Originally I was going to just post one big fat chapter but some of the other stuff still needs a little editing and I made you guys wait long enough so I decided to release a part of the chapter right now and I am going to release the rest either tonight or sometime tomorrow. The next part will be much longer at I think over 6,000 words so look forward to that! Huge shoutout to my beta reader for editing this and even adding in some written sections. For some reason this part of the chapter was a nightmare to write.

(Day 6)

It was fifteen before four in the morning and although the streets of Orario were usually empty at this time of day, there were four lone adventurers making their way toward the Tower of Babel. All four of the adventurers were wearing purple clothing that was common in the Far East.

At the front of the group was Kashima Ouka, a man with black hair, ebony eyes, and a tough solid build. He wore a red, gold and black Kamishimo on top of his purple clothing along with brown pants and long black boots. To the man's right was the stoic Yamato Mikoto, a beautiful woman with porcelain skin and long black hair that was tied into a ponytail. She wore a loose purple kimono that reached her thighs with thigh-length boots. Mikoto was talking to a short girl who, in between talking to Mikoto, would occasionally glance at Ouka with a subtle but flustered expression. Her name was Hitachi Chigusa and she had black medium length hair that covered a majority of her face with the exception of her left dark green eye. She wore bandages around her neck and left upper leg as well as a lavender kimono with red cloth wrapped around her waist. And last but not least was Asuka who was walking on Ouka's left side. She had brown eyes, moderately small brown hair, and yellow clothes, with a belt that went around her waist.

The group of four adventurers reached the entrance to the Dungeon and after standing there in silence for a few moments, the leader of the group turned around to address his fellow familia members.

"What we are about to do is very dangerous so remember, stick together and watch each other's backs. Understood?"

The other three adventurers understood very well. It was very early in the morning and because of that, the Dungeon should be empty with no adventurers. This would mean all of the monsters in the Dungeon were theirs to kill. However, this also meant they were completely on their own. Although adventurers were not altruistic by nature, there were still some out there that would help other adventurers in their time of need. They would not have that safety net if they went into the Dungeon this early. The 'spawn rate' for the monsters would also be fresh since they would be the first adventurers today which meant more kills and more monster crystals, but also more danger.

This was something they would not normally do but with expensive taxes from guild to pay and considering how impoverished they were, Ouka believed this action was necessary and got permission from Takemikazuchi to do this, albeit reluctantly. They promised him that the lowest floor they would go to was the twelfth floor, the floor that separated the upper floors from the middle floors.

When Ouka was met with nods from the other familia members, he nodded back and they began to descend into the Dungeon. Once they reached the first floor, they got into formation with Ouka, their leader and most powerful adventurer at level 2, at the front. Although this could be considered a bit overkill since the first level contains notoriously weak monsters such as goblins, Takemikazuchi always told them to never underestimate their enemies, especially the Dungeon. As surreal as it was, the dungeon is actually a living entity that holds extreme malice towards the adventurers that dare step into its floors and the gods that gave them their falna. The dungeon would actively try to murder them through underhanded ways such as causing random monster stampedes and spawning extra monsters from the walls.

However, it didn't take long for them to realize something peculiar was happening.

"Um… Ouka-san? Why haven't there been more goblins?" Chigusa asked with a hint of uncertainty.

"I… I am not sure. Mikoto-chan, activate Yatanokurogarasu." Ouka commanded. Mikoto nodded her head and activated her skill. Yatanokurogarasu is a skill that allows her to search for enemies within a set effect range, including hidden enemies. This skill only applies to enemies that she has encountered before but this shouldn't be a problem since Mikoto and her familia members have been in the first floor countless of times, so when Mikoto said she couldn't detect any enemies, the other familia members were perplexed.

The only logical conclusion they could come to was that a group of adventurers entered the dungeon before them.

And they confirmed their hypothesis when they stumbled upon the first of many massacres.

"By the gods…" Asuka muttered as she looked at the brutal display. Mikoto walked forward to inspect one of the unfortunate goblins that met their end. There was a massive blood smear on the wall whose origin point was a goblin whose head was smashed against the wall with brain matter splattered around it. Beside the smashed in goblin was the corpse of a kobold, whose snout appeared to be snapped off of its face. The one that unnerved Mikoto the most was the corpse of a goblin who was literally ripped in half whose magic crystal was barely attached to the left side of the goblin's body.

