Damn it.
Someone in the crowd thought this to themself. The noise around them kept growing louder. Had they killed too early after all? But their face had been seen—there was no choice but to kill. The bloody scene inside the room resurfaced vividly, the sticky sensation on their hands still lingering.
More than that, she cared about where the item had gone. In such a short time, it had to still be somewhere in the town. On top of that, she still had to look for Aria…
Damn it.
Maybe she should just kill them all.
The image of the white-haired boy suddenly flashed through her mind. A strange sense of wrongness followed. He looked weaker than anyone here. So how had that adventurer even reached this place? Found someone to escort him? Or was he hiding his strength?
For a brief moment, their eyes had met. Those fiery red pupils, burning like flames, had stuck in her mind ever since. If that white-haired brat was with this group of seemingly powerful people, then he was most likely hiding his strength.
Tsk. So annoying.
With this human-skin mask, she didn't need to worry about being exposed, but how long was this farce supposed to drag on?
While she kept grumbling, the male adventurers around her had already moved far ahead, all loudly trying to catch a glimpse of how the Loki Familia women checked the female adventurers' bodies.
She didn't care about that at all. There were plenty of other men like her not far away—standing off on their own, finding all of this too troublesome to bother with.
What mattered was the item. Whose hands had it fallen into?
That question, which had surfaced again and again, was suddenly cut off by a punch.
?!
A massive force slammed into her from the front, a surge of murderous intent bursting forth without warning. Even with armor as a shield, the violent impact sent her flying back.
A nearby wooden stall was caught in the blast and shattered into fragments under the crash of her armor. In an instant, she was completely separated from the crowd.
The crystals looked down on the scene. Their faint, flickering light felt like the signal for battle, casting the first mournful cry of dawn over the Eighteenth Floor below.
...
"Still feels a bit strange without any weapons."
Gareth shook out his right hand, which had just thrown a straight punch. To avoid detection and completely isolate the killer from the crowd, he pretended to be passing by, acting as if he wanted to join the commotion up ahead. Only when he was right in front of the target did he suddenly unleash his power.
"That kind of power is already pretty impressive," Tiona replied with a smile, unarmed. If it were her, she'd never have been able to knock someone that far.
She shouted toward the crowd, "The suspect's been found! Everyone, back up! Gather in the upper-right corner of the square—we'll protect you! The suspect might have accomplices, so don't scatter!"
Tiona repeated Finn's instructions word for word.
"Lefiya-san, I can't see the battle like this," Bell murmured.
The golden-yellow-haired elf held her wand, shielding the boy behind her.
"Just stay put. I haven't forgiven you for what you did earlier… Wait… what are you touching?!"
As the crowd began shifting, Bell—being a Level 1—instinctively grabbed Lefiya as a human shield to avoid being swept away.
"Force majeure."
He'd witnessed it on the fifth floor: fleeing goblins trampling each other, raising plumes of deathly black mist. He insisted his grip on her delicate form was purely for safety.
"—What?! Don't grab me there, you idiot!"
Lefiya was both flustered and furious, yet she didn't dare toss the boy into the surging crowd.
"You… I told you to stop touching me!"
The golden-yellow-haired elf shot a murderous glare at the onlookers.
"..."
"That pair again…"
A passing male adventurer cut himself off and hurried away. Others who sensed the terrifying killing intent followed suit, veering off their original paths. Before long, the flow of people instinctively avoided the strange spectacle altogether.
Bete ignored the playful chaos and instead took up a combat stance, eyes fixed ahead.
Perched atop a staircase made of thick tree trunks, Ais surveyed the entire square. Whatever the criminal was searching for had to still be in Rivira Town. Ais's task was to watch the crowd and look for anyone carrying something suspicious.
An expressionless Amazon warrior, a panicked Chienthrope girl, male adventurers shuffling along while watching the commotion… and the boy pressed tightly against Lefiya.
"..."
In silence, Ais quickly averted her gaze, almost as if she were fleeing.
...
