Chapter 77 Knossos (Trap)

Of course, as the mage guardian, Rex couldn't just charge straight into battle like the rest of the guys. He had to stay back and guard the mages as they casted their magic into the swarms of plant monsters while killing any monsters that got past the frontline—which never happened because the frontline were damn good at their job.

'Overgrowth?' He wondered, glancing around. 'But my magic would be sensed and that's not good, right?' But he couldn't just give up on these magic stones, right? 

That's when Finn's voice came. "Everyone, straight ahead!"

Amidst the fight, Finn had glanced toward Valletta and caught sight of her smirking at her handiwork before she disappeared down the corridor behind her. It was as if she wanted him to see her and follow her. 

Although he knew they were likely heading into another trap, it was bait they were unfortunately forced to take. Afterall, with the Violas surged forward in an seemingly unending flood and their exit effectively blocked, they had little choice but to press onward.

The group surged forward in a spear-like formation, tearing through the wave of Violas crashing toward them and funneling into the passage way after Valletta. Behind them, the flower beasts roared and lunged, hurling their bulk into the passage like a writhing wall of green serpents, their numbers pouring in like an unstoppable flood.

"Leave the back to me!" Rex shouted, startling a few mages around him due to his sudden voice. "I can hold them back."

Finn glanced back, briefly meeting Rex's eyes behind his helmet, then he gave a slight node. "They're in your hands, then, Rex!" Finn shouted. "Back line, leave it to him!"

Cruz, Anakitty, and Raul—who had been struggling to hold back the tide of monsters—quickly pushed forward as Rex dropped behind, falling to the rear of the group. Raul nervously glanced back at him, but Rex just gave the boy a calm nod, before turning to face the flood of monsters.

'I can't let these points go to waste,' Rex thought as he dropped his spear.

Clapping a seed between his palms, green vines and tendrils burst from between his fingers, rapidly wrapping around his fingers and forearm. They twisted tightly, crawling up to his shoulders, covering just his arms in Swampfire Armor. As he pulled his hands apart, a sunflower bloomed mid-motion on his palms. Then he cocked his arms back, before thrusting both hands forward while uttering;

"Incinerate."

Twin cones of orange-yellow fire exploded from his palms, lighting up the entire passage with a sudden flash. A wave of heat surged down the tunnel, washing over every adventurer as the two blasts merged into a single column of roaring flame that surged forward, engulfing the entire hallway in front of him.

Rex had activated both his internal and external Firebreath simultaneously through the sunflower—quick, high-heat bursts with enough control to give it force and shape. Although the heat was undeniably intense, it wasn't enough to disintegrate the plant monsters—despite their weakness to fire. And he didn't need to have it hot enough to do that because this attack was only a smokescreen.

From his fingers, hidden from the view of those behind him, multiple spear-like roots enhanced by his Body Furnace skill shot into the conical blaze. They rapidly grew within the inferno, stretching at speeds nearly impossible for Level 3 adventurers to follow. Using Scavenger and his senses to guide them, the roots split and forked into numerous branches, piercing through the Violas' green, scale-like bodies—already softened by the heat—killing them cleanly and absorbing their magic stones through each thorned connection.

[+273(2.7) Strength, +261(2.6) Endurance, +290(2.9) Dexterity, +285(2.8) Agility, +100 (1) Magic]

[+247(2.4) Strength, +292(2.9) Endurance, +218(2.1) Dexterity, +275(2.7) Agility, +124(1.2) Magic]

[+281(2.8) Strength, +209(2) Endurance, +263(2.6) Dexterity, +240(2.4) Agility, +137(1.3) Magic]

[+226(2.2) Strength…]

Multiple stats screens popped up in succession as his roots multiplied rapidly within the inferno, shredding through the monsters ahead.

'Oh, yeah~ that's the stuff~'

After trekking for hours through the boring maze of Knossos, the sudden rush of gains hit like sunlight after a storm. And seeing full stat jumps from Level 4 monsters instead of the usual tiny decimal gains was its own kind of high—especially with the constant stream of stat screens popping up at the edge of his vision, flowing upward and vanishing just as fast as he scavenged dozens of Violas.

The blast of fire tore through the length of the tunnel, with networks of roots racing inside it. Then, with a deep boom, a wide trail of fire blasted out from the entrance at the other end of the tunnel and into the room they had just left in a straight, brilliant column of fire, catching more of the plant monsters rushing toward the tunnel.

