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

Just as Finn and the others were taken aback, the female figure exhaled in a daze, and from the upper body—like a pupa emerging from its chrysalis—a "woman" body with graceful lines was born.

"—Aa ...

Shouts of joy broke out.

The terrifying high-frequency waves, seemingly threatening to rupture eardrums, made the adventurers poke their ears.

The "woman" who appeared after tearing apart and expanding her fleshy shell leaned back and looked up at the sky.

Her long, flowing hair, cascading down her back, became beautiful and glossy.

Her upper body, with its soft, supple arms, chest, and waist, was covered in a brightly colored coat.

Looking up at the underground ceiling, her profile, trembling with joy, possesses a beauty that is no less than that of a goddess.

Green hair, green skin, and green upper body.

Only those eyes without pupils or irises were a dull golden color.

Not only did the humanoid upper body undergo a complete transformation, but the lower body of the alien also changed its structure, growing huge petals and countless tentacles.

A gigantic creature with the lower body of a monster and the upper body of a celestial maiden cried out as it fell to the ground from the center of the 59th floor.

"Th-what is that...!?"

The sound was still excessively loud, and Tiony groaned as she rubbed her ears with her hands.

Everyone stared in trembling eyes at the unidentified object that was singing merrily.

"……impossible."

In this situation.

Only Ais stood there, stunned, forgetting even to clean her ears.

The blood surged to its peak, tinnitus rose deep in my head, and my lips began to tremble.

Impossible, that's... Could it be... How could it be... It really is—

As several words burst into my mind, the blood flowing through my body seemed to resonate with them, thumping and swaying.

Is the other person the same as her?

She, who had been shouting to the sky, turned her neck and looked at Ais, cheering.

"Arya—Arya!!"

The alien being, facing itself, joyfully called out "Arya" repeatedly.

Ais met those golden eyes and became certain.

She stood frozen in shock, her trembling lips parted.

"A 'fairy spirit'...!?"

◆

"—Uranus!?"

Seeing the image reflected in the crystal through the "eye" attached to Ais's waist support, Fels turned around and shouted.

In the underground shrine of the guild headquarters.

Hearing the shouts of the man in black and seeing the reflection in the crystal, Uranus, who sat firmly on his throne, narrowed his azure eyes.

"As expected."

After murmuring, Uranus said, "Though I do not wish to believe it," and then began to recount:

"In ancient times, many 'fairies' aided the heroes by obeying the will of the gods (us)... It seems that one of them perished in Orario with them."

He stared intently at "her," who was laughing incessantly inside the crystal, his brows furrowed.

—Before the gods descended, until "ancient times," celestial spirits were receivers of divine will (antenna).

They are beings sent by a group of gods to guide humanity and to expel monsters (beasts) from the lower realms; they are also weapons.

The spirits of the past played almost the same role as the "divine grace" of the modern world.

Humans... especially many heroes, have received the blessing of the fairies, listened to their voices, and have been driving away monsters ever since.

Among them, the dungeon that was the root cause of everything—Old Orario—sent an exceptionally large number of fairies.

In this way, the "Dungeon Oratoria" was created.

The historical facts that have been passed down to this day are actually the history of heroes' struggles guided by gods through the spirits.

Upon hearing this story about the powerful "ancient fairy spirit," Fels gasped and turned back to the crystal.

In other words, the existence reflected by the crystal is—

"It means that after entering the underground city, one may be devoured by monsters, but still retain one's own existence for a long time."

"You mean she's lived for over a thousand years!?"

"Exactly, and because she was devoured by the monster, her state of being was reversed..."

The law of the jungle prevails over the monster.

The "fairy essence" swallowed by the monster has now become a demon dominated by primal desires such as "devouring, seizing, and indulging".

"A fusion of the children of the gods (us) and monsters... Is this also one of the possibilities of the lower realm...?"

Uranus murmured, closing his eyes as if he were enduring something.

Soon the old god opened his eyes, his gaze sternly fixed on "her" within the crystal.

"That is already a 'filthy fairy spirit'."

◆

"'Fairy Spirit'...!? That weird-looking thing!?"

Upon hearing Ais's words, Tiona shouted at the entity in front of her.

Bearing the wavering gazes of adventurers, "she" was so ominous, vicious, and beautiful.

The lower half of a giant monster, plus the upper half of a "fairy" dressed in colorful clothes, as if she has forgotten what she should look like.

It is accompanied by a creepy sense of holiness and a repulsive mixture of beauty and ugliness.

