The fifth floor of the Dungeon always had a distinct scent: a mix of wet moss, limestone, and the crushed remains of crystal phosphorus. The bluish light from the labyrinth walls reflected dimly, casting long shadows that deceived the eye.
In a dark corner of an intersection filled with massive stalagmites, Dix Perdix stood on the lookout. A savage smirk never left his rugged face. His leather-gloved fingers rhythmically tapped the shaft of his spear, utilizing the pitch-black darkness to conceal his presence.
Behind Dix, fifteen members of the Ikelos Familia hid behind the stalagmites and dark crevices. They all gripped poisoned weapons, crossbows loaded with paralyzing bolts, and capture nets. They weren't honorable front-line fighters; they were sewer rats, adventurers specializing in kidnapping, smuggling, and dirty ambushes who never failed to bring their prey alive to the torture table.
"They're coming," whispered one of the scouts next to Dix.
From the end of the corridor, the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard.
Hogni had just flicked the remaining ash off his sword blade. A Kobold that had just spawned from the surface of the labyrinth wall was instantly slashed to death before the monster even had a chance to squeal.
Sylphie merely watched in silence. She smiled faintly, observing the fighting style of her Familia's four new members who were quickly adapting to the labyrinth environment.
"The darkness of this labyrinth calls out to my sword, yet they are too fragile to quench its thirst..." Hogni muttered in his signature gloomy tone, sheathing his weapon.
"Good job," Sylphie said calmly. "From here on out, I'll just guide the way. The four of you can handle the monsters ahead so your bodies get used to the rhythm of combat inside the labyrinth."
In the dark corner, Dix peeked from behind a pillar. His heart beat a little faster, filled with sadistic anticipation. From a distance, he saw Sylphie step back into the center of the formation, letting the elves stand on the front lines.
How pathetic, Dix thought, his arrogance immediately jumping to conclusions about what he saw. In his eyes, Sylphie was just a weak rookie adventurer who couldn't fight, while the four elves looked like amateurs descending into the labyrinth for the first time without a solid defensive formation.
The deep-rooted sadistic nature within him boiled with the desire to torture. To Dix, torturing weaker prey was the most perfect outlet to momentarily forget the burden of the Daedalus obsession curse that shackled his life. Breaking the elves' legs and wringing screams of despair from the girl's lips was a symphony Dix had already orchestrated in his head.
"Remember," Dix hissed to his subordinates. "Lure them into the intersection. Drop the nerve gas, rain poisoned arrows on those elves. Slit their throats immediately. Leave only the rookie adventurer who is our target."
The subordinates of the Ikelos Familia nodded in unison.
Sylphie's group continued forward, walking right into the kill zone Dix had designed. A narrow intersection with absolute blind spots from three directions.
Dix raised his hand high. His eyes narrowed behind his thick goggles. The moment the tip of Sylphie's shoe stepped over the cracked stone line on the floor...
Dix brought his hand down with a hard jerk. "Now!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three small metal canisters were thrown from the labyrinth ceiling, exploding right in the middle of the Barbatos Familia group. Thick purple smoke containing a paralyzing neurotoxin instantly erupted, swallowing the figures of Sylphie and the four elves.
The next second, a rain of poisoned arrows shot out from the shadows, followed by the leaping figures of fifteen Ikelos Familia adventurers drawing their weapons straight at the elves' necks within the smoke cloud.
Dix stepped out of his hiding place with a casual stride, twirling his spear. His hoarse laughter began to echo.
"Hahaha! Welcome to hell, you rook—"
Dix's words were cut off. His laughter caught in his throat.
The purple smoke that was supposed to paralyze them was suddenly split by a highly precise cross breeze, wiping the poison completely clean in the blink of an eye.
And the sight revealed behind the smoke made Dix's heart feel like it stopped beating.
There was no panic. There were no screams.
Hedin Selland didn't even bother to use his lightning magic. The former White Elf king simply stood guarding Sylphie's side. His hand caught a poisoned arrow hurtling towards them with just a pinch of two fingers; his movements were so casual yet deadly that it created an optical illusion.
On the other side, Hogni Ragnar sighed lazily. His left eye, covered by his bangs, suddenly flashed a fiery red in the darkness.
"Ah... a bunch of worms crawling out of the abyss," Hogni muttered, his voice shifting into an intimidating, gloomy tone. "Let my sword guide you into the embrace of the eternal night."
Slash!
Hogni vanished from sight. It wasn't agility magic; just pure speed exploding from physical attributes that far exceeded the ambushers' common sense. An Ikelos Familia adventurer who had just leaped suddenly found his vision spinning. He saw his own headless body still suspended in mid-air before darkness swallowed his consciousness.
On the other flank, Dina and Vena fought with absolute composure. As two Ikelos adventurers lunged at her, Vena simply condensed the wind in the palm of her hand and swung it forward.
BOOM!
