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

Lily admonished Winnie, who was in a different position from me, and the bark of the passageway absorbed her voice.

The squad formation is with me and Welf as the forwards, no center-backs, and Lily, Miss Haruhime, and Winnie as the defenders, with Miss Ming at the back.

Normally, we'd place Ms. Mikoto in the center position, but this area still has many monsters we haven't encountered before. Since her [Yatagarasu (skill)] isn't fully effective at preventing ambushes on the rear guard, we've assigned her to be the rear guard, protecting Lily and the others, and also preventing monsters from attacking the team from behind. Staying at the back of the team makes it faster to cover Lily and the others. We've also changed her main weapon from a katana to a bow and arrow. Honestly, Ms. Mikoto can use any type of weapon and performs well in all positions, which has been a huge help to us.

From the sidelines, Lily and Haruhime are positioned like center-backs, responsible for item replenishment, weapon exchange, and "level-up," playing a purely supportive role. They are the team's weakness, but also its key. The monster must not be allowed to attack the two supporters, or Winnie, who is beside them.

Two LV.3 front-line guards with heavy responsibilities are assigned to block or break through enemy lines.

This is the team lineup centered around Winnie, the person they are protecting.

"...Bell."

"I know."

"Welf, who was surrounded by particles of light, said in a low voice. I nodded with my gaze fixed ahead."

Several ferocious auras lurked in the depths of the darkness. I figured I'd be able to spot the enemy with my naked eye in less than a few dozen seconds. I gripped the Goddess Blade and the Ushiwakamaru Type 2 tightly.

...Let go of all distractions. No matter what happens, we must protect Winnie.

I glanced behind me and our eyes met those of Winnie, who had a worried expression on her face.

—Will the monsters you encounter also be able to speak, just like that girl?

—Could it be that they actually possess intelligence and rationality just like us, or even shed tears?

I used the convenient excuse of a sense of mission to suppress the momentary confusion and banish it to a corner of my consciousness.

I glared at them, ready to face the consequences.

The squad enters a combat-ready state and advances through a vast maze of trees.

The moon hanging high in the night sky is about to be covered by clouds.

Gazing up at the grey, drifting clouds, Hestia moved through the streets. After bidding farewell to Bell and the others who were setting off on a mandatory mission, she immediately departed.

Even though it was past midnight, the bustling Northwest Avenue, including "Adventurer's Street," still echoed with the sounds of people. Hestia walked along the street, listening to the noise, under the flickering, almost extinguished magic stone streetlights.

It's written in the mandatory mission instructions! The meeting place is designated as "Sector 7, Fourth Street".

That location was actually very close to Hestia and her group's old base, "The Hidden Room of the Church".

To put it simply, it's right in the middle of a deserted residential area.

Arriving at the designated location, Hestia looked around.

There were no magic stone lamps here, and even the moonlight was faintly obscured by clouds, making the surrounding area quite dark. The houses lining both sides of the road seemed uninhabited, and there was no sense of human presence. A wooden stick stood quietly at the corner of the road, with a Common Language sign sticking to it that read "Fourth Street".

The streets shrouded in the vast darkness of night were truly best described as "ghostly." Hestia thought to herself.

——In fact, this is true.

"...Asking where you came from might be a bit tactless, doesn't it?"

In a corner of the pitch-black street, a being shrugged off the darkness and appeared silently.

This is a mysterious figure who looks like a shadow, wrapped tightly in black clothes.

The person was standing about five meters away from Hestia, making a hissing sound from the black gloves they were wearing.

Upon seeing this person who had arrived so suddenly and with such a sinister aura, Hestia's forced smile twitched.

"Nice to meet you, goddess Hestia. I am deeply honored by your presence."

"Hmm, nice to meet you. So, who are you?"

The man in black spoke in a voice that was neither clearly male nor female.

Is the long, black robe that covers and conceals the entire body meant to deal with the gods who can see through the lies of the inhabitants of the lower realm?

