Loki Familia's "mid-line squad" was currently guarding the "logistics squad," which moved along behind, extracting magic stones from monster corpses.
"Raul, don't you feel like the number of monsters along the way has shot up?"
"I can see it."
A glance down the route told Raul the same thing—the bodies were clearly more numerous than usual.
"Every floor has way more monsters than normal. It's still short of a full 'Monster Feria,' but the headcount is definitely up. I figure that's why the captain hasn't stopped—numbers aside, it's manageable."
"Alicia, have there been recent reports of increased spawns in the Dungeon?"
"There have."
Alicia had kept close tabs on Dungeon intel before the expedition. For a Second Party core member, checking the Dungeon's status was part of the job.
"Reports of increases aren't rare—especially lately. But the Guild hasn't labeled it a general condition; they've called it intermittent fluctuation. Based on what I gathered, the recent surges are wave-like, not constant."
"So today is one of the wave-up days?"
Raul's eyes swept over the field. The monsters were nearly cleared, and their bodies—stripped of magic stones—had crumbled into white ash. Here and there, drops glinted within the gray dust. Only the blood smeared along the tunnel walls testified to how brutally the monsters had died.
"The captain's pressing ahead. He must be fully aware of this. It's a clear 'abnormality.'"
"Mhm. I think so too. But if he knows the numbers are up and still isn't stopping, he must think it's fine. Or… the captain and Lady Riveria knew this might happen from the start."
"Then the captain and Lady Riveria have a specific plan. For now, it looks like our only option is to keep pace with them."
Raul agreed the situation was an "abnormality," but what mattered was the frontline's decision-making.
"I'm sure the captain has a plan. If only we had someone who knew exactly what he's thinking."
"Right. If only… we… did…"
Alicia's reply trailed off as she glanced toward the flank guard up ahead—Ais. If the captain hadn't told any of Second Party about the plan, maybe someone in First Party knew.
"Raul."
Alicia pointed toward Ais. Raul nodded and headed over.
"Miss Ais."
Ais turned at the sound of her name. Seeing Raul and Alicia, she tilted her head slightly.
"What is it?"
Right now Ais looked like a porcelain doll—expression light, voice even. For a moment Alicia wanted to scoop her into a hug; the timing held her back.
"It's about the increased spawns. Does Captain Finn know?"
"Mhm. He knows."
Ais never played games with words, and her answer was precise.
As expected. Raul and Alicia exchanged a look. If the captain knew and still pushed on, questions about whether to halt were moot—he already had a response in mind.
"Miss Ais, did the captain give any other instructions?"
Instructions? Ais tried to recall everything Finn had said recently. Nothing like a direct order came to mind.
"Finn didn't give instructions. But I know Finn, Gareth, and Riveria changed parts of the supply list. They said specifics would be discussed in Rivira."
They changed the supply list? Raul and Alicia both stiffened. Expedition logistics weren't something you altered lightly—and the ones making the changes were the familia's big three. That screamed targeted response to the Dungeon's "abnormality."
As Second Party core, the two were sensitive to moves like this. Now wasn't the time to trail along leisurely.
"Everyone—pick up the pace!"
"Skip magic stones and drops on the upper floors—we need to catch the captain!"
Under Raul and Alicia's direction, the logistics squad stopped processing corpses and pushed the laden carts forward at speed.
The 12th floor was more open. Once monsters were wiped on a stretch of road, they wouldn't respawn for half a day—a full day, even—so the logistics team could pass quickly.
With a forced march focused on speed, they caught the vanguard after barely half an hour.
On the 16th floor, the last monsters had just been cleared. Tiona, Tione, and Bete—the main strike force for the sweep—were starting to feel a touch of fatigue.
"The closer we get to the middle floors, the more monsters there are. Still more than usual, short of a Feria. But the numbers are getting close. Not a good sign."
Finn's thumb began to throb faintly. Every time that omen appeared in the past, something big followed. He looked ahead; the 16th was clean. Next up was the 17th-floor boss. Yet his gut told him they couldn't advance.
"Tsuna, what do you think?"
"I feel the same as you."
Sawada Tsunayoshi stepped out from an empty patch of space. Every sense he had was sounding off. Not about a threat here—but about a threat ahead that felt beyond anything they'd expected.
"My whole body's telling me we shouldn't go forward now. If we do, something big will happen. The Dungeon's 'abnormality' is becoming obvious. At this rate, the floor boss is very likely to be 'abnormal' too. I'm worried it'll come with a mass spawn on top of that."
(End of Chapter)
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