Chapter 13

P/N let me know if there's any mistakes and I will try to fix them

BEYOND A THOUSAND DARKNESSES

It was the same as before.

That day, too, everything began with a powerful explosion.

That fateful day that proclaimed the beginning of calamity.

Endless shaking. The sound of rubble falling in the distance.

Lyu sat up with those sounds still ringing in her ears.

"Huh…?!"

The room was in shambles. Huge holes had been gouged from the

walls, and the floor was pocked with craters. Claw marks

crosshatched the walls, stubbing out the phosphorescence and

plunging the labyrinth into a darkness deep as night.

"Hey, is everyone okay?!"

"That was close!"

"So it was a trap after all…although I've gotta laugh at a plan as crude

as burying us alive with bombs…!"

The voices of Alize, Lyra, Kaguya, and the other members of Astrea

Familia echoed around Lyu. As they climbed over the rubble to stand

up, the girls saw that a few of their party had been injured, but it was

nothing fatal.

That day, they had descended to the deep levels in pursuit of their

longstanding enemy, Rudra Familia, and had been lured into a trap.

Indiscriminate explosions across a large area, set off by masses of

Inferno Stones, had nearly penned them in.

But thanks to the prum Lyra, who had sniffed out the trap and

warned everyone, they had escaped disaster by a hairbreadth.

"Why are you still alive, Astrea Familia bitches?! How many Inferno

Stones do you think we wasted on you?!"

On the far side of the swirling sparks and smoke, Jura Harma was

shrieking.

The tamer was still young then, with both ears and both arms intact,

and filled with hatred at the sight of his reviled enemies. But terror,

too, seeped in at the edges of his rage.

Making allowances for unexpected events, they had scattered more

than one hundred explosives in the Dungeon. Judging from the scale

of the detonation, this was Rudra Familia's final trap.

Jura and the rest of his familia were clearly cowed by the fact that

even this had not managed to wipe out the clan of justice.

"Thank you very much, Jura. But this will be the last of your evil

schemes."

"…?!"

"We will put an end to it. To the Evils and to this evil era."

Alize's eloquent words rang out as if she were arraigning the men in

court. Lyu and the other members of Astrea Familia stood behind

her, piercing Jura and his cronies with their eyes as they shrunk

away.

Astrea Familia was about to bring the hammer of justice down onto

the cornered Rudra Familia—when it happened.

The Dungeon cried.

" "

This was not the cracking sound of a monster being spawned, nor the

shaking that foretold the coming of an Irregular.

It was a piercing, inorganic sound, like a blade being run over a

taught silver string.

The instincts of every adventurer present flashed red at this

unmistakable lament of the Dungeon.

Lyu was not the only one immobilized by this unfamiliar situation.

The other members of Astrea and Rudra familias froze, too. And then

it came.

A loud crack.

A deep, wide, long fissure ran down one of the massive crumbling

walls.

A strange purple liquid gushed from the vertical rift.

The opening breathed out scalding steam and something writhed

out, as if it was crawling free of a womb.

Lyu's eyes met the piercing crimson eyes nestled inside the fissure.

The next moment, a fierce slash cut through the air, and Astrea

Familia was split asunder.

"

—Huh?"

Before anyone had realized, not even the adventurer herself, a life

ended.

The purple claws of destruction flashed mercilessly, and a girl's body

was cut in three.

Someone whispered something. The sound of fresh flesh tearing

apart.

As if suddenly remembering what they needed to do, the head and

torso dancing through the air began to spew blood, then tumbled to

the ground where the girl's lower half had collapsed.

The curtain had risen on their tragedy.

"No-Noin?! –Uuuooo?"

Number two.

No sooner had Neze called the dead girl's name than her beast-

person torso sprang into the air. This, too, was the work of the

glittering purplish-blue claws of destruction.

Number three.

The dwarf Asta thrust forward her shield, only to be crushed by the

enormous form that leaped into the air and pounced on her.

The three deaths all took place within the span of a mere handful of

seconds.

"

"

—

Splash!

Warm fluid sprayed Lyu's cheek and long, pointy ear.

The noble blood that should have been flowing through her friend's

body now clung to Lyu instead.

It took a moment for her to accept that this was really happening—a

moment to realize that her companions would not be coming back.

Lyu's face went white, then as red as her friend's blood with anger.

"

—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Wild with rage at the death of her companions, Lyu flew toward the

monster.

"Leon, no!"

Alize's words could not hold her back as she brandished her sword in

a frenzy.

Ominous claws wet with the blood of her friend, crimson eyes

glittering in the dark, and a huge, bony body that looked like a

dinosaur fossil encased in armor.

This was the embodiment of calamity called the Juggernaut Lyu roared a thoughtless roar and swung her wooden sword at this

apostle of murder sent to massacre foreign bodies in the Dungeon.

"?!"

Her ferocious attack cut through nothing but air.

The monster's reverse joints creaked as it leaped upward, crushing

the ground beneath its feet, and disappeared. It had landed on the

ceiling several dozen meders above Lyu's head. That was only the

first in a series of leaps so incredibly fast Lyu did not even have time

to be shocked.

Every adventurer in the room stood rooted to the ground as it

ricocheted off walls and ceilings like an unending streak of lightning.

Lyu stared in a daze at this impossible display of speed by a large-

category monster.

Having thoroughly disoriented its prey, the monster then landed

behind Lyu.

"!!"

As terror replaced fury, Lyu realized from seeing how her friends died

that she had to avoid those claws at all costs. She swiftly dodged the

harbingers of destruction, only to find the monster threatening her

with an even more incredible attack.

"Aaah!"

Like a third arm, the monster's tail bore down on Lyu, who had

barely been able to avoid the previous blow.

The Juggernaut's cudgel-like appendage was plenty capable of

delivering a lethal blow. It landed directly on Lyu, sending fissures

through every bone in her body. Blood painted her lips red.

As her back crashed against a pile of rubble, Lyu saw light flash

before her eyes and then swirl into a whirlpool that crushed her will

to go on. Pulled to the ground so hard that she nearly collapsed, she saw the monster approach causally and then mercilessly begin to

swing its claws down toward her.

"

—Idiot!"

It was Kaguya who saved her.

The price was an arm.

As her friend's right arm flew through the air, raining blood onto

Lyu's stunned face, the claws of destruction crashed into the ground,

sending both girls flying backward.

"Celty, attack! Together!!"

Lyu, the most bellicose member of the familia, had been knocked

down by her intended target, and Kaguya had lost an arm. But Astrea

Familia's spirit was far from broken. If anything, its remaining

members seethed with a burning desire to exact vengeance for their

murdered companions, and so they chanted and activated their

magic.

But of course, it only served as more fodder for tragedy.

"?!"

Magic reflection.

The spells that the familia's two sorcerers, Lyana and Celty, had shot

at the monster were hurled back at them by its shield—the ability to

reflect any and all magic. They horrifically burst into flame.

The Juggernaut was endowed not only with claws that could

slaughter an upper-tier adventurer in one swipe, but also with a

mobility unheard of in monsters and a shell that could repel magic.

As a full picture of this beast specialized entirely in murder

developed before the girls of Astrea Familia, despair overtook them.

" !!"

Its roar was more terrifying and ominous than that of any other

monster.

This was the cry of a beast that excelled in killing at first sight.

Its incredible mobility suffered no hand-to-hand combat, and magic

was insufficient to defeat it. This monster's potential was enough to

wipe out even a party of first-tier adventurers. The Juggernaut was

truly a symbol of death.

The five minutes it took them to evade the first round of attacks and

pull together the defensive gear they needed to fend off the claws of

destruction seemed endless.

Not one of them had what it would take to defeat this nightmare.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Don't eat meeeeeee!!"

Slaughter, abuse, predation.

Those who revealed cracks in their will to fight were the first to be

cruelly massacred.

"Iska, Maryu?!"

Alize's voice rang out. It was pregnant with tears she had never

shown before.

And what about Lyu?

She stood beside the groaning Kaguya and witnessed every second of

her friends' deaths.

"Ah, aaah…"

The fashionable Amazon was shredded to pieces.

The sisterly human who was such a good cook was devoured from

the head down.

Those noble, kind girls were slaughtered so cruelly.

As Lyu watched, she felt something shatter within her.

Their miserable dying screams, the cruel corpses of these friends

with whom she had shared so many joys and sorrows, this symbol of

calamity that killed everyone—all of it broke her heart.

And when the heart of an upright, proud elf is broken, it becomes

fragile. At the very least, more so than other races. Lyu certainly fit

that mold. It was one of the reasons Kaguya had called her "weak."

More than anything, Astrea Familia was what gave her strength.

These had been her first non-elf friends, and they were everything to

her.

"Aaaaaaah…!"

As her companions in battle collapsed, or exploded leaving only their

weapons behind, or were eaten alive as they screamed, Lyu's heart

was deeply and utterly scarred.

For the first time she felt helpless.

For the first time she felt overwhelming loss.

Despair crushed her proud elven sense of self-worth.

For the first time, she felt afraid.

