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

Just as the clouds in the night sky dispersed in fear of the giant fiery wolf that had just appeared, revealing the golden moon, so too did the clouds disperse.

"That kid who played like he was in the best position in the dungeon is stronger than anyone else."

Grace made the assertion while narrowing her eyes.

"The enemy stepped on the wolf's tail, which must never be touched."

"What...this...!?"

It was burned to ashes.

Valetta pushed aside the layers of her charred subordinates, propped herself up, and saw the fiery red burning underground space, almost rolling her eyes back.

From the collapsed pillars to every corner of the hall, the flames roared and spread, radiating heat. The scene was like a boiling kiln. The heat was so intense that it scalded Valetta's skin, causing her face to spasm. Even the remnants who had managed to hide behind the pillars to avoid being burned alive could not hide their trembling.

Looking up, one could see that the thick earth had been pierced, creating a large hole.

The vast sky is connected to the world of Hellfire.

(This is bad.)

Valette's sweat glands opened wide; as if confirming her premonition, the arsonist who created this fire—Bert, standing in the center of the space—underwent a change.

The clouds vanished without a trace, and moonlight spilled into the ground.

Bathed in golden light, Bert's gray fur stood on end, and his muscles bulged.

His amber eyes had bulging pupils.

"Animal transformation".

That was accompanied by an overwhelming increase in physical abilities, along with a ferocious temperament.

When she came to her senses, Valeta had already screamed at the top of her lungs:

"Kill him! Kill him!!! It's not too late, do it!!!"

Having been kicked away by the woman's angry roar, the remaining members of the gang, having narrowly escaped death, recklessly launched their operation.

The puppets, granted a "way out after death" by the promise of Death (Thanatos), faced death with unwavering resolve. Even with lingering fear, they were willing to sacrifice their lives to fulfill their desires. They let out incoherent screams, blood, tears, and snot streaming down their faces, transforming into martyrs who had long since strayed from the norm, and charged towards Bert. But then…

"—Ugh!"

The werewolf kicked the ground and disappeared. Immediately, two people became victims of its fangs.

Bert, with his right hand still ablaze, grabbed the enemy's face and slammed him to the ground. This single action shattered the member's body into fiery fragments. Then, the fiery kick, along with the air, burned away the enemy's upper body, turning the surrounding matter into black ash mist. Although Bert was affected by the explosion caused by his self-inflicted "Fire Stone," the [Hati] within his limbs completely consumed even the flames of that explosion.

"Ugh, ah...!?"

The Grim Reaper's retinue, who should have long since accepted death, now looked ashen-faced.

The flames were more ferocious than anything they had ever seen.

The murder weapon that Bert was wearing was a "giant tooth".

Two hands and two feet, two pairs and four branches.

The upper and lower jaws are four "fangs" used to bite and kill enemies.

The upper teeth (Olga) attached to both hands are used to tear the flesh of enemies, while the lower teeth (Bannet) are used to shatter the limbs of enemies.

The werewolf's menacing eyes pierced through the pale-faced prey.

Whether it was the sun or the moon, the giant wolf opened its jaws, ready to devour everything.

"Ugh, ugh ...

The remnants roared almost frantically as they faced the battle to the death.

Panic gripped them as they fought desperately to seize Bert. But the wolf, driven by its primal instincts, neutralized the attacks, burning the enemy's entrails to ashes with its upper teeth (Olga's) fists, and cleaving the opponent's raised "cursed weapon" in two with its lower teeth (Bannet's) axe-like kicks, incinerating it completely. It even devoured the gleam of the wildly swinging "demon sword," licking the crying Death Apostle with even larger, more obliterated tongues of fire.

Sparks flew everywhere, and the trails of fists and kicks left fiery tails. This scene of carnage was unlike anything in the human world; it resembled a scene from an apocalyptic war. Valetta, standing frozen in the distance, trembled, muttering to herself:

"impossible……"

Finally, the giant wolf, having devoured everything, set its sights on her.

Just as she felt a chill run down her spine, and every hair on her body trembled.

A figure jumped down from the edge of the cave overhead.

"Sword, [Sword Maiden]!?"

"This is……!"

The series of terrible news caused Valetta to scream in agony; as for Ais, she was also horrified when she saw the scene around her.

"Oh no, don't joke around, damn it!" The woman cursed incessantly, spewing every vile word she could think of; the blonde, golden-eyed girl beside her stared at the last remaining enemy officer, her eyebrows furrowed in anger.

She wanted to draw her sword immediately, but...

"Don't you dare lay a hand on me!!"

This angry roar wouldn't allow her to do that.

"Bert...?"

"If you dare lay a hand on me, Ais, I'll beat you to death too!!"

Bert roared menacingly at the bewildered Ais, then turned his gaze back to Valetta in front of him. He abandoned the stunned girl, and step by step, across the fiery world, he approached her.

"What, what are you talking about... what, what, what...!?"

Bert refused his reinforcements, wanting a one-on-one duel; as for Valeta, anger had also taken hold of her. This anger drove away her fear and terror, even bringing a touch of calm.

