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

Lefia was almost too frustrated to stand up, but she gritted her teeth and got up to show him. Finally, he yelled at Lefia:

—Let's surpass that stinky old woman!

He made it clear that he wanted Lefia to surpass Riveria Leos Alver to show him.

That wasn't just simple encouragement; it was the wolf's (Bert's) unwavering pursuit of power. The young man was constantly frustrated by the "weak," wanting to shove them in the back with angry curses.

"Bert's words are too sharp, which is why he's so disliked. No, that guy probably thinks... people can't get stronger without getting hurt."

Like Lefia, who had returned to reality from the sea of ​​memories, the group members were all greatly surprised to hear these words; Riveria continued to reminisce about the past:

"A long time ago, his behavior within the [Family] was so appalling that Finn and I summoned him. Although, because of Loki, that conversation turned into a banquet..."

The elven royalty seemed to recall those memories, narrowing their emerald eyes.

"—A tough guy will climb any ladder. No matter if he's spat on, humiliated, or loses anything."

Grace tells Bert not to leave the room until he explains why he insulted others; after a fight as usual, Bert, ignoring his injuries, drinks heavily and confides some of his feelings to Riveria and the others.

"When you watch your comrades die, when you lose a part of your body, when you make the wrong choice... when you can't forgive yourself, a strong person will change themselves."

Then, facing the silent Rivera and the others, he smashed his wine glass.

"But a weakling is still a weakling! Those damn bastards, no matter what happens, they just grin and laugh, no matter what happens, they're still just as weak! They're nothing but 'small fry' waiting to be eaten!!"

Hearing Riveria describe Bert's consistent stance firsthand, Lefia and the others widened their eyes. At the same time, they realized they had misunderstood.

Bert's outrageous behavior and excessive power politics are actually the ultimate "selection" method.

It was a ritual designed to expose the adventurers' past wounds, forcing them to confront the pain they were unwilling to face, and to awaken their ambition.

Bert offered them contemptuous encouragement before kicking the truly weak to the ground.

What an unreasonable, arrogant, and cruel way of making distinctions.

In his words, this is called "a privilege that only the strong can enjoy".

"...But there must be better ways to do it! That goes beyond just being clumsy! Not everyone... has a strong heart..."

After hearing the story, the elf Alicia emphasized her words.

Having served in the Loki Familia's Second Army and reached LV4, Alicia must have also been overwhelmed by the high walls of talent, swallowing tears and contemplating giving up. Lefia could neither criticize Bert nor defend him, and could only stand there, frozen in place. Hearing Alicia lean forward excitedly from beside Lefia and say this, Riveria nodded to her.

"Yes, that's right. You're right, Alicia. ... But Bert did this for another reason besides screening... That guy vehemently dislikes sending his so-called 'small fry' to the battlefield."

He wanted to distance himself from the "weak" and from those who were not qualified to go to the battlefield.

Rivera told everyone this.

She also indicated that Bert probably already had the answer in his heart.

A faint voice, tinged with pity, disappeared behind the curtain of rain.

"No matter what, you shouldn't impose your values ​​on others and hurt them... That's how I rebuked Bert, but he replied to me..."

The elven royal family wore a forlorn smile, the werewolf's former expression flashing before their eyes.

"Will you still be able to say such things after they're gone?"

"You mean you'd rather watch them die than let them get hurt?"

"Once you kick the bucket—it'll be too late, okay?!"

Bert had long realized that this approach was clumsy.

"Gaa ...

As Bert roared, he sent the relentless assassins to their deaths. Driven by emotion, he routed the enemy's assassins sent to the reconstruction area.

As he moved his limbs, his consciousness turned toward all the past scenes that have remained to this day.

He recalled how many adventurers he had witnessed die suddenly. Among them were Linne and Lina.

Bert couldn't help but shout.

Why is it so weak?

Why is it so weak?

Why would someone willingly choose to be weak?

Why not try to become stronger?

In this "survival of the fittest" world, why can someone so weak still laugh?

In such a cruel worldly truth, why—

Bert couldn't stop despair and disappointment from swirling within him. Long crushed by the "weakness," Bert unfortunately arrived at an answer:

As long as I sharpen my fangs, as long as I (Bert) can protect everything.

That way, he wouldn't have to lose anything. That was his original thought.

But that's wrong. That idea is just a lie.

No matter how strong he becomes, no matter how much he protects himself, the "weak" always slips easily through Bert's fingers, like illusory grains of sand that cannot be held in the palm of one's hand.

Given this situation—what else can we do but distance ourselves from them?

Insult them, ridicule them, hurt them.

Only those who dare to mock and roar back at the strong are qualified to stand on the battlefield.

Only those who can utter the "roar of the weak" are permitted.

Without such grand vision and without making changes—small fry will only needlessly pile up their own corpses.

Like a father, like a mother, like a sister, like a childhood sweetheart (that guy), like her.

Like the kind-hearted teenage therapist who once tried to heal Bert's wounds.

