arm was about to strike Asphie down, and its body was about to knock Ryu away...

Fate completed the magic.

"【Futsu-no-Mitama】!"

A lightsaber appeared directly above Goliath and descended vertically.

At the same time, multiple concentric circles like a magic circle appeared on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, the deep purple lightsaber pierced through the giant's body and plunged into the center of the ring, instantly creating a gravity cage.

"——!"

A massive, dome-shaped force field with a radius of ten meters unfolded before Ryu and Asphie, trapping Goliath within it and slamming its outstretched arms and knees to the ground. A loud groan escaped the giant's lips, and the vast grassland within its effect area began to collapse in a circular pattern, gradually crumbling away.

This was her deadly trump card. The supreme god (Takemikazuchi) had strictly forbidden her from using it in enclosed spaces (the dungeon); it was a super-pressure magic capable of crushing a certain area. The gravity prison, stained deep purple, crushed Goliath from above.

Previously, she was worried that it would affect the frontline attackers or the mages' bombardment, so she dared not use such powerful magic. Both Ryu and Asphie were filled with fear.

"Guh, waaaaaaahh ...

He grabbed his outstretched right arm with his left hand, his expression contorted in pain.

Goliath, who had once been successfully pinned to the ground, slowly raised himself up.

The giant pushed aside the immense pressure from above and stood up. Life tried its best to suppress it, but it couldn't stop the monster's brute force.

It was simply a matter of power. Goliath's overwhelming abilities (stats) made her difficult to contend with.

Bell's power-up was not yet complete, and the barrier was about to be breached as time passed.

◆

Welf took off running.

The crystal light illuminated the tree trunks as he ran with all his might through the silent eastern forest. He didn't care how panting he became; he was simply racing along the route he remembered.

"Damn it! Bell, that big guy... he's a real jerk!"

The image of Bell and Sakura being sent flying by the giant lingered in his mind. The burly adventurer whom Welf initially disliked had protected the boy, while he himself was powerless to do anything and could only stand there dumbfounded.

Thinking of his ridiculous and ugly appearance, the regret swirling in his heart grew even stronger.

"Goddess Hephaestus, I...!"

The white cloth weapon was given to him by the goddess, who was the chief god. It was also the weapon that Welf himself gave up.

It was created immediately upon his command by the goddess after he joined the faction; it can be considered his debut work as a familiar.

Having proven his abilities, Welf reluctantly handed over the creation to Hephaestus for safekeeping, adding, "I will never forge the same weapon again."

"It's okay to think that way now," she said. "But when you acquire something important, you'll definitely regret not using that power," she added.

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

The words of the red-eyed, red-haired goddess have all come true for me now.

He stubbornly refused to become a "magic swordsmith," vowing never to use any "magic sword."

If we could let go of this attachment, perhaps things would be different.

"I……!"

Welf hates the "magic sword".

A lightweight power capable of defeating the strong with just a sliver of its grasp. A magical weapon that breeds arrogance and complacency in its user. In particular, the "Demon Sword" of the family (Krozo) corrupts everything, including the user and even the blacksmith.

Moreover, the "Demon Sword" always abandons its user and can never escape the fate of being shattered.

Welf hated the "Demon Sword" to death.

"...!"

They arrived at the familiar forest slope. As the weapon wrapped in white cloth slid down the slope, Welf had sincerely hoped it would remain buried deep within the vegetation.

Let it sleep peacefully, unused by anyone, its hilt untouched by anyone.

May the fate that spared us from destruction remain forever asleep.

"Hey, where are you! Answer me!"

He rushed down the slope, calling out like that.

The building lost its light, making the surroundings even darker. The forest was tinged with the azure hue of night.