Boom-!!!!
"Finn! Are ye there!?"
"Ugh...!? Moving to the right path!"
Meanwhile, the situation for Raul's group continued to deteriorate.
"I've managed to stem the Captain's bleeding."
"Using magic to freeze the wound and stop the hemorrhaging... Akumo's instructions were precise."
"But..."
They all knew the truth.
Valetta, an opponent they could not defeat in a head-on confrontation, was hunting them from behind. They had no idea where the exit lay in this labyrinth.
Despair began to saturate their hearts.
'No... it's impossible...'
"There has to be a way out."
'I can't think of anything...'
"First, we need supplies—"
"..."
Anakitty Autumn and Raul Nord. Level 4 adventurers of the Loki Familia.
In any other Familia, they would be undisputed elite assets. Yet, they too had tasted profound despair in the past. While their lips spoke of hope, their minds were being invaded by the familiar memories of failure.
'I'm scared....!!'
'The Dungeon is terrifying.'
'I'm terrified of dying.'
They had watched their comrades perish before their very eyes, the trauma of the Dungeon eroding their resolve. Level 3s died. Level 4s died. Seniors, juniors, friends—all consumed by the abyss.
'On the surface, everything is within reach...!'
'Even if we enter the Dungeon... those of us who failed to become heroes will just die and be forgotten...'
'Then...'
Maybe it was okay to just quit here?
That thought filled their heads, shattering their spirit.
'I'm nothing but a second-tier failure who hasn't manifested a single spell or Skill...'
'I don't have the courage of Mr. Finn... the uniqueness of Lady Riveria... or the steadfastness of Mr. Gareth...'
'I have nothing...'
Raul despaired at his own lack of potential. He believed he was incapable of becoming a hero. His heart had broken.
Step, step—
"It's time for the briefing. What are you doing here?"
They hadn't shown up. Shaking with shame and fear, they were on the verge of quitting the Familia—quitting the life of an adventurer entirely.
""Mr. Akumo...?""
Even looking at the fairy tales that once gave them dreams, their hearts remained fractured. Standing before Akumo, the man they viewed as a true hero, only reinforced the thought that they could never reach such a radiant height.
"Are you afraid?"
".....Yes."
"....."
Clench!
"I just want to sleep in a warm bed forever. I want to eat my mother's home cooking until I'm full..."
Tremble—
"I've admitted it to myself... that I just want to stay on the surface!!"
Drip! Drip!
Raul wept, exposing his fear and shame to Akumo. He confessed his weakness, acting as if his inability to keep up was a source of unbearable disgrace.
"Do you know why I go into the Dungeon, Raul? Aki?"
"".....""
"I wasn't always with the Loki Familia. My previous Familia was annihilated by an overwhelming monster."
"What!?" "Is that true!?"
"Knowing that, do you know why I still return to the Dungeon?"
Raul and Aki were stunned. Even this man, this hero, had suffered the same loss they feared. Yet he still sought the depths.
"That monster... it was on the surface."
""!!""
"...I understand being afraid. That's just how the world is."
"But whether you're a high Level or low, on the surface or in the Dungeon, a hero or a commoner..."
"Tragedy will find you regardless."
The weight of his voice left them speechless.
"What do you think a hero is?"
".....Someone like Mr. Finn."
'Someone who gives courage...'
"Then aren't you a hero too?"
".....What?"
Raul couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even after exposing all his cowardice, Akumo still called him a hero.
"Because of you, there are children who dream of becoming adventurers. Because you follow our lead correctly, the recruits look at your back and learn how to walk the right path."
"Raul. Being a hero is a matter of perspective."
"Is it for a grand mission? Or to save everyone? What specific threshold makes someone a hero?"
They couldn't answer. They had never viewed themselves that way; heroes were distant objects of admiration.
Snap!
"There is no correct answer."
"The Finn you respect sometimes makes despicable choices."
"The kindness of Riveria wasn't born fully formed."
"The stubbornness of Gareth has caused problems in the past."
"And I am simply carving my own path forward."
"That's why we need you. Because you are there, we can trust someone to watch our backs."
Akumo spoke with absolute sincerity. In their despair—over their lack of talent, lack of courage, and the weight of tragedy—he saw the shadows of the broken heroes he had known across countless lifetimes.
"Lacking a Skill, a spell, or innate courage doesn't make you weak."
"True weakness..."
"Is not knowing why you are acting, or what heart you carry while doing it."
Grip.
Akumo took the fairy tale book from Aki's hands. His eyes remained fixed on them, unshakable.
"Acknowledging your weakness and overcoming it—that is what a hero does."
