"We're finally almost at the eighteenth floor... Bell Cranel, do you want to rest?"
Lefiya looked at the glowing moss and spoke softly.
Bell had been escorting them back toward the Safe Floor, and the journey had been anything but smooth.
Lefiya had fallen asleep on Filvis's back. The little Mind she'd recovered was spent again on bombardment magic.
The others weren't any better.
Ryuu and Filvis were utterly drained. The aftereffects of the battle in the Pantry clung to them, tearing at their already exhausted bodies.
Ais's condition was worse. The curse had eaten away at her, leaving her completely unconscious.
"We can't delay any longer. We have to remove the curse from Ais-san as soon as possible."
Bell walked at the front without hesitation.
Because of Ais's state, every rest stop lasted only a few short minutes.
After enduring the Dungeon's endless malice, even Bell's stamina was nearing its limit.
Pale blue moss spread across the surroundings, and the familiar scenery gradually came into view.
The only silver lining was that, thanks to Bell pushing them forward, they were almost at the staircase leading to the eighteenth floor.
"Cranel-san, something feels wrong here."
Ryuu's right hand was wrapped tightly in cloth, completely unusable.
She carried Ais on her back, her face pale with fatigue, yet her eyes remained sharp.
"Yeah. I'll be careful."
Bell frowned and scanned their surroundings.
There were too few monsters.
Judging from the footprints, had they all headed toward the eighteenth floor for some reason?
The moss had been crushed and warped by enormous footprints. Its usual clear, pale blue glow now looked distorted and unsettling.
The moment they reached the staircase, an unusual sight came into view.
"…?!"
Filvis's face turned deathly pale.
In an instant, she understood.
The calamity wasn't over.
"Mammoth Fool? Why are they all jammed up here?"
Lefiya frowned at the massive, twisted bodies crammed together.
"Something must have happened on the eighteenth floor..."
Ryuu muttered, her voice trembling.
In their current condition, dealing with a Dungeon anomaly was out of the question. They couldn't even handle a normal advance.
"…"
Under the girls' anxious gazes, Bell tightened his grip on his dagger and stepped forward.
Whatever lay ahead, they didn't have the luxury of standing here in doubt.
Amid the cold blue glow, monster roars echoed through the gaps.
"Cranel-san..."
Ryuu whispered.
The blue light reflected off the boy's white hair, giving him a fragile, almost fading presence.
Lefiya and Filvis silently watched him.
What was behind that wall of monsters?
What awaited them was not the white light of hope, but a dim, melancholy blue glow.
Like the chill of a frozen night, beams of light cut across the boy's figure, carving it into countless fragments.
Bell couldn't see what was happening on the other side.
But the closer he drew, the clearer the sounds became.
Despair seeped through the cracks, tearing at his ears and pounding against his heart.
"My arm's broken! Is there a Healer?!"
"Goliath's coming! Mage, start chanting!"
"Someone... someone please save me..."
"Can anyone help Daphne-sama?! If this keeps going, she's going to—sob..."
"All the potions and magic swords are used up! Damn it, what is that pitch-black monster?!"
"Ahhh... save me!!!"
"The prophecy... the prophecy... we have to buy time..."
"It's over. Everyone here is going to die..."
"I respectfully speak to you, my War G—ugh... cough, cough..."
What awaited Bell was not hope.
It was a bottomless abyss.
The voices of his companions mixed with the screams, driving his exhausted legs forward.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Even if what lay ahead was the entrance to hell, he had to keep walking.
The longer Ryuu, Lefiya, and the others remained on the nineteenth floor, the greater the danger.
Ais's condition couldn't wait. If the curse wasn't lifted soon, it could cost her life.
Behind him were anxious eyes.
Ahead of him were cries of agony.
Everything bore down on the boy's shoulders.
"Bell Cranel..."
Lefiya didn't understand why warm tears suddenly spilled from her eyes.
Through the haze of tears, the boy's figure blurred, looking unbearably fragile and alone.
Bell tightened his grip on his dagger, his pace quickening with every step.
...
Filvis carried Lefiya on her back, silently following after him.
