Senzo snapped his fingers, summoning Famine once again; it was time to bring Sophie and the others in here as well.
Here they'll be safe, and I can focus solely on clearing the dungeon as fast as possible.
He didn't know if monsters respawned or if the dungeon would change over time, so it was much safer to leave them here.
"..."
Why is he not coming?
Senzo was looking around, but Famine was nowhere to be seen, and after trying a couple of more times, he realized it was futile.
"What's going on?" he muttered, raising his eyebrow, trying to figure out why he wouldn't come out.
But he had no idea; it just didn't make any sense. Does the safe zone block abilities?
After that thought surfaced in his mind, Senzo stopped patting Asako's head and tried to summon a small dagger.
A moment later the dagger appeared in his hand, just like the greatswords had done.
"???"
Senzo was staring at nothing in particular with a dumbfounded expression; it just didn't make any sense.
"I don't get it..." he grumbled, not minding the curious mother and son duo that was staring at him holding the small dagger in his hand.
"Uh, Senzo, What are you doing?" Emi inquired, pointing at the dagger he was holding with shock in her eyes.
"Ah, hehe, don't worry about it. I wanted to use my abilities to bring the others to this safe zone, but some of them don't seem to work in here?" he explained his problem, and with a flick of his wrist, the dagger vanished once more.
"Others? You mean that there are other survivors in the dungeon!?" Naosuke exclaimed, his eyes wide open.
"Yep, but I left them behind with a guard to explore the dungeon, and after fighting a lot of monsters and exploring multiple creepy hallways, I arrived here."
"!!!"
Emi and Naosuke looked at one another with wide eyes. He had killed those abominations?
"If you don't mind me asking, did you perhaps awaken with some crazy overpowered abilities?" Naosuke asked, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
Of course he had also dreamed of becoming some protagonist once he saw the status screen suddenly appear in front of him, but reality had given him a harsh wake-up call.
They had luckily appeared in front of this massive white room and accidentally entered it after encountering gigantic spiders and rats.
"You could say that, but well, back to the topic at hand. I'll go outside for a moment to send my subordinates to pick up my companions, and after I'll..."
But Senzo stopped himself right before finishing that sentence; it was probably for the better that they didn't hear about his goal of clearing the dungeon. They might not mentally survive knowing someone is going into that room once again.
"Don't worry about it; for now I will be right back."
Just like that, he turned around, still holding the sleeping Asako, and went straight toward the door he entered through.
"!!!"
Emi shot upright, leaving her son stumbling a little, but he seemed to share her sentiment as his eyes went wide.
"Wait! Don't go! Please stay here." Emi exclaimed as she grasped Senzo's shoulder, signaling him to stop.
"Why? I killed all the spiders and rats on my way here. Shouldn't it be safe now?" Senzo said casually.
You don't need to know about that shadow-like creature.
Thinking about it was enough to have shivers run down his spine; he still hadn't forgotten the horrors of that thing.
"Are you serious!? You killed all of those?" Naosuke interrupted as he saw Senzo in a completely new light; at first he thought he was just like them, barely making his way into the safe zone.
That wasn't possible, huh... He thought back to the way Senzo entered; he hadn't seen clearly, but he was clearly holding some kind of weapon and was rather relaxed, unlike when he and his family entered the safe zone.
"What would I gain by lying about that?"
"That's true..."
Emi's mouth was wide agape, but she still couldn't let him leave the safe zone even while knowing that.
"Still just stay inside until the government comes to save us, right? Before you entered, we heard creatures banging on the door, and it sounded like they were holding weapons." Emi explained, feeling her whole body shake just thinking about what had happened right before Senzo entered.
"Ah!"
Senzo seemed to realize something as he couldn't hold in his laughter and started chuckling.
"Pffft!"
Emi and Naosuke locked eyes, both with confused looks on their faces.
"It might sound strange, but those were my subordinates; for some reason they couldn't enter this room, so after trying a couple of times, they waited for me to arrive."
"Huh?" Emi muttered, her hand letting go of Senzo's shoulder.
Naosuke was also just staring at Senzo; his mind couldn't comprehend what was going on anymore.
"Also, do you really think the government will come to save you before you die of dehydration?" Senzo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"..."
Emi had no answer; she knew better than anyone else. That was basically impossible, but still she had to get hope from somewhere. What else were they enduring this hell for otherwise?
She clutched her fists tightly as a fiery look appeared in her eyes; she was not ready to give up the will to live.
Heh, that's much better. And don't worry, I'll give you hope soon enough.
Like that, Senzo quickly exited the safe zone and summoned his spectral banner and Famine once more.
But this time two more creatures appeared next to the green glowing skeleton; on his right stood a robust humanoid-looking creature wearing blood-red armor.
He was a head or two taller than Senzo and had an insanely robust physique.
Senzo could only smile seeing it with his own eyes; he did really look like the epitome of a warrior.
"You're War from now on."
The red warrior bowed politely, clearly accepting the name his new master had granted him.
Then Senzo turned his head to the one on the left of Famine; it was a small skeleton about half the size of Famine.
But it didn't look any less terrifying; on the other hand, it gave off a chilling aura, wearing a simple black hooded cap and holding a simple scythe.
"Impressive, and you're Death from now on."
"Understood, master," the small skeleton replied; his voice was so bone-chilling that even War and Famine felt the pressure.
Heh. Senzo couldn't help but smirk a little looking at the line-up in front of him.