This elf who had never once given in, no matter how brutal or evil

her opponent, now knew terror because of a single monster.

At that moment, a deep wound was carved in her heart.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Finally, the damage spread to Rudra Familia.

Jura's cronies turned to lumps of flesh, and in a span too short to

allow comprehension, countless members of his familia succumbed

to the claws and tail.

Having turned the tip of its spear toward this large familia, the

monster proceeded to mechanically wipe them out as if it was loath

to let a single survivor escape.

"…Kaguya, are you okay?"

"If I look okay to you, Captain, you must be blind."

Four members of Astrea Familia remained. They were wounded from

head to toe. Alize had suffered attacks along with their murdered

companions, but all she could do was go on living. Kaguya, of course,

had lost her arm. She had used her teeth to rip up her battle clothes

and bind the wound, but her face was horribly slick with sweat.

The prum Lyra was there, too.

"…I'm sorry, Alize and Kaguya. It got my eyes…"

"Lyra…"

"I can't see anything…"

Hit by the magic that had been reflected off the monster's hard shell,

both eyes were shut tight behind her bangs. There was no hope of

recovery. Both her eyeballs and the skin around her eyes had melted.

Both of her hands were shaking, perhaps because of the terrible pain

from having her nerve endings burned away.

"What the hell is that thing…? Shit, I guess my bad luck ends here…"

The prum's curses rang out in the darkness.

Lyu, who lay facedown on the ground, groggily registered their

conversation. Coughs convulsed her. She spat up blood, then shakily

looked up.

"

"

—

Their eyes met.

As the three girls stood before her, one pair of green eyes had

glanced swiftly her way. Although she wished otherwise, her gaze

met the transient yet beautiful gaze of Alize, so full of decision.

"I'm sorry—Kaguya, Lyra. Please give me your lives."

Alize returned her gaze to the other two girls.

Lyu's own eyes stretched wide.

"I want to save Leon."

It was impossible to describe her despair at that moment.

An emotion far greater than what she felt toward the calamitous

monster writhed within her, stopping her breath.

"…From the start, this has been a battle in which we must choose

who will survive. We three are already like broken dolls ready to die

here."

Ignoring the frozen Lyu, Kaguya confirmed what Alize had said.

"You guys know me. I put my own life first. But I'm the weakest of us

all. I'll probably die first anyway…so I may as well go along with your

plan."

Lyra smiled resolutely. After all, she wasn't one to make a losing bet.

"But Captain…you must live. As long as you and Lady Astrea remain,

justice will live on."

"No, Kaguya. It's like I said before. There are as many kinds of justice

as there are people in the world. There is no correct definition of

justice."

Alize smiled.

"But I know Leon will make the right choices."

No!!

Lyu's consciousness was crying out.

From outside this memory, the Lyu of the present day who crouched

in the darkness contradicted Alize's words.

You're wrong, Alize!

Lyu will be consumed by the flames of vengeance! She will lose her

hold on justice!

You're the one who should live!!

Her face contorted, she pointed at herself from that tragic day who

lay wretched and immobilized on the ground. But Alize did not hear

her desperate shouts. She kneeled beside the Lyu of memory.

"Leon…can you hear me? We need your magic to bring that monster

down."

Her final gaze was pure kindness.

"I need you to stay here and chant."

Her final whispered words were pure cruelty.

"We're going to pull off its shell."

Because Lyu couldn't fight anymore. Because an elf with a broken

heart would hold them back.

Most of all, because she was Alize Lovell.

To save her friend's life instead of her own, this noble girl pushed Lyu

away.

"Please…promise me, Leon."

Those words were a curse.

They were an oath that pinned Lyu to the ground and stole from her

the chance to rise.

They were a pledge forcing Lyu to live.

They were a plea not to waste their sacrifice.

Lyu trembled, unable even to cry.

"Leon, are you there? You…will live!"

Wait.

"I'll give you my shortsword. Don't tuck it away like a keepsake—use

the hell out of it. Be strong, my first worthy rival."

Don't go.

"Bye, Leon."

Please.

The girls smiled brightly, like offering flowers in parting.

The tears of the Lyu of then and the Lyu of now mingled.

" !!"

Having finished with Rudra Familia, the Juggernaut announced the

resumption of the battle. Alize, Kaguya, and Lyra ran toward it

without a backward glance.

"…Distant forest sky…"

Lyu began to sing in a trembling voice.

She sang toward their receding figures, in terror and despair.

Lyra was the first to give up her life.

Blinded and unable to move well, she fell at one stroke of the

Juggernaut's claws.

"Infinite stars inlaid upon the eternal night sky."

Just before she died, Lyra activated the explosive she held behind her

back. It was one of the finest bombs the nimble-fingered girl had

made.

It took the Juggernaut's right arm.

"Heed this foolish one's voice, and once more grant the starfire's

divine protection."

As the monster howled, Kaguya pounced with her longsword.

Taking advantage of the momentary window Lyra had created, she

drove her weapon into its chest at high speed.

Roaring in fury, the Juggernaut swung its claws horizontally through

Kaguya's body, sending her flying through the air in pieces.

"Grant the light of compassion to the one who forsook you."

All Lyu could do was sing.

Unable to collect the pieces of her shattered heart, unable to stand,

still whimpering, she let the image of her friends being torn apart

sear itself into her eyes.

One man was watching her.

Jura had been lucky enough to escape the slaughter of his familia. He

smiled mockingly as the elf he hated cried and sang and left her

companions to their fate. On his face was a terrified, dark smile.

"Come, wandering wind, fellow traveler."

Alize was last.

"Agris Arvensis!"

As she spoke the name of her magic, flames rose from her body.

Alize Lovell.

She had an unusual skill that gave her strength equal to that of a

first-tier adventurer even though she was second-tier. The deities

had given her the name Scarlett Harnell because she could use a

powerful fire enchantment that sheathed her arms, legs, and sword

in an armor of flames.

This time the flames had converged in her boots, and they shattered

the ground as the scarlet sword princess dashed forward with

ferocious speed.

"Cross the skies and sprint through the wilderness, swifter than

anything."

Kaguya had paid with her life to destroy their enemy's knee and its

reverse joint, robbing it of rapid movement. As the Juggernaut

floundered in confusion, Alize drew near to her opponent for the last

time in her life.

"Imbue the light of stardust and strike down my enemy."

The Juggernaut responded with a savage swipe.

What Lyu saw was the back of her dear friend impaled by claws.

For an instant, time froze.

While Lyu was plunged into despair, Alize was burning up her life.

"!!"

She had purposely enticed the monster to pierce her so as to

immobilize its hand.

With a roar, she countered by plunging her sword into its body.

"Arvellia!!"

This was the spell key for her enchantment.

The flower of flame burned as red as her hair.

She sent it not onto the surface of the monster's shell but rather

underneath it, so that the river of flames cracked the armor-like

covering from the inside out, causing it to explode in a rain of shards.

Mixed in with the thundering scream of the Juggernaut was a cry of

her own.

Although she did not turn—could not, because she was run

through—she spoke the name in a voice that nearly disappeared in

the inferno of flame.

"

—Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Tears streaming down her face, her throat trembling, Lyu released

her magic.

"Luminous Wind!"

There was a flood of light, a storm of huge glowing orbs.

The light illuminated Jura's face and glinted off Lyu's tears.

The shining wind swallowed up the astonished Juggernaut along with

the girl pinned to his hand.

Waves of violent detonations shook the room.

The instant the light swallowed everything, Lyu saw it.

The monster was fleeing.

Having lost its shell and thus the ability to defend itself, the

Juggernaut chose retreat in the face of the massive magical assault.

Its remaining reverse joint creaking, the monster accelerated. Even

as one orb of light after the next hit home, shattering various parts of

its body, the monster fled the room with howls of pain and

resentment.

After the thundering and shaking had subsided, Lyu looked around,

her breath ragged. All that remained where the monster had stood a

moment before was the heavily damaged floor.

"Aa, aa…aaaaah…"

Lyu felt neither amazement nor relief at having driven off the

monster.

The corpses of her friends and the members of the evil familia lay

strewn around her.

Alize was not there. Lyu had blotted her out.

Lyu had taken this friend who burned brightly until the final moment

of her life and banished her beyond the light. She had buried her in

light.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…!

"

Wails spilled from her as if they were tearing her apart.

A hundred emotions blended in perfect harmony, branding Lyu as a

worthless thing.

The howls did not even allow Lyu to feel regret or repentance.

They were synonymous with the shattering of her belief in justice.

By then, Jura was already gone. This did not bother her. She was

tossing on the sea of her emotions.

The corpses of Lyra and Kaguya sprawled so mercilessly on the

ground would not permit her to die a pointless death.

Dragging her battered body, unable even to collect the remains of

her companions, tears streaming from her sky-blue eyes, Lyu fled

that place of tragedy.

That was the full story.

Lyu had sacrificed her friends so that she could live. She had sent

Alize beyond the light to her death.

This was the true essence of the darkness that still dwelled deep in

her heart.

