Kraugel and Gumi quickened their pace, keeping one thought in mind...
Damn, damn, damn—it's already evening and I still haven't cleared the dungeon! Guess I'll just have to speedrun it!
By the time they reached the dungeon's front gate, the sky was already turning orange. Without wasting time on words, they stepped inside—only to find several adventurers who had apparently failed to conquer the place.
"Hey, be careful in there. You might run into something that'll surprise you too,"
warned a brown-haired adventurer, slumped on the ground and looking exhausted alongside his party.
"Understood. Thanks."
Kraugel and Gumi immediately picked up the pace—Kraugel drawing his sword, while Gumi extended her sharp white claws. They charged through twisting corridors, encountering all manner of monsters: Eight-Legged Spiders whose steel-hard sticky threads clogged the passageways; Violet Coral Snakes whose tails crackled with lightning; and several Tempest Wolves, which Hermit identified as the elemental-evolved form of Dire Wolves.
Following Hermit's guidance, they cut their way through corridor after corridor, until they arrived at a vast chamber littered with uneven stone formations and natural stone pillars...
"Oi oi, look what I found here, huh!"
From atop one of the taller rock formations, Kraugel spotted it—a single slime. It was dark blue, and seemed to be staring straight back at him...
"Gumi... you wanna give it a try?"
"Huh? Yayyy! Okay! I won't let you down, Master!"
But the moment she leapt up, the slime spewed a burst of wind so powerful it shook the entire chamber. Gumi was thrown off-balance, slammed hard against the ground from her previous leap, and promptly lost consciousness.
"Haah~..."
Guess I'll have to handle this myself after all...
Kraugel kicked off the ground, closing in on the slime at the top of the rock. Once again, the slime unleashed its swirling wind breath, trying to knock him down—
But Kraugel easily activated [Fly], using precise Magus control along the surface of his body to keep himself aloft. He weaved around the whirlwind and brought his blade down hard enough to crack the tall rock beneath the slime—
Only to find that the creature possessed absolute resistance to physical attacks. Even split apart, it instantly rejoined and countered with a razor-thin stream of water. Kraugel dodged it—only to glance behind him and realize...
Oi oi... that kind of attack would be lethal for someone like Gumi...
Noticing the rock behind him crumble into rubble from the water jet, Kraugel decided to end it the same way he had against certain foes before.
[Black Lightning]
His blade was wreathed in jet-black lightning as he swung—a single decisive slash cleaving the slime cleanly, leaving it without a chance to resist.
"Fuuhh~... that's that. With this, I can finally rest for the day, right?"
He muttered, glancing down at Gumi, who was still unconscious. But then—his yellow crystal, the one given to him by Gadra, began to shine and vibrate.
"What is it, Gadra?"
"Kraugel! Get back here at once! Th-The kingdom is under attack! And be careful on the way! There will be—"
"Eh? Cut off...? Something happened... something's going on in the kingdom..."
—Meanwhile, in the Kingdom's perspective.
Panic swept through the streets as citizens rushed into the nearest buildings. Hundreds—no, nearly a thousand—unknown invaders had appeared all across the capital, and the kingdom's knights were struggling to hold them back.
Only the Holy Knights remained firmly on the offensive, their holy magic—Holy Blast, Holy Charge—striking down the malicious creatures of pure evil that flooded the city.
Two of the three Battle Saints had joined forces: Toare, the gray-haired young man from before, and Schwartz—a towering, muscular warrior whose white Battle Saint uniform looked almost too tight on his massive frame. He wielded a chained double-headed axe, the chain ending in a short warhammer with a massive head—earning him the title of the Battle Saint with the highest destructive power.
"Oi oi, Schwartz, you haven't heard from Obera yet?" — Toare
"What are you talking about? Obera's still undercover. Besides—Demon Dolls aren't even worth my time!" — Schwartz
"That's true, but still—if we're dealing with this many enemies, we should probably call her in." — Toare
"Then you call her! I'll hold them here—now go!" — Schwartz
"Heh~ fine, fine. I'm counting on you then~" — Toare
Tch... you just want to hog all the fighting for yourself, you battle maniac...
Elsewhere, Obera—facing several Demon Dolls, faceless white-bodied constructs the size of grown men, armed to the teeth on both arms—was approached by Gadra.
His arrival was more shocking than the appearance of the Demon Dolls themselves.
"Obera, I've got Reinhard's approval. The information lockdown is lifted. Prioritize the civilians. Emergency Code: Begin." — Gadra
Obera, who had been watching the Demon Dolls being held at bay by adventurers inside the guild, reached into her skirt pocket and retrieved her rosary.
Then, she began chanting a familiar incantation—
"O God, punish this sinner who refuses to repent, and strip away the false joy he clings to for comfort! [Holy Smite]!"
From the magic circle beneath their feet, a golden chain erupted, wrapping tightly around the targets, leaving no room for escape. Then came the light—blinding, merciless—obliterating everything in its path, even tearing through the guild's roof above...