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

Just as the surrounding crowd was excited about the news of the fight that had erupted in broad daylight, the two rushed out without regard for their own safety.

Their feet flew swiftly towards the Western Seventh District, where crimson flames and thunder resounded through the sky.

"Has Miss Freya made a move?"

It was some distance from the battlefield where escapes and chases were repeatedly staged, in the vicinity of Northwest Street.

Hermes, who was continuously monitoring the situation from the high-rise building, asked Asphie, who had just returned, this question.

"No, Freya's faction is currently adopting a wait-and-see attitude."

"Miss Freya, are you not going to take action regarding this commotion?"

Hearing Asif's reply as her pure white cloak fluttered in the wind, Hermes rested his chin on his hand.

Based on what he could confirm, the battle situation was extremely dire for Bell. The boy was still protecting the main god as they fled, and the sheer difference in combat strength between them and the enemy—the difference in numbers—was at least a hundredfold.

Is there some reason, or does she intend to treat this fight as a new trial for Bell?

Hermes speculated that the rapid changes in the boy's environment might, in some way, please the goddess of beauty, just like she had spared him last time.

It's not hard to imagine that the "glory" she spoke of is still growing stronger.

"What should I do?"

"Do nothing."

In response to the question posed by Asphie from behind, Hermes answered in this way.

"I am Hermes, after all. I will remain an observer, as I have been, and as I will continue to be."

He wanted to watch over Bell's future from the sidelines until the very last moment. The handsome god turned around and expressed his feelings with a smile.

As a member of the clan, Asphie didn't say anything, but sighed as she added another troublesome matter to the mix.

"I need to change locations. Asphie, can you help me?"

"learn……"

In order to track Bell and his group's movements, Hermes and Asphyxi began to move.

"I heard that the little hero Argo was attacked!"

At the northern end of the city, the long mansion of the Loki Familia headquarters.

Tiona, who had just returned from gathering intelligence on the street, rushed into the meeting room where the group members were gathered.

"Tiona, is this true...?"

"Hmm, I heard the entire Apollo Familia has been mobilized, chasing that boy everywhere!"

The Amazonian girl told Ais, who came to her side and asked her what she had seen and heard.

Upon hearing her description, Ais's emotionless expression revealed a hint of worry.

"It's been a long time since anyone has fought like this in public."

"The Apollo faction should also be mentally prepared to accept guild punishment."

Sitting on the sofa, the dwarf Gerris and the elf Riveria objectively analyzed the situation.

The members of their own faction had been discussing it inside headquarters for quite some time, and the two had already realized what was happening outside.

"By the way, where did Loki go? Wasn't she just here?"

"I ran out to see what was going on, that idiotic goddess..."

"...I really can't stand these gods."

Seemingly bored, Bert answered the question posed by the sisters Tiona and Thione.

After hearing his answer, she felt helpless.

"Ais, don't get any funny ideas."

"Finn..."

While Riveria and Tiony were talking to each other, Ais stood up from the sofa, looking a little restless. Finn, seeing this, walked over to her side.

"This is different from what happened on the 18th floor. Do not do anything to help Hestia's faction."

As the leader of the [Family], he gave Ais a few words of advice.

Ais is also a faction leader and cannot act on her own. The Loki Familia has no reason to help Bell and the others.

Most importantly, it's difficult to intervene in factional issues. At the size of the largest faction (Loki's Familia), doing anything becomes very difficult.

"The chief god (Loki) has also strictly ordered that we must not intervene. Let's observe the situation for now."

"Hmm...I understand."

Ais nodded slightly as Finn, the dwarf, looked up at her with his blue eyes.

Later, when he called a member of the group to relay the order, Ais walked to the window of the reception room.

Her dignified features were faintly reflected on the glass window as Ais gazed at the scenery outside.

□

Bell kept running.

Unable to escape the enemy's encirclement, he carried the main god through every back alley.

When he encountered citizens who were standing still and unable to escape, he shouted "I'm sorry!" and then leaped high over their heads.

"Not again...!?"

Hestia groaned as Bell's gaze swept quickly across the surrounding area.

Two adventurers circled around to block the way, and since the road was a one-way street, there was nowhere to escape.

While running, Bell temporarily placed the main god on the ground and charged forward. Equipped with daggers in both hands, he launched an attack.

「!?」

“Ugh!?”

The opponent seemed caught off guard by his sudden attack, and was thrown into disarray by Bell's lightning-fast, all-out assault. Bell's blade struck precisely into the seam of the armor, bringing the opponent to the ground.

Bell felt as if he were reliving the experience of fighting giant ants with hard shells (killer ants), and immediately grabbed Hestia's hand as she chased after him and ran forward.

"I'm so sorry, Belle, I'm always getting in my way...!"

"This isn't the gods' fault!"

Belle answered loudly to Hestia, who was panting and apologizing to him, and gripped her slender little hand even tighter.

The act of "god-killing" by mortals is taboo, an absolute rule. Only gods can harm gods.

If a god suffers a fatal wound, the sealed "Arcanum" will activate to sustain the body's life functions. In other words, an injured god will be considered to have used "Arcanum" and will be forcibly sent back to the heavens.

