They were too late.
Even Ahnya, who was universally recognized to be dim-witted, understood that as she
confirmed the scene with her eyes.
"What is this?!"
"…Is the Water Capital always such a hellish landscape, meow?"
Runoa was shaken, and Chloe's voice was heavy.
They were standing at the edge of the cliff outside the passageway that led to the
twenty-fifth floor.
A terrible vista sprawled below them.
Rising from a raging sea of blue flames was the wreckage of what appeared to be the
burned-out roots of an enormous tree. The plunge pool was filled in with a mountain
of crystal debris huge enough to easily bury any living thing that might have been in
the yawning cavern. The waves of blue napalm showed no sign of subsiding, sending
waves of heat and billows of scalding steam toward the band of adventurers. Chloe
had not exaggerated when she described the scene as hellish.
The cavern's walls and ceiling, too, appeared as if they had been crushed to pieces in
the jaws of a dragon.
The once beautiful watery paradise was nowhere to be seen.
"Looks like a floor boss went wild in this cavern… I bet you've never seen anything like
this before, have you?"
Even the Level 5 Tsubaki couldn't help narrowing her one good eye as she looked down
on the decimation. Their surroundings bore the sure signs of a fierce battle rather than
a natural disaster. But how much time had passed since the fighting broke out? Hours?
Half a day? Had the Amphisbaena been defeated?
Only one thing was clear:
Tsubaki and her companions had arrived too late to help the adventurers who had
fought here.
"Well… Lyu should be on the twenty-seventh floor, meow! Let's get down there quick,
meow!" Ahnya shouted, giving her head a good shake to clear away the swirling
questions. Given her own stupidity, she realized it wouldn't do much good to stand
there trying to think her way through things.
Clearly, there was nobody left in the hellfire below them. Whether on land or in the
water, anything inside that inferno wouldn't have been able to breathe. That, or they
had been buried alive. It was certain that searching for survivors would be a waste of
time.
They had heard in Rivira that the hunting party pursuing Gale Wind had been on their
way to the twenty-seventh floor. Encountering this Irregular made Ahnya anxious. The
face of her elven coworker rose in her mind as she urged the others on.
"That's all well and good, but… this whole place is in shambles! There's nowhere for
us to walk! What do we do?!" Runoa asked, frowning. Tsubaki tapped the back of her
sword against her shoulder as she answered.
"Looks like our only option is to descend this cliff face."
"What? You're not serious, meow…?"
Chloe stuck her tongue out in dismay.
"There aren't any monsters in the cavern now, meow! As long as they're not pestering
us, we can do it, meow! Plus… my older brother managed to go down all by himself! If
he can, we can, meow! A-at least, I think so!"
Ahnya's unconvincing argument echoed hollowly across the cavern.
"Oh, damn it all, guess we're going for it!" Runoa finally said.
The four women nodded at one another and leaned boldly forward.
Pushing through the hot steam, they stepped off the cliff's edge. Without using their
hands, they raced straight down the near-vertical slope. Whenever the rocks began to
noisily slip out from underneath their feet, they jabbed their weapons deep into the
cliff face to support themselves.
Although they nearly fell countless times, the advancing line of adventurers held one
another up, heading for the twenty-sixth floor.
"Shit!!"
Welf's spare longsword sliced a merman in half.
But even as the bisected half-fish monster died, a new merman crushed its corpse
underfoot in pursuit of the smith, who responded with more curses.
"Is this a joke? They're endless!" he shouted.
"These numbers aren't normal!"
"They're coming from the s-sides and behind us, too!"
Ouka and Chigusa returned his shout.
The party was currently on the twenty-sixth floor. Having narrowly escaped the
crumbling cavern, they were now facing one battle after the next. They encountered
an unending stream of monsters. It was possible that due to the unprecedented
destruction on the twenty-fifth floor, which had thrown the interior maze into chaos,
the monsters seemed to have grown more sensitive to the presence of invaders.
The adventurers' breathing was ragged as they met the swarm of aquatic monsters
that ferociously bore down on them.
"We shouldn't bother with them! It's a waste of precious energy!"
Even as she shouted, Lilly's arrow threaded the crowd of jostling mermen before
piercing the eye of their leader. Such shots from supporters or commanders, who
normally did not directly participate in the fighting, were rare. The merman leader in
the center of the swarm screamed and for a moment neglected to direct its troops.
The adventurers seized the moment to flee the scene.
"This is no joke! At this rate, we'll never have time to search for Rabbit Foot…!"
Glancing at Aisha, who was handling monsters approaching from the sides, Daphne
confirmed the escape route. Just then, a devil monster jumped down from overhead
and she swiped it away with her baton-like dagger. Paying no heed to the spray of fluid
produced by the hideous monster's wound as it rolled across the floor, Daphne dashed
forward.
A drop of something—sweat from nerves or heat, she didn't know—rolled down her
narrow chin.
"How many times are you going to say that?! When we came to the twenty-sixth floor,
we made up our minds to meet up with Bell!"
"I know, I know! We can't go back to the twenty-fifth floor now that it's destroyed! And
believe me, I get that you don't want to abandon your friend! I've given up convincing
you all otherwise! But still, this is…!"
Daphne returned Lilly's shout with equal irritation. Even her eyes seemed ready to
groan in distress as she surveyed their surroundings.
The twenty-sixth floor had clearly suffered damage as a result of the cataclysm on the
twenty-fifth floor. The walls and ground were cracked, suggesting that they hadn't
been able to safely withstand the pressure from above. The water running down the
center of the passage had overflowed and was thoroughly soaking their feet. The
sprinkle of falling crystals conjured ugly visions of the whole ceiling collapsing in the
near future. The labyrinth could easily cave in on them at any moment.
The viscous howls of either confused or excited monsters further fanned the party's
anxiety.
"In our current state, and without the slightest clue to his location, our chances of
finding him are basically zero!"
"Sheesh!"
Every time Lilly wanted to prioritize looking for Bell, Daphne always cut in with the
reality of their situation.
The wretched condition of the party after the fight with the floor boss was a serious
concern. How were they supposed to search for a lone adventurer on such an immense
floor?
"Anyway, since this is our first time on this floor, we need to be putting safety first…!"
