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

Lily's eyes widened, unaware that Belle had said such a thing, and she couldn't help but blush.

"Compared to you, I'm just flustered and can't help at all... Waaah~"

"...W-what are you saying! If anything were to happen, we'd all need Lady Haruhime's power!"

As if to hide her embarrassment, Lily slapped the fox-person's tail hard. "Empty!?" the fox cried out in pain, while Aisha shouted and flew over, "Stop playing around and get to work!"

Just as Lily was leaving the cave with Welf and the others, she turned back one last time.

"..."

The optimistic assumption that Bell had already escaped the water, defeated the "enhanced species," and was about to reunite with them should be discarded. At least since Chigusa and the others' "parasitic tree" hadn't disappeared, the monster was still alive. Even for the sake of their companions, Lily and the others had to set off.

"Lord Bell... I'm sorry."

When no one was watching, Lily's vulnerable expression briefly surfaced as she looked at the stream where the boy had been taken away. She then rubbed her eyes hard before leaving the scene with her team.

*

The relentless roar of the waterfall echoed endlessly.

The vibrations I felt told me this. The dark water was clearly cold, but my body felt like it was on fire. My body sank with a popping sound, and when it stopped, I shook off the cold water that was trying to drag me into the abyss of death and surfaced in one breath.

I burst through the shimmering water, accompanied by a multitude of rising bubbles.

"Puha!? Cough! Ugh—Khaha!?"

I abruptly surfaced, coughing violently. My throat, which had swallowed a large amount of river water, kept dry heaving. The incessant booming sounds and splashes of water were utterly irritating. Yet, this feeling was the best evidence that Bell Craney was still alive.

Right below the "Giant Waterfall," in the very center of the vast waterfall pool, I realized I had been given a second chance at life.

"Haa, haa, ahh... Guh ...

From between his teeth came stupid groans filled with anguish.

Heeding the instinctive cries of the flickering lights, I flailed my arms like a drowning child, swimming towards the bank adjacent to the waterfall pool. I splashed and thrashed about, my toes barely touching the bottom before I kicked hard, lifting my upper body to the surface. Staggering and tumbling, I crawled forward until I reached the shallows, where the water was up to my calves.

"Ugh, ahhhhh...!"

With a snap, I braced myself with my arms and landed on my hands and feet.

My whole body ached as if my blood vessels had burst, and my vision was a bloodshot red. I didn't even want to think about what I looked like now; I was afraid many of my bones were cracked. To escape the excruciating pain that made my nerves scream, I pulled out the high-grade recovery potion (high-grade elixir) I had tucked into my leg-strengthening pouch and used it. Again and again, one vial after another.

I poured the solution over my head and drank it directly into my body. Only after I had used up all the elixirs... did I finally raise my head and look up at the "Giant Cang Waterfall".

"...I fell from there..."

The waterfall cascades down, its turquoise waters plunging straight down. Descending to this level, the magnificent flow of water from afar is breathtakingly beautiful. However, looking up at the waterfall from this spot, less than fifty meters away, it appears like an enormous monster, bigger and more terrifying than anything else. Facing this enemy, towering above me and utterly insignificant in the grand scheme of nature, I couldn't help but tremble.

I must have fallen from near the middle of the "Giant Waterfall". I was swept away by the water flow through the multi-layered labyrinthine interior of the cliff, so that's probably correct. If I had fallen from the highest point of the waterfall near the top of the building... even with a Lv.4 body, I would probably have been smashed to pieces.

As the hairs on my neck stood on end, I stood up and looked around.

The waterfall pool was practically a lake. It was so vast it occupied about half the space of the large cavern, and the area directly beneath the waterfall was a deep blue-gray, as if indicating its immense depth. The roar of the waterfall was outrageous; it almost shattered my eardrums. About a hundred meters south of the waterfall's rim, there was another waterfall. If I had fallen into the great waterfall leading to the 26th level, I would truly be dead this time.

Turning away from the waterfall pool… no, it's a lake, a fantastical landscape unfolds before you. The crystal shores, crystal valleys, and crystal cliffs look almost like rocky terrain. Everything is shaped like blue crystal. The only plant is the azzurra, with its falling blue and white petals. Seeing this labyrinthine flowering tree, which I had only admired once in the amusement park, I momentarily lost track of time.

