After following Christina around the dilapidated warehouse for a while, Cid and Kanade watched in disbelief as she somehow managed to find what looked like a concealed entrance leading underground.
"All right. I'll take the lead, Cid, you go in the middle, and Kanade, you bring up the rear."
Standing before a narrow, labyrinthine passage that seemed to run beneath the royal capital, Christina assigned their positions, then took the lead and entered.
"Um, Christina-san, I've heard the underground passages beneath the capital are extremely complicated. Apparently, they can take you almost anywhere in the city, but if you enter without a map from the Midgar Royal Family, the maze of passages can trap anyone with suspicious intentions until they die. Do you have a map?"
"..."
Christina didn't answer. She merely lowered her head and fiddled with her phone.
Whatever. Cid decided to take her silence as a no.
"Well, if you don't have one, then for safety's sake, I suggest we put this operation on hold for now. Eliza looked perfectly normal, and finding Marquis Despoht's hiding place isn't that urgent. Who knows, maybe he'll mysteriously drop dead after tonight."
"Mm-hmm. Cid, that's the thing you've said today that I agree with most."
Just as Cid and Kanade were talking among themselves and were about to settle the matter, Christina raised her head, turned around, and held up her phone.
Displayed on the screen was an intricately detailed map.
"We have a map now. We can go in."
Cid and Kanade, who had been discussing the matter so enthusiastically just moments earlier, immediately went expressionless.
They silently watched Christina descend, then exchanged a glance.
"How about we just run away, Cid?"
"Get lost, you spineless coward. If you dare run, I'll smash your head in."
After viciously threatening her, Cid climbed down with a stiff expression.
Kanade hesitated for several seconds before reluctantly jumping down after him.
The tunnel below was covered in dust from years of neglect, though a few thin rays of light still filtered through cracks overhead.
Once their eyes adjusted to the darkness, the three could finally make out their surroundings.
Then Christina, Cid, and Kanade all fell silent.
Only a few steps away, the blue bricks ended abruptly, replaced by scattered dirt and broken masonry. Large amounts of earth had been excavated, and the walls of the underground labyrinth had collapsed into an eerie, deliberate pattern without disturbing the ground above.
"What... is this?"
After a long silence, Kanade, who knew the least about such things, couldn't help asking.
"I don't know. Could this be some hidden trump card of the Midgar Royal Family? Was the underground labyrinth built to conceal this?"
Christina shook her head in confusion.
It definitely wasn't marked on the map she had obtained from her Elf friend yesterday.
"It looks a little like the part of Magitechnology responsible for transmitting energy. Maybe it's something similar to the transmission lines from a power plant?"
Cid, the most knowledgeable of the three, spoke with some uncertainty.
Whether he examined the "Core" or followed the flow of Magical Power, it seemed to be nothing more than a simple energy transmission system.
And yet...
Something about it felt wrong.
Cid thought it over from every angle, but he still couldn't figure out what bothered him.
Eventually, he gave up.
Its function was basically that of a pipe anyway. He might as well assume the Kingdom of Midgar was installing some kind of utility network to improve the residents' quality of life.
"Let's go with that. Whatever the Midgar Royal Family is planning has nothing to do with us. According to the map, the exit beneath the warehouse is very close, practically right next door. If we hurry, we might even make it back in time for dinner."
Christina accepted Cid's conclusion and stopped worrying about what the strange structure was for.
She checked the map, pointed in one direction, and started walking.
"Let's hope so."
Cid's gaze swept across the ground and landed briefly on a strand of golden hair Christina had failed to notice.
What followed went unexpectedly smoothly.
There were no traps, no ambushes, and no further surprises along the way.
The three reached the area directly beneath the warehouse without incident. All they had to do now was climb up and they would reach their destination.
"Doesn't something feel wrong?"
"What feels wrong?"
"It's going too smoothly."
Cid answered Kanade with a complaint.
Based on his many years of experience, if they reached their goal this easily, then one of two things was true.
Either something huge was waiting for them at the end...
Or they would find absolutely nothing.
"Finding nothing would be great! Isn't it better to hide behind Christina-sama and make it through this whole disaster safely? Cid, shut that jinx mouth of yours."
Kanade, apparently not even paying attention to the first possibility Cid had mentioned, responded with a short-sighted remark perfectly suited to her status as an extra.
"What's with that look?"
The look you give an idiot.
The two continued bickering as they climbed up.
The moment they emerged and looked around, Kanade immediately shut her noisy mouth.
Black-clad figures stood all around the underground exit, surrounding two people at the center.