Even though the twenty-sixth floor was considered a part of the Water Capital, it was
irrefutably a completely new world for most of the party. Despite that, they had totally
ignored the usual standards for clearing a new floor and were barging straight ahead.
It was enough to make Daphne—who approached Dungeon exploration with the
watchwords "steady, cautious, and timid"—want to faint. She thought it was absolute
madness to leap without looking into the maw of the demonic Dungeon.
But even as she exchanged shouts with Lilly, Daphne could not afford to stop running.
It was obvious that the moment she did, she would be crushed underfoot by the
onrush of monsters.
"Moving forward is our only option! We can't go back to the twenty-fourth floor until
the Dungeon has repaired itself, and we don't even know if it will repair itself! Just
pray we bump into him!"
Currently the party was proceeding down the floor's main route.
Aisha, who was constantly keeping track of the party's morale, tried her best to ease
Daphne's anxiety.
Plus, though I hate relying on other people, Gale Wind should be on the same twentyseventh floor, where we'll find Bell…!
She had other things on her mind, too—namely, the elf who had been accused of
murder in Rivira. For Aisha, the question of whether she was actually guilty no longer
mattered much. If they were able to meet up with her and Bell and gain her
cooperation, even by force, a way forward would open up, albeit a rash and potentially
deadly one. It was precisely the presence of that idea in the back of her mind that had
convinced Aisha to change course and bet her life on their current reckless advance.
It was a pity that an irregularity so extreme it would rip Aisha's schemes to shreds
awaited them at their destination, the twenty-seventh floor.
"More monsters…!"
"Even for an Irregular this feels like too many!"
As Chigusa carried the unconscious Mikoto on her back and Cassandra shouldered
Haruhime, Ouka and Welf scowled at the newest swarm that had just appeared. They
were at the front of the party, and now the adventurers were being forced to change
course.
"It's like every monster in this place is after us…!"
Chigusa's panted speculation was by no means an exaggeration.
To the contrary, she had hit a bull's-eye.
All the monsters on the floor—or rather, the entire zone—had rushed in the party's
direction, searching for prey. As if to confirm her fearful guess, a huge form burst
through the water's surface.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
"What?! A kelpie?!"
"But that's a twenty-seventh-floor monster!"
Lilly's astonishment was even greater than Aisha's wide-eyed surprise.
Kelpies. These horse monsters with blue pelts and manes as well as finned bodies
were able to gallop through the water just as if they were on land. As Lilly said, they
normally appeared on the twenty-seventh floor. Their beautiful outward appearance
belied a potential that was among the greatest of any in the Water Capital.
"It came up to this floor?! And in these conditions…?!"
Overwhelmed by the magnificence and power of her enemy, Lilly was continuing to
shout in confusion when she was interrupted by a chorus of roars coming from deep
in the maze.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
"OOOO, OOO!"
"GUAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
A lamia, an afanc, and a dodora were loudly announcing their presence. All were
monsters that normally appeared for the first time on the twenty-seventh floor.
"A huge swarm of monsters? No, a mass migration…?! It can't be!" Daphne shrieked.
All the monsters were red with blood, shreds of scarlet flesh hanging from them.
All of it belonged to adventurers. Upper-class adventurers who had joined the hunt for
Gale Wind only to be crushed by the fangs and claws of calamity.
This tragedy had unfolded unbeknownst to Aisha and her companions. Now, after
devouring the corpses of various adventurers and becoming drunk on enormous
quantities of gore, the monsters had grown more ferocious and brutal than ever.
More blood. More flesh. Another feast.
In search of fresh offerings, the massive swarm of monsters had left the demolished
twenty-seventh floor behind them and poured into the twenty-sixth floor.
"What in the world is going on?"
"Ask the Dungeon! That's what's messing with us adventurers like this…!"
Of course, Lilly and the others had no clue about any of that.
Aisha, who had hoped to find refuge at a safety point, swore in frustration when she
realized her plans had been foiled.
Fortunately, because the Dungeon was prioritizing the repair of the twenty-fifth floor,
no new monsters were currently being spawned on any of the Water Capital's three
floors. Nevertheless, there were still far too many for the party to take on.
Sensing impending doom closing in from all sides even as they fought the kelpie
directly in front of them, the blood drained from their faces.
"—!!"
"Whoa!!"
Welf's knees quaked at the sight of the kelpie thrashing wildly and flinging its blue
mane around. This was an incredibly strong specimen. Its potential might even have
exceeded Welf's and Ouka's statuses. The level boosts that had provided them with
divine protection that led to victory so many times before were not available.
Facing this twenty-seventh-floor opponent, the party was finally beginning to hit a
wall they could not scale with the skills of Level 2 adventurers like Welf and Ouka.
"Argh!"
Caught up in the monster's attack, Welf was thrown backward. He had been able to
somehow prevent a direct hit with his longsword, but now his back was against the
wall. It had been cracked before, but it distorted under the latest impact, sending
fragments flying as the crystal moaned.
"Shit…!"
Welf, still exhausted from the fight with the floor boss, gritted his teeth and was trying
to stand back up when…
"—?"
Clank, clank!
A chunk of wall rolling across the floor with a clatter drew his attention.
The lustrous steely blue was not the color of the tiresomely abundant crystals of the
Water Capital.
This was a natural Dungeon ingot, glittering with the sheen of rare metal.
The ingot resembled a garnet the size and shape of a misshapen fist, with fragments
of crystal clinging to it. It seemed to have fallen out of the wall's interior, perhaps due
to the extensive damage the floor had suffered.
In true smith's fashion, Welf stared in disbelief at the ore that had rolled to his feet.
"No way… this is adamantite!"
He gasped as he realized what variety of rare metal it was.
"What are you doing, Ignis?! Get back on your feet!"
"Oh, right!"
Aisha, who had just cut down the kelpie, yelled at him impatiently.
As Welf stood up in relief, he reflexively picked up the ingot before running to catch
up with his companions.
"Uoooooooooooooooooo!"
"!!"
Just then, someone cried out. Someone who did not belong to their party.
The sound came from a human form surrounded by monsters farther down the main
route.
"Is that… someone who went to the twenty-seventh floor?!"
Aisha's earlier prediction had proven true. Welf and several other members of the
party ran to the stranger, quickly drove away the monsters, and rescued the intended
victim.
"You're Rivira's…"
"Mr. Bors!"
