Dust swirled as the Minotaur's hooves seemed capable of shattering rock. A murderous intent surged like a tidal wave, its terrifying pressure overwhelming the youth's heart.
Everything unfolded as expected.
While traveling with Loki Familia, Bell had witnessed the Minotaur colony. During the period when the Floor Boss was eliminated, they would occupy this chamber and wander freely. To prevent panic, Bell had kept this information hidden.
The moment Laurier revealed her stealth Magic, he had already formed the plan he carried out now—draw the monsters' attention alone, then seal the escape route after his companions fled.
But one thing differed completely from Laurier's assumption.
Bell didn't stay behind as a desperate gambit, staking his life to cover their escape. He stayed because he was confident he could hunt.
With Lefiya's help, he had memorized the Minotaurs' speed, habits, and patterns of combat. This wasn't an adventure. It was a strategist's board, and he had already set the winning pieces in motion.
From the very beginning, Bell had secured victory.
The bulls roared, their charges like massive projectiles tearing through everything in their path. Against that brutal speed, Bell's every step and movement remained impossibly agile. He didn't flee in panic, nor did fear drive him to fire Magic blindly.
His movements were small, but each one avoided the monsters' attacks with perfect precision. Against this terrifying herd, he concealed his true speed. The monsters never imagined that the prey they chased was deliberately maintaining the same pace.
Only when the stone axe fell, only when the horns tore toward him—did Bell unleash his full power.
To the Minotaurs, the prey simply vanished from the encirclement.
This was human technique, a way of thinking that outclassed monsters entirely.
Stone axes tore into their own kind. Horns collided with brutal force. Hestia's Blade carved a blue-violet arc, and deafening flame thunder followed.
Roars filled the hall, stone fragments flew, black mist surged wildly.
At some point, the chase had transformed into a one-sided hunt.
Bell wielded wisdom and courage as his weapons, composing a distant, ancient song upon the battlefield. The Minotaurs, continually struck by their own allies, dwindled at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Driven mad with killing intent and wrath, their eyes burned red—yet the youth toyed with them in the palm of his hand.
Bell rationed his resources with care. Stamina Potions. Magic Potion. A single Elixir as a contingency. The potions Airmid had given him became crucial tools in this war of attrition.
Like two armies clashing on a field, Bell alone became an unshakable force thanks to those potions. The Minotaurs' relentless assaults all dissolved into nothing.
Wails, roars, and explosive flames—the Dungeon itself seemed to tremble beneath this sight.
The walls quaked.
The ground cried out.
Through the monsters' eyes, the Dungeon gazed upon the youth.
And in one monster's eyes, a distant memory flickered.
It was a fierce and glorious battle.
The shadow of that opponent—identical to the white-haired youth before it.
Dancing in despair, turning the tide beneath the curtain of doom.
Without god's Falna—through wisdom and training alone—breaking limits and reaching beyond.
That fleeting memory bared its true identity—
The hero of ancient times.
The Dungeon wailed, raged, and wept, as if spilling out all its accumulated malice.
The walls trembled again.
In a hidden corner, the cracks grew louder. Where hordes of monsters should have spawned, only one emerged.
Only one.
Within the passage, the crimson-black Minotaur slowly opened its eyes.
No training was needed—its battle instincts were already complete. No preparation was necessary—its overflowing battle lust surged from its chest.
This wasn't play, nor a hunt. It was a true battle to the death.
As if guided by a dark wind, its target was already decided.
In the darkness, the Minotaur lifted its massive axe and, ignoring everything else, advanced silently toward the source of the roars.
…
Rivira Town was shrouded in a dim glow cast by the crystals overhead. Laurier frowned as she led Lili and Welf through the streets. The place looked like it had just come out of some kind of incident—several cheap wooden shelters were still being rebuilt.
"Is there anyone who can take an adventurer request? We're willing to pay a large reward!"
Laurier repeated the plea again and again, yet none of the exhausted adventurers even looked her way.
"Miss, you should try somewhere else. Ask regular folks instead. A few days ago a Viola showed up—we barely got out alive. Nobody here's willing to take risks right now," a kind resident explained.
"..."
Laurier fell silent for a moment, thanked him, and hurried off. She instructed Lili and Welf to keep seeking help in town, then sprinted toward the main route leading to the nineteenth floor.
Perhaps it was fate.
Laurier ran into a blonde human and an emerald-haired elf. Setting aside her usual reserve, she rushed up to them.
"Both of you—would you be willing to take on a rescue request?"
Ais blinked. The lingering fatigue from the Floor Boss battle made her hesitate for a brief moment.
Riveria looked at her fellow elf, instantly recognizing the urgency burning in her expression and voice.
"Since you're one of my kin, meeting here must be fate. Please don't worry—tell us the details."
