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

The piercing screams of the dying echoed through the air above the red-light district.

■

"...They didn't catch up?"

Bell, who had fallen from the rooftop platform and landed on the high roof of the palace at the back, looked up and muttered to himself.

Bell's body emitted particles of light as he assumed his stance, but there was no movement above. He was puzzled that Frini hadn't given chase, but he still lowered his greatsword.

Looking around, countless plumes of black smoke were billowing from Fengyue Street. Bell, who had just been concentrating on fighting a first-level adventurer, gasped at the sight of the scene filled with sparks and electrical remnants of magic.

This place is under attack by hostile forces—has Frini gone to deal with the enemy?

Bel thought this through and, recognizing the opportunity, rushed off the roof.

He wanted to take advantage of the chaos to take Haruhime away, so he went to the rooftop garden of the villa again.

Bell, utilizing his simulated Lv. 4 leg strength, leaped high into the air, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, traversing the skywalk extending from the fortieth floor. He carefully watched for any potential attacks as he sped towards the garden.

When he arrived at the Hanging Gardens, everyone there had vanished.

The corpses of the many battle-worn prostitutes lying on the ground had all been moved out, and the silence of the night enveloped the surroundings. The stone slab of the Moon Sigh Stone, perhaps affected by the extensive damage, or perhaps because the full moon in the sky was beginning to wane, glowed with a faint blue light.

He stepped into the ruined ritual site, bearing the marks of a massive explosion and claw marks from a battle.

The woman was standing on the altar in the center of the empty garden.

"...You're here."

Aisha, the long-haired heroine who had been sitting on the stone altar, stood up.

Chun Ji was also there, right beside Aisha. She had lost consciousness and was lying on the stone slab in front of the altar.

Aisha's soft murmur sounded as if she was certain she would come, and Bell silently stepped forward. He carried his scarred greatsword as he approached Aisha and Haruhime.

The shrew's large broadsword was stuck in the ground. Bell stood a distance away from her, facing her directly, and told her:

"I'm taking Miss Chunji with me."

Bell explained it very clearly, and Aisha stared intently at his face before squinting.

"...Your expression has improved."

Seeing Bell's masculine face revealing a resolute determination to uphold his beliefs—a heroic (masculine) expression.

Aisha exclaimed happily.

"However, we can't just let you take it away whenever you want."

She placed one hand on her slender waist, a bold smile on her face.

With her long black hair swaying and her blue-purple dress rustling, she walked barefoot on the stone slabs, making a soft rustling sound.

"The [Family] is a blood pact; betrayal must come at a price... You understand?"

"..."

Those whose bodies are marked with "grace" by God's blood cannot easily leave God's knees.

Aisha told him that even if staying in the faction was unbearable, or if people from other factions wanted to take him away, it wouldn't be so easy to force his way out.

Bell already knew this, but he kept quiet.

"By the way, I haven't heard you tell me yet. Why are you so determined to save her? Have you fallen in love with her?"

Aisha's attitude changed, and she asked with great interest, leaving Bell speechless for a moment.

Although he was a little flustered, he still spoke up.

"...Miss Haruhime is suffering terribly as a prostitute, so I want to save her."

"...I don't know if you've misunderstood something, but she's never been with a man before, she's still a virgin."

“Eh!”

Upon hearing that Haruhime was still a virgin, Bell's eyes widened into two dots.

"Every time it's time for the actual performance, this idiot faints at the sight of a naked man."

"..."

"She saw the customer's chest the day before yesterday, and he was even foaming at the mouth. It scared the customer, and he returned the product."

Bell felt a strong sense of empathy.

When he first met Chunji, she seemed to have fainted as soon as she saw her collarbone...

"But...but! Miss Haruhime said several times...that she's slept with men..."

"She probably had some lewd dream after she fainted, that lecherous fox."

Aisha said, looking completely helpless. Bell looked at the unconscious Haruhime with an indescribable expression.

"...Or perhaps she has been pushed to her limit and can no longer distinguish between reality and dreams."

"!"

They were driven out of their homes and were forcibly brought here from their hometown.

Abandoned in unfamiliar territory and sold into slavery, Chun-hime leads a life full of ups and downs.

She was forced to undergo the training of a prostitute, and sometimes had to expose her skin and let people touch her.

Chunji must have been under immense pressure. The world suddenly turned dark, and she must have been plunged into an abyss of suffering.

If someone like her is tormented by nightmares...

If you keep losing yourself between reality and delusion.

I knew I still had to take her with me.

He took her to the outside world that she had longed for from the depths of that cage.

"—Even if she's not qualified to be a prostitute, this girl still has value."

When Bell rediscovered his resolve, the atmosphere surrounding Aisha changed.

"Even if she escapes this faction (familia), others will surely hear of Haruhime's power and cause this situation today. It's better for her to stay here than to let an even worse guy take care of her. ...The curse of the main god (Ishtar) also forbids me from handing her over to you."

