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

“——!!”

He threw away the greatsword whose blade had been shattered by the recoil of the charged attack and ran straight toward Aisha.

Seeing Bell charging at them unarmed, Aisha revealed a fierce and terrifying smile, dropped her broadsword, and launched an attack.

(Too slow!!)

The reaction force of [Hero's Wish] (Argonauts).

As the price for acquiring this "skill," the boy exhausted his physical and mental strength, leaving him clumsy and sluggish.

Seeing Bell's large beads of sweat flying everywhere gave Aisha a glimpse of her chance to win, and she unleashed a long kick.

The two sides clashed fiercely.

"Alas--"

The female warrior (Amazonian) used her superior right upper-kick, boasting an exceptionally long attack range, to keep the boy at bay and strike his side of the head.

It was clear that the blow had indeed pierced through her head, and the square kick brought a triumphant smile to Aisha's face—before she froze.

The boy did not stop moving forward.

Even after being kicked hard in the head, he still took a step closer to Aisha's arms.

A desperate attack that abandons all defense.

He poured all the energy he had lost from the [Hero's Wish] (skill) into this single attack.

Before the astonished Aisha, Bell clenched his right fist.

He raised the corners of his deep red eyes and swung his fist like a cannonball.

"Ughh ...

The white rabbit's fangs (Vorpal Fang).

“Guuuu!?”

The blow that exploded in her abdomen caused Aisha's body to bend in two.

The tremendous impact lifted her feet off the ground, but she gritted her teeth and endured it, but just then...

Bale hadn't stopped yet, and roared out a cannon shot.

"Flame Lightning ——————————————————————————————!!"

Zero distance.

"Crack!?"

A fist, as big as a cannonball, slammed into his stomach, unleashing a barrage of attacks.

The exploding flames and lightning in her abdomen this time truly sent Aisha's body flying into the air.

The explosion, a burst of Bell's full mental power, sent him flying at extremely close range, his feet scraping the ground beneath him.

The boy's right arm, from the wrist upwards, was completely charred black and smoking.

Aisha, her abdomen burned, had her wide-open almond-shaped eyes hidden by her bangs, but a smile slowly appeared on her face.

Finally, her body, which had been flying through the air, crashed heavily to the ground, face down, and she fell silent.

beat.

"Woohoo!?"

The "Goddess of Beauty" let out a howl.

In the windswept Goddess Garden, Ishtar, with a ferocious expression unbecoming of a goddess, made a move to seize Freya.

As for Freya, she turned around gracefully the moment Freya was right in front of her.

「!?」

Exposing her long silver hair and her back, she used a technique to deflect Ishtar's attack.

Ishtar tumbled headfirst toward the rooftop cliff behind Freya, staring wide-eyed, and staggered a few steps before finally managing to stop.

However, clatter, clatter.

"Alas--"

A delicate footstep approached from behind, and as Ishtar hurriedly turned around, she was forcefully pushed in the chest.

Freya pushed Ishtar with her right hand, then pushed her again with her right hand.

He retreated backward, his feet almost touching the edge of the cliff; there was no way back.

The entire black ground beneath the palace opened its gaping maw, ready to devour Ishtar.

"wait--"

Wait a minute, Freya.

This sentence was drowned out by a crisp sound.

Snapped.

Freya slapped Ishtar with her left hand.

"--ah."

After being brutally slapped, Ishtar lost her balance and fell to the ground.

She plummeted from the highest floor of the palace to the ground far below, her figure growing smaller and smaller.

The "Goddess of Beauty" gazed blankly up at Freya, and smiled sweetly.

Not long after, a "snap" sound was heard.

The sound of the goddess's body shattering came from the ground.

Then, in order to prevent the goddess from suffering a fatal physical death, "Arcanum" was activated.

As a radiance more beautiful than anything else rose in the lower realm—at that very moment, Ishtar defied the rules of the lower realm.

Seeing this scene, Freya, sensing the fluctuations of "divine power," snapped her fingers as if to send her off on her final journey.

The next instant, countless orbs of light rose from the spot where Ishtar had crashed—BOOM!! Accompanied by an astonishingly loud roar, a giant pillar of light rose into the night sky.

The beam of light resembled a reversed waterfall, shooting straight into the sky.

