In a spacious underground chamber, located deep within the Dungeon, far from the surface and lying at the lowest point of the 24th Floor, the place took the shape of a cave—dark and damp—its air thick with a foul stench that drifted everywhere.
Within this nauseating smell, as if from rotting flesh, a crimson glow pulsed in one corner of the chamber, illuminating the figure of a woman who possessed a voluptuous and alluring figure, her limbs supple and graceful, clad in wild, beastlike attire, while her short red hair framed her beautiful face and gave her an air of fierce charm.
Even though this red-haired woman had a body capable of stirring the desire of any man, her sharp green eyes gleamed like blades.
A chilling aura radiated from her entire being, making her feel like a ferocious beast wrapped in the deceptive skin of beauty—enough to send shivers down the spine of anyone who could see her true nature.
*Kacha!*
Sitting in a careless, almost indecent posture within the red glow, the red-haired woman bit into a strangely colored fruit, chewing in silence.
"Revis."
Suddenly, a slightly neurotic voice rang out, making the red-haired woman named Revis stop mid-bite.
Revis lifted her green eyes, looking emotionlessly toward the source of the voice.
Over there, a tall man dressed entirely in white, his six-pack muscles visible beneath the garment, wore a helmet made from the skull of a monster, his face hidden, and had no equipment or weapon hanging from him, appeared.
"What?" Revis asked coldly, fixing her cold gaze on her companion.
Paying no mind to her cold gaze, the man pointed toward a corner of the chamber, where a wall of pulsating flesh was covered by a pale, moonlike layer of water.
Upon that watery layer, an image flickered vividly.
"Intruders."
Just as the man said, intruders had appeared.
At this moment, the watery layer was showing how the fleshy wall that had sealed off the Pantry passage was being destroyed—burning away under roaring flames.
Led by a young man and woman, a group of fewer than twenty armed adventurers had entered the passage through the blazing breach and were now advancing toward the Pantry area.
"More adventurers again?"
Revis showed a look of disgust, as if seeing cockroaches that refused to die no matter how many times they were crushed—annoyance written plainly across her face.
"I told you, didn't I?" The man said irritably. "If you don't clean up those monsters trapped outside the Pantry, adventurers from the surface will eventually notice the anomaly and be drawn here. And now look—it's exactly as I said."
"What?" Revis replied coldly, showing not the slightest remorse. "Are you afraid of mere adventurers?"
"Don't underestimate them." The man said in a deep voice. "We may be the chosen ones, and normal adventurers aren't worth our notice, but the surface still has those troublesome First-Class Adventurers—their power is nothing like that of ordinary ants. Especially the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia—those two familias are our greatest enemies. For 'Her' dream, we should act with caution."
At this, Revis let out a mocking laugh.
"Chosen ones, huh..." Revis seemed to scoff at the phrase but didn't bother arguing and instead spoke in a disinterested tone. "So, among these intruders, there's someone from those two familias you're so afraid of?"
Her words dripped with sarcasm, which made the man's hand tighten before he took a deep breath and spoke.
"I've been away from the surface for a long time, so I can't recognize everyone, but there's one person I still remember—the golden-haired, golden-eyed swordswoman."
As he spoke, the man pointed at the young woman leading the group shown on the watery layer.
"Sword Princess Ais Wallenstein from the Loki Familia. Back when I was still on the surface, she was already a prodigy known throughout Orario. By now, she's likely a First-Class Adventurer."
"I heard she's the strongest swordswoman in Orario today, and an executive of the Loki Familia."
"Among the intruders, she's probably the most dangerous one."
As the man said this, Revis's gaze turned toward the golden-haired, golden-eyed swordswoman.
"Hmm, the strongest swordswoman, huh...?" Revis muttered to herself. "So, a little girl like her became the strongest? Seems Orario isn't as tough as I thought..."
Right after muttering this, her eyes shifted toward the young man walking beside the young woman.
"And who's the boy?"
Someone who could fight alongside a First-Class Adventurer and lead the group must have been a First-Class Adventurer himself.
"No idea." The man replied, glancing briefly at the young man beside the golden-haired young woman. "I have no information on him. Must be a rookie who's popped up in recent years."
Clearly, the man wasn't very interested in the young man, and his focus stayed on the swordswoman.
"Just a small fry, huh?" Revis lost interest at once.
However, the very next second—
"Hm?"
Just as Revis was about to turn away, her gaze suddenly froze.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Revis's behavior, the man asked confusedly before following her gaze toward the watery layer.
As soon as he looked, his pupils shrank beneath his bone helmet.
Because he saw it—he saw the young man walking beside the golden-haired swordswoman suddenly raise his head—looking straight in their direction.
Yes.
He was looking directly at them.
As if he had sensed their gaze—or perhaps already knew they were watching—the young man slowly lifted his head, staring through the eyes that observed him, locking eyes with the two in the chamber.
For a moment, it felt as though the distance between them vanished, their gazes crossing as if face-to-face, until the young man's lips curved slightly, as though he had lost interest in both Revis and the man in white, before he looked away.
"…"
At once, the same thought flashed through both their minds.
'He saw us.'
Needless to say, that young man had definitely sensed their presence—he knew someone was watching.
Yet he didn't seem to care at all.
Calmly, he continued leading the adventurers alongside the golden-haired swordswoman toward the Pantry as if nothing had happened.
Understanding this, the man fell silent, while Revis's lips curled into a cold smile after a brief pause.
"Interesting..." Revis remarked, then stood up.
"What do you want to do?" The man asked immediately.
Revis ignored him and turned her back.
"I'll leave this to you." Revis said briskly. "I'm going to meet that boy."
"And the Sword Princess?" The man asked seriously. "She's dangerous, too. You're not stopping her?"
"She's yours. Deal with her—and the other adventurers too." Revis decided without hesitation, her voice cold. "If you can't handle it, ask those reckless fools for help. Just don't tell me you can't even manage something this small."
With that, she walked into the darkness and vanished.
"Tch, damn bitch—still so selfish and reckless! I can't stand admitting she's one of the chosen like me."
As soon as Revis vanished, the man's composure shattered instantly, his voice turning sharp and manic.
"If it weren't for her, the incident on the 30th Floor wouldn't have happened."
"Hmph, she went all the way to the 18th Floor chasing them, yet brought nothing back—just killed one useless adventurer. What a waste!"
"In the end, it's still up to me—only I can fulfill 'Her' will..."
Muttering to himself, the man turned his gaze toward the source of the red glow.
At the center of the chamber stood a massive quartz pillar, radiating crimson light.
Embedded on its surface was a brilliant, multicolored jewel, and around it, massive black shadows coiled tightly around the stone pillar.
"I can't leave this place, not yet—another accident might occur."
Looking upon the jewel with a feverish expression, the man whispered reverently.
"As much as I hate it, I'll let her handle it, while those reckless fools can deal with the other adventurers."
"If they're willing to throw away their lives, they should be able to take out everyone except the Sword Princess."
"As for the Sword Princess herself, I'll leave her to them."
As the man's words fell, the sounds of writhing and deep, guttural roars began to echo around him.
A series of wet, disturbing noises, like newborn creatures hitting the ground, filled the chamber as the massive black shadows dropped from the ceiling one after another.
"Go."
"Devour them."
"Consume them."
"Fulfill your duty as 'Her' hands—bring back all the intruders, and feed 'Her' well!"
As the shadows slithered away from the chamber, the man's voice turned frenzied.
*Gu-lu—*
From the quartz pillar came faint movement.
Inside the multicolored jewel, a pair of eyes slowly rotated—strange and horrifying.
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