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

"I've heard all sorts of things you've done after you lied about your name, through rumors."

The beautiful elf, no longer masked and dressed as a woman, stared directly at Terry before her.

Ryu had always had a vague feeling that a certain dwarven villain she had hunted in the past had reappeared in the casino area after changing his name. The man's characteristics, information, and his actions that skirted the law all gave Ryu a sense of familiarity. Until the day she met him in the casino, Ryu felt absolutely certain.

"Have you ever thought about why I let you run rampant?"

Liu squinted, staring at the dwarf whose mouth was opening and closing.

"There are two reasons. First, I am no longer qualified to bear the burden of justice. As for the other reason..."

Then she opened her eyes and emphasized:

"It was because you bowed your head in repentance back then—that Lady Astraea gave you a chance to turn over a new leaf."

Terry—no, Ted—was already deathly pale.

Back then, a very young Teito was involved in all sorts of evil deeds with a criminal gang, and was eventually wiped out by the Astrea Familia. At that time, Teito knelt before the goddess, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for forgiveness.

The compassionate goddess Astraea ultimately accepted Ted's repentance. Perhaps it was because she sincerely hoped that the children could repent and that the inhabitants of the lower realms, who were not eternal, would change.

Faced with this man who has squandered the goddess's good intentions and ultimately succumbed to his own desires, allowing the evil flower in his heart to bloom again, Ryu's anger was palpable.

"You...you guys, why aren't you doing it yet?!"

Bearing the undiminished light of that righteous gaze, Ted finally couldn't hold back and let out a scream.

In a panic, he gave the order to have his bodyguards get rid of Ryu.

"You have no room for forgiveness."

Strong bodyguards rushed in from all directions.

In contrast, Ryu kicked all his opponents away with one kick.

“Wa ...!”

"Well!?"

To protect Seele and the girl (Anna), Ryu used a fighting style that mainly involved kicking. He drew a circle with his feet, kicking all the strong attackers away, slamming them against the wall or onto the table.

As a bodyguard who had fallen to the ground rolled to her feet, one of the female tycoons among the guests screamed in fright.

"I will punish you in the name of that lord."

Screams erupted in the VIP room in the blink of an eye. Standing in the middle of the chaotic room, Ted, trembling uncontrollably, finally decided to go all out and unleash his strongest trump card.

"Fast!! Rollo!! Kill her!!"

Upon receiving orders from his employer, the two bodyguards who had been standing behind him immediately took action.

The well-built, robust humans, along with the slender cat people, charged forward. Upon seeing this, Liu's expression tightened.

"Seele, please step aside with Anna."

"Yeah, good luck, Ryu."

Ryu signaled that he had no time to protect others and then ran forward.

As Seele and Anna retreated, Ryu stepped forward to face the attacking experts.

●

The two sides closed the distance in an instant, with the human and cat people guards each holding their respective weapons.

The former consisted of black iron gauntlets, while the latter were two daggers.

Facing the sharp punches and slashes that came at the first contact, Ryu leaped over his opponent's head to dodge the attacks. As he landed behind his opponent, he immediately delivered a high kick.

"!"

However, the kick was blocked by the gauntlets that reflected a black light, and a dagger swung from the side at just the right moment.

Liu twisted to the side to dodge the slash, but her suit jacket was already slightly torn.

"Fast and Rollo are the infamous 'Black Fist' and 'Black Cat'! You must have heard of those titles!"

Seeing the battle unfolding with Ryu and the others advancing and retreating, Ted broke out in a cold sweat, but he still managed to force a ferocious smile onto his face.

"Black Fist" and "Black Cat" are nicknames that Ryu is no stranger to.

These two titles were "Bounty Hunter" and "Assassin," which were still renowned until five years ago.

That was the era when the Astrea Familia still existed, a dark period when "evil" spread throughout Orario. Back then, in order to eliminate bounty targets or hostile enemies, a large number of bounty hunters and assassins were hired from outside the city. Under the arrangement of guild employees who colluded with "evil," these people who successfully invaded the labyrinth city were practically no different from mercenaries who would be both friend and foe for money, and became one of the reasons that contributed to the city's disorder.

Among them, the reputation and strength of "Black Fist" and "Black Cat" can be said to have caused a sensation in the entire underground industry.

Their commission completion rate was nearly 100%, and coupled with their feat of taking down second-tier adventurers, these two titles were synonymous with terror at the time.

As Orario's dark period came to an end, the two, like Ryu, simply disappeared without a trace.

(I see, that's quite formidable.)

Ted boasted that these two had ended up by his side after the end of that era. Ryu paid them little attention, acknowledging the strength of the two men before her. Although they were attacking together, they still possessed a considerable level of skill, preventing Ryu, who was already a Level 4, from launching a rash attack. The tacit understanding they had cultivated was enough to perfectly cover each other's weaknesses.

The two were also very accurate and quick in their analysis, able to thoroughly target the weakness of Ryu's left eye wearing an eyepatch, and launch attacks from her blind spots from time to time.

(Although removing the blindfold would completely prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation... I need to get my hands on the weapon first.)

Unarmed Ryu, under the threat of fully armed enemies, engages in close combat with bodyguards attacking from both sides.

"While Fast and the others are holding [Gale] back...!"

Even seeing that the human Fast and the cat people Rollo were almost on par with Ryu in strength, Ted still couldn't feel at ease. The dwarf, whose fear of the Astrea Familia was deeply ingrained, shouted in a panicked tone.

