Sally, together with Vick, approached the radiant blue portal, purple sparks shooting out from it and even scorching the plants and small trees surrounding it.
"It really is here…"
Sally began to break out in a cold sweat.
There was no one around. The three heroes used their perception abilities but detected no monsters, humans, or demons within at least a ten-kilometer radius.
"Considering it's already been open for a long time, whoever came through it must already be far away."
Omar made the observation while maintaining an alert and watchful stance.
Something's wrong here. They don't seem surprised by the portal. I know they already knew about it, but it's almost as if they've encountered something like this before.
Omar noticed that Chamt was walking ahead beside two younger men. The two women were behind them, and finally, there was the mysterious white-haired man bringing up the rear.
"Do you want to try it?"
Vick looked at Chamt, who seemed completely unconcerned.
"We'll need a guinea pig, won't we?"
Chamt looked at everyone in the group.
"Don't tell me you expect us to go in there?"
Sally became furious even before anyone could say anything.
"Haha, we would never do that. Not with two women around."
Chamt looked at Omar.
"And why do you think I'd be the one to step into it?"
Omar discreetly placed his hands on his daggers.
"Because it's already been decided."
The white-haired man suddenly moved. Grabbing Omar by the waist, he dragged him into the portal.
Even though Omar was one of the strongest among the twelve, he couldn't resist the young man's strength.
"CLOSE IT!"
Chamt shouted, and the two women behind him began chanting something with their gloves glowing crimson.
The portal began shrinking, and loud crackling sounds echoed through the area.
Sparks flew everywhere, striking the people nearby and leaving burns on their bodies.
"Not so fast."
With a single movement, Vick attempted to decapitate the two women, but Chamt stepped in front of them, using his machete to block the attack.
The two men accompanying Chamt attacked Vick, but Sally used her ribbons to restrain them. She lifted them into the air and hurled them away.
Another scout suddenly appeared behind her, wielding a sharp, curved dagger. The woman leaped backward, dodging the attack, then, while still in midair, kicked the scout in the neck, breaking it. He crashed to the ground, foam spilling from his mouth.
Chamt began swinging his sword toward Sally, but Vick stepped in front of her, moving her spear and deflecting each blow.
She charged at Chamt, and the two began exchanging a fierce clash of blades. However, Vick steadily forced him backward.
One of the women conjured a ball of lightning that struck Vick, but the woman merely let out a slight groan before throwing her spear toward her attacker.
She followed the spear.
After the other woman blocked it with a shield, Vick leaped upward. Grabbing the shaft of her spear, she brought it down in a straight slash, cutting into the head of the woman who had created the barrier.
She landed and immediately swung her body around, slicing open the waist of the other woman.
Chamt came crashing down on top of Vick, knocking her backward and sending her rolling across the ground.
The man swung his sword wildly, but Sally struck him in the waist with her ribbons, throwing him off balance.
Vick took advantage of the opening and thrust her spear toward the man's head.
He raised his arm to protect himself, but the spear pierced straight through it.
Two more scouts began attacking Sally with their daggers, but the girl dodged their attacks with fluid, graceful movements.
"So it really was a trap after all."
The woman blocked one of the blades with her silk ribbon and kicked the man's hand, making him drop his dagger.
She used the same ribbon to catch the dagger in midair and guide it toward the man's neck, slicing deeply into it.
He fell to the ground, bleeding heavily and desperately trying to stop the wound, but Sally pierced his back with her other white ribbon.
"You fucking bitch!"
The other man began swinging his dagger more furiously.
But Sally leaped backward, using her ribbons to seize his legs and flip him upside down.
Before he could hit the ground, she kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying toward Chamt.
Chamt dodged, but in doing so, Vick's spear pierced straight through his lung.
"If you tell me what this was about, I'll let you live."
The woman glared harshly at Chamt, but he simply smiled ironically.
"We've already done our job."
Vick pulled her spear from Chamt's chest.
He collapsed and died.
The remaining man was secretly chanting behind a rock, finishing the spell that was closing the portal.
"Wait!"
Sally moved her silk ribbons and pierced the man's stomach.
He collapsed, writhing in pain as he desperately tried to crawl away.
"Do you want to go in?"
Vick looked at Sally.
As she watched the portal slowly closing, Sally hesitated.
"We don't know what's on the other side…"
Sally clenched her teeth, trying to think of something, but making a reckless decision was far too dangerous.
"Damn it. We'd better wait. Omar is strong. He'll find a way…"
Vick was uneasy as well and thought for a long moment before ultimately deciding not to enter the portal.
Sally walked toward the man who was trying to escape and stepped on his head, forcing him to stop.
"You're not dying yet."
But when she looked down again, the man had stopped moving.
"Huh!? I barely even stepped on him!"
Sally looked ahead and saw that the portal had shrunk to roughly the size of an apple.
Then it disappeared completely.
All of the scouts were dead.
Vick regrouped with Sally and remained silent as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"What the hell… How could we let this happen?"
Sally looked at the corpses and then at the place where the portal had disappeared.
She thought about Omar and wondered if he was all right.
"I can't sense Omar's presence. They probably ended up somewhere far from here… But what was the point of this? What the hell were those bastards trying to accomplish? They knew they were going to die, and they still went through with it."
Vick remained thoughtful and uneasy.
"They only intended to separate Omar from us, even knowing they might die."
"But why? Sacrificing eight lives just to separate Omar from us… Even if he's dead now, I don't think it would have been worth it."
"It really is strange. But they must have had a good reason. Maybe their families were being threatened, or they were being blackmailed… Perhaps they were under mind control."
Sally considered every possibility, but none of them seemed to fit.
"For now, there's no point thinking about it! I hate thinking! Let's just act. Vicente might be in danger too."
But before they could think about returning, Sally suddenly noticed something and became alert.
"Wait, Vick. Don't you feel it? A powerful presence. Someone with enough mana to rival ours."
Vick closed her eyes and focused on sensing it.
"Indeed. It doesn't seem very far from here. But why didn't we sense it before?"
"It must be because of that white-haired guy. His mana was extremely confusing. Maybe it was preventing us from sensing this other presence…"
The more she concentrated, the more accurately Sally could determine where the presence was coming from.
"I know where it is now. It's not very far. Let's hurry."
Vick put away her spear, and the two women rushed toward the location.
"You wanted to die that badly? Why go through all this trouble just to separate yourself from them? You didn't want to involve your friends? But you know… considering those two, they're probably already dead."
Omar drew his daggers and charged at the white-haired man.
With a single dagger, the man blocked every attack Omar threw at him while smiling.
The two were standing on top of a steep hill that seemed to stretch endlessly. The sky was orange, and several enormous birds soared overhead.
He's strong. He's blocking my attacks with just one blade as if they were nothing.
Omar backed away and tried to analyze his enemy more carefully.
But at the same time, he began to realize something.
He was no longer on the previous floor.
He sensed the presence of several extremely powerful monsters—creatures whose strength far exceeded those they had encountered on the 32nd floor.
"Wait… Where the hell did you bring us?"
Omar began to break into a cold sweat, his face turning pale.
"You're only realizing it now?"
The white-haired man smiled.
"Even if you kill me here, you won't make it out alive."
He raised his dagger slightly.
"After all…"
"This is the 61st floor."