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

Lina thanked him, but Bert was too busy to pay attention.

Through the blurry rain, I could see numerous dark figures poised to pounce at any moment.

"The enemy's weapon is infused with a 'curse'! Do not let it get to you!"

"A 'curse'!? I... I understand!"

Bert warned gruffly while staring intently at the enemy's figure.

These people wore identical dark assassin's robes and hoods, their gait vastly different from that of adventurers—unique and astonishingly light. They were masters of concealing their presence, as naturally as breathing. Beneath their veils, their eyes showed absolutely no human emotion.

No matter how many companions vomited blood and collapsed, the others remained unfazed and rushed forward.

(These guys aren't remnants of a dark faction! Are they hired assassins?!)

Bert had heard rumors that there was a criminal organization (the Clan) on the continent.

This assassin group works under the command of a goddess who reigns over slaughter, their headquarters location and size unknown. They are a group of people in the shadows, taking lives for huge sums of money, bringing blood and death to the underworld.

As if confirming Bert's guess, the fluttering assassin's uniform featured the emblem of a lion's head (Sekhmet) wearing a hood and blindfold.

Overall, the enemy's abilities (stats) pale in comparison to those of the adventurers in Orario, with a maximum level of only around LV3. Individually, they are no match for Bert, however...

"Click! — Chaaaaaaah!"

Even when fatally wounded, they continued to charge forward, determined to kill and take lives.

The assassins charged forward relentlessly, without hesitation, attempting to pierce Bert and his half-dead companion's bodies together with their longsword-shaped "cursed tools." Bert glared angrily, his right leg sweeping out like autumn leaves in the wind. This sinister tactic of mutual destruction and mutual destruction enraged the first-level adventurer.

Unlike the remnants of the dark faction who, even in their fear of death, resolutely self-destruct.

These people, after undergoing rigorous training and brainwashing ostensibly for education, are able to turn their own lives into weapons without hesitation, making them the purest form of murderous groups.

That's not all...

"Dancing with Blood!"

The ominous chants, frequently woven, transform into black waves or red mist that repeatedly fly in.

(A "curse" plus anti-status magic...! This is incredibly troublesome!)

The enemy unleashed various "curses" or "magic" in an attempt to weaken Bert's abilities. Even more troublesome was their continued use of these spells, even when allies were blocking their path. The assassins were willing to sacrifice their comrades to repeatedly apply these "curses" to Bert, making it incredibly difficult for him.

(I have a burden to carry...)

A quick glance behind her revealed Lina completely bewildered by the assassins employing unorthodox tactics. Despite her superior abilities, she found herself at a disadvantage against opponents who relied solely on stealthy and unpredictable methods.

To protect her, Bert was unable to launch a direct attack. In particular, whenever the opponent used "magic," Bert had to be extra careful not to affect her, and depending on the situation, he had to grab her arm to dodge in an emergency.

On the wide streets surrounded by dilapidated brothels, the enemy launched successive attacks.

First, even darts that weren't "cursed tools" started shooting in from all directions, and then men in black descended from above.

“Wu!?”

"!"

The dart grazed Lina's skin, splattering blood. She staggered, and the assassin immediately tried to pin her down, but Bert knocked him away from the side.

(The number of people hasn't decreased at all! How many people are there exactly?!)

Just as the enemy's sharp, intermittent attacks on Bert made him curse inwardly...

"it hurts……!"

Lina groaned silently.

"Waaaaah...!?"

Lina screamed again.

"ah……!?"

one more time.

“——”

A sense of unease crept over Bert, and he finally realized it.

The attack wasn't aimed at Bert—it was focused on Lina.

(What happened?)

Wasn't Valeta and the others here to kill Bert, a member of the rival Loki Familia? Didn't the enemy bring so many assassins up from the artificial labyrinth (Knossos) to take his life? Weren't these actions meant to hinder Bert's search for the "Key"? He remembered that the woman had mentioned earlier that she hadn't expected to encounter Bert, a first-class adventurer—

Now Bert's body is exhausted, revolving around Lina.

Bert, with her arm lightly cut by the "cursed tool," hid behind her and repeatedly fought off the assassins who pounced on her. What's going on? What's going on?

Why did the assassins seem to have planned this beforehand, teaming up to target the girl?

(—Hey, could it be…?)

A possibility flashed through his mind, giving Bert a jolt.

What if the premise was wrong from the start?

He thought he had implicated Lina, but what if that idea was wrong?

(—Don't joke around.)

Lina was not the one implicated.

Those truly implicated...

The assassins' real goal is—

"whee!"

Valetta, looking down at the battlefield from the rooftop, smiled.

Hehehehe!

He smiled as he looked at Bert, who was extremely anxious.

