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/BOOM!/

"Urg!"

It's getting heavier...

/BAM!/

/ROAR!/

/CLANG!/

'The fierce battle continued with Silver and the Tyrant laying waste across the forest as they moved from one corner to the other.'

'From the red plains to the dense forest, and from the forest to the rocky mountains... Eventually back at the red plains... Or what remained of them.'

'Enraged and Hurt, the giant monster whose eye, wing, and tail had been cut... Bit and trashed around in a desperate attempt of killing its aggressor.'

'Yet every time it was about to crush that damn creature, it vanished, whenever it opened its mouth to breath fire, something stopped it.'

'Fire, lighting, ice, air, invisible barriers, strange objects, plants, metal, all kinds of things popped in and out of existence...'

'This constant interruption and this feeling of emptiness drove the monster to a pseudo madness…'

/CLANG!/

'But, it wasn't the only one getting tired.'

/SPLURT!/

'The Dragon slashed Silver's shoulder with its remaining wing claw, drawing blood as it fiercely moved forward, toppling the ancient trees of this prehistoric forest.'

"UGH!"

/BAM!/

/BAM!/

/BAM!/

'The Tyrant collided his head against Silver, using it to smash him against the trees.'

/Grit.../

'Yet, even as his body accumulated more and more wounds, Silver continued to fight, trading as many wounds as he could, gritting his teeth as his foot dug onto the earth whenever he could, and as his hand tore its skin apart.'

'But things didn't look good.'

'In such a direct fight, unless he used his Plasmids to support him, he would lose, and that was to be expected, the Tyrant was a Level 5 monster, and even with his boosted stats, he was still lacking a little.'

'Yet, this gave him a weird feeling, was that all he was worth?'

'He knew better than to frown at his own powers, ones he trained and lost so much blood in order to attain his current level of proficiency.'

'But he also knew where the problem of being too reliant on something leads to.'

/CLANG!/

/SWOOSH!/

'Using his remaining strength, he threw its head away, and parried the monster's massive foot, sending it to the side as his Halberd was flung away.'

/ROAR!/

'Seeing that the annoying black rod had been sent away, the monster took this as a chance to end it, once and for all!'

/Clack!/

'But its teeth sunk into the air, piercing dust and rocks as Silver once again vanished.'

"GRR! ROARR!"

'Its eyes bleeding with anger, the Tyrant turned its face directly towards the sky, it was used to his actions, its enemy would constantly flee like this.'

'To this, the monster would answer with a barrage of fireballs to force it down…'

'But right now, the Tyrant didn't have the energy to spare.'

"..."

'However, in the brilliant white eyes of its enemy, it saw a certain cold determination…'

'It understood, right then and there as the Human's blood dripped slowly from the sky…'

'That this would be the end.'

/Crackle…/

'Inside its dark throat, flames surged, dyeing its neck red as scalding fumes were released from its mouth, setting the surroundings ablaze.'

'Something was different though… This fire was stronger than before.'

'Perhaps not as strong as its first fire blast when it first clashed against Silver, but for the current situation where both sides were rather exhausted, it was more than impressive.'

/FLASH!/

'The color of the sky seemed to dim as a red sphere condensed within the monster's mouth…'

'As if its existence was the only thing that mattered.'

/BEAM!/

/CRACK!/

'As the fireball was releasing, creating a pillar of light in the sky, the Tyrant's foot dug onto the ground... And the earth was set ablaze.'

'This was the flare of the end, the final move for this fight.'

…

"One… More… And…"

/Thud…/

"Finally… The 36th floor…" Raul said tiredly as his face fell onto the grassy ground

'Breathing heavily, he almost inhaled grass...'

This bag is unnecessarily heavy…

'He was tired, after fighting the monster Rex on the 37th floor... Better put, just watching from afar, making his way across the White Palace, and climbing 200+ steps to the 36th floor he felt that his legs were about to fall off.'

"There's no time to rest Raul, so get up on your feet." Gareth said as he pulled the man up again by grabbing his shirt

/Tap!/

'He slapped his back, prompting the man to walk.'

'But Raul didn't seem to have the will to go on as he once again sat on the ground, sweat falling from his forehead...'

'He definitely could go on, but the bag on his back had already done enough damage...'

"Can't we just leave this behind?..."

But a cat girl with black hair appeared behind him, saying cheekily:

"We definitely can leave those drops behind, but that is under the pretense you're going to reimburse everyone for the lost money, right?"

/Fwoosh/

'Raul suddenly got up on his feet again, his energy back at 100%.'

"I'm rested, let's go." Raul said with deep determination, his jawline even becoming a bit sharper...

'She rolled her eyes, already expecting this to happen.'

"Everyone focus… We may have left the Deep floors, but this doesn't mean we're safer, it's the Dungeon after all…" Finn said without looking back

Everyone's tired, this did went on longer than it should've.