Seeing the imposing presence of the "Filthy Fairy," which made everyone want to avoid it at all costs, everyone was filled with panic.

"...So those new monsters were just tentacles that transformed female bodies into that form?"

Finn narrowed his eyes as he looked at the alien being, which was a full ten meters tall.

He reviewed the ecology of the larval stage and the carnivorous plant prioritizing attacks on other monsters, speculating that "magic" itself might also be an important source of nutrition (energy) for the being in front of him.

It devours all the monsters on the floor, collects "magic stones," and sends them to its main body; it is indeed tentacles.

In Finn's line of sight, "she" was laughing as she called out to a young girl:

"Arya, Arya!!"

She kept calling out "Arya" like a child, stammering as she spoke:

I want to see you so much! I want to see you so much!

"...!?"

"Why don't you become one with me too?!"

Upon hearing the string of words she spoke to Ais, Tiona and the others suddenly turned to Ais.

Rivera and the others seemed to gradually realize something, and their expressions turned tense.

"—Let me eat you, okay?"

Then, the being, who was originally a fairy, revealed a crescent-shaped smile.

The next instant, the larval form and the carnivorous plant that offered the "magic stone" suddenly changed direction.

As if obeying "her" dark will, they targeted the adventurers—targeting Ais.

Almost at the same time, the entrance and exit passages on the floor made a loud bang and were blocked by green meat.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!!"

Finn issued orders faster than anyone else.

The leader would not allow any wavering on the closed escape route. Hearing his sharp voice, Tiona and the others, who were almost thrown into chaos, reacted and raised their weapons.

"Aha!" she laughed, thus igniting the dispute.

"Oooooo ...

With a deafening roar that echoed throughout the surroundings, at least fifty larval and carnivorous plants charged madly towards Ais and the others.

Faced with the swarming yellow-green and colorful blocks, the adventurers drew their weapons with indestructible properties.

"Finn, I'm going to the avant-garde too!"

"Anyway, the things I have to do are the same as usual, just kill them!!"

Grace and Bert dodged the corrosive liquid from the larvae and smashed their bodies into pieces with an axe and dual swords.

The earth-shattering screams of the dying were deafening. Ais, who had been standing frozen in place due to the intense pain in her heart, now steeled her brows and shook off her wavering emotions, joining the battle herself.

She wielded her beloved sword (the Sword of Despair), unleashing a vortex of slashes upon the enemy.

"Lefia, target the female figure and begin the incantation! Raul, you guys use the 'Demon Sword' to cover Ais and the others!!"

"I...I understand!"

"I understand!?"

Finn gave instructions with the precision to counter the floor master, and the supporters began to move.

Lefia raised her wand and began to chant, while Raul and the others drew their longsword-shaped "magic swords" and used instantaneous magic without chanting.

With the support of the fire, Ais and the others rushed through the explosion and gradually pushed back the larval form.

"It's never a good idea to watch the tigers fight from a distance."

Tsubaki, while flipping through her hakama, also used her katana to slay the carnivorous plants.

"hehe!"

As the minions (monsters) are continuously defeated, the transformed female form begins to move.

She raised several tentacles from the lower half of the giant plant (the Giant Flower Demon) to her eyes and shot them out at an astonishing speed.

As the long, large tentacles approached, Tiona and Tione rushed to meet them.

"So heavy!!"

The enemy's attack, combining speed and power, contorted the sisters' expressions.

The impact, even stronger than the floor master's (Udeos's) pile, shook the greatsword and axe-spear, numbing their hands. The repelled enemy tentacles remained unharmed.

The tentacles, raining down from a distance of over 100 meters, were all aimed at Ais. Seeing the enemy stubbornly attacking her female companions with whips, Tiona and the others seemed to be saying, "Don't underestimate us," and kept fighting back.

"Riviera, wait a moment before you sing."

"Finn?"

Rivera saw the situation clearly and was about to take action, but Finn told her to stop.

The little man didn't turn around; he just stood with his back to her, his right thumb twitching, emitting an extremely bitter sound:

"My thumb has been throbbing... something's about to happen."

Finn said the situation was unpredictable and that his mask as commander-in-chief was cracking and about to fall off.

He was more worried about the current situation than anyone else.

The woman's figure—with a smile—confirmed his intuition.

"【Fire, come on—】"

The next instant, the incantation (singing) began to play.

"Chanting!?"

Ais and the others were all taken aback at the same time.

Beneath the enormous lower body, a vast magic circle unfolded.