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

Despite her fear, Anna still marveled at the series of battles.

As she was captivated by the display of power befitting a hero from a book, and by the elf's dashing profile—

"—Come here!!"

“Ahh!?”

A thick, strong hand grasped Anna's slender arm.

This person was none other than Ted. During the battle with Ryu and the others, when he realized that his bodyguards were doomed, he sneaked up to Anna's side without anyone noticing, and then used the powerful arm strength unique to his race (dwarves) to kidnap the girl who was as light as a feather in one go.

Seele turned around in surprise and found that the two had disappeared into the passageway deep inside the VIP room.

"Ryu!"

"I'll handle the chasing, Seele, you stay here!"

Before Seele could call out, Ryu had already rushed out.

The clever and quick-witted Seele should know to blend into the group of beautiful women first, avoiding the Ganesha Familia who are about to storm into the VIP room for questioning. Leaving her friend in the safe zone, Ryu immediately followed closely behind Ted and the others.

The battle for the kidnapped girl is nearing its end.

6

Accompanied by hurried footsteps, the two ran quickly down the luxuriously carpeted corridor.

The dwarf Ted was covered in sweat, but he still dragged the girl (Anna) deeper into the casino.

The hired bodyguards had all been wiped out. After losing all his pieces, Ted turned and rushed out of the VIP room. Just moments before he had been the king of the gambling paradise, but now, thanks to the schemes of an elf, he was in a desperate situation akin to a fugitive.

"They dared to lie about their titles! What 'underground boxing'! What 'Black Cat'! It's utter garbage!!"

The man, now revealing his true colors, had long since abandoned any semblance of decorum befitting a casino owner, and began hurling insults at his two expensively hired bodyguards. The person standing there was no longer the cunning Terry Sebandis, but simply a scoundrel named Ted.

"Waaaaah...!"

The man's hand, which he reflexively clenched in anger, caused Anna to groan in pain.

Even though she was still fighting desperately, the defenseless girl was no different from a child in the face of the dwarf's superhuman strength. As a hostage, the girl was tripped up many times and forced to keep moving forward.

At that moment, a series of footsteps and an astonishing aura came from behind Ted and the others, rapidly approaching them.

“Hmm!?”

Faced with Ryu closely following behind, Ted felt both anxious and afraid, and quickened his pace to escape.

The ornate corridor was decorated with tasteless bronze statues and paintings. The two passed by the rooms where the beautiful women had been assigned, heading towards the staff area of ​​the large casino. The staff and dealers they passed all looked quite surprised.

"Boss, what happened?!"

"What exactly is causing this commotion...!?"

"All of you, stop that elf coming this way!!"

Ted had no time to explain to the bewildered employees and the remaining bodyguards, and continued running.

The sounds of a fight breaking out immediately came from the passage behind him, along with incessant screams, which deepened Ted's fear.

The Gran City Casino, where Bale and his crew sparked the riot in the lobby, is now in unprecedented chaos, both inside and outside the premises.

"This way!"

Ted dragged the pained Anna through several turns in the intricately structured staff area, quickly ran down a long flight of stairs, and arrived at the basement of the casino.

Although not as lavish as the gambling halls, the decor here was still uniform, occupying a space comparable to the ground floor, and possessing considerable openness. Ted repeatedly ordered the panicked guards to open the barriers, then led them into a long, wide, straight corridor. At the end of this corridor was a massive, circular metal door.

This is the underground vault of the largest casino (gran casino).

"Hurry up! Open it now...!"

As if he were about to crash into a metal door, Ted used his trembling fingers to take out the master key that only casino veterans were allowed to possess. After unlocking all the locks, he immediately turned the round handle that resembled a ship's wheel, straining so hard that his face turned red as he tried to pull open the heavy metal door.

Ted, who had finally opened the door, first pushed the astonished Anna into the vault, and then climbed in himself.

"Hoo-hoo...! We'll be fine once we're hidden here...!"

With a thud, the round metal door closed.

Amid a series of locking clicks, Anna, who had fallen to the ground, turned her head to look around.

Looking around, all that remained inside were glittering gold coins. The vast amount of currency, totaling over a hundred million, was piled up into several mountains of money so high one had to crane their neck to see them clearly, completely submerging the vault, which was roughly the size of a house. All the assets of the Grand Casino were stored here.

Upon witnessing the treasure vault of "Golden City Paradise"—a sight that could be called a golden city—Anna couldn't help but gasp.

"Only I can freely open this vault. Moreover, this vault is made of the underground city's ultra-hard metal (Durable Steel)! Not only can no one break in, but they can't even dig a hole through it!!"

Ted, who was panting heavily with his shoulders heaving, finally managed a smile.

As he stated, the vault was constructed using an ultra-hard metal (Durable Steel) mined from the dungeon. Ted's extravagant spending bordered on arrogance, purchasing vast quantities of rare metals from merchants and his "Family" to build this vault. It was essentially a small underground fortress, capable of withstanding attacks from powerful bandit groups.

Ted's plan was to escape into this underground vault and hold out there.

"As long as we hide here, even Hayate (Leon) can't make a move. Once the Ganesha Familia storms in, that guy will definitely be arrested, since she's also on the blacklist."

"...!"

"During this time... Anna, I'm going to take my anger out on you."

Ted was so angry that his brows furrowed and his eyes became bloodshot.

"How dare you keep ruining my plans! If this continues, I won't let this go!"

