"Captain! Are you insane?!"
Patadru never imagined that Mithrun, upon reappearing, would immediately teleport Flaméla away and snatch her fairy to speak directly with the Queen.
"Mithrun?!"
At this moment, the Elven Queen, seated in the royal palace of the elves, was frowning as she personally coordinated with other major powers across the world to face this apocalyptic crisis. The Canary Squad currently inside the Dungeon was one of the few sources of information still able to relay updates to the outside world.
But what the Queen didn't expect—was that Mithrun would seize the fairy connecting to her at such a critical time...
Mithrun, the one whose desires had been devoured by the demon, who had no remaining desire besides revenge—was now speaking again?
"What are you trying to say? Are you sure you're in your right mind? What's your mental state right now?"
The Elven Queen had already received news from other channels that the demon had shattered the barrier—and that the world as it was now could no longer contain the demon.
And yet… nothing had happened.
That brief communication blackout, along with nearby reports, had already alerted many informed parties that… the demon had attempted to destroy the world—but was blocked by a wall.
"If needed, other Canary members can evaluate my mental state. Hiswiss is skilled in illusion magic and can assess my condition. I'm fully lucid," Mithrun said quickly. "Your Majesty, those Hunters who allowed the demon to escape the Dungeon… it's hard to believe, but they're Monster Hunters from another dimension who came here to slay the demon."
"And Laios…" Mithrun paused slightly. "Dungeon adventurer Laios Touden—he's now one of those Hunters."
"Impossible!" a nearby elf objected. "If they came to hunt the demon, why would they let it escape from the Dungeon?! The crisis the entire world faces now was caused by those people!"
"And that self-proclaimed Demon King, Laios! He even calls himself a Demon King!" the elf protested furiously. "After causing all that chaos, now you're saying… they're Hunters on our side who want to slay the demon?! Are they insane?!"
"Your Majesty," Mithrun ignored the shouting elf and tightened his grip on the fairy as he addressed the Queen directly. "One of those Hunters asked me to deliver this message… to you, and to all elves."
"If those Tallfolk had told the elves from the beginning that they were other-dimensional Hunters… would the elves have believed them and offered their support?"
Mithrun repeated the words Joseph and Kazuma had entrusted to him:
"Or would the elves, indifferent to the fact that they were Tallfolk, have proceeded to forcibly seal the Dungeon anyway?"
"Your Majesty, that's the answer they gave me." Mithrun continued. "The Hunters have only one demand: to gather all the power that can be gathered to hunt the demon. They don't intend to waste time trying to persuade us."
"Madmen! All for something like this…" The elves of the Canary Squad were shaken by Mithrun's words, visibly disturbed.
"..."
The Elven Queen was silent for a long time before finally speaking:
"Mithrun, can you be sure the things those Hunters said are true?"
"I can't be certain. But… they're already here," Mithrun replied. "One of the Hunters will speak with you directly."
At the moment his words fell, a giant beast—so large it was the size of an entire building—suddenly appeared before the elves. Wrapped in its trunk was none other than the recently teleported Flaméla.
Atop the beast's head stood a young man wielding an enormous weapon. Behind him stood a dark-skinned, dark-haired youth—Kabru.
Flaméla, caught in the giant elephant's trunk, looked like a small toy, completely unable to resist.
"I am… Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero, and a member of the first generation of Monster Hunters. This is Kabru… you should know him, he was adopted by your vice captain. With him here, perhaps we can hold a more civil conversation."
Standing atop the Silver Ridge Beast, Naofumi Iwatani looked down on the previously arrogant elves.
"Now, you have no choice."
"Accept our terms and stand with us against the Winged Lion."
Naofumi flashed a somewhat intimidating grin. His usual gaze was well suited for threats.
"What is your answer?"
"…Very well."
Mithrun released the fairy in his hand. It flew straight to the Silver Ridge Beast's head, where it spoke on behalf of the Elven Queen to Naofumi Iwatani.
"I accept."
"Hunters from another dimension… what exactly do you plan to do?"
————————————
"What did you do!!!"
The Winged Lion was furious and exasperated.
It was now trapped again within a domain resembling a barrier.
Though in this place it could still use its power—no longer bound by the Dungeon, no longer needing to corrupt a Dungeon Master to act freely—
It could not take the people of this world with it.
"We simply drew a new boundary for you—gave you form to be hunted," Kairo Retsu said to the Winged Lion. "Just one step short, wasn't it?"
"Humans must always hold reverence toward the unknown. You should learn that." Kairo Retsu smiled at the Winged Lion. "To you, we are the unknown."
"I can devour every human desire within this bounded space right now," the Winged Lion growled at Kairo Retsu.
"And you'll only get to do it once. Just once," Kairo Retsu replied, arms crossed. "You can't take anyone from the Arena back to your world. You can't endlessly fulfill their desires here either."
"You were one step away from the eternal banquet… just one step—" Kairo Retsu held up a single finger, "—and that step was blocked by us Hunters."
"What a pity."
Kairo Retsu's face wore a smile—but the Winged Lion no longer raged. It simply said:
"Even so, you still can't defeat me."
"I have endless time. Eventually, I'll find a way out of this barrier… or escape through another Dungeon."
"No—you have no other options."
Kairo Retsu grinned wide.
"Because our Hunter engineering corps… is already prepared."
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