POV: Third Person
After Zane vanished and Lee suddenly appeared, Finn's eyes widened. He considered attacking to capture the unknown person, but there was no time—Lee disappeared just as quickly.
"Tsk." Finn clicked his tongue and turned toward the only surviving member of the Loki Familia—the level 4 swordsman.
"I want you to tell me everything that happened here. Everything." He pointed his spear at the man, who nodded. After that, the Loki Familia members began tending to the bodies.
They separated the corpses of the assassins from those of their own.
Meanwhile, a few people went outside to get help—help to carry all the bodies.
Five members of the Loki Familia had died. Counting the other assassinations that had occurred a few days earlier, nearly ten Familia members had been killed.
'That wasn't his real appearance.' Now that Finn had discovered the creature—or human—could assume any form, things had become much more complicated.
Anyone around him could be one of them.
'He said he didn't want to hurt anyone and only wanted to have fun. But I don't trust him. No one will trust him.'
Zane had appeared so suddenly, and no one knew his name or what he truly looked like. How could anyone trust someone like that?
What's more, he had terrifying and powerful abilities that made it hard not to feel uneasy about him.
'He can create multiple human-like beings with his own hands. And they can take on any appearance. Right now, the entire city could be filled with those monsters.' Finn swallowed hard, visibly nervous.
Ais, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward.
"Are you alright?"
"Of course not. Five more members of our Familia are dead. What am I supposed to tell the goddess? I couldn't protect them. We should've stayed together."
"It's not your fault."
"It is my fault. I knew the assassins were still out there and I risked their lives by sending them to explore alone."
"..." Ais knew he was right.
It was his responsibility as captain.
Ais said nothing more and returned to the rest of her group.
After some time, everyone left the dungeon. When people began emerging from the dungeon carrying the bodies wrapped in cloth, a commotion started.
Everyone knew—they were members of the Loki Familia.
As Finn watched the bodies being carried out, he noticed people staring at him—members of other Familias, and of his own.
He closed his eyes, sighed, and began walking toward the Loki Familia home.
When he arrived, he was surprised to find Loki sitting in the main room, sipping tea. She wore a smile and opened her eyes to look at him.
"I already know what happened."
"I'm sorry. It was my fault."
"It's alright. There was no way you could've known the assassins were waiting for us. You at least got them, didn't you? The assassins?"
"I recovered their bodies."
"You killed them?"
"No. He did."
"What do you mean he?"
"The leader of the masked ones. The leader of the humanoid creatures that appeared in the dungeon." Hearing this, Loki's eyebrows rose.
She set her teacup aside and leaned back on the couch.
"You're telling me the leader of those creatures killed the assassins? You met him? What did he look like?"
"It's impossible to know his real appearance. When I saw him, he looked like an old man. But I found out he can take on any form—even yours, if he wanted to."
"You've got to be kidding me…"
"He took on the appearance of one of our Familia members and stayed with my group for a long time. He was watching us the whole time. But at the same time, he was killing the assassins."
"So he can be in multiple places at once? I thought those creatures had their own consciousness… I didn't think he controlled all of them."
"He has complete control over them—and can switch places with any of them. It's like a teleportation ability. That old man I saw… he's the main body, but it's not his real appearance."
"..."
"That old man is much stronger than the others, which is why I'm sure he's the original. He's weaker than me, but I'd say he's close to level 6."
"Level 6? But he only appeared recently, didn't he?"
"That's what's terrifying. He's evolving quickly, and he said he wants to evolve even further. He wants to find his limit."
"He thinks like a human."
"He is human. A human who received terrifying powers—despite not having a falna."
"Interesting. Did he say anything else?"
"He said he doesn't want to hurt anyone and only wants to have fun."
"Have fun?" Loki smiled.
"That's right," Finn nodded. "I didn't sense any malice in his words. He seemed sincere."
"I don't buy it. If he really is human and not tied to any Familia, he'll end up hurting people. Humans with too much power and no restraints usually get corrupted."
"..."
"Alright. If there's anything else, speak up now—I'm busy."
Before leaving, Finn informed Loki that the assassins were from the Sekhmet Familia.
Though she was surprised and irritated, her attention was more focused on Zane.
After relaying everything, Finn left her alone.
'A human who can split into many, "teleport," use any appearance, and is nearly level 6 despite appearing only recently…'
Loki began to ponder.
"This is a bigger problem than I imagined."
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Next chapters: Chapter 34 - Nervousness, guilt, and disgust. / Chapter 35 - 32 clones. / Chapter 36 - New characters. Vergil. / Chapter 37 - Form groups. You're very persistent. / Chapter 38 - Clones destroyed.