She tossed her silky black hair and quickened her pace, running up the slope.
Looking at the woman who had become her rival ever since joining the Familia, Ryu couldn't help feeling that there was something rather awkward about Kaguya's retreating figure.
But before she could even smile, the captain's indiscriminate pursuit continued.
"Ryu, you too. Don't tell me you're going to make such a fuss just because someone was teasing you. Even if you really did hold hands, there'd be no need to take it this far, right? You've been in Orario for two years now. If you keep this up, I'm worried you'll end up alone for the rest of your life."
There wasn't a hint of malice in Alise's voice. If anything, she was entirely sincere in her concern.
But that was exactly why her words were even more devastating than Kaguya's aggressive remarks.
Lies didn't hurt; the truth was the sharpest blade.
"Th-that's not something I need! All I need is to devote my life to 'justice'!"
Watching the blonde elf declare this so fervently, Alise sighed and shook her head.
"Devoting our lives to justice is our duty, but if you find a man who can touch you, don't hesitate to turn him down! A rare creature like that is even rarer than an Aurora Dragon. You might never meet another one in your whole life, so you absolutely have to snatch him up, even if you have to resort to underhanded methods!"
I'd never do that!
Unless you wrote my name backwards!
Just as Ryu was about to retort, a violent tremor shook the entire sloping cavern. A deafening roar followed, crashing over them like a wave.
"Is that... an adventurer fighting Goliath?"
"Captain?"
With the members watching her, Alise pondered for a few seconds before making her decision.
"Let's hurry over and take a look. If another adventurer party has run into Goliath, we'll be in trouble."
But when the Astraea Familia reached the exit, the sight before them left them dumbfounded.
The Girls Witness It
"Are you kidding me? Is he... fighting Goliath one-on-one?"
At that moment, an unmistakable "fierce battle" was unfolding before the Astraea Familia.
The enormous giant threw back its head and roared. The long hall shook violently, and countless chunks of stone fell from above.
Goliath raised its fist and slammed it against the gray stone slab in front of it.
Stone fragments flew everywhere, and a rain of flying debris hurtled toward its enemy like a barrage of missiles.
Its enemy was a silver-haired swordsman clad in pale silver armor, standing a hundred meters away.
His face looked quite young, no more than fifteen or sixteen.
Even through his armor, it was clear he had a slender build. The long sword in his hand was nothing like the heavy swords, hammers, and great axes favored by adventurers who relied on brute strength.
As far as the Astraea Familia members could tell, he was a speed-oriented swordsman who fought primarily with agility, much like Ryu and Kaguya.
And that was precisely why the girls were all the more astonished when, faced with dozens upon dozens of massive boulders, he didn't run but instead raised his sword and struck forward.
Even ordinary rocks, empowered by a giant monster's strength, thundered like cannonballs being fired, shrieking as they tore through the air.
Huge boulders rained down across the floor of the seventeenth-floor hall. The once relatively even stone slabs shattered into pieces as though they had been struck by a high-level mage's bombardment spell.
Beneath the overwhelming assault and the clouds of dust rising to the ceiling, the silver-haired swordsman looked so slight and insignificant. Every escape route had been cut off.
But when the dust suddenly cleared and they saw how the silver-haired swordsman had responded, the girls were left speechless.
If he couldn't escape, he would face the enemy head-on. Even from two or three hundred meters away, they could feel the resolve radiating from him, as if he were declaring it right there.
And his actions proved it. With arms that didn't look particularly strong, the silver-haired swordsman swung his slender blade at the boulders!
A flash of silver passed by, and a massive rock split in two before crashing down on either side of him, swallowed by the dust.
Before the piercing sound of a metal blade cleaving through stone could even ring through the hall, the silver-haired swordsman had already swung again, splitting another boulder.
Sword energy crisscrossed through the air, shaking the hall to its foundations.
Sometimes he spun into a sweeping slash; sometimes he stepped forward and cut upward...
At times he thrust abruptly; at others he gently deflected the attack...
The sword itself had become impossible to make out. All they could see was a sheet of silver light, forming an unbreakable barrier of blades.
Whenever the giant boulders and the slender swordsman passed one another by a hair's breadth, it made their hearts clench.
No one doubted that if the silver-haired swordsman made even one mistake, the force packed into the enormous boulders would leave him badly injured.
Yet even in such a perilous situation, the silver-haired swordsman showed no intention of retreating. Like an anchor amid storm-driven seas, he stood firm in place.
No, he wasn't standing still. He was advancing!
With swordsmanship so dazzling, refined, and skillful it left them in awe, and a ferocious spirit that made them want to scold him for being reckless and foolish, the young swordsman weathered the barrage and pressed steadily toward Goliath through the fierce winds and swirling dust.
To the girls of the Astraea Familia, the scene was just like the image of a young swordsman from the Heroic Tales, charging straight at a gigantic monster!
More than one of them thought that from now on, they'd know what to imagine the hero looking like when they read Heroic Tales...
Among the girls, Ryu saw more than the others.
Unlike the rest of the Astraea Familia, the moment Ryu saw the silver-haired swordsman, she remembered the time their eyes had met on the North Street.
