Spatial Fault

"What did you do?" I whispered a question to Ley with a curious expression.

"I just tried a technique I just learned," Ley said proudly. "It's a kind of mental influence that increased their aggressiveness slightly. The provocation just now did the rest."

I was surprised.

But at the same time, I was terrified.

I was aware of the terrible potential of Ley's skill. In theory, it could allow her to brainwash other people at will.

But that was just on paper. The truth was that Ley found it hard to influence the minds of other people.

Normally, she needed a lot of time and contact to influence the mind of another person. The most she could do in a short time was to confuse their senses and mess up with their actions while they were unprepared.

That is the reason Ley's skill is not that useful in battle.

But just now, Ley influenced the minds of several people at the time, and she did it with ease.

Moreover, none of the eblors seemed to notice anything. They found their actions normal.

"When did you learn this?" I asked.

"Just this morning. All of sudden, I felt that I could do this." She said before putting on a hesitant expression. "I think this is related to the seed I devoured. Somehow, I feel I have become stronger after that."

I furrowed my brows.

'Demon, should I be worried?'

[No. This is good for her. If she is lucky, she may become as strong as the version of her you fought during the dungeon dive after a few months.]

I sighed in relief.

It looks like, in the end, the incident with the seed ended up being a blessing in disguise.

Still, I'm a bit worried.

Ley's skill is very dangerous. It's the kind of skill used by villains.

I fear she may end up using it for evil.

Ley noticed my gaze and tilted her head in confusion.

… Nah, that will never happen.

Someone this cute can't be evil.

"You should be careful about how you use your skill, Ley." I still warned her.

She giggled and nodded.

"Don't worry, brother, I know. Okay, now that I agitated the eblors, should I do the same with the celers? If we make them compete, they'll surely show more of their cards."

"Let's try. It may work."

Ley nodded and closed her eyes, getting ready to use the technique again.

But just at that moment, the demon spoke in my mind.

[Something is wrong.]

Huh?

[Wait! Hurry up! Stop your sister!]

The demon spoke urgently.

But it was already too late.

In the next instant, Ley's technique was activated.

Just like before, a wave of mental energy was released from her body, but this time, it headed toward the celers.

But when the wave of mental energy was about to hit them, one of the celers looked in our direction.

He had a very human-like appearance, but his skin was pale and his eyes were oddly emotionless.

Moreover, his appearance was oddly uncomfortable. It provoked a kind of uncanny valley effect.

"Petty tricks," Duin L Klete muttered, and his eyes glowed blue.

"Ugh!" Ley held her head in pain.

"Ley! Are you alright?" I hurriedly held her. "What happened?"

"T-That… He destroyed my mental energy."

My expression became solemn.

How? Does he have similar abilities to Ley?

I looked at him and found him staring at us with a smirk before looking away.

But at that moment, the demon shouted in my mind.

[What are you doing!? Get out of here! Now!]

Huh?

[Hurry u– No, it's already too late.]

All of sudden, I felt a powerful fluctuation in the mana in the air.

The space around us trembled. An intense pressure fell over us, making us grunt in pain.

But that was just the start. One second later, I felt a sensation of vertigo as my surroundings got twisted eerily.

I was familiar with this feeling.

"A dungeon!? Why all of a sudden?"

But unlike the previous dungeons I entered, the feeling this one gave out was much more dangerous.

Just the pressure alone was several times stronger than any dungeon I had entered before.

"Ley, grab my hand!" I shouted immediately and held her hand.

At the same time, I felt Hela holding my other arm.

One second later, space shook violently.

In the next instant, my vision turned dark.

I held Ley's hand tightly. But at some point in time, the strong turbulence made me let go of her.

Finally, almost one minute later, the phenomenon came to an end.

I held my aching head and stood up while trying to regain my bearing.

"Ley, Hela, are you alright?"

"… Mm." Hela nodded.

But Ley did not reply.

I was startled and looked around, only to realize that there was nobody nearby but Hela and me.

My expression became solemn.

"Ley is not here? Something is wrong."

Dungeons don't separate the people they swallow. If you are with someone when you are swallowed by a dungeon, you'll appear with them inside the dungeon.

'Demon, what is happening?'

The demon heaved a long sigh.

[Have you not noticed it yet?]

Following the words of the demon, I took note of my surroundings.

Warm sunlight, a beautiful blue sky, and tall trees waving with the wind.

[We are not inside a dungeon.]

It was a beautiful sight, but at the same time, it was filled with strangeness.

[Listen carefully, boy.]

The trees glowed silver, the sun had a blue hue, and the mana in the air was so abundant that it felt burdensome.

[We are in another world.]

...

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