An explosion of dense wind was created, slamming into the chests of the two ambushers with the air pressure of a sledgehammer. Their ribs shattered instantly, and their bodies were thrown crashing into the Dungeon wall hard enough to crack it.
Beside her, Dina took a step back with an elegant movement. A vortex of wind automatically materialized around her body, shredding the enemies' weapons trying to slash her into dull iron fragments, before an invisible wind blade swept across her attacker's neck.
Crack! Stab! Swish!
It took less than ten seconds.
Ten seconds that felt like an eternity to Dix Perdix. He stood frozen, the spear in his hand suddenly feeling as heavy as a ship's anchor. His eyes widened to their absolute limits behind his thick glasses, recording a one-sided slaughter that was completely illogical.
Fourteen elite members of the Ikelos Familia—now lay dead on the cold stone floor. Some had lost limbs, some had their sternums crushed by wind pressure, and the rest were killed by Hogni's lethal sword slashes.
Fresh blood pooled, flowing slowly toward the tips of Dix's shoes.
Dix's only remaining subordinate was the scout who had reported to him earlier. The man was now slumped in the corner against the wall, his body trembling so violently that he had wet himself, staring in horror at Hogni's blood-dripping sword right in front of his face.
"W... what..." Dix's voice came out as a hoarse squeak. His feet unconsciously took a step back.
Hedin wiped imaginary dust off his clothes, then turned to look at Dix with a condescending glare.
"A very amateurish ambush," Hedin said coldly.
Dix's common sense was shattered. His mind raced in hysteria.
Level 1?! Bullshit! That speed... that precision... and chantless wind magic that crushes bones?! These aren't new adventurers! They must be elite Level 3s, or even Level 4s! Dix's mind screamed in panic.
Suddenly, his brother's calm face flashed across Dix's mind. Barca Perdix.
Barca... you bastard! Dix cursed inwardly, his anger and despair mixing into a poison that gnawed at his sanity. You sent me here on purpose?! You gave me false information to kill me?! You son of a bitch! You knew they were monsters and you sent me as a guinea pig?!
However, amidst his panic, Dix's survival instinct as a cunning coward resurfaced.
His eyes locked onto Sylphie. The pale green-haired girl with hazel eyes stood behind Hedin, still looking innocent, even appearing to slightly turn her face away from the puddles of blood.
That girl! Barca said that rookie adventurer girl was the main target! If these four elves are so strong and protecting her this tightly, she must be their weak point! Dix's desperate logic tried to find an opening. If I can break her soul with my curse, I can use her as a hostage to get out of here!
Dix gritted his teeth. He raised his head, and for the first time, he pulled off the thick goggles that always covered his eyes.
His pupils were revealed. Inside his eyeballs, the curse carving symbolizing the blood of Daedalus glowed with a sickening purplish-red light. This was Phobetor Daedalus, his trump card. A high-level mental curse that could crush the sanity of enemies who looked at it, bringing forth their worst fears and hallucinations from their subconscious to torture the victim's mind.
"Die, you bitch!" screamed Dix in utter desperation.
The curse magic erupted from his eyes, shooting through the air in the form of invisible waves of miasma, aimed straight at Sylphie's face. Hedin and Hogni noticed it, but a mental attack with such a wide area of effect was very difficult to dodge, and Sylphie was standing right in its path.
The purplish-red miasma slammed into Sylphie squarely. The negative energy designed to corrupt human souls, making them hallucinate endless pain, completely enveloped the girl.
Dix let out a ragged sigh of relief. His mad smile slowly returned. Got you. Scream. Cry until your brain turns to mush!
One second passed. Two seconds passed.
The miasma simply faded away, as if evaporating the moment it touched Sylphie's existence.
The pale green-haired girl blinked her hazel eyes a few times. She then looked down, before staring bewilderedly up at the labyrinth ceiling.
"Eh?" Sylphie murmured softly, looking confused. She raised a hand, fixing a few strands of hair that had shifted. "Where did that breeze come from? How unusual for the Dungeon's breath to feel a bit... chilly? Did you guys feel that too?"
The silence that fell over the corridor was far more deafening than the sound of any explosion.
Dix Perdix froze. His spear slipped from his grasp and clattered onto the stone floor. Clang.
A horrifying nightmare illusion curse... a curse that could bring even veteran adventurers to their trembling knees... was just brushed off as a "slightly chilly breeze" by the girl in front of him?
Dix's spirit was completely shattered. Not only was he physically outmatched, but his entire rational understanding of the world crumbled to pieces.
This girl... what kind of entity is she, really? She didn't possess an anti-curse item. The curse pierced her soul, yet it yielded absolutely no result. It was as if Dix had just thrown a handful of dust into an endless hurricane.
An anomalous existence beyond reason... Dix's lips trembled, his knees going weak uncontrollably. They aren't rookies. They aren't ordinary adventurers...
