"Damn it, we've been split up!" Tiona groaned in frustration. She scanned the surrounding corridors, her face a mask of confusion.
'Where am I? Which way do we go now?'
The answer was simple: she had absolutely no idea.
"Tiona, what should we do now?" A young girl's voice came from behind her, making the pressure on her shoulders weigh even heavier.
"Ahaha... Narvi, how about you take command instead?" Tiona turned around and flashed the human girl from the Second Army an expectant, pleading smile.
"N-No way! I can't do that!" Narvi waved her hands frantically. "We're counting on you, Tiona!"
'Please don't say that...' Tiona cried inwardly.
She was the type whose fists moved much faster than her brain. Thinking had never been her strong suit; whenever strategy or planning was involved, the other executives always handled it. Asking her to command a squad out of nowhere was simply too much.
"If only Riveria had fallen into the same pit as me..." Tiona felt miserable. When the trap triggered, she had clearly seen Riveria plummeting down too, but unfortunately, they had landed in entirely different sectors. If Riveria were here, she would be the one making the calls right now.
"But there's no helping it." Tiona glanced at the people behind her. Everyone who had fallen through the pit with her was looking up at her with complete, unshakeable trust.
'Tiona, we're relying on you.'
Honestly, she was panicking inside. She had zero confidence.
"No. I need to pull myself together." Tiona slapped both her cheeks hard. Panicking wouldn't solve a thing. As the only executive present, she had to shoulder the responsibility. "Alright! Let's try moving upward and regroup with Finn's team first!"
"Yeah!"
The image of Finn's devastating injury lingered in everyone's minds, yet nobody dared mention it. They all silently acted as though Finn was still waiting for them at the top. If someone spoke their fears aloud, morale would utterly collapse, and then they really would be finished.
"T-Tiona...!"
"What is it, Narvi?" Following Narvi's trembling gaze, Tiona looked ahead. Her eyes widened instantly.
A swarm of monsters about two feet long were crawling along the walls and ceiling. Their bodies were covered in a disgusting, viscous slime, devoid of any visible organs or faces, just writhing, yellow-brown masses of flesh heading straight for them.
"Virgas!"
"The most terrifying poison monsters in the Lower Floors!"
"C-Calm down! Find a magic sword!"
"But Tiona, none of us have one!"
"...RUN!"
They had experienced the terror of Virgas during their last expedition, when the creatures had nearly wiped out Loki Familia. Without an H-rank abnormal status resistance, surviving their venom was virtually impossible. The group screamed and immediately scrambled down an adjacent corridor.
"People?" As Tiona led the panicked retreat through the passages, she suddenly spotted several figures dressed in black cloaks up ahead.
"For Lord Thanatos!"
"Julius, I'm coming!"
"Celia, wait for me!"
The cloaked figures cried out in fanatical frenzy, charging straight toward the adventurers without a shred of hesitation.
"Those bastards!" Tiona glanced at the Virgas snapping at their heels. Grinding her teeth, she lunged forward to throw a punch at the approaching cultists.
But then,
'Hum, '
A violent red light suddenly pulsed from beneath the black cloaks.
'BOOM!'
'BOOM!'
Flames erupted as twin explosions thundered through the corridor. When the smoke finally cleared, the black-cloaked figures had vanished completely.
"Guh!" Tiona was blasted backward by the shockwave. Severe burn marks covered her body, her face twisting in pain. "They're suicide bombers?!"
"Tiona, are you okay?" Narvi and the others hurriedly pulled out recovery potions.
That crimson glow had looked terrifyingly familiar. It came from Flame Stones, a volatile material dropped by lava-type monsters in the deeper floors of the Dungeon. When detonated, they exploded with exactly this kind of devastating force.
"This is bad..." Even Tiona's straightforward brain could understand the reality of their situation. The enemy was treating them like trapped rats inside a cage. Her heart sank.
---
Meanwhile...
"Damn Virgas! Damn suicide bombers!" Tione cursed relentlessly.
She was cutting through the labyrinth, desperately trying to find a route around the Orichalcum gate to return to Finn's side. But shortly after setting out, she had run right into a massive swarm of Virgas. When she tried to fall back,
'Boom!'
A new Orichalcum gate dropped behind her, sealing the corridor. With no other choice, Tione charged straight into the monsters. One after another, the Virgas were torn apart by her bare hands. Though their poisonous slime constantly splashed onto her skin, turning her face pale and green by turns, her powerful Abnormal Resistance allowed her to keep fighting fiercely.
Not long after, she ran into another group of black-cloaked fanatics. Consumed by her worry for Finn, she punched first and thought later, and as a result, she took the brunt of the blast. Wounds covered her body.
"Blood Dance!"
Soon, yet another squad of black cloaked figures appeared. This time, they didn't rush forward. Instead, they raised their hands and shouted in unison. Blood-red waves rippled from their bodies, wrapping tightly around Tione, while a separate group continuously chanted behind them, unleashing a barrage of magic from their staffs.
"Huh?!" Tione suddenly felt her body grow incredibly heavy. She couldn't help but gasp in surprise. It wasn't gravity magic; there was no crushing external weight. Instead, it felt as though something was fundamentally wrong with her own biology. Her strength was rapidly draining away.
"Status ailment magic... and curses?!"
Damn it! These bastards had prepared for everything. Under the dual suppression of the debuffs and curses, Tione's speed dropped dramatically, her physical strength severely crippled.
"Now!" A massive wave of black-cloaked cultists poured in from every adjoining corridor, swarming toward her all at once.
"Back off, all of you!" At that moment, an angry shout echoed through the hall. "Tione is my prey. I won't allow any of you to interfere!"
The black-cloaked figures stopped in their tracks, looking at one another in confusion.
"That voice..." Tione raised her head.
A beautiful Amazon emerged from behind the cultists. Her crimson hair was tied into a long braid resembling a striking serpent, her striking face overflowing with raw battle lust.
"Argana... So you really did join forces with Evilus!"
"We're simply using each other," Argana of Kali Familia said, walking forward step by step as a blazing fighting spirit burned in her eyes. "I don't know, and I don't care what Evilus is trying to accomplish. My goal has always been the same: to defeat you. Tione, if you want to pass through here, you'll have to step over my corpse!"
(End of Chapter)
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