Led by Isagi, the group trailed this squad of monster adventurers for a period of time.
Very quickly.
The young boy and girls discovered that they were actually hunting humans within these desolate mountains.
Between the massive gray-white stone walls.
The narrow and rugged paths rose and fell; while giant scattered rocks would often cut off most of the roads, they left behind many crevices for people to pass through.
And in the distance, the light emitted by that "Pearl Tree" felt nothing short of blindingly dazzling.
Generally speaking.
The Monster Adventurer Party was indeed advancing in the direction of the Pearl Tree.
It was just that, along the way, these fellows would occasionally deviate from the main path, walking toward the narrow mountain trails on the side of the scattered rocks. Then, in all sorts of strange and peculiar places, they would always manage to find black-robed individuals, either alone or traveling in groups of two or three.
These assassins were completely no match for the monsters and were almost immediately wiped out.
That incomparably skilled and ruthless demeanor, wasting no words, truly gave one the feeling that monsters were hunting adventurers.
The identities have been completely swapped, huh!
Isagi and the girls simply watched from afar, having no intention of going up to attack them for the time being.
It was very simple.
From the looks of it, this monster squad seemed to be tracking the red-haired woman from earlier. Since that was the case, he naturally didn't need to intervene.
They were all enemies. Wouldn't it be better to wait for them to mutually destruct and then reap the benefits?
Besides, he hadn't figured out the situation here yet.
Why would monsters that looked like adventurers appear? And with a genuine adventurer like Alfia existing further up, there must surely be some connection between them, right?
Just as Isagi was thinking this, Lefiya and the others beside him made a new discovery...
"Isagi."
Following the Elf girl's small cry of surprise, everyone looked over in the direction she indicated.
Amongst the scattered rocks with absolutely no scenery to speak of.
At this moment, everyone was very, very far away from the distant monster squad to prevent being discovered. Along the way, aside from certain "glowing lights" in the nooks and crannies, pickable Dung Pellets, and various small items...
There was nothing else here.
It didn't even have a name.
He and the girls had been in here for so long, yet they didn't even know what the name of the map before their eyes was.
There were no other monsters present either; before their eyes were only gray-white stones of varying sizes, or weeds growing in the wasteland and rock crevices.
It was empty, making one feel somewhat unaccustomed to it.
At the very beginning.
Ais, Ryuu-senpai, and the others would constantly pay attention to their surroundings, but they slowly realized that there was simply nothing around.
But even so, the girls dared not let their guard down.
Presumably, adventuring with him had allowed them to feel the "terror" of the Dungeon.
And just at this moment, Lefiya noticed that between the massive stone walls in the distance, there was a very familiar circular hollow.
After walking closer.
Sure enough, inside it were many, many eyes squeezed together.
It was this fellow, the "Great Tree Priest"!
"I knew it, adventurers. You would come here. Welcome to the [True Land]."
"Did you hear from those pilgrim bugs that you need to find a Pearl to disperse the darkness further up?"
"Hahahaha... That is correct, that is correct. After obtaining the Pearl, you will be able to successfully pass the final trial."
This guy was still as talkative as ever, and very much a riddler. The degree to which it annoyed people was even stronger than the Goblin Pal from before!
"But there is no Paradise at the very top," Isagi said.
Because he had been there. The top was clearly the [Inner Holy City]. Could it be that one had to pass through it to go to Paradise?
Wrong!
"Didn't I say it, adventurer? Paradise simply does not exist."
The Great Tree Priest inside the stone cave laughed loudly. Suddenly, as if he had triggered some "correct answer," its tone shifted, and it began to speak.
"You have already encountered them, right? Those Monster Adventurers in this [True Land]."
"Are you not curious about what they are?"
"No need to be nervous. They are not real adventurers, nor are they even monsters. They are merely a possibility, a [Fantasy] produced by the Church through prayer."
"Don't understand? It doesn't matter; let me tell you everything—"
Next.
It seemed to be background story time.
Isagi originally wanted to make this guy summarize it within twenty words, but he didn't expect the girls beside him to listen with great relish.
In the end.
He summarized it slightly himself; it was roughly this:
The goal of the Anthropomorphic Church was to turn monsters into "adventurers," because the once incomparably powerful Divine Miracle was also defeated by an "adventurer."
The Labyrinth's Paradise was even occupied by adventurers.
Thus, the monsters arrived at an answer: that "adventurers" are the strongest.
"Huh?"
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed to actually make a bit of sense, yet it always made people feel that something was strange somewhere.
"Then what about you? What kind of entity are you?"
The sharp-witted Lefiya asked a very critical question!
The fellow before them called itself the Great Tree Priest, but actually had no relationship with the Anthropomorphic Church. Then what was it?
Regarding this.
It only gave two dry laughs of "Heheh," and did not answer. Instead, it spoke ambiguously.
"Our goals are all to destroy the Church, are they not?"
Suspicious. This guy's suspiciousness level was simply maxed out!
"Do you know Alfia?"
"Of course."
The Great Tree Priest's words instantly attracted the attention of Isagi and the girls once again.
"She is the strongest adventurer in the cognition of the monsters here. Not only the Church, but the terror she displayed was even far stronger than the Divine Miracle descended by Mother..."
"The fellows of the Church prayed to the Dark Mother to bring back her soul. The purpose is to defeat her once again."
Defeat?
