Today was the day the Floor Boss, Amphisbaena, would respawn.
Early that morning, Finn Deimne and Gareth Landrock were already prepared.
"Bete, today's the day you take on the Floor Boss alone," Finn said. "Gareth and I will make sure you stay alive—but we won't interfere with your challenge. You understand that, right?"
"Tch! Of course I do."
Bete Loga could hear the reminder and warning clearly enough.
"This is my hunt. I won't let anyone steal my prey so easily."
This time, his victory was a foregone conclusion in his mind. There was no way he'd let anyone else interfere.
As for who would survive between him and the beast... heh, Bete had no intention of dying in a hunt meant for his Level Up.
The chance to change the course of that tragedy was right before him—he wouldn't let it slip away.
He would keep moving forward until his strength was enough to protect them.
At this moment, Bete's resolve was set.
Not just for this fight, but for every battle that would follow. He would never, ever go down there to meet them so easily.
"Should we call Tsuna along?" Gareth asked.
"No need. It's just a Floor Boss hunt. I don't need him watching over me. I'm not one of those two clueless Amazons."
Bete knew he'd been dragging Tsuna along for Dying Will Flame training lately. The poor guy hadn't had a real break in half a month.
And as for those two dumb Amazons—Tiona and Tione—they hadn't been able to hang around Tsuna for weeks now. Who knew how much frustration they'd built up? Let Tsuna spend the day keeping those two idiots company instead.
Bete didn't think such a simple hunt warranted Tsuna's supervision anyway.
If he still needed Tsuna to babysit him through this, then his half-month of training would've been for nothing.
He just needed to bring the victory back.
To show Tsuna that all his effort hadn't been wasted—that would be enough.
"Let's go, Finn, old man."
"Still," Bete added with a sneer, "I wonder if that woman, Valletta, will be waiting to ambush us again at the Great Falls."
A nasty grin curled across his face.
If she did, he'd almost be happy to see it.
"She's Arachnia, not some holy warrior."
"If she falls for the same trap twice, then she's our spy in the Dark Faction."
Finn didn't believe Valletta Grede was that stupid.
"Besides, this isn't like when Tiona and Tione were ambushed," Finn continued. "Those two got attacked because they'd already gone to that floor twice. Their intent to Level Up was too obvious, and that gave the Dark Faction their opening."
"But this time is different. Even if you announced your hunt in public, the Dark Faction wouldn't be dumb enough to take the bait again."
"This time, Gareth and I are tagging along precisely to mock Valletta's ambush—to prove beyond a doubt how foolish she was."
"But if it hadn't been for Tsuna last time," Finn added, "that ambush would've killed anyone caught in it—me, Gareth, or Riveria. None of us would've made it out alive."
Remembering the layout he'd seen through Valletta's memories still sent chills down his spine.
If she had gone through with her suicidal plan to summon a Juggernaut from the Dungeon, even he and Gareth combined might not have survived.
Riveria would've had all her magic sealed, completely helpless.
It was pure luck that Tsuna had been there. The ambush was destroyed before it even activated—Valletta herself becoming the prey in her own trap.
If her plan had actually succeeded, then facing a Juggernaut—a creature immune to magic, absurdly fast, and devastatingly strong—none of them would've made it out alive.
Finn was sure of it: not a single one of them would've escaped.
"That woman's insane," Gareth muttered, unable to hold back his curse.
"Throwing away her own life just to pull a move that big. At first, she thought Tiona and Tione were bait we'd sent out on purpose. That's why she went through with such a grand plan to take us all down at once."
"No," Finn said, shaking his head. "Valletta's a bit unhinged, but she's no fool. She wouldn't risk dying with us. If she set up something like that, she must've had an escape route planned."
He didn't believe Valletta would walk into a trap without leaving herself a way out.
"But from what we saw in her memories..." Gareth began.
"Tsuna only filtered out the memories unrelated to the Gods," Finn interrupted. "He didn't dare let anything sensitive slip. My guess is there's a hidden passage at the Great Falls—one that connects directly to the Dark Faction's God."
Finn bit lightly at his thumb as he thought. It was only speculation, but based on the information they had, it made sense.
"In that case," Gareth said, "couldn't they try the same thing again this time?"
"No. Not a chance."
Finn's response was firm.
"The last ambush confirmed Tsuna's importance. Now, even if we spread word about the hunt, they'd never risk it. They'll always be afraid that Tsuna—the Adventurer who can manipulate space—might be hiding nearby."
"No matter how powerful their Juggernaut is, the moment we're warped into an Alternate Dimension, their whole plan collapses. Worse, their hidden passage might get exposed. So no matter what, they won't try it again."
Spatial abilities were, after all, a strategic resource.
In the past, no one had such a power, so setting traps and ambushes had worked.
But now that spatial abilities existed, those tactics had become nothing but a joke.
The Dark Faction wouldn't dare gamble on whether Tsuna was secretly watching from the shadows.
With someone like him who could rewrite the rules, they wouldn't bet on anything lightly—especially after being burned once.
Finn's lips curved upward.
"Gareth, today we're going into the Dungeon unarmed."
"This time, our goal is to mock Valletta."
"The bolder we act, the more it'll make her squirm."
Gareth chuckled, a mocking grin spreading across his face.
"Then we'd better make sure to laugh good and loud."