No matter how much I plan, I can't predict how fast or how late they'll come back.

Even more when...

Things don't look that good.

'This was because his gaze was currently on the smoke that covered the sky, and the fires that raged across the forest.'

'A girl approached the blond Pallum, it was an Elf with green hair clad in a long robe…'

"It's worse than we thought Finn."

"Indeed."

'As everyone caught their breath, they looked above to notice the situation.'

"Wow..."

"My nose is tingling..."

"How awful."

"If our day couldn't get any better..."

'Everyone seemed to have their own reactions to this, some were confused, others were apprehensive, a few were merely tired, while a few simply complained about the heat, pulling their shirts to try and cool off a little.'

"Everything is burning… I…"

'But one of them, an Elf, bit her lips in agony.'

'The sight of seeing a forest burning wasn't exactly pleasant to her, as it sparked some bad memories...'

'Many Elven forests had been burned up on the surface due to the accursed Magic weapons of the Crozzo and the empire's desire of conquering the world...'

'This included hers, she had a reason to be here in Orario of all places, after all…'

'Albeit her mother saved her life long ago when she was but a small child, she still remembered some things vividly...'

'The sheer amount of resentment she has towards them isn't in any way small.'

'She carried it within her heart all this while, as such, this scene, despite having nothing to do with her, made her feel bad.'

/Thud!/

"Calm down."

'Finn slammed the bottom of his spear on the ground, and everyone stopped whispering to each other.'

"It seems something has indeed happened on this floor, so we'll have to tread lightly..."

"We'll proceed as per normal since the fire is quite far from our current location, but be ready for a change of plans midway through that."

'Finn turned his face to a pair of twin Amazons…'

"Tione, Tiona, I'll have to trouble you two with being on the Vanguard again, sorry for this."

"You too Gareth."

"Siiigh… The problems of being tough and capable." Tiona said as she jumped to the front

'Her sister quickly replied:'

"Count on me, Captain!"

'While Gareth merely nodded, already understanding his duty before Finn even opened his mouth to speak.'

"Ais, we'll count on you to direct the fire with your wind in case of emergencies, and Bete, you know the drill."

/Crack…/

'Cracking his knuckles, Bete smiled.'

"On it."

"So everyone…"

"!"

"?!"

'Suddenly, the mages turned their faces to the side, gazing at a spot far in the forest.'

"Such intense Magic power." Lefiya said in a trembling tone

Level 5 at the very least, but…

It is so... Rough.

/FLASH!/

'The sky in the distance was suddenly overtaken by a bright light… Like the rising sun.'

'A brilliant ball of light rose into the skies...'

/BOOOOM!/

'The pillar of fire overtook the skies like a volcano eruption, but something clashed against it, creating a resounding explosion!'

'The pressure of this impact was so intense even they felt it despite being considerably far away, their clothes being blown slightly with the wind.'

'Gareth tightened his clutch on his axe, his expression stiffening.'

"That doesn't look good Finn."

I'm still a bit groggy from the sleep, to think an opportunity to wake up would appear so soon...

"..."

'Finn didn't say much, but he was pondering.'

'Given their current circumstances, was it wise to interfere?'

'Wherever that explosion happened, it wasn't on their way.'

'So he has to consider, if a fight were indeed to happen, would they have enough energy to continue after?'

'Of course, they have many potions and rations in case they do need to make a short rest, but he believed that meeting with the main group as fast as possible was their first priority.'

'Only then would he be able to somewhat relax.'

'Because it wasn't just about the physical exhaustion, a potion could resolve that.'

'It was all about the mental state...'

'As the flames in the sky dimmed, Tiona asked:'

"...? Is it over?"

'The leaves moved slowly under the wind, their faint sounds being muffled by the noises of the raging fires.'

'But there was one thing on the back of everyone's mind…'

"Where are the monsters?" Tiona asked as she looked around

'Her sister was thinking the same thing as her.'

"Indeed… Something's fishy."

'Raul tightened his backpack belt, just in case he needed to run.'

"Captain?"

'Everyone awaited Finn's orders.'

"If there is a monster… Or something brewing up in the Dungeon then it's up to us, the Loki Familia to exterminate it before others are swept up in its waves."

"If there is a problem, then we shall deal with it!"

'He spoke with confidence, the determination of one of the top 10 strongest adventurers in the world…'

'He was Finn Daimne, captain of the Loki Familia, Peak Level 6 adventurer.'

'For his bravery in combat, the Gods gave him the Alias of Braver!'

…

/A bit later.../

/Crack…/

"Looks like this part of the forest burned quite some time ago…"

'A Demi-Human with dog ears looked around as he carried his spear on his back, pointing at the smoking trees on his path.'

