0p0 #158 - Section 158
#158 - Section 158
Those scenes from the nightmares seemed to crack open under the force of the punches, like a mirror shattering from a heavy blow.
“Don't, do that!”
Tione shouted hoarsely, her body involuntarily struggling in a frenzy, throwing out a counter-punch with all her might.
Did he even realize that his fist was brutally smashing everything she (the Amazon) was?
Each punch pulverized a part of her, tearing them apart, staining them with his own colors, and then piecing them back together little by little, forcibly reshaping them into the form he desired.
Those painful images became blurred under the barrage of punches.
Tione slightly raised her head, the corners of her mouth barely twitching into a bitter smile, the original red light gone from her eyes, replaced by helplessness and resignation: “I… already woke up.”
“I… surrender…”
239
Chapter 239: The Missed Information.
“I’m really very sorry!”
“It's all my fault. I underestimated the enemy and fell victim to their magic. If it weren't for that, Lord Wemiya would definitely have defeated him already.”
Tione ignored his consolation and insisted, “I know this apology is far from enough…”
Saying this, she began to take off her clothes, seemingly intending to take responsibility in the traditional Amazonian way.
“…Ye-yes, ma'am.”
Tione obediently stopped undressing at Riveria's restraint.
The frenzy curse used by the enemy had a wide range and a very short incantation time, so any adventurer would be caught off guard when facing this skill for the first time.
Finn, seeing this, spoke up: “Ahem, let's summarize the information about that Black One first.”
Wemiya asked, “Are there any relevant candidates?”
Finn shook his head helplessly: “The information is still too broad. Apart from the frenzy curse, the other information isn't particularly special. Moreover, I have never heard of any first-class adventurer possessing similar magical abilities related to this curse.”
“A downgrade…”
Riveria: “I see. This might be the price of the curse magic. No wonder that magic could have such a powerful effect.”
Finn nodded slightly: “If that's the case, then we can consider it finding one of their weaknesses.”
“It doesn't matter.”
Riveria said, “We have already grasped quite a lot of information about this person. This operation was not without gains.”
She raised her head and continued, “Besides that, there is also an extremely important piece of information that has been confirmed, and that is—he must have access to 'other exits in the Dungeon.' So many monsters, some of them huge, couldn't have been brought out through the main entrance.”
His words tightened the atmosphere in the room.
Finn continued, “When Wemiya found the Black One, half of the monsters hidden under the building were already gone. If it weren't for Wemiya and the others acting quickly, and with Mii's monster-locating skills, we might not have been able to catch up with the enemy's trail at all.”
Riveria: “But we can't completely rule out the possibility of information leakage among those in the know.”
“Naturally, Wemiya is beyond suspicion, and everyone in the Loki Familia are trusted partners.”
Riveria: “Intuition, huh… So, what should we do next?”
“What's wrong, Filvis? You look so gloomy.”
Dionysus looked at her with a faint smile, his tone gentle.
“Thanks to you, we were able to analyze the information from the [Thousand Elves]'s fragmented words. Otherwise, Mr. Dix would probably have died there.”
Filvis opened her mouth, seeming to want to say something, but in the end, she didn't say anything.
“Relax, Filvis.”
Dionysus reassured her lightly, as if nothing was a big deal.
“With that child's personality, she would absolutely not realize that she had already leaked information. And in the end, the information she directly revealed was just something along the lines of ‘[Holy Sword User] and the others have something to do tonight.’”
“Next.”
Dionysus suddenly changed the topic: “Filvis, I need you to go to the 59th floor and check on the situation of the spirit. Although I suspect that the fallen spirit has already been killed by the Loki Familia, perhaps we can still find useful information.”
That powerful magic released by Riveria was enough to directly penetrate the solid floors of the deepest areas of the Dungeon.
240
Chapter 240: Dragon Princess Valkyrie.
The ceiling, walls, and floor of the floor area were all made of thick bark. Moss grew luxuriantly on the dim passages, emitting blue and green fluorescence, creating a scene like a secret realm before one's eyes.
In this large tree maze, which was completely different from the upper levels, a figure moved slowly forward.
Not only her soft, long hair, but also her fair, jade-like skin had a hint of cyan-blue, as if she did not belong to the mortal realm.
The most striking feature was the red gemstone embedded in the center of her forehead. The brightly shining red stone indicated her non-human identity.
She was bleeding. Several lacerations on her body were like deep-rooted marks, seemingly caused by claws and fangs.
Her eyes were complex, with anger, sadness, and confusion intertwined. As drops of blood fell, transparent teardrops also slid from her amber eyes, and her slender throat trembled, emitting a weak sob.
As if rejecting this mournful sound, several deafening roars surged from the intricate maze, and the cyan-silver-haired girl flinched in fear, her shoulders trembling slightly.
The girl saw herself entwined by vines, her whole body covered with thorns. The pain was deeply rooted within her, almost tearing her apart. She felt a terrible impulse, a madness to destroy herself and the entire world at the same time.
“Who… am I…”
Having just been born from the maze, she felt rejected by everything around her. From the moment she broke through the wall and was born, she knew nothing and could only wander aimlessly in this dark maze.
“Where is this?”
But her answer was a ferocious roar. A bear-like monster raised its sharp claws high and swung them at her.
“What… should I do…”
The echoes of the maze seemed to be mocking her helplessness, and fear and confusion left her at a loss.
In a panic, she stumbled forward, and every monster she encountered showed malice. She scurried around the maze like a headless fly.