As her appearance suggested, this opponent, whose appearance and affiliation were completely unknown, drew a look of surprise from Hestia, who chose her words with caution.

"You don't look like a guild employee. Why did you call me here specifically—?"

Hestia raised the instruction book in one hand and shook it, then suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence.

She stopped in a daze.

A pair of divine eyes stared into the depths of the other person's hooded coat that was blocked by darkness.

"Are you really our child...? Are you even human? This feeling..."

"...This is really troublesome. No matter how you disguise yourself in front of God, it's useless."

In response to Hestia's surprise, she gave a wry smile that seemed to come from the heart, and shook her robe.

Faced with the goddess who was clearly shaken, the man in black remained calm.

"Who exactly are you...?"

"Okay, including this question, I'd love to answer many of your questions, but..."

The man in black slowly raised his head and glanced towards a building far behind Hestia.

"Being targeted like that makes it impossible to have a peaceful conversation."

Hestia's eyes widened at these words, and the man in black opened his hands slightly.

"Let's go somewhere else."

The next moment, a large amount of black smoke spewed out from the cuffs of the robe.

"--smokescreen!?"

When Mihe saw that scene, he leaned his upper body out.

On the rooftop of a building far from Fourth Street in the Seventh District, both the dog-woman Nazha and the handsome man, with arrows nocked on their longbows, wore expressions of astonishment.

Hestia had asked them to "protect" her a few hours earlier, yesterday evening. When her retinue received the mandatory task, the goddess, just in case, consulted with Mih and the others, telling them that according to the coded message, she had to keep the appointment alone tonight.

When Mihe and the others saw that Hestia had come directly to headquarters for help, they agreed. Hestia only said that it was a mandatory mission for the guild and did not tell Naza and the other members about the talking monster.

Mih and his men, acting on intelligence, took up positions at a high vantage point late at night to protect Hestia. Sniper Naza remained with her bow and arrow, ready to fire at any moment should anyone attempt to harm the goddess or engage in any suspicious activity.

Naza aimed her arrow at the mysterious man in black, her eyes darting around.

The spreading smoke enveloped Hestia in an instant, covering the surroundings in one go. The sight of the streets sealed off by black smoke... no, by thick black fog left Mihe speechless as he stood up on the rooftop.

Ahead, Takemikazuchi, Hephaestus, and Sakura and Chigusa, along with their retinues, who had also been entrusted with the task, rushed out of the building's shadows in a great hurry... However, when the black mist dissipated, the street was already deserted.

The man in black and Hestia both vanished into thin air.

"Mih!?"

"...Did the other side discover everything?"

Naza, kneeling on one knee on the roof, looked up at Mihe, his eyes twisted with bitterness.

Hestia

The goddess was taken away, leaving him utterly helpless.

"That...that must be a 'ghost,' Daphne...!"

"Ghosts? What the hell are those?"

"A black figure appears at the guild headquarters every night...! It's said to be the restless spirit of adventurers killed by monsters, uttering lingering moans of longing for the mortal world, wandering in the darkness...!!"

"You must be dreaming again, I don't believe it."

"No, no! It wasn't a precognitive dream (a dream), it was the guild's guide (Misia) who told me...!"

"You two, stop arguing!"

Daphne and Cassandra, who had recently joined the Mih Familia, started arguing around, which annoyed Nazha.

Mih sighed heavily and gave instructions to his family members who were lying in wait at the scene.

"Let's go, there's no point in staying any longer. Let's go and meet up with Hephaestus and the others."

Upon hearing the command from the supreme deity, Nazha and the others nodded and began to act.

Just as Mihe was about to leave, he took one last look at the street that had disappeared into the black fog.

"Hestia..."

The moon in the sky was completely covered by clouds.

"Drink it all!!"

With a thunderous roar, Welf swung his greatsword and cleaved the "Crazy Beetle" in two.

The giant beetle fell, bleeding profusely, and immediately new monsters trampled its corpse and charged forward.

This was a fierce battle.

