[Mammoth Fool].
This rouge-colored monstrosity was the largest among the common mid-tier monsters.
Against strength-type creatures like this, Adventurers usually kept their distance and bombarded them with Magic, avoiding close combat altogether.
But the one charging at Bell had burst suddenly from the dense jungle of the [Tree Labyrinth]. Hidden by the natural cover, the six-meter-tall monster closed the gap with ease.
The Dungeon never spared exhausted prey.
Its twisted, grotesque kick, as if carrying the Dungeon's endless malice, lashed out in an instant.
"Watch out!"
Lefiya's scream tore through the air, stretched and warped by the violent gusts.
Only a single second passed.
Yet to the boy, it felt unbearably long.
The wind roared. The monster's massive right foot slammed into the ground, shattering stone and kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Bell Cranel!"
"Cranel...?!"
"Cranel-san!"
The girls behind him cried out in alarm.
When the dust cleared, Bell lay motionless on the ground.
It looked as though he had been sent flying by the kick. He gave no response to their frantic calls.
The giant stared down at the unresisting boy, a savage grin spreading across its hideous face.
Thud.
Thud.
The earth trembled beneath its heavy footsteps.
It quickly reached the spot where Bell had fallen.
A looming shadow swallowed the boy's body as the misshapen giant opened its gaping maw and slowly bent down.
"Bell! Get up!"
Lefiya shouted desperately.
"The Holy Grail of Evil-Slaying, manifest as—?!"
Filvis hurriedly chanted her spell.
But just as the light of Magic began to gather, it scattered instantly—her Mind had already run dry.
"Cranel-san! Gh—"
Ryuu hurriedly set Ais down and tried to rush forward, but her twisted arm couldn't even grip the wooden sword.
It wasn't fear holding her back. It was her injuries.
Even so, she forced herself forward.
Faster.
Just a little faster…
Dragging her battered body, Ryuu gripped the wooden sword in her left hand and charged toward the boy.
Her sapphire eyes reflected Bell's figure.
She had once believed that his back was like the wings of justice. No matter how hopeless the situation, he always stood tall—like a [Hero].
But now, beneath the dreadful fangs of the [Mammoth Fool], he looked unbearably fragile.
"Cranel-san!!!!"
Realizing she wouldn't make it in time, tears spilled from the corners of Ryuu's eyes.
The girls' cries echoed again and again.
Before the Dungeon's malice, despair crept into their hearts. The resolve of Adventurers fell away, laying bare their fear and tenderness.
From beginning to end, Bell had not moved.
"Bell!"
"Eh—?!!"
In that single second, the tears in Lefiya's blue eyes turned into stunned disbelief.
The boy who should have become the monster's meal suddenly opened his eyes.
Bell drew his crimson dagger and thrust upward.
[Agility] burst forth, whipping up a violent blade wind. The giant had no time to react.
"Gaaaaaahhhh?!!"
A crimson arc stabbed straight into its right eye, and a shriek of agony tore through the air amid a spray of blood.
Bell didn't hesitate.
As the [Mammoth Fool] reared back in pain, he used the dagger lodged in its eye as a foothold and vaulted high into the air.
The sluggish monster failed to follow his movement.
With blood pouring from its ruined right eye, its vision was crippled.
In the next instant, the Hestia Knife fell from above, driving cleanly through the giant's chest.
"Oh—?!"
The Magic Stone shattered. Ash scattered through the air, and the monster's wail cut off mid-cry.
Bell smoothly pulled free the dagger embedded in the giant's eye and turned around.
"Ah…"
Ryuu had just rushed up in front of him. The tears clinging to the corners of her eyes were impossible to miss.
"Ryuu-san, sorry for making you worry."
Seeing her twisted right arm and her exhausted posture, Bell instinctively reached out, intending to steady her while wiping away her tears.
But Ryuu hurriedly avoided both.
"Cranel-san, you weren't actually hit by that kick. You fell there on purpose, didn't you?"
She had already noticed there wasn't a single mark from the kick on his body.
At the very last moment, he must have barely avoided the surprise attack and instantly come up with a countermeasure.
After knocking its prey down, a [Mammoth Fool] would swallow the victim alive before they died.
It wasn't hunger. It was instinct.
Just like how a [Peluda] fired the needles from its tail—it was predictable behavior, reliable intelligence.
Bell had used that very habit to take down the troublesome giant.
"Yeah. I'm almost out of Mind. Trying to fight something that big head-on would've been pushing it."
Bell answered honestly.
Even now, thinking back on that sudden attack made his heart race.
He had been cautious. So why had that monster appeared out of nowhere?
Had [Luck] not worked?
Even though he knew plenty of information, he still lacked actual [experience] against giant monsters.
Back during the Antares battle, he had only chanted [Argo's Ship]. He hadn't fought it head-on.
If that violent kick had been the result of [Luck], just to force him to adapt to fighting massive enemies in advance…
Then what was waiting ahead?
More [Mammoth Fool]s? Or an opponent he had never encountered before?
The image of the seventeenth floor's Floor Boss surfaced in his mind. Judging by sheer size, [Goliath] wasn't that different from the giant he had just killed.
Before setting out, he had asked around—the Floor Boss's respawn time was approaching.
However, as long as Ais drank the curse-lifting potion and the group rested for a day in Rivira Town, she alone would be able to handle the Floor Boss for them.
Could it be…
Bell cut off the thought.
The Dungeon was filled with the [Unknown]. Trying to predict everything was impossible.
This journey had already brought enough gains. Setting aside Filvis and the others, he had also learned about the existence of [Resurrection].
Even if the method involved becoming a grotesque Creature, at least his promise with Astraea had taken a step forward.
The Dungeon gave birth to the [Unknown].
Perhaps Alise and the others had become something like Revis.
Or perhaps their souls were trapped somewhere within the Dungeon, able to be revived through some unknown means.
There were simply too many possibilities.
Just like the speculation surrounding [Goliath], there was nothing solid to grasp.
Bell forced the swirling thoughts from his mind, sheathed his dagger, and walked back toward the girls behind him.
No matter what, what he needed to do hadn't changed.
Whatever happened, he would protect these girls. That was all.
...
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