Welf and Lilly were right. It was indeed the hulking adventurer Bors Elder, his whole
body heaving as he breathed.
He was a wretched sight.
His brawny figure was covered in wounds from head to toe. His battle clothes were
stained red with blood, although no one could tell how much of it belonged to him and
how much came from the monsters he had killed. The patch he usually wore over his
left eye was missing. So was his weapon, which they guessed he must have lost
somewhere along the way. It was unbelievable that he had made it this far without
one. His hands and gloves were torn and reddish black, evidence that he had fended
off the monsters by flailing wildly and slamming his fists against their tough shells and
scales.
"Y-you, you guys are… Hestia Familia…? You… survived…?"
Bors turned from one member of the party to the next in a daze.
There was no trace of the leader of Rivira's usual arrogance or overbearing selfimportance. Instead, he spoke as if he was still delirious after just waking from a
nightmare.
"Are you alone? Where's the rest of the hunting party?"
Filled with a terrible dread, Aisha questioned this returnee from the twenty-seventh
floor. Bors responded in a barely audible whisper, his face clouded by an
uncharacteristically dark expression.
"…I'm the only one left. Everyone else… they're all dead."
"What?"
"What are you saying…? Do you even know how many upper-class adventurers went
with you?!"
"They can't all have been wiped out!"
"Were they killed by Gale Wind when they tried to attack her?"
Chigusa was the first to break the silence with her whisper, followed by Daphne, Ouka,
and Aisha shooting out questions in rapid succession. They weren't outright denying
Bors's claim, but their faces were taut with doubt and disbelief.
Several hours earlier, they had witnessed the twenty-seventh-floor plunge pool turn
crimson. The "lower reaches of Hell's river" had turned that huge body of water the
color of blood.
"It was an Irregular… a monster I've never seen before took my followers and…"
"…The great calamity."
Cassandra turned white as Bors, eyes unfocused, recalled his encounter with a
creature not of this world.
Only Cassandra understood that this was the "calamity" her prophecy warned of.
"—Mr. Bors?!"
Just then, Lilly interrupted with an ear-shattering shout.
"What happened to Mr. Bell?!"
"Rabbit Foot got taken out, too… one of his arms was blown clean off, and the bones
in his neck were… I'm sure he…"
"?!"
"And Gale Wind, too!… That elf who was fool enough to protect me…! Everyone, and I
mean everyone, got killed! That monster slaughtered them all!!"
As she listened to this tragic tale, Lilly's chest heaved as if she had been run through
by a sword. Meanwhile, the more Bors talked, the more emotional he became.
As if he had lost heart. As if he had lost hope.
"It's a lie… a lie, a lie, a lie! Bell can't die! He can't leave Lilly alone!!"
"Calm down, Li'l E!"
Welf held down Lilly's fist, which seemed to be on the verge of punching Bors while
her other hand gripped his shirt.
The smith's heart was hardly calm, either. From the annihilation of the upper-class
adventurers to the death of Bell, the information that suddenly confronted the party
was like shackles binding their feet. They all froze, but only Lilly's screams echoed
down the passages.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
"—?!"
Of course, the monsters didn't care the least bit for their feelings. Their wild war cries
once again reached the adventurers, who had momentarily forgotten their current
situation. A second later, a pack appeared from around a bend in the passage and
charged toward them.
"Run!!"
Aisha creamed a command. Her companions shook off their shock and complied.
Obeying their own instincts screaming for survival, they defied death once again.
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
To the adventurers, the monsters' roars sounded like an evil sneer.
Retreat was out of the question, yet moving forward held no hope for them.
Ahead of them lay only the corpses of countless adventurers.
The party had broken out of the "coffin" and overcome "despair," but what awaited
them now was the "banquet of calamity."
The reverberations of monsters running in pursuit of their prey transformed into
phantoms howling "Give up!" Beneath the dim phosphorescence, the deformed
shadows streamed past as if they were dancing wildly in rapture. The beasts seemed
bent on crushing the weak hearts of the adventurers.
"Damn it!!"
With a curse, Welf swung his remaining magic blade at the pack of monsters charging
straight at them. Flames shot forward with no heed for the watery surroundings,
charring the monsters as they howled in their death throes.
And then he heard the dagger cracking.
"…!"
The last Crozzo's Magic Sword was beginning to crumble.
Welf panicked as he watched it fracture. Ouka grimaced as well. The moment they lost
that last magic blade was the moment the party itself would collapse.
Not long after, they arrived at a crossroads where a number of routes intersected. At
the same time, howling monsters appeared from passages in every direction.
The adventurers had no idea what to do as certain death drew near. Suddenly Aisha
shouted:
"Shrimp, take out the stink bombs!!"
"What…?! The Malboros?! But they won't work on water monsters…!"
"Not for their noses, for their eyes!"
"!"
Realizing Aisha's intention, Lilly stuck her hand into the side pocket of her backpack
and pulled out five stink bags—their entire supply of Malboros. She threw them down
the four passages toward the approaching monsters.
"UUUUU?!"
As the minority of monsters that did have a sense of smell writhed in discomfort, the
remaining majority groaned in confusion. A curtain of haze made up of the green
particles released by the bombs enveloped them. Like some kind of strange pollen, the
stinking dust filled the entire intersection, causing a chain of collisions. The monsters
forgot all about the adventurers—who had slipped away in the midst of the chaos—
and began tearing at one another in outrage.
Aisha's plan had not been to use the Malboros to keep the monsters away, but rather
to create a blinding smokescreen by ripping open the bags.
"Now's our chance!!"
Just before the stink bombs split open, the party had turned tail and dived into one of
the few passages that wasn't completely filled with monsters. They continued to run
as fast as they could, moving farther and farther from the main route. After putting
quite some distance between themselves and the monsters, they emerged into a large
room.
"…!! It's a dead end…"
The room was a cul-de-sac.
It measured around thirty meders on each side and had no waterways in it. What had
once been a field of crystal lay in ruins, perhaps due to the shocks of the destruction
on the floor above. There was only a single opening for entry and exit, meaning they
had no escape route.
"Uh-oh…"
They had to get out quickly.
The same words were on everyone's lips, but they were panting too hard to speak
them.
The combination of the battle with the floor boss and the continuous harassment
they'd been dealing with since then meant the entire party was in desperate need of
rest. They had to have at least a moment to catch their breath. More than anything, the
very real possibility that Bell could be dead was throwing their minds and bodies out
of sync.