Speaking of the magic crystal…

"Why hasn't the adventurer taken the magic crystals?" Mikoto asked as she plucked the monster crystal from the goblin, causing its corpse to finally disintegrate into dust.

"I… I'm not sure. But let's pick them up before other monsters spawn and eat the crystals," Ouka said as he walked to another decimated monster corpse. "Being in the Dungeon with so few adventurers is already a risk, we can't afford to deal with an Enhanced Species too."

"Let's continue. Hopefully we will catch up and confront them on why they left behind the crystals."

That never happened. Every floor they traversed was filled with slaughtered monsters that made them shudder in discomfort.

However, all of the horrifying sights did help Mikoto paint a picture of their mysterious adventurer. Whoever braved the dungeons before them was a powerful individual who definitely was not a level 1 and her theory was solidified when they reached the sixth floor. The sixth floor contains War Shadows which are dark humanoid monsters that have long arms with three razor sharp claws. They are the strongest monsters on the sixth floor and are considered "newbie killers" since they are responsible for the deaths of countless newbie adventurers.

But the bloodbath in front of them banished that thought from their minds. 5 War Shadow bodies were lying on the ground, with a pile of dust close by indicating that there was a sixth, just like with the Goblins and Kobolds they had seen before all of the War Shadows were seemingly dealt with a single decisive yet brutal blow, decapitated, having the head split vertically or smashed by blunt force, or being severed in two by the waist.

This one-sided massacre was the deciding factor in Mikoto's theory.

"Whoever dealt with these monsters is definitely higher than Level 1," Mikoto said as she stood up to address Ouka.

"What makes you think that?"

"No Level 1 is capable of this." Mikoto said as she pointed to the corpses of the War Shadows. "War Shadows are considered "newbie killers" and this adventurer took on six and obviously killed them all with relative ease. This adventurer must at least be Level 2."

"Still… that doesn't explain why they would just leave the monster crystals," Ouka said with irritation laced in his voice.

"P-Perhaps if we catch up to the person we can ask them," Chigusa said.

"Perhaps. Let's keep moving."

The four adventurers continued descending the dungeon. Just like the previous floors, each floor was filled with disemboweled monsters.

But none of the floors were as bad and gruesome as the twelfth floor.

There were corpses everywhere.

Pieces of shredded Imps were scattered all over, disfigured as though they were put through a meat grinder.

Bad Bats with broken wings were twitching on the ground suffering from concussions or trying in vain to take flight with wings that weren't even attached to their bodies anymore.

Orcs and Silverbacks had their Achilles tendon severed and were either decapitated or gutted.

Hard Armoreds had their soft underbellies sliced.

There was even a Red-scaled Blue-eyed Infant Dragon that laid unmoving on the ground. There appeared to be two rocks smashed into its eyes and its throat had a single deep gash on it, from which blood was still trickling down, adding more crimson to the wide pool around the corpse.

And these were just the ones who still had their Magic Crystals inside them. The entire surface of the room was covered in ash, so much so that it was hard to see the short grass that grew on the Floor.

The scene in front of them was so brutal that they expected the high leveled adventurer to be some kind of raging Adventurer with the Berserk Skill, or some monster-killing-loving psycho like Hazer.

"I-I feel nauseous. I… I think I'm gonna-" Chigusa couldn't even finish her sentence because she hunched over and began to vomit out her breakfast. As Asuka held Chigusa's hair back as she yakked, Mikoto surveyed the battlefield. She felt a chill run down her spine as she reflected on how gruesome the monsters' deaths were. Whenever she fought a monster, she would do everything she could to make the fight end as quickly as possible. Even if she felt absolutely no emotion towards the monsters that she slayed everyday in the dungeon, she would never prolong their suffering unless necessary.

"It appears our mysterious adventurer has gone even deeper," Ouka said while pointing to bloody footprints that led to the pitch black tunnel that led to the thirteenth floor. "Our trip ends here. Let's head back to the surface and turn in the monster crystals we collected. We should also report this to the Guild."

The four adventurers turned around but before they could head back the way they came, a rumble rang out. The ground they stood on began to shake and the adventurers looked at each other with a sense of apprehension.

"Oh shit." Everyone turned to Ouka who had a look of fear in his eyes.