After the incident, Lyu was constantly tormented by loss and guilt.

She did not return to Astrea, but rather tended her wounds on the

surface and then returned to the Dungeon as swiftly as possible.

The bodies of her friends no longer remained in the room where the

tragedy had unfolded. Instead she found signs that they had been

devoured by monsters. Their blood-soaked weapons sticking into the

ground told her everything. Again, Lyu howled and cried.

Trembling like a baby, fighting desperately against the trauma that

had been carved deep into her, she searched for the monster. She

wanted to kill the beast that had murdered her friends, but in truth it

was also a suicidal act. She had to bring an end to things—both to

claim vengeance for her friends, and to pass judgment on herself.

But in the end, she was not able to fulfill her wish.

Deep in the Dungeon, she found a mountain of purplish-blue ash

that she thought must be the Juggernaut's remains, as if someone

had crushed to powder its magic stone.

Once again, she lost all hope.

Her magic had not killed the monster. Something with no connection

to her had occurred. There was nothing now on which her terror and

raging emotions and hopes could settle. Denied even the chance to

find resolution, Lyu gripped her head in both hands and collapsed to

the ground. She was a broken elf, her spirit and body alike split by a

thousand cracks.

Afterward, Lyu brought back the mementos her friends had left in

the deep levels. She made a grave for them on the eighteenth floor,

a place they had loved. Her tears seemed as if they would never run

dry. Once they had joked that if they died, they would like to be

buried here in the Dungeon's paradise.

Her companions gone, her heart thrust into the depths of

disappointment and despair, she stood before the weapons she had

driven into the ground like gravestones and questioned herself.

She was the only one left alive.

What should she do?

If only she could vanish.

She wanted to welcome death and disappear from this world.

But there was little chance she would be able to end her life.

How could she throw away the life that Alize and all the others had

given her?

That would be the same as rendering their deaths meaningless.

Her mission was to live. Her most ardent wish was to die.

In the narrow space between these fiercely competing emotions, a

black flame sprang up.

"I will never forgive him!"

The world distorted like melted candy.

Her pent-up emotions congealed in the vengeance she had forgotten

until now, and a voice so dark she hardly recognized it as her own

spilled from her lips.

Jura. Rudra Familia. Absolute evil.

They had brought on disaster and led Alize and the others to their

death. They were detestable. They must not be forgiven. If only they

had never existed. Lyu's thoughts converged in this way very quickly.

Her black anger burned like hellfire.

All in the name of vengeance.

Lyu justified everything by giving herself over to anger and hatred.

They must not be allowed to live. If she let them live, they might call forth another calamity. Letting them run free made no sense.

Overlooking their crimes was not even an option. She decided that

she would use her life to destroy evil.

This was not for the sake of the city, nor for the citizens who suffered

there. This was no noble mission to protect people she had never

met.

It was for herself.

She would make them pay for the tragic deaths of her companions.

At the time, Lyu had been unable to think of any other way to use

the life they had given her. Or rather, she pretended she was unable

to think of any other way.

She carried out her last act of justice.

Of all the justices Alize had spoken of, this was perhaps the ugliest.

In truth, it probably was not justice at all.

This was the end of the elf who wailed tirelessly, her body broken

and her wings rotted away.

Black flames consumed Lyu's sword and wings of justice, burning

them till nothing remained.

After she decided to walk the path of destruction, Lyu pushed Astrea

away.

Given over completely to her raging emotions, she could no longer

see herself clearly. Unable to grasp her own heart, she did not want

to be seen through by a deity. More than that, though, she did not

want to be prevented from exacting revenge.

She did not know what Astrea thought of her when she came to her

begging desperately, scraping her forehead on the ground and

refusing to meet the deity's eyes. Perhaps she was exhausted by the endless chain of tragedy and hatred, or perhaps she was

disappointed by the children's inability to stop fighting.

Lyu could not remember the expression on Astrea's face that day.

Her own eyes had been clouded by anger, sorrow, hatred, and

resentment.

Before her goddess left, she had spoken with sadness in her voice.

"Lyu…please forget about justice."

Lyu exacted her revenge swiftly.

First she targeted people, then buildings, and finally whole facilities.

She did not give the familias that sided with her enemy time to

intervene. She struck at night, using surprise attacks and traps. She

snuffed out those associated with evil using methods unbefitting an

elf.

There was no technique she would not resort to. She struck those

who were evil along with those who were suspicious. It didn't matter

if they were shopkeepers or Guild employees. These were reprisals

carried too far, but also a judgment passed on herself.

If you were going to kill your enemies, you should have been

smarter about it.

Not long after all this happened, Chloe had said those words to her.

Lyu had no response. Instead, the depths of her heart smiled

mockingly. Of course she couldn't tell the catgirl she wanted to die

from the start.

She could not forgive Jura and his cronies for bringing on disaster.

She would not forgive herself for letting her friends die.

It was a dark and reckless time for Lyu.

She sincerely sought death.

Revenge had nearly run its course. Lyu was preparing to attack Rudra

Familia's hideout.

Many familia members still remained there. Jura, too, was there,

tormented by fear.

Lyu remembered those events only dimly. She remembered roaring

like an animal and slashing again and again at the tamer. She had

cast off coolness and followed the commands of her raging emotions

as she sliced off his arm and then his ear, her dagger flashing

countless times.

She didn't leave a single member of the familia alive. After she killed

their leader, she used her magic to burn their hideout to the ground

with all their corpses still inside.

Immediately after it ended, as the smoke was still rising from the

ruins, the deity Rudra appeared before Lyu from wherever he had

been hiding.

Even at that point in her life Lyu could not bring herself to kill a deity.

But no one remained to protect him, and after Lyu left, the Guild

decided to capture and expel him. This dropout of the mortal realm

stood before Lyu encircled by raging red flames and roared with

laughter.

And then he spoke to Lyu.

"When I saw you just now, I wanted to invite you into our familia."

The face reflected in his eyes was that of a well-worn demon of

revenge.

Lyu destroyed twenty-seven organizations, including businesses and

bands of outlaw mercenaries.

Lyu's actions led to four sacred columns piercing the heavens.

Lyu's dark impulses drew in many others along with her.

Ironically, they triggered the end of the city's dark days.

But contrary to her wishes, Lyu herself survived.

When her revenge was complete, she had finished everything she

wanted to do.

What she attained by crushing those who stole her friends and those

who sided with them was not a feeling of accomplishment, but

instead a terrible emptiness.

She could remember neither the smiles of her friends nor their

wretched faces as they met their ends.

The tears that had overflowed from her eyes and the wails that had

erupted from her throat vanished.

She made her way to a back alley where no one ever set foot. Empty

and drained of all energy, Lyu waited for death.

Are you okay?

After that, it was as she told Bell.

Lyu was taken from the rainy back alley by Syr, saved against her will.

She pulled her back onto the path of the living.

Thank you for fighting for us.

When Syr said those words to her, she felt as if she'd been forgiven.

At the same time, she felt she had to live—to live for Alize and her

other companions. All this was thanks to Syr and The Benevolent

Mistress.

But she was not able to wipe the old feelings from the depths of her

heart.

The thirst to be sentenced for her sins continued to smolder.

She did not confess her crimes to Syr or the others.

The pain and loss from losing her irreplaceable friends could never

heal.

Even if the wounds had closed, they would suddenly begin to throb

when she least expected it, invoking a terrible loneliness.

The blame that never disappeared hounded her heart for having

chosen the path of life.

It always had, and it still did.

Lyu stepped out of the forest of reminiscence and stood perfectly

still in the darkness.

Suddenly, there was a blinding light, and she turned toward it.

It was the same scene she had witnessed many times before.

Beyond the white light, her friends were standing with their backs to

her. Among them was the girl with the red hair.

They were on the far shore of the light, where Lyu had driven them.

The far shore, where the dead are.

She could call them till she went hoarse and yearn for them from the

bottom of her heart, but they would never look back toward her.

As if to say, This is your punishment.

Only when she reached their sides and was welcomed into their fold

would she truly be forgiven.

Lyu believed that, and she was sad that once again she had failed to

reach them. As that sadness washed over her, the white light blotted

out the world and swallowed her up.

Consciousness returned.

But Lyu did not know if she was in reality or in a continuation of her

dream.

She was aware only of a darkness like a swamp. Her other senses

were not working properly. Her ability to interpret her surroundings

stolen by vestiges of the past, her eyelids fluttered. She opened her

eyes—and saw a pair of bloodshot eyes right in front of her own.

"!"

Astonishment brought her instantly back to her senses. The owner of

the eyes was writhing in the darkness.

She heard a scraping sound coming from all around her.

It took a moment for her to realize that someone was digging her out

of a pile of rubble.

And another to recognize that the bloodshot eyes were the color of

rubellite.

Eventually, a cool draft blew over her wound-covered skin, and a pair

of bloody hands grabbed her. Without allowing her a word in the

matter, the hands pulled her body onto a thin back.

"...Cra…nell…?"

"…Yes."