We're still in a hopeless fix… we haven't escaped ruin. Is the prophecy still continuing?
Or have we parted ways with it? Did I make the wrong decision?
Meanwhile, Cassandra was wandering through her own maze of unanswerable
questions.
She didn't know if they were still following the trajectory of her prophetic dream, or if
they had strayed off its path. Gloomy thoughts bubbled up ceaselessly in her mind,
robbing her of the willpower to even to lift her face.
No one could lift even a finger, never mind take decisive action.
"—Bors. Tell us exactly what you saw."
As the party sunk into a state of near mental paralysis, Aisha broke the silence.
"Tell us all the details you know about the monster that attacked Bell Cranell… not
your pessimistic guesses, but exactly what happened."
"…Rabbit Foot's arm got pulled off, and he suffered a blow to the neck. No question
those were fatal injuries. But I saw Gale Wind use recovery magic, too. He could… still
be alive."
"…!"
Under Aisha's sharp gaze, Bors relayed what he had seen without embellishing the
account.
As they listened to his words, Lilly and the others shuddered. Light returned to their
eyes. The transformation surprised Cassandra.
"Listen to me. Our plans haven't changed. We're still heading to the safety point.
Getting there might leave us a hairbreadth from dying, but we're going to find Bell
Cranell. Even if it costs you your life, you're going to help us, Bors."
"H-hey?! Didn't you hear me?! I said there's a horrible monster on the twenty-seventh
floor!!"
"Who cares? There's no way back anyway."
"I… I'm not going! I'll be damned if I head into that hell again!"
As Bors screamed in protest, Aisha grabbed his battle clothes threateningly.
"If you understand how indebted you are to Bell Cranell and Gale Wind… then man
up."
The Amazon's words were quiet but weighty. Bors stood dumbfounded for a moment,
then glared angrily at his feet. He didn't nod in agreement, but he didn't argue any
more, either.
This woman is truly strong. It's not just the strength granted by her status, but that
emotionally fortitude… Even in a pinch like this, she hasn't given up.
Cassandra gazed at the black-haired powerhouse. Despite being covered in sweat and
blood, Aisha was beautiful. Her words had not only stemmed all argument from Bors,
but had also unified the will of the party. The proof was in their faces, which were no
longer clouded by hopelessness. Aisha had successfully revived the will to fight that
had nearly buckled under the news of Bell's possible death.
Neither Lilly nor Daphne, their commanders, had been able to do that. Only Aisha, who
was stronger and more battle-hardened than any of them, had what it took. As
Cassandra stared at that powerful figure, she wished that she could be equally as
strong.
"If we're going anywhere, we better backtrack out of this room quick."
Daphne spoke slowly. Her words sounded heavy, as if she were driving reality home.
"We may have shaken the monsters, but the route to this room was practically a
straight shot. If we don't get out of here, we'll be crushed by a headlong rush of
monsters…"
But what was next? What would happen if they managed to slip past the mob of
monsters? How many more battles were awaited on the long journey to the twentyseventh floor?
The unspoken questions flashed back and forth in the adventurers' glances. Not even
Daphne had an answer.
Their hearts and minds were united, but their situation hadn't improved one bit. They
still didn't have a solid plan to turn back the hordes of rampaging monsters or
otherwise shake them off for good. Once again, a veil of silence descended on the room.
They could hear the howling monsters. As death crept ever closer, anxiety tormented
the party.
Lilly and Daphne racked their brains trying to come up with a way out. Ouka and
Chigusa laid Mikoto and Haruhime down on the floor, frowning as they held their limp
hands in their own. Aisha and Bors kept their sharp gazes fixed on the passage beyond
the entrance, watching for enemies. Cassandra frantically tried to interpret the last
part of the prophecy.
—What should we do?
Last of all, Welf stood rooted to the ground by mental anguish.
How can we get to Bell? How are we supposed to get through this?
Like Lilly, he was racking his brain for a way out of this impasse.
He turned the seemingly impossible problem over in his head again and again, searching
for a solution.
If only we had some magic blades…!
Instead of a solution to their crisis, all he could muster was wishful thinking.
I'd already made the decision to stop weighing my pride against my friends… That's
right, I did, I did stop! But I still don't have the magic blades I need!
He could only curse his stupidity for using them all up. It was either that or his own
incompetence was to blame for making weak blades that crumbled so quickly. All he
felt when he looked back on his past actions was regret.
Is there anything I can do to help these guys? What can I offer as a smith to repay these
adventurers?!
Welf shut his eyes tight and searched for an answer.
He clenched his fists and asked what use he was to the world.
Lady Hephaistos… what should I do?
He was being a wimp. A total wimp.
But he couldn't help asking.
When he was really, truly in trouble, that goddess, that pillar of strength always had
the words he needed.
If she were looking at his spineless self now, at this Welf Crozzo who couldn't do
anything, what would she say?
It made him nauseous to foist his responsibility on a woman like this.
But for the sake of his friends, he tossed away his shame and his concern for outward
appearances and sought the help of that exalted presence in his heart.
Here in this Dungeon, what can I do…?!
And then—
"As long as you have a hammer, metal, and a good flame, you can forge weapons
anywhere—"
He heard the voice of the goddess he revered.
He saw the supreme light he must aim for.
Divine revelation pierced his mind.
"—"
His eyes popped open.
His arms trembled.
The words that Hephaistos, the goddess of the forge, had spoken in the past rose
vividly in his mind.
Welf jerked his head up as if someone had punched him, then looked around.
He was in a room with only one entry and exit.
Lilly's backpack was stuffed with tools.
Lastly, he had the flame magic blade that was already starting to disintegrate plus the
ingot gripped in his hand.
The glow of heat still flickered deep within the cracked blade, and the nugget of metal
glittered like steel.
Welf looked down at his hands and gulped.
An instant later—he made up his mind.
He clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked, widened his eyes with fierce intent,
and gripped the magic blade and adamantite ingot with all his might.
He took a step toward his companions.
"Hey, you guys."
His resolute voice echoed through the quiet room.
All eyes were on Welf.
"Will you put your lives in my hands?"
Every one of them stopped moving and stared back in shock.
