That afternoon, the sun was directly overhead. The scorching heat did nothing to slow the steps of the two figures standing before the gates of the Nest Lizard Hell.
"Are you ready?" asked a white-haired, muscular man, holding a mace in his right hand and a large shield in his left. The armor he wore was rarely seen among other holy knights.
"Hold on a moment," replied the man beside him—taller and leaner, part of his face hidden behind a mask, his hair tied back. On his back hung a dragon-engraved dagger, and several scrolls were strapped to his waist.
"Ready now?" the knight repeated.
"Yes… let's begin. But…" the man with tied hair—Renka—paused, his eyes showing a flicker of doubt. One hand curled into a fist near his mouth, as if trying to hide his unease.
"Bystrovich… our enemies are hell lizards. Even a team of four has never defeated them. Just the two of us? I'm a support-type assassin—my offensive power is limited. The rest is just shadow techniques and healing." He pointed to the scrolls at his waist.
"We can," Bystrovich replied briefly, without a shred of hesitation.
Renka took a breath. "In that case… repeat the strategy once more."
Bystrovich pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. On it were drawings of three types of lizards.
"Listen closely. First, the lightning-element lizard—it's the weakest, but every three minutes it goes berserk and unleashes a thunderstorm. That attack can even kill the strongest guardian in this city.
Second, the ice-element lizard—stronger, with the most varied attacks. It has many ice spells and area attacks.
Third, the steel-element lizard—thick armor, slow movement, weak attacks."
He looked at Renka seriously. "All three must be killed at the same time. If one dies first, it will revive in ten seconds."
Renka nodded, beginning to understand. "I'll handle the steel lizard. Even though I'm a bringer-type, I have enough technique to take it down slowly. You'll deal with the ice lizard. But… what about the lightning lizard?"
"We'll ignore it at first. One minute before it goes berserk, we kill them all together," explained Bystrovich.
"But won't it revive again?" Renka frowned.
"Relax. It's the easiest to kill. While fighting the others, we'll take it down repeatedly before it can go berserk. All we need is patience."
Renka took a deep breath, then smiled faintly behind his mask. "Alright. I'm ready."
"In that case," Bystrovich tightened his grip on his mace, "let's go in."
They stepped through the gates of the Nest Lizard Hell, where the shadows of three giant monsters awaited within.