"Al-Altaris?" Alexia looked up to me. "Where w-were you?"
Suddenly she jumped from her bed and hugged me tightly. My anger vanished as I heard her wailing. "H-He tried to g-grab me, I tried to-"
I wrapped my hands around her and stopped her from speaking any further. We stayed in that position for some time until Alexia fully calmed down.
The more I observed her, the obvious it became. This one stench, I could never get used to no matter how many times I encounter it. A stench of demon.
I slowly glance at Jerald's obscure state, even though his body looked unharmed, his actions were questionable at best. He has been periodically letting out moans while staring at the celling. "What happened to him?"
Alexia peeks at him and mumbles. "I pushed him away and managed to escape through the door but he caught me."
"Then?"
"Then I don't know… I don't remember."
I couldn't help but scratch my forehead in confusion. 'Alexia's story didn't add up but interrogating her might not be the best option.'
I observe Jerald closely and notice that he has traces of demonic magic in his mana flow, not to mention his mind appears to be in absolute pieces. 'I was so sure that Alexia's mark is associated with seduction… maybe it is. But why is he so retarded? Did Baal grown out of life energy and flesh?'
"Altaris?" I turn back to see Alexia covered in a blanket, her eyes still wet from crying yet she looked absolutely stunning that my heart skipped a beat.
'No, seduction is definitely a part of it. Ugh, Dora's insight would have proven useful now.'
At that moment, I noticed some unwanted company closing in. "Alexia, we need to move now."
"M-move? I-I don't think-"
I ignore her words, my mind focused on creating a safe escape plan. With so little mana, I can't favour any head on battles. A grin appears on my face as I think of a devious plan to escape, I snatch all the blankets from Alexia.
"Hey! I am using them!"
I summon a magic circle and conjecture a thick black thread. "I don't care. Get dressed, we are leaving."
Alexia pouts like a little girl and refuses to budge. "I am not going anywhere! I am not!"
'Did the demon affect her behaviour too? She is acting bit too childish.'
Seeing me staring at her with emotionless face, Alexia turns her back to me. "Hmph! You are still the same. Not caring about me or my opinions, only doing what you want… but I want to thank you for coming to save me after I said those mean things to you… I am sorry."
I did not know but I was smiling after hearing those words.
"Uah! I am still coming to the dungeon with you! Altaris is too self-centred that he might forget that we need to help big sister."
I flash my teeth to her and toss the now tied blankets to her. "Actually, I got a new partner now. Also, it's someone you know."
"W-Who?"
"You see, come and help me strip him."
"Are you sure the blood mage is in this area?" The knight in heavy armour asked Mira who was glancing in every direction like paranoid, the two stars on his shoulder revealed his special rank. "Miss?"
"HE IS HERE! I felt it, lieutenant! His last mana signature came from here somewhere." The knight lieutenant was visibly uncomfortable but the situation was dire.
A single wizard sent the entire Cross dungeon city into chaos, he had a giant blood monster under his control with that he disrupted the supply rails, annihilated a battalion of mages and archers along with a cleric from the church.
"The words of the street say that the monster was as big as the pit which is outrageous. As big as pit? That's impossible!"
Two adventurers passing by were discussing too loudly.
"Right? This makes the other rumour that the red beast got defeated by this mystery wizard a joke."
The knight shrugs them and focuses his attention on Mira who is having a panic attack, her mind going mad as she genuinely believes them. "See? I told you! The blood monster too strong! I am telling you!"
Her sudden screaming and desperate voice gathered a lot of attention.
The common people around the block saw her and started to whisper, the knight lieutenant did not like this one bit. From last few hours, the entire city has been in an unrest, absurd rumours floating everywhere.
'If this became the norm, the production efficiency might get affected, which cannot happen at any cost!'
With a nod, the city knight gave the order to apprehend Mira for causing civil unrest. "No! Let go of me! I need to save Sir Acolyte!"
A normal mage was almost powerless in front a knight, thus Mira was manhandled and takes away.
The knight lieutenant sighed. "I hate such hard days."
BOOM!
A loud explosion took place not too far from Mira's place. She immediately scanned her mana field and yelled in horror. "It's the blood monster!!!"
Everyone in the began screaming and running for their life, it created a stampede. Few handful knights which were present in the area tried to take control but against hundreds of people frightened words and orders had very little meaning.
The knight lieutenant gritted his teeth and took out his long spear, it was a hand shorter than Myleane's war spear. "You two with me! Everyone else close down gate 13 and 17!"
The knights ditched Mira on the road to run after their lieutenant. The next scene which she witnessed made her question her own very self.
Without any care of the civilians, the knights in heavy armours trampled through hordes of people, stepping on them. The knight lieutenant craved through the human as if making a path through thick grass, with a single swing of his spear, he killed multiple innocent people.
Mira who was stunned, got herself run over as a woman caring a small child bumped into her. "Out of the way!"
She stood up to see, both exits to the alleyways were now closed off. Even hundreds of people could not budge three city knights who alone held the giant door by themselves.
A series of screams came from the side of the explosion, with fear Mira checked her mana field. "It's coming."