The voice of the boy who had returned for her was so faint and

mixed with exhaled breath that it almost disappeared.

Suddenly everything came back to Lyu in a rush, and she looked

around at her surroundings with wide eyes.

The straight path ahead had become a mountain of dirt and rubble.

The path was completely blocked off behind them, leaving only the

option of moving forward.

She looked up and saw that the bedrock was repairing itself. The

holes were nearly closed already. For a brief moment, she saw the

vast darkness that veiled the ceiling and unfurled through the

Colosseum.

Did the floor of the Colosseum collapse…and I fell through with

Mr. Cranell?

As if to confirm her guess, the body parts of dead monsters were

sticking up here and there from the mountain of rubble. There was a

lizardman crushed by rock, a loup-garou with a broken neck, and a

dismembered spartoi. They must have been swept up in the

collapsing floor. Corpses lay everywhere.

Like the Water Capital, the thirty-seventh floor had a multilayered

structure.

The power of Bell's fully charged bomb had caused the floor to fall,

plunging Lyu, Bell, and the monsters into a passageway that

apparently existed directly below.

There was a passage like this beneath the Colosseum…? Anyway, I

need to focus on other things right now…

Lyu returned her eyes with a start to the boy who was still carrying

her on his back.

Bell was on the verge of death.

His breathing was so ragged it was peculiar he was still able to move.

His irregular gasps made Lyu want to cover her ears. He sounded like

a broken instrument or a dying animal. Little red bubbles foamed

from the edges of his mouth, and then, as if remembering to do

something, he spit up a red glob.

His body was riddled with holes.

Droplets of his life were draining away at this very moment. Warm

red liquid dampened Lyu's chest as it pressed against his back.

He must have shielded her as the massive charge reverberated and

their footing caved in. His entire body was stained with blood, and

the protective gear he had gotten from the dead adventurers was

deformed beyond recognition.

Most of the nails on the fingers gripping Lyu were either cracked or

missing.

"You idiot…you idiot!!"

Lyu screamed at him as he carried her swaying on his back.

"Mr. Cranell, why did you save me?! Why didn't you desert me?!"

She was so angry at him for coming back to the Colosseum. The hair

right in front of her nose—that hair white as virgin snow that she had

so loved to gaze at from afar—was now a dirty bloodred. As she

looked at it, she felt her eyes brim with illogical tears.

"Answer me!"

"…Ms. Lyu, I mean…"

Lyu's eyes were squeezed shut as she barked at him. He barely

managed to squeeze out a few words in response between his

shallow breaths.

"Ms. Lyu…you would…surely do the same."

Lyu was at a loss for words. Her lips trembled at the certainty in the

boy's voice, the conviction that she would take the same risk in his

place.

"…No I wouldn't. I wouldn't…save you!"

"…Liar."

Bell rejected the words that she spit out with such sorrow and pain.

She could tell from his voice that his lips were curled slightly. In a

smile.

Lyu hated lies. Lyu was an elf who would not stand for lies.

Bell was smiling because this lie-hating elf had lied for his sake.

Lyu's face distorted like a baby about to wail.

"Enough! Put me down at once…!"

"…I don't want to."

Bell flatly refused.

"I won't let you die…"

"You will die yourself!"

She replied to his whisper with a shriek.

She willed herself to break free of his hold.

But she could not make herself do it.

That was because she knew who he was struggling so long and hard

for—the same person Alize and the others had fought to save.

There was no strength in the two legs that walked forward.

He stumbled many times, until Lyu was not even sure he was still

conscious.

Nevertheless, Bell continued to walk forward with Lyu on his back as

if he was possessed.

Bell was struggling for Lyu. He was burning up his life for her.

"Please stop…!"

Stop.

Stop!

Why do you have to save me like Alize and the others did?

I'm not worth it!

I wasn't able to save anyone!

"…Mr. Cranell."

Lacking the strength to scream anymore, Lyu laid her face limply

against Bell's neck. She was like a living corpse that had lost hope

and everything else.

"I…let my friends die before my eyes…"

"…!"

"It's like Jura said…to save my precious self, I…killed my friend Alize

with these two hands…"

Lyu whispered her confession into Bell's ear.

She was finally revealing to him what he had asked her about before.

She did it so he would abandon her.

For the first time, Bell's shivering body showed signs that he was

upset.

"I'm not the pure elf you think I am…I'm a criminal, soiled beyond

belief…"

She laid bare her true feelings. These were the dregs at the bottom

of her soul. This was the mark of failure branded into her heart.

"The elf you are trying to rescue…is not worth saving…"

That was the true content of Lyu's heart.

If she closed her eyes, she could see it.

Her friends' dying moments. Her miserable self. Alize, killed by these

very hands. The endless sorrow and despair she had seen in her

dream was eating away at her.

"I have no right to speak of justice…justice has been lost for me…"

Lyu realized that she was muttering deliriously.

She thought of the commandments of the familia that had meant

everything to her, and the ties to the friends who could never be

replaced. For the five years since that day, there had been a hollow

place inside Lyu. The hole could not be filled by all of Syr's

comforting words or by the welcoming embrace of The Benevolent Mistress. This was the loss at her very core that she had tried so hard

to keep hidden.

Even now, the "blessing" of justice carved into her back throbbed

like a curse.

You have no right to carry the burden of justice. Her delusional mind

spoke to her in the voice of Astrea.

Lyu's face was blank.

In its place, her frozen heart cried quietly.

She looked down as she spoke her next words.

"For me…justice no longer exists."

Her dejected words echoed in the darkness.

Bell's steps became sluggish. The strength drained from the hands

supporting Lyu, as if they had reached their limit. He coughed up a

few drops of blood, which fell onto Lyu's limp arm.

"I…don't know anything about justice."

But.

"But…you've given me so much."

His nearly broken legs stepped once more onto the ground. His

quivering arms did not let go of Lyu. He clenched his teeth inside his

bloodstained mouth.

"So…"

He spoke as if to prove Lyu's existence—as if to sweep the darkness

from her.

"You do have justice within you."

"

"

—

Lyu's eyes opened wide.

"You've saved other adventurers."

That was on the eighteenth floor. The elf had thrown herself before

the Goliath and saved many lives.

"You saved our deity…and Lilly, and Welf…"

That was in the war games. Lyu had run to their aid in the face of

Apollo's absurd Will.

"You saved me…!"

That was in so many tight spots he couldn't count.

Lyu's hands had led Bell forward so many times when he was hurt or

lost or frozen.

Lyu's advice, her words, had always given him courage.

"You were always like a hero…always right, always on the side of

justice…!"

Bell's simple words shook Lyu deeply. Her sky-blue eyes wavered and

grew hot. His honest, unvarnished voice pierced her heart, just like

Alize's words had.

"No…you're wrong! I was wrong! I lost my hold on justice…!"

She could not allow him to offer affirmation to the self that had

abandoned Alize and the others in their time of need, and so she

desperately contradicted him.

But…

"You, wrong? I won't let anyone deny your worth…!"

"!"

"Not even you…!"

Bell contradicted Lyu's contradiction.

Drops of red liquid were pooling at their feet. Despite that, Bell's

steps were growing more forceful and his words more impassioned.

"…I don't know the old Lyu…but…"

His words evoked the elf possessed by flames of vengeance. All the

same, he argued that justice still dwelled in her.

"…I know the Lyu who is more just than anyone…"

Bell had changed. As Lyu had sensed several times before, he had

grown beyond recognition. Meeting the Xenos had changed him.

Foolishness and hypocrisy. Good and bad. Caught between these

poles, he had suffered wounds and mental anguish. Now he was

trying to teach Lyu something. He was trying to give something back

to the elf who had saved him so many times.

"Ah…"

Lyu understood already.

There were three people whom she had allowed to take her hand.

Three people whom her heart had accepted and respected as

righteous.

Alize had led her.

Syr had healed her.

And Bell—

"Justice…is alive within you."

Like a mirror, he reflected back the justice she had given him.

If Bell was just, then Lyu, who had given him so much, must be just

as well.

"Yes…! There is justice! Within you!"

A tear fell from Lyu's eye.

It was a vestige of the justice that remained inside her, which Bell

had shown her.

Lyu had stepped off the path once. That was certain.

The flames of vengeance had charred her body and soul.

Still, within the burned-up sword and wings, the ashes of justice

remained.

This was the starting point for the Lyu who had not turned her back

on all those people, but instead had saved them.

But I know Leon will make the right choices.

Alize's words came back to her.

Bell and many others could attest to the same thing.

If she looked back, she should be able to see it.

Many smiles blossomed in the tracks she left behind.

This was Lyu's accomplishment.

This was the accomplishment of justice that had continued to exist

even as ash.

The ash at the bottom of her heart swirled up to fill the hole inside

her.

Her elven heart was empty no more.

Tears spilled endlessly from the eyes that had been wavering like

pools of water.

"I…I…!"

Unable to deny the truth any longer, unable even to wipe her tears

away, Lyu grasped for words. She did not know what this feeling

overflowing her heart was. She had no idea what the boy, who was

looking straight ahead, his warm body so close to her own, was

trying to give her.

