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

They kill their own kind every day in this underground city.

It's simply about survival.

Seeing Bell's ashen face, Reed spoke with an air of righteous indignation:

"So, I hope you won't hesitate. Don't unnecessarily worry about us and hold back from taking action. Your own kind (those guys) are terrifying. If you hesitate, you'll be the one who dies. Little Bell, you'll die."

"Reed, sir..."

"Even if that guy talks, kill him if he attacks you."

This monster's lair is often filled with the dead and the dust of corpses.

The lizardman warrior was implying this to Bell, emphasizing that he should put his life first.

"Please don't die, kid. I want to see you again."

He and his fellow countrymen have killed many monsters, and they will continue to do so in the future.

So don't be confused, so that we can meet again someday.

His words made Bell's eyes flicker. "Little Bell."

"shake hands."

Reed's expression changed; he narrowed his eyes and extended his right hand.

Bell, who had been frozen in place, looked at Reed's face, then at that hand... and finally managed a weak smile.

Thanks to the same words spoken when we first met, and the grinning smile before my eyes.

Bell grasped the hand that was being extended to him.

The lizard's rough hands gripped back tightly.

"...So what was the purpose of introducing Lily and us to those people?"

Lily tucked her bag into her body, watching Bell and Reed still shaking hands, and asked the black-clad magician beside her a question. Lily didn't even glance at Fels, who replied from under his hood:

"Because I want you to understand them, that's all... for now."

Looking up at the meaningful words of Fels, Lily's chestnut eyes glared sharply.

She glared at Fils, as if to say, "Don't cause us any trouble, don't drag us into this!"

The person dressed entirely in black shrugged with a somewhat endearing air.

"I think you should understand that you must not spread anything you see here."

"Even if I told you, no one would believe me!"

Lily, fuming, went to Welf and the others who were gathered near the center of the cave. Bell also went with Reed to the quartz pillars that separated the humans from the monsters.

"Bell! Shall we go back?"

Having already become quite familiar with the "heretics," Winnie, who was speaking, noticed Belle. She turned around, smiled, and tried to take Belle's hand.

Bell smiled wryly, wanting to accept her.

However, Reed stopped them.

"Come here, Winnie."

"what?"

Her pale, bluish arm was pulled over and brought to the side of the "heretics".

Winnie was first stunned, then hurriedly tried to wave her hand away.

"Reed! No! Let me go!"

"No, you have to stay in the maze (here)."

"No! I want to stay with Belle!"

Her slender arms couldn't shake off the lizardman's restraints, and her amber eyes began to fill with tears. Bell stared blankly ahead as Reed knelt before the girl of his own kind.

"If you stay with Little Belle, Little Belle and Little Lily will cry."

"!"

"Didn't you get bullied on the surface? Next time it might be Bell and his friends' turn."

Several cold stones were thrown at him amidst insults, and malicious spears were pointed at him.

Perhaps recalling those memories, Winnie's slender shoulders began to tremble.

"...We can't survive on the surface yet. But no one here will bully you. Stay here, and you can live with us."

The singing bird approached her and murmured, and the dragon's single wing, a symbol of monsters, also swayed.

The dragon girl seemed to be stirred by surging emotions as she looked around at the faces of the monsters.

"Lord Winnie..."

Bell stood there, frozen in place.

He heard Chunji's suppressed sobs behind him; the sudden moment of parting made him uneasy.

No—I was just pretending not to notice.

In this place, he encountered Reed and others, and learned that Winnie had a group of compatriots who cherished their companions, but he immediately ignored this possibility. He was busy trying to understand the situation at hand and escaping reality.

Pretend you don't know that Winnie is staying here.

Pretending not to know about the separation is inevitable.

"There is a group of hunters who indiscriminately hunt these 'heretics'."

"!"

"They are monsters that can speak human language, and those in human form are also incredibly beautiful. Rare things are always attractive, and it is said that hunters will first torture them before illegally exporting them to the city and selling them to a group of people who have a taste for the bizarre."

Lily and the others, along with Bell, were greatly surprised to hear Fels' whisper.

The magician in black continued, as if venting his disgust:

"I deliberately spread rumors about the 'heretics' such as 'armored monsters,' but I just can't find any clues about them. The enemy capturing the monsters should have a place to live (a secret base)..."

Fels glanced at Bell from under his hoodie.

It means: If you're with Winnie, you might destroy yourself with her.