Laurier nodded, tears shimmering faintly in her green eyes.
"One of my companions is trapped on the seventeenth floor. There are hordes of Minotaurs there right now."
Riveria nodded slowly, thoughtful.
"Understood. What does your companion look like?"
Sensing the refined aura of the green haired elf, Laurier answered without hesitation:
"White hair, red eyes. A young rookie adventurer."
"...Bell Cranel?" Riveria couldn't help furrowing her brows.
"Yes!"
Laurier hadn't even finished the word before the previously weary blond human had already taken off. Her figure vanished like a gust of wind.
...
Thirteenth Dungeon Floor.
Ryuu stared at the sight before her, momentarily stunned. The charred corpses sent a chill through her, but once she confirmed the body wasn't the boy's, she finally relaxed.
"These adventurers were all killed by Hellhound flames."
"Judging from the situation, the monsters probably charged in after being lured and ended up paying the price themselves," Asfi analyzed calmly.
Gripping her wooden sword, Ryuu darted straight into the mass of monsters on the thirteenth floor. Swift and precise, she dispatched each creature one after another, clearing the lingering wave in a matter of moments.
"Bell and the others were ambushed at the stairwell entrance, and Laurier from your familia wasn't among the bodies either." Ryuu reported the situation, leaving the task of analyzing the information to Asfi.
Asfi fell silent, deep in thought.
"They didn't flee… They rescued Laurier… Where could a rookie team possibly be hiding…?"
After a brief hesitation, her eyes flew open.
"Could they have gone down the pit to the fourteenth floor? But where could they possibly hide…?"
"Someone that intelligent would know that straying from the main route makes rescue nearly impossible."
"In that case… their destination would be the eighteenth floor—choosing not to rely on rescue, but to reach it on their own…"
Asfi was stunned for a moment.
She knew Laurier's temperament and abilities well—there was no way that blonde Elf would make such a reckless decision. Laurier's stealth Magic was practically useless against Dungeon monsters.
So who made that call?
From what Asfi knew, the only people Ryuu and she were here to rescue were a Level 1 trio and the Level 2 Laurier. There was no one else.
Could such a group really reach the eighteenth floor?
Even knowing the situation, Asfi herself would struggle to make such a drastic choice if placed in their shoes.
Yet all signs pointed to the same, singular answer.
"Any results?"
Ryuu's voice carried a tremor. Every second wasted in the Dungeon multiplied the chances of tragedy.
Faced with the escalating complexity, Asfi pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Mm… The ones we're looking for… they've likely gone to the eighteenth floor… Based on their composition, they've probably already…"
She didn't finish the ominous sentence.
Ryuu, however, lifted the corners of her lips.
That sort of decision was unmistakably Bell Cranel's style.
"If he chose that path himself, they'll be fine."
"I hope you're right…" Asfi struggled to sound optimistic.
"Mm."
Ryuu said nothing more.
Recalling the boy's sharp mind, she leapt straight into the vertical shaft.
...
An alien presence tugged at Bell's nerves.
Everything should have gone exactly as anticipated.
Yet something—some presence—was drawing nearer, and that dreadful premonition only grew stronger.
Though the Minotaurs' numbers had been reduced by more than half, Bell's sense of danger tightened even further.
Something was coming...
The moment that thought formed, a black-and-red Minotaur appeared at the entrance.
An eerie aura clung to its body, reminiscent of the mutated Goblin—only far stronger, far deeper.
Those crimson eyes seemed to seize Bell's very heart, locking onto him without blinking.
Bell understood instantly: he couldn't run.
If he turned his back to this monster, it would crush him to pieces in an instant.
As he weighed his options, the crimson-black Minotaur acted first.
It raised the massive axe in one hand and slammed it into the ground beside him.
"..."
Bell watched silently.
The Minotaur's killing intent surged at him, yet the axe did not fall upon him—instead, it obliterated three nearby monsters.
No words.
No roar.
Just a single strike, and three were reduced to blood and mud.
In the next instant, the Minotaur became a whirlwind, its axe sweeping through the remaining ten beasts.
Blood and flesh scattered like a storm.
When the carnage settled, the vast hall held only one youth still standing.
The Minotaur faced him directly, crimson eyes wide and burning.
"Roar!!!!"
The roar shook the entire hall.
Bell had no idea why this monster had turned its blade on its own kind.
Had it realized he was manipulating the herd into attacking each other—and crushed that tactic entirely?
Or was it simply consumed by killing instinct, tearing down everything in its path?
Or perhaps… it sought a fair, equal duel.
Whatever the reason, Bell no longer had a path to retreat.
Unexpected developments.
An unidentified monster.
Before the youth lay an adventure with an unknown ending.
The roar, thick with killing intent, echoed again and again through the hall.
The adventure had begun.