"Mommy, wake up!" Daniella cried, shaking her mother, Susan.
Susan jolted awake, her eyes darting around in alarm before she realized where she was. She pulled Daniella into her arms and hugged her tightly.
"Good morning, dearie," she said softly, placing a kiss on Daniella's forehead.
"Mommy, big brother isn't in his room," Daniella pouted, folding her arms in a small tantrum.
"He's out for his early training," Raphael said as he sat up. Daniella immediately ran toward him.
"Good morning, Daddy!" she chirped, wrapping her arms around him.
"What are we going to do today?" she asked eagerly.
"We're going to spend the day in the woods," Raphael replied with a broad smile.
Daniella's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"I wonder where Marco could be," Susan murmured, a hint of worry creeping into her voice.
From the tower he had escaped to, Marco watched the scene below. The armored Reptilian Foreman rested its massive great sword on its shoulder as it roared, turning its gaze toward the gathered adventurers.
"This is a Lizard Foreman," Lorena said, surprise flickering across her face. Her brows knitted together as determination filled her eyes.
I'm an S-rank adventurer, she thought. The guild master is A+, and we still have several B- and C-ranks.
We can take it down.
"Surround it!" she commanded.
"Mages, fire from the back lines. Healers, stay at the rear!" she barked, issuing orders without hesitation.
"All other classes, engage! Guild Master Damian and I will lead the charge!"
"Arrrrgh!" she shouted, raising her spear high.
The adventurers' morale surged as they rushed forward, encircling the monster. Blades struck, spells detonated, and arrows flew in relentless waves.
"Keep the pressure on!" Lorena yelled.
The Reptilian Foreman staggered under the constant assault, unable to counterattack as the barrage hammered it from all sides. Healers worked tirelessly, mending wounds as quickly as they appeared, leaving the monster no opening to regain control.
"Eh… so this is what a raid looks like," Marco thought, smirking.
"It seems I wasn't needed after all."
"The Lizard Foreman was all bark and no bite," he muttered, straightening as he prepared to leave.
Then—
A shockwave rippled through the air.
The atmosphere shifted, heavy and oppressive, instantly drawing Marco's attention. His lips curled into a wild grin.
Below, the adventurers cheered. The Reptilian Foreman had fallen, its death cry echoing across the square. Weapons were raised in triumph as they waited for the labyrinth gate to close.
"Is that all?" Marco murmured, clenching his fist, a strange anticipation crawling through him.
"…Why isn't the gate closing?" a mage said, staring at the still-shimmering entrance.
The ground trembled—soft at first, rhythmic; Thump, Thump, Like a heartbeat. The cheers faded as the sound grew louder, eyes slowly turned toward the source. The fallen body of the Reptilian Foreman twitched.
"L-look!" a healer cried, pointing.
Black, nefarious smoky aura began to seep from the creature's coiled corpse—thick, tangible, and alive. The aura clung to the air, dragging it downward as if gravity itself had grown heavier.
Cracks spread across the monster's body as the smoke poured out in waves, staining the ground beneath it, Marco's grin widened.
"…There it is," he whispered.
Marco watched eagerly, anticipation burning in his eyes. A grin spread from ear to ear.
"This is it—the perfect trial to test my skills."
"Now," he said softly, "show me what you've got, monster."
The Lizard Foreman's corpse stirred.
A sickening chorus of cracks and grinds echoed as bones reformed and twisted. The body lurched upright, black smoke swallowing it whole. When the mist thinned, its once-green scales had turned obsidian-black, jagged and spiked. A single horn jutted from its forehead, and embedded deep within its chest was a massive, glowing mana stone—pulsing like a second heart.
The dark mist exploded outward.
A crushing pressure slammed into the square. Adventurers collapsed one after another, their bodies frozen and knocked unconscious by the paralyzing aura. Only Lorena, Guild Master Damian, Veronica, and a handful of A-rank adventurers—protected by divine blessings—remained standing.
"I didn't expect the pressure to be this intense," Marco muttered, entirely unaffected.
"But that mana stone…" His eyes narrowed. "That means it's no longer just a boss."
"It's a Threat-Level I."