Far from the square, beside an archway, a massive stone blocked the path. It was the same barrier stone the Dwarves had rolled into place when sealing off Rivira Town.
Tione climbed the rock with a sulky expression. After the boy spoke with Finn, she'd been assigned to this position far from the battlefield.
It was a precaution.
Monsters roaming the eighteenth floor might invade the town. And the Violas—born in the Dungeon and somehow moved to the surface—might reappear.
While resolving the murder case, they had to ensure absolute safety.
After Hashana's death, the boy had become noticeably more cautious about the Dungeon. Finn licked his fingertip, approving the decision. Tione naturally obeyed the order, and the northern entrance was assigned to the city representative's Bors to watch over.
If monsters did attack, neither would need to fight—only report immediately.
Tione let out a quiet sigh. During such an important hunting opportunity, she was stuck on the sidelines. She wanted to see what kind of powerful foe the culprit was.
The cold wind swept her drifting thoughts past Rivira Town, dispersing the dust clouds kicked up by clashing armor.
Two figures were locked in fierce combat.
The lance whistled sharply through the air, stabbing over and over like a torrential downpour. The golden spear tip grazed a forehead, ripping the tightly drawn hood apart.
Revealed to Finn's sight was a sharp, hardened face. Pale brown skin—just like the victim's—half the visage bound tightly in bandages, while the exposed half held no expression at all.
Without hesitation, Finn lowered his stance as the spearhead extended, swinging his weapon horizontally to strike at the opponent's legs.
"Tsk."
The opponent leapt irritably, but the heavy armor restricted their movement, allowing the spearhead to bite into the leg plate.
A sharp, ringing clash of metal echoed across the square.
Finn seized the opening, using his compact build and swift agility to unleash a barrage of brilliant thrusts.
Within moments, the opponent's armor shattered into countless fragments.
...
"Aren't you going to kill me?"
The culprit tore off her disguise, a sharp, feminine voice ringing out. Without the armor to hide her, her snow-pale neck and graceful limbs were fully exposed.
"I'm simply curious—what kind of person is capable of killing Hashana."
High-level adventurers were almost always known by name, especially the women. Anyone who could commit such brutality had to be involved in something far more complicated.
A remnant of Evilus? Or perhaps some unknown faction…
"Finally willing to show your true face?" Finn said coldly.
Before him, short crimson hair spilled like fresh blood, faintly showing rough cuts left by a knife. She must have hacked off her long hair for the sake of disguise.
Her emerald eyes locked onto Finn, studying her opponent.
"Not killing me immediately was your fatal mistake."
Before the words even finished leaving her mouth, she spun around and bolted.
A sensible decision.
But completely expected.
By the white pillar in the square, Riveria had already taken position. To expose one's back to the Nine Hell was a mistake one would regret for life.
"Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight.."
Her emerald hair fluttered in the wind as a magic circle bloomed beneath her feet.
But just as Riveria chanted, another sound swept through the town—
A piercing flute call.
An uneasy tension rippled through the air.
Reinforcements?
Finn immediately pinpointed the source. He dashed forward and thrust his spear, shattering the flute in the red-haired woman's hand.
The next moment, a violent tremor shook the entire town.
Smoke and dust billowed upward as countless Viola surged toward the square.
Too slow.
Finn's brows knit tightly.
Never had a Tamer exhibited such power. To summon a horde of Violas of this magnitude with a single flute call—no adventurer could have predicted something so absurd.
And this unknown factor shattered Loki Familia's encirclement in an instant.
Rivira Town had only two entrances, the rest sheer cliffs. If Tione hadn't sensed anything at the gate, then… had the Violas climbed the cliffs?
Even if they had prepared, how had they gotten into the Eighteenth Floor?
The red-haired woman's strange abilities—could she possess some unknown link with the monsters?
Finn had no time to ponder. He shifted his stance and struck from a blind angle, spear flashing.
Questions could wait.
The Tamer before him had to be taken down first.
As the ground shook, the two fighters clashed again.
...
"Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf."
Riveria didn't stop chanting.
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!"
She turned her magic toward the massive wave of monsters, dropping three blizzards onto them.