"Waiters, grab Anna and that woman!!"

Faced with the order to take hostages, the waiters from the entertainment city of Santorio Beja were at a loss, yet unable to disobey. Even though the man's origins were highly suspicious, they ultimately had to obey the casino owner's orders.

Amidst the screams of the surrounding guests, Seele and her companions were surrounded by enemies against a wall.

"Th-that...!?"

"..."

As the encirclement tightened, Anna was filled with fear, while Seele silently watched the waiters.

Ignoring Anna's eyes, which seemed to say, "Please run away and leave me alone," Seele carefully observed her surroundings.

When it comes to Liu, she is indifferent to this scene.

She seemed to have deep faith in the girl who was her colleague, and was completely focused on her battle.

Suddenly Seele opened her arms wide—slap!

He clapped his hands forcefully in front of his chest.

"!"

The applause resounded all around, startling the waiters into stopping what they were doing and drawing the attention of others.

As the waiters became more wary, recalling the girl's unfathomable nature they had witnessed at the casino, Seele, maintaining her clasped hands and smiling, spoke eloquently in the clear voice she had honed in the bar.

"Women who were abducted here by this heartless boss, are you all just caged birds waiting for a hero to arrive?"

The beauties, who were standing by, completely oblivious to the situation, were taken aback by the sudden conversation.

Seele continued speaking to the group of women.

"I don't think so. You are all people with strong will, people who will not bow down when faced with adversity. The reason you are so beautiful and outstanding is because you have a strong heart."

A wavering appeared in the eyes of the beauties, as if they were gradually recalling their original selves.

"I believe that even at this moment, there are still people waiting for your return."

Seele's words slowly awakened their yearning for freedom.

"As long as that person wins... you will regain your freedom."

The person Seele was referring to was the blindfolded elf who was currently fighting with the bodyguards.

Seeing the elves' valiant fight, the beauties who had previously given up hope gradually regained a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

And the pent-up anger that has been building up over time.

Seeing this, Xi'er smiled slightly.

"So—let's cause some chaos♪"

The tiny spark that ignited the fuse quickly set off an explosion.

The beautiful women shouted out at the same time.

"Wow────────────!!"

"I don't want to stay here for another second!!"

"I want to go home, meow--!!"

The women, who had previously resembled exquisite dolls, roared in anger and began to riot without regard for the consequences.

Faced with this situation, it was the waiters who turned pale with fright. Unlike the other bodyguards who had been defeated by Ryu, these men weren't very confident in their own skills. So, asking them to subdue this group of "collections" that Ted had kidnapped—a large number of beautiful women—was, frankly, asking them to do something they couldn't possibly ask.

The humans, ignoring their formal attire, rushed forward; the elves grabbed dazzling chips and tossed them around carelessly; the orcs clawed at the onrushing waiters, leaving their faces a bloody mess… The waiters had no time to chase after Seele and Anna. Even one of the guests, who was visibly shocked, was kicked in the buttocks, letting out a scream of pain. The situation was almost completely out of control.

The beauties responded to the rebellion, and screams filled the VIP room.

"Huh, huh, huh...!?"

The massive riots that stretched as far as the eye could see caused Ted's entire face to twitch.

"...You, you all..."

"?"

Anna suppressed the shock of being stunned by the sight before her, her flaxen hair swaying gently with her movements.

Seele looked at Anna, who was speaking haltingly, and tilted her little head in confusion.

"Who exactly are you?"

"..."

"Why help complete strangers like us...?"

Anna, who had been locked eyes with Seele, shifted her gaze to Ryu.

As the girl placed one hand on her chest, Seele also looked at the elf who was resolutely fighting the enemy.

"Although I feel it was more of a side effect... Ryu wanted to help you no matter what after hearing about your situation. Although she could probably come up with many high-sounding reasons, I think that's really all she was thinking."

Anna held her breath and clenched her fist tightly against her chest.

Standing beside her, Seele continued speaking as if to herself.

"Ryu is not a good person; she will still make mistakes."

She narrowed her pale silver eyes and spoke her mind with unwavering resolve.

"However... I just love Ryu's kind heart."

Then, a bright smile bloomed on her face.

The whispers that Seele uttered faded into the escalating battle between Ryu and the others.

"—I've had enough!!"

On the other hand, throughout the VIP rooms, which had become like battlefields, people couldn't help but cry and beg for help.

The disheveled little tycoon scurried away from the guests. This action seemed to set a precedent, with the scratched old chienthrope gentleman and other wealthy men following closely behind.

They were heading towards the oak gate, which was the entrance to the VIP room.

"Go to the Ganesha Familia for help!!"

"Hurry up!"

"Hey! Don't make decisions on your own!!"

Ted shouted angrily to stop them, but he still couldn't stop the guests from panicking.

Even after killing Ryu, Ted could easily use his wealth and power to erase the incident, but deep down he didn't want to escalate the situation. Seeking help from city authorities would likely arouse unnecessary suspicion, and he would only resort to such a measure as a last resort.

The same applies to Ryū.

Being listed on the blacklist, even if she accused the casino owner of not being a resident of the entertainment city (Santorio Beja), almost no one would believe her. If the Ganesha Familia were to storm the place, their primary concern would be the safety of the casino owner and guests. Moreover, if Teito were to escape in the chaos, the situation would only worsen, therefore Ryu was not keen on the Ganesha Familia's involvement.

However, Ryu—still ignores the current situation.