The monsters didn't even flinch at the flames, pushing forward through the fire without hesitation which was a bit odd. 'Do they not have any sense of danger?' Scavenger confirmed that they didn't but he paid no mind to it as he continued his work.

For five full seconds, the roots swarmed and shredded through the burning horde—until Rex abruptly aged them out, turning them to ash just as the fire began to flicker and fade. The passage quieted. A broken ray of dying flame hung in the air before revealing an empty corridor—cleansed of every Viola, not a single body left behind.

Rex turned to see most of the party staring at him in stunned silence. Raul's mouth was literally hanging open.

"T-that was amazing!" he squealed like a little girl, eyes sparkling.

"Such strong magic with a short chant," Anakitty added, genuinely impressed by the firepower. "Impressive—"

"Pay attention, fuckers!" Bete barked from the front. Those who had stopped to gawk jumped and quickly rushed forward to join the two Level 6s already tearing through the waves of Violas ahead.

Swampfire armor still covering his arms, Rex picked up his spear and caught up to the group, staying at the back. His eyes, however, remained fixed on Filvis. As they pressed forward down the hallway, the human bunny Rakta suddenly stiffened.

"Those aren't Violas…!" she warned, green eyes going wide.

"A new species?!" The level 4 Chienthrope, Cruz, added.

The creatures that emerged from the dark resembled water spiders, standing waist-high and slightly larger than upper-floor Killer Ants. Each had six long legs and strange red crystals embedded in their torsos, which acted as their magic stone.

Having been shuffled to the forward party, Rakta hesitated, unsure what kind of attack these things would use.

"Does it matter?" Bete's voice came. "Just take 'em out before they even think about attackin'!" 

The werewolf shot forward and sliced through the spiders in one devastating sweep, his razor-sharp boots shredding them with ease. True to his word, he didn't give the creatures a chance to fight back. 

It was the kind of feat only a top-tier adventurer could pull off, and it left the others trailing behind in stunned silence before they quickly joined. Anakitty fought with her light sword and buckler, fending off attacks while Raul fired arrows into the monsters' exposed stones beside her. 

At the rear, Rex launched basketball-sized orange-yellow fireballs in a rapid rhythm from his Swampfire-covered palms, each moving at a speed no level 3 could hope to dodge. The moment they struck, they exploded in booming bursts—heat pulsing outward in waves as chunks of spider-like monsters were incinerated, their limbs snapping and curling in the flames before disintegrating to ash. 

While he did this, roots continiously extend out from the sole of his armord boots that he had desecreatly covered with plant, streaching along the ground like snakes, absorbing all the magic stones the adventures had left behind as they ran like the greedy man he was

The barrage drew a few startled glances, but no one had time to question the vine-wrapped arm or the searing blasts erupting like bullets from his hands. As the group continued to advance, true to the nature of the maze, multiple side paths began appearing along their tunnel. 

Monsters poured from them, swarming in from all sides and surrounding the party. Normally, the mages could've handled this, but they couldn't stop long enough to chant. So the fighters took the lead, cutting down just enough to keep the party moving forward, but this wasn't the end—

"Whuuaah!" Raul shouted as he stumbled backward, nearly falling into a hole. "A pitfall!"

"Careful!" Anakitty warned as she jumped over the hole. "There's more around it, too!

Sure enough, they started noticing square holes—about five meters wide—along the passage floor as they ran. The pitch-black void within each made their depth obvious. These didn't seem like laid traps, but rather abandoned expansion effort of the dungeon. Now, spider-like monsters were crawling out of them, lunging at the adventurers from below.

With monsters pouring in from both the pitfalls and branching paths, the swarm intensified. Finn abandoned the front line to Bete, falling back to the middle to intercept anything that slipped past the vanguard. His job now was to guard the mages while supporting the fighters wherever the line thinned.

While carving through multiple monsters with the golden blur of his spear's blade, he glanced over his shoulder at Rex, who was still holding the rear like he promised. Fireballs burst from his palm in machine-gun-like rhythm, mowing down the monsters swarming in from behind with multiple brilliant, explosive booms as he kept pace with the group—occasionally aiming into the pitfalls to wipe out entire clusters.

It was undeniable: Rex's 'no-chant' magic had drastically reduced the pressure on both himself and his Familia.

Finn's eyes flicked to Rex's vine-covered arm before shifting toward Filvis and Lefiya, just ahead of him. The two elves were casting Filvis super short chant magic, Dio Thyrsos, in tandem—golden arcs of lightning bursting forth in sweeping waves, reducing entire swarms to ash. 