"For me right now, justice is…returning alive with you."

There was no good or bad in the Dungeon.

There was only life and death, only the strong devouring the weak.

If justice existed in the Dungeon, then, it was to return alive.

Returning alive from this infinite maze was the adventurer's royal

road, and their justice.

"Returning to the surface…to where the deities are, to where Syr and

our other friends are…!"

Let us talk of justice.

Let us do what is just.

The only justice that existed for them, and for them alone at this

moment.

"So…I will never let you go!"

Like dew falling from a leaf struck by rain, a droplet fell from Lyu's

once-dry heart, spreading ripples through it.

In all likelihood, these horrendous lower levels would not let them go

free. Lyu knew that.

But she wanted to live—if only a little, if only for a few seconds

more.

She wanted to return alive with Bell to Syr and all the others. She

couldn't help it.

"Uuu…!"

And then, as if to squash that feeling—a black form appeared before

them, jeering at their hopes.

"…?! A barbarian…!"

Both Bell and Lyu were stunned to find a panting, snorting large-

category monster blocking their way forward. The barbarian was

injured. Most likely it had survived the fall from the Colosseum, like

Bell and Lyu. Flakes of stone stuck out of the bulging muscles on its

shoulders and arms like scales. One corner of its head was bent in as

well. Rage colored the blood-drenched monster's eyes as it glared at

the adventurers with something resembling vengeance.

"Uh-oh…!"

They were standing in a straight, narrow passage. There was no place

to run. The barbarian's eyes flashed viscously at Bell as he stood

rooted to the ground.

"GAAAAA!"

"Ah!"

The massive form raised its cudgel and charged toward them. Bell

had no way to parry the attack. He threw Lyu aside an instant before

the earth-crushing blow launched him backward like a piece of

paper.

"Oof…! Mr Cranell!"

As Lyu hit the ground, Bell flew through the air, bounced off the

ground, rolled a meder or two, and came to a halt.

He lay completely still. Not a drop of strength remained in his

battered arms and legs. The shadow of his bangs hid his eyes, and

Lyu couldn't even see his chest rising and falling with breath. Sorrow

spread over her face as she once again stood on the brink of despair.

"

—Mr. Cranell! Please get up!" she screamed.

She tried to summon the strength to stand up, but her body would

not budge. Her wounded right leg slipped repeatedly, bringing her

back down. She could not peel herself from the ground.

Ignoring this elf shorn of her wings, the barbarian turned toward Bell.

"Mr. Cranell…Bell!! Answer me!"

Lyu did not notice the change in her voice as she called him.

She did not notice how upset she was.

She simply continued to call his name, having jettisoned her usual

cool composure.

But Bell, who lay facedown on the ground, did not answer.

The monster strode slowly but mercilessly toward him, intent on

delivering the final blow.

"Bell, Bell! …Please…answer me…"

Her voice grew weak. In Bell's prostrate body, she saw the forms of

her bygone friends.

No, no.

I don't want to lose any more.

She did not want to let go of the feeling in her heart.

She could lose anything…anything except him.

How ironic that this should happen just as something inside her had

been about to change.

Her wishes were in vain, however. The barbarian stopped above Bell.

It probably intended to bite right into him. It grabbed his head in one

hand and lifted him up.

"No, don't, wait…"

She shook her head sluggishly, tears pooling in her eyes, and

stretched out her shaking hands.

Mocked by despair, Gale Wind's mask cracked and fell away.

Lyu's true self was laid bare.

This was not the feared elf Gale Wind. This was a weak girl who cried

as someone important was about to be stolen from her. This was the

real Lyu who had been hidden beneath the adventurer's armor and

mask.

Forgetting her usual way of speaking, she pleaded vainly in the words

of a powerless little girl.

"Please…stop…"

Bell's body swayed limply as it hung suspended above the ground.

The monster jaws opened wide, revealing its hideous teeth.

"Bell!!"

Just as the tears began to spill from her eyes—

"

—!!"

The rubellite eyes veiled by his bangs sprang open and he drew the

knife at his hip.

He drove Hakugen's sparkling white blade into the monster's chest.

"GAAA?!"

Stabbed at close range, its magic stone pierced, the barbarian's

astonished grunt became its final utterance.

Bell dropped to the ground amid a thick swirl of ash.

For Lyu, time stood still.

"Huh…?"

Beyond the swirling ash and scant wisp of smoke, she saw the boy

rise shakily. Before she could comprehend what had happened, he

walked slowly toward her.

"I'm sorry Ms. Lyu…I had to draw the monster to me…"

"Ah…"

At those words, Lyu understood.

It had all been a strategy to kill the monster.

Lyu had taught him to deliver a single lethal blow aimed at the magic

stone. Without the energy left to raise his arm, Bell had waited for

the barbarian to come to him. To land a blow on its chest, he had

played the role of helpless prey.

It was literally his final gamble.

"I heard you, but…I'm sorry."

He kneeled in front of her and pulled her up. She sat in a daze at eye

level with him…blushing far redder than the circumstances merited.

He'd heard her pleading like a little girl.

He'd heard that pitiful voice.

Bell looked somewhat uncomfortable.

Helped by her embarrassment, Lyu forced her teary eyes to glare

fiercely and raised her hand. Bell closed his eyes, and she was about

to slap his cheek…but in the end, she lowered her hand without

doing anything.

Giving in to relief, she buried her face in Bell's chest as if she was

about to dissolve into tears.

"I'm begging you…never do that again…" she muttered, pressing her

forehead to his chest.

"…I'm sorry."

Bell's apology for making Lyu worry fell onto her hair. The heartbeat

that reached her ear told her he really was alive, and because of that,

she forgave everything.

After a few moments, Bell lifted Lyu onto his back. They started

down the dim passage.

Bell's steps were as unreliable as a boat made of sand, but to her

they were fantastically reassuring—even if they were the extension

of a mission that might cost them their lives.

…I don't sense any monsters. Aren't there any around here…?

Although the dimly lit passage was littered with rubble and monster

corpses, no eyes peered at them and no bloodthirsty animosity

lurked in the shadows. The barbarian from a few minutes earlier had

come from the Colosseum. Lyu's exhausted mind concluded it must

be sheer luck that monsters were not spawning nearby.

Just then, Bell paused.

In the dusky darkness ahead of them, the passage turned.

A faint blue light spilled from around the corner.

In the Dungeon, changes in scenery signaled danger. Not that turning

back was an option, of course. The path behind them was blocked by

rubble. Bell and Lyu continued nervously toward the turn.

"

—!!"

Lyu gasped at the scene that was suddenly revealed. Although the

passage remained the same width, water was running down the

center.

"A river…?"

Bell was right. A pure blue stream began right before their eyes.

Water bubbled up like a pedestal from the bedrock and continued as

far down the straight passage as they could see.

"A spring on the thirty-seventh floor…?"

Lyu had never heard of such a thing.

Acquiring food and water in the White Palace made of milky white

stone was extremely difficult. This was one reason why she viewed escaping the lower levels as of the utmost importance. Even Lyu,

who had made it all the way to the forty-first floor with Astrea

Familia, had not known that a place like this existed.

"To think that this was here below the Colosseum…I guess it was

never discovered because no one dared to go near the

Colosseum…?"

As Lyu mumbled doubtfully, Bell moved ahead. Whatever else this

signified, it was the water they had been wishing for. He stepped

toward the river's edge, planning to sooth his parched throat.

"…!"

Suddenly, however, his legs buckled beneath him. The strength

strangely drained from his legs, he lost his balance, pitching forward

into the water with Lyu still on his back. The impact of the fall

knocked his green longsword loose, and it danced through the air.

"…B-Bell!"

Lyu planted her hands on the shore and looked up. Bell was

underwater beside her, and did not answer. Through the clear water

she could see that his eyes were closed as if he had been drained of

his final strength. Bubbles broke the water's surface.

Fortunately, the stream was shallow. Nevertheless, Bell was

bleeding, and the blue water soon turned pink. Lyu reached toward

him in a panic.

Unable to stand thanks to her injured leg, she remained sitting on

the streambed and wrapped her arms around his waist to pull his

head out of the water.

"I sing now of a distant forest. A familiar melody of life!"

She began to chant, clinging to the white-faced boy. This was the last

of her mental strength, her last gamble. She knew full well that she might suffer a Mind Down and end up toppling into the water with

him, but she activated her healing magic anyway.

"Noa Heal…!"

A warm green color enveloped Bell's body.

Lyu felt the strength draining from her fingertips as her

consciousness flickered, but she bit down on her lip. The healing was

very slow. His wounds would not close. Life seeped from his body

second by second.

It was no good. She had to stop the bleeding. She refused to let him

die.

She squeezed every last drop of magic from every corner of her

body, half cursing herself as she did, and funneled it toward him.

The edge of the green light spread outward, carrying a warmth like

sunlight filtering through the trees.

Finally, the light converged.

Bell's wounds were all closed.

"…Bell."

She whispered his name so faintly her voice could have been blown

out like a candle.

