Lefiya Viridis watched the battle, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief at the staggering disparity in strength. She had heard many times that the power of the Loki Familia's greatest heroes surpassed even that of her mentor, Riveria Ljos Alf.
However, seeing it with her own eyes was a different matter entirely. The red-haired woman—who had defeated Lefiya and even Ais, a first-tier adventurer—was now being systematically crushed with terrifying ease.
The woman's arms had just been severed.
●○●○●
After identifying the victim as Hashana Dorlia, a Level 4 adventurer from the Ganesha Familia—one of Orario's largest factions, boasting over ten first-tier adventurers—Finn gathered Ais and the others in a far corner of the room. He reached out toward Hashana's remains.
"The cause of death was a crushed skull... no, it seems the neck was snapped first."
"You mean they killed him by breaking his neck, then crushed his head afterward?"
"That is the most likely scenario."
Hashana lay on his back, his head so badly mangled that his features had vanished. It was a gruesome sight. Riveria furrowed her brows as she looked down at the body; there was nothing left to suggest this man had been a living, breathing soul moments ago.
Finn nodded, confirming Riveria's suspicion. There were no blade wounds, nor signs of a violent struggle in the surrounding area or on the covered body. This meant the killer had mutilated the corpse only after taking his life.
To kill a Level 4 adventurer without giving him a chance to resist, and then to desecrate the body so savagely, indicated extraordinary strength and a twisted psyche. If the motive were simple malice, it would be one thing—but the possibility of a psychopath with first-tier strength roaming the city sent a chill through the group.
"Was there a specific goal... or was it..."
Finn's voice trailed off as he turned his gaze from the body to a backpack in the corner, which looked as though it had been violently ripped open. He quickly inspected the remaining items: clothes, potions, and some rations. The bag had been searched with frantic, chaotic haste.
"Perhaps that cloaked woman approached Hashana with the intent of obtaining a specific item from his gear."
"Hah, that's obvious enough. That damn Hashana probably got lured in by a pretty face and then got himself killed."
Bors offered his opinion, but Finn was considering a different angle.
(Was her goal money or tools? ── No, money doesn't seem to be the objective here.)
It was a crime of profit, not of hatred. Yet, logically, the risk did not match the reward, especially since the victim was a second-tier adventurer from the great Ganesha Familia. It was hard to believe anyone would commit such savagery for mere common greed. Finn cut his train of thought short, wondering about the true cause.
There was no use overthinking it now; other priorities took precedence. Finn stood up and pulled a blood-stained parchment from Hashana's bag. Despite the gore, the document bore the familiar format of a quest request.
"Is it an adventurer's mission sheet?"
Lefiya peered over Ais's shoulder. The Guild's ink was faded and smeared with blood, making it impossible to read in full. However, a few legible words stood out, and Lefiya read them aloud.
"Top secret... exploration... on the 30th Floor──?"
"Does this mean Hashana went to the 30th Floor to retrieve 'something' that the killer was targeting?"
Silence fell over the room. Finn stopped looking at the paper and stood up, his expression sharpening at Tione's murmur. He looked at Bors.
"Do you remember anything about the equipment Hashana was wearing?"
"Hmm? Hang on. Even though he's famous, he didn't come to town often. But I'm sure of one thing: he never wore full plate armor like that. Never."
This was a mission to find something a first-tier level fighter would target—someone willing to kill adventurers to get it. The required secrecy must have been absolute. This meant Hashana was hiding his identity and his affiliation with the Ganesha Familia for the sake of the quest.
Even the custom-made full plate armor used for this mission bore no Ganesha Familia emblem.
Given that Ganesha Familia members had taken no action despite the commotion in Rivira, it was certain that Hashana had accepted the mission alone and in private. In other words, the killer had caught wind of this hidden quest and approached Hashana with murderous intent to seize the prize.
Finn clasped his hands together before the body in a final gesture of respect, then moved toward the exit.
"Bors, lock down the town immediately. I don't want a single adventurer leaving Rivira."
"A secret mission for someone of Hashana's standing... whatever the killer was looking for must be immensely valuable. They've committed murder, and if they haven't secured what they want yet, they won't leave empty-handed."
