In the narrow, dim passageway, Bell led Laurier around the impenetrable natural wall and brought her to where Welf and Lili were hiding.
"Bell-sama!"
Seeing the boy unharmed, Lili finally felt the weight in her chest ease.
After a brief round of introductions, the group began discussing their next course of action.
"Can we keep hiding in this chamber?" Welf asked first.
"This place is too remote. Even if someone comes to rescue us, they might never notice it."
The spot Bell had found was practically the far corner of the labyrinth. If they waited here, they would die long before help arrived.
"Does that mean we have to fight our way back together...?"
Lili didn't want to drag Bell down, but the monster wave on the 13th floor wasn't going to fade anytime soon. A solo breakout attempt meant certain death. Yet for this four-person team, the path was still brutally difficult.
Three Level 1s and one Level 2—Bell's overwhelming combat strength aside—Lili and Welf were little more than liabilities in this nightmarish section of the Middle Floors.
Dim phosphorescence was swallowed by the surrounding darkness.
The distant growls of hellhounds echoed ominously.
All of them understood.
They had survived one crisis thanks to Bell's quick thinking, but their situation was still dire.
Welf burned with frustration at his own powerlessness. If only he had a magic sword—at the very least, it could help Bell carve a path through the monster wave.
What the hell am I doing...
Welf slammed his fist into the wall and said,
"If there's really no other way, let Lili and me act as bait. You two break through while we hold them off."
"..."
"?!"
Laurier was stunned by the resolve of this small party.
Lili lowered her head, then suddenly raised her chestnut eyes.
"Lili feels the same. Even as support, Lili can still buy time."
Laurier quickly objected.
"If that's the case, let me go instead. This life belongs to Bell anyway."
Under the crushing tension, sweat formed at their temples, their emotions wound tighter and tighter. Every second spent here lowered their chances of survival. If they wanted to break through, they needed to act while they still had stamina and a clear head.
The moment of decision had arrived.
All eyes turned to Bell.
Even though he was the newest member of the team, everyone believed in his judgment.
Bell took a deep breath. From the start, his resolve had never wavered. He had simply stayed silent to let the others sort their thoughts.
"We can't break through the monsters on the 13th floor. Let's head straight down to the safe zone on the 18th floor."
"..."
"?!"
Silence and shock rippled through the group at this unprecedented proposal.
Lili reacted first.
"Bell-sama means using the pitfall? But we don't know what's below..."
"I've been there once with Loki Familia. I memorized the map and the monsters."
Bell explained calmly.
If nothing unexpected happened, he could avoid most monsters and ensure everyone's safety.
"I'm not completely sure, but if Bell says so, I'll follow your lead."
It was Welf's first time in the Middle Floors, yet he still chose to trust the boy.
"Bell-sama, what about the floor boss on the seventeenth floor?"
Lili analyzed the risks one by one.
"The Loki Familia only entered the Dungeon recently. Judging by the timing, the floor boss shouldn't have respawned yet."
A floor boss usually took about two weeks to revive. The Loki Familia had definitely already taken it down.
"In that case... Lili also agrees with Bell-sama's plan."
Their party was far too unbalanced. A head-on clash with the monster horde would only end in disaster. Descending instead might be their one chance at survival.
"My blade belongs to Bell-sama. Please give the order."
Laurier gently tightened her grip on her slender sword, ready for this desperate march. She had no room to dwell on the turmoil inside her, forcing her focus entirely on what lay ahead. She had already sworn before the Sacred Tree—she would protect the boy with everything she had.
Bell looked at each of their faces, then spoke quietly.
"Then let's depart immediately."
...
The three followed closely behind him. Laurier stared at his back, momentarily dazed.
Was he not afraid?
In the Middle Floors, Bad Bats could spawn from the ceiling. Cracks overhead snapped sharply, the rapid, thin sounds almost identical to approaching footsteps. After their earlier encounter with Bad Bats, every step Lili and Welf took was filled with dread as they glanced upward again and again.
Laurier's thoughts were fixed entirely on the boy. If monsters attacked, she had to protect him first—no matter what. It was only thanks to this heavy resolve that she managed to endure the suffocating fear.
Yet Bell's steps never faltered. From the beginning to now, they remained steady and unwavering.
"Wait. Three hellhounds."
Bell spotted the distant monsters and warned them.
With only one Salamander Wool, the hellhounds' fire breath was the greatest threat. Bell exchanged a quick glance with Welf. After receiving his nod, he drew his dagger and rushed in.
The hellhounds' crimson eyes gleamed as flames gathered in their jaws.
Welf raised his palm toward them.
"Burn out, illegal work."
As the short chant ended, the air compressed and twisted, then ignited like fire—engulfing the hellhounds just as they were about to unleash their breath.
"Will-o-Wisp!"
Before his words had fully settled, explosions erupted across the hellhounds' positions. Their bodies turned pitch black from the blast as they collapsed.
Bell seized the opening and finished them off with swift dagger strikes.
Welf's anti-magic spell forced hellhounds to explode the moment they gathered magic—an attack designed entirely to counter enemies that relied on magical power. He had claimed he'd never used it on monsters before, but tests within his Familia showed it was incredibly effective.
Lili had once joked that Welf being ostracized couldn't possibly be just because of family circumstances. Bell, on the other hand, quietly memorized the spell.
In battle, Welf could neutralize long-range magical attacks. Because of that, Bell was confident he could lead everyone safely to the eighteenth floor's safe zone.
Laurier drew aggro, Bell struck down monsters whenever the timing opened, Welf handled ranged threats, and Lili kept watch for new enemies. Under the boy's guidance, this improvised team progressed far more smoothly than expected.
"Finally... we can get rid of this awful smell..."
Lili looked toward the pitfall, letting out a breath of relief. The Morbul scent bag hanging around her neck reeked so badly it nearly brought her to tears.
"Naaza-san rolled all over the ground because of this smell."
Bell laughed softly. He had once commissioned the Chienthrope girl to create a monster-repelling item, and the result had been this Morbul scent bag. Their journey thus far had been greatly aided by it.
Bell led the group down the pitfall on the sixteenth floor, safely arriving on the final stretch.
In the wide corridor, Laurier narrowed her eyes, staring into the massive chamber of the seventeenth floor.
"Monsters..."
The blonde Elf's whisper echoed in each of their minds. Hope was just one step away. They only needed to pass through this place to reach the safe zone.
But at the far end of their vision lay a pit of despair.
Silently—
Inside what should have been the floor boss's chamber, countless Minotaurs wandered in all directions.