"...This isn't the time to be dumbfounded. I need to rejoin everyone."

I switched my consciousness and checked my equipment. The Goddess's Blade and White Illusion, which I had sheathed in the heat of the moment, were both intact. My items, except for antidotes, were completely depleted. My rabbit armor only had minor scratches, and my remaining mental energy was plentiful.

We are currently in the eastern part of the Great Hollow. If we walk southeast along the shore, we will reach the passageway leading to the 26th level; conversely, to the northeast, there is a cave leading to the labyrinth inside the cliff.

The "enhanced species" disappeared down the tributary.

It has concluded that I have perished at the bottom of the "Giant Waterfall" and will surely hunt Lily and the others again. We must act quickly.

(Everyone is wondering if this is okay...)

On the shallow water where I now stand, there are clusters of crystals resembling rock reefs. Some spots can be seen far overhead; they must be "Happy" and "Siren." They don't seem to have noticed me yet. To avoid unnecessary fighting, I turn and head towards the cave to the northeast, far away on the shore where the blue cherry blossoms grow.

at this time……

"────"

Whoosh! A gust of wind cut through the air.

My ability to act was thanks to my cultivated adventurer's instincts. I reflexively shifted my body to the side.

The next instant, something slashed my shoulder from behind, and my body fell into the shallows.

"Varied……!?"

Water splashed onto my face, and blood from my shoulder stained the turquoise surface of the water.

I raised my face and looked up in the direction of the "Giant Waterfall" standing behind me.

Amidst the spraying water and fine foam, several scarlet diagonal lines streaked across the sky.

"Oh no... it's 'Flash Swallow'...!"

I called out the name of the monster with great anxiety.

These Crimson Swallow monsters appear in the "Water Maze" from the 25th to the 27th floors. They nest on the cliff surface inside the "Giant Waterfall" and are described by adventurers as "invisible monsters".

The name comes from its astonishing speed.

Anyone who dares to approach the falls will be attacked from the air at a speed that surpasses the grandeur of the waterfall. The scene is like a fired bullet.

They were even given the nickname "Flash," and were the most feared in this realm—the fastest monsters in the lower levels!

“──!!”

「!?」

They didn't even give me time to curse myself for carelessly standing near the waterfall pool before another crimson flash flew by.

Even with my enhanced dynamic vision, I couldn't see through its movements completely. This time, my cheek was slashed, and the excessively strong wind pressure made me lose my balance.

Then came the second shot.

The scarlet spot was now closing in on the center of my body. My eyes widened, and in a moment of panic, I raised an arm.

I used the gauntlets of my armor—made from an ultra-hard metal (Dirgen Steel)—to defend myself against the crimson magic bullet.

“Ugh!?”

In an instant, a startlingly heavy sound erupted.

I couldn't withstand the impact, which felt like being hit by a sledgehammer, and I awkwardly fell onto the shallows.

Upon looking at the gauntlet that had blocked the attack... I saw a mangled, unrecognizable swallow carcass stuck to it. Damp, scarlet feathers drifted down, and the "magic stone" was exposed amidst pale pink raw flesh. My eyes met those bulging, bloody eyeballs, and my face froze in horror.

This is what happens when "Flash Swallow" fails to attack.

The moment you crash into a hard object like a shield or obstacle, you will be harmed by its speed and crushed to death.

Just as I was shuddering at the sight of such a fragile and horrifying death—whoosh! whoosh!

The terrifying melody that cut through the wind came in layers upon layers.

"...How could this be...?"

Looking up, a scene of utter despair unfolded before my eyes.

The number of scarlet diagonal lines is unbelievable.

Counting them one or two at a time is impossible. There are more than twenty visible tracks at the same time. They are none other than countless "flash swallows" flying around.

An "abnormal situation" in the dungeon, a surge in monsters? It's none other than the iguazú (a type of flying swallow)?

My spine froze. The moment a diagonal line flashed by, my eyes widened, and I froze on the spot as if I had been electrocuted.