"Even if you fail to overcome it, the fact that you knew that fear and chose to face it anyway is what matters."
"You two are heroes as well."
"You've tried to carve your own path, and you've run harder than anyone during that time, haven't you?"
"Don't be so pessimistic about the 'you' that wants to give up."
"That emotion only exists because you've pushed yourself this far."
Leaving them with those words, Akumo placed the book on the table and headed to the meeting point.
Behind him stood heroes who—despite their trembling bodies, their tears, and the doubts clouding their minds—decided to take one more step forward.
"Phew....."
'I'm nervous. My body is shaking.'
"Everyone, please listen to me."
'But I still want to move forward!'
Cold sweat rolled down Raul's forehead, but his eyes were sharp and alive.
He and Aki began conveying the plan to the others.
"Raul..!!"
"Aki, please trust my plan."
"...!!"
"I trust all of you. Even if I don't trust myself... I believe in you, so I'm going forward."
Raul's steady gaze succeeded in pulling the others out of the abyss of despair.
Looking at him, Aki saw a reflection of the look Akumo had given them that day—the look that had forced them to stand up. The darkness in her own heart began to thin.
Step, step—
"Where did ye go, Fiiiinn~?"
Rustle—
"As I thought, this crystal makes moving around so easy without being attacked by the Virga."
A few minutes later, Valetta was scouring the area for Finn, leading a group of new spider-type monster subordinates.
She stalked through the corridors of Knossos, tracking Raul's group, until she spotted something up ahead.
"Heh...! Hyahahahahaha!!!!!!!!"
"Abandoned by yer own comrades!? What a masterpiece, Fiiiiiiinnn!!!"
Whoosh—!!
Thud—!!
"Of course, it's a decoy, isn't it!?"
It was a discarded figure of Finn. Valetta burst into laughter, but she was far from careless. Even in her mockery, she was ready to block the sword Raul swung at her back.
"Urgh!?"
"Such an obvious bait. Did ye forget I'm Level 5?"
"....."
"Poor, pathetic Fiiinn! Are all yer subordinates this incompetent~?"
She failed to realize one thing.
She didn't understand the potential of the plan devised by a man who had escaped his own despair, nor the 'adventure' he was about to show her.
"Among... my subordinates..."
Clash—!
"Not a single one is incompetent."
Whish—!!!!!!!
Raul, who had been knocked down, sprang up and launched a projectile at Valetta. She was too arrogant to maintain the cold composure needed to parry it.
POW-!!!!!!!!!
"What!? What is this..!!"
'This stench...?'
"Magical powder obtained in Melen!"
Stampede—!!!!
"Lady Valetta! The enemy's comrades! They've lured a massive horde of monsters here!!"
Just as the powder caused a moment of chaos, a swarm of monsters began to descend upon Valetta's group.
"Now, everyone, prepare for battle!!!!!!!!"
"Ye insolent brat...!!"
Boom—!!!!!!!!
"Hah!"
Zip—!!!
'A rapier!?'
Valetta faltered, panicked by the monsters lunging at her, while desperately dodging the rapier Raul thrust with lethal intent.
"Hmph! Just the desperate struggle of a second-tier—"
THWACK-!!!
"You're right. No matter what I do, no matter how much effort I put in, I can never reach the first-tier in anything."
'But...!'
Raul's fist smashed into Valetta's unguarded face. In that opening, a monster closed in, forcing her to shift her greatsword. The weapon's arc was obstructed, its wide range of attack rendered useless.
Raul recalled the words of the hero who had taught him.
—'If you can't reach the first-tier in one thing, it just means you can raise everything to the second-tier.'
—'The number of cards and pieces of information you hold are vital on their own. And the moment you synthesize them—'
—'That is when you create your own 'first-tier.''
Sword, dagger, rapier, fist, chain.
Raul scattered over a dozen weapons around her, using them in a coordinated symphony of steel that all converged on her throat at once.
Schwing—!!
"!?"
'A chain...!!'
Clang—!!!
'An axe too...?'
Whoosh—!!!!
"Ye think these cheap tricks can defeat—"
Bash! Crack! Thud—!!!!
"Don't forget I'm here too!"
"Aki!"
Raul remembered his heroes.
Aki remembered her comrades.
'It's fine if I'm not special!'
'It's fine if I lack courage!'
'It's fine if I have no ambition and I'm not cool!'
"We just..."
"Just want to follow our hero's lead!!!!"
Their adventure bore fruit in a hard-won victory, allowing them to escape the death trap.
On their faces shone the brilliant smiles of those they had always admired.
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