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

“——”

Looking back, I saw that Lina's eyes were full of water droplets that were different from raindrops, and a wrinkled smile appeared on her face.

Bert saw the girl and tried to run away from him.

(--Hello.)

stop.

What a joke.

What are you trying to do? What's wrong with you?

What makes you so sure about my opinion?

You're just a nobody, don't try to do things your own way.

Don't move, I told you not to move.

Don't leave, stay here.

(You must stay by my side—)

Bert failed to notice the contradiction.

I didn't notice that the insults he used from the past to the present were the exact opposite of what he truly felt now.

——Get out of here, you little punk.

—Don't get in my way.

Bert paid no attention to the fact that his past words were completely contradictory to his current feelings.

Tears welled up in the girl's eyes, and she smiled.

"Bert Roca, you have to win—don't die."

Immediately afterwards...

The girl turned her back to Bert and ran away.

"—Lina!!"

It was at this moment that I called her name for the first time.

As the girl walked away, Bert let out a shout.

"Heh! Hehehe... Yaha ...

Valetta burst into wild laughter from the rooftop, and with a command, led the remaining assassins to the fleeing girl. Seeing countless assassins in their uniforms spread like bat wings, Bert felt a surge of heat throughout his body.

"————————————————!!"

The wolf let out a deafening howl, now incoherent, attempting to pursue the assassins, but unexpectedly...

"I told you! Don't forget me~~~~!!"

「!?」

Valetta leaped down from above, blocking Bert's path.

"I'll play with you! I'm way more charming than those brats, right!?"

"This... this wretched woman ——————————————————!?"

The woman, whose beauty was sharp yet revealed an ugly smile, enraged Bert.

In the middle of the now deserted street, Valetta took out a new "cursed artifact" from her long coat with fur trim; Bert roared with rage, trying to shove the woman away.

"Look how impatient you are, [Fierce Wolf]!"

"Shut up!"

"You really dote on that little girl (Amazonian) that much?!"

"Shut up!!"

Bert tried repeatedly to get ahead, while Valeta teased and hindered him while brandishing the black short sword she was equipped with.

The curse (abnormal magic) placed upon him remains a shackle binding Bert's hands and feet.

Even so, Valetta still couldn't defeat the wolf, who was a "stronger" wolf.

But it's more than enough to slow things down.

Every second she wasted wasted by her opponent, and the werewolf's face gradually became distorted as if it had been stabbed.

This was incredibly pleasant for the woman.

She derives pleasure from trampling on the "glory of life".

"Hey! Did you see my gift?!"

「!?」

"They were the ones who slaughtered your companions in that man-made maze!"

Bert's fur stood on end.

The woman seemed intent on further disturbing the man's peace of mind, hurling words as sharp as blades:

"I did it all! I stabbed those screaming adventurers to death!"

"……Mouth."

"Actually, I wanted to do it more carefully and more miserably! But you guys came so quickly, I could only kill people randomly!"

"……Shut up."

"Especially that healer, killing him was incredibly satisfying! Despite being so weak, he protected his comrades to the very end!"

"Shut up!!"

Valette's cheerful voice mingled with Bert's loud shout.

Upon hearing the woman confess that she was the murderer who tortured and killed Linne and the others, Bert's vision flashed with brilliance.

"Hey Finn, aren't you frustrated?! — Don't you look pathetic like you do right now?!"

Looking at this woman's smiling face.

Bert's anger exceeded that of the Fan family.

"—Luo oo ...

The powerful kick, strong enough to quell the torrential rain, shattered the short sword in Valeta's astonished hand.

"Tsk!?... Know when to quit while you're ahead."

Valetta leaped backward at full speed, glanced at the shattered short sword in her hand, and threw it away without a second thought.

"If you keep playing like this, you might actually kill me."

Facing the werewolf with bloodshot eyes, Valetta forced a stiff smile.

However, while he spoke of fear, his tone was full of pleasure.

"Go save her, [Wolf]!! But I think it's too late! Ha! Haha ...

The woman leaped high into the air and disappeared into the depths of the rain.

Bert didn't even glance at her before dashing off.

The rain pounding against his body and filling his vision filled Bert with murderous intent. Get out of my way, get out of my sight! Bert's inner voice screamed, his heavy legs stomping the ground as if he wanted to kill it.

The torrential rain seemed to be afraid of him, and slowly, little by little, the downpour subsided.

Along the street Bert charged through, a broken scimitar, seemingly familiar, lay discarded on the cobblestones.

The curse that had been binding his body suddenly vanished without a trace, making him feel light, and at the same time, he grabbed his heart from his chest. He kept running, running, running.

The girl refused to back down, using the bodies of the assassins she had knocked down as her guide as she ran wildly through the ruins in the rain, rushing across the dilapidated streets of the capital.

At last.

She was in one corner of the open square.

It lay on the cracked stone slab, being pounded by the rain.

She must have resisted until the very last moment; her once tender brown skin was now stained with blood, and her thin hands and feet were covered with numerous cracks.

The weapon embedded in his abdomen was a dark, short sword that stood like a tombstone.

Little by little, the blood slowly stained the puddle crimson.

Bert couldn't help but stop and rush forward, kneeling down beside her.

A bouncing water droplet landed on the girl's cheek, and her previously closed eyelids trembled, opening a crack.

"Bert Roca...? Are you there...?"

Her red, wet lips trembled, and her left arm slowly rose.

"My eyes... are blurry... I can't see very clearly..."

Seeing the hesitant hand, Bert's hand grasped it as if touching a fragile object.

The girl's slender fingers gently tightened their grip, as if she were smiling.

"……Hello."

Bert said so.

"……Hello!"

Bert trembled.

"……Hello!"

Bert's lips seem to be broken; he can only say this one word.

Lina's dark, hazy eyes drooped limply, a faint smile appearing on them.

"Bert Roca, I'm sorry, I'm so weak."

“——”

"I can't keep the promise."

Words fade away, warmth departs.

Bert's time stopped.

Lina smiled calmly, as if she were using her last bit of strength.

"I long to stand beside you..."

After that, the girl never spoke again.

Her slender fingers slowly lost their strength and slipped from Bert's hand.

As if burning the last embers of life, blood-red droplets leaked from his body.

“…………”

He heard the sound of rain; it was the sound of the sky weeping.

Bert did not shout.

There was no laughter.

She didn't cry.

He simply stopped time, looking down at the girl whose hair was disheveled and fell onto her face.

"Lina!"

In its place, another voice rang out.

It was Aisha, panting heavily, and Ais and Riveria, their eyes wide open.

Seeing them standing motionless on the other side of the rain, Bert turned his face slightly toward them and then slowly stood up.

Aisha and Ais snapped out of their daze and ran over. The Amazon running ahead ignored Bert and tried to bend down to Lina, but stopped in his tracks.

Her hand, which was halfway outstretched, trembled and clenched into a fist.

Ais and Riveria, kneeling on the ground with their faces contorted, pulled out the short swords stuck in her body and sprinkled the potions or "magical" light from the test tubes on her, like a farce.