The three of them—Rex, Filvis, and Lefiya—were handling the rear with a level of efficiency that arguably outmatched even Bete and his group's brutal pace at the front.

A faint smile crossed Finn's face at the sight of Filvis, who almost looked to be enjoying herself fighting beside Lefiya. But it quickly vanished as a darker thought came. 'She's watching us…'

He had faced Evilus enough times to recognize Valletta's style. She hadn't run. She was somewhere nearby, hiding in the labyrinth's structure, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to spring a trap.

Finn's scan halted. His thumb throbbed with sharp, blinding pain—so much that it nearly made him drop his spear. The pain was unnatural, the sharpest he had ever felt.

Then he heard it—the groaning sound of a door sliding open.

'This is…' A cold chill slid down his spine.

From the side, where a branching path veered off into the Dungeon maze, the swarm of monsters suddenly parted—it was as if clearing the way for their king. At the far end, a heavy door now stood wide open, and from the darkness beyond, a lone figure stepped into view—

'—That red hair.'

Green eyes, an eerie black longsword, and hair the color of freshly spilled blood.

The figure vanished and an instant later, Revis stood before Finn—having bypassed every other member of the group without a single one noticing.

"So we meet again, Pallum."

Her voice was icy, arriving at the same moment as her obsidian sword that came down in a blur. Finn blocked the strike, but the sheer force of it nearly blew him off his feet. Her power, speed, and raw destruction far outmatched what his small body could endure. After only three clashes, his strength began to falter.

"This is payback—" she muttered.

Her presence had grown. Her aura now felt nothing like it had during their last encounter—more dangerous, more monstrous. Her swordsmanship was unreal.

'Just how many magic stones has she devoured?' Finn gritted his teeth, his arms trembling as he held up his spear. 'It's Hell Finegas or nothing.' He had no choice. If he didn't use his berserker spell, he'd lose. 

But even as the thought passed through his mind, so did a wave of dread. Hell Finegas would boost his strength exponentially—but it would also strip away his reason, turning him into a bloodthirsty beast incapable of commanding his troops. If Raul and the rest were left leaderless in this chaos…

He hesitated.

As a leader, even a heartbeat of doubt was dangerous.

"—For what happened on the eighteenth floor." Her words landed a second before her blade did. That moment of pause was all she needed. Her sword ripped through the air and connected.

"Gngh—!"

Finn raised his spear to block, but the strike cleaved clean through its shaft, slashing across his small frame. Blood exploded from the diagonal cut, clouding his vision as pain wracked his body.

The exchange happened in an instant. Too fast for anyone below Level 4 to perceive. Time crawled as Finn's body jerked back. His Fortia Spear broken. His torso bleeding. His fall slow.

"Ca…" Raul voice chocked. "…Captaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnn!!"

All the level 3s and below who hadn't noticed this exchange turned, including Bete who turned from the front, eyes wide. Finn had fallen. The one who never did. Riveria and Gareth had been defeated before—but not Finn. Not like this.

Despair swept through the group. No one could replace him. Finn wasn't just a commander. He was the heart of the Familia. Confusion spread. Morals slowly crumbled, and the formation begun to collapse upon the swam of monsters.

Ignoring his agony, Finn shouted for the one person who could act. "Raul!!"

Raul—frozen in fear—understood immediately. He threw aside his bow and with Finn in his sights, he sprinted forward at full speed. Revis's blade flashed, but he didn't falter. He dove in, arms trembling, and caught Finn before he hit the ground, tumbling forward with the injured captain.

Revis cursed as her blade struck the ground, but Raul kept going. Cradling the tiny Pallum like a child, he launched himself toward the far passage—toward the nearest pitfall.

"Follow me!!"

"!!!"

Aki and the others obeyed the desperate cry, abandoning the fight. One by one, they dove into the pit, vanishing into the abyss.

Finn—and the center of the party—had escaped.

All the monsters had stopped their assault, standing down under Revis's silent command, and then a laugh came, 

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!"

Valletta's laughter echoed off the narrow stone walls. Just as Finn had predicted, she had been watching the entire time—lurking in the side passages. Now, she stepped into view near the pitfall Raul and the others had just vanished into.

"How do you like that, huh, Finn?!" she called gleefully into the chasm, her voice sharp with mockery. "Run, run away with your tail between your legs like the miserable dog you are! It makes for a wonderful show!"

She turned her gaze to Revis. "That was some quality work. Guess you picked the right profession, eh, Miss Kill-for-Hire?"