Clinging desperately to consciousness, she scooped water in her

hand and brought it to her lips. Only after confirming that it was safe

to drink did she scoop some up for Bell.

"Please drink…drink," she whispered again, so that he could live.

Supporting his head with her left hand, she brought her right hand to

his mouth.

The clear water cupped in her palm quivered. Her fingers touched his

lips, which were glued together with blood.

As if she was praying, she continued to moisten his lips. Again, and

again.

Although darkness enveloped them from above, the pure glittering

water illuminated his face. He looked as ephemeral, silent, and noble

as a statue of the pietà.

Only the hushed Dungeon watched over the elf in her vigil.

Finally, Bell coughed and opened his eyes slightly.

The stream gurgled quietly.

The sound of the thirty-seventh floor's lone spring was a song

unconnected to battlefields.

There was no phosphorescence on either the walls or ceiling.

But the pure stream that ran down the center of the passage shone,

itself a light source illuminating the passage with mysterious blue

light. The shore on either side was about four meders wide. It was

not rocky but rather as smooth as an iceberg.

Lyu and Bell sat on one shore, resting with their backs against the

wall as they had done up to this point.

"…How does your body feel?" Lyu whispered, a rustling sound

coming from her nearly motionless form.

"Fine. I slept for quite a while…and I drank that water."

For Bell and Lyu, finding water was lifesaving. The combination of the

harsh environment and the merciless string of battles had pushed

Bell to the edge of dehydration. The stream was the water of life.

They had already spent nearly an hour by the river.

Without any monsters to fight, they were able to get a full rest. That

was unprecedented given their five-minute breaks up to this point.

"…"

"…"

Both Lyu and Bell fell silent.

Properly speaking, whatever they talked about, the exchange ended

quickly, so that conversation amounted to a succession of short

bursts. They looked at the river, not meeting each other's eyes.

To get to the point, they were half-naked.

"..."

"..."

Their soaked clothes and equipment had been pitilessly robbing

them of body heat—all the more so because they were so tired. They

had consequently decided to take their clothes off. It was the

obvious choice.

No matter how much they understood the logic, however, their

emotions were another matter.

The serious, upright elf and the inexperienced human were both

thrown into a panic. They blushed, each unable to ignore the

presence of the other, as they desperately tried to quiet their

pounding hearts.

That was the situation.

"...…"

"...…"

Lyu was naked on top but wore her long cape, which had escaped a

soaking. From the waist down, she wore only a thin pair of

underwear.

Bell was also naked on top and wore a pair of black long underwear

rolled up to the knees. The repeated inadequate healing had glued the underwear to his leg wounds, and pulling it off by force would

have opened the wounds again. He'd compromised by leaving them

on. On balance, though, he was still more exposed than Lyu.

At first, she had covered her chest with her arms and insisted, eyes

averted and cheeks flaming, that he wrap himself in her cape, but he

had managed to convince her to keep it for herself.

"…"

Unable to fight off the feelings bubbling up in her chest, Lyu was

squirming subtly but repeatedly, and the cape rustled against her

skin. Every time she did, Bell held his breath and stiffened.

This is so embarrassing…even though I know I shouldn't care right

now.

Lyu muttered quietly to herself, her satiny legs hugged close to her

chest. If she stole a glance at Bell, she could see even in the dim light

that his face was pink. So was her own. She could feel the heat to the

tips of her long ears.

Their clothes and equipment were scattered on the ground. She

hadn't folded her battle clothes because she wanted them to dry,

and her long boots were bent over messily.

For some reason she did not comprehend at all, the scene struck her

as faintly immoral. She couldn't tolerate it, perhaps because those

things belonged to her, an elf. Bell, too, was studiously avoiding

looking at them.

Lyu being Lyu, she also couldn't bring herself to look at the clothes

Bell had taken off.

They were caught in a negative cycle of contagious tension.

The gap between their shoulders spoke vividly of their

embarrassment.

Why am I so hyperaware of him?

No answer came in response to the simple question she asked her

heart. Was it because he had saved her? Because they had been tied

together? Because he had comforted her by saying she was just?

Because he had held her and told her he would never abandon her?

She continued to question herself, but found no answers. Her heart

simply continued to beat as irregularly as before.

In the first place, she hadn't felt like this when he'd seen her bathing

that time—

"…!!"

She cut her thoughts off there. Blood had rushed to her face at the

memory of what happened on the eighteenth floor. She looked

down, determined not to let Bell see her looking so horrid.

She succeeded in evading his notice, but he recoiled.

I never thought I'd end up in this situation in the Dungeon…in the

deep levels, of all places…

She didn't have time for a farce like this.

It wasn't just that she was half-naked. She didn't have much energy

left, either. If a monster attacked at this point they'd be done for.

She had to forget her embarrassment and do what she could.

But for some reason…she had a feeling no monsters were going to

show up.

She guessed that Bell thought the same.

She couldn't put it into words, but this whole area around the stream

lacked the Dungeon's usual tense atmosphere. She didn't sense any

monsters or hear any breath, or even feel any eyes on them. All she

heard was the gurgling stream.

The fact that they'd been able to rest for a whole hour backed up

what her instincts told her. She even felt that time moved more

slowly in this place.

"…"

But the current situation couldn't go on.

Here they were wasting a good rest by being so nervous they

couldn't regain their strength, Lyu told herself.

"…There's something I have to ask you about."

"Uh…oh, of course. What is it?"

Lyu wanted to ease the tension, but she had also been wondering

about this incessantly. She looked at him as she asked the question.

"Why did you come back that time?"

By "that time," she meant when she was in the Colosseum.

Her decision had not been mistaken. She wasn't trying to glorify self-

sacrifice; that situation had demanded a choice. The options had to

be placed on a scale. There was no way to know in advance that

things would turn out like they had.

"If you'd taken one wrong step—or even if you hadn't—we both

could have died," she continued.

"…"

"Did you know this space existed under the Colosseum?"

"No…"

"Then why did you do it?"

She had set aside her emotions and was asking as an adventurer.

Bell returned Lyu's serious gaze unflinchingly.

"I didn't want to let anyone else die…that's why I did it."

His words were simple. The feeling motivating his behavior was

unsullied and straightforward.

But was there really no more to it? Was that the only reason he had

saved Lyu?

That much seemed clear. There had been no calculation or goal to

his actions other than saving her life. He had destroyed the scale that

forced choices on them for the sake of his own ideals. He had used

all his strength and wit, paid with his own blood, and struggled

against the world.

"…"

He had left everything to chance.

They were more than lucky the floor of the Colosseum had caved in;

if it hadn't—

…If it hadn't, he probably would have fought off the surviving

monsters, carried me off, and saved me anyway. Knowing Bell, I don't

doubt it.

At this point, Lyu couldn't help coming to that conclusion.

"Bell…will you listen to me?"

She was asking without really having intended to. But just like that

day in the Dungeon's paradise, she told all to the boy beside her. She

told him what had happened to her and to the rest of Astrea

Familia—all the details of the story she had always hid from

everyone.

"

—That's what Jura meant by 'sacrifice.'"

"…"

Having finished her story, Lyu looked at the ground as if to escape.

The wounds she had revealed by her own choice were throbbing.

She was terrified of what Bell would say next.

He slowly parted his lips.

"In that case…it sounds like you have to go on living…" he said,

smiling. "The people who cared about you fought because they

wanted you to live."

"Ah…"

"Even an idiot like me can see that. If you died now…Alize and the

rest would definitely be mad."

He spoke slowly, like he was explaining something to a young child.

He was not looking down on her or reprimanding her. But he did

sound a little angry, as if he would not forgive her if she did the same

thing again. He sounded like Syr, and the look in his eyes reminded

her of Alize.

He arched his brows as if he was going to smile cynically again. Pulled

into his rubellite eyes, Lyu placed her hands on her chest. Her heart

was pounding.

At least, she felt like it was. Obviously, it was just a feeling.

And this impulse to reach out and touch him was definitely just her

imagination.

She looked down and clenched her fists.

"B-Bell."

"…?"

"I-I think we should...get a little closer."

"What?"

Bell had already been giving her a strange look, and now he clammed

up. After a long pause, during which he must have understood what

she was trying to say, his cheeks began to flush. Lyu, who was red to

the tips of her ears as well, stumbled over her next words.

"Wh-what we're doing right now…isn't e-efficient. If you really want

me to return alive…we have to warm each other up s-skin to skin…!"

"Uh, um, but…?!" Bell stuttered.

"Now is no time to be shy…can't you feel how cold I am?"

Bell's eyes popped open as Lyu gripped his hand. Her own was white

and cold as ice. As for Bell, he had lost quite a lot of blood. Now was

no time to tough out the situation in a show of upper-tier-adventurer

strength.

Lyu was embarrassed, too, but her point was well taken. She was

genuinely concerned for his well-being.

"B-but you're an elf, Ms. Lyu…"

"Don't worry about that. In emergency situations…I'd even be willing

to hug a dwarf…"

She quickly shut down Bell's concern about race issues. He was out

of arguments.