"The killer is still here, in this town."
Finn's analysis was brilliant, near-perfect. However, in his intense focus on Hashana's body and the killer, he failed to notice Al, whose face wore a slight smile—as if he were thinking, "Finally, it begins."
●○●○●
Crystal Square, the heart of Rivira. It was the widest area in the town, boasting a clear vantage point. Twin pillars of white and blue crystal stood in the center of the square. Hashana's belongings—his torn bag and blood-stained armor—had been moved here.
"Everyone gathered quickly."
"I threatened anyone who didn't comply with being blacklisted as a dangerous person. That means being kicked out of every shop they enter. Anyone who wants to keep using this strategic location will obey, however reluctantly."
"Besides, staying alone right now is terrifying."
"Yeah, you've got that right."
Bors nodded at Finn's murmur. The adventurers gathered before them looked anxious and fearful to varying degrees, keeping their distance from one another as if on guard.
Finn had informed them of the murder of a Ganesha Familia second-tier adventurer. No adventurer, no matter how brave, lacked fear of a killer with first-tier strength who was willing to antagonize a power like Ganesha. Consequently, none of the gathered adventurers dared to stray from their Familia comrades.
"Checking Status is the fastest way, but that would be a breach of information privacy rules."
If the Loki Familia took such a forced step against other Familias, they would spark resentment and create unnecessary enemies, despite being the city's leaders.
Per Finn's instructions, the adventurers were divided into men and women to search for the cloaked woman suspected of being the killer. The crowd of five hundred was thinned to two hundred women, who were gathered in one place surrounded by the men.
"We will begin with routine procedures, such as physical searches and baggage inspections."
"Heh, if that's the case..."
Bors let a wicked smile twist his coarse face, then raised his head and barked at the female adventurers:
"Alright, ladies! We're going to inspect every inch of your bodies, so strip off your clothes!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Cries of disgust and condemnation erupted from the women, while the men cheered in response.
The women's resentment was natural, but this reaction was expected. Finn intended to monitor them closely; if even one showed signs of panic, he could act instantly.
"You're talking nonsense. We will handle the inspection."
Riveria stepped forward, looking with utter disdain at the cheering men. She brought Ais and the others to take over the search. Ais, Lefiya, Tiona, and Tione lined up to deal with the female adventurers.
"Alright, line up here..."
Lefiya's voice cut off as she tried to direct the women. A bizarre sight greeted her. Only a handful of women stood before Ais and Lefiya; the rest ignored them entirely, pushing and shoving to form a massive queue elsewhere. At the end of that long line stood two Loki Familia adventurers: Finn and Al.
The Hero, Finn Deimne, and the Sword Saint, Al Cranel. They were the two most popular adventurers among the women of Orario. Those who preferred a youthful appearance swarmed Finn, while the Amazons rushed like a flood toward Al, preferring powerful men. Lefiya and the others stood dazed by this overwhelming momentum.
"You... you harlots!!"
"Wait, Tione!!"
"Let me go!! The Captain is being targeted by these lunatics!! I don't care what happens to Al, but the Captain!!"
Tione exploded in rage, seeing the women flocking toward Finn. Tiona struggled to hold back her sister, who loved Finn more than anyone—adored him, rather—while shouting, "Look in the mirror before you speak!"
"They don't understand anything, these interlopers!!"
Tione couldn't bear the sight of Finn being surrounded by women who didn't appreciate the Captain's true charm, and she lashed out in a frenzy. Tione finally broke free from her sister's grip, and her rampage sent the square into total chaos. Finn, meanwhile, continued dealing with the female adventurers, seemingly unfazed by the noise.
The women standing before Finn waited for his words with tense expressions. Finn scanned their faces, organizing the details of each person in his mind.
During this, while Ais was looking around, unsure if she should save Al—who had been swallowed by a tide of Amazons before he could say a word—her eyes caught someone strange amidst the clamor.
It was a Chienanthrope girl whose face was so pale she looked ill. Her fear-filled expression piqued Ais's curiosity. When Ais locked eyes with her, the girl shivered as if she had been struck.
── This girl knows something.
