--It is a very good thing that the miasma is not a problem.

　Looking down on the basin where the miasma had caused so much damage, all we could do was stare blankly at it.

　A pillar of fire burning through the basin.
　It was like a hot geyser.

　The eruption of industrial fire, which illuminates the surrounding area like the sun, is definitely not something we created.

"d*mn it ...... what happened to it, it's ......!

　Garnet grits her teeth as sweat trickles down her cheeks.

　Is it a cold sweat from witnessing such an abnormal situation or is it a cooling sweat from being exposed to the high heat of the fire column?

　It was so unusual and scorchingly hot that it was impossible to tell even that.

　Even though anything can happen in a dungeon, there is a limit to what is acceptable.

　Sakura is also trying to be vigilant in the area without being careless, but she still couldn't help but be drawn to the strange pillar of fire.

''Melissa, do you have any idea what that was?''
Wow, don't ask me!　We'll have to wait for Nagi to come back: ......

　Just after that, a spirit beast wolf returned from down the hill, and at the same time, Nagi appeared like a gale.

　On behalf of the four of us who were waiting at the top of the hill, I asked Nagi about the results of our scouting.

''How did it go?''　Do you have any idea why?
From the general point of view, it doesn't appear to be a simple fire caused by loss of fire. The fire is probably only burning in the area where the miasma was present, and there's no fire spreading to the outside at all. ...... It's really unnatural.
So you're saying that someone had a clear shot and burned out the miasma?

　If the miasma is generated by magic or some other ability, it is not impossible to burn off only a specific area.

　If the miasma is harming living things indiscriminately, then it's quite possible that there are other people who find the miasma's existence inconvenient.

　But who is it?

　Considering that Roy pioneered the route in the first place, the possibility of it being another adventurer should be infinitesimally unlikely.

''If you're saying it's the work of a demonic beast that inhabits ...... this hierarchy, I'd be honestly quick to tell you.

　For example, if a plant-like demon emits miasma and then is burned away by another demon beast that recognizes that the miasma is harmful, that's a natural cycle in this dungeon.

　You will be able to find out more about the mere fact that it is a strong monster.

　You don't necessarily have to defeat them.
　You can avoid contact with them by analyzing their ecology and behavior patterns.

　--However, on the contrary, the most troublesome possibility is--

What to do about White Wolf's ......, I'll let you be the judge.
No more reconnaissance. If there's no change in the fire pole, we shouldn't get any closer. Anyway, safety is our top priority: ......

　The moment I was about to give the order to pull them back down the hill, two wolf-shaped spirit beasts bared their fangs menacingly and stared at the pillar of fire with their entire bodies full of hair.

　In the next moment, the bottom of the fire pillar's surface popped up in a small way, and then a high-speed 'something' rushed over the surface of the ground and jumped towards us in a straight line.

　It only took a few seconds to reach it.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future.

　A high-pitched metallic sound that echoed.

　The human-like shape of the "something" was catching Garnett's sword with a single sword held in its right hand and Sakura's sword with a short sword held in its left hand.

''...... this guy!''
You can't be ......

　The two and one are separated from each other with the sound of blades.

　A pair of Eastern swords, large and small. A head completely covered by a cloth.

　It's hard to believe, but that - no, the only possibility should have been assumed from the beginning.

　As long as the adventurers came to this level of the hierarchy following the Demon King's Army, it's no surprise that they were in the same level.

''Demon King's Army, Four Demon Generals ...... Fire Suzuri ......!

　Only one man among the four demon generals, the man who disappeared without ever being defeated - even that is just a guess from his voice, an existence that is all a mystery.

　It is now standing in front of us with two swipes in hand and a distant pillar of flame burning in the background.

'...... Demon General Suzuri ......'

　Sakura didn't relax her vigilance, sheathing her cherry blossom-colored sword and pulling out a scarlet sword, a total hibikiro-kanezou, instead.

'Why are you here!
I don't have to tell you.

　Despite being held up by the scarlet sword, he doesn't lose the slightest bit of his spare attitude.

　It's a natural behavior.
　In light of the four demon generals' fighting abilities, even if everyone here fought as one, there was no doubt that they would be forced to fight at a disadvantage.

　In the Demon King's War, Sakura is the only one who fought a decent battle against Suzuri, and even then, even though she used the God-Devouring Technique, she was still unable to bring out the best in her, and Sakura was the first to run out of time.

　The reason why Suzuri left the frontline is because she thought it was 'time' for two A-ranked adventurers named Dustin to rush to Travis, and I wonder what would have happened if she had continued the fight.

''It's easy to imagine the reason. Unless you're very stupid.
''Even for the Demon King's Army (you guys), that black fog was an existence that needed to be eliminated. ...... Is that what you're saying?

　Suzuri didn't react to any of the speculation I'd uttered.

　But I'm confident that my guess is correct.

　The only possible reason for burning the miasma basin so spectacularly was that they wanted to incinerate the miasma itself or its source.

　Several reasons come to mind for the burning of the miasma, but the most likely reason is simple and straightforward: they wanted to dispose of the miasma because it is harmful to the demon race.

　It's also possible that they didn't want the source to be investigated by humans, but the incineration was too massive for that.

　And the reason why the flames don't spread outside the basin is because it would be detrimental to the demon king's army if the flames spread uncontrolled.

'The miasma is harmful to the demon race, so we burned it down as a precautionary measure. But if the miasma becomes a wildfire, it will cause other harm to the demon king's army that is somewhere in this hierarchy: ......
'If you're going to invite upset and extract information from the response, give it up. You're wasting your efforts.

　Of course, I don't intend to do that.
　It was hard to believe that such a petty approach could be understood against a demon general who did not change a single tone of voice at this stage of the game.

　While I was making statements that were completely unresponsive and not even conversational, I ran one of the wolf spirit beasts as a transmission order and had everyone else prepare their positions for battle.

　Suzuri must have noticed my preparations as well, but the interference didn't move a single foot stupidly.

'...... Well then, one last question. This should answer it, right?

　All four of us stand in the right position and I also work on my only decent weapon, a repeating crossbow.

'Are you going to let us off the hook?'
That's a stupid question.

　Suzuri bent down shallowly and fleshed out with unnoticeable speed.

　The metallic sound of Garnett's sword catching its blade was the signal for a rematch with the Demon General Suzuri that no one could have predicted.