Every one of them choked on his words, confused and unable to discern what he
intended to do.
"…Smith, you must be kidding."
Ouka, his voice shaking, was the only one who guessed Welf's plan.
Welf gazed steadily back at his companions and spoke.
"I'm going to make magic blades right here."
Time stood still.
"…What?"
"I'm saying that I'm gonna forge new magic blades here in this room."
Welf held back his emotions as he answered the flummoxed Cassandra.
Magic blades would be born here in the Dungeon.
Here in this crucible of monsters that might attack at any moment, he would set up a
smithy and work the metal. Although his face dripped sweat, his eyes were unclouded
as he announced his intention.
"That's impossible!"
It was Lilly who explosively shot down his idea.
"Stop saying idiotic things!! What are you thinking?! The very idea—to forge weapons
in such a dangerous area of the Dungeon that isn't even a safety point!"
While Aisha and the others stood frozen in place, Lilly, who had known Welf so long,
panned his idea.
"Where are your tools? Your furnace? Where will you gather the raw materials you
need?!"
Although Lilly had decided his idea was unreasonable, Welf answered her in a low,
calm voice.
"There's a hammer among the tools I brought for maintenance. A hearth, too. And this
magic blade will provide the flames."
Lilly was at a loss for a response. She glanced at her backpack. As Welf had said,
everything was there. He himself had pulled together a full set of tools for their
expedition. It was a moveable blacksmith's workshop, and he'd already used it to
repair their tools and make the Goliath Scarf.
"Plus, I picked up some materials a minute ago."
Daphne and the others gaped as he held up the misshapen chunk of adamantite, which
shone dully in his hand.
"Listen, the only way we can get out of our current fix is with magic blades. If we're
gonna blow away those damn monsters and make it to the twenty-seventh floor, our
only option is to rely on the power of the Crozzo blood…!"
Welf's mental anguish was clear as he laid out his thoughts.
"Once I start working, I won't be able to fight. You'll have to protect me until the magic
blades are done… I'm asking you to put your lives in my hands."
An unnatural stillness descended on the room, as if it had been cut loose from the rest
of the world. The crystal fragments scattered around the floor gleamed blue. Lilly,
Chigusa, Daphne, and Cassandra were stunned, their eyes unsteady. Aisha and Ouka
simply stood there tight-lipped.
"You, Ignis… are you in your right mind?"
The first to squeeze out a few words, his eyes twitching, was Bors. I've never met a
smith as crazy as you, the head of Rivira seemed to be saying. Welf returned his
question with an irate scream.
"What's it matter if I'm crazy?! We have no other choice! Are you gonna believe in me
or not?! Answer me!"
Welf looked around at the adventurers, before finally resting his eyes on Aisha.
The second-tier adventurer held the real decision-making power in the party.
A moment passed before she answered the smith standing in front of her.
"…Can you do it?"
That was all she asked.
Before he replied, Welf closed his eyes and once more turned inward to his own heart.
You have a hammer.
You have metal.
The only question is, has your fire been lit?
"Of course I can!"
It was blazing.
The flame of Welf's heart burned hotter than ever.
He opened his eyes and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"As long as you have a hammer, metal, and a good flame, you can forge weapons
anywhere. That's what it means to be a smith!!"
The determination and commitment in his voice made his audience quiver. Aisha
ignored her breathless companions and laughed.
"Well then go ahead!"
Ouka, who had been quiet up till then, laughed as well.
"Yeah, forge us some blades!"
With that, Lilly stared up at the ceiling, Daphne fended off a fainting spell, and Chigusa
squeezed her hands together in a sign of faith.
"Son of a bitch," Bors said, slamming his fist onto his knee as he smiled spitefully.
To show her respect for Welf's decision, Cassandra screwed up her courage and
nodded at him.
"Our lives—"
Acceptance, resignation, resolution.
Ouka spoke for all of them, though the emotions each carried were different.
"—are in your hands."
As his fellow adventurers gazed at him with trust, Welf grinned back at them fearlessly.
Welf took his bandana from around his neck and tied it around his head.
This was the process, or rather the ritual, by which the ordinary Welf became a smith.
He brandished the remaining magic blade.
The furnace glowed vermilion, shining brightly as it began to give off heat. He didn't
have any proper fuel like coke, so he used the Amphisbaena bile Lilly had collected. It
caused a small explosion when it came in contact with flame, but the furnace stayed
lit and began to violently heat up. He had reinforced his portable hearth with drop
items they'd picked up along the way, such as the blue crab shells they had intended
to use as proof of completing their mission, and the lopsided dome contained the heat
well. It would be able to perform the job of melting adamantite, one of the hardest
metals around.
Having given up its last burst of power, the dagger fell to the ground in countless
pieces. Welf clutched the weapon's skeleton in his palm and crouched before the
blazing furnace.
"Here I go."
Gripping the hunk of metal between his tongs, he carefully but swiftly thrust it into
the fire.
"Get into battle formation! Don't let any monsters approach Ignis!"
As the flames roared, the others followed Aisha's command and formed a semicircle
around the lone entryway. Aisha, Ouka, Daphne, and Bors made up the front line, while
Lilly took command and Chigusa supported the formation from behind. Farther back,
Cassandra the healer stood watch over Mikoto and Haruhime, and farther back still,
in the center of the large room, was Welf.
Charged with reviving the party, the High Smith could not fight. The others had to halt
the advancing monsters so he could concentrate.
"Huff… puff…"
The sound of shallow breathing filled the room. The adventurers were panting despite
not even catching a glimpse of a monster yet. It wasn't simply due to the heat radiating
from the glowing furnace, which dampened their cheeks with sweat; Lilly and the
others were all on edge as they watched Welf glare into the flames.
The contents of the furnace melted swiftly in the fierce heat. At the perfect moment,
Welf slowly extracted the hot metal. The adamantite had been transformed into a red
candy-like material, bathing the deep blue crystal walls of the room in crimson as it
cast intense heat. The shadows of the adventurers stretched long on the floor, swaying
unsteadily.
Welf set the metal on an impromptu surface, grasped the hammer in one hand and the
tongs in the other, then held his breath.
The room went completely silent.
The smith focused his mind and swung the hammer down hard.
"Huff!!"
Clang! Clang!! A loud, metallic clanging rhythm began.
"Even the idea of forging in the Dungeon…!"
