Meanwhile, the second team dispatched by Loki Familia also entered the Dungeon…
---------------------------------
It's just that the atmosphere of this small party feels a little strange.
The werewolf Bete, the fairy girl Lefiya, and… the black-haired elf from the Dionysus Familia, Filvis Challia.
"Ugh…"
The tense atmosphere between the two made Lefiya depressed, all along the way trying again and again to use topics common among elves to close the distance between them.
But clearly, all of the girl's plans failed.
Filvis, with her cold demeanor, couldn't even be bothered to glance at her fellow elf, only trailing alone at the back of the group.
Even now she still couldn't figure out what exactly Dionysus meant, why he wanted her to team up with members of the Loki Familia to head for the 24th floor.
Clearly…
"Um, today's weather is really nice, isn't it? So warm."
"..."
"Are you brain-dead? What kind of weather would there be in the Dungeon?"
"..."
All along the way, Bete's mood was made worse and worse by Lefiya's chatter. Of course… part of the reason was that black-haired elf.
At this moment, the three-person party was on the 18th floor. They had just left the passageway and wide meadow, now moving through the forest on their way to the adventurer town, Rivira.
Since Ais and Fron had accepted a request on the 24th floor, then they must have stopped by Rivira. That was Bete's reasoning.
It had to be said, as an adventurer, Bete's intuition was always sharp, no matter the matter.
On their way back to the home base after investigating the sewers under Orario with Loki, they had run into the god Dionysus and the black-haired elf.
At that time, he had felt a vague, inexplicable sense of unease.
Although later the two explained why they went to investigate the underground sewers, they… didn't know that there had been a third person down there.
That secret, Loki kept buried deep in her heart. But precisely because of that, even if she allied with Dionysus, she never completely trusted him.
"Hey, you little idiot! Stop dawdling, can't you walk faster!"
Bete hunched forward, his stylish jacket, hands shoved in his pockets, looking back with a face full of irritation as he shouted.
"Eh, eh? But, Mr. Bete… shouldn't we wait for Miss Filvis?"
"Tch, who cares about her."
Bete said that and pressed on without looking back.
As a first-class adventurer, Bete's traveling speed was extremely fast, especially since speed was his specialty to begin with.
All along, Lefiya could barely keep up, gasping for breath. But afraid of being scolded by Bete, she desperately pushed herself to follow in her senior's footsteps.
Now, the elf girl gripped her staff with both hands, fidgeting in place.
Though she was exhausted, she still wanted to step forward and say something to Filvis to slightly change the party's atmosphere, but she didn't know what to say, her heart flustered.
"U-um… Miss Filvis, "
"..."
Lefiya, used to being in parties with the cheerful, lively Tiona and others, found the stark contrast of this suffocating atmosphere unbearable.
She wanted to talk, but… not a single sentence could come out.
That awkwardness, despite them being of the same race.
As Filvis drew closer, Lefiya grew even more nervous.
But… the black-haired elf just passed by her nonchalantly, widening the distance again.
She said nothing, instinctively keeping her distance from the two others.
Even if someone approached her to speak, she gave no response. This utterly indifferent attitude was unbearably cruel for a girl like Lefiya, who loved lively company.
It was as if there was an invisible wall between their hearts that she simply could not cross.
Still, the girl bit her lip and forced herself to try again, to somehow bridge the gap with her kin.
"Um, Miss Filvis, thank you for helping me defeat the Minotaur…"
"..."
'She's at it again.'
Bete frowned deeply, his face full of annoyance.
"Can you shut up already!"
...
Dungeon, 24th floor.
Falgar and the others moved swiftly, and before long the whole group safely returned.
"How's the situation?"
"On the other paths there aren't any plant-walls like this, and along with the pantry we've already searched… I don't think these monsters are some kind of Dungeon 'mutations', like chain proliferation or Monster Feast."
"Then where did these monsters come from?"