"What is it? What did you hear?" Mikoto asked. Because Ouka was the only level 2 in the group, his senses were much better than everyone else's so he must have heard something that they couldn't hear. However, his response was…

"Run! It's a monster stampede!"

Upon hearing Ouka's words the other three adventurers immediately began sprinting with all of their energy. Makoto turned her head towards the entrance to the thirteenth floor and what she saw made her eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets.

Monsters of various types were pouring out of the entrance to the thirteenth floor. Hellhounds, Almiraj, even monsters from the fifteenth floor such as Dungeon Worms and Ligerfangs! And… and… Minotaurs!

Mikoto felt despair flow through her as she watched multiple minotaurs emerge from the lower floors.

'This doesn't make sense! Those monsters are from the fifteenth floor! Why are they up on the thirteenth!?'

Mikoto hyper focused her attention to one of the Minotaurs who just appeared to be watching them run while its fellow monsters chased after them. She was confused by this until she saw the minotaur's mouth open and its chest expand. Horror crept on Mikoto's face but before she could warn her familia members, a loud ear piercing roar rang throughout the dungeon floor. Without taking into account a minotaur's strength and endurance, what made them so dangerous to Level 1 adventurers was that their roars are known to paralyze Level 1 adventures in fear which was what unfortunately happened to Asuka and Chigusa who collapsed to the ground, petrified by the Minotaur's powerful roar. The only reason Mikoto was still standing was through sheer will power and the fact that she mentally prepared herself for the ear piercing screech. Thankfully she wasn't the only one left standing because although unnerved by the roar, Ouka stood by her side as he hastily picked up the unconscious Chigusa and threw her over his shoulder. Mikoto did the same with Asuka and the pair took off again.

Unfortunately for them, another roar that Mikoto was not prepared for rang out and she found herself temporarily losing control of her limbs and collapsing to the ground.

"Mikoto!"

Ouka's hysterical cry fell on deaf ears as the only thing Mikoto could focus on was the Minotaur that stood over her with murderous intent.

So this is how it ends.

The Minotaur raised its fist as Mikoto threw her body over Asuka's unconscious form and waited for the inevitable.

But it never happened.

Instead, a red blur that not even Ouka could track zoomed past the monsters and positioned itself behind the Minotaur. Then, to Ouka's and Mikoto's shock, a human hand pierced through the Minotaur's backside. The last thing the Minotaur saw was a human hand grasping its crystal.

Poof.

The Minotaur disintegrated into dust, revealing the figure that ended the monster's life. Although it was hard to tell, the figure was wearing a normal t-shirt and sweatpants that were drenched in blood. In fact, every single part of the figure, ranging from their hair to their feet was covered in crimson. In the person's offhand was a massive sword-knife hybrid, a weapon that Ouka and Mikoto had never seen before and in their right hand was the minotaur's crystal. However, that was not what their focus was on, it was on the murderous intent the figure was figure's overwhelmingly bloodthirsty aura completely dwarfed the Minotaurs', so much so to the point that Mikoto found herself petrified by the figure. She felt like if she moved at all she would be the figure's next victim. Ouka wasn't doing any better, he desperately wanted to get Mikoto and Asuka away from that figure but to his frustration he remained rooted in place.

However, the murderous aura quickly dissapeared and was soon redirected toward the rest of the monsters. As the figure crushed the crystal within its right hand, he softly spoke one word.

"... Run."

Immediately after saying that one word, the figure detached the knife from his sword and descended upon the monster horde with breakneck speed. The slaughter Ouka and Mikoto witnessed was simultaneously horrifying and beautiful. The figure's skill with his blade and overall efficiency was breathtaking. Not a single movement was wasted and every single movement they made had purpose. However, the figure's brutality and ruthlessness was disturbing. Ouka was the first to snap out of his fixated trance and he ran up to Mikoto and shook her.

"Mikoto we gotta go! Now!"

"But shouldn't we help him!? Leaving him behind would be dishonorable!"

"Forgot about honor! We need to get Chigusa and Asuka out of here! And besides, does it look like he needs help!?"

Mikoto looked back at the batt-no, at the massacre that was taking place and shuddered. Calling this a "battle" would be disrespectful to the figure that had just saved their lives. He was annihilating all of the monsters. He didn't need their help. In fact, joining the fight would most likely be detrimental. Although Mikoto didn't want to, the best course of action would be to leave their savior behind.