Daphne pressed her hand to her mouth.
"This can't be happening…!" she moaned at the unbelievable scene.
They had indeed entered unknown territory.
Most adventurers and smiths would have called it idiotic.
The deities would have held their sides and laughed with glittering eyes at this
adventurer's journey into the unknown.
If he succeeded, it would be an incredible accomplishment.
If he failed, it would be an unprecedented act of folly.
Their corpses would be buried here, their disgraceful deaths the laughingstock of
future generations.
Welf was attempting an act of barbarity that even the master smith Tsubaki Collbrande
had never hazarded.
—Forging weapons in the Dungeon.
Producing magic blades deep within the labyrinth itself.
"Huff!!"
Welf exhaled loudly as he hammered the blazing red adamantite. Sparks swirled as
the rhythmic pounding continued. Each time the hammer crashed against the metal,
Chigusa and Cassandra jumped. The whole world seemed to vibrate from the
unrelenting pounding.
Unsurprisingly, the deafening metallic clanging began to attract monsters as it rang
out in the Dungeon.
The sound of the hammer was like a countdown to ruin.
And then it began.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
Accompanied by a chorus of roars and the pounding of countless feet, a huge, motley
swarm of monsters came into view far down the passage. The whole pack they had
dodged at the crossroads was now rushing toward them.
"Hell Kaios!!"
Aisha activated her magic instantly. She had been chanting as she waited, and now the
jumble of monsters struggling to beat one another down the narrow passage became
fodder for the slicing wave attack.
"Take these shields and hold at the front of the entrance! We can't let the monsters
into this room!"
Obeying Lilly's command, Ouka and Bors positioned themselves between the passage
and the room to form a wall that would hold back the rush of monsters.
The single entryway would limit the number of monsters that could enter at one time
and reduce the maximum momentum of their charge. This was one tactic for taking
on a large horde of monsters in the Dungeon. The flip side was that if even one got
inside and started a melee, the adventurers wouldn't stand a chance.
Defending the "gate" with their lives was an absolute precondition for Welf's success.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Bastards!"
Ouka braced himself as the monsters began to throw themselves against the spare
shield he was holding up. Despite putting his whole body into a defensive stance, the
impact forced him to take a step back. Next to him, the Level 3 Bors desperately held
them off with his own borrowed shield as he jabbed randomly with the expandable
silver lance Chigusa had handed him.
"You don't have to kill them! Just cut off their feet!"
"I can't even aim!!"
"We need support…!"
Aisha and Daphne sliced at the enemies from the sides of the "wall," while Chigusa
stepped in with Shakuya, Mikoto's throwing knives, and Lilly supported them with
shots from her Little Ballista. At the back of the formation where Mikoto and
Haruhime lay, Cassandra struggled to keep her wits about her as she activated her
recovery magic whenever Daphne or the other fighters were at risk of falling out of
the battle line.
With the smith's iron melody ringing in their ears, the adventurers intercepted one
monster after the next.
"…!"
Bang, bang, bang!
As if mirroring their anxious hearts, the falling hammer drew an arc through the air
again and again.
The dangerous heat seared Welf's skin. The combination of the magic blade and the
dragon bile had created temperatures far higher than normal, scorching his undine
cloth and bathing him in sweat. The instant a drop of moisture fell from his chin onto
the hammer, it evaporated with a sizzle.
The flurry of sparks was proof of his strength, though it needed no outside confirmation.
The precision with which he hit the center of the metal each time stemmed from his
dexterity.
His whole body burning, Welf threw every bit of physical strength, courage, and skill
he had at the hunk of metal.
But, but, but…
"Crap…!"
He couldn't properly shape it according to his wishes. In fact, the metal seemed to
ignore his will as it morphed into an uneven, bumpy shape. He felt as if it was a living
being with a capricious mind of its own.
Adamantite was among the finest of rare metals. It was exceedingly hard, which made
processing and forging difficult. Even famous High Smiths struggled to control it.
He'd gained experience working with dir adamantite, a lighter, processed version of
the metal, when he made Bell's armor. But this pure ore was resisting his attempts
completely.
His skill level clearly fell short. That, or he lacked the experience required. The wildly
leaping flames and the intense resistance of the metal were all signs that he was not
in control.
"You've gotta be kidding me…!"
Complaining didn't help, of course.
Welf's hands shook as the adamantite stubbornly refused the hammer.
Impurities were transformed into countless sparks that flew into his face as he reheated
the metal and began to beat at it again.
There's no time. I can't stumble. I have to finish fast.
Nevertheless.
Wish my heartbeat would pipe down.
It sounded slow, lingering in his ears unendingly.
For every three times I bring down the hammer, my heart only beats once—
Welf was at the center of a maelstrom of time.
Each time he swung his hammer, time seemed to melt away. The burning red metal
consumed his focus.
How long have I been working on this?
How many hours? Half a day? Or a single minute?
Where am I?
The process for making a magic blade differed from that for a regular sword, but
neither could be drastically shortened. If he wanted to make a weapon strong enough
to break them out of their current fix, he had to achieve mastery within limited time.
This anxiety verging on obsession thrust Welf into the darkness of the forging process.
I'm giving it all the strength and skill I can muster.
All my craftsman's pride, self-worth, and will.
So why isn't it coming out how I want?!
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
"Gyaaaa!"
The monsters' roars were coming more often now. The counterattacks Ouka and the
others undertook sounded weaker. Welf wondered if they were okay, but he didn't
have the leeway to look away. If he took his eyes off his work even once he could fail.
And failure here meant death. Distraction invited distraction. It was the worst possible
cycle, eating at him mentally and physically.
As he struggled, he began to sink into an uncomfortably warm, bottomless abyss. It
was a miracle that his hammer hadn't missed its mark yet.
"Huff, puff, huff…!"
As large drops of sweat rolled down his face while his breath seemed to come out
scalding, the world disappeared into the pounding reverberations of his heartbeat.
He couldn't even tell right from left, up from down, front from back.
Within the blackness before his eyes hung the brilliant red metal and his hammer.
At this moment in time, they were his entire world.
For the first time in his life, he experienced an extreme vision.
I hear a voice.
The world was wrapped in darkness.
In the gap between despair, anxiety, and an individual's will to resist those feelings,
Welf heard the ingot speak.
