Deep within the Great Falls, a large number of Dark Faction members lay in wait.
Valletta had anticipated potential disruptions to the plan. To account for that, she'd scattered her forces across different locations, ensuring that even if something went wrong, they could still trigger the Cleaner and maximize the support squad's destructive impact.
Everything had been arranged so that backup forces would remain entirely within the Dungeon.
At the same time, Valletta had planted large quantities of Magma Stones at both the entrance and exit of the Great Falls—just like she'd done back when they ambushed the Astraea Familia.
"Strange... where did Lady Valletta, 'Crusher,' and 'Jormungand' go?"
The men waiting for Valletta's signal to detonate the Magma Stones at the entrance had been waiting for quite a while now—yet there hadn't been any response from her side.
"Even if they're fighting, it shouldn't be this quiet."
A battle between a Level 5 and two Level 4s shouldn't be completely silent.
But the adventurers listening for the signal didn't hear a single sound.
Pft!
A sharp blade pierced through the man's heart from behind.
His eyes widened in shock. The stabbing pain in his chest drained all the strength from his body before he could even make a sound.
"H-How... from behind..."
"L-Lady Valletta... the plan... failed..."
A strike straight through the heart—a fatal blow, especially when delivered by a Level 4 assassin. Within seconds, his life signs vanished completely.
Tione yanked her curved blade free, biting down hard as she exhaled.
"If we hadn't known their setup beforehand, this would've been a nightmare to deal with."
The Magma Stones planted at the entrance were clearly meant to seal off every possible escape route.
"Exactly like what they did to the Astraea Familia."
"First, they control the exits, then trigger a Cleaner inside the Dungeon... these bastards really know how to stack the deck."
Tione took a steadying breath. There were still a lot of enemies left to handle—she couldn't afford to be discovered.
Her fingers brushed the insignia hanging from her chest, and in the next moment, her presence vanished entirely.
An assassination carried out by a Level 4 wasn't something a normal adventurer could survive.
Of course, not all assassinations were done the normal way.
"Oraaa!!"
With a gleeful shout, Tiona swung her massive double-bladed Urga in a wide arc, slicing seven people clean in half at the waist.
They didn't die immediately—adventurers had notoriously tough bodies and willpower—but their fates were sealed all the same.
"'C-Crusher'!?"
None of them could comprehend why the very target they'd been lying in ambush for was suddenly behind them—or why their allies nearby hadn't reacted at all.
"Tiona, could you at least try to be careful?"
Tsuna sighed at the bloody mess before him. He'd expected Tione's silent assassinations to go smoothly—but sending a berserker like Tiona to do stealth work? That was asking for chaos.
"Hehe~ I knew you'd bail me out, Tsuna."
Tiona knew full well her fighting style didn't suit silent kills, so she'd simply tossed the entire "assassination" part to Tsuna and focused on what she did best—direct combat.
And she trusted him to take care of the rest.
"I really wish you'd stop redefining what 'assassination' means," Tsuna muttered, shaking his head.
He didn't use any spatial abilities this time. Instead, he'd combined Sound Suppression with Cognitive Obstruction to create an open-yet-isolated space he called the "Silent Beast."
A small, coal-black orb floated high in the air.
"What the hell is that...?"
"Wait—when did that get there!?"
Even the adventurers who'd been sliced in half forgot their pain, staring up at the floating sphere in bewilderment.
Tsuna didn't bother explaining.
"Tiona."
"On it."
Gripping Urga tight, Tiona stepped up to the bisected adventurers and swung again, finishing what she'd started.
This time, they didn't feel a thing.
The weighty double-blade slashed through flesh with brutal efficiency, and when she was done, Tiona casually flicked the blood from Urga's edges.
"Phew~ I feel a lot better now."
The tension that had built up from being ambushed by a Level 5 evaporated in that instant. Tiona felt lighter—almost cheerful again.
"These guys really brought a lot of people."
"Just like the records from the Great Feud three years ago," Tione noted. "Each one's carrying Firestones on their belts, ready to blow themselves up at any moment."
"These people are insane."
Flipping over one of the bisected corpses, Tsuna saw a string of Firestones attached around the waist. If the safety line was pulled, the explosion would take the user—and anyone nearby—with it.
"Their blind faith in their god drives them to suicide," Tsuna murmured. "Their fate is pitiful—but what they do in pursuit of it is nothing but tragic."
He pitied them—these poor souls twisted by destiny—but that wasn't a reason to show mercy.
Their lives might've been sad, but their actions were unforgivable.
Because he pitied them, Tsuna struck all the harder.
That, to him, was respect for their chosen fate.
"You and Tione still need to save your strength for the Amphisbaena," Tsuna reminded her.
He hadn't forgotten their main goal in the Dungeon—to hunt the Floor Boss.
"Hmm... but there are two of us, and only one Amphisbaena. Will the Excellia from that be enough to level up?"
"A Level 5 Amphisbaena probably won't be enough on its own. But considering how the Great Falls is right now, the difficulty's probably below Level 6 territory."
The Great Falls had two distinct states—wet and dry.
The Amphisbaena was a water dragon; when water was present, it had the advantage of its natural environment, effectively raising its strength by an entire tier.
No matter how skilled an adventurer was at underwater combat, fighting a dragon in its own element was absolute disadvantage.
"Also, don't forget—the Amphisbaena's Red Mist can neutralize magic. Even enchanted weapons or spell-based attacks lose most of their power in its presence."
"So," Tsuna concluded, "if you and Tione take down the Amphisbaena while it holds the terrain advantage—and add that to all the Excellia you've both built up since Level 4—then this expedition should definitely be enough to get you both promoted."
To surpass one level was an adventure in itself.
To surpass two... that was the adventure of two warriors.
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