His arrogance as an adventurer who had just leveled up to Level 3 now felt like a very pathetic joke. He cursed Valetta, he cursed Barca. They were all fools who sent the Ikelos Familia to touch something incredibly taboo.
Before Dix could even turn to flee, a shadow flashed before his eyes.
Hedin had traversed the distance in the blink of an eye. He gripped Dix's skull with enough pressure to make his jawbones creak.
"I absolutely detest seeing filthy insects trying to pollute the air around Miss Sylphie," whispered Hedin, his voice eerily calm, yet radiating absolute intimidation.
Smash!
Hedin slammed Dix's face into the labyrinth's stone floor with brutal force. Fresh blood spurted from the Ikelos Familia captain's nose. Dix's body convulsed for a moment before his consciousness completely faded, leaving only a faint groan escaping his shattered throat.
The one-sided slaughter was finally over.
Sylphie let out a long sigh, slightly turning her face away from the bloody scene around her. As Aria, the Spirit of Wind, she was used to seeing monsters vanish into ash, but seeing physical brutality between humans always made her uncomfortable. Even so, she knew they had no choice but to retaliate against such a lethal attack.
Hogni slowly sheathed his sword, kicking away the body of an Ikelos familia member that was blocking the path. Meanwhile, Hedin's gaze shifted to Dix's only surviving subordinate—the scout who had wet himself in the corner.
Hedin raised his magic wand, the tip beginning to spark with needle-like flashes of lightning. "Disgusting. Miss Sylphie, allow me to fry his brain with a little lightning to force him to talk about who sent them."
"Wait, Hedin," interrupted Dina calmly, stepping forward past her sister, Vena. "If you shock him now, his already shattered mental state will only cause him to die of fright or lie to stop the pain."
Hedin narrowed his eyes, a fine vein bulging slightly at his temple due to the interruption.
"And then?" Hedin sneered coldly, his tone radiating a challenge. "Do you have a way to extract information from this worm?"
Dina simply offered a faint smile, a smile that reminded Hedin of the storm that had blown away his lightning magic.
"Let me handle him," Dina replied softly.
Dina crouched in front of the scout. They were now only a few spans apart. Activating her resonance Skill, Allure Curse, Dina's green eyes emitted an incredibly soft emerald glow. The magic didn't control the mind like divine power; instead, it seeped in like an anesthetic wind that scrambled concentration. The scout's vigilance, combat instincts, and psychological defenses plummeted instantly.
Immediately, the scout's gaze became glazed and dazed. His previously tense body now slumped limply in a semi-conscious state.
"Shh... calm down," whispered Dina, her voice flowing softly, deliberately inducing a false sense of security amidst the man's panic. "It's all over. The man who forced you into this stupid ambush is already lying helpless. What is his name?"
The scout blinked slowly. Without his mental defense walls, his mouth babbled on its own, seeking an outlet for his fear.
"C-Captain... Dix Perdix..." the man babbled with dazed, ragged breaths. "I-It's all his fault... Lord Barca Perdix gave him the mission... on behalf of Valetta Grede and Enyo..."
"I see... What a pity you were ordered to commit suicide," Dina prodded again, smiling with feigned sympathy. "Why did they order you to ambush the five of us?"
"N-Not you guys..." the scout muttered, shaking his head slowly. "Enyo's target... from the start was only that Level 1 girl... because she's weak and easy to kidnap for interrogation... the presence of the four of you was outside the plan... so the Captain ordered us to kill you on the spot..."
Hearing the innocent babbling from the entranced enemy, Hedin lowered his magic wand. The fact that this group targeted the member they considered the weakest proved that some party intentionally wanted to extract their Familia's secrets.
Dina stood up, severing the flow of her Allure Curse magic. The scout immediately passed out, his brain unable to withstand the sudden mental whiplash returning the moment the curse was lifted.
Hedin snorted softly, adjusting his glasses. "Magic that paralyzes the opponent's vigilance until they babble and expose their own secrets," he commented. However, behind the lenses of his glasses, his eyes shone with acknowledgment. "Quite efficient. At least you are useful outside the battlefield."
"Thank you for the awkward compliment, Sir Hedin," Dina replied with a slight smile.
"We've gathered the intelligence we need," Hedin said, shifting his gaze to Sylphie with a serious expression. "These names sound unfamiliar to us, Miss Sylphie, but it's clear they are a fairly organized underground faction. Let's return to the surface. We must immediately hand this information over to Lord Venti for investigation. And knowing there's a party daring enough to target you directly... I guarantee Miss Alfia will not sit idly by once she hears this news."
Sylphie nodded in agreement. She looked down the dark corridor leading to the surface. Her debut day into the labyrinth with her new Familia members had to end with the spilling of enemy blood, but at least they managed to secure crucial clues. Whoever the masterminds behind the names Enyo, Barca, and Valetta were, they had just made their most fatal mistake. By targeting the wrong person, the group had voluntarily guided their own necks to the blade of the Barbatos Familia.
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