"B-but, Bell…don't get any nasty ideas in your head."

"…What?"

"If you do, I-I won't be able to stop myself from slapping you."

Lyu was dying of embarrassment even though she was the one who

started listing rules in the first place. Bell had a blank look on his

face.

"I-I mean, given my body type, I doubt you'd be interested anyway…I

mean…!"

She was now more flustered and redder than ever, unable to escape

her upright elf's nature.

"Uh…ha-ha-ha. A-owww…"

"What are you laughing at…?"

Bell had broken out laughing. The sight of him holding his stomach in

pain, seemingly from the strain of laughing, upset Lyu even more. As

she was steaming over the fact that he wasn't taking her seriously,

he went on with a smile.

"I'm very sorry. Please don't worry…because you're Ms. Lyu, after

all."

In other words, she may be acting strange, but she was still the elf he

knew and liked. Lyu gaped at him for a moment, then pressed her

lips together. She felt like even more hot blood was rushing to her

face, and she was getting itchy to boot.

Bell, who was still doubled over from the pain of laughing, glanced at

her cautiously.

"Um, so…what should we do…?"

"…"

"Hugging would be awkward since we're not wearing clothes, I think,

so, um…"

Lyu broke off and was silent for a few seconds before standing up.

Dragging her bad leg, she moved in front of Bell and turned her back

to him. Then she slipped off her cape.

"

"

—

The garment fell to the ground with a swoosh.

Below the white nape of her neck, her naked back was fresh and

youthful. Drops of water traced a path from her neck to her slim

waist, where they were absorbed by her single garment—her

panties.

Bell gulped. His whole body was extremely tense. Even with her back

to him, Lyu was blushing. Logically, he couldn't see anything from

behind, but she hugged her arms to her chest anyway as she sat on

the ground.

The silence only lasted a few seconds, but to Lyu it felt like an

eternity. She looked down, and her meaning must somehow have

gotten through, because she could sense Bell steeling his will behind

her.

He crouched down.

Lyu's heart skipped a beat.

Very timidly, he wrapped both arms around her from behind.

Her shoulders shivered.

The space between them disappeared.

"…"

"…"

Bell hugged Lyu to his breast from behind. He could feel her back and

thin chest. He crossed his arms in front of her upper body, which was

as naked as the day she was born.

The burning embarrassment only lasted a few seconds. Their bodies

began to warm each other. Cold skin lost its chill and warmth spread

through Lyu. Bell's furiously beating heart slowed and became calm,

knocking against her back. The comforting rhythm rocked her like a

cradle, relaxing her heart.

The stiffness melted from their bodies.

The sound of their heartbeats melded into one.

They relaxed into this feeling as if it were entirely natural.

Bell leaned against Lyu's back as she rested against his chest.

"Are you warm now?"

"Yes, very…"

"Good…"

"Yeah…"

"..."

"..."

As usual, their conversation didn't last very long. But the silence this

time wasn't uncomfortable. The gurgling of the stream added to the

peaceful feeling. Bell widened his legs a little so that Lyu could fit

fully between them. Lyu was very warm, but she thought Bell must

be cold. She told him to put on her cape and he wrapped it around

both of them. His face was right next to hers. His easy breath tickled

her ear and neck a little, caressing her thin ear over and over.

"I didn't realize…"

"…?"

"I didn't realize you were so small…"

"I'm not much shorter than you."

"I know, but…I can't explain it."

"What?"

"…Nothing."

"…Tell me."

"It's nothing."

"Um—

"

"Hurry up."

"…You're so slender and soft…it makes me realize you're a woman."

"…"

"It's like I understand that feeling men have…of wanting to protect

women."

"…You're very sly," Lyu muttered softly.

She repositioned herself so that her back was pressed more firmly to

him, as if she was seeking him out. He responded by firming his chest

muscles.

He let out a shaky sigh. For some reason, it struck her as sweet.

…It's not fair.

Lyu was trying not to think of the girl with the blue-gray hair.

The elf in the corner of her heart criticized her for being

contemptible.

She wanted to be forgiven.

Just for this one short moment.

She didn't know what she was asking forgiveness for. She didn't

understand who she was apologizing to. She was simply obeying her

emotions.

Her heart whispered that it wanted her to turn around.

Her chest burned for her to meet the gaze of the beautiful rubellite

eyes behind her.

She wanted to lock eyes with that boy whose face was so close it was

practically touching her own.

But she was afraid.

She was afraid that something would change irreversibly between

them.

She felt she would not be able to turn back.

And so she resisted the desire.

She grasped her slender upper arms and let the upright elf inside her

come to the rescue. She scolded the self who was neither an elf nor a

tavern waitress nor Gale Wind, but simply Lyu.

It was sad and painful, but it reassured her.

"Ms. Lyu…"

"Yes…"

"What do you want to do when you get back…?"

"…I want to eat a warm meal made by Mama Mia."

"Ah, me too…Let's go together, then."

"But before I do that, I'm sure I'll get an earful from Syr and the

others…"

"Ha-ha-ha…"

"…What about you?"

"I want to go back home with Welf and the rest of my party, walk

into my house, and say 'I'm back!' to our deity…"

"That's a good plan. You should value your familia…"

"I will. I'll value them forever, just like you…"

"…Thank you."

They leaned into each other as they whispered back and forth.

They were like lovers sharing pillow talk.

At the same time, though, there was a fleeting feeling to the

moment that they could not wipe away.

There was a peaceful danger in their faint smiles and in their voices

so soft the slightest breeze could blow them away, like a candle

flame about to flicker out.

They closed their eyes and slept like travelers through space.

They held each other, drawing ever closer in their own private world.

Beside them, the pure stream sparkled blue, as if it were giving them

this quiet moment Several hours had passed since Lyu and Bell's rest began.

Their deep sleep had restored them in both mind and body.

Setting aside their physical wounds, the recovery of their mental

strength was incredibly important. Their stubborn headaches and

lethargy had vanished. Compared to their condition before the rest,

it was like night and day.

As soon as they opened their eyes, they swung into action.

"Thank you, Bell, for using your precious mental strength to start a

fire."

"It's fine, I rested well…I can handle that level of firepower."

The sound of a crackling fire blended with that of the babbling

stream. The bonfire illuminated their faces. Lyu, somewhat

revitalized now, had gathered the kindling and Bell had shot a

firebolt into it. Starting a fire in such a damp location without proper

fuel or tools was extremely difficult.

They had used drop items as kindling. Lyu had returned along the

passage to the pile of rubble and corpses from the Colosseum to

gather monster skins—especially the oily hair of the barbarians. Just

like that of the heretical barbarian Bell and the children from the

orphanage had encountered in the secret passage below Daedalus

Street, the hair burned extremely well.

"Bell, how strong do you feel?"

"A lot better, but my hands still shake like this if I'm not paying

attention…"

Since they'd lit a fire, Bell and Lyu were no long embracing. Instead,

they were sitting side by side in front of the flames. Lyu stared at

Bell's quivering hand, which he was holding in front of his chest.

The stream was a safe zone.

Lyu was sure of it.

As if the sparkling blue water was an amulet warding them off, no

monster had attacked. It was likely the sole "paradise" on the thirty-

seventh floor. As long as they stayed here they would shed no blood

and could rest as long as they liked.

Holing up down here is one option…but we don't have the all-

important rations for that.

There was plenty of water. However, there was not a crumb to eat.

Second-tier adventurers might be a far cry from ordinary people, but

they still relied on nutrition to function. This was why they would

never fully recover no matter how long they rested here.

All that awaited them in this passage was a gentle death. That was

the unspoken message of Bell's shaking hands.

Even if a rescue party had been dispatched, it would never make it

here before they died. She was certain of that.

To start with, the chances of rescuers stumbling on Lyu and Bell in a

floor as big as Orario were slim to none. Adventurers who lost their

way in the deep levels were as good as dead. At least, that's how the

Guild treated them.

The Dungeon does not let those who stop moving return to the

surface alive…

No one wanted to suffer through more brutality.

But accepting the heart's yearning for peace was the same as losing

to the Dungeon.

The image of the adventurers-turned-skeletons flickered across Lyu's

mind. If they settled into this peaceful paradise, Lyu and Bell would

meet the same end.

They had to press on.

They had to risk another adventure—if they were adventurers.

Lyu made her decision.

"Bell…let's rest a little more and then leave this place."

"…Right."

Bell nodded in response to Lyu's hushed voice. Drawing on her

revived mental strength, she used Noa Heal to fully restore Bell's

physical well-being. That is, with the exception of his left arm and

lost blood, neither of which could be brought back with instant

healing.

Lyu also healed her own right leg. When she had enough mental

strength, her magic could fix broken bones. The only problem was

that despite having stabilized the fracture with her knife hilt, she had

been moving around so much that the bones didn't fit back together

quite right. This was the price she paid for not being a real healer.

Her movement might still be somewhat compromised, but at least

she could get around on her own now. There was no question Bell's

burden would be lightened, since he had been supporting her this

whole time. When she got back to the surface, she could have a real

healer fix it for her.