Thunder rolled overhead as dark clouds gathered above Delvehold. Lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the monster's twisted form.
"This is an evolved boss," Lorena said, her spear trembling in her grip, despair rippled through the remaining adventurers. The monster had surpassed SS-rank, It had crossed into a calamity class.
"R-run!" someone screamed, fleeing in terror.
Most scattered, abandoning the field. Only Lorena, Damian, Veronica, and a few hardened A-rank adventurers held their ground.
"We can't, Guild Master… we can't win this," Veronica whispered, her voice shaking as she stared into the monster's abyssal eyes.
From above, Marco's smile sharpened.
"Good," he murmured. "Now it's worth stepping in."
"Oh…?"
"So you're not running after all," Marco murmured as he watched. The evolved Reptilian Foreman let out a piercing screech. Its murderous intent flooded the air, raising the hairs on Marco's skin, He grinned.
"This is getting interesting." He said, his gaze swept the tower until it landed on a fallen steel bar—about a meter long and two inches thick.
"This should do." Marco sat down cross-legged, steady and calm despite the chaos below. He held the steel bar horizontally with both hands and drew in a deep breath, Mana flowed and the bar began to glow faintly as dense energy wrapped around it layer by layer. The metal hummed under the reinforcement, its structure hardening far beyond normal steel.
Below, Lorena and Damian continued their desperate battle against the evolved Foreman—but they were losing ground.
"We can't give up!" Lorena shouted as she struggled against the crushing force driving her backward.
Mages and healers who had stayed behind launched what attacks they could while constantly mending Lorena and Damian's wounds, but the strain was too much.
Damian's body finally gave out. He collapsed, unable to move, though his eyes remained open—conscious, but out of the fight.
Now it all rested on Lorena, She was the only agile fighter still standing. The Reptilian Foreman turned its glowing eyes toward her.
Above them all, Marco opened his eyes, the reinforced steel bar gleamed like a weapon forged for war.
Lorena advanced slowly, biting down on her lower lip.
"You have to die," she whispered. "You monster." She added as her next step vanished. In a blur, she closed the distance and appeared directly before the creature, The Reptilian Foreman's eyes narrowed—too late.
"Surprised?" Lorena said, she spun her spear, planting her feet hard into the ground for leverage, and roared—
"Heavenly Rending Spike!"
She drove the spear beneath the monster's right chest, for the first time since its evolution, the blade pierced its flesh.
The Foreman howled, pain ripping from its throat. Lorena pulled back, but the jagged, spiked scales clamped down on the spear, locking it in place. The resistance sent a jolt up her arms.
Still, she smirked, with a scream, she twisted the spear inside the wound. The mana packed into the blade detonated, the explosion tore through the monster's torso, spraying fragments of blackened scale, the Foreman shrieked, staggering back—
—and used the recoil to seize Lorena's ankle, her eyes widened.
The creature snarled, slamming her into the ground again and again. Stone shattered beneath her body as the earth cratered with every impact. Each slam drew gasps of horror from the remaining adventurers, hope drained from their faces.
The Foreman finally stopped, With its tail, it ripped the spear free from its body. Black flesh rippled—and regenerated instantly, the wound sealing as if it had never existed.
Lorena lay broken.
Bones shattered, blood soaked her armor, shards of rubble were embedded in her skin. She was barely conscious and her breath coming in shallow with ragged gasps.
So… everything I did… was meaningless? She thought.
She couldn't speak nor move.
The massive shadow loomed over her, The monster's lips curled into a cruel, knowing grin.
Tears welled in her eyes as pain consumed her body. A broken groan escaped her throat.
"Help me…"
"…anyone…"
"I don't want to die…"
The words barely escaped Lorena's lips, each syllable dragged out with the last of her strength.
The Reptilian Foreman lifted her effortlessly. Its jaws split open beneath her, hot breath rising as it prepared to drop her in.
"…save me!" she screamed.
A blinding flash tore through the air, the monster expected weight, There was none, confused—it snapped its jaws shut and looked around.
Marco stood several meters away—Lorena cradled in one arm.
In the next heartbeat, he vanished.