In a SOSB room on the regular route of the 19th floor, Bell and his companions are fighting a group of ferocious monsters.

“Ooooooooooooooooooo!!”

"Gah!?"

Besides the "Crazy Beetle," there were also the "Dragonfly Monster" and the "Berg Bear," among other monsters. All the monsters that came from the front became victims of Welf's greatsword.

One strike, one kill.

Without exception, Welf, temporarily leveled up to LV.3 through Haruhime's "Level Up," dispelled the monsters with his surged [Ability Values]. His heavy single-edged blade, accompanied by wind pressure, ruthlessly sliced ​​each monster in half. The skilled high smith, a master of both offense and defense, perfectly fulfilled his role as the vanguard, halting the monsters' advance.

"!!"

Bell, with skills surpassing Welf's, cut down the attacking monsters one by one.

Countless flashes of blue-purple and crimson blades streaked across the battlefield at breakneck speed. He fought alongside Welf, gradually reducing the number of enemies as he did, living up to the name of a vanguard attacker... no, a specialist in offensive combat.

Bell unleashed a spinning kick, sending the bear beast's massive body flying, and then fired a deafening bolt of lightning into the air.

"[Flame Lightning]!"

Those that were directly hit and exploded, or burned to the ground by the aftershocks of the flames and lightning, were dragonfly-shaped monsters.

A swarm of sniper dragonflies flew in the air, unleashing a barrage of bullets.

Metal bullets, manufactured within the body, are fired one at a time, with a "thud! thud!" sound.

Bell combined his dodging maneuvers with a "quick-attack magic" to retaliate against the enemy, while simultaneously dealing with the giant beetle and the bear beast, prioritizing the elimination of monsters with long-range attack capabilities.

Behind Bell and his midfielders, the defenders Lily, Haruhime, and Winnie huddled together, keeping their posture low. Although the Goliath Robes they wore could deflect most attacks, Bell gritted his teeth, determined not to let a single stray bullet hit his rear.

Other floors do not require simultaneous ground and air combat.

Bell and his men received several orders to provide cover from behind with arrows, and they fought relentlessly.

(...! The enemy is planning to harm Winnie!)

The hail of bullets had not yet subsided, and amidst it all, Bell clearly sensed the deadly bullets aimed at Winnie.

Sweat trickled down Bell's cheeks.

Not only humans, but even Winnie, who should also be considered a "monster," attracted the monsters' clear killing intent. The fierce roar of the bear beast not only threatened Bell and his companions, but also the emotionless eyes of insects such as the giant beetle and the sniper dragonfly were fixed on the dragon girl.

The sniper dragonflies fired without mercy, and Winnie, who was being held by Haruhime, widened her amber eyes as she watched the bullets hurtling towards her.

Bell turned around and stood in front of her like a guardian, his two daggers flashing as he deflected all the bullets, just like before.

"My lord, how many enemies are there?!"

Lily, who was supporting the vanguard with a hand crossbow, seemed to be unable to hold on any longer and shouted loudly.

He ordered an arrow to pierce the giant beetle's skull, and shouted in a voice no quieter than hers:

"Seventeen! No, nineteen—and it's still increasing."

The detection device [Yatagarasu] it was using detected an enemy, informing her that the enemy reinforcements were endless.

In the distance of the cave, several monsters surged in one after another from the wide passageway.

"!...Lily needs it!!"

Seeing that Bell and Welf couldn't seem to defeat the endless stream of monsters, Lily drew the yellow short sword strapped to her waist—the "Demon Sword." As the two vanguards, hearing the shout, stepped back, Lily raised the "Demon Sword" high and swung it down with tremendous force, unleashing a lightning-fast barrage. The lightning pierced through the cavern, shooting straight towards the passageway entrance. The barrage incinerated all the monsters in its path, wiping them out completely.

The lightning flash seemed to explode at the far end of the passage, leaving an echoing, deafening roar.

"...!"

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud cracking sound.

The yellow dagger shattered into pieces.