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

Facing an opponent whose time seemed frozen, she calmly said this and took a step towards him.

"If helping a friend is a disgrace, I am willing to accept insults."

Facing her trembling compatriot (Lissos), Ryu flashed her wooden sword and defeated him.

□

"This is truly astonishing—! Does the Hestia Familia intend to settle this matter quickly—!?"

In Orario, surprise and excitement had already spread among the crowd.

The "mirror" floating in the air reflected the smoke billowing from the north and east city walls, the damaged ancient city itself, and the masked figure, valiant and skilled in battle, fighting against a large group of high-level adventurers. The spectators on the main road cheered loudly for her, a woman of great martial arts prowess and captivating beauty.

"But speaking of which, God Ganesha, just what exactly is the origin of that incredibly powerful 'demon sword'!?"

"Is that... Ganesha!?"

"If you don't intend to explain, then go back, Ganesha!?"

The live stream and commentary in front of the guild were at full throttle, with the amplified dialogue echoing throughout the city.

At the same time, on the towering building (Tower of Babel) in the central square, many gods marveled at it.

"Isn't that masked adventurer a bit too strong?"

"Hermes said she seems to be an assistant from outside the city."

"A masked adventurer... just who is this Leon...?"

"The Apollo Familia responded very quickly."

The male gods crowded in front of a "mirror" in a corner of the assembly hall. As for the round table, Apollo clicked his tongue. He showed his bright white teeth and looked at Hestia with an expression of gritted teeth, but the young goddess was still staring intently at the "mirror."

"Oh, they're going to come up with another new trick."

In the "mirror" reflecting the wilderness, a black-haired girl can be seen rushing along the ground like a wild beast.

◆

Wrapped in camouflage that matched the color of the earth, he took advantage of the chaos to successfully infiltrate the stronghold.

Just as Ryu temporarily drew the enemy's attention, she took advantage of the fact that no one was watching and entered the city through the breached north wall. Carrying a simple longsword in one hand, she leaped into the air, jumping over the mountain of rubble and billowing dust at the main entrance of the destroyed fortress.

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

Then, she began to sing as she sped along.

"Enemy surprise attack! Enemies have taken advantage of the chaos to sneak in from the north!"

The short man (Luan), who was the first to discover the intrusion, shouted loudly, drawing the attention of the group members to Ming.

She leaped onto the high stone roof of the fortress and bravely stormed the throne tower where the enemy general (Hyacinthus) stood ready—the main city of the enemy camp.

"[We, the invincible martial gods (deities), and the noble guidance of the heavens, beseech you to grant this humble body the divine power to uphold its lofty and noble form.]"

"That girl also has the 'Demon Sword'! She's planning to attack Hyacinthus directly!?"

Seeing the longsword in her hand, Lu An cried out. His men were all startled by his words and charged at her desperately, trying to stop her attack.

"【Save us, light of purification, blade that vanquishes evil】."

Enduring arrows and roars from the ground, the incantation of life (song) softly begins to play.

The ferocious "magic" that formed a vortex within her body, combined with the impact of her heartbeat, caused beads of sweat to appear on her fair skin.

“——!?”

"No! It's not the 'Demon Sword'!?"

An arrow shot from below struck the longsword, easily breaking the blade.

The deception was exposed. A volley of arrows followed, blowing away the camouflage cloth and revealing Ming's slender, flexible limbs. Enemies were closing in from directly behind, their attacks becoming even more ferocious. Arrows pierced her combat suit, magic struck the ground at her feet, and flying pebbles cut Ming's cheeks and neck.

She nearly lost her balance several times, but never stopped singing and walking briskly.

"[Sweep away, scabbard of pacification, spirit sword of conquest (Spirit King)]".

An unstable spirit and immature "parallel chanting" may lead to a foolish self-destruction that could trigger a magical explosion (ignis fatuus) at the center of the body.

She used all her strength to suppress her wavering and desperately controlled her "magic." What was deeply imprinted in her eyes was the heroic figure of [Gale] unleashing its song.

