The monsters' wails echoed in his ears. Black mist rose before his eyes as Magic Stones shattered.
Bell slipped past the poisonous spores sprayed by the mushroom monster and carefully cut down the creatures rushing at him.
Together with Filvis and the others, he fled the collapsed Pantry and began the grueling journey back.
They had defeated Olivas and learned of the Creatures' existence and intentions.
But the adventure was far from over.
There were no shortcuts in the Dungeon. Between the Twenty-Fourth Floor and the Eighteenth Floor, there wasn't a single Safe Zone where they could stop and recover.
Bell had to stay alert at all times, clearing every threat from their path.
Monsters roared. Toxic mist spread through the air.
Though this hastily formed party appeared powerful, only the boy still retained a workable condition.
"Ryuu-san, are you sure it's alright for me to take the last potion?"
As he spoke, Bell pivoted and slashed with his dagger.
The Hestia Knife pierced the Bugbear's chest with the smallest possible motion, precisely destroying the Magic Stone inside.
Pain flickered across Ryuu's face, cold sweat covering her pale skin.
Suppressing her exhaustion as best she could, she spoke softly.
"Cranel-san… my right arm is fractured. Even if I drink a potion, I won't be able to fight."
She blinked, her sapphire eyes reflecting Bell's nimble movements.
The strain at the corner of her lips eased slightly, softened by trust.
"This isn't modesty or despair," she added. "It's a rational decision to ensure we all make it back to the surface safely."
Ordinary potions couldn't mend a broken bone.
Ryuu was covered in wounds, and her stamina was completely drained.
Rather than waste the potion, it made more sense for the boy to take it and escort them safely back.
"I'm sorry. I dragged you into that fight with the red-haired woman."
Bell moved carefully at the front, apologizing as he advanced.
Even though it had been the most rational choice, he hadn't confronted Olivas and Revis head-on. Instead, he had taken on the role of support and commander.
The fact that he had pushed Ryuu into danger was undeniable.
"Please don't say that. If it weren't for Cranel-san, we would have died in the Pantry."
Ryuu immediately refuted him.
Every step Bell had taken had been a tremendous help.
Breaking through the swarm of monsters. Holding back the explosions. Using strategy to blast apart the Violas. Defeating Olivas.
And in the final moment, creating the opening Ais needed to win…
In a battle where they had brushed against death again and again, every action had been indispensable.
One mistake, and they would be nothing more than cold corpses.
"Bell…"
Ais lay against Ryuu's back, as if trying to say something.
"Ais-san, please don't force yourself to speak. We can talk once we're back."
Bell answered at once.
After her direct clash with Revis, Ais had completely lost the ability to fight.
The only blessing was that the cursed weapon hadn't struck a fatal spot.
She still retained a faint consciousness and hadn't fully passed out.
As long as they reached the Eighteenth Floor quickly and retrieved Lili's spare curse-lifting potion, there was still time.
Now, Ryuu supported Ais on her back with one arm, following close behind the boy. The other two did the same.
"Ugh…"
Lefiya had exhausted all her magic. Slumped against Filvis's back, she fought down waves of nausea.
Bell's figure swayed and split before her eyes, and the fantastical scenery of the Tree Labyrinth blurred into a dizzying haze.
Yet more than the spinning world around her, Lefiya was preoccupied with what she had lost.
During the battle, her satchel had been torn apart by the red-haired woman. Everything inside—along with the curse-lifting potion—had dissolved into foam.
Lefiya had no chance to retrieve the most important thing she had lost, and it gnawed at her.
What she didn't know was that Ais was clutching something tightly in her right hand.
A beautiful pale blue light spilled through the gaps between her slender fingers.
"Cranel, are you holding up?"
Filvis ignored Lefiya's murmur. What worried her more was whether Bell was pushing himself too far.
Her own stamina and magic had been heavily drained. She no longer had the strength to provide proper cover.
When Lefiya had collapsed from magic exhaustion, Filvis had hesitated for a brief moment.
Could her tainted, defiled body really touch this kind-hearted elf girl?
But at that critical instant, she glanced at the boy and steeled herself, lifting Lefiya onto her back without further hesitation.
The incident in the Pantry had come to an end, yet Filvis's premonition about the [Catastrophe] still weighed heavily on her heart.
Everyone's lives were now tied to the boy.
The crisis was far from over.
"I'd like to say I'm fine, but this is the Dungeon. Anything can happen. I don't want to lie to you."
Bell tightened his grip on his dagger and answered honestly.
Since he hadn't engaged Olivas and the others head-on, and after drinking the last potion, he still had some stamina left.
If nothing unexpected happened, it would be enough to escort them back to 18th Floor.
His remaining mind, however, was another matter entirely.
He could clearly feel how little he had left. If he used Magic recklessly, he would end up just like Lefiya, collapsing into a [Mind Down] coma.
"I'll conserve as much strength as I can and get you all to the 18th Floor to rest."
As he made that promise, he raised his dagger and cut down another charging monster.
He avoided unnecessary entanglements, ignoring Magic Stones and Drop Items, striking only at vital points to finish each enemy swiftly.
They were now on the main thoroughfare of the 23rd Floor.
Monster roars tore at their ears and burrowed into their weary minds.
The dagger flashed, white hair swaying with each motion, but there was none of the ease they had when they first descended.
Pain lingered. The curse gnawed at them. Drowsiness crept in.
The light of hope lay on the 18th Floor, still painfully far away.
"..."
At some point, silence settled over the group.
Each step they took was heavy with exhaustion.
The pale blue moss along the ground reflected their drawn, haggard faces.
Ryuu and Filvis conserved what little strength they had left, unwilling to waste even the energy to speak.
It was a long road back.
With Ais suffering from a curse and Ryuu injured, Bell allowed only brief, minimal rests.
"Mm…"
Lefiya's mental strength gradually recovered, and her vision finally steadied.
As she watched the boy fighting ahead, she kept her senses sharp, staying alert to the monsters around them.
She clearly remembered how, during their last rest, she had been dizzy and on the verge of sleep.
Bell hadn't shown the slightest hint of impatience. He had gently supported her and fed her a natural fruit infused with magic power.
Ryuu and Filvis had seen it and both insisted they didn't need help.
That warm, embarrassing memory resurfaced, along with the complicated looks Ryuu and Filvis had given her at the time.
"Uu…"
A flush spread across Lefiya's cheeks.
Just as her thoughts began to wander—
A massive monster, over six meters tall, suddenly burst out from the jungle and lunged straight at the boy.
"?!"
"Watch out!"
In the dim corridor, Lefiya's eyes flew wide as she shouted at the top of her lungs.