Viola after Viola, along with entire sections of the street, were swallowed by pure white frost.
"Riveria-san, these monsters react to magic!"
Bell remembered the earlier attack. Even if he wasn't sure she knew, he still shouted the warning.
"Bell Cranel, thank you for the advice."
Riveria was genuinely surprised by the youth's resolve.
Most adventurers had already retreated in terror, clustered in a corner of the square.
Even after witnessing countless reconstructions of Rivira Town, they were still overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters.
But this boy didn't run.
Instead, he told her—Loki Familia's strongest mage—exactly what she needed to know.
There wasn't a flicker of hesitation in him.
His judgment and courage were truly admirable.
Facing the terrifying tide of Violas, Riveria found a faint smile forming on her lips.
She tightened her grip on her wand, chanting while running toward a location farther from the crowd.
…
"So many Violas? I've never heard of anything like this!"
Bors sprinted down the street, charging straight toward the gathered crowd with countless terrifying monsters swarming behind him.
On the other side, after announcing the Viola attack, Tione advanced instead of retreating. Raising her curved daggers, she plunged fearlessly into the monstrous sea of Violas.
"Though it's not quite what I expected—never thought there'd actually be monsters. Looks like that boy's a lot smarter than I gave him credit for!"
Tione's figure was swallowed by the tide of Violas. Even so, she moved with agile precision, her twin daggers tearing apart every monster that leapt at her. Compared to her carefree younger sister, Tione was usually the calmer one. But she had fought these monsters before in the underground waterways—and now the boy's prediction had come true.
Driven by her astonishment toward Bell, Tione rampaged mercilessly through the endless wave of Violas.
...
Ais stood at a high vantage point, silently observing the battle.
As Riveria chanted her magic, monsters lunged toward her only to be frozen solid moments later. Tiona wielded her borrowed longsword, coordinating with the Nine Hell to shatter each ice sculpture into fragments. With her own weapon still unfinished, this cleanup role suited her best.
At the front of the crowd, Bete and Gareth guarded both sides, eliminating any Viola that slipped through. Lefiya stayed behind Bell, protecting him without casting magic. Even though the yellow-green tide had completely flooded the town, the situation wasn't deteriorating.
Keeping Lefiya from gathering magic power—likely another instruction from the youth—prevented the monsters from being drawn to the crowd.
Ais tightened her focus. She needed to fulfill her task.
What exactly was the culprit searching for? Why had Hashana gone so far as to hide his identity to reach the 30th floor alone? Just what secrets did this mysterious quest conceal?
All the answers lay in something that had been lost. And it was this that both Finn and the youth were most concerned about. Only by understanding the enemy's goal could they respond wisely.
Ais scanned the scattered groups of adventurers. Some, emboldened by Loki Familia's strength, drew their weapons and fired arrows at the Viola. Others cursed the hellish scene around them.
Then Ais spotted her—the young woman curled up in a corner, trembling violently. In her arms, she was clutching something tightly.
Ais blinked once, confirming what she saw. In the next instant, the Sword Princess became a gust of wind, descending sharply from her perch.
...
"W-where did all these monsters come from?" Lefiya's voice trembled as she stared at the brutal scene.
"They're the same type as the ones in the sewer. Something about them feels off," Bell murmured, sharing his thoughts.
"You… you absolutely must not leave me."
The golden-yellow-haired elf declared firmly.
"Lefiya-san, why do you seem more scared than I am?"
Bell looked at the slightly trembling girl and let out a strained smile.
"H-how could I be—"
Lefiya tried to protest, but the moment she spoke, she realized the boy was no longer at her side. By the time she reacted, Bell had already sprinted toward the back of the crowd.
"...?"
In an unnoticed corner, a Chienthrope girl stared ahead in terror. And in front of her stood the golden-haired girl Lefiya had always admired.
The Sword Princess.
That figure, always so composed, now knelt on both knees.
At the far end of the path Bell had rushed toward, Ais Wallenstein clutched her chest, trembling uncontrollably.
...
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