(Don't look down on me, [Wolf]...! Aren't you covered in wounds too...!)

Although the Giant Wolf Fang (Hati) can absorb damage and magic, it cannot heal the injuries he has sustained. Bert, covered in wounds, is far closer to death than Valeta.

(Besides, my Queen's Web (Kill Luo Duo) is still effective! Even if you've "transformed into a beast," your body will quickly "return to normal" after your fierce attack!)

Valetta looked down at the crimson patterns covering her feet, her face regaining its stiff but bold and arrogant expression.

Very well, I'll fight you.

I'm going to turn around and bite you to death.

Valetta, with a ferocious grin befitting her title of "Killer Empress," was equipping her cursed one-handed sword...

"Huh—"

Her pupils froze.

The patterns beneath my feet that permeate the underground space, the carefully crafted barrier set up by Valetta…

It flickered on and off as if emitting a scream, constantly being sucked away by the fangs of the hungry wolves that pounded the ground.

"Magic Absorption".

Despair took hold of Valetta.

(What a ridiculous joke, what a ridiculous joke... Stop joking around, ahhh...!?)

The Giant Wolf Fang (Hati) is not the same as the degraded equipment [Frosvelt].

The liberated "fangs" eat everything. They don't care if it's an attack, a curse, or a barrier.

Anything derived from "magic" is devoured completely.

"Isn't it just attack magic?!?!"

This is a wolf's "scar (fangs)" that even the healing girl (Line) cannot heal.

This time, Valette's face finally lost all color.

Bert devoured the barriers that filled the space without leaving a trace, thus removing the "power reduction".

He launched a lightning-fast sprint toward the pitiful woman who was gripped by panic.

"Laaaaa!!"

“Gah!?”

He delivered a powerful right punch to the abdomen.

Valetta spat as she bent over in a U-shape; Bert immediately delivered a spinning kick to her. Her cheek was on fire as she was blown away with the force of a burst dam, but the wolf did not stop its pursuit.

A barrage of fangs relentlessly slashed and razed the woman's body.

"Eek! Gaa ...

Even Ais, who had experienced various battlefields, couldn't help but want to poke her ears when she heard the woman crying like this.

Bones shattered, skin burned, even tears evaporated as Valeta endured a merciless onslaught. Bennett's lower left tooth, slicing through the air, relentlessly pounded the woman's body, slamming her against a pillar standing in the center of the back hall.

"Berbert!"

Ais snapped back to reality and called out desperately, but her calls went unheard by the enraged wolf.

Bert, his body ablaze with flames, approached Valetta, who was rolling on the ground.

"Ah, uh ...

"Stand up."

Bert, with "fangs" attached to his limbs, coldly and ruthlessly told her.

The wolf suppressed his firepower with the power of reason, lest he burn the enemy to ashes in an instant. He looked down at the woman with his piercing pupils.

Valetta swayed and barely managed to stand up, revealing half of her body charred black.

"Please! Please stop, [Wolf]...!? I've had enough! It hurts! It's burning! I'm going to die...!? I'm going crazy!!"

She cried and screamed in embarrassment.

"I don't want to die yet!? I haven't even done anything to that fake hero, or to that bastard Finn! Please, have mercy on me! Please!?"

The Emperor of Slaughter desperately forced a stiff, fake smile, but...

"What were you doing when those small-time celebrities were crying and spouting nonsense just like you?"

Seeing Bert's icy gaze, the exact opposite of his fiery passion, her expression froze.

The distance was only five meters. At that distance, Bert could have swallowed Valetta's life in a single step.

Valetta saw a vision of a snarling, giant wolf behind Bert, howling and screaming until its voice cracked:

"W-What?! Are you blaming me for that dead Amazonian girl?! Or for your good comrades I killed?! But you're blaming the wrong person!?"

"..."

"Aren't you adventurers!? You should have been prepared to die at any moment! Your world... isn't this just how our world is~!?"

Hearing Valetta spout some unreasonable and sophistry, Ais unconsciously clenched her fists.

During this time, Bert, who had been silent all along, quietly answered:

"...Yes, that's right. You're not wrong."

At this moment, Ais couldn't help but doubt her own ears.

"Those guys died because they were too weak. Hating others is completely misguided... The strong can take everything from the weak; that's the privilege of the strong. That's just how this damn world is."

Suppressing his emotions, Bert revealed the personal views he had already shared with Ais in the tavern.

That's right.

No one cares what the strong do; they can take whatever they want.

The weak cannot resist whatever treatment they receive; everything will be taken away from them.

As a weakling, one cannot survive.

Bert spoke of the world truths he had come to understand on that starting day, affirming the woman's defense.

"Since that's the case!"

A glimmer of hope flashed across Valette's face, and the next moment...

"--so!!"

Bert's eyes widened in fury as he roared with rage.

"Even if I beat you to death, no one can stop me!!"

Faced with the giant wolf's outburst of rage, Valetta's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

Whoosh! Bert's right foot slammed out, scaring her out of her wits. She turned her back to the enemy and fled.