One was Eliza, whom Cid and the others had seen leave not long ago.
The other was a large, muscular man wearing black clothing that was clearly a cut above that of everyone around him.
"Bang!"
A heavy noise sounded behind them.
Cid turned his head.
The exit they had just climbed through had been sealed shut by a sheet of alloy.
"Should I call you stupid, or just an idiot? You followed me so blatantly, yet you actually thought I wouldn't notice?"
After looking the three of them over and confirming that there were only three, Eliza spoke slowly, a mocking edge in her seductive smile.
Actually, you really didn't notice.
Christina was just caught by a hidden camera when she drove over here, right?
Cid complained inwardly.
He had already noticed the cameras while they were on the motorcycle. Energy fluctuations suddenly appearing in several corners were simply too obvious.
That was also why, for once, he had agreed with Kanade's suggestion that they run away.
"Dark Spider-sama, please deal with them."
After savoring the embarrassed expression that appeared on Christina's face, Eliza turned toward Dark Spider, who had been quietly watching the entire farce, and asked for his help.
"I thought it might be that stray cat who slipped in here. Turns out it's only three little mice. Unlucky for you, I suppose. Kill them."
Dark Spider gave the three a disappointed glance, then casually issued the order.
The surrounding black-clad men immediately rushed forward.
A little over ten seconds later, Dark Spider looked back at the battlefield, and his expression darkened.
As expected, Kanade was getting thoroughly beaten in her one-on-one fight. Her sword had already been snapped in half.
If her ability to dodge and take punishment hadn't been unexpectedly good, she would have been cut in two by now.
Over on Christina's side, more than a dozen enemies were attacking her at once.
Not only had they failed to defeat her, they were actually starting to get pushed back.
That part was normal enough.
They were only mass-produced expendable troops, after all. Expecting them to defeat Christina, one of the strongest members of the Kingdom's younger generation, was asking too much.
But what was going on with that extra?
Even if they were mass-produced soldiers created through a rushed process, they would still earn a B rating out in the world.
Several of them had been attacking a single background character for more than ten seconds. They had forced him into several dangerous situations, but that was all.
They had only managed to suppress him.
They hadn't even scratched him once.
What the hell was this?
Dark Spider's expression turned ugly.
Having lost all interest in playing around, he finally moved.
He would kill that background character personally first, then deal with Christina.
"Remember the name of the one who kills you. Dark Spider."
As he spoke, a longsword appeared in Dark Spider's hand.
He slowly walked toward Cid, then casually swung the blade.
"Cid! Ngh..."
Christina saw what was happening and tried to go help him, but the dozen or so enemies surrounding her attacked simultaneously and forced her back.
Kanade?
She could barely keep herself alive.
Is there really no way out of this...?
Cid watched the approaching blade of light and wondered whether he could manufacture some sort of coincidence that would let him avoid the attack.
After thinking it over, he came to a conclusion.
Unless he secretly struck through the air and stopped Dark Spider's heart, there was no plausible way to dodge it.
But doing that...
Would be a little too absurd.
Fine.
He would just play dead and later claim the sword had missed.
Cid had already prepared himself to drop to the ground when the situation suddenly changed.
The blade of light drew closer.
But another light was even faster.
"Clang!"
The broken blade fell to the ground.
Its severed section passed right beside Cid.
Dark Spider's eyes widened.
He instantly leaped backward and locked his gaze onto the golden streak of light, trying to see what it really was.
After cutting through Dark Spider's sword, the golden light did not lose momentum.
It tore through the hearts of every black-clad figure on the battlefield as easily as slicing through vegetables.
Then, right in front of Kanade, a hand caught it and brought it to a stop.
The light faded, revealing its true form.
A golden wheel.
Its razor-sharp edge had allowed the weapon to slaughter every black-clad enemy on the field with ease.
The owner of that golden wheel stood directly in front of Kanade.
Her icy gaze swept across the surroundings before finally settling on Dark Spider.
Golden hair.
Slightly heroic features.
A tall, slender figure.
Behind her, a cat-like tail swayed slowly from side to side.
Finally.
Cid stared at Zeta in surprise and sighed inwardly.
He had thought Zeta was going to keep watching from the sidelines.
After all, Zeta knew exactly how strong he really was.
"Cid, Kanade, are you two all right?"
Having finally broken free of her enemies, Christina immediately rushed over to Cid.
At the same time, she grabbed Kanade and pulled her aside.
She cautiously watched the Therianthrope who had just saved them face off against Dark Spider.