Lefiya sensed Ais's intuition and followed as she carved a path through the crowd. The girl panicked at Ais's sudden appearance and used the chaos to flee the square at high speed.
"── Let's follow her."
"R-Right!"
Ais and Lefiya slipped through the gaps people opened for them.
Shortly after they left Crystal Square to pursue the dog-girl, the ground shook. Giant plant monsters, Violas, scaled the high city walls built to protect Rivira and began shrieking everywhere. Hordes of monsters surged from the outskirts, targeting the square where the adventurers were gathered.
Deep within their massive petals were mouths filled with countless teeth, emitting a sickening, musky scent. Their snake-like, yellow-green bodies possessed incredible durability; a single strike from a first-tier adventurer might not even leave a mark.
Seeing these ferocious monsters swarming in such numbers made even the first-tier adventurers break into a cold sweat. In the center of the square, an exceptionally large Viola appeared, opening its massive jaws as the other monsters lunged at the adventurers.
However──.
Before those massive jaws could snap shut, the monsters there had already been carved apart. In the next instant, lightning arced across Crystal Square, incinerating everything in its path in the blink of an eye.
"Tiona, Tione. Protect everyone!"
"── Thunderbolt."
Tiona and Tione lunged forward at Finn's command, wielding their weapons to sever the heads and tentacles of the Violas. From the magic circles Al had deployed, bolts of lightning poured down like rain, burning and killing the plants instantly.
While their attacks were effective, the other adventurers were being crushed by the monster hordes. The residents of Rivira were no match for these crowds, which possessed power equivalent to a high Level 2 or Level 3, even without accounting for their physical resistance. Tiona swung her grand blade and Tione her daggers, hacking the monsters to pieces one by one.
Yet, individual strength couldn't overcome sheer numbers. The adventurers realized they were facing an invincible foe and began to flee in disarray, but the Violas showed no mercy, lunging at their retreating backs.
(This is bad. Fear is spreading and the formation is collapsing.) "Al, use your skill!!"
"Hold them for seven minutes, Finn."
Skill: Hero's Path. It was a skill that granted the right to charge active actions like magic. During the charge, the sound of a bell echoed, stripping fear from the hearts of those who heard it and raising their combat morale.
"Don't panic!! Form groups of five and hold them back!! Just buy time; we will handle the annihilation once the opening is made!!"
Finn shouted instructions to the adventurers, whose fear had slightly lessened. Thanks to the effect of his Commanding Shout skill, the adventurers regained their composure and gripped their swords once more.
While the "Hero" inspired them and the "Braver" led, the leadership ability—which showed its true value when the two greatest powers of the Loki Familia combined—transformed that fleeing mob into an army of warriors ready to face death.
Those who survived the Violas' attacks immediately reorganized their ranks, beginning to exterminate the monsters one by one with precise coordination.
Despite the situation improving, the tingling in Finn's thumb did not go away. He felt uneasy about this massive horde appearing so suddenly in a city that was a fortress built by generations of adventurers, without him or his comrades sensing their approach.
The Violas were surging toward the square with deliberate intent. Facing this premeditated assault, Finn looked with his blue eyes toward the bottom of the cliff where the water lay. He saw exactly what he feared.
Below the towering cliff, from the heart of the deep, dark lake, massive numbers of Violas were emerging from the water and scaling the slopes one after another.
There must have been over a hundred of them. The monster hordes began forming a siege around the square. Finn and his companions held their breath as they witnessed this sight, which burned itself into their memories.
Hiding in groups within the lake, followed by a coordinated mass siege; such actions were impossible without monster intelligence. Here, Finn's suspicions were confirmed.
Strategic action from the plant monsters. And the unknown killer of Hashana. Finn spoke the answer he had deduced.
"── A Tamer, then."
●○●○●
While the Violas were being exterminated under Finn's leadership, Ais was facing the red-haired woman, believed to be Hashana's killer and the Tamer controlling these monsters.
"Hoh, what a pleasant wind."
Ais's only gifted magic, the wind magic Ariel, granted her a terrifying increase in physical strength, blade sharpness, defense, and speed. Yet even successive attacks with this magic proved useless against the red-haired woman's monstrous stats. The best Ais could do was parry powerful blows that rivaled those of Floor Bosses.