'He tried touching one of them, but it didn't take that much strength for it to crumble down.'

"That's not the point… Look, see how the trees are toppled over there, it's as if something mowed everything on its path."

'A girl with red hair crouched near an open area, all of the trees in that area had been mowed down and compressed into a thick plate of charcoal, something big and heavy had made its way across this path...'

'It was very clear, a pathway in the burnt forest.'

"Can you two just shut up and walk? No one here is blind!" Bete said, annoyed

"We were just commenting on what we saw…" The red-haired girl said, annoyed

"That's exactly the problem!"

/Roar!/

/Smash!/

/Poof…/

"Tsk, how annoying! You're all annoying! Especially you Bete!" Tione said in anger as she smashed a flying, armored serpentine creature that appeared from the ground, turning it into dust immediately

(I had an image in mind, but I lost where I saw it, it was somewhere in the Manga on a random page showing many monsters that weren't given a name)

"Hold onto your horses everyone, we'll soon be arriving…"

'Gareth pushed a large burnt tree to the side, and it immediately turned into charcoal, staining his clothes and painting his face and beard black.'

'He looked...'

"Buwahahahaha!"

'Raul immediately burst into laughs, his knees growing weak as he almost fell onto the ground while the others held theirs, this pissed Gareth off a little.'

'Even Finn reacted to this, letting out a small quick breath, "Pff..."...'

"You can sure laugh in the middle of a serious operation… It seems everyone is in need of some… Private counseling…"

/Crack…/

'As he said that, he cracked his fist merely by clenching it.'

"..."

/Silence.../

'But as always, the one that was terrible at reading the mood, Tiona, excitedly exclaimed:'

"Huh? Guys, look at this!" Tiona said in excitement as she pointed at a large… Black Boulder?

'A quick look showed that it was something very similar to glass, being transparent…'

'And if it wasn't for the black dust on it, they wouldn't have noticed it.'

'Tiona touched it, but she quickly brought her hand back in shock.'

"Are you okay Tiona?" Her sister asked as she approached her, concerned due to her sudden movement, thinking she had somehow hurt herself

"Ah?... No! It's just… It's cold…"

""Cold?""

'Everyone became confused by her words.'

'Gareth, being the sturdiest of everyone in there touched the black object first, and he soon identified what it was due to the water that dripped onto his hands.'

"This is…"

"A massive chunk of ice…"

""Ice?!"" Lefiya exclaimed as her expression distorted

'But Gareth ignored her, saying:'

"Despite the hot temperature all around, it seems to be melting at a very slow rate."

"..."

'Riveria was silent, while Lefiya tilted her head in confusion as if trying to understand something.'

"How… Weird…" Raul commented as he touched the ice in curiosity

"This isn't the only weird thing here." Finn mentioned as he walked to the ice boulder

"You may not have noticed, but several things have already shown themselves as we walked…"

'He pointed towards a small crater on the side, incomparably small and almost unremarkable…'

"Look there, if you take a look at the ground, you'll see something rather weird, and that is glass."

"That is, the temperature on that specific spot was so great, that the sand in there turned into glass."

"The forest may be burning in some sections, but even in those, the highest temperature is nowhere near enough to heat the ground to such a degree to form such chunks of glass."

"Now, look there, see those stone pillars? They aren't natural, they may look like the burnt trunks of trees, but that isn't the case."

"And finally… The smell."

'Bete nodded with a serious gaze.'

"This iron smell… It's blood."

'One of the others, another Elf, one with blond hair that flowed down onto her waist raised her hand to ask:'

"Are you telling me all of this was caused by a party of adventurers?"

"It seems this is the case." Riveria replied

It's the highest possibility.

"But... Who would be so irresponsible?" She asked with a frown

"Now now, let's not start assuming things." Gareth quickly said as he noticed that the conversation was steering itself in the wrong direction

"Adventurers can't control everything, so don't blame them for this. What we should be concerning ourselves with is what forced them into this situation."

"A forest fire of such magnitude is rare even for wide-scale magic amidst first-class adventurers... So we need to consider..."

"Gramps, don't waste your breath on this."

'But someone was quick to intervene…'

"Why talk when we can walk?" Bete said as he walked past everyone

"If we want answers, we just need to go ask whoever did this… If they are still alive that is." He said in a slightly mocking tone

"He has a point… Surprisingly." Raul said in a low tone

"What did you say bastard Raul?! Say that a bit louder!" Bete said as he snarled at the boy caring the massive backpack on the back

"I said that… I need a bath."

/Chuckles/

'The others laughed while Bete tsked loudly, going back to his walk in search of the truth.'

'In the end, Bete was correct, there was no point in thinking over and over, they just needed to go there and find out for themselves.'

'What had happened here?'

'There was no need to stay still.'

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