And beside that person was an abandoned longsword.
The girl stepped forward and grasped the hilt.
Immediately following, a continuous barrage of punches, one after another, struck her body heavily.
With each punch, the images in her nightmare became more blurred and illusory, while at the same time, the figure of that person became increasingly clear and solid.
That man, that male, did he really know what he was doing?
Those pains that constituted her life, those unforgettable scars, those unforgettable pasts—her despair, her sorrowful wishes, her obsessions.
"No... no!"
Tione struggled to resist.
However, her fists became lighter and lighter, weaker and weaker, as if all her strength was gradually being drained away.
"Are you awake?"
Welf's voice sounded in her ear.
She murmured, her voice almost drowned out by panting: "You... you lustful male."
Tione wanted to say something more, but as her parted lips barely uttered a syllable, Welf's fist landed heavily, knocking back her unfinished words.
Tione bowed deeply.
At that time, the black-clad being took advantage of the moment when Welf had to focus on dealing with Tione's frenzied state and fled in the chaos.
Welf shook his head: "No, that Hver First-Class Adventurer is not weak. Even if I wanted to defeat him, it wouldn't be that easy."
Riveria coldly interrupted her: "Tione, stop."
The Level 7 Elf Magician's eyes held a hint of warning, and she slightly raised the staff in her hand.
"Tione, this isn't your fault,"
Welf said, "No one could have imagined that the opponent would have such magic."
Although Tione's loss of control had an impact on the situation, in fact, forcing the enemy to reveal their magic and confirming this information was already an important gain.
"First-Class Adventurer, tall, most likely male, uses a spear as a weapon, involved in smuggling monsters, and also uses a frenzy curse…"
"It could be a Familia, or simply a hidden force of the Evilus."
Welf: "Besides these, there is one more thing to note. When that black-clad being released the curse magic, when I attacked him again, I could clearly feel that his ability value had decreased, and the decrease was significant, or rather, his level seemed to have temporarily dropped by one."
Welf added: "However, the black cloak he wore should be a special magic item with the effect of concealing his identity. His face was also covered by a mask, so we couldn't identify his true identity."
Finn took over the conversation: "Yes, this shows that there are indeed other exits in the Dungeon, but so far, we haven't found any secret passages leading to the Dungeon in our search of Daedalus Street."
Finn's voice lowered, a trace of gravity flashing in his eyes: "But there is one more important piece of information—our operation's information has been leaked."
"Which means…"
Riveria sighed softly, "Our operation plan was known to the other party in advance."
"Of course, it's not necessarily someone who leaked it."
Finn said in a low voice, "Our previous investigation in Daedalus Street may have already alerted them, making them more vigilant."
Finn paused: "But if we suspect the Apollo Familia because of this, it feels a bit off… My intuition is that the information was not leaked from the Apollo Familia."
Finn: "For now, we can only continue to search deeply. Where there is existence, there must be traces. Since we have confirmed the existence of access passages to the Dungeon, then in the end, we will definitely find it."
Filvis stood in place, silently lowering her eyes.
Dionysus didn't seem to care about her expression and continued: "However, with a level of Lv.3, being able to easily cripple an arm of a Lv.5… Although Dix used the curse magic and his ability value dropped to Lv.4, even so, being able to do this is really shocking. As expected of the man called the 'Demon King'."
Filvis's voice was very soft: "I understand."
Dionysus continued: "However, Dix's actions were still a bit slow, and this time he still revealed a lot of things… Things haven't been going too smoothly lately."
Filvis silently nodded.
However, it was precisely because she spent a few leisurely days with Lefiya that Filvis did not track the most crucial information in time.
And now, these floors have returned to their original state.
Filvis had no way of knowing the power of that magic.
Weak breathing echoed in the stillness.
The occasional roars of monsters caused the various shaped leaves around to sway, and silver droplets dripped from the mysterious flowers, emitting an ominous yet beautiful aura.
That figure was slender and graceful, with the curves and fragility of a maiden. Her blue-silver hair shimmered in the light of the moss.
Her shoulders and waist were covered in fine scales, and her ears were somewhat similar to those of an elf, but more slender.
She was a monster, a strange and special monster.
The girl's arms were as slender as branches, and she hugged her chest tightly, walking aimlessly.
Fresh blood dripped to the ground, staining her pale skin red. The scales on her shoulders had been torn open, and faintly glowing bones could be seen deep within the wound.
"Who am I…?"
That soft whisper was not the hoarse cry of a monster, but a weak and raspy voice, mixed with sobs like a child.
Her appearance was breathtakingly beautiful, yet at odds with her identity as a monster. The girl raised her head and looked up at the rocky dome, seemingly pondering, with some vague images and feelings flashing before her eyes.
Then, she saw a blurry figure suddenly appear, a man wielding a greatsword, swinging the sword in his hand as if dividing dawn and dusk, bringing death and salvation.
She was alone.
Just when she felt lost, she suddenly smelled a scent similar to her own, so she instinctively walked towards it.
She encountered a bear-like monster larger than herself in a corner deep within the labyrinth.
She asked.
She only felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, and blood gushed from the torn skin. She fled in panic, running aimlessly through the labyrinth.
She ran all the way until she heard a roar behind her again, the bear-like monster chasing her.
And just as she was in despair, she saw a corner—the corpse of an adventurer lying on the ground, stained with blood, already lifeless.
Her body trembled, not because of fear, but because of some unknown throbbing.