Chapter 31 - The rescue arrives

At this moment, the gods and goddesses seemed to feel something in their hearts, all looking in the direction of the dungeon simultaneously. 

"Eh?" 

Above the Tower of Babel, the goddess of beauty, Freya, was the first to react. She narrowed her eyes and looked anxiously toward the dungeon. 

Risking punishment, she activated her divine power and peered into the dungeon. Her heart was pounding. 

The last time she felt this way was thousands of years ago, during the era when "heroes" emerged in large numbers. 

"Ah... a hero?" 

Has a new hero been born? 

Freya was filled with anticipation and could hardly wait to discover what was happening. 

Soon, her eyes opened wide, and she froze in place... 

"That's right!" 

She saw the red flames burning on the 17th floor! 

That's the color that rises from the soul! 

"Ahhh...!" 

The bright light of the soul shone in her eyes, her mouth slightly open, and her beautiful face flushed. 

Freya made an ugly expression, resembling that of a harlot. She was overcome with joy, and her heart felt like that of a girl in love, or like a deer that had wandered deep into the forest—nervous and expectant. 

The person before her had bet everything, and his soul was as hot and bright as a flame. 

There was no doubt about it! 

In this age, a new hero was born! 

Yet, just as she wished to look further, the dungeon seemed to be enshrouded by a dark curtain. Even if she activated her divine power again and tried to continue, she could no longer see any traces. 

"Eh?" 

Freya wondered aloud. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation. 

Intentionally, the system helped Link again and isolated him from detection. 

... 

..

.

In her residence, Hestia also sensed something strange. 

She paced back and forth restlessly, her eyelids twitching uneasily all the while, and her sixth sense, as a goddess, continually told her that something important was about to go amiss. 

"Did something happen to Link in the dungeon?" 

She anxiously sought out her friend Hephaestus to share her suspicions. 

However, as soon as she entered Hephaestus' office, a member of the Hephaestus Family rushed over and exclaimed, "Goddess Hephaestus, something has happened! An adventurer witnessed it. The Hestia Familia members we're working with encountered an 'abnormal situation!' " 

As she suspected, something had occurred! 

Hestia's eyes widened, and she anxiously grasped the familiar's shoulders. 

"Speak clearly! What happened!?" 

"At first, some adventurers discovered that an adventurer and an elf mage wielding a blood-red spear encountered an unprecedented [Monster Party] on the 15th floor. Later, they faced Goliath on the 17th floor. According to the news, they should have broken through the vertical cave and sought refuge on the 18th floor, but they encountered an unusual situation. The main Goliath on the 17th floor was reborn a day earlier, and the newly-born Goliath was an enhanced species. The level was definitely above LV.4!"

The adventurer and the elf mage were undoubtedly Link and Olga. Hestia and Hephaestus exchanged glances, both recognizing the gravity in each other's eyes. 

"Hephaestus..." 

"I understand. Regardless of the situation, we can't just leave such capable companions alone. We'll notify you immediately. All the adventurers in the family with a level of LV.2 or higher will form a team under Tsubaki's leadership to enter the dungeon for search and rescue. We must bring Link and Olga back from the Hestia Family!"

"Yes!" 

"Hestia, don't remain idle. Use the funds to go to the guild and issue commissions. The more people you have, the greater your strength!" 

"Okay! Thank you, Hephaestus!" 

"If you wish to thank me, let's wait until Link and the others return!" 

...

At this moment, in the underground city, Goliath roared in agony and despair. The bright, searing energy carried by the arrow scorched the hair on his body the instant it was released from the bowstring. The next moment, the surging energy blew his massive body apart! He attempted to block this powerful strike with his arms, but in the following second, the burning energy from the arrow pierced through them. All defenses proved futile against this devastating blow achieved at the cost of life.

"Bang!" 

Goliath struck the wall fiercely, and the terrifying meteorite blow penetrated his chest and abdomen, tearing the flesh and blood on his body to shreds. The force of the arrows did not diminish at all. After piercing Goliath, they shot through several walls of the underground city like bullets fired into a body, and then the remaining power gradually dissipated. After unleashing this strike, Link collapsed to the ground, his body broken.

The God Hands silently activated at that moment. The horrific wounds on his body healed within seconds, and soon, Link, who lay on the ground, began to twitch. 

"Cough... cough, cough..." 

Although the injuries had healed, the physical pain still lingered.

Link coughed twice, lay down on the ground, and took a deep breath. Then, he propped himself up and stood up from the ground. 

Fortunately, there is God Hand. 

Link walked tremblingly towards Olga, collapsed beside her, and hugged her. 

He took out two tubes of medicine and fed them to her. 

Seeing Olga's wounds gradually recovering and then looking at Goliath, who had dissipated and turned to ashes, Link relaxed. 

As soon as he relaxed mentally, the fatigue that had accumulated over a long period suddenly surged forth like a flood. 

Link's vision darkened, and he fell asleep. 

... 

Under Tsubaki's leadership, a group of adventurers belonging to the Hephaestus Familia and some who had been assigned tasks by the guild arrived on the 17th floor. 

Armed with weapons, they were ready to defeat this enhanced Goliath. 

However, when they arrived, the entire cave was extremely quiet, and Goliath was nowhere to be seen. 

"Look! That's..." 

An adventurer pointed into the distance. 

Tsubaki raised her eyes and looked over there; a huge magic stone was silently falling, and the wall behind the magic stone seemed to have been subjected to extremely terrifying attacks, having been penetrated one after another. 

"That should be Goliath's magic stone..." 

"Look, something's fallen! It really is Goliath!" 

Several experienced adventurers quickly deduced that the missing Goliath had been killed here. 

"Look over there!" 

Another adventurer shouted. 

"It's Link and Olga!" 

"Are you sure?" 

"It's Link and Olga from the commission!" 

Tsubaki immediately ran over. In the corner on the other side of the cave, Link was slumped over, holding Olga, his clothes in tatters. 

"Quick! Healer!" 

The two accompanying magicians who could cast healing magic immediately used their skills, but soon, the two magicians displayed expressions of surprise. 

"He… he wasn't hurt! He's just a little weak!" 

"What?" 

"The lone king of the labyrinth, Goliath, who defeated LV.4, still wasn't hurt?" 

"I'm not dreaming, am I?" 

Despite the shock of the others, Tsubaki stepped forward and inspected it herself. 

Indeed, although Link's clothes were tattered, no injuries were found. In contrast, Olga beside him was slightly injured but had almost completely recovered after being healed by potions and magic. 

They were both still in a comatose state, likely due to exhaustion from the previous battle. 

"Okay, it's a good thing they're not dead. Let's get them back. Guys, pack up Goliath's magic stones and dropped items and give them to Link when he wakes up." 

"Yeah!"