“Wu!?”

“──!!”

Flash Swallow launched a powerful attack.

Those were dozens of assault grenades. They came swooping down from the sky in a diagonal line, passing right past where I was half a step before, grazing my arms and feet, and then causing the water to erupt like tiny geysers.

No, I can only see diagonal lines no matter how I look at it!

I rushed across the shallows and plunged with all my might into the shadows of the crystal clusters standing on the water's surface.

"~ ...

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud! The sound of crystal shattering then occurred in a chain reaction.

The crystal cluster behind me vibrated, and crystal shards flew out like a giant wave, almost making my eyes pop out.

Unbelievable—the rock-thick crystal cluster was being whittled smaller and smaller!

Several scarlet swallows crashed to their deaths, yet they still tried to make the obstacles where their prey was hiding disappear. Even their threatening cries were drowned out by the whistling wind as they charged, while simultaneously unleashing a hail of rapid-fire bullets.

The crystal cluster was approaching collapse every moment, and the sound of its heartbeat was rapid and low.

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.

This was a fatal blow, risking one's life; of course it was powerful. No wonder high-level adventurers all said, "If you encounter Flash Swallow, drop your belongings and run." The power to create a hole in the body was also perfectly reasonable. The enemy, sacrificing his fragile life to eliminate the intruder, was a hunter at heart.

Following the naval battle, I was once again baptized by the "lower class".

The dungeon is truly merciless to adventurers who take a wrong step.

(What to do, what to do, what to do?)

The distance from the crystal cluster on the shallows to the cave inside the cliff is too far. It's certain I'd be riddled with bullets halfway there. Even if I managed to escape into the waterfall pool and hide in the water, I'd only be devoured by the aquatic monsters. Leaving this place is impossible. The only way to deal with the Flash Swallow is to withstand it with large, sturdy armor. I have no shield and no heavy equipment; I'm practically naked. There's no way I can survive its onslaught. There's no solution.

—No, I can't accept that.

I can't die here. May my doomed fate lead me to eat shit. Oh no, I'm swearing. No, who cares? As long as I can overcome this crisis, anything is fine.

My lost companions (Lily and the others) are waiting for me. The promise I made with the heretics (Winnie and the others) to rescue them awaits my fulfillment.

I have formidable rivals I want to beat, and admirers I want to catch up with.

I haven't finished anything yet!

The next instant, the crystal cluster made a sound, and the last crystal pillar was finally destroyed.

"!"

I immediately lunged towards the water to avoid the attack of the flashing swallow.

Sprays of water flew into the air, and I rolled around on the shallows before quickly standing up.

The swallows, now half-defeated, once again darted through the air, their calls echoing as they regrouped. I stared intently at the countless crimson diagonal lines... and prepared myself for the worst.

I reached my right hand to my waist and pulled out a dagger.

I gripped the dagger in reverse and raised it, then lowered my waist slightly to confront the horde of monsters.

—I will wipe them all out.

With my escape and defense both blocked, I decided to confront them head-on.

If any veteran adventurer were present, they might faint upon hearing this choice.

I'm not out of my mind, nor am I giving up on myself.

I just feel:

If it were her—[Sword Princess] Ais Wallenstein.

She might choose this method.

Since that's the case... I'm going to overcome this hurdle.

"Let's settle this once and for all."

The chosen weapon is [White Illusion].

I will use the Unicorn Dagger, a short sword of unparalleled lightness and ease of use, to fight against those monsters that chase the wind and lightning.

No other weapons are needed. Just this one, and all your consciousness is focused on your right hand.

Seeing it coming before acting is too late; you have to rely on your intuition. Feel the wind direction, sense the killing intent. Predict the trajectory.

"..."

The waterfall's flow creates white, shimmering spray, its sound mingled with the sharp, cutting wind.

Before long, the colors disappeared from my sight, and the world gradually became quiet. Even the sound of my heartbeat, or the ripples on the water beneath my feet, were quiet. I concentrated my mind to the extreme, trying to transport myself to a certain realm.

I took a small breath in and then exhaled.

Immediately afterwards.