Where do you think you're going?

A pair of Ligerfangs were sprinting towards the entrance to the next floor, desperate to escape the slaughter that was taking place.

No one escapes the hunt.

The hunter descended upon the retreating pair and brought his blades down, decapitating the Ligerfangs in one smooth swing. He didn't even admire his handiwork as he was already focusing one his next prey, a Dungeon Worm that was trying to escape. It was wiggling into the ground and Bell was just able to grab the end of the worm. The disgusting worm met its gruesome end when the hunter violently slammed it against the dungeon wall, giving the wall a new crimson color.

As he tossed the carcass aside and began to slaughter the rest of the monsters, a thought occurred to him.

These monsters are pretty weak.

Every monster he encountered died in one or two slices with his blade. Some even died by just a single punch. The hunter couldn't help but find himself disappointed by this. Even the church servants or the church doctors in the Cathedral Ward were able to tank at least one punch from him.

Oh well, even if his hunt is disappointing, a hunter must hunt, and Bell Cranel never left a hunt incomplete.

By the time his hunt was nearly complete, all that was left was a lone Minotaur who was slowly backing away from the hunter. The clear fear in its eyes did help alleviate Bell's disappointment but it still wasn't enough.

To the hunter's surprise, the Minotaur let out a roar and began to charge at the hunter. He couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of respect for the beast. It stood next to no chance against him but despite that it wasn't going to die running, it was going to die fighting.

The hunter stood still and allowed the Minotaur to close the distance between them. The Minotaur's haymaker was easily blocked by the hunter and he burrowed his hand into the Minotaur's chest. Once his hand grasped something deep within the beast, he pulled his bloody arm out to reveal the beast's crystal before its body turned into dust.

As the hunter crushed the crystal within his hand, he slowly turned around to look at the aftermath of his hunt and once again, he felt disappointed. Does the dungeon hold more challenging beasts in the lower floors?

'Stop focusing on that. There's something more important than that.' Bell walked past the mangled bodies of beasts and focused his attention on four distinct sets of footprints from the adventurers he encountered.

In an effort to make the hunt more challenging, Bell wanted all of the beasts from various floors to congregate into a single area so he caused a stampede and because of that, four innocent adventurers almost lost their lives today. The least he could do was track them and make sure they get out of the dungeon safely.

Bell followed the frantic footprints until he spotted the two adventurers carrying their comrades. From the looks of it, they seemed to be unhurt so Bell kept his distance and watched them as they made their way up the dungeon floors. Thankfully because of his hunt, they encountered only a couple of beasts that spawned from the dungeon walls.

Bell recognized they were near the surface when he noticed they ran past the bodies of those goblins and dog headed beasts. If his memory serves him right, those were the first beasts he encountered in the dungeon and he was right since it didn't take long for them to reach the entrance to the dungeon and what waited outside the entrance of the dungeon made Bell's blood boil.

It was a god.

Bell gritted his teeth and he clenched his hands in anger. What was this god here to do? Chastise his pawns for failing him?! Scold them for retreating with their tails between their legs? Or even-

"Glad to see you made it out safely and… oh my goodness! What happened?!"

…Huh?

Bell, who was shocked at what he just heard, stopped his rambling and slowly turned his gaze back to the god, who was frantically checking over the two unconscious adventurers.

"We… we ran into some trouble in the dungeon," Ouka said as he gently laid Chigusa on the ground. "But we were still able to collect a good amount of monster crystals-"

"Forget the crystals! I…"

The god wiped the tears that were building up in his eyes and gave the two conscious adventurers a warm smile.

"I'm just glad you four are safe."

As the two adventurers conversed with their god, Bell was finding it hard to process the current situation. The god wasn't scolding his "children" for failing him. In fact, he was… worried for them? Frantically checking each and every one of them for any injuries. The god then hugged the male adventurer and the girl who Bell believes her name was Mikoto. Did this god… actually care for them?

'N-No… I can't watch this facade any longer.'

Bell became a red blur and leapt onto the roof of a nearby building and starting to make his way back to the Hostess of Fertility, all the while having that strangely touching moment replay in his mind, over and over again.