"The head's gone," Revis muttered, clearly annoyed, her gaze shifting to the hole. "From here on out, I follow Aria."

"H-hey!" Valletta stuttered nervously. "But Finn is still—"

"Do the rest yourself," Revis snapped. "Or do you need me to serve him to you on a silver platter?" She gave her sword a flick, and Finn's blood splattered across the floor.

"Screw you too, then..." Valletta muttered, wrinkling her nose. "Creep." But then, her expression shifted to a wide, sadistic grin.

"Whatever! I don't want anyone else to have the pleasure of killing him anyway." She turned her gaze downward into the pitfall. "Don't go too far now, Fiiiiiinn! I'll be down in just a moment to bring you down!"

The wicked twist of her lips left no doubt—her obsession ran deep.

"…You… bastards…" Bete growled with a low, and husky, his voice full of rage. He was the first among the stunned front-liners to break out of his shock. 

"Ruuuaaaarrrrrrgghhh!!"

With a furious howl, he surged kicked forward. His claws slashed through the remaining monsters in his path, kicking up dust as he tore toward Valletta, his face twisted in rage.

"Bye-bye." Valletta smirked and calmly thrust out her spherical magic item. 

This time, it didn't emit a blinding light. Instead, the thick metal wall in front of Bete slammed down with a heavy thud. The path between the two vanished, replaced by an all-too-familiar orichalcum door.

"C-Captain…" Lefiya stumbled back, voice trembling. "Mister Bete…" She, Filvis, and Rex had successfully eliminated the Violas in the rear, but now they stood alone, cut off from the rest of the party.

Hearing her voice, Valletta looked over her shoulder. "Hey, Miss Kill-for-Hire," she said to the creature. "At least take care of those two elves, would ya? I've got a tear-streaked Pallum to visit."

Another door crashed down from the ceiling, cutting off Valletta from Revis and the two elves, erasing any chance of the two girls jumping down the hole to regroup with the captain. Revis didn't look pleased with the new assignment, but she slowly turned toward Lefiya and Filvis. At the sight of her cold, piercing gaze, Lefiya's shoulders jolted instinctively.

"..." Revis's eyes narrowed—then she turned away.

"Wha—?" Lefiya blinked as Revis ignored them, walking down the hallway she had come out from to attack Finn. "She… let us go?" Had they been deemed unworthy?

A fire sparked in Lefiya's chest. There was another distant rumble, and she moved to chase after Revis, but by the time she reached the corridor, the red-haired woman had vanished behind another shut door.

"Gngh…!" Lefiya bit her lip in frustration, staring at the orichalcum at the far end of the hall. 

"Lefiya, wait!" Filvis called, jogging after her. "Calm down!"

The sound of Filvis's voice helped center her, her ragged breathing slowing. "Miss Filvis, the others—we…" She clenched her fists on her staff, her knuckles whitening. "We must save them."

"I know," Filvis said, meeting her eyes, continuing with a firm tone. "But the way is blocked. There's no getting through those orichalcum doors, no matter how much you want to help Braver." By Braver, she was referring to Finn.

The urgency in her voice wasn't lost on Lefiya. Behind them, the path was sealed. Ahead, another wall. Lefiya and Filvis were alone—truly alone—trapped in the heart of the labyrinth.

'…Alone…?' Lefiya paused.

"At least take care of those two elves, would ya?" Valletta's words echoed in her mind.

'Two elves?' she thought, eyes widening. 

Wasn't Rex also with them? If they'd been separated, then he should be nearby too, right? She opened her mouth to ask Filvis who was watching her think when a voice echoed through the tunnel.

"There is a way to bypass the door."

It wasn't a voice she recognized. It sounded distant, as if it had echoed through a well—layered and strange.

"It would be a bit difficult, but I think it's possible."

The two elves slowly turned, just in time to see a two-meter-tall, plant-like humanoid creature emerging from a side passage. Its upper body looked too large for its legs, and its body was covered in green and black plant matter. Its head was large and flame-patterned, with red oval eyes and tiny green pupils.

The two elves stared in silence as it turned its head toward them, then;

"Booo."

[Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, my readers. Hope you enjoy this one. Nothing much happened in this chapter again, so it probably wasn't worth the wait. I was planning to post 78 along with it, but that one needs a bit more proofreading, so I figured I'd go ahead and post 77 now and drop 78 early tomorrow afternoon instead.

Anyway, thanks for reading. The author is tired from college~ (￣o￣) . z Z]