"Listen, comrades! Not a single adventurer must leave here alive. This place shall be their grave!"
The mysterious group declared their resolve to fight to the death.
-------------------------------------
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the mysterious group, namely the remnants of the [Evilus], all picking up weapons, their eyes filled with murderous intent as they looked at him and the others. Fron reached out and pressed down on the trembling shoulder of Asfi, gently reminding her.
"Asfi, what we need to focus on right now isn't that orb fetus, nor the 'Giant Flower Seedbed,' but those guys. Humans are countless times harder to deal with than monsters. What's more… their attire, surely the gods gods or your seniors must have mentioned them to some extent, the [Evilus]."
"..." Awakened by Fron's warning, Asfi was instantly stunned.
She suddenly turned her face, eyes widening:
"You're saying those guys are remnants of the [Evilus]? How is that possible? Weren't they all destroyed five years ago in the 'Western District'!?"
"Hah? What are you talking about, Asfi? How could the [Evilus] be completely wiped out? They just hid themselves deep in the darkness, waiting for the right opportunity to strike again! What made you think those sewer rats were exterminated? Even if 'Gale' alone destroyed 26 factions of the Evilus and sent their gods to heaven, that was only the [Evilus] groups who had grudges with Astraea Familia."
"D-Damn it!"
With her exceptional big-picture awareness, Asfi instantly grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Leaving aside the troublesome commission they had already been dragged into, and this bizarre, nauseating foreign dungeon… now remnants of the [Evilus] had appeared. This was utterly disastrous.
She knew very well: with just the Hermes Familia's party, there was no way they could match both the monsters and those lunatics. Hopefully, at least, there were still three healing mages alive…
"No time to think, they're here."
From beneath his cloak, Fron pulled out a "dual-attribute recovery potion," bit off the cork, and downed it in one gulp.
What lay ahead was going to be a bitter battle, and he had to be ready.
Feeling his stamina gradually return, he gripped his staff tightly.
"Phew… There's no retreat left! Everyone, prepare for battle! Perfect, I've got plenty of questions for them, like why the remnants of the [Evilus] are hiding here in this dungeon!"
With that, she surveyed the surroundings.
Inside the huge cavern of the "pantry," there were, as expected, multiple passages leading in unknown directions, not just a single exit. Beside those passages stood enormous iron cages made from some unknown material, stacked together like cargo in a logistics station.
To her shock, those cages weren't empty, they were filled with Violas!
Fron narrowed his eyes, beginning to understand. That earlier ambush in the sewers had simply been him stumbling into their operation of transporting monsters to the surface, which he had cut off.
The destination, since they were using the sewers, must not be within the city, but outside of it.
After all, the waterways connected directly to that notorious underground ruin.
'This dungeon can spawn monsters. And not only that, who created the massive green-wall maze of giant flowers? Just what is this place? And in the end… where are they planning to ship all these Violas?' One question after another formed a chain in Asfi's mind, leaving her trembling and unsettled.
"Comrades, it is time to prove your faith! Draw your weapons, kill them!!!!!"
"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die, !"
"Kill them all!"
The frenzied enemy raised their weapons and charged like a swarm!
Facing their aggressive onslaught, Asfi ran while shouting commands:
"Frontline, intercept the enemy, but stay alert for ambushes from the Violas! When the enemy closes distance, the center takes over and you fall back to protect the mages!"
"Rear guard mages, before we shift formation, keep your eyes on your allies, and don't carelessly waste your wide-area magic or healing!"
"Bring out every last recovery potion we've got!"
"Asfi, you can't rush forward directly. As the commander and core, it's better for you to stay with the rear guard. With our flame mage there too, it's safer. As for the frontline and center's orders, can you leave that to me?"
The one who interrupted her was a elf named Suicia.
"Th… fine. I'll leave it to you."
"Good. You're our core, we can't afford anything happening to you."
Their smooth communication drew repeated glances from Fron.
Unlike the [Loki Familia], the Hermes Familia was entirely structured around Asfi alone, the so-called single-core formation.
If anything happened to her, the team would collapse instantly. That was why the elf had spoken as she did.
And his judgment was accurate, half of the enemy's killing intent was locked on Asfi.
"Everyone, let's go!"
"Uoooooooohhh!!!"
The [Evilus] remnants vs. Hermes Familia, a bloody battle was about to erupt within this dungeon!
"In that case, I'll kick off the opening ceremony with some fireworks!"
Against the utterly depraved [Evilus], Fron would show no mercy.
He stepped forward, turned his body slightly, and raised his staff. His spirit power ignited, and magic surged around him!
A massive 5-meter-wide orange magic circle flared beneath his feet, resonating with the spinning circles glowing on his staff.
[Reader] Skill: Spirit power doubled at night, immune to mental corruption, activate!
[Scholar] Skill: Range, area, and power doubled, activate!
[Infinite Super Magic] Skill: Spirit and mana accumulation, amplify by 27%, activate!
"[Ragnarok]!"
"[Surtr!]"
Additional magic, full attribute enhancement, activate!
Black and crimson thunder-fire wrapped around him, whipping his cloak violently. His handsome face, blurred by the distortion of the flames, curved into a cold smile.
The staff's tip flared with overwhelming magic, and the orange circle blazed!
"[Firebolt!]"
"[Firebolt!]"
"[Firebolt!]"
For the first time, Fron unleashed his full power, pushing his magic to the absolute limit with a rapid-cast spell!
With his overwhelming, broken-level magic stat, even a simple fast spell carried the destructive force of a lengthy chant.
With such terrifying advantage, in battles against other people, he was an invincible existence!
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!"
The blaze of fire cut across half the enormous cavern, swallowing the enemy faction in an instant!