"Riezel!"
After breaking through the deadly encirclement of the caterpillar monsters, Ais was the first in the expedition party to notice that Riezel had fallen behind, and the first to realize what he intended to do.
As she watched Riezel stand before the skull-masked man whose throat was spraying blood, his back gradually being swallowed by the army of caterpillar monsters, the emotionless expression on Ais's face fell away.
Almost on instinct, she prepared to turn back and run to Riezel's side, but—
"Ais! Don't go!"
Unfortunately, Finn stopped Ais and prevented her from turning back.
"Finn?"
Ais looked at Finn in disbelief.
Finn did not waver and simply spoke with extreme calm.
"Leave that side to Riezel."
Such brief words not only caused a subtle change in Ais's expression but also triggered intense reactions from the others.
"W-Why are we leaving Mr. Riezel behind by himself?"
"Captain, that's too dangerous!"
Lefiya and Anakitty, one openly anxious and the other frowning deeply, voiced their objections to the order of their captain, who should have been absolutely trusted.
"T-This is the 52nd Floor! Even with all of us together, it's hard to hold on… Riezel alone, he..."
Even Raul spoke up, his kind face filled with concern.
Gareth and Riveria remained silent, seemingly having decided to follow Finn's judgment.
Meanwhile, Bete, Tiona, and Tione were busy dealing with the sudden appearance of a group of monsters from the Deep Floors blocking their path—giant venomous scorpions, lightning serpents, and grotesque spiders—and had no time to join the discussion.
Seeing that Riveria did not speak, Alicia also kept silent.
Tsubaki looked confused, still unaware of what had happened.
Yet, even under these circumstances, Finn maintained an expression of absolute calm, bordering on coldness.
"This was the strategy we agreed on beforehand," Finn explained calmly. "If those hybrids interfered with our expedition, Riezel would stay behind alone to block them, minimizing the impact on the expedition party's overall combat power."
However, this explanation triggered Ais's strong protest.
"Then I should—!"
In Ais's view, if someone had to stay behind to stop the hybrids, it should be her, not Riezel.
For her, reaching an unexplored floor had never been the primary objective of this expedition.
Ever since the encounter with the hybrids at the Pantry on the 24th Floor, and after hearing the name 'Aria' from their mouths, Ais had not gone a single day without thinking about finding them again.
She wanted to know why they knew that name.
She wanted to know what they knew about her.
More than anything, she wanted to know who they really were and why they were connected to her and to the name Aria.
For that reason, after being encouraged by Riveria, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, and the others, she had gradually pulled herself together, instead of remaining shut away in her room, trapped in her own world.
It was mainly because she suspected that the next expedition might bring about another encounter with the hybrids.
It couldn't be helped.
From what she had learned, the woman-like monsters born from parasitism by Jewel Fetuses were clearly of the same kind as those encountered during the previous expedition.
And the caterpillar monsters, as well as those man-eating flower monsters, were also obviously related, both possessing vividly colored appearances and equally colorful magic stones.
All of this strongly suggested that the woman-like monsters and caterpillar monsters encountered in the previous expedition had deep ties to the hybrids.
If that was the case, then by venturing into the Dungeon once more and reaching the Deep Floors below the 50th Floor, she would likely encounter the hybrids again, along with the woman-like monsters and the colorful monsters.
When that happened, she intended to demand clear answers from them about why they knew the name Aria.
And so, with those thoughts firmly in mind, she had joined this expedition.
Now that one of the hybrids had finally appeared, the one who should have stayed behind to stop them should have been her, not Riezel.
However, when Ais expressed this so strongly, Finn's response was like cold water poured over her head.
"You can't," Finn said bluntly. "Even though you've reached Level 6, I can say with certainty that if you stayed behind alone, you would die, Ais."
Ais was left speechless.
As Raul had said, this was the 52nd Floor—the starting point of the Dragon's Vase.