The beautiful melody that intertwined when facing formidable enemies still lingers in my mind. Destiny saw the pinnacle in her and harbored the desire to "vow to reach that peak" deep within his heart.

The attacks grazed her body several times, nearly disrupting her chanting, but she gritted her teeth and refused to give in.

It's just running to the finish line while chanting. That's far from being as good as a spirit battle where you can attack, move, dodge, and chant simultaneously. If she can't even do that, she'll have no face to face herself, who has reached the pinnacle of her dreams, and her companions who only recently decided to fight alongside her.

The enemy gradually gathered from inside the city, and the officer quickened his pace.

"[Now, in this place, I summon by my name]."

She ran across the stone rooftops. If forced to fight, her life would surely end there. She escaped the approaching enemies and reached the center of the fortress—the spacious courtyard.

Looking at the towering throne tower in the distance, she performed a super-giant leap while evading her pursuers.

"[Descending from the heavens, unifying the earth—]"

Chasing the figure of the girl soaring through the sky, enemy adventurers crowded into the courtyard from within the city and from the rooftops.

Using a fake sword (a demonic sword) as bait to attract attention, he looked down at the assembled adventurers with a fierce expression.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, she wove out her final chant.

"【—Divine Martial Conquest】!!"

As she landed in the courtyard, a vast amount of "magic" was unleashed. The enemy adventurers were all astonished and threw swords, guns, axes, and any other weapon they could find at her, but it was too late.

Radius is 50 meters, maximum range.

A lightsaber was summoned above his head—he had activated "magic".

"【Futsu-no-Mitama】!!"

Countless concentric circles appeared on the ground, and then in the center of the circle, a deep purple lightsaber was plunged into the foot of Ming.

An extremely powerful pressure spell was activated, slamming all the thrown weapons, adventurers, and even their lives into the ground.

"Ah! Ughh ...

The adventurers imprisoned in the dome-shaped, deep purple cage let out distorted screams due to the immense pressure.

Many weapons were slammed into the ground before they could even hit their targets, cracking with a "crack." Humans, elves, orcs—all those within the gravity field—knelt, braced themselves with their hands, desperately enduring the immense pressure.

Life stood firm on its feet, bearing the power of its own magic.

"You...you've gone mad...!!"

Suicide attack.

She ensnared herself in powerful magic, trapping all the adventurers gathered near the courtyard within a barrier.

They were pinned to the ground by the gravity prison, unable to move. As the central courtyard continued to collapse and crumbled every second, the humans beside her stared at her with trembling eyes.

Destined to test his endurance against adventurers, he answered resolutely:

"Please stay here with me for now...!"

◆

"Hold on, it's life..."

Facing the "mirror" that appeared at headquarters, Takemikazuchi offered words of encouragement to the girl.

"come on……"

"Is she trying to ensure the enemy can't escape?"

Chigusa and Sakura, who were watching the battle alongside the other members beside the main god, also gazed at Mikoto's painfully contorted profile.

There are twenty-two people imprisoned in the gravity cage. Any arrows or magic from the outside, once they enter the range of the pressure magic (Futsu-no-Mitama), will be knocked to the ground the moment they touch that field of light. In other words, no attack can hit Ming, who is at the center of the force field, and this barrier will not be dispelled until she exhausts her strength.

With the city walls blown apart by the "Demon Sword" and the forces deployed to deal with Ryu, 80% of the Apollo Familia members are now unable to leave.

"Too fast."

—On the other hand, in the assembly hall on the thirtieth floor of the Tower of Babel.

Having clearly grasped the trend of the battle, Hermes spoke these words in front of the "mirror".

What do you mean?

"The Apollo army's actions were incredibly swift."

Hearing Asphie, who was waiting beside him, ask this question, he replied while looking at the people fighting in the "mirror." "Whether it's sensing the threat of 'Krozo's Demon Sword,' or responding swiftly to the little sister's surprise attack, don't you think the battle is progressing too smoothly? It's almost as if... someone is manipulating it."