No matter what anyone said, the boy would carve through whatever stood before him and charge headfirst into the abyss.
The calamity on the twenty-fourth floor had only been the beginning.
Was this situation as well the result of that filth?
Filvis couldn't think straight. The image of his back filled her vision, leaving room for nothing else.
Monster limbs tangled together, forming natural footholds.
Bell leapt up and swiftly pierced the Magic Stones of several monsters.
Black ash scattered and drifted into the air.
The boy stepped into disaster.
"..."
Bell steadied himself and moved forward without hesitation. He didn't waste words. His crimson eyes swept rapidly across the battlefield, taking everything in.
The adventurers had gathered near the central tree.
Those wielding wands lay collapsed from Mind Down, murmuring incoherently.
The vanguard and shield bearers had been swallowed by the tide of monsters. Wounded bodies covered the ground, and only a handful still struggled against claws and fangs.
Daphne's neck and arms were covered in bark. Crimson and dark yellow blood flowed down her skin like sap, silent and unceasing.
Welf and Mikoto lay on the ground. Pale as they were, they still forced their right hands up, trying to chant Magic.
"Uuuh..."
Lili had used up every last item. Not even a single arrow remained.
With her small body, she dragged the incapacitated adventurers backward, pulling them away from snapping fangs.
The other supporters followed her lead. But without Healers or potions, those who had fallen couldn't rise again.
A scene from hell unfolded before him. What Bell had stepped into was absolute despair.
"Ooooooohhh!!!!"
The pitch-black calamity roared as it charged toward them.
The howl shook the air; its massive footsteps made the ground tremble.
Unlike the adventurers who had exhausted everything, Goliath's monstrous body was completely unscathed.
Bell instantly grasped their strategy.
Buy time. Wait for Ais to arrive.
Judging from the situation, the [Monster Rex] possessed strength equivalent to Lv.5 and was still nearly at full power.
Their side had nothing left.
Even if Ais's curse could be lifted, it would only stop her injuries from worsening. She wouldn't be able to return to battle.
With their potions depleted, Ryuu and Lefiya were in no condition to fight either.
Buy time and wait for reinforcements?
But with their Magic and stamina drained, how could they possibly hold out?
There was only one option.
Offer a sacrifice.
Use the incapacitated adventurers as bait, avoid direct confrontation as much as possible, and wait for rescue.
Place comrades and others on opposite sides of the scale. Abandon justice. Survive at any cost.
But even that would be nothing more than a dying struggle.
The adventurers of Rivira had surely tried to flee the Eighteenth Floor. This predicament was born of the Dungeon itself. Hoping for rescue was little more than a fantasy.
"Orion, move forward..."
Artemis's voice echoed by his ear.
Her smile warmed his heart like a blessing.
Raise your head.
Open your eyes.
Take that heavy step.
If you don't move forward, you can't save anyone.
If you sink into despair, you deny the very existence of Bell Cranel.
So—
Even without a solution in sight, Bell kept walking forward.
The [Sage] cast aside strategy. The [Braver] let go of strength.
Within that pure light of the soul, only the [Hero] remained—pressing onward.
This was different from every adventure before.
The path Bell chose was an abyss with no visible end.
What he staked everything on was that faint possibility Riveria had once spoken of.
"Little Rookie..."
The wounded near the passage noticed his arrival.
But when they saw Ais lying completely unconscious, deeper despair settled over their faces.
The [Sword Princess] had indeed returned.
But now, she could no longer be their hero.
"Bell-sama..."
Lili hurried over.
"Quickly. Give Ais-san the counter-curse potion."
As if conserving the last of his strength, Bell didn't say anything more.
"..."
Lili bit her lip. Though countless words welled up inside her, she turned and ran toward the Sword Princess at the rear.
The fighting at the front continued.
The giant roared as it charged, its blood-red eyes fixed on Daphne.
"Cassandra!!!!!"
Daphne screamed.
Cassandra stepped forward, choosing to use her own body to buy everyone a few precious seconds.
Disaster loomed ahead.
The kind-hearted girl made her decision and offered up her life without hesitation.
And so—
Bell embraced death.