"Hehehehehehehehehehehehehe!"

She looked at the increasingly haggard girl, stuck out her tongue, licked her lips, and sneered.

★

Time goes back.

"Thanatos... what does she plan to do with all those 'cursed tools' she made me prepare?"

This is the inner cloister of the man-made labyrinth (Knossos).

In the space surrounded by murals, a man with bangs covering one eye appears.

His skin and hair were sickly pale, as if he had forgotten the sunlight. His sunken eyes and dull expression made him look like a ghost. This man was named Bacca, possessed by the obsession of his family (Daedalus), and obsessed with fulfilling his long-cherished wish.

The man questioned Sanatos, who was left alone in the corridor:

"Could it be that they're planning to attack the Loki Familia...? Do they intend to fight on the surface? Wouldn't that be an utterly foolish and suicidal act?"

Hearing his suspicious tone, Sanatos remained silent at first, then shrugged:

"I thought so at first, but... it seems not."

"no……?"

"Yes. Although Brother Bacca is just as bad, Sister Valetta is almost insane too, I'm not exaggerating."

"Even I, who is in charge of death, was greatly surprised."

These words are entirely true; they are God's most sincere and genuine praise.

Standing silently before Baka, Sanatos swayed his long, thick purple hair and narrowed his eyes, which were the same color as his.

"Valette's purpose—"

Death laughed as if it were blessing the actions of his family.

"It's said to be 'hunting Amazons'~"

★

"Amazonians are being attacked all over the city!?"

Finn yelled.

"Yes! Amazonians are still being attacked, and bodies have been found...!"

"...Could these Amazons belong to a faction...?"

"I heard they now belong to different factions, but it seems they were all originally from the Ishtar Familia...! They're all battle prostitutes closely connected to the goddess Ishtar!"

Upon hearing Raul's report, Finn's eyebrows twitched.

"Since you can't find them, in order to avoid falling into our hands, you're simply going to kill them to silence them...!"

Finn instantly realized that the multiple attacks, which were still causing a ruckus outside the window, were all the work of the dark faction.

The enemy has given up on competing with them for the "key." Seeing that they were getting no clues, they lost patience and, ignoring the Loki Familia's gradual expansion of its intelligence network, resorted to forceful measures. This was the most despicable and worst choice Finn had originally believed would never happen.

If I can't get my hands on it, neither can you.

Since we can't find it, we might as well eliminate any suspicious intelligence sources.

This kind of method is bold, vicious, inhumane, and lawless.

"This approach..."

Finn recalled a woman's loud laughter.

"Valette...!"

"Dionysus!"

"A surprise attack from behind... an assassination?"

In the rainy alleyway where screams echoed incessantly, Dionysus and Philelves knelt before the remains of the Amazons, ignoring the pale-faced crowd.

The corpse of the battle-hardened prostitute, its eyes vacant as it stared at the sky, revealed that she had died in a sudden, unexpected attack. The unhealed wound on her neck was still bleeding, suggesting she had died the previous night.

"The pursuit of Ishtar's retinue... it seems Thanatos and his men have taken rather dangerous measures."

This seemed to displease Dionysus, and just as he was contorting his handsome features, Lephia pushed through the crowd and appeared before them.

"Miss Philweis! Dionysus..."

"Lefia..."

"Thousand Elf... I advise you not to look at it."

Lefia first saw Philvis and Dionysus, then looked at the remains lying beside them, and was immediately speechless. The demi-human corpse, still being battered by raindrops like them, was someone she and her companions had seen, and who had been perfectly alive until yesterday.

"She's someone we consulted... an Amazonian..."

"You bastard!"

Tiony flicked her bangs, which were stuck to her face by the rain, and the recurve razor flashed by.

"Chirp!?"

"That bastard—!"

When the man dressed in black fell to the ground, Tiona used her large twin blades (Ulga) to smash the enemy's body, along with his black weapon, against the wall.

"You, you all..."

"How are you!?"

"What's going on?! Are Amazonians being attacked everywhere?!"

An Amazon clutched his slashed arm as Tiona ran towards her, while Tione roared angrily. Hearing the commotion, they rushed to the aid of the Amazons, slowly realizing the full extent of the situation.

"Hey, you bastard, spill everything you know...!?"

Tiony grabbed the fallen assassin by the collar, and just as he was about to interrogate him, the blood-covered man made a biting motion on something, then rolled his eyes and spat out blood foam and hot smoke.

He bit down on the suicide device hidden in his molars and ended his life with strong acid to prevent information about the plan from being leaked.

Seeing the attacker die so easily, Thione gritted her teeth in fury.

"You damn bastard...!?"

"Move all the wounded into Dean Kate's treatment center! Quickly!!"