Chapter 465 - 465: The Pursuit

The Dungeon's 26th Floor.

A blizzard raged, and pure white frost froze everything in its path.

The attacking monsters, the crimson Kaenseki, the blue crystals, everything was covered in ice.

"Keep moving. Anyone who can't use freezing magic, focus on dealing with the monsters. Lefiya, give Alicia a Mind recovery potion."

"Yes!"

Under Riveria's command, the elf unit advanced through the Dungeon without a single casualty.

They froze the Kaenseki buried throughout the passages, preventing any further explosions.

While carrying out their task, Riveria also ordered the fallen remnants of Evilus to be captured and interrogated, giving her a rough picture of what had happened.

The enemy planned to summon the [Calamity] and bend it to their own use. It was supposed to be done before Loki Familia's expedition began, but [Gale] had happened to witness the mastermind and immediately chased after him.

Because of her interference, the enemy's plan had been delayed. Only part of the prepared Kaenseki had exploded before Riveria and the others reached the 26th Floor and stopped the situation from worsening.

What concerned Riveria was how the enemy intended to tame the Calamity. Did they have the fighting force to handle it? Or was the Calamity, like the Viola controlled by the red-haired woman, already on the enemy's side?

As for that, every single Evilus remnant lying on the ground gave the same answer.

"Only Jura knows."

That man was one of the people involved in the annihilation of Astraea Familia.

Riveria glanced at the ring on her hand and pushed down the unease in her heart. The elf unit had already reached the floor where the Kaenseki were being detonated, yet they still had not seen the boy. That meant Bell had successfully persuaded Bete and was making full use of the werewolf's lightning-fast speed.

The way the boy saw the world was truly unique. Riveria recalled Bell's earlier words, and her heart still stirred faintly.

What exactly had he said to convince that stubborn werewolf?

And how were the two of them traveling?

One moment Riveria was worried, and the next, curiosity and excitement welled up in her.

It seemed Bell Cranel had influenced her deeply. She was actually becoming as changeable as a little girl…

Riveria stepped forward, her thoughts slowly drifting toward the boy below.

...

"Bete-san, Ryuu-san is a very important person to me. Could I ask you to carry me while we chase after her?"

Bete recalled the boy's request, and the force of his foot pressing down on the Evilus remnant beneath him grew a little heavier.

Bell Cranel was a [strong one].

Bete knew that very well. Unlike a piece of [trash] like himself, the boy was truly strong.

Most of what Bete knew about the boy came from things he had heard afterward.

With the body of a Level 1, he had charged at the red-haired woman who rivaled Finn.

When everyone had been trapped in despair, he had stood alone against the Black Goliath.

Those were only two grains of sand among the boy's countless deeds, yet they were enough to shake Bete's heart.

Bete was not someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong. If he had been in the same situation, he would have stepped forward too.

But Bete was only a [weakling].

He had asked himself countless times. If the conditions had been the same, could he have saved Ais and the others the way that boy had?

Bete knew the answer.

Just like his hatred for himself, he had known it for a long time.

The scars of the past screamed inside him. They were wounds he had to bear, and Bete had no intention of letting anyone else share them.

But whenever he faced the boy, he could not help thinking that if it were someone as strong as him, surely he could protect the things that mattered.

Bete wanted to become that kind of strong.

That was why, when Bell made his request, Bete could not refuse.

"Hey. If you get thrown off, I'm not turning back to help you."

That was Bete's way of answering.

He lowered his body and raced through the Great Tree Labyrinth with the boy on his back.

What Bete had not expected was that the boy was not thrown off at all. Instead, Bell straightened his back and used the height advantage to observe what lay ahead.

Bell showed no awkwardness or pride. He did not even waste a word on small talk.

At times, he pointed out shortcuts. At others, he fired Firebolt to clear troublesome monsters from Bete's path.

With Bell covering him, Bete poured all his focus into speed, cutting through the Great Tree Labyrinth like lightning until they reached the 25th Floor.

Smoke filled the air, and explosions roared without end.

The two immediately judged that [Great Fall] was the area where the enemy intended to summon the Calamity.

The problem was that the massive waterfall spanned three entire floors, making it difficult to determine exactly how far Ryuu had chased them.

If they ignored everything and jumped straight down the waterfall, they might end up farther away from Ryuu instead.

Because of the explosions, Bete also had trouble tracing the scent of blood. On top of that, the Dungeon walls had been destroyed, so stopping again and again to confirm the route would cost them too much time.

"I'll guide us."

Bell took a deep breath, and the notes Eina had given him surfaced in his mind.

An invisible map spread out, overlapping with the view before his eyes.

"Five hundred meters ahead to the left. Turn right at that passage."

"…"

Bete did not answer. He simply drove his legs forward and sprinted through the labyrinth passages.

And so, using the fallen Evilus remnants as markers, Bell continued guiding them along the route.

At last, in a wide passage on the 27th Floor, the two of them heard the elf girl's furious roar.

"Juraaaaaa!"

The voice was still some distance from where they were.

Bell did not panic in the slightest. Still on Bete's back, he spoke.

"Bete-san, what do you think of those huge holes along the way?"

"…"

Bete thought for an instant.

As he ran toward the source of the girl's voice, he answered, "They weren't caused by explosions. A snake-type monster dug them out. Judging by their size, it's probably [Lambton]."

It was a rare monster that lived in the Deep Floors, massive in size, with potential ability values around Level 4.

"So it is…"

Bell furrowed his brow.

If the enemy could control a monster like that, then they had to judge it by the standard of those enhanced Viola. They could not underestimate Lambton's combat strength.

And that giant snake had a special trait. It could ignore floor boundaries and move between floors by burrowing.

The enemy might use that method to escape or to carry their own people to other floors.

The number of monsters was still unclear. The only thing they knew was that the Evilus remnants being chased by Ryuu were not especially strong themselves.

Bell organized all the information they had gathered so far and spoke quietly.

"Bete-san, when we catch up to [Gale], could you hear out one request from me?"

...

The blue crystals gave off a cold light.

After crossing yet another massive hollow, Bell began running forward on his own two feet.

In his field of vision, the elf girl stood gripping a katana, rage wrapped around her body.

The blade was soaked in blood.

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