"Are you two filming a comedy sketch? Ahahaha!"
Akumo burst into laughter at the sight of Marie swirling her finger inside Bell's mouth and Bell, flustered and struggling, trying to offer his thanks through mangled, muffled speech.
"...Brother?"
"Akumo!"
While Marie beamed at his appearance, Bell couldn't help but be struck with shock at the sight of him.
Swish, swish—!
"Hello there."
Flutter—!
Fins larger than palms sat where ears should be, and a sleek purple tail sprouted from the base of his spine, swaying near his feet. These features made it undeniable—he was not human.
'No... he isn't my brother... and yet...'
Despite the transformation, the atmosphere he radiated and those unmistakable, brilliant green eyes made Bell feel as though he were looking at the very idol he knew so well.
"It's been a long time! Akumo!"
"It has been a while, Marie."
Splash, splash—!
"Still as kind-hearted as ever, I see. Heh."
Akumo approached them with a smirk, clearly amused by their dynamic.
"My name is Akumo. Didn't you hear about me from Lido and the others?"
"Akumo... wait, could it be!?"
"That's right. I'm the person they were talking about."
"But they definitely said you were a human..."
"Shall we just call me an Unknown Existence for now?"
Bell desperately wanted to know his true identity and why he felt so similar to Akumo, but faced with the word 'Unknown' and a form that could only be classified as a Xenos, he decided to file it away as one of the many mysteries he had yet to solve.
Slide—
"By the way..."
"Yes?"
"Are you just going to leave that as it is?"
Akumo chuckled mischievously while looking at something. Bell, confused, followed his gaze...
"!!"
"Hm?"
At the end of that gaze was Marie's finger, which had been inside Bell's mouth until moments ago. Fortunately, the bleeding had stopped, but her finger was still glistening, soaked in Bell's saliva.
Grab!
Splash!
Bell immediately took her hand and plunged it into the water, washing it clean.
"It tingles a little."
"I-I'm so sorry!!"
"Ahahaha!! You two really get along~"
"Hehe!"
"Akumo-san..."
'I am more confused than anyone right now...'
Watching Akumo laugh as if this were all just entertainment, Bell felt a strange sense of familiarity. He finished washing Marie's hand and was about to consider their next move when—
—SKREEEE!!!
"That sound..."
"I don't like it here! Let's go that way!"
Splash!
Sensing that this location was no longer safe, Marie immediately spoke to Bell and Akumo before diving into the water to move.
"Even if you say 'that way'..."
—SKREEEEE!!!
"Just follow. I'll guide you."
Splash!
"Ah... yes!"
Forced into a sudden retreat, Bell didn't even have time to grasp his current position. He dove into the water after Akumo, following Marie deeper into the floor.
"HRAAAAH!!!"
CRACKLE—!!!
Following Lilly's plan, the party headed toward the entrance of the 25th floor. At the vanguard, Welf, wielding his Magic Swords, and Aisha, the party's strongest combatant, were carving a path forward.
"Heh, not bad."
Slash—!!
Slice—!!
As Welf's lightning-attribute Magic Sword swept away at least ten monsters, Aisha swung her Great Podao, slaughtering a similar number of monsters in an instant with surgical precision.
"S-Strong. Bell Cranel is impressive, but as expected of the [Antianeira], she's incredible."
Step, step—
Ouka watched in admiration as he moved through the floor with the wounded. As they proceeded smoothly, Mikoto posed a question to Dormul and Luvis.
"Now that I think about it, I heard you all came down to the Lower Floors on a quest to search for a missing adventurer."
Step, step—
"Have you still not found them?"
"No, we found him."
"He was dead, wrapped in vines inside a Safety Point on the 28th floor."
"""!!"""
The group was stunned by Dormul's answer.
"In a Safety Point!?"
"Yeah. That monster must have been lying in ambush."
Drip—!
"The body had even been concealed behind rocks."
"To go that far..."
A Safety Point—a space that, as the name implies, is supposed to be relatively safe from monsters. The fact that the [Moss Huge] understood this and could track targets there, and even had the meticulousness to destroy evidence to hide its tracks, was horrifying enough to make them stop in their tracks.
"Is it because if a body is discovered, adventurers will become wary...?"
"The more I hear, the more cunning this monster sounds."
Just as Ouka said, Aisha, who was among the more experienced, etched a deeper sense of caution into her mind regarding the [Moss Huge], which displayed a level of guile far beyond expectations.
"Is there anything else you know about that monster?"
"No, we were ambushed just as we were about to turn back."
Grip!
"Whether we struck it or slashed it, even the hidden Thunder Magic Sword didn't leave a scratch!"
Resentment leaked through Dormul's voice as his expression hardened. He suppressed his frustration and searched his memory for any information that might help the group.
"In the end, seeds were planted in our bodies, and escaping was the best we could do."
"If that's the case, then no matter how you look at it, the only thing that landed an effective hit was Bell Cranel's magic."
"So its weakness is fire..."
Schwing—!
"I'll have the Fire Magic Swords ready as well."
Acting on Dormul's intel, Lilly immediately pulled out a Fire Magic Sword and had Welf equip it, while also preparing a Magic Sword for her own use just in case.
"I'm counting on you. With those absurd Magic Swords of yours, even that Enhanced Species should feel the heat."
"Yeah, leave it to us."
Slide—
"But with this many enemies, I don't know if we can save them until then."
"In the worst-case scenario, we still have Haruhime's [Level Boost]."
Fortunately, despite being separated from Bell and having many wounded, they still had enough combatants and trump cards to ensure they wouldn't be easily defeated.
"Of course, I'd rather not waste that on small fry."
"Let's try to proceed without revealing all of our strength if possible."