For the first few days afterward, his silent, still eyes had appeared in Ryu's dreams again and again, leaving her utterly baffled.
There had been no malice in that gaze, but it held something else that bothered Ryu even more... Was it nostalgia? Or sorrow?
Who was this person?
Had they known each other before?
Why had he looked at her like that?
It wasn't until they set out on their expedition and fought through a series of intense battles that these thoughts gradually faded away.
But now, Ryu was seeing him again!
If she had to name one difference, she felt that she could see a smile on his face!
Not a smile of nervousness or fear, not one of gritted determination, nor an angry roar, but a smile!
A joyful smile, an excited smile, a carefree smile!
A wild smile! A smile full of desire!
Ever since coming to Orario from the Lumia Forest, Ryu had seen too many smiles like that.
On the faces of drunks in taverns, customers in the pleasure district, wealthy merchants in casinos... and even the Evilus members who committed atrocities.
But none of their smiles had been as pure as the silver-haired swordsman's... or rather, as dangerous!
This person was dangerous... The elf's instincts made Ryu reach that conclusion in an instant.
It was like getting too close to the sun and being burned. Even if he meant no harm, get too close and his will would infect you, then ensnare you...
All Ryu had to do was look at the shining eyes of the other girls in her Familia to understand.
I need to stay away... Although she told herself this, Ryu simply couldn't tear her eyes away from that tall, upright figure.
She knew rationally that fighting a floor boss head-on like that was far too foolish.
But that heroic figure, charging against the current and swinging his sword without regard for life or death, along with his refined swordsmanship, was undeniably dazzling...
Yet Noah, at the center of all those gazes, didn't notice any of them. He was completely absorbed in the clash of power against power.
The exhilaration of cleaving through obstacles, the numb ache that rebounded up his arms, and the tremendous pressure pressing against his legs all left Noah feeling utterly invigorated, body and mind alike.
Just as expected, a head-on clash was the most romantic thing a man could ask for!
From today on, I'm going to be a real man with both skill and strength!!
Still, this Goliath had reached its limit.
This giant monster was probably the most unimpressive floor boss in the Dungeon.
It couldn't summon minions, had no special abilities, and could only attack from a distance by throwing rocks. Aside from its size, it was completely useless.
Even its strength couldn't make Noah feel pressured. You could say it was entirely useless.
...But something still felt off. He just couldn't figure out what.
Whatever. He'd finish the fight quickly and think about it later.
Another flying boulder came at him. Noah was already tired of cutting them apart, so this time he didn't cleave it in two. Instead, he laid his blade against its side.
Then, with a twist of his wrist and a turn of his body, he sent the boulder flying back toward Goliath like a bird.
The giant was caught off guard. The boulder struck it in the eye, and it immediately clutched its face and let out a shrill, furious roar.
Taking advantage of the opening, Noah became a blur. In just a few breaths, he had reached the ground beneath Goliath.
He swung his sword horizontally. A dazzling silver streak left a phantom trail as it sliced through the monster's enormous right leg without the slightest resistance.
"Gyaaaah!"
As Goliath stumbled and crashed down, screaming in pain, a torrent of blood burst from its wound.
Yet not a drop of the blood that fell reached Noah.
He leapt off the rock wall, gripped his sword with both hands, and, gathering all his strength, swung at Goliath's other eye.
He took back what he'd said. Goliath's defense really was tough.
So, out of respect, Noah decided to give it everything he had!
And so Goliath's other eye, too, became a mess of scraps and flesh as it wailed in pain!
But when Noah landed and adjusted his stance, readying himself for his next attack, something unexpected happened.
The floor boss, which should have fought to the death, clutched both eyes and ran away!
Only then did Noah realize what had felt wrong earlier. Goliath seemed to be able to sense the threat he posed. Since the moment it had appeared, it had stayed beside the Wall of Sighs, throwing rocks without ever charging forward.
Had it been waiting for a chance to escape?
It might have been a little clever, but it clearly wasn't clever enough.
How ridiculous. Where could it possibly run?
Was it going to fight Riveria?
That would be suicide—
Noah's gaze swept over the dozen or so girls near the exit leading to the lower floor, and his expression changed at once.
Ryu-chan, the lilacs in your hometown have bloomed~
"Fall back!"
Because its right leg was injured, Goliath ran with a limp, its body lurching from side to side.
If you watched from a distance, you might find it rather comical.
But when the monster had you in its sights, and you saw its enormous body charging straight toward you and felt the ground shake beneath its feet, there was nothing funny about it.
At least, none of the Astraea Familia girls could laugh. They weren't like the silver-haired swordsman who had just defeated Goliath head-on.
Even the least impressive floor boss was still a floor boss!
Its enormous size, tremendous strength, and regenerative abilities meant that, without a group of adventurers of equal level, it was almost impossible to fight a floor boss.
The Astraea Familia had defeated Goliath several times and emerged victorious, but they had done so after resting up and making preparations in advance.
Now, however, they had just returned from an expedition, were exhausted, and had been caught in a sudden attack!
The others might have been all right, but Celty and Lyra were fragile mages, and several of the back-row members lacked close-combat abilities!
Before you continue