"Listen to the metal's words, lend your ears to its echoes, pour your heart into your
hammer."
He had learned that from the Crozzo family as a young boy.
These words expressed the spirit of his grandfather and father, whom he had once
hated.
They were the starting point for Welf's rebirth and the cornerstone of everything; now
they delivered to him the voice of the metal, the question of the hammer.
Listen.
To what?
Why do you swing me, your hammer?
To forge weapons.
Why do you forge weapons?
To survive.
Wrong.
That's not what I'm asking. That's not what you need right now.
Listen.
Why do you forge weapons?
"—"
The questioning voice of the hammer became Welf's own voice as he asked himself
why, plumbing the depths of his heart.
"Mr. Welf!"
From the depths of the darkness, Welf heard the prum's desperate plea.
"Smith…!"
From beyond the darkness, a man moaned.
"Mr. Crozzo!"
From beside him, the girl whom he had told not to call him by his family name was
doing exactly that.
The war cries of the adventurers and the voices of his friends shook him.
I…
I…
I…!
"I forge weapons for my friends."
For Bell.
For the people here in this room—his comrades.
"To save my comrades who believe in me!!"
The weapons he forged with someone particular in mind contained a special power.
They sparkled brighter than any other weapons.
Yes. This was the truth. It was obvious. Why had he forgotten?
For his friends.
So they could go save Bell—
"I!!"
The hammer struck metal with a loud clang. The hammer screamed as it bounced back
into the air. The melody changed.
The tempo of the hammer was freer, stronger.
The adventurers heard the difference as they continued to hold off the braying
monsters. When they looked up in surprise, they saw that Welf's eyes were burning
crimson as if they had melded with the flames.
Changing, changing, changing.
The adamantite—hardest of all metals that had no reason to obey Welf's hammer—
was taking on a new shape.
As if yielding to the will of one man, its war cry rang out, its crystalline structure
shifted, and the silhouette of a blade began to emerge.
"Whew!!"
Welf's blood boiled with excitement.
His racing blood harmonized with the roar of his heart, pushing open a new door.
We'll never get out of this with regular magic blades.
We'll never overcome danger if our magic blades have an expiration date.
We'll never escape the jaws of death with magic blades destined to fall apart.
So what should he do?
The answer was clear.
He had to overcome.
He had to overcome the idea of regular magic blades, right then and there.
He had to make a weapon that went beyond magic blades—a new generation of
weapon, a stable magic blade.
He had to twist the destiny of the magic blade itself to create a self-contradictory
weapon.
On that fateful day in the past, he had declared his intentions to his grandfather,
Tsubaki, and Hephaistos.
He had sworn that instead of simply crafting Crozzo's Magic Swords, he would forge
his own weapons—Welf's weapons. He would fulfill that promise here and now.
Right here and now, he had to go beyond being Welf Crozzo.
"Excellent!!"
He didn't have a theory.
But he had an idea.
A vision had started to come into view.
No—that wasn't accurate. The hint he needed had been beside him all along.
It was the goddess's blade.
The masterpiece that the goddess of the forge had crafted was viewed as heretical, but
it also represented the hope of Welf's ideal—and it had been in that boy's hand the
whole time.
Bell, wait for me!
Bell had run so fast and soared so high that he shocked humans and deities alike.
And Welf—well, he'd be damned if he just stood by and watched the distance between
them widen relentlessly.
I won't leave you alone!
I refuse to abandon you. I'll walk by your side no matter what it takes.
No.
I'll walk a step or two ahead of you.
I'll surpass you, and Hephaistos, too!!
That's why—!!
I'm aiming for the heights, beyond this cursed blood of mine.
I'm going past that abominable curse to the source of virtue and merit.
The skin of Welf's clenched fist tore, seeping blood that sizzled in the flame.
But the Crozzo blood did not evaporate. Instead it became a haze of heat that
intermingled with, and then entered the adamantite.
This cursed blood—the bloodline of the dead that Welf had inherited—became
blindingly white-hot as it tried to answer the young smith's will.
As his mind ran wild in an unconscious state devoid of a sense of self or idle thoughts,
it crafted a design acknowledging the fundamental laws, heeding divine providence,
and overturning logic itself.
As he spoke with the adamantite, Welf infused it with the plan he had drawn in his
mind.
"It won't hold!!"
At that very instant, the sound of metal being ripped apart thundered through the
room.
"Eyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Daphne's shout was followed by Bors's howl as he and his wrecked shield flew into
the air.
"————————!!"
With roars that sounded like declarations of victory, an avalanche of monsters spilled
into the room.
What began to take place afterward was a portrait of hell.
Intent on trampling the adventurers whose battle line had crumpled, the monsters set
upon them from every direction.
"Form a circle! Don't show the monsters your backs!"
The party just barely managed to obey Aisha's blurted command and form a circle, but
it clearly wouldn't last long. The monsters pressed further into the circle second by
second, its circumference shrinking as if it were being steadily shaved away.
Soon, they were forced back to where Cassandra was guarding Mikoto and Haruhime.
Aside from the central area, the entire room was filled with monsters.
"Aaaaaah…!"
Concentric rings of monsters surrounded the adventurers. Cassandra felt the strength
draining from her body as she stared out at them.
The fighters were still repelling their enemies' fangs and claws, but just barely. The
moment they had lost control of the room, their morale had flagged.
Their faces smeared with blood and sweat, the party was on the verge of accepting
utter destruction.
Cassandra stiffened as despair breathed down her collar for the umpteenth time, and
was about to press her eyes shut.
—?
But as she did, she realized something.
That sound—
The hammer had gone quiet.
The melody of the forge, which had continued up till that point no matter how fierce
the howling of the monsters, had stopped.
Cassandra looked over her shoulder, unsure what this change meant.
"—"
And then she saw it glittering.
Whoa—!
"Ouka!"
At exactly the same moment, razor-sharp claws shredded Ouka's shoulder, and at long
last, he collapsed. Chigusa screamed his name as several bloodthirsty mermen flew at
him.
Their black shadows engulfed Ouka, who had stopped breathing.
Their hideous fangs bore down on his fallen form—and then they burst into flame.
"…What?"
"GYAAAAAAAA!"
As jaws of fire devoured the pack of mermen, time halted for Ouka, Lilly, and the
monsters alike.
The flames had come from the center of the room.