Aisha revealed her slightly trembling right hand and began to speak in rapid succession.

Then her sharp eyes—asked Bell: Can you protect Chun-hee?

She pulled the large broadsword stuck in the stone slab with her right hand and pointed the gleaming silver tip at Bell.

"Pick up your weapons. When a man wants to take a woman away, he has to use force."

Seeing Aisha's smile, Bell knew he had no choice but to fight, and he made up his mind.

In response to her will, Bell raised the greatsword he had brought with both hands.

The sounds of battle still echoed from the distant streets of Fengyue. Bell and Aisha exchanged glances.

"One minute."

Suddenly, Aisha spoke up.

"I not only took care of Haruhime, but I also teamed up with her. The effect of that 'magic' lasted for a minute."

Aisha gazed at the countless particles of light attached to Bell and mentioned the time limit of magic.

She had fought alongside Haruhime several times and knew the effects of her magic very well. She told Bell that the girl's sublimation, which she had poured all her spiritual power into, would have its effects wear off in another minute, judging from the amount of light particles and the brightness.

Bell glanced down at the warm halo that enveloped his entire body.

"You can easily defeat me now and kidnap this girl."

Aisha glanced at Haruhime beside her and told him this.

Bell raised the corners of his eyes, quietly sheathed his greatsword, and simply maintained his stance.

He let time pass by.

"How foolish..."

Seeing Belle like this, Aisha seemed both dumbfounded and pleased, and narrowed her eyes.

The two stared at each other, the atmosphere tense like a bowstring, and the aura around Bell slowly faded.

Then, in the next instant, the light particles completely disappeared, and at the same time, the cracked altar pillars collapsed.

As if signaled by the sound of shattering rubble, the two rushed out in one breath.

"But I don't dislike it!!"

The greatsword clashed with the broadsword, and Aisha curled the corners of her mouth.

The female hero smiled behind the crisscrossing blades, and a light of will shone in Bell's eyes.

The weapons clashed with a satisfying sound, and the boy and the shrew accelerated further, engaging in a fierce hand-to-hand combat.

"Haha ...

The two passed each other, their blades clashing and flashing, and Aisha laughed heartily.

Amidst endless sounds of collision and sparks, she cheered from the depths of her being.

"That's exactly why I find intercourse with males so irresistible!!"

The heroine stared intently at Bell's face as their swords clashed, and laughed fiercely.

"Arrogant, brutal, and ruthless...!"

Aisha endured Bell's body, Bell's gaze, and Bell's power with her entire being.

The burst of joy made her tremble all over.

"What can make a woman's (our) blood boil is always a man (you)!!"

She shouted joyfully and raised her broadsword to chop down.

Faced with the massive blow that shattered the stone slab, Bell roared and swung his greatsword in retaliation.

The two moved at high speed in the sky garden, their attacks clashing one after another, creating a stirring battle song as they continued their offensive and defensive maneuvers.

In the end, Aisha, whose entire being burned with the nature of a female warrior (Amazon), emerged.

"—Come forth, mighty overlord!"

The chanting began.

She rushed up the top flight of stairs, panting heavily.

The cool night air that enveloped the burning body was dampened by the moonlight.

From the rooftop platform, which tells the story of the fierce battle and was completely destroyed, one can see the entire red-stained street of pleasure.

"How far do you think you're going, Ishtar?"

"Freya...!?"

Seeing Freya following behind her and appearing from the eastern staircase, Ishtar's face contorted with fear.

Faced with the silver-haired goddess who smiled detachedly like a tyrant and drove her to the brink of despair, Ishtar forgot even her hostility and was bound only by fear.

Ishtar fled again in panic, fleeing from the one who trampled her territory, scattered her followers, ravaged everything around her, and pressed on relentlessly, radiating an extraordinary divine aura. She traversed the goddess's garden, ravaged by axes and greatswords, trying to run into her towering chamber, which stood like a watchtower.

"What……!!"

However, her plan crumbled fragilely.

Passing through the pool and woods, the passage leading to her room, a corner of the palace rooftop platform, was almost like a cliff face with a large chunk missing. This collapse was caused by a powerful vertical strike from her retinue (Friline), but the goddess (Ishtar) had no way of knowing.

She stood frozen in place as Freya, her footsteps clicking, finally caught up with her.

"The chase game is over, I'm so tired."

"Alas……!?"

She hurriedly turned around, suppressing her scream.

Freya smiled. Behind her, there was a collapse mark similar to the one Ishtar was facing away from, which was caused by Bell's vertical slash.

Ishtar and Freya faced each other, less than ten steps apart.

"I...I just acted on impulse, Freya? I didn't know you were so obsessed with that little boy...I...I won't do it again, please forgive me."

There were no longer any of their own members in the palace; they had all been eliminated by Ota and his men.