Hermes Familia's leader, Asfi Al Andromeda, ground her teeth at the scene before her.
A battle was unfolding: a one-on-one duel between the man in white and Toki, who was using Invisibility. To an outsider, it looked like the man in white was dancing in thin air.
But in reality, this was an absurd fight. The man in white boasted overwhelming latent potential, while Toki fought by suppressing all his presence and killing intent to the limit. He drew on all his experience as an assassin.
Yet, it was only just enough to hold his ground. Because Toki was continuously generating a thick magical mist to fool the man-eating flowers, he couldn't use magic himself, and his own strikes weren't enough to land a decisive blow. The only damage done was from a dagger gifted by the master of the Goibniu Familia.
Since the first strike, none of the men in white's attacks had landed. The moment one did, Toki would be finished. With such a vast difference in latent potential, even a"light" strike from the man in white could be lethal to Toki.
So Toki forced his broken left arm to move, predicting the enemy's attacks down to the tenth of a second. He read the man's personality to sharpen his predictions even further.
Meanwhile, the man in white began doubting whether he was really fighting the adventurer in front of him or just an invisible illusion. None of his attacks landed, and there was no sound or presence of killing intent. He was relying solely on instinct to dodge. The thought that he might be under some kind of illusion magic flickered through his mind.
But he was definitely getting injured, little by little. The enemy was real, but it was like fighting air.
Toki wore a bitter expression. He was definitely causing wounds with his dagger, but the injuries healed almost immediately. Against such inhuman ability, plus the pain from his broken arm and the headache caused by over-predicting the enemy's moves, he pressed forward.
"Discard all conventional wisdom about your target." the words from his assassin training echoed in his mind.
Toki hated the person who taught him assassination skills. He hated the assassin he once was. But not using what he knew was foolish. To despise knowledge and experience and refuse to use them was the act of a fool.
The assassin he once was was still himself, and he would use that experience as his strength, to protect his comrades.
"Hey, Asfi! What are you doing? Hurry and go help Toki!!" Lulune shouted.
On their side, the man-eating flowers were still attacking, but most were confused by Toki's magical mist. They could fight just fine without Asfi now.
But Asfi shook her head.
"No, I can't."
"Why not!?"
"If I join, I'll only get in Toki's way."
Gritting her teeth, Asfi watched the duel as if ready to shoot the man in white dead herself. Her words left Lulune and the rest of Hermes Familia speechless.
Sure, Asfi was level 4, with much higher latent potential and experience than Toki. But she also knew the man in white surpassed even her potential. Plus, Asfi wasn't as good at one-on-one combat as Toki. If the two fought now, the odds favored Toki.
Asfi understood this was the best course of action, no matter how cruel it was.
So she cursed her own powerlessness, frustrated that she couldn't help her younger brother fighting desperately.
At that moment, a voice came from the pantry entrance.
["Proud warriors, snipers of the forest. Take up your bows before the advancing plunderers. Answer the call of your brethren and ready your arrows."]
The chant flowed at a speed that almost sounded like a tongue twister. Seeing those who appeared, a faint hope lit Asfi's chest.
["Tinge them with flame, the lamplight of the forest. Release them, the fire arrows of the fairies!"]
"What the heck is going on here!?" an elf girl with a golden ponytail exclaimed, while a black-haired elf guarded her side. Nearby, a werewolf swiftly took down the man-eating flowers.
["Falling like rain, burn away the Svartáges!"]
As the chant completed, the golden magic circle at the girl's feet blazed brightly. The mental energy fueling it was far stronger than the magical mist, drawing the flowers' attention all at once.
Meryl spun around, eyes wide, and shouted,
"E-Everyone, run!!"
Seeing the adventuring party retreat, the elf girl Lefiya unleashed her cannon-like magic.
["Fusillade Fallarica!"]
A devastating rain of fire erupted, obliterating seven-tenths of the pantry and nearly engulfing the retreating adventurers. Every man-eating flower vanished.
Watching this, Lefiya muttered,
"Oops, I went a bit overboard again…"
From a distance, a werewolf shouted,"Are you trying to kill us!?"
"Better safe than cursed." she whispered. Then, accompanied by temporary party member Filivis, she approached the adventurers.
The man in white was shocked by the scene.
"Ugh!?" he barely managed to block Toki's surprise strike with his hand, blood dripping from the wound. His first real damage.
(Alright.)
Toki was sincerely grateful for Lefiya and the others' reinforcement. That strike finally turned the tide slightly.
Slowly but surely, like a snake, Toki cornered the man in white.
"You're... Lefiya, right?"
"Lulune-san!?"
Approaching the adventurers, Lefiya recognized a familiar face. During the Riveria incident, she had met some of them. They were covered in wounds, and suddenly a memory came to her.
Lulune's Familia was Hermes Familia. And according to a message from her beloved Toki, she was supposed to be heading into the dungeon with members of her Familia.
"Lulune-san, about Toki, "
"Hey! Is Ais here or not? Answer me!"
Bete barged in from beside Lefiya, who was closing in on the situation. Lefiya, though clearly annoyed, couldn't help but worry about Ais and didn't interrupt Bete.
"Th-The Sword Princess was with us just a moment ago, "
"Leave that for later, Lulune!"
Asfi cut off Lulune's words sharply.