To put it extremely, if Hestia were captured alive and executed by Apollo, Bell, having lost his chief god, would naturally become a free person, giving other factions the opportunity to recruit him. However, the most likely scenario would be to take Hestia hostage... or rather, a divine hostage, using the condition of "keeping her in the mortal realm" to force Bell to join the group.

Bell could not hand Hestia over to the enemy under any circumstances. He had to protect the chief god while fleeing.

(There are also many Lv.2 enemies...but!)

He struck the archers ahead with his [Fire Lightning] arrow. Seeing the enemy waver as their comrades were blown to pieces, Bell immediately charged, instantly taking down three enemies.

He knew how to deal with a level 2 adventurer. He felt he wouldn't be at a disadvantage in a one-on-one fight, as he was definitely stronger in terms of "agility".

As long as he wasn't surrounded by multiple enemies, he should be able to handle it. With this in mind, Bell thought with a glimmer of hope that if he could find a weaker corner in the encirclement and try to force his way through, there might still be a way.

"Bell, if you keep attacking with your 'magic,' you should be able to escape, right? That move can easily take down a bunch of people!"

"No, well, I don't really want to use 'magic'..."

Although he had tried to keep his firepower low, if the fire spread to civilian homes and engulfed the entire West District in flames, Bell would not be able to survive in Orario. He was already aware of this and would not fire indiscriminately unless absolutely necessary, but he would try to avoid using magic if possible.

Although a good rapid-fire spell (fire and lightning) can bring the dead back to life, it is not something to be relied upon in the current situation.

"...?"

Hunters chasing from above the rooftops, sentries and roadblocks deployed in various locations, and high-level adventurers launching direct attacks.

The enemy's dazzling human wave tactics made Bell squint one eye, and at that moment his rubellite pupils fixed on the badge of an adventurer.

(A crescent moon and a wine glass...?)

It's not the sun emblem of the Apollo Familia, but the emblem of another faction.

Having finally managed to distance himself from his pursuers, Bell began to have doubts. Was the enemy not just one faction?

In an instant, the scene from last night flashed through my mind.

As I slipped out of the banquet and headed to the balcony, I witnessed that secret rendezvous—

Just as Bell was recalling this, in the next instant...

With a "thud," the sound of someone landing on the ground behind them rang out.

“——”

An oppressive and murderous aura unlike anything seen before.

He felt his heart pounding faster and faster.

Instinctively, he shouted with all his might, determined not to let his opponent see his back.

Bell looked behind him with trembling eyes and saw a handsome young man standing there with a cold smile on his face.

Combat uniform with white as the base color, long and short swords at the waist, and a flowing cloak.

Hyacinthus, the leader of the Apollo Familia, bent his knees forward.

「!?」

As Hestia was shoved to the side of the road, the enemy was already right in front of her.

The opponent drew his sword with lightning speed, and the longsword, as bright as a red flame—the flamberge—was scooped up with a single strike.

In a moment of desperation, Bell blocked the attack with the "Blade of Hestia," but was unable to withstand the impact and was thrown back.

"Bell!?"

Bell flew backward and landed on the stone slab. Hyacinthus then gave chase.

With a downward slash of his sword, Bell rolled to the side to dodge, gritting his teeth as he drew the "Ushiwakamaru" from his waist and clashed with the enemy after the roll.

A series of attacks and defenses occurred in the instant that the goddess (Hestia) pressed against the back alley wall let out a scream.

"It's amazing you managed to escape for so long, Bell Craney! I'll personally be your opponent—be grateful!"

“Wu!?”

Two daggers and a longsword clashed, creating countless flashes of light and shadow.

Hestia stared, the metallic clang drowning out her hearing and dominating the entire back alley. Bell fought with all his might against a powerful enemy who wouldn't allow escape.

They fled into the deep back alley, where all other attacks ceased, and only here did fierce fighting take place.

“——”

The right-hand slash was deflected, and the upward strike from the lower left was neutralized.

The alternating double strikes of the attack failed to even touch a hair on the enemy's head. The offense and defense switched in an instant. The opponent launched a fierce thrust at him, but Bell quickly deflected the attack with a tap from the side.

However, the sword tip, which should have been deflected, still grazed the upper arm, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

"I see, that's quite fast."

The way Hyacinthus curled the corners of his mouth made Bell's pupils tremble.

Compared to Bel's dual-wielding weaponry, the enemy only used a longsword. Bel's dual-wielding, which should have given him an advantage in terms of attack frequency, was completely repelled, leaving him utterly overwhelmed from the front. It was as if Bel's moves were predicted; all his attacks were utterly ineffective.

They were no match for their opponents in terms of speed.

「!?」

The instant his pure white cape billowed, his opponent unleashed a vertical strike, so fast that even Bell couldn't react in time.

At the critical moment, Bell crossed Hestia's Blade and Ushiwakamaru, blocking the fiery red blade that flashed vertically.

Two daggers clamped down on the enemy's wave-shaped sword, resulting in a stalemate.

The trembling blade, emitting a grinding sound, was gradually pressed down by the longsword held in one hand.

"I hate you to the extreme for being favored by Apollo... but this is also the wish of the chief god (master), so let you become a member of our glorious faction."