The world longs for a hero.
He no longer remembers who said those words.
He no longer knows when that yearning first took root.
"[...] I'll become a hero. And then I'll take your hand."
To save someone far beyond his reach, to bring a smile back to that person's face, the young Bell made that promise.
The memories have fallen silent.
Everything about that person has vanished without a trace.
But the promise still lingers in his heart.
That passion, intertwined with longing, carved itself deep into the boy's soul.
And so—
Bell Cranel walked forward with one goal in mind: to become a hero.
...
"OOOOOOOHHHH!!!"
The giant's roar exploded outward, an invisible shockwave twisting the air as it tore straight ahead.
The girls' cries pierced the sky, blending with a sorrowful blue light like moonlight, giving birth to a living hell.
No hope.
No future.
No hero.
Despair buried itself in every heart.
A Lv.1 supporter would die here. Even the Lv.6 Sword Princess could not escape this fate.
With stamina and Mind already drained, level meant nothing.
All that remained was an all-devouring calamity—and ordinary people reduced to tragedy.
The ground shattered. The roar thundered. Dust erupted where the boy had fallen.
"Bell!"
Ryuu rushed forward at the very front.
But her strength was already spent. She could do nothing to stop the disaster before her eyes.
Bell had already taken a direct blow from Goliath and lost consciousness.
Now, struck head-on by the roar, there could only be one outcome—a brutal death.
Ryuu watched helplessly as the calamity crushed everything.
Tears streamed down her face and fell onto the desolate ground.
And in that moment of overwhelming grief, reflected within those crystal-clear tears—
was a blazing fire.
"..."
"Bell?!"
Ryuu stared blankly at the boy, forgetting to cry.
The other girls did the same.
Their vision was blurred by tears, yet every pair of eyes locked onto his figure.
The smoke cleared.
Standing before the monstrous giant, the boy rose proudly, his bloodstained body upright and unyielding.
Flames burned.
They did not spread outward. They danced silently around him alone.
A golden-red halo shimmered along the edges, evoking the image of a primordial flame.
The crimson fire seemed to temper his very soul, silently consuming all impurity.
His arms. His legs. His back. His white hair...
The flames seeped into his skin, closing wounds, driving away pain and death completely.
In a single fleeting instant—the scarlet blaze fused with Bell, leaving behind only a pale blue afterimage.
"Watch out!"
While the others were still in shock, Ryuu swiftly took in the battlefield and shouted her warning.
Goliath's strike failed, and it unleashed another roaring blast.
The violent shockwave whipped up a raging wind. For a boy who had barely escaped death, it should have been impossible to evade.
But Bell kicked off the ground and slipped to the side, narrowly avoiding the impact.
"...?"
Ryuu saw it clearly. There wasn't a single trace of hesitation in his movement.
His condition now was even better than during the battle on the twenty-fourth floor.
Had his stamina fully recovered?
A Skill?
Magic?
What were those flames?
Ryuu no longer knew whether what she felt was shock—or joy rising from the bottom of her heart.
Like a girl reading a fairy tale for the first time, she stared blankly at Bell's figure.
"Oooooooh!!!"
The giant locked its gaze onto Bell, clearly recognizing him as the greatest threat.
Its roar shook the air, and in the next instant, every remaining monster shifted targets and charged toward him.
"Huff... huff..."
Daphne tore herself free from claws and fangs, gasping for breath.
Her body was covered in bark torn open by claw marks. If she hadn't escaped by sheer luck, in just a few more seconds she would have become a mute, human-faced withered tree.
"Captain..."
She retreated from the front lines in worry.
What greeted her eyes was an unbelievable sight.
Blades flashed.
Countless swift slashes surged like crashing waves, sweeping away the monsters in front of the boy.
Bell had been exhausted, gravely wounded, and lying on the ground moments ago. Yet every dodge he made now was fluid and precise.
As he slipped past claws, arcs of blue-violet and crimson light intertwined, cutting cleanly through his enemies.
Every strike pierced a Magic Stone. Not a single corpse was left behind.
From the rear, Goliath fired another roar. Before the shockwave could reach him, a streak of Firebolt tore through the air.
"Oooooooh!!!!"
"Firebolt!"
The comparatively weaker roar collided with the Firebolt and shattered into nothing in a thunderous explosion.
"Mm...?"
Lefiya couldn't help but murmur.
She had watched Bell's condition all along. If he used Magic again, he should have fallen into [Mind Down].
Was this the Development Ability [Spirit Healing]?
No.
Even Riveria, the strongest mage in the city, couldn't completely restore Mind in such a short time.
What on earth was happening?
Reflected in Lefiya's radiant sky-blue eyes, the boy fought alone against a hundred foes.
Though monsters surrounded him in droves, the scene looked less like a desperate struggle and more like a one-sided purge.
Daggers and flames wove together into a battlefield barrier. Charging monsters and Goliath's roaring blasts alike vanished into black mist.
Roars, screams, explosions, clashing steel—countless sounds collided in the air.
Yet what truly shook the girls' hearts was Bell's steady, unwavering voice.
"Firebolt!"
There was no fear.
No hesitation.
Bell could feel it clearly. His condition had reached an unprecedented peak.
His vision was razor-sharp. The movements of claws and fangs were laid bare before him.
His senses were keen. Even through the monsters' howls, he could hear the sound of Goliath gathering Magic Power.
His stamina and Mind were so abundant they bordered on exhilaration.
A Minotaur swung down a stone axe. Bell met it head-on with overwhelming [Strength], knocked the axe aside with his dagger, and drove the blade into the bull's chest.
From behind, Gun Libellulas fired their needle-like stingers.
But time seemed to slow.
Bell easily dodged multiple sneak attacks and turned, eliminating them in a single fluid motion.
The chaotic battlefield had become a solo dance.
"Why isn't Goliath charging in?"
Following Daphne's instructions, Lefiya regrouped with the other adventurers at the rear so they wouldn't become a burden.
"Because it's afraid... That's why it's trying to wear down Cranel-san's stamina and Mind this way."
Ryuu answered softly.
Monsters in the Dungeon could feel fear too.
Perhaps, in Goliath's blood-red eyes, the boy who had risen from death wrapped in flames was the true monster.
Lefiya nodded thoughtfully.
"Even Goliath is afraid? Then... what exactly is that flame?"
"..."
Ryuu silently watched the boy and said nothing.
The answer to that question was likely unknown even to the omniscient gods.