After Lyu finished with the healing and took another short rest to

replenish her Mind, she and Bell collected their garments. Thanks to

the bonfire, the battle clothes were nearly dry. Turning their backs

on each other, they started putting their gear back on. By now they

weren't overly flustered by the situation, but they still weren't used

to the sound of the clothes rustling around.

They finished getting dressed and put out the fire.

Just before they set off, Lyu realized she felt reluctant to leave.

It's only a temporary weakness. The exhaustion must have

gotten to me.

Enveloped in Bell's warmth, she had experienced the illusion that her

mind and body were one. She had never experienced a peace like

that before.

However, she would not permit herself to drown in that feeling. She

was a noble elf through and through. She pretended she did not

notice the feelings budding in her heart, telling herself they were

mere false attachments.

"Shall we go?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

She and Bell set out walking side by side. Turning their backs on the

place that had allowed them a brief respite, they began to move

ahead once again.

They walked down the passage with the stream for what felt like an

eternity.

As they had suspected, it appeared to be free of monsters, and they

were able to advance safely.

"Is this an 'unexplored area'?"

"Yes, in the sense that it hasn't been mapped. But…I feel like this is a

special place."

Bell peered around as he talked with Lyu. As it was elsewhere, the

walls were milky white stone, but because of the light given off by

the stream running down the center of the floor, the passage itself

seemed to have a blue tint. Thanks to the water, it felt moist and

cool. Diminutive lily-like flowers bloomed along the boundary

between the walls and the ground. Some of the petite white

blossoms swayed with the passing of the river water.

These undiscovered flowers, absent from the illustrated guides

detailing the Dungeon kept at the Guild, were quite likely the only

plants in the White Palace. Lyu stopped at Bell's suggestion and

plucked a flower, then tasted it.

It was sweet. She offered one for Bell to try. She was right—it had a

faint, nectarlike flavor that melted on his tongue. Even if he stuffed

his mouth with them, he suspected he would regain very little of his

stamina. Still, they were a temporary solace, and better than

nothing. In fact, for someone like Bell who hadn't tasted sugar in

ages, they were a delicious treat.

Then he looked up and noticed that the ceilings were lower than

anywhere else on the thirty-seventh floor. He could see the uneven

surface clearly. It reminded him of a rocky cave.

The place felt like a groundwater vein, or a ravine with the sky

blocked out overhead. Those were the impressions the passage gave

him.

"This passage goes on forever…all I can hear is the water…"

The passage and its stream stretched out before them like a blue

pathway.

Compared to the Under Resort on the eighteenth floor or the Water

Capital on the twenty-fifth floor, the scene was incredibly bland. But

to Bell and Lyu, who had been wandering the dark world of the deep

levels, the glowing blue stream was more precious and mysterious

than anything they could imagine.

This, too, was the Dungeon.

It bared its cruel fangs to adventurers, but it also showed them

fantastical landscapes like this one. This was the Dungeon's one act

of mercy within its endless darkness, or so it seemed to Bell.

"…"

"…"

The blue road stretched on interminably.

Inevitably, conversation had dried up between Bell and Lyu. The

journey was long. Where would it end? What awaited them ahead?

Now and then Bell stumbled, the price of his blood loss. Would he be

able to escape the deep levels in this condition? Anxiety was always

with him.

But he and Lyu held onto hope as they continued down the blue

road. Presently…

"A dead end…"

Beyond the end of the road was a small spring. An uneven circular

space announced the end of the passage. Unlike the clear spring in

the center of the passage where water bubbled up, here the water

was sucked into the bottom of the spring, as if completing a cycle in

the Dungeon.

There were no tunnels or stairways in sight. As Lyu looked around

wondering if they really would have to retrace their steps, she

noticed something.

"That stone…its composition is different from the others."

The pure white ore brought to mind quartz more than stone.

With a tense look on his face, Bell drew the Hestia Knife and thrust it

into the mass Lyu was pointing at. No sooner had a crack spread

across its surface than the entire lump of ore shattered. Beyond it

was a cave and a stairway leading up.

Bell and Lyu exchanged glances, nodded, and crawled through the

cave. They could hear the mineral repairing itself behind them. The

cave was just wide enough to fit two people shoulder-to-shoulder,

and pitch black. Lyu took out one of the jars she had filled with water from the stream. It gave off a faint blue glow. Using it as a lantern,

they climbed step by step.

When they had climbed about one hundred steps, they came to a

ceiling blocked by the same ore that had been at the cave's mouth.

Bell boldly broke through it.

"This is…"

They were looking into a room on the thirty-seventh floor.

It was a cul-de-sac with only one doorway. The ground was littered

with rocks as tall as Bell. The chunk of ore leading to the passage

with the stream was hidden among these rocks.

They could sense monsters in the maze beyond.

Adjusting to the fact that they were now back in the Dungeon's cruel

reality, they stepped out of the room with every nerve on high alert.

Contrary to their expectations, however, they did not encounter any

monsters in the straight, unbranching passage before them.

Presently they came to a larger passage. Immediately, a huge wall

sprang into view.

"…Ms. Lyu, that's not…"

"Yes…a Ring Wall."

As Bell craned his neck to peer at the looming wall, Lyu confirmed his

guess. There was no doubt about it, the enormous, smooth surface

was one of the White Palace's five Ring Walls. It was perhaps one

hundred meders beyond the point where Lyu and Bell had come

from the side passage into the larger passage.

On top of that…

"This passage…yes, I'm sure of it. It's the main route."

"!"

"That Ring Wall is gray. In other words, it's the Fourth Wall."

As she spoke, Lyu looked around like she was piecing together a

puzzle made of memories. When Astrea Familia was still alive and

well, Lyu had come to the deep levels a number of times. Although

she did not have a full picture of the sprawling floor in her mind, her

body knew the main route instinctively because she had traveled it

so often on her way to and from the surface.

The Colosseum was situated on the inside of the Third Wall, which

meant the stream directly below it—the Blue Road—led straight to

the Fourth Wall.

Bell and Lyu had suffered greatly, but their suffering had brought

them incredible good fortune.

"S-so if we get past that wall…!"

"Yes, only the Fifth Wall will remain. And if we get past that, there is

no maze between there and the connecting passage to the thirty-

sixth floor."

Beyond the Fifth Wall lay a vast wasteland. It was quite a distance to

the southern edge of the floor, where the passage was located, but if

they got that far there would be no chance of losing their way. Only

the White Palace within the Ring Walls had a maze structure.

For the first time since Bell had been plunged into the deep levels,

true hope illuminated his face. Lyu's expression was forbidding, but

she, too, felt the same.

It was as if a lighthouse had shone its beam on a ship pummeled by

the rough waves of a storm. That single beam of light was more than

enough for them to cling to.

"Let's go! While there are no monsters around!"

"…Yes!"

As Bell said, no monsters were to be seen. This was a perfect

opportunity.

The darkness peered down on them from far above as they headed

straight ahead toward the Ring Wall.

We sure are lucky…! No—we snatched luck ourselves because we

didn't give up!

Bell did not commit the fool's crime of making a racket in his rush.

Advancing with even more caution than they had so far, he stepped

boldly forward. One step behind him, Lyu, too, looked around warily

as she bounded energetically ahead.

The maze between the Fourth and Fifth Walls is called the Beast

Zone…If we can just get through here…!

The region between the Second and Third Walls, where the

Colosseum was, was the Warrior Zone. The area they were currently

traversing was the Soldier Zone. Aside from a few spots, the main

route on the thirty-seventh floor was several dozen meders wide.

Once they got onto it, they wouldn't likely lose their way, unless they

encountered some irregularity.

As Bell racked his brain for bits of information Eina had taught him,

he ground his molars together as if to squeeze out an extra drop or

two of energy.

I can go home…I will go home! To the surface! To where my

friends are! With Lyu…!

Bell was running toward the future. He blended into the dusky

darkness, moving ever farther from the monsters lurking nearby.

He did not let down his guard.

Neither did Lyu.

Still, they should have realized.

As they frantically tried to take advantage of their good fortune, they

should have thought about that luck more deeply.

Why weren't they encountering any monsters?

Why hadn't the monsters they had sensed as they emerged from the

Blue Road found them yet?

Why were they hiding as if they were afraid of something?

"The Fourth Wall…! …We made it!"

Having arrived at the towering wall, Bell and Lyu squeezed into the

squared-off hole at its base. They pressed forward without hesitation

toward the faint phosphorescence beyond the pitch-black tunnel.

They stepped out.

They were on the other side of the Fourth Wall.

They were in the last maze between them and the connecting

passage to the lower levels.

They were in the Beast Zone, the final battlefield.

"

"

—

Bell sensed it.

As soon as he emerged from the Ring Wall, he knew.

He sensed it the second he stepped into that zone.

A piece of rock fell with a soft patter from above.

A gaze pierced his head.

The crimson, murderous gaze of calamity.

"

"

—

The monster was there.

Far above Bell's head.