*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
One after another, the robed figures burst into explosions, as if they'd been carrying bombs on their bodies, their fuses lit long ago, their deaths coming in a chain of fiery detonations.
In an instant, the flames devoured their bodies and swept outward, consuming both the monsters and Riezel's advancing figure, while the green, flesh-like passage was dyed a blazing red.
It was tragic yet magnificent.
"..."
Ais was stunned.
Asfi was horrified.
Meanwhile, the members of the Hermes Familia first widened their eyes, then a wave of panic surged violently in their hearts.
"Wh-What are they doing?!"
"D-Did they just blow themselves up?!"
"No way!"
"They committed suicide!"
No longer able to suppress the turmoil churning inside them, their shouts burst out one after another—some of them even stumbled back in fear.
Watching a group of people self-destruct right before their eyes struck them as hard as the moment when they had first heard Riezel say that Revis was not human.
Even when Riezel broke through the wave of flames and returned to Ais and the others, the panic on everyone's faces had yet to fade.
"Be careful."
Seeing their horrified reactions, Riezel, who had remained calm and composed throughout, spoke in a low voice.
"It's not over yet."
Indeed, it was not over.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
With a series of sharp air-tearing sounds, figures in robes flashed into view one after another, appearing before them and giving off the same strange aura as the previous group.
As they moved, their robes floated slightly, and faint red lights gleamed beneath the fabric—an unsettling sight that caught everyone's attention.
"Wait, could that be..."
Asfi, the sharpest-eyed among them, recognized it almost instantly.
"Kaenseki!"
Kaenseki were drop items that could be obtained from monsters called Flame Rock, which dwelt in the Dungeon's Deep Floors.
It was a crimson stone that had to be handled with care, as even without refinement, it was highly combustible and explosive.
It was widely used for industrial purposes, especially by blacksmiths, who used it as fuel to heat their forges and smelt metals, which made the item quite well-known in the market.
If not for its danger and the Guild's restriction on civilian trade, it might have been even more popular.
Asfi quickly told Riezel and Ais that those robed figures might have kaenseki strapped to their bodies—contraband explosives.
Her suspicion was confirmed the next second.
"O great god! Please accept my loyalty!"
"I offer this humble life to you!"
"May I meet my beloved again in the next life!"
"O god, grant our sorrowful wish!"
"Ah... My love..."
With these chilling cries and mutterings, the robed figures charged forward, stepping over the charred corpses of their own comrades and ignoring the man-eating flower monsters roaring around them, completely consumed by madness, tearing open their robes like lunatics lost in obsession.
Beneath the robes, their emaciated bodies were bound with crimson stones that burned like sealed flames—the jewel-like stones were strung together like beads, wrapping tightly around their torsos, while fuses ran down toward their waists, connected to small ignition boxes.
In the next moment, these suicidal zealots pulled the cords on those boxes without hesitation, igniting the fuses in an instant.
"Fall back!"
Asfi felt her scalp go numb as she screamed the order, urgently urging the terrified members of the Hermes Familia to scatter one by one, not daring to let the zealots come any closer.
*SCREEEEEECH—!*
Unfortunately, the surrounding man-eating flower monsters roared again, surging toward them and trapping the adventurers with no way out.
"Ais!"
Riezel swung his sword, beheading a lunging monster and shattering the colorful magic stone in its maw, then whipped up a violent gale as he shouted to the golden-haired, golden-eyed swordswoman beside him.
"Got it!"
Ais likewise slew the three monsters lunging at her—either cleaving off their heads or crushing the magic stones in their mouths—letting them crumble into dust before nodding at Riezel as the wind rose and coiled around her.
As the two dashed forward, weaving through the monsters' ferocious attacks, their movements intertwined amid the violent gale—they slew the monsters as they leapt skyward, using the monsters' bodies as footholds while cutting a path straight through the encirclement.
""Wind Breathing - Ninth Form...""
Together, they twisted their bodies mid-air and swung downward, releasing sharp blades of wind as they descended.
""Idaten Typhoon!""
It was the ultimate sword form of Wind Breathing, akin to the thirteenth form of Sun Breathing—unleashed simultaneously by the young man and the young woman.