He reappeared beside the healers and gently laid her on her back. Her body offered no resistance, limp and fragile, as though all structure had left her.
"You asked for help," Marco said calmly, wiping blood from her face.
"And I just happened to be passing by." he added
With careful precision, he dipped his finger into her blood and began to draw a symbol on her forehead.
First, a small cross—steady and balanced, anchoring the body and stabilizing its flow, from its center, he drew a straight line upward.
At the top, he curved it into a half-moon—open, gentle, and receptive, the symbol was simple, yet complete. It did not force healing, It guided it.
A soft glow spread across Lorena's body. Cracked bones knit together. Torn flesh sealed without pain. Breath returned, steady and even.
Damian, Veronica, and the surrounding healers watched in stunned silence.
Lorena's eyes fluttered open.
"Was it… you who saved me?" she whispered. Marco lightly tapped her chin, she slipped back into unconsciousness.
"Get her out of here," he said, turning toward Damian, who still hadn't found his voice, Marco straightened and faced the battlefield.
"I'll stop the monster." He said as he lifted the reinforced steel bar.
Around him, everyone stared—confused, tense, unable to understand how a simple length of steel could stand against a calamity.
Marco smiled faintly.
Marco walked toward the Reptilian Foreman at an unhurried pace.
The monster roared.
Its sinister aura surged outward in crushing waves, warping the air and cracking the ground beneath its feet.
"You'll pay for all this damage," Marco said lightly, raising the steel bar and pointing it at the beast,
"with your body."
The Foreman flinched.
Just for a moment.
It had felt something—only a sip of Marco's aura—but that alone was enough to trigger instinctive caution. With a low growl, it lifted its great sword and settled into a guarded stance.
Marco smirked.
Then he took one step—
—and vanished.
The monster's eyes darted wildly as it tried to track him. Its senses screamed, but there was nothing. No presence. No mana trail.
"I'm right here." Marco said appearing directly in front of it.
The Foreman reacted on instinct, leaping backward in a burst of power. It scanned the area again— nothing, The monster stiffened.
Laughter echoed through the square.
"Over here—" Marco said as he stood casually on its right shoulder, The Foreman swung its massive arm to crush him—
—but Marco was already gone.
"I thought you had some skill," Marco's voice rang out, cheerful and mocking.
He reappeared in front of the monster again, his tone dropping.
"But I guess I was wrong."
The Foreman roared and charged, to the adventurers watching, the two clashed like streaks of lightning—steel against invisible force, shockwaves ripping through the air. Sparks burst where blows should have landed, but Marco always slipped past by a hair's breadth.
He was playing, deliberately dragging it out.
Snarling, the Foreman forced its power higher. Its tail whipped around and caught Marco mid-motion.
The horn between the monster's eyes flared, lightning screamed down from the sky, It struck Marco head-on.
"BOOM"
The blast scorched the ground and sent debris flying. Marco crashed to the ground, smoke curling off his body. His armband burned away, revealing his face, his hair standing on end from the electricity.
The Reptilian Foreman roared triumphantly, slamming its fists into the earth again and again.
It raised its great sword, aiming to take Marco's head, in a Blink, Marco was gone.
A sharp, slicing pain exploded through the monster's body. Its tail fell apart in shredded pieces, the Foreman screamed.
Marco stood behind it, clicking his tongue.
"Because I was playing around," he said calmly,
"you thought you had the upper hand… huh?"
The monster was driven into the ground with terrifying force, Marco's foot pressed down on its chest, the pain arrived late—because both of the Foreman's arms were already severed, the monster's blood sprayed.
"Don't worry," Marco said, resting the steel bar against the creature's neck,
"you'll be dead before you even realize it." He finished
The bar came down,.
The Reptilian Foreman's massive body went still. Its eyes slowly lost focus… and closed.
Marco yawned.
"…How boring."
He turned toward the adventurers standing at the edge of the square.
Every single one of them stared at him in stunned silence.
"What is your name—" Damian tried to ask, but when Marco noticed he was not wearing his mask, he fled.
"He's gone again, like a flash," Damian said, looking at the body of the nine-foot reptilian foreman lying on the floor.