Their source was the patch of ground inhabited by a single man, whom Lilly and the
others had protected.
Everyone looked in his direction.
Like Cassandra, who was staring wide-eyed and unable to pull her gaze away, each of
them processed what they were seeing.
"—"
The smith stood tall.
Though his undine cloth flapped in waves of heat, its hems singed, he stood quiet and
calm.
In his left hand, he held his bandana.
In his right hand, he held a gallant crimson longsword.
"—OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
The monsters had regained their destructive instinct. Shaking off their confusion, they
flew at the adventurers, intent on initiating another bloodbath.
"Can you give me a hand?"
"What?"
From all directions, every monster in the room flew at him.
Welf was standing next to Cassandra with no means to block them on his own.
"I can't do it by myself—would you grab hold of this?"
Cassandra peered into his eyes and grasped the hilt of the magic sword he held out.
Monster fangs and claws drew close.
The adventurers took their stances.
Welf wrapped his hands around the same hilt Cassandra was gripping and pointed the
tip of the blade toward the ground.
"Here we go!"
For Welf, this was the beginning.
It was a mere foothold for reaching the level of mastery that the deity of the forge had
achieved.
He puffed out his chest as he spoke.
To save his friends, and to carve his will into the world, he roared the weapon's name
for all the Dungeon to hear.
"Shikou—Kazuki!"
He thrust the blade into the ground.
Instantaneously, huge crimson flames leaped upward.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Precisely as the monsters prepared to launch themselves toward Ouka, Chigusa, Lilly,
Daphne, and Aisha, flames erupted from directly below.
Neatly avoiding the adventurers—or rather, protecting them with a formidable wall—
the flames leaped up in overlapping circles like a flower of fire. They had traveled
through the ground from the tip of Welf's sword and blossomed explosively the
moment they reached the monsters' feet.
The group of adventurers standing at the eye of the storm was dumbfounded by the
power of the flames and the waves of heat they radiated. Beyond the crimson haze,
they heard mermen, kelpies, blue crabs, and lamias howling as they burned.
The inferno was so powerful it immolated even water monsters normally resistant to
fire attacks. Blasting in all directions around the adventurers, it looked as if the sun
had descended into the Dungeon.
"—Ah."
A flash of light shot across Casssandra's brain.
That most hideous of nightmares replayed in her mind alongside lines from the
prophecy. In the dream, Lilly had died with her guts spilled everywhere; Haruhime
had drowned in a sea of blood, torn to pieces; the bodies of Mikoto, Chigusa, and Ouka
had been piled atop one another; Aisha, carrying the body of the renart, had teetered
from exhaustion before finally getting swarmed and then devoured by multitudes of
monsters; and a blood-drenched, hollow-eyed Daphne had drawn her last breath.
The prophecy clearly referred to death, and the images had depicted annihilation—
but Welf alone had not been included.
"The hammer shall be shattered…" Welf had lost his arms and legs in a cruel vision.
Certainly, his arms and legs had been severed in her dream.
But that was all.
In the prophecy, too, Welf was the only one whose certain death had not been hinted
at with words like "flowers of flesh" or "torn to pieces."
What if he lost his four limbs but still remained alive?
The last remaining piece of the prophecy, the warning in the sixteenth line, connected
everything.
Gather the fragments—The fragments were Welf's four limbs. This suggested Cassandra,
the healer, would restore them.
Consecrate the flame—This was a metaphor for lighting a fire in the furnace in order
to refine the magic blades.
And finally, beseech the sun's light—the answer to this puzzle was already plain to see.
"A great sun… no, it's blooming crimson lotus flowers in the shape of the sun."
An inferno in the shape of a sun had formed to protect the adventurers in their circular
battle formation. And that "sun's light" had indeed incinerated countless monsters.
Heal the smith, watch over him as he worked at forging, and blaze a new trail with his
magic blade.
That was the full meaning of the sixteenth line.
Cassandra's actions had changed the future, and as a result, Welf never lost his four
limbs. Neither had Daphne and the others died.
Cassandra had won out over fate without losing a single one of her companions.
—She had managed to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
The prophetess of tragedy, fully understanding for the first time, stood rooted to the
ground as the flames illuminated her face. Her hands still gripping the hilt of the magic
sword, she looked at the face of the young man beside her.
Welf gazed out at the towering flames and slowly parted his lips.
"That's right… this is the beginning. The beginning of my quest for supremacy."
For Welf, it was the beginning.
It was a mere foothold for reaching the level of mastery that the deity of the forge had
achieved.
The sword hilt he still gripped tightly was no more than a masterful forgery born
through imitating Hephaistos's creations.
That's why he had partly dubbed it Shikou, or First Height. It was a name that
contained his ambition to reach true mastery as well as signaling the start of his
journey to realize that goal.
It was the beginning of his climb toward the peaks—the first of a series, worthy of
commemoration.
The strength of this new type of magic blade depended on the magical power of its
user, and for that reason, it would never run dry. Its life span was not determined by a
predetermined expiration date.
This sword was not fated to crumble; it had shaken off that destiny. It was a Welf's
Magic Sword—the only one in the entire world. This weapon's strength was not only
directly in proportion to its user's strength, it would continue to develop as its owner
grew. Just a moment ago, Welf had added the magical power of Cassandra, a healer, to
his own in order to increase the sword's attack strength.
Welf's magic blades would never shatter again.
Never again would they corrupt the pride of the person who used them or the dignity
of the smith who created them.
They would accompany their user through life, developing together like a part of their
own body, forging a bond that only death could separate.
"…Hey, you guys."
The braying of the flames had faded and the room was quiet again. As Daphne and
then all the others slowly turned to face him with incredulous eyes, Welf addressed
them.
"I'm ready to give back the lives you put in my hands."
He pulled Kazuki from the ground and hoisted it onto his shoulder.
Daphne's eyes happened to meet Welf's at that exact moment, and she blushed.
Cassandra smiled at the smith, who looked exhausted but at peace. Ouka also
recovered from his stunned state and turned up the corners of his mouth.
"You did it!!"
He, Aisha, Bors, and even Lilly joined in praising the smith.
Welf grinned faintly in return, then grew serious. They had to get moving, and fast.
Leaving behind immense heaps of ash that had once been monsters, the adventurers
dashed out of the room.
"—?"