Compared to Asphie, whose eyes were wide open, Hermes curled up the corners of his mouth with interest.

"In times of war, intelligence is the weapon."

"The fresher the intelligence and the earlier it is obtained, the more likely it is to become the best trump card (the main course)."

"However, if the intelligence contains poison... it can spread throughout the body very quickly."

Hermes finished speaking in one breath. In front of him, the short man (Luan) was looking around in the "mirror." He ran across the sparsely populated western side of the city and came to the western gate of the city wall, which had not yet been destroyed.

"Just a single drop of poison can become an irreversible 'deadly poison'."

Then, through the gate he himself had opened—Bell and Welf—they invaded the interior of the city walls.

●

"There's a traitor!"

The Orario citizens watching the battle all stood up with their hands behind their heads.

The street avenue, the guild hall, and the central square erupted in a series of near-screaming shouts.

"The members of the Apollo Familia have betrayed their comrades!"

"He let the enemy into the city!?"

Among several round windows, everyone pointed to the "mirrors" reflecting two humans and a dwarf male, their gazes fixed on the three of them.

Because of an unexpected betrayal—Luan's covert guidance—Bell and his companions easily entered the city. The fighting on the eastern side was still ongoing, and a barrier had been erected in the center of the fortress, dispersing the enemy forces. The three were currently in a completely deserted position. The enemy was wary of the damaged northern wall, while the unscathed western wall was a complete blind spot. An enemy member suddenly encountered the three and was about to scream in surprise when White Rabbit darted past, instantly cutting him down.

The breathtaking scene caused a stir among the Orario viewers.

"W-wh-wh...!?"

It was Apollo himself who was speechless.

He slammed his chair aside and stood up from beside the round table. Perhaps due to anger, his face turned from red to white, then from white to blue, and his mouth opened and closed.

(Well done...!)

While Apollo trembled in the assembly hall of the Tower of Babel, Hestia quietly clenched her fists.

At the same time, she watched with trusting eyes as her three members of her clan gathered together in the "mirror".

"Does it look very similar?"

"Ancient city ruins, within the city of the Apollo Familia." Welf whispered this to Ruan as he ran.

"Because that's all Lily has to offer."

Luan's voice was still male, but he spoke with a feminine tone. Despite the different appearance, his smile was exactly the same as Lily's. Bell and Welf also smiled at their most capable "behind-the-scenes hero (supporter)".

The traitor Luan is actually Lily, who has transformed through "magic".

Luan himself had been knocked unconscious and locked in a warehouse in the suburbs four days before he even arrived at the ancient city ruins—presumably watching this war game under the watchful eye of his idol (Mich)—Lily, who had switched sides with him, perfectly imitated his tone and mannerisms, and carried out espionage activities in the enemy's territory without being discovered by anyone.

On the eve of the decisive battle, she slipped out of the city while moving supplies and met up with Welf and the others, leaking them intelligence about the city. The invasion route and the enemy's deployment within the city were all revealed. After considering the enemy's formation, the group began their battle plan for the day.

The level 4 strongman Ryu lured most of the enemies outside the city, and then the remaining half of the enemies were taken away from the main city by Mikoto, who restricted their freedom of movement.

Through disguise and alteration, Lily subtly lured and enhanced the effectiveness of these strategies from within, thus calmly inviting Bell and Welf into the city, where the defenses had become weaker.

Finally, Welf escorted Bell to the enemy's commander-in-chief.

Everything went exactly as Hestia and Lily had planned.

The existence of a traitor—the transformed Lily is the "Destruction (Troy)" that was brought into the city.

"As I mentioned yesterday, the tower where the enemy general (Yacintos) is located has a rather strange structure. We can only infiltrate the tower by going through the aerial corridor extending from the third floor of the fortress."

Lily explained in Luan's tone, and Bell and the others listened and answered. Looking out the window at the towers that the kingdom's army had built later, resembling a royal city, she explained their structure.

"So you're saying you can't get into the tower from the outside, right?"