By noon, the gate had disappeared, leaving behind a huge heap of gold, valuable items, and chests. The townspeople and adventurers were cleaning the rubble, trying to restore the town to its original form.
Lorena rested under a quick-healing camp, while the guild master sat beside her stretcher.
"Guild Master Damian," Veronica called. Her deep blue hair flowed long and curly, framing an hourglass figure. At 5'2", her calm demeanor contrasted with the urgency around her. She stood beside Damian, watching Lorena lie on the stretcher.
"Oh, Veronica," Damian greeted.
"How are the repairs going?" he asked, wiping his face with his hand.
"They're progressing steadily," she answered, then gently turned his head toward her. Leaning in, she raised his bangs and placed her hand on his forehead.
"You're experiencing recoil from the continuous healing," she said. From a leather pouch, she pulled injections filled with glimmering blue liquid. Damian rolled up his sleeve, revealing a well-defined, muscular arm, veins clearly visible. Veronica sighed, removed the pin cover, and tapped the syringe to shake out the bubbles.
She found the main vein and injected the liquid slowly. Damian squinted from the brief pain. Seconds later, she withdrew the syringe and placed it in another bag.
"Thank you," Damian said.
"This is water from the Dryads—the tree spirits of the Mist Labyrinth," Veronica explained. "Drinking it is less effective, but injecting it awakens its full healing power." His veins relaxed, and the fever faded.
Veronica quickly looked away when he almost caught her watching his arms.
"Veronica, are you alright?" Damian asked, confused, noticing her ears turning red.
"Nothing… I'm fine," she muttered, clearing her throat.
"Guild Master—Damian," Lorena called, opening her eyes. Their attention shifted to her.
"Lorena, we're here," Damian and Veronica said.
"What happened? Where am I?" she asked.
"You're safe now," Damian explained.
"What about the reptilian foreman?" she asked, sitting up with Veronica's help, her head still throbbing.
"Umm… the monster is dead," Damian said softly. Lorena's eyes widened.
"Who killed it?" she asked urgently.
"The young boy who saved you," Damian replied. She paused as memories of the horrific battle flashed back. She clutched her head, wincing from the sharp pain.
"He saved me…"
"…Where is he now?" she asked.
"Umm… he disappeared into thin air," Damian explained, exchanging a glance with Veronica before looking back at Lorena.
"What kind of weapon did he use to defeat the monster?" she asked.
"Because the number-one weapon in all of Delvehold is my spear, and it could only pierce the thick skin of the evolved monster once," she explained, her tone tense. Damian grew nervous.
"Umm… you wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said.
"Tell me," she demanded.
"A… steel pipe," Damian answered.
"You must be kidding."
"A steel pipe?" Lorena asked, eyes wide in disbelief. She turned to Veronica, who nodded in confirmation.
"This beats all ideology," she thought to herself.
"But what intrigues me is the healing technique he used on you," Damian said, folding his arms.
"The healing technique?" Lorena asked, confused.
"He drew some sort of symbol on your head with your own blood," Damian explained. "And immediately, your body started regenerating. No chants, No words."
"He tore the evolved monster apart bit by bit in the blink of an eye," Veronica added. "The steel bar cut through its flesh like a hot knife through butter," she finished, pulling up a second chair and sitting beside Damian.
"I wonder if we'll cross paths again," Daniella said as Marco approached the hall house, carrying fish on lines behind his back.
"Daddy! Big brother Marco is back!" Daniella exclaimed as he neared the entrance.
Susan came running and hugged him. "What happened to you, boy?" she shouted, holding his cheeks and turning his head left and right.
"Are you okay?"
"Are you hurt?" she asked fervently.
"I'm fine… don't sweat it, Mom," Marco said, forcing a nervous smile.
Immediately, she switched tactics and pulled him by the ear. "You weren't supposed to take this long! Where were you?"
"Something came up, that's all. I'm fine," Marco defended, groaning from the pain.
"You have a lot of explaining to do," Susan said. "And you better give me a good reason, or else you're grounded." She pulled him away, while everyone in the compound laughed at the mother-son display.