"That's right. If they can achieve that, it proves that the Church is correct. The anthropomorphic monsters are not only stronger than the Divine Miracle but can even defeat the strongest adventurer who far surpassed the Divine Miracle."
That does indeed make sense.
Isagi thought, while simultaneously noticing what the other party said: the Alfia of this moment was called back in the form of a "soul."
The souls of adventurers who died in the Dungeon would remain in the Dungeon.
Then, could he take her out?
If he could.
With the aid of a puppet's body, could he allow her to achieve a resurrection in some sense?
Isagi pondered; his mind was now filled with such thoughts.
The soul is the domain of the gods.
The only thing that could be confirmed was that it indeed existed, and through reincarnation, one could become another person many years later. This was a "mechanism" that truly existed in this world.
*
For some reason.
The deeper she went into this area filled with gray-white rock walls, the more Revis felt her head aching a little.
Her connection with "Mother" seemed to have weakened.
Is she a monster, or a human?
Revis had never thought about this question, and felt there was absolutely no meaning or necessity to it. Her mission was only one: to fulfill "Mother's" wish.
[Find Aria].
As well as.
[See the sky].
Revis could feel the intense, incomparably spiteful hatred within "Mother's" heart.
Why was that, exactly?
She didn't know.
Something prevented her from thinking about more complex matters. Perhaps, as a fellow freak, she was far, far more incomplete compared to Olivas and Filvis.
[Now is not the time to think about these things!]
She shook her head.
The bloody scent coming from the air reminded Revis that the Monster Adventurer Party from just now was still following behind her.
Annoying fellows!
Looking at the two girls beside her, the woman furrowed her brows. Even though she disliked thinking, she had to use her brain now!
The situation was that she had to find Aria and her group. However, after entering this special Dungeon, they were nowhere to be seen.
And wandering around randomly in this place full of danger was actually very risky.
After calming down.
The answer Revis arrived at after thinking was to return to that initial long corridor and ambush the other party at a place Aria would absolutely pass through!
However, there was no way to turn back now, because a group of Monster Adventurers was biting tight onto her, refusing to let go.
She must find a way to kill them. So, what to do...
"Do you two have any ideas?"
"Huh?!"
Chloe and Lunor, who were suddenly named, were both stunned.
Regarding the Monster Adventurers chasing them from behind, they were actually aware of them. It was precisely because they saw this group attacking Revis earlier that they had secretly run away!
And at this moment.
The two once again displayed extraordinary tacit understanding!
Those monsters were indeed fellows too powerful to provoke, but what if they ambushed them?!
It just so happened that they could let the red-haired woman fight them to the death, while they acted according to the situation!!
Thus, a plan was quickly formed.
Chloe went "meow meow meow" as she informed Revis of her idea, obtaining the consent of the woman who didn't want to use her brain.
The Cat Person girl's plan was very simple. Basically, it was to find a spot, bury Flame Rocks, and detonate them directly once the opponent arrived!
At the same time.
Use the Cursed Weapons to quickly cause attrition to the enemy.
Then defeat them individually.
In Revis's view, these two believers of the Goddess of Murder shouldn't have a problem holding off one Monster Adventurer together. And since the Lizardman from before had already been hit by her curse, she would use a Flame Rock to finish off another one.
Five minus three equals two.
Then she would only need to face two Monster Adventurers!
If among them there were Archers or Mages with weak melee capabilities, it would be even easier.
That's right!
Why didn't she think of that!!
An ambush was quickly set. The red-haired woman took the lead in hiding on one side of the rock wall, quietly watching the movement in the distance.
Surrounding them were narrow mountain paths commonly seen in this wasteland.
Just a few meters below, it looked like a small "valley."
Flame Rocks had already been buried underneath.
Revis had, of course, also obtained the very crude "detonators" for them from the Dark Familia. Next, she just had to wait for that Monster Adventurer Party to pass through here.
Waiting. A long, long wait.
It was just that something the red-haired woman and the two girls hadn't quite noticed was...
Behind them in the distance, that brilliantly shining Pearl Tree seemed to be getting closer and closer to them. It wasn't just because they had been dodging the pursuit from behind by moving in its direction just now.
There was also—
The Pearl Tree itself seemed to be slowly growing and spreading.
That incomparably blinding light was constantly covering the originally gray-white rock walls, transforming them into glittering and translucent crystal.
And within it.
With a loud boom, under the Pearl Tree, the Knight leaning among the corpses of Great Dragons also slowly opened his incredibly muddy, pitch-black eyes...
Isagi and the girls finally received the quest from the Great Tree Priest to "subjugate" that Monster Adventurer Party.
[That is a "Fantasy" the Church prayed for from the Dark Mother using their power. They are not real existences, but the manifestation of power—]
[The Church has always wanted to use them to crusade against the adventurer who once killed Miracles, time and time again, never ceasing.]
[Don't understand? It doesn't matter. As long as you head beneath the Pearl Tree, you will understand.]
[As fellow adventurers, go and liberate their souls. Please—]
The eyes inside the hollow of the stone wall seemed to close, signifying its departure.
Isagi rubbed his head and looked at the girls beside him.
Regarding this, Lefiya seemed to have understood something. Just as she wanted to speak, she heard the sound of a violent explosion coming from ahead.
"!!!"
Smoke accompanied by scattering sparks rose up, and almost simultaneously, a deafening sound came from the distance. That was—
A Dragon's roar!
____
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