A celestial being was sent back to the "heavenly realm".

The gods who lost on the game board called the Underworld could never return to the Underworld.

Seeing the goddess's tragic end as she left the mortal realm, Freya couldn't help but smile cruelly.

"You've learned your lesson this time, so don't play pranks again, Ishtar. But perhaps it's too late."

The silver-haired goddess chuckled softly and turned her back to the pillar of light.

solve.

■

Having defeated Aisha, Bell swayed as he picked up Haruhime's delicate body.

Then, he saw a pillar of light rising into the sky.

"That is..."

Could it be—Bell's pupils swayed as he saw that solemn and sacred scene, and he confirmed one thing.

A celestial being was sent back to the heavens.

In his short life, he had never seen this pillar of holy light. Witnessing the astonishing power fluctuations and dreamlike spectacle, it's easy to imagine that, like many others, he was captivated.

Was it the hymn of fairies or spirits from heroic tales or fairy tales, or the roar of a monster that shook the earth? This spectacular vision of light was similar to those awe-inspiring moments, imprinted on Bell's heart.

Gazing at the divine pillar that pierced through the clouds and soared above the sky, he even forgot to utter a sound. Finally, the radiance that had illuminated the world subsided. The earth-shaking roar, as if from an earthquake, also ceased, and silence returned to the mortal realm.

Bell held Chun Ji in his arms, kneeling on the stone slab in a daze.

At that moment, the divine object appeared in Bell's field of vision.

"……goddess?"

On the rooftop platform of the palace.

From this sky garden located in the annex behind the palace, Bell could also see a goddess with the naked eye.

Even from afar, her perfectly proportioned and alluring figure was visible. Unlike the overly beautiful Ishtar, her beauty was serene, like the bright moon she was facing away from. It was a kind of bewitching allure; her mere presence was enough to draw people in. Her long silver hair fluttered in the wind, shimmering like silver sand.

Bell forgot about time and stood frozen in place, while the silver-haired goddess smiled clearly at him.

At the same time, he trembled.

A chill ran through Bell.

He remembered it; he had experienced it several times since then—that unabashed, licking gaze that seemed to caress his entire body.

Like a whisper to Belle who couldn't speak, her crimson lips moved slowly.

"I love you."

Even though she couldn't hear, the movement of her lips still whispered words of love to Belle.

—It's her.

Bell was certain that the gaze that had been watching him all this time belonged to that goddess.

The pounding of her heart echoed in her ears, and Belle drifted into a daze... Sometime in time, her figure had vanished. Belle felt as if she were in a dream, and it took a great deal of effort to calm her trembling breaths.

"Um……"

Soon, Haruhime's eyelids twitched in her arms.

The girl slowly opened her emerald green eyes and stared blankly up at Bell's face.

"Klonni, sir...?"

Bell and the girl's eyes met.

He looked down at Chun-hime, whose consciousness was gradually returning, and inadvertently remembered something, placing his hand on her blonde hair. She shuddered and froze, but Bell didn't mind, reaching behind her head to hug her, letting her face rest against his chest.

The fox's ears and tail twitched, and the girl's profile turned a pale red.

Bell let Chunji lean against his chest, and his free hands touched her delicate neck.

He tightened the black collar around his neck and ripped it off.

"what……"

Chunji realized what Bell had done for her and touched her neck with her fingers in confusion.

The black shackles that had bound the girl for years were all removed.

The wounded Bell looked down at herself gently, making Chunji understand everything, and her eyes began to moisten.

(What do people usually say in situations like this...)

Bell maintained the position of holding Haruhime, supporting her with both hands, and thought vaguely.

He recalled the heroic tales that Haruhime would probably like, using them as a reference.

And then... thinking about the end.

Bell still uttered the most clichéd and simple statement.

"I've come to save you."

Tears welled up in Chunji's wide eyes, and then she broke into a big smile.

Seeing the girl's genuine smile, no longer an illusion, Bell frowned and then broke into a smile.

"Thank you, my hero."

These words made Bell blush, and he responded with an innocent and childlike smile.

Bell and the fox-girl, who had tears in her eyes but a smile on her face, shared joy and laughter.

"Bell!"

"Lord Bell—!"

Until the moment the boy's family came to greet them.