It should be noted that the Loki Familia had eight First-Class Adventurers, seven before Riezel became an executive. Among them, three were at the pinnacle of Level 6, and four were at the pinnacle of Level 5.
Yet even such a group of seven First-Class Adventurers had only been able to reach the 58th Floor during the last expedition.
Now that Ais had reached Level 6, her strength had greatly increased compared to that time. But even when the entire Loki Familia's First-Class Adventurers had fought desperately just to survive in this hell, what could Ais accomplish here alone?
Riezel was an exception.
Having thousands of magic spells from another world as a safety net, various magic items for protection, and a reckless adventurer's mentality, he could survive here alone.
Even so, when his power was limited to Level 5, he still ended up covered in wounds every time, repeatedly pushed into desperate situations before accumulating enough high-rank excelia.
Ais, who still could not match even Level 5 Riezel, and who lacked his countless trump cards, had no chance of surviving here by herself.
Worse still, the presence of the hybrids increased the danger by several levels.
If Ais were left behind alone, she would certainly die—or, at best, be captured and taken away by the hybrids.
In short—
"If Riezel stays behind, his survival rate is far higher than yours. He has many types of magic, and when facing extreme danger, he's more likely than any of us to survive."
"He has also proven his strength. Even King couldn't subdue him in a short time without using magic or activating skills. If he stays behind, the chances of defeating the hybrid are higher."
"Furthermore, if the hybrid's target is you, then your absence will disrupt their plans and allow Riezel to turn the situation around."
"Taken together, you cannot stay behind."
Finn's sharp and brutally realistic assessment left Ais with no room to argue.
Ais ultimately could only grip the hilt of Desperate tightly, so hard that her fingers turned white.
After hearing Finn's explanation, the others also could no longer argue.
"Mr. Riezel…"
Lefiya's worried voice echoed clearly in everyone's ears.
Just then, Finn abruptly changed direction.
"Instead of worrying about Riezel, I think we should be worrying about ourselves."
Finn's sudden statement made everyone freeze.
"What do you mean, Finn?"
"What did you notice?"
Riveria and Gareth, having worked with Finn for many years, immediately understood that he had detected something.
In response, Finn explained calmly.
"According to Riezel's previous report, we already know that there are two hybrids. If that's the case, where is the other one now?"
"Could they be waiting for us on a lower floor—at their base, or at a place they consider important?"
"If, just like on the 24th Floor and the 30th Floor, the hybrids have built a breeding ground in the Deep Floors capable of producing these colorful monsters, then which floor would that be on?"
"Could it be... the very destination we're heading toward—the 59th Floor?"
Each sentence caused everyone present—whether they fully understood Finn's words or not—to instinctively hold their breath.
Ais's attention was successfully redirected.
"Another one... on the 59th Floor...?"
As she muttered to herself, Ais recalled the red-haired woman.
In her perception, that red-haired hybrid was far more troublesome than the skull-masked man.
Finn continued.
"We still don't know how many enemies there are, or what kind of traps they've set below."
"That's why we cannot afford to scatter our combat power, and that's also why I can only have Riezel stay behind alone to intercept that hybrid."
"We must concentrate our combat power, because our enemies are not just the Dungeon, but also these hybrids, whose nature we don't yet understand."
Finn licked his thumb, his eyes sharp.
"My thumb has been aching faintly, yet the pain itself is strong."
"Down there, something unknown and extremely dangerous is definitely waiting for us."
"But since we've come this far, we can't return empty-handed."
"No matter what lies ahead, we have to press forward."
Finn's words finally convinced everyone.
"..."
Ais stopped thinking any further and forced herself not to look back through sheer willpower alone. Even though it felt as if her heart were being cut apart, she could only trust Finn's judgment and continue to believe in Riezel's strength.
"Alright, stop worrying about Riezel already."
Seeing that many people—especially Ais and Lefiya—still looked troubled, Gareth spoke in a deliberately relaxed tone.