In an instant, countless blades of wind fell like torrential rain, completely covering the robed figures below.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
As the sound of flesh being sliced rang out, those struck by the wind blades screamed, blood spraying everywhere as their charge was halted mid-motion before they collapsed into spreading pools of red.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Meanwhile, the remaining slashes struck the ground in succession, tearing violently through the green, flesh-like walls and sending powerful shockwaves rippling through the passage, scattering stone and dust alike as the impact blew the robed figures away.
Following this, whether they had fallen to the ground or been flung aside by the force, the kaenseki embedded on their bodies ignited—red light flaring blindingly across their forms.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Their bodies exploded one after another, triggering chain blasts that painted the passage in blazing crimson.
Hot wind surged, roaring firestorms filled the air, and sparks rained down like a storm, landing across the green, flesh-like passage.
As they touched the fleshy walls, sizzling sounds filled the air, and the scent of roasted flesh spread.
While fending off the man-eating flower monsters, Riezel and Ais wielded Wind Breathing to knock away the suicidal zealots, preventing them from getting close.
If even one reached them, the explosion's power could seriously injure Ais, whose endurance was not her greatest strength, and would certainly kill the members of the Hermes Familia outright.
"Were we... protected?" Asfi, commanding the retreating members, froze for a moment at the sight, her expression tinged with bittersweet emotion. "Looks like I can't keep holding back anymore, or I'll really be underestimated."
Taking a deep breath, her eyes behind her glasses sharpened as she pulled every last explosive from her belt.
"Leave this part to us!"
Seeing Riezel and Ais fend off the zealots only to be entangled again by the monsters, Asfi shouted at them.
"You two go after the woman!"
Right after shouting this, Asfi threw the explosives toward the densest cluster of monsters.
*BOOOM!*
A deafening blast followed, fiercer than the explosions caused by kaenseki—flames engulfed the monsters, setting one after another ablaze.
All the engulfed monsters shrieked and wailed, instinctively trying to retreat, but the members of the Hermes Familia gritted their teeth and rushed forward, striking them down, tangling them up, not allowing a single one to escape.
"GO! NOW!"
Asfi kept throwing explosives like they cost nothing, urging Riezel and Ais onward.
Seeing the Hermes Familia was alright and could even fight back, Riezel and Ais landed from mid-air, exchanged a brief look, and nodded.
Wordlessly, they sprinted deeper into the passage, ignoring the monsters behind them, cutting down any zealots who tried to approach the Hermes Familia.
Just like that, the two left behind the battlefield filled with monsters' roars and adventurers' shouts, heading toward the end of the passage—the Pantry.
===
*Cough!* *Cough!*
In a spacious, glowing red cave chamber, a few soft coughs echoed as Revis silently appeared.
"Dammit, the wound's worse than I thought... It'll take time to heal..."
Revis wiped the blood from her lips with her remaining hand as smoke continued to rise from her body, while particles of residual magical energy floated around her, hastening her recovery.
"Revis?"
Hearing the cough, the man in white standing before the quartz pillar turned, his expression filled with shock.
"You're that badly injured?"
Clearly, he had not been monitoring what had happened with Riezel and the others.
"Hmph." Revis gave him a cold glare. "Your intel was wrong—the troublesome one isn't just that Sword Princess. You remember the boy who spotted our surveillance? He's even more dangerous than. Both of them are Level 6—even I can't handle two at once. If it weren't for the Violas and those suicidal lunatics, I wouldn't have gotten out alive."
Upon hearing this, the man's expression shifted beneath his bone mask.
"You saying the Sword Princess reached Level 6 already? And the boy who noticed us is also Level 6?"
Such a development was clearly something he had not expected.
"Enough talk." Revis's tone remained icy. "All those Violas and lunatics will only hold them off briefly. They'll be here soon. Take the Jewel Fetus—we're retreating."
At this, the man hesitated, his reluctance clear as he started to protest.
"Retreat now? But 'She' hasn't absorbed enough nutrients yet—it's not time yet."
However, his protest earned only Revis's cold, wordless stare.
"Tch, fine."
In the end, the man, clicking his tongue in annoyance, could only relent.
He turned toward the pillar and reached out to remove the jewel embedded within it.
*Swish!*
Just then, two figures leapt into the chamber.
Riezel and Ais finally arrived.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]