Just like that... Amazonian girl.

So Bert kept shouting.

He doesn't care who they are; as long as they're "small fry" who want to go to the battlefield, he despises them and laughs at them to the end.

"So... he doesn't want anyone to die?"

After hearing Finn's explanation, Tiona murmured in a daze.

"Is he an idiot?! How could people not die?!"

Tiony's voice immediately rang out in the underground sewers.

If Bert really thinks that way, then when it comes to life and death, Tiona or Tione are far more realistic than him.

They had fought each other countless times in a prison called Douguo (Tir Sculla), and had always protected a world with only the two of them, seeing reality more clearly than Bert.

In front of the flustered and disoriented members, Thione made no attempt to hide her frustration, speaking with disdain.

"How could you possibly protect even complete strangers?!"

"No... he probably didn't mean that."

Finn politely declined.

Tiona and the others looked at him in confusion, and Finn gave a wry smile under everyone's gaze.

"There's a bigger reason why Bert refuses to stop swearing..."

"Yes, it's a bigger, and more ME-centric reason."

At the same moment, a wry smile appeared on Loki's face.

On the first floor of the "Tower of Babel," there is a circular open hall connected to several doors.

Including Raul and Annaquiti, the group members were protecting the Amazonians who were spending the night there. They didn't understand the true meaning of her words.

"What are ME aliens...?"

"Perhaps Bert gets angry because every time he sees someone weak, it's like seeing his past self... his former self."

In response to Raul's question, Grace, who was in charge of directing the operation at the scene, provided an answer.

This dwarf was the Loki Familia's most frequent opponent in hand-to-hand combat with Bert. He stroked his beard, as if sensing the true feelings that Bert himself was unwilling to discuss.

"Angry, angry..."

"What, you think Bert is a good guy? How naive, how naive. Didn't Loki just say that guy is clumsy and even more awkward than you think?"

Grace smiled at Annaquite's annoyed expression, then stopped smiling and looked towards the door.

Hearing the distant howling of wolves echoing from the horizon once more, he murmured:

"That kid hasn't changed a bit since I first saw him..."

No matter how many people a small-time celebrity has with them, they are still a small-time celebrity.

—As long as you're still a nobody, you'll be stripped of everything, and in the end, all you'll be left with is an ugly, tearful mess.

—Whether it's myself or anyone else around me, no one is allowed to be a nobody.

—Stop making me hear that annoying crying, and stop spouting nonsense.

Bert always thought this with disdain.

He rushed through the back alley, and at this crucial moment, these words lingered in his mind. Whether it was merely a simple reflection or regret for causing those girls to lose their lives, Bert couldn't know for sure now.

"...That brat actually stood up."

A whisper.

Bert's mutterings melted away in the rain.

The adventurer was the subject of ridicule and mockery by the drunken Bert, who spent a long time mocking him and insulting him as usual.

That boy was unwilling to accept the identity of a "weakling".

For the sake of such a small sentiment, he cried, stood up, and shed the role of the "weakling".

Having witnessed the battle against the bull, Bert trembled. He was ashamed of himself, unwilling to lose to such a nobody, and his fighting spirit was ignited—but at the same time, he harbored an excitement he absolutely refused to admit.

That time, Bert was deeply attracted for the first time to someone "weak" who was inferior to him. Bert must have been waiting for that heroic stance all along.

Bert was well aware of this as well.

Like Ais and the others, like that boy.

Not everyone can become a warrior, an "adventurer".

Even so, Bert still could not tolerate the existence of the weak.

For the weak to willingly remain weak is a sin, even a scourge. Those guys, who seem carefree and silly all day, wail and complain every time they lose something. That piercing scream infuriated Bert. It was like forcing him to see his past self, something he couldn't forgive.

He had heard enough of the cries of the weak.

Get lost, you nobodies.

Those who are oblivious to the loss of anything, just disappear.

Shame on your own powerlessness, and never come out of the house again.

Only the strong are qualified to fight.

"I think... Bert couldn't abandon the 'weak,' which is why he mocked them and always looked down on them."

Loki's words touched the speechless band members.

Although Loki continued, "Maybe I'm overthinking it," there was no doubt in his tone.

"Then he gets angry because nothing has changed about the weak. Actually, he should just ignore those people and remain indifferent."

Upon hearing these words, Raul and the others were startled.

Bert's mockery never ceased. Insults and slander were never spared. Those words always broke Raul and his companions, troubling them. If what Loki said was true…

In that case, Bert's words were actually a clumsy attempt at "motivation".

It's a kind of encouragement that even the person themselves doesn't want to try to notice.

"Why didn't you tell us before?"

Raul is about to uncover Bert's true feelings, and with a tearful expression, he presses Loki and the others for answers.

"So that's what he meant by what he said to Linne and the others at the end? He told them not to lose anything again in the next life..."

Upon hearing Raul's words, both the orc Kos and the human Navi lowered their heads in sorrow.