(She's strong...)
Her raw power surpassed Ais's, even when supported by magic. But Ais would not back down.
"Aria── Where did you get that name!!"
Only Finn, Riveria, and Gareth knew that this name belonged to Ais's mother. Ais lunged at the woman with rare resolve the moment she heard her use that name upon seeing the wind magic, but the woman only mocked her.
Why do you know my mother's name? And why did you kill Hashana? I will not show you mercy, no matter the answer. Tiona and the others had managed to destroy the massive female-shaped entity that appeared from the jewel-parasites in the Violas' corpses.
Only this woman remained. Regardless of whether she sensed Ais's resolve, the red-haired woman smiled defiantly, as if defeating Ais were a trivial task.
And indeed, it was.
Ais narrowed her eyes and gathered more wind, lunging at the woman with lightning speed, unleashing a series of silver strikes the eye could not follow. Over ten clashes between silver lightning occurred in the blink of an eye, the screech of their blades echoing from the force of the impact.
Ais launched a storm of attacks, compressing the surrounding air and sweeping everything away—attacks that were normally impossible to parry. An ordinary adventurer couldn't even react to them. Yet, the red-haired woman took them with total indifference.
The woman used her immense strength, wielding a great sword that was likely a drop item from the Deep Floors, to shatter the violent wind attacks with pure force. The great sword, which resembled a Nodachi in its hilt and blade, traced faint lines of repeated light in the darkness, meeting Ais's favorite sword with perfect equality.
Even after using Ariel—which is not usually used against humans—with full power and no restraint, the woman devoured Ais's winds with pure combat skill and launched painful counterattacks.
Ais swung her wind-wrapped sword with everything she had, trying to parry the devastating strikes of her opponent time and again. But with every clash, the impact of those attacks bypassed the wind armor and shook Ais's body, leaving deep aches within her.
As the duel continued, anxiety began to seep into Ais's heart as she gritted her teeth. This woman was unnatural; she possessed a horror that rivaled humanoid Floor Bosses.
"── I thought your face looked like a doll's, but..."
The ground exploded under the weight of the woman's feet. Due to the violent frenzy that cost her her balance, Ais was exposed to a fatal opening. The woman capitalized, aiming a killing blow. The great sword descended ruthlessly, bypassing the defenses of Desperate and the wind currents to strike Ais's body with force.
Though she twisted her body to avoid a direct hit, blood sprayed from Ais's arm. The red-haired woman did not waste the opportunity, following up with a relentless horizontal swing of her great sword. The blow whistled through the air.
Though she took the hit with her sword, she couldn't suppress the shock. Ais's body was thrown with massive force toward the rubble behind her.
"Ugh!"
The rubble shattered as Ais's back slammed into it. With the air knocked out of her lungs, her body stopped responding as if her nerves had been severed. Her consciousness began to waver, and her vision blurred.
Nevertheless, she tried to rise, but the pain coursing through her body made her knees tremble. She couldn't stand.
"Finally, this is the end."
The red-haired woman tossed aside her long sword, which had cracked and crumbled, unable to withstand her own savage strength. She then lunged toward the kneeling Ais, gathering all her power in her right arm.
She threw a right hook with everything she had to finish Ais.
──── I can't respond. I'm going to die.
"── K..."
In the final moment, no matter how much you scream for help, no one truly comes to save you. Unlike the hero stories her mother used to read to her, reality and the world showed no mercy to Ais Wallenstein.
If it were otherwise, her mother and father would not have vanished from her life. That was why Ais took up the sword and fought.
But, at the same time, Ais knew for a certainty──
"What?!"
A violent metallic clang echoed through the area, parrying the woman's iron fist that had been set to shatter stone. A pitch-black blade, marked by a mysterious and perfect functional beauty, stopped the enemy's lethal fist at the very last second.
"── Al!!"
── She knew there was a man who, no matter how wounded he was, no matter the size of the monster he faced, would grit his teeth and rise from the mire of defeat spitting blood, to seize victory in the end.
Standing there was Al Cranel ── Ais Wallenstein's Hero.