A cross-dressing anime, starting with Kaguya-sama: Love Is War.

Six hours.

For an elite team in perfect condition, there is plenty of time to return to the surface from the eighteenth floor.

But now, with a seriously wounded player in their arsenal, the situation is completely different for 727.

“I’ll carry him.”

Grace said without hesitation.

He was the strongest and most stable, making him the best candidate to carry Lynn.

"Ryu, you go ahead and scout the way."

Riveria immediately began issuing commands, having automatically assumed the role of commander.

“Alice and Kaguya, you two are in charge of the left wing. Niz and Celty, you are in charge of the right wing.”

"Lady Artemis and I will stay by Grace's side, ready to deal with any emergencies."

“Frilian, you…”

“I am responsible for observing the samples.”

Frilian interrupted her and took out the notebook again.

Riveria's lips twitched, but she ultimately said nothing.

The team was quickly reorganized.

Grace carefully hoisted Lynn onto her broad back and secured him with sturdy straps.

Feeling the faint yet steady breathing on their backs, hope was rekindled in everyone's hearts.

"Let's go!"

.......

271. Preliminary casualty statistics

Meanwhile, on the Earth's surface.

The dawn of Yulari was stained crimson with blood and flames.

The battle in Central Square is nearing its end.

The dark torrent of the Dark Faction was utterly crushed, divided, and then gradually swallowed up by the iron wall of the Yulari alliance, led by the Freya Familia.

Finn stood on the command platform at the guild headquarters, overlooking the entire battlefield.

The amplified magic device amplified his cold voice, spreading it to every corner of the city.

"Ota, take care of her."

"Yes."

At the very heart of the battlefield, the pigman warriors' response was concise and deadly.

The black sword in his hand drew a desperate arc.

The commander of the dark faction, the woman who orchestrated this disaster, Valetta, her head filled with resentment and bitterness, shot into the sky.

With the commander's death, the remaining forces of the Dark Faction completely collapsed.

They dropped their weapons and fled in all directions, but what awaited them was Hedin's earth-shattering lightning and Hegni's frenzied sword dance.

This was a massacre.

A thorough massacre, intended to console the dead and vent anger.

The last monster fell in a pool of blood.

As the first rays of dawn pierced through the smoke of battle and fell upon the ravaged square...

The surviving adventurers erupted in thunderous cheers.

They won.

Yulali, you held on.

Finn looked down at the sea of ​​celebration, but his usually composed smile showed no joy.

He turned around and looked at the guild staff beside him.

"Have the casualty statistics been released yet?"

The staff member's face was extremely somber.

He handed over a report that had just been compiled.

Finn took it, glanced at it, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Although he won, the price Yulari paid was far more severe than he had anticipated.

The casualty rate was alarmingly high, especially among the veterans and low-ranking adventurers who responded to the call and spontaneously participated in the defense of the city.

His gaze fell on the last line of the report.

"The Astrea Familia... and the Loki Familia expedition team... have been out of contact to this day."

Finn gripped the report so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He looked up at the towering Tower of Babel, at the entrance to the endless abyss.

The war on the surface is over.

But the battle in the dungeon seems to have only just begun.

The journey back to the surface was smoother than expected.

Perhaps it was because of Zagnat's appearance that most of the monsters along the way were cleared out.

Or perhaps the underground city, after giving birth to that "antibody," also entered a brief period of weakness.

Along the way, they encountered almost no significant resistance.

This relieved everyone and gave them more time to process the information coming from the surface.

The joy of victory was overshadowed by the heavy casualty figures.

Everyone understood that when they returned to that familiar city, they would be faced with a grand yet sorrowful celebration.

Five hours later.

The blinding sunlight caused those who had been underground for a long time to unconsciously squint.

However, the bustling city scene that was expected did not appear.

Instead, there was a suffocating sense of oppression.

The air was filled with a strange smell of rust and coke.

There were cheers.

But the sound was distant and hoarse, more like a wail that had exhausted all its strength.

Riveria's brows furrowed tightly.

She walked quickly to the front of the line, her gaze sweeping across the edge of the square to the crimson battlefield.

The dried bloodstains stained the white stone slabs black.

Broken weapons and monster corpses piled up like mountains.

The surviving adventurers sat slumped on the ground in twos and threes, their faces showing no joy of victory, only numbness and exhaustion.

"What...what exactly happened?" Alexie's voice trembled slightly.

They had anticipated a fierce battle on the surface, but they hadn't expected it to be so brutal.

"We...won, didn't we?" Kaguya murmured to herself, her grip on the hilt of the sword tightening unconsciously.

"We won."

A familiar yet weary voice came from not far away.

Everyone turned to look.

Eina was standing in front of the temporary tent set up by the guild branch. Her uniform was covered in stains, and her usually meticulously combed hair was now a bit disheveled.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her face looked haggard.

When Eina saw Riveria and her group, especially the figure strapped to Grace's back, her body visibly swayed.

She ran over quickly, her voice trembling with tears.

"~You...you're back! That's wonderful...you're finally back!"

Because she saw Ryu, Alexei, Kaguya, and Artemis following behind the group.

They are all here.

Eina was stunned at first, then a great joy welled up in her heart, but then came a deeper sadness.

She covered her mouth, tears welling up uncontrollably.

"That's great...really...that's great..."

“Aina, what’s the situation on the surface…” Riveria asked in a deep voice.

Eina took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

She wiped away her tears and took out a wrinkled report from her bosom.

"Commander Finn, along with the other commanders of the clans, are having a meeting at the Central Command."

"This is... a preliminary casualty count."

Riveria took the thin piece of paper, glanced at it, and her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Each number on the screen felt like a red-hot branding iron, searing her heart with pain.

More than 70% of the second and third-level adventurers who responded to the call were injured or killed.

Many families were even expelled from the family register because of this.

Those familiar faces who used to boast and joke in the tavern, those figures who brushed past each other on the street, have now all become a string of cold numbers.

272. We're back.

“The Dark Faction has come out in full force.” Eina’s voice was filled with helplessness. “They’re like madmen, attacking the central square at any cost, with the aim of destroying the guild headquarters and paralyzing the entire Yulari.”

"The Freya Familia has withstood their fiercest attack."

“Mr. Ota, kill their commander, Valetta.”

"But... the price is too high."

The team fell into a long silence.

The fruits of victory have never been so bitter.

Frillie never looked at the report.

She simply looked up at the sky.

“There’s less than an hour left,” she said calmly. “His body needs immediate attention.”

These words pulled everyone back to reality from their sorrow.

Riveria immediately came to her senses.

“Miss Eina, we need a place with the highest-level alchemy equipment and medical facilities.”

“I’ll arrange it right away!” Eina nodded emphatically, knowing the priorities of the matter.

She turned around, about to run away, but then stopped and looked back at the group.

Her gaze swept over Ryu, over Alexandra, and finally landed on the excessively quiet young man being carried by Grace.

"Mr. Lynn, he..."

“He’s still alive.” Ryu answered the question for her, her tone carrying a hint of tenderness and lingering fear that she herself hadn’t even noticed.

"It just needs a little time."

A genuine, relieved smile finally appeared on Eina's face.

In this desolate land, shrouded in the shadow of death, this message is the best message we have heard today.