Bell's mind flashed with the smiling face of her idol (Ikelos), and with her escape route completely blocked, she was forced to face the girl.

"Bell..."

With the lizardman and the songbird on her shoulders, Winnie cried as she called Bell's name in a dependent manner.

Belle was unfortunately noticed by the worried stares of Lily, Welf, Mikoto, and Haruhime.

—I will not let this girl be alone, I will not let her die.

This vow, still deeply etched in my heart, remains true even if it's not me who protects her.

"Bell! I...!"

Behind her are numerous monsters that possess reason.

Behind me are my family who have shared joys and sorrows with me until today.

Caught between two beloved choices, Belle stood frozen in place.

This girl's happiness.

And those of the [families], those of everyone, those of the gods—

"...Okay, bye then, Bell, kid, we're off."

After saying this, Reed turned his back to Bell and the others.

Bell could neither stop them nor take a step forward.

Deep within the cave, as the monsters vanished into the darkness, Winnie, who had been taken away, turned back to look at herself.

Seeing the tears welling up in his amber eyes, Bell clenched his hands, his expression tearful, and cried out, "We'll meet again—we'll meet again!"

He offered words of comfort, leaving behind a promise he didn't know if he could keep.

Winnie's lips trembled as if she wanted to convey something, but she couldn't say anything in the end.

Soon the "heretics" disappeared into the depths of darkness.

"..."

He let his silent companions stare at his back.

Bell remained standing still even after the girl and the others had disappeared.

The morning mist filled the air.

It seemed there had been a shower last night; the stone pavement was wet, and the broad-leaved tree leaves drooped with water droplets like tears. Another droplet fell, bounced off the ground, and disappeared.

The sun had not yet risen, and the sky was faintly white at dawn.

The slumbering city is shrouded in tranquility.

The Tower of Babel in the morning.

Bell and his team returned from the mandatory mission a day after they set off.

Fels, who had been traveling with them, disappeared without them noticing, and all five members of the faction walked out of the skyscraper's doors.

Before dawn, Hestia waited alone for Bell and the others at the tower gates.

Seeing that the squad was one person less than when they left, Hestia lowered her eyebrows and smiled sadly at them, saying, "You're back."

"immortal……"

"...What is it, Bell?"

In the deserted central square, Bell began:

"What exactly is a dungeon?"

He gazed at the goddess before him and asked her a question.

Under the watchful eyes of Welf and the others, Hestia lowered her gaze. "A dungeon, it's just a dungeon..."

These are the divine words that are repeatedly passed down among the people of the lower realm.

The goddess remained the same as before, refusing to say anything.

Upon hearing this, Bell stood frozen in place.

As if unable to bear it, she gritted her teeth and lowered her head.

The morning glow began to paint the city walls red, chasing away the pale blue sky.

Volume 9: Endless Malice in the Transition

"You damn bastard!!"

Bang! A loud sound of kicking and stomping echoed through the cage.

The screams that accompanied the clanking of chains binding their limbs abruptly ceased.

"It hurts! Let me out! I want to leave this place!" These mournful cries, interspersed with human voices, seemed to cease as if afraid of the angry shouters.

The man's heavy breathing could be heard in the hall.

"Gran, you're so noisy! Do you want me to feed you to the monsters?"

"Ugh... I'm so sorry, Dix. But, we were just one more step away from finding the monster's 'nest,' but...!!"

The human named Gran clenched his hands and growled.

The man in goggles sitting on the black cage—Dix—tapped his shoulder with the handle of his red gun.

"The tracking of the [Hestia Familia] and the dragon girl (Vivel) monster went very smoothly—"

He looked around at the orcs, humans, Amazons and other outlaws gathered around him and sighed deliberately for them to hear.

They determined that the winged monster causing the disturbance in the city was the dragon girl, and that the Hestia Familia, which the chief god (Ikeros) had infiltrated, was hiding it. So they hid near Bell and the others' base camp (headquarters) and secretly observed its movements.

As night fell, when Bell and his companions took the disguised dragon girl out, Dix and his group followed. They initially intended to capture Bell and his crew immediately, but judging from their equipment, they knew they were heading to the dungeon, so they decided to observe. They guessed that Bell and his group intended to take the dragon girl back to the dungeon—to extract the location of the talking monsters' "nest" from her and then take her there.

In fact, they were half right. Unable to resist their greedy licking lips, they followed Bell and his companions throughout the underground city, trying to find the location of the "nest".