"Even if they speak! It doesn't change the fact that they are monsters!"
CRACK—!!!
"You know it too, don't you?"
"...Even so!!! Lyd and the others can feel emotions! They are just people with a different appearance!!"
Bell shouted at Dix. He could neither fully deny nor affirm the man's words; thus, his only answer was the act of saving them. He simply wanted to save them as people.
THUD—!!!
"Guh!?"
"You're as mad as they come. Follow me."
Conviction alone had its limits. Bell rolled across the floor after taking a kick from Dix. Watching him with a sneer, Dix began walking toward another part of the complex.
Stagger—!
"Where are you going...!!"
"...Heh!"
'Where else...'
"You were quite obsessed with that Vouivre, weren't you?"
"...!!!"
'Wiene...!'
Forcing his battered body to stand, Bell stumbled after Dix.
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!
"Everyone has truly lost their minds..."
At that moment, a figure appeared at the entrance. With a single hand, he ripped a nearby iron cage from its moorings and hurled it at the members of the Icelos Familia.
Fels and Ardee, seeing the newcomer, could only gasp in shock.
"...!?"
"...Akumo...?"
Despite the robe concealing him, they could not tear their eyes away from the familiar aura radiating from the man.
"First..."
Step—!
"I need to clean this up."
""!!""
Through the gaps in his robe, his skin was visible—a deep, oceanic blue. His form resembled a Xenos, yet he possessed brilliant green eyes that mirrored someone they knew.
Slide—!
"[Cleave.]"
SHING—!!!!
'This form is certainly convenient.'
Picking up a discarded sword from the floor, Akumo uttered a single-word chant. Water swirled around the blade, imbuing it with a terrifying, razor-sharp edge.
WHOOSH—!!!!!!!!!!
Immediately, the surging waves pulsed with lethal intent.
**
SLICE—!!!!!!!!
SPLURT—!!!!!!!!
"If you've come this far, I assume you're prepared to lose your lives?"
As Akumo spoke, the limbs of the Icelos Familia members were severed one by one. Screams erupted throughout the cavern.
"Aaaaagh!!!!!!"
SLICE—!!
"Someone stop him!!!"
SLICE—!!
Even in their panic, some of the Icelos Familia swung their weapons at Akumo. A mage, desperate and indifferent to his allies, began chanting to unleash a spell.
"Die!!!"
FLARE—!!
'Got him! At this distance, it's a guaranteed hi—'
SLICE—!
"A fire of this level won't suffice."
"Wh... at..."
SPLIT—!!
Akumo bifurcated the mage along with his flames, advancing calmly toward the rest.
""KRRRRAAAAAA!!!!!!!""
CLANG—!!!
CLINK—!!!
"...Lyd, Gros."
'In a frenzy? How troublesome.'
As the Icelos members fighting the Xenos were thinned out, the frenzied monsters immediately turned their aggression toward the nearest target—Akumo. He blocked their strikes, calculating the most efficient way to suppress them.
GRIND—!!!
"I told you to become warriors, not mindless beasts!!"
""!!""
GRAB—!!!
"I'll just knock you out for no—"
BOOM—!!!!!!!!
"...!"
Just as he was about to subdue them, Fels's magic blasted Lyd back, and Ardee's strike pushed Gros away. Both of them stepped in front of Akumo.
Step—!
"Akumo... is it really you...?"
"....."
"Answer me. Who are you?"
"I don't suppose I can just pass as someone who looks similar?"
"So you are the 'Dungeon Akumo' the Xenos spoke of."
'To think he actually existed...'
Ardee reached out toward his face, her hand trembling with disbelief. Fels was equally stunned to confirm that the second Akumo mentioned by the Xenos was real. Given his intent to save the Xenos, cooperation was the only logical path.
"I likely am."
"!!"
Touch. Touch.
Akumo gently pulled Ardee's hand away as she continued to poke his cheek in wonder. His expression turned solemn as he made a request.
"For now, save the children first."
""...""
"I'm asking you."
"...Understood." "Got it!"
His gaze provided enough certainty that he would not turn his blade on them or the Xenos. As they moved to comply—
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"""!!!"""
A massive explosion erupted from the passage where Bell and Dix had disappeared, throwing everyone into a state of alarm.
—KRAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
'Wiene...?'
"What is that..."
"The Vouivre is rampaging...!"
The scream of a young girl, saturated with agony and rage, echoed through the halls.
**
"Now you understand, don't you?"
"These things are nothing more than monsters!!"
"The enemies of humanity! Monsters!"
Having forcibly removed the jewel from Wiene's forehead, Dix had triggered her transformation. Wiene had fully reverted into a Vouivre, her instincts driving her to attack everything in sight.
