Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

After returning from that white space, Bell couldn't stop his heart from pounding.

'Phew… I really let my guard down.'

Situations with so many unknowns were exactly the kind Bell hated the most.

But this time, he had no one to blame. He had poked at things out of curiosity—how was he supposed to know it would cause such a huge reaction?

He casually wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He had sensed it clearly—he had no power to stand against the Black Dragon.

If his opponent had been "King Ottar," he might've had a fifty-fifty shot.

But against the Black Dragon? He didn't even have a ten percent chance.

'So my recent power boost has been messing with my mindset...'

'Arrogance and pride—those are the worst things to let take root.'

Bell took a deep breath, trying to steady his heartbeat as he quietly reflected on his reckless decision.

This kind of reckless behavior… he couldn't allow it to happen again.

They had already agreed—the next time they met would be the final battle. This one act of recklessness would be the first and last.

Back inside the barrier where he'd originally stood, Bell looked around. The members of the Loki Familia were still recovering nearby.

Even after that roar, no new monsters had appeared around the White Palace.

It seemed there really was some kind of symbiotic relationship between the Dungeon and the Black Dragon. Otherwise, the Dungeon would've taken advantage of the chaos without hesitation.

Yet the Dungeon did nothing, which left the Loki Familia shrouded in unease.

"That roar just now… was the Black Dragon…"

"It had to be… it had to be…"

"How is something like that even supposed to be defeated?"

Their voices trembled, laced with fear.

An adventurer without courage is no longer an adventurer—just a coward trying to survive.

Even though the Loki Familia's members were well-trained, some of them still couldn't shake off the fear from the Black Dragon's voice.

But it wasn't a question of whether any one person could endure it.

It was a question of whether anyone could endure it at all.

"Ha... ha..."

Lefiya, a powerful Elven artillery mage at Level 3, had a bright future ahead of her, with the potential to one day rival even the Nine Hell, Riveria.

But right now, she had been flattened by the dragon's roar, her entire body trembling so much she couldn't even lift a finger.

And it wasn't just her—even the four Level 6 adventurers in the Loki Familia hadn't been spared.

As the Familia's top fighters, they had sensed even more hidden meaning behind that single roar.

The Black Dragon's strength was overwhelming—just one roar was enough to crush anyone.

It had always been hidden deep within the Dungeon, far out of reach... until now.

Just those two revelations were enough to plunge anyone into despair.

'I never imagined the Black Dragon would actually lie hidden deep within the Dungeon.'

This realization made Finn's heart clench.

The Dungeon lay directly beneath Orario—the center of the world. If the Black Dragon ran rampant, Orario could face total annihilation, and even the gods might fall.

'This is absolute worst-case news.'

But what troubled Finn most was why the Black Dragon chose this moment to roar—and why its roar sounded less like anger and more like a challenge.

Was anyone in Orario truly worthy of that challenge?

No—it shouldn't be possible.

If someone existed who deserved the dragon's attention, Orario's strongest, like the King, wouldn't have held that title so long. So why now?

Finn drew a deep breath and scanned the surrounding members, his brow tightening.

Their voices were heavy with defeat, and it pained him. There was no denying how terrifying that roar had been.

"Everyone, pull yourselves together!"

A gentle female voice snapped him back. He looked up to see Liliruca, usually quiet, standing firm—unaffected by the dragon's roar.

Her voice cleared the fog of despair from everyone's minds.

At this point, she didn't care about anything else—her goal was to shake everyone out of their despondency and strip away the fear.

"We all became adventurers for different reasons, but we share the same dream: to live better lives."

"The Black Dragon is just another monster—a far stronger one, yes—but are we going to lose our courage just because we heard its voice?"

"If we can't defeat the Black Dragon, everyone in Genkai will die. Are we really going to accept death without even standing up to it?"

Her words slowly cut through the fear and hesitation.

They were adventurers. They wanted more from life—and none wanted to surrender without a fight.

Seeing this, Liliruca relaxed slightly, but didn't stop pushing.

"It's been a thousand years since the gods came to Genkai, and the world's Three Great Quests—the King of the Earth, Behemoth; the King of the Sea, Leviathan; and the King of the Sky, Black Dragon—were set."

"So far, adventurers have defeated the first two."

"That was thanks to Zeus's Familia and Hera's Familia. Now, the final showdown falls to us."

"Zeus's and Hera's Familias were once Orario's strongest. They never backed down, even in the face of death. Are we, Loki Familia, really going to crumble the moment we hear the Black Dragon's roar?"

Her words reignited the embers of courage.

Liliruca's teammates all braced themselves, hands on the ground, rising to their feet.

Their legs still shook—but inside, their courage burned anew.

"Captain, we won't be paralyzed just because of the Black Dragon's roar!"

A Dwarf pushed himself up using his shield, determination replacing fear in his eyes.

"I refuse to be seen as an adventurer who doesn't even have the one thing I'm known for—courage!"