Tighten!
"There's no telling what that monster might try next."
Lilly agreed with Aisha, maintaining her guard against the [Moss Huge] while meticulously refining the plan to subjugate the beast.
Thump—!!
—...
Thump—!!
Splat!
As if to prove their caution was justified, the creature that had been moving the adventurers' corpses to the Safety Point suddenly looked toward a certain direction.
—Kikik!
—Kikikik!
—...
As if setting traps to catch the rats entering its territory, the creature maintained a menacing glow in its eyes while watching the Blue Crabs hidden within the water pools.
Meanwhile, Akumo and Bell were following Marie.
"Damn it, we're screwed!"
"You forgot the way, didn't you?"
"What, did the layout change!?"
"I highly doubt that."
Seeing Akumo standing out of the water with his hand on his head in distress, Bell saw an overlap with a certain familiar man and somehow felt like he should have expected this.
"Where did Marie-san go...?"
"What are we supposed to do now..."
"~♪"
""!!""
'A song...!'
At that moment, a beautiful melody reached their ears. They immediately recognized it as Marie calling out to them and began to move toward the sound.
Patter, patter—!!
"Over there!"
"Yes!"
Patter, patter—!!
Fortunately, being in a cave, the song resonated clearly, allowing them to soon reach the source of the sound.
""...""
"~♪"
As they entered the cave mouth where the light seemed to originate, they saw a cavern containing a massive lake. There, Marie sat perched upon a rock, singing beautifully.
"Thank goodness, Marie-san!"
"Found you at last~"
"Heehee! Bell, Akumo!"
Smile—!
However, the joy of the reunion was short-lived as Bell suddenly fell silent, staring at something.
"Hm?"
'What's wrong with him all of a sudden?'
"..."
"What is it?"
"////"
"Oh, don't tell me..."
Akumo followed Bell's gaze, only to find Marie's chest, which was barely covered by her hair...
"You really have no prejudices, do you!"
'This kid... not even a shred of hesitation before those thoughts...'
"A-Ah, no...!! That..."
Akumo smirked at Bell, teasing him for having moved past any rejection of the Xenos to the point of having those kinds of thoughts. He then casually spoke to Marie, who still didn't understand the problem.
".....?"
"Marie, put some clothes on~"
"Ah! Wait a second!"
Plop—!
"Clothes...?"
"The kids and I taught her the basics."
At Akumo's words, Marie seemed to understand. She dove into the water and reappeared shortly after.
Splash!
"Bell~"
"!?"
'U-Underwear!?'
"Clothes! Now I'm just like Bell and Akumo, right?"
"...That was the best we could do."
Akumo, unable to look Marie in the eye, simply turned his head and offered a weak excuse. Bell decided that while it was still embarrassing, it was better than nothing, and resolved to just look away on his own.
"Marie-san and Akumo-san are Xenos... comrades of Lido-san, right?"
Having finally found a moment to introduce themselves and talk after the frantic escape from the Iguana ambush, Bell, Akumo, and Marie sat down to converse.
Bell first tried to confirm if they were indeed Lido's companions, but Marie seemed bothered by something else.
"Marie-'san'? I'm 'Marie'!"
"No, it's just... adding '-san' after a name is like... a human cultural thing."
"..."
Slide—!
"I'm 'Marie'!"
Despite Bell's explanation, Marie was fixated on the formality. She leaned in close, insisting that he call her simply 'Marie'.
"No, I mean...!"
"'Marie'!"
Slide—!
"M-Marie..."
"Yes, Marie! Marie~!"
Smile—!
Faced with her pure desire to be his friend, Bell eventually gave in and began to treat her with the familiarity of a peer.
"I'll ask one more time. Marie, are you Lido-san's com—"
"Lido-san?"
"No, Lido... are you his comrade?"
"Yes!"
"Are the other Xenos nearby?"
Bell asked, hoping they might receive help from the other Xenos, but Marie answered with a bittersweet expression.
"Lido and the others went up."
"To the upper floors?"
"...Rei and the others are always together."
"....."
"I can't fly like Rei. I can't walk like Lido... so I stay here and keep watch."
Even among the Xenos, their different species meant they faced harsh, practical limitations.
"I see. That must be lonely..."
'Akumo-san seems to come down periodically, but that probably isn't enough...'
"Bell, let's talk more!"
Just as Bell thought, Marie wanted to soothe her loneliness by continuing her conversation with a new friend she hadn't seen in a long time.
However, practical problems weren't only her concern.
"Marie, listen to me."
"Hm?"
"I have to go back to where my friends are."
"..."
"I want to talk more too, but could you guide me to where the people are?"
At Bell's request, Marie replied with a look of deep concern.
"You can't go. It's not scary here."
Slide—
"It's okay to sing, and it's okay to play."
"Marie..."
"There's something scary ahead...!"
Marie, genuinely worried for Bell, lowered her gaze as if she were afraid of something.
"I saw it! I saw the scary thing attacking Bell's friends..."
"Do you know about that Enhanced Species?"
"She probably saw it while it was moving between floors."
"Akumo-san..."
"In the first place, I came down here to get information about that thing from Marie."
Bell understood why she was worried if she had witnessed the power of the Enhanced Species, but he couldn't just stay still.
"Marie, I want to do something about that monster."
"Do you really not know where it is?"
Bell had friends he needed to save. To do that, he had to reach them, and he had to defeat that creature.
"No... Bell, don't go!"
Slide—!
"Bell, and Akumo, and I... we'll all disappear... everyone will disappear...!"
Grip!!
"I'm scared...!"
""...""
Seeing Marie trembling with fear, Bell felt his resolve to defeat the Enhanced Species grow even stronger.