Then her eyes suddenly widened as she stared at Zeta.
She was pretty sure she had seen this person yesterday.
"Interesting. I didn't expect these three little mice to lure out a stray cat like you. You really have no fear of death, do you?"
Dark Spider looked Zeta over and gave a malicious grin.
Zeta, meanwhile, merely exchanged a few seemingly casual glances with Cid.
"You still think you've got me beaten? Then you're about to be disappointed."
Dark Spider smiled smugly and pulled out a small vial.
He swallowed the red droplets inside in one gulp.
A faint purple hue spread through the air.
What seemed like endless Magical Power erupted from Dark Spider's body, and an immense pressure bore down on Christina and the others nearby.
This power...
It was stronger than Princess Iris.
No.
Judging by sheer presence alone, it was already several times stronger than Princess Iris had been a year ago.
Perhaps even more than ten times stronger.
Who is he?
How could someone this powerful appear inside the Kingdom of Midgar?
A powerhouse from the outside world?
Had the Thirteen Nightblades joined forces with an outside faction?
Or could it be...
The Cult of Diablos, which until now had existed only in rumors?
Countless thoughts flashed through Christina's mind.
But there was one thing she could say for certain.
Both of these people were terrifyingly strong.
There was a very real chance they were the strongest people currently inside the royal capital.
Christina wanted to warn Zeta.
After all, if Zeta won, then they might survive.
But if Zeta lost, Dark Spider would definitely kill them.
Before Christina could speak, however, Dark Spider moved.
At an unimaginable speed, he crossed the distance between them in an instant and appeared directly in front of Zeta.
"Die!"
Only then did Zeta seem to react.
She shifted her gaze away from Cid and looked at Dark Spider in front of her.
Then...
The headless corpse rushed past Zeta before its own momentum sent it crashing to the ground.
Dark Spider's severed head rolled several times across the floor before coming to rest beside a wooden crate.
For a few seconds, disbelief remained frozen in its eyes.
Then the light in them faded completely.
"Tsk..."
Zeta stared down at her clothing, now stained with blood sprayed from Dark Spider's body, and showed an expression of disgust.
"One move...?"
Christina stared in disbelief.
She had expected that even if Zeta won, it would still be an extremely dangerous battle.
After all, these were two fighters stronger than Princess Iris.
Yet Dark Spider had been killed in a single move...
Did I judge their strength wrong?
The thought immediately surfaced in Christina's mind.
Before she could dwell on it, however, Zeta's gaze snapped her back to her senses.
"Leave. This isn't something you can interfere with."
"Wait. I recognize you..."
After saying that, Zeta immediately opened one of the nearby crates.
Christina hurried toward her, hoping to establish some connection and gather information.
"Hey, Cid. What do we do now? Should we leave? They hit me so hard. Everything hurts."
Kanade glanced around.
Once she confirmed that Zeta was completely ignoring Christina and that neither of them was paying attention to her, she quietly slipped over to Cid and whispered her question.
Cid's answer was simple.
"Ask Christina. Don't ask me."
"You don't have a shred of manliness, Cid. At this rate, you'll never get a girlfriend."
While Kanade was taking a subtle jab at Cid, Christina came back.
"No good. She completely ignored me. How am I supposed to talk to her?"
Christina sighed as she watched Zeta take photographs, search the area, and collect samples without paying any attention to the people around her.
"That's what I don't understand, Christina-sama. Why are you trying so hard to talk to her? She already told us this isn't something we can get involved in."
Christina stared directly at Kanade for several seconds, then looked away.
"That's exactly why I have to find a way to communicate with her. She's probably one of the few people from that dark world who can actually be reasoned with, perhaps even someone we could cooperate with."
"Huh?"
Cid froze for a moment.
He was genuinely curious how Christina had decided that Zeta was easy to talk to.
Among his seven childhood friends, Zeta was easily the coldest and most difficult to communicate with.
Eta?
Everyone treated her like a child who had never grown up.
"Don't you remember, Cid? She's the one who helped you get away from Princess Alexia yesterday."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"???"
This time it was Christina's turn to be confused.
Was Cid really that socially clueless?
"Someone willing to step in when they see injustice and speak up for someone being treated unfairly can't be that bad. Besides, she just saved us."
Christina lowered her voice and leaned close to Cid's ear.
That's because we know each other.
Unable to hear Cid's inner thoughts, Christina continued staring at the headless corpse lying on the ground.
"More importantly, who exactly was he? Where did someone that powerful even come from?"
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