"babble……!!"

"【Asteria Familia】, you are all spirits of the past! I was the last one to smile!!"

Ted's clothes were soaked with sweat, and his once neatly combed hair was now a mess, making him look almost indistinguishable from a villain.

He no longer concealed his lust and intended to vent all the resentment he had accumulated on the girl in front of him.

"Let me pamper you properly, including the humiliation you just suffered... The only regret is that I can't let that guy hear you crying and begging for mercy."

"No, don't come any closer...!!"

The girl's flaxen hair swayed slightly with fear.

Realizing her innocence was being threatened, Anna braced herself with her hands on the ground and backed away.

The dwarf's shadow gradually covered the terrified, trembling girl.

◆

"drink!"

"Ughh ...

The attacking male orc collapsed to the ground after a leather boot embedded itself in his cheek.

Having swiftly delivered a kick to her opponent, Ryu hurried forward. She continued her advance into the basement, instantly taking down several guards who attacked her along the way. Including the staircase leading to the surface, countless demi-humans lay unconscious wherever Ryu went.

In order to rescue the girl (Anna) who was kidnapped by Ted, Ryu seemed to transform into a storm and rush straight in.

"That is……"

After breaking through the last door and the guards, a wide, straight passageway appeared before you.

At the end of the corridor lay the underground vault, which Ted had been guarding.

The door, made of super-hard metal (steel), stood proudly blocking her way, and with its impregnable lock, forced Ryu to stop in her tracks. She narrowed her eyes, revealing an extremely sharp gaze.

"【——The forest and sky that have now faded into the distance. The endless night sky inlaid with countless stars】."

And then he began to chant magic.

"This is... 'magic'?"

Just as Ted was about to touch Anna's body, he was suddenly startled to feel a wave of "magic" emanating from a distance behind him.

Even though the metal gate blocked out all outside information, one could still feel the concentrated torrent of magic.

Ted looked up and immediately burst into loud laughter.

"Pfft, hahahaha! Useless! Leon!! With your strength, how could you possibly destroy this vault! Even if you use 'magic,' the result will be the same!"

Surrounded by piles of gold coins, the dwarf's deep laughter echoed throughout the room.

"[Respond to the voice of my ignorance, and grant me the protection of the star once more]."

Liu walked forward with leisurely steps, followed by the rhythmic sound of her footsteps.

She continued to maintain her beautiful singing voice.

The incantation woven from the lips, on the contrary, became clearer and more powerful with time.

"[Those who abandon you are the benevolent and merciful.]"

"Hahahaha...ha...?"

The wild laughter that echoed through the vault suddenly stopped.

The reason is that immense "magic".

It was as if it had been locked onto by a colossal cannon already loaded with shells.

"Huh...?"

Anna, an ordinary citizen, was also shocked and widened her eyes.

Ted, who had been laughing loudly, froze completely.

"Come, wandering wind, drifting traveler."

Liu took off his tie and threw it on the ground, loosening his collar.

As she continued forward, she accelerated the chanting of the incantation that shook her vocal cords.

"[Soaring through the skies, racing across the wilderness, moving at a speed surpassing all things—]"

The gradually rising spiritual power, and the continuous infusion of the "magic" source.

Before the moment of liberation arrives, the fluctuations of power begin to contract.

Ryu stopped a short distance away and stared at the metal gate with her azure right eye.

"【——Conquering the enemy with the brilliance of a galaxy】!"

Riding the brilliance composed of wind and stars, Liu transformed into a conductor, forcefully stretching his right hand forward.

As she finished chanting, she calmly sang out her killer move, the bronze one—her ultimate finishing technique.

"【The Wind of Light】".

The starlight barrage, accompanied by strong winds, was thus launched.

"~ ...

Stardust, carried by the emerald wind, descended from the sky and transformed into countless enormous orbs of light, crashing down upon the underground vault.

The continuous, raging explosions could be heard even from inside the metal door. The relentless, powerful impacts and deafening roars assaulted Ted and Anna. Shrinking back, they watched as the heavily reinforced, super-hard metal door began to twist and deform inwards, even developing several cracks.

"──"

Ted was so terrified that his whole body stiffened, and Anna, who was standing next to him, quickly lay down on the ground.

The next instant, the vault door let out a piercing roar and shattered into pieces.

"—Wa ...

At the same time, a burst of intense light shot out, turning the field of vision white, and blew Ted, who was standing in place, away on the spot.

The strong wind generated by the explosion scattered the piles of gold coins representing the mountain into the air, and countless gold coins fell to the ground like rain with a sharp collision sound.

(illustration)

Anna, who was lying on the ground, looked up and saw the underground vault, which was missing its door and almost completely destroyed.

"The so-called super-hard metals (hard steel) have hardness and purity that complement each other."

Ryu emerged from the smoke and stepped into the underground vault, whose entrance had been directly cut open.

"If it is a rare metal from the 'deep' layer... that is, the highest purity ultra-hard metal (hard steel), it is indeed extremely difficult to destroy."

Ryu, facing Ted and Anna who had finally managed to sit up and whose eyes were filled with terror, continued to explain.

"But in my opinion, the material of this vault comes from the 'upper layer' and 'middle layer'... Even my 'magic' can penetrate such a low-hardness super-hard metal (steel)."

Ryu added, "Looks like you bought a defective product," glancing at Ted, who was speechless.