"You almost died, didn't you? By a Vouivre, and by a Lizardman!"
"Ugh...!"
"Open your eyes! Come over to this side already!!"
Bell tried to approach Wiene, but her tail lashed out mercilessly, striking him down.
—KRAAA!!!!
CRACK—!!!!!
"Cough!!!"
THUD—!!!!
"Guh...!!!"
Dix watched, convinced that Bell's resolve was crumbling. He was certain that Bell, who continued to approach the beast in silence, would eventually be the one to kill her.
"Good, Bell Cranel!"
"....."
"Kill the monster. Kill it! Kill it already!!!!"
"...!!"
—KRAAA!!!!!!!!!
SWISH—!!!!!!!
Just as Wiene's sharp claws were about to descend upon Bell—
THUMP—!!!
—!!!!!
'Akumo...!'
"...!!"
'Brother...?'
Despite his robe, Akumo caught Wiene's arm with effortless grace. Wiene and Bell stared in shock, but Akumo simply waited, giving them the space to have the conversation they needed.
Bell's mind was filled with the realization that this was Akumo, but seeing him wait silently, he turned his focus back to Wiene.
Reach—
"It's okay now, Wiene!"
—.....!!!!
"I'm right here..."
—.....
Even though those claws had been aimed at his life, Bell took Wiene's hand with the same warmth as always.
"Akumo-san is here too... so...!"
—Bell...! Akumo...!
Drip. Drip.
"Please, come back."
Wiene looked at her family through a veil of tears. Though they were covered in wounds, and though one of them looked different than she remembered, they were looking at her with the exact same eyes.
"What..."
"He's calming her down...?"
"....."
Grit—!
Everyone present was stunned; only Dix gnashed his teeth in pure disgust.
—K-KRAAAAA....!!!!!!
WHOOSH—!!!
""!!""
But that alone wasn't enough.
—M-My head....!!
'A temporary state of mental derangement...!'
Wiene writhed as if fighting her own aggression. In the process, she flung Akumo and Bell away. Bell rolled across the ground, while Akumo retreated slightly, deciding that further intervention would be counterproductive for Bell's growth.
"W-Wiene...!!"
SWISH—!!!!
"!!"
CLANG—!!!
"The mood is ruined. What the hell do you think you're doing!"
Dix, enraged, thrust his spear at Bell as he tried to run back to Wiene, intent on ending the boy's life.
"Don't make a habit of betraying my expectations!"
SHING—!!
"That knife exists to gut monsters, doesn't it!?"
CLANG—! CLINK—!!
"So why are you losing your mind over a monster!!!!"
BOOM—!!!!!!
"Where is the value! The loyalty! Where is the damn reason to save a monster!!!!!!!"
"!!"
His spear, fueled by rage, thrust, slashed, and struck, relentlessly seeking Bell's life. Yet Bell's eyes remained steady, searching for an opening in Dix's assault. The moment Dix raised his spear for a heavy downward strike—
SLICE—!
"It doesn't matter if it's a person or a monster when you're saving someone!!"
"It's not for some grand cause!! It's not because they have value!!"
GRIP—!!!
"Simply as a person! Because they wished for salvation! Because I heard that wish!!"
Bell had finally defined his choice, his conviction.
"I save them because I am a person!"
"!!"
'Bell Cranel... you...'
Hearing the hero's sincere cry, Fels saw a glimmer of hope for the Xenos.
Grit—!
'This brat...!!'
Dix, finding those words nauseating, stared at his broken spearhead. He drew a dagger, lunging with the genuine intent to kill.
"You're a hypocrite!!!"
SHING—!
"You claim you'll save both humans and monsters!?"
SWISH—!
"As if that's possible!!!"
He was infuriated by Bell's attempt to deny the laws of the world, a truth as inevitable as fate.
CLANG—!!
CLINK—!!
"You aren't even a rabbit!!"
SLICE—!!
"You're just a filthy bat!!!"
Despite Dix's venomous strikes, the hero did not break.
DING—!
"!!"
DING—!!
"What are you charging up...!!"
WHOOSH—!!
"Die!!!!"
GRAB—!!
"!!"
DING—!!!
Bell looked straight at Dix. Unlike before, his eyes held no doubt about who to save or the relationship between humans and monsters.
He had reached his conclusion.
"I've been... telling you this whole time....!!"
GRIP—!!
DING—!!!!
'S-Since when did he start a magic charge!?'
DING—!!!!
"They are!!!!"
'The Xenos are!!!'
DING—!!!!
"PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The hero's strike shone with brilliant light, fueled by his will. Carrying all the anger and grief caused by Dix's actions, it swung toward the man's face.
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Gah!!!?"
A strike containing the prayer of a hero, a boy, and a human being.
KABOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was no way it would miss.