"He was already overpowering Ais back when he was Level 5, and he could go head-to-head with Ottar without losing any ground. He's a straight-up freak."
"He's got Ais's wind, that level-boosting magic, and he even picked up Finn's magic. If he actually goes all out and uses everything he's got, I really don't see that hybrid guy doing much to him."
"So let's hurry to the 58th Floor and deal with the Valgang Dragons and the Ill Wyverns—that should take some pressure off Riezel and let him focus on the hybrid."
Gareth's words gave the already persuaded group the final push they needed, and they finally stopped dwelling on Riezel.
"Yeah! Riezel's crazy strong! He'll be fine!"
"If the captain says he's fine, then yeah, he's totally fine. I trust the captain's call!"
Tiona and Tione seized the chance and shouted in agreement.
"I kinda don't get everything that's going on… but that kid's carrying my greatest masterpiece! No way he doesn't make it through this!"
Tsubaki laughed loudly as she spoke.
"Let's believe in him. He is our familia's monster rookie."
Riveria nodded and gave a faint smile.
"Hmph, he's not some random nobody. Worrying about him is a total waste of time."
Even Bete spoke up in the end, snorting coldly as he spoke.
Only then did Finn smile subtly before putting his captain's mask back on.
"Alright, the entrance to the 53rd Floor is right ahead. Full speed forward!"
At Finn's command—
""YES!!!""
Everyone responded in unison.
Carrying her backpack and gripping her staff, Lefiya could not help but look back toward the other end of the passage, where Riezel's figure was no longer visible.
'Please stay alive, Mr. Riezel…'
She was not the only one who thought this. Ais was also praying in her heart.
'Please come back, Riezel...'
With those thoughts, the young swordswoman and the young elf mage followed the group and charged into the entrance of the 53rd Floor.
===
In the end, it proved that the worries of the Loki Familia had been unnecessary.
On the 52nd Floor, where no allies remained, and caterpillar monsters filled the surroundings, Riezel unleashed his full power.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
He became a streaking meteor of extreme speed, charging back and forth through the monster horde while scattering wave after wave of sword light, mercilessly cutting down his enemies.
*SCREECH!*
*SCREECH!*
Like livestock having their throats squeezed, the hoarse screech of the caterpillar monsters rang out as their bodies were severed, their shattered remains exploding one after another and spraying corrosive fluid in all directions.
*Psss—*
In that instant, the corrosive fluid splattered across the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling, eroding the terrain and leaving countless pits behind. A foul stench soon spread alongside the black smoke produced by the corroded rock, making the air unbearable.
Riezel moved through the chaos with intricate footwork, displaying a level of speed that even First-Class Adventurers could not match, as he avoided every drop of corrosive fluid flying toward him without even activating Ariel.
"Damn it!"
Seeing the scene, the skull-masked man, whose neck was steaming as it rapidly regenerated, spat out words of hatred as he shouted.
"Virga!"
This was the name of the caterpillar monsters.
"Violas!"
This was the name of the man-eating flower monsters.
"Viscum!"
This was the name of the enormous and powerful version of the man-eating flower monsters that had once clung to the giant quartz pillar in the Pantry on the 24th Floor, forming the entire breeding ground.
As the man called out the names of the three colorful monster types in succession, the ground roared as countless monsters burst forth from the earth.
Numerous Virgas fell from above and smashed into the ground.
Numerous Violas emerged from the walls, swinging their tentacles.
A Viscum's colossal body extended from the depths of the Dungeon, appearing behind the man.
Just like that, the man summoned all the monsters currently under his control, forming a brand-new army of monsters.
*SCREEEECH—!!!*
In an instant, the cacophony of hoarse screeches formed a sound wave that shook the entire 52nd Floor.
"Hmm, so this is all you've got?"
Riezel, having just slain another Virga, calmly looked at the scene before him and even curled his lips into a smile.
"Good—this makes things interesting."
It seemed his last bit of high-rank excelia would be easy to obtain after all.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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