Fron tilted her head and gave a meaningful smile:
"Don't you think the state of these monsters is strange? Using the term monster riot isn't quite right, it should be monster migration."
"What!?"
Asfi and Falgar's faces were filled with surprise.
"Now that you mention it, I remember too, the monster groups we encountered on the way, they all came from the north. In other words…"
Suddenly turning to the disgusting wall, Asfi understood.
"This wall is blocking the exit of the pantry. Because they lost access to food, the monsters were forced, with no other choice, to migrate en masse toward the other two pantries, right!?"
"That's exactly it."
"So that's how it is… the monster groups weren't rioting, but were migrating, and we just happened to block their path, so…"
"Ah, so of course we were attacked as food too."
In the end, this laughable conclusion was all they could reach, the adventurers had simply been unlucky.
Asfi pushed her glasses up, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the writhing "green wall" in front of them.
"So, that means only here is in an abnormal state. Judging from the signs, the problem must be here."
She approached the "green wall," standing shoulder to shoulder with Fron.
"What exactly is this thing?"
Looking closely, though it was an alien presence that gave off a nauseating stench, it didn't seem immediately dangerous. Thinking that, her daring nature made her put on gloves and press her hand against it.
"Squish…"
The viscous "green wall" had great resistance, but with her Lv.4 abilities, she was able to force open three holes.
"It's a bit like something made during potion mixing."
"It's alive."
Suddenly, after observing for a while, Fron spoke up.
"Alive?" Everyone's eyes focused on him, their expressions growing heavy. Ais, meanwhile, frowned deeply.
Her body was heating up, something in her blood resonating with this thing.
"What should we do, Asfi? Do we really keep going? With something this abnormal, whatever's inside can't possibly be good."
Even Lulune could tell that much, so of course Asfi could too. But at this point, turning back would mean no longer being worthy of being called adventurers.
"Do we have another choice? We can only move forward."
Asfi sighed, then exchanged a look with Fron.
"If it were only our Hermes Familia, I'd definitely order a retreat without hesitation. But with the Sword Princess and Flame Demon here, we can be more confident."
Fron naturally understood what Asfi meant, so he gave her a promise:
"Don't worry, both Ais and I will give it our all. Besides… if the enemy really is them, then… they and we have a bond that cannot be severed, no, that's for Ais. For me, it may only be the desire for revenge."
Asfi looked deeply at the blond youth, her heart chilled.
Fron had already realized it: in such a sight, in such a labyrinth like another world, it was impossible for just Olivas Act to be behind it. Then, the correct answer was already calling out.
Revis was not dead.
The mere thought of that unbelievable fact made Fron doubt his own judgment.
Three times, he had fired three full-strength Sword of Victory, and Revis had endured them all. It was incredible.
Of course, if it had been Riveria herself casting magic, that would be another matter entirely…
"Did she protect her magic stone? That must be it…"
Thinking it through, in the end only that explanation remained.
For a Creature like Revis, with potential power equivalent to Lv.6, as long as her magic stone didn't break, her body was nothing more than parts, she could regenerate at any time.
"Then, let's move forward."
Everyone gathered before the "living" green wall, expressions grim.
Looking carefully, they could see that its center formed something like a mouth, akin to a carnivorous flower.
Its massive size meant even large, powerful monsters could easily pass through.
Therefore, they judged this to be the original Dungeon passage leading to the pantry.
"We'll just have to destroy it, this disgusting thing."
Ais tightened her jaw, her right hand on her sword hilt, but Fron stopped her.
He gave a wry smile:
"Just look at its thickness, it's not something a sword can cut through, is it? Let me handle this. Asfi, you all step back a bit."
"Alright, we'll leave it to you."
The group tacitly retreated, leaving Fron alone.
He drew out his staff from his back, a massive magic circle unfurling before him.
"Since it's a plant-like green wall, then let's deal with it properly, "
"[Flames shall be released.]"