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

"...!?"

"How could that possibly be some sublime existence?"

Rives snorted, as if she found it utterly boring.

"You and I are just tentacles of that."

Upon hearing Revis's assertion, Olivas's expression changed rapidly.

His eyes were wide open, his face devoid of all hope, as he gripped her slender arm, which had pierced his chest, tightly with both hands.

"I...I am your only kinsman, yet you want to kill me!?"

illustration

Ignoring the man's words, Rives increased the force of her stab into his chest.

In contrast, Olivas's body gradually lost strength, and the hands that had been gripping her arms finally fell limply to his sides.

It's like all the strength in your body is concentrated in your core (chest).

"Without me, who will protect 'her'—!?"

As if to silence Olivas's shouts, Revis pulled her hand sharply out of his chest.

What he held in his hand was a colorful "magic stone" stained with blood.

With its core removed, Orivas, like a monster at its end, instantly turned to dust and collapsed to the ground.

"Don't get it wrong."

Rives said dismissively to the pile of dust at her feet, then turned her head away.

She stared intently at Ais, who was staring in disbelief at the miserable scene.

"That's what I've always protected, and it will continue to be that way."

She put the "magic stone" she had taken from Olivas into her mouth and chewed it up.

A bright red tongue stuck out and licked its lips.

Just as Philvies was speechless as her enemy's life ended so hastily, Rives suddenly clenched her right hand, as if confirming the surge of power. Her red hair also swayed wildly as if standing on end.

Immediately afterwards—Ravis shattered the ground and flew towards Ais like a cannonball exploding.

「!?」

Before anyone else could react, the iron fist slammed into Ais.

Ais raised her "Sword of Despair," imbued with wind, to block the punch coming from the front. The next instant, she was violently blasted away, flying backward at high speed.

Bert and the others finally managed to turn around, only to see Revis pouncing on her like a hungry tiger, engaging in a fierce conflict with Ais.

"you……!?"

"Do you still have the energy to speak? It seems not."

Ais was in shock when the red-haired woman launched her attack.

A colorful "magic stone," a man turned to dust, and a crystal that was absorbed—a monster.

Ais was unable to ascertain the true identities of Olivas and Revis. A jumble of fragmented information swirled before her eyes, eventually leading to a solution.

The opponent unleashed a high kick, its power comparable to the enhanced Wind Armor (Wind Spirit Dash). Ais countered with a Gale Slash, but the opponent easily dodged and retaliated. The woman who had been desperately defending just moments before now saw through all of Ais's moves and countered them one by one.

—"Enhanced Species"!!

Witnessing the enemy's rapidly increasing combat capabilities, Ais could only accept the reality.

Gaining power by absorbing "magic stones" is the truth for monsters. This is the opposite of humans, who possess inherent "ability values," and is a consequence of the survival of the fittest. The enemy before them is a monster in human form.

What's terrifying is that, having absorbed the "magic stone" from Olivas, Revis's pure physical abilities are indeed superior to those of Ais at level 6. Ais only managed to gain the upper hand with great difficulty by relying on the power of [Wind Spirit Swiftness], desperately suppressing the wavering in her heart.

The lightning-fast blade sliced ​​through Revis's shoulder.

Ignoring the splattering blood, she swung her arm, unleashing a powerful strike. Ais retreated at the last second, her raised fist shattering the ground and creating a crater. Revis's hand plunged into the ground, a sizzling sound echoing from the green flesh—then she jerked her hand away.

A crimson greatsword appeared, a natural weapon pulled from the ground.

Rives gripped her greatsword with both hands and charged toward Ais; Ais also charged forward, bravely meeting the enemy's attack.

““!!””

In an instant, shockwaves and deafening roars erupted between the two as the Gale Silver Sword and the Crimson Greatsword collided head-on.

"That's...that's ridiculous...it's too exaggerated."

Seeing Revis fighting Ais, Lulu swallowed hard.

Like a monster that has tasted the "magic stone," Rives, with her greatly enhanced abilities, single-handedly confronts the swordswoman (Ais) who easily kills the giant flower, and the two are almost evenly matched.

Witnessing the fierce battle that no one else could intervene in, the adventurers all stood like wooden figures; however, only Bert took the lead and rushed forward, and Lefia and Philweis followed suit.

"Although the situation is very critical, however...!"

As others ran over to provide reinforcements, Asifi turned and headed in the opposite direction alone.

Her target is the precious pearl fetus that is parasitizing the main pillar of the grain storehouse.

Including the events in Rivera, this whole affair revolves around the "jewel" right in front of us. And the existence of "her," which Olivas repeatedly mentions, is also crucial; that female fetus is undoubtedly the key figure connecting all the events.

Asphie thought she had to capture her no matter what and get her close to the main pillar—but just then…

She was suddenly attacked from the side.

"!"

"What!?"

A purple hooded robe and a mask painted with terrifying patterns.

The mysterious assassin, who had been hiding somewhere, threw a punch and sent Asphi flying.

The astonishing "strength (ability parameter)" and the impact from the silver metal gloves she wore on both hands still pierced through her body, even through the [Omnipotent]'s specially made cloak.

"Asphi!"

"There are accomplices!?"

Seeing Asphie being sent flying, Lulu and the other members of the Hermes Familia panicked.

Lefia and the others stopped in their tracks, turned around, and widened their eyes when they saw the masked attacker.