"I'll explain about the Sword Princess later. Right now, please help Toki, our comrade!"
"Huh? What do you mean, "
"What's wrong with Toki?!"
Lefiya stepped in this time, interrupting Bete suspiciously.
Asfi's gaze shifted deeper into the room. Lefiya recoiled slightly, Bete looked thoroughly uninterested, and Filvis slowly followed Asfi's stare.
There, a man dressed entirely in white was moving back and forth as if battling something.
"There's no one here."
"He's currently under an invisible magic item I created. However, even that isn't enough against that man. We suspect that the state of this pantry, and that monster, are all his doing."
"I'll explain everything about our situation and the Sword Princess later. So please, help us with Toki..."
Asfi rushed out her explanation. Almost as if to back her up, the man in white summoned several man-eating flowers, but his eyes remained fixed on the invisible Toki.
"Hey, hand me your sword."
"Yes!"
Without taking his eyes off the white-clad man and the invisible Toki who was fighting him, Bete instructed Lefiya. She opened her cylindrical backpack and pulled out twin swords about 50 cm long, while raising her staff in defense.
"…I don't like this."
Bete's irritation was palpable. He was frustrated not only at being unable to get any information about Ais from the man in white, but also at Toki. He clearly remembered that small fry who radiated a snake-like murderous intent, the same weakling who had been humiliated in front of Ais and the Familia. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.
As soon as Lefiya drew her twin swords, the man-eating flowers sprang into action, targeting Toki. The magical fog that had covered the area had been cleared by Lefiya's earlier bombardment spell.
"Toki!"
Lulune's scream, half a cry, was simultaneous with Bete charging forward. In the blink of an eye, he crossed the pantry and took out the man-eating flowers.
"Wha, "
"Stay back, you snake!"
He immediately followed up with an attack on the man in white. Toki, shocked by Bete's sudden interference, leapt back.
"Don't show off your boring tricks!"
"Adventurers just keep coming one after another!"
The man in white easily dodged an upper-level kick. Turning to attack Bete, who had his back turned, he was met with a spinning roundhouse kick. The man blocked it with his right arm, grimacing.
"Ugh!"
The power behind this attack was different from earlier ones.
"Tch!"
Bete clicked his tongue at the man's quick reflexes and the solid defense of his arm.
"'Direwolf Vanargand'... so you're from Loki Familia! You've come after the Sword Princess!"
"Hey! What did you do to Ais?!"
Bete snarled, lunging at the man in white, recalling what had happened moments ago. The man dodged Bete's twin-blade strikes by a hair and replied.
"My comrades are handling her. Now, as for you, ugh!"
Before he could finish, a black tentacle shot up from below, cutting him off. There was no chance he'd waste an opening like that by talking.
Bete glanced behind him. There stood Toki, helmet removed, standing defiantly.
"You snake! Don't get in my way!"
"You're the one who started interfering first, aren't you?"
Toki glared back at Bete, and the tension between them worsened.
"Besides, from what I saw earlier, your attacks didn't seem to be doing much."
"Hah! Says the guy who was struggling until just now! Weaklings should stand down!"
"I don't bother with empty boasts. You're the one who should back off."
Lefiya watched the hostile exchange between the two with curiosity. She had thought the grudge between Toki and the Loki Familia had ended back on Monsterphilia Night. In fact, when they met recently, Toki hadn't seemed bothered by it at all.
But here, in front of Bete, Toki was acting stubborn and quarrelsome. Anyone as smart as Toki should know Bete was better suited to fight this opponent.
"Hmm..."
"Filvis, what are you hesitating for? Hurry and back him up, "
Filvis said something beside her, but observing the two arguing while fighting, a certain thought crossed Lefiya's mind.
Bete was often misunderstood because of his usual bluntness, but he cared about his comrades and never abandoned anyone in trouble. Likewise, Toki, though he didn't say it outright, cared deeply about his friends and valued connections with others.
At first glance, they seemed completely different, but...
"Actually, they're pretty similar, huh?"
"Who's similar?!'"
"Hey! We're fighting and you're daydreaming?!"
The enraged man launched an attack. Toki broke his stance with a tentacle strike from a blind spot, and Bete pressed the assault.
The two clearly held the upper hand.
"Ugh, man-eating flower violas!"
The man called out, and several buds on the ceiling bloomed.
"I'll take those, Bete, you handle this guy."
"What? You're saying something different than before."
"It's true you can take him down faster. Let's finish this quickly and rescue Ais."
"Don't you dare call Ais by her name!"
"I'm helping however I want, so fight to your heart's content."
Ignoring Bete's protest, Toki leapt upward. Bete clicked his tongue and charged at the man in white.
So, this time, it's a joint fight with Bete. The strategy is the same as when we faced the man in white, predict Bete's moves and strike at any openings with tentacles.
As Lefiya said, the bad blood between Toki and Bete is basically sibling rivalry. There's a backstory: young Bete was taken in by the Loki Familia, and Toki was saved by Hermes. Their paths to becoming adventurers started in similar ways.
So, the Toki and Bete alliance is just getting started.
Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback!
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Note: Oh, and by the way, Lefiya's bombardment spell managed to perfectly burn the differently colored robe we left intact, classic Lefiya being a bit clumsy!
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