"Although it's not fully grown yet, it's big enough now. Take it to Enyo!"

While fighting Ais, Revis shouted loudly at the masked attacker.

The attacker gripped the entire "jewel," silencing the fetus that was reacting to Ais's "wind" and constantly screaming, and then forcibly tore her off the main pillar.

"understood."

The masked man answered in a sinister voice that sounded like a superposition of several creatures, and then quickly left the scene.

The man, holding the precious pearl, rushed toward one of the entrances to the great cavern.

"Lulu, stop him!?"

Asphi refused to let him escape and loudly gave instructions.

"Tsk!?" Lulu gritted her teeth and ran off, chasing after the masked man at top speed.

"Giant flower!"

However, at this moment, Rives cried out again.

She used brute force to sweep Ais away temporarily, and then gave an order to the last giant flower wrapped around the main pillar.

"Give birth to me endlessly!! Until you are exhausted and wither away, squeeze out every last bit of your strength!"

In an instant, the earth shook violently within the vast void.

"...!?"

Ais, who was about to strike Revis with her sword, looked up.

Bert and the others, along with Asphie and Luluni, felt the tremors and stopped moving.

As if drawing their attention to itself, the giant flower parasitizing the main pillar trembled, emitting a terrifying sound as it absorbed something, like a tyrant recklessly drawing nutrients from the dazzling quartz.

With a crackling sound, several cracks appeared on the main crystal pillar.

At the same time, the tentacles and thick roots that spread from the constantly convulsing giant flower to the entire hollow also rose intermittently like tree tumors, pulsating with a terrifying force.

very quickly.

The ceiling, the walls, and all the flower buds that existed throughout the vast void all blossomed at once.

“————————”

All the colorful petals—all the carnivorous flowers—bloomed.

The flower buds, large and small, were forced to bloom before they were fully mature. At this moment, the seedbed, which greedily devoured the nutrients of the mother (the dungeon), gave birth to all the monsters that were about to bloom.

The giant flower's skin rapidly lost its pigment, turning earthy brown. Its withered, long, massive body drooped limply, and its dead flower head bent downwards.

The vast, hollow green wall resembled the apocalypse, its pigment peeling away and expanding. Replacing the gradually dying food storage, cries of birth, like broken gongs, rose and fell, overlapping each other. The deafening monstrous chorus left Lefia and the others, who looked up at the sky, pale-faced.

Could it be that... all the adventurers had the same thought?

The carnivorous plants bared their hideous fangs and roared, then fell from the cave ceiling and walls, lunging at Ais and the others.

—The Monster Party!!

The carnivorous plant caused the ground to rumble continuously, and it then pushed itself up from the ground.

The adventurers were still standing there, when the monsters attacked them from all directions like a tidal wave.

"Roar!!"

「!?」

Faced with this mass riot, the adventurers let out incoherent screams.

What filled their vision was a vast expanse of brightly colored, dazzling flowerbeds, flowers, and more flowers. From all sides, even overhead, there wasn't a single spot without long, yellowish-green stalks. The cacophony of roaring gongs echoed repeatedly; anyone who lingered in one place was immediately swallowed up by the monstrous army. This army of man-eating flowers, born from the sacrifice of the seedbeds, engulfed the entire vast void.

Faced with such a massive horde of monsters, even seasoned second-level adventurers couldn't help but lose their will to fight.

Hundreds of monsters—a feast of monsters far surpasses any ordinary monster banquet.

The scale is too different.

"Tsk...!?"

The masked man rushed into an entrance and left the great void that had become a hellish abyss.

Asphie watched helplessly as the person disappeared at the other end of the passage and ran away.

"There's no way, no way, no way! I can't handle this!?"

"Don't scatter them, they'll get crushed!?"

The onrushing, long bodies and advancing tentacles sent Lulu fleeing in terror, crying out in all directions. Her companion, a tiger-man, screamed desperately, but was overwhelmed by the surging tide of monsters.

The man-eating flowers attacked relentlessly, wreaking havoc. Upon spotting adventurers, they would slither towards them or rain down their tentacles. The monsters often turned on each other, resulting in gruesome infighting. The robed men, barely clinging to life, were the first to fall prey. "Aa ...

The monsters pounced on the scattered adventurers (their prey), sparking small-scale battles everywhere. Bert and other leading warriors fought desperately, wielding large weapons and killing any enemies they encountered without mercy, but after fighting for a long time, the number of monsters showed no signs of decreasing.

The scene descended into extreme chaos.

"Man-eating flower!"

「!?」

As for Ais, she was attacked from both sides by Revis and the monster.

While searching for an opportunity to kill the manipulated carnivorous plants, she also defended against Revis's greatsword. The moment their weapons clashed, the carnivorous plants would immediately re-enter the fray. The enemy's uninterrupted encirclement refused to allow Ais to escape. Revis used the carnivorous plants as pawns in a hit-and-run tactic, managing to suppress Ais as she unleashed her magic (Wind Spirit Dash).

Ais and Lefia were unable to help each other and were isolated.

“——!!”

"What!?"

Just as one of the 100th man-eating plants was being sliced ​​in half by a whirlwind attack.

Hiding behind the long, slender body of the man-eating flower, Revis unleashed an upward slash through the monster's body. The unexpected attack, slicing the long body in two, caught Ais off guard, and the Sword of Despair was knocked from her hand.

Oh no!?