"A great calamity is approaching."
"Do not draw near."
"It is the incarnation of ruin."
A landscape drenched in blood, and the wretched sight of companions fallen upon the floor.
"Do not let it touch you."
"It is the harbinger of all death."
"A mother's lament summons the fires of disaster, and despair lets out its first cry."
A sharp, massive claw pierces through the walls of the Dungeon.
"The squirrel shall bloom into a flower of flesh; the fox shall be torn away into nothingness."
Lily lay on the ground, her life extinguished as her entrails were scattered; Haruhime died with her limbs torn asunder.
"The mountain shall be shattered."
"The foreign warriors shall have their lives toyed with."
Welf lay in a gruesome state, having lost his limbs. Mikoto, Chigusa, and Ouka also perished, their bodies mutilated and missing appendages.
"The blood-soaked harlot departs clutching the fox's keepsakes, only to be violated by countless claws and teeth before receiving her mourning."
Aisha was devoured by monsters while resisting, still cradling Haruhime's remains.
"The friend shall leave behind only sorrow."
Daphne died before her eyes, her gaze turning hollow.
"The fairy, burdened with the fate of guiding the path to destruction—"
The figure of Ryu appeared with a cold light in her eyes, and just as she was about to charge that monster alongside Bell—
"Shall continue the cruelty alongside the swirling white flames."
"And the cage of despair shall transform into a coffin, consuming you."
In a massive, enclosed space, the corpses of everyone gathered, their blood the only thing painting the room.
"Forget not. The light you desired exists nowhere else but beneath the resurrected sun."
"Gather the fragments, offer the fire, and seek the bonfire of the day."
"Bear this in mind."
"This is the jubilation of a cruel disaster."
And so, the prophecy ended.
"....."
No, it should have ended.
"Let's change this a bit."
Snap—!
At the gesture of someone, Cassandra's vision went dark. Simultaneously, it flared with light.
"A great power shall swallow the white flame."
"It is the blinding light that created the darkness."
Even with her eyes shielded, Cassandra could feel it. Someone standing loftily before her.
"The white radiance shall sever."
A massive white blade severed his arm.
"O unyielding vine, entwine."
Green vines bound his body.
"Bear this in mind."
"This is the jubilation of a cruel disaster."
The person standing before her surely must have been smiling.
"No... it is the King's Return."
"Do not dare to peer, little girl."
That was the end.
"Gah!?"
She bolted upright—!
"Haah....! Haah...!"
Tremble—!
Cassandra woke from her slumber, her body shaking from the most chilling and horrific prophecy she had ever experienced.
It was a prophetic dream so terrifying that tears welled in her eyes.
"What... was that just now...."
'A prophetic dream...?'
But at the same time, that terror did not stem solely from the prophecy itself.
"Just... what was it...."
'I don't understand... that last part...!'
—'Do not dare to peer, little girl.'
She was consumed by the horror she could feel because she understood it, and simultaneously by the dread coming from the unknown.
Clatter—!
"Kyaa!?"
"Cassandra, get up!"
Just then, the door swung open and her friend Daphne called out to her urgently.
"Daphne, what's wrong?"
"An adventurer was murdered on the outskirts of town!"
"M-Murdered?"
**
"Are you serious...."
On the outskirts of the town where the incident occurred, several adventurers were investigating the scene.
"Move!"
Step, step—!
Bors pushed through them to inspect the corpse.
Slide—!
"He really got done in... This is definitely Jean."
Examining the body, Bors recognized the victim as an adventurer named 'Jean' whom he knew, and confirmed from the wounds that he had been murdered.
"What on earth...."
"What happened here?"
"Daphne, Cassandra...!"
Bell and Lily, who had followed Bors, were there, along with Daphne and Cassandra who had arrived late after hearing the news.
"These wounds... it's definitely a murder...."
"I saw it! A guy wearing a cloak to hide his identity running away!"
"Yeah, he escaped to the lower floors!"
At that moment, some of the adventurers behind Bors testified, claiming a mysterious figure in a robe had killed Jean.
"I told you, it's [Gale]!"
"I saw that elf back when she was in the [Astraea Familia]!"
"She's the one who took out Jean!"
"I even saw the bastard meeting up with someone!"
Turk shouted with absolute certainty that they were the killers.
"[Gale]? You don't mean the [Gale] I know?"
"Yes, it seems likely...."
Daphne and Cassandra were also flustered by the name, trying to grasp what exactly was happening.
"Then what should we do about this...."
"There's nothing to think about, Bors!"
"What?"
"Let's go and take care of it ourselves!"
"Huh? Are you crazy!"
Bors vehemently opposed Turk's suggestion.
"[Gale] is a Level 5 monster! I don't want to die, you hear!?"
"A fellow resident of our town was killed!"
"Even so...."
"Even if she's Level 5! You and plenty of others here are Level 3 adventurers!"
Slide—!
"Besides, we have the Level 4 [Rabbit Foot] here. With this, we have a chance!"
"..."
Despite Turk's words, Bors continued to hesitate.
Even with Bell present, Ryu's skill was legendary. If she truly was the culprit, it would be a major problem, but he judged the immediate risk too great—until greed took over.
"Come to think of it, [Gale] should already be banned from the Dungeon...."
"She's been inactive for years, but with an incident like this, will her old bounty be updated?"
"It was 80 million Valis, wasn't it?"
"....."
The greed inherent in an adventurer—no, in a human—could not be stopped.
"Listen up, you lot! We're forming a subjugation team!!!!!!!"
"We'll capture [Gale] and avenge our fallen comrade!!!!!!!"
"""""OHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"""""
That greed spread to most of the adventurers present, and thus a subjugation team targeting Ryu was formed.
Bell stepped toward Bors to try and salvage the situation.
"W-Wait a moment!"
Step, step—
"It's too early to conclude that [Gale] did this!"
"[Rabbit Foot], did you see something too?"
"No, that's not it, but...."
However, Bell, who merely raised doubts without solid testimony, could not break their greed. Turk snapped at him aggressively.
"What? Then what! Are you saying I'm lying!?"
"That's just your word. Besides, according to the testimony, the P—no, the [Pioneer] would also be involved."
"!!"
At the mention of that alias, the atmosphere grew heavy as the weight of the name [Pioneer] pressed down on them.
"That's true...."
"If we go in blindly, we might get slaughtered...."
"Grrr....!!"
But Turk had no intention of giving up and shouted at the fearful adventurers.
"Even if that guy is Level 9, he's still part of the [Loki Familia]! If he slaughters us too, all of Orario will surely hunt him down!"
Thud—!
"Then even his life wouldn't be guaranteed! At the very least, he'd use [Gale] as a sacrificial pawn!"
"Am I right!!!?"
Turk's words were essentially branding Akumo as a murderer as well. Bell's eyes widened, and just as he was about to protest—
"What do you think you're—"
Grab—!
"!!"
'Aisha...?'
"Let them talk for now."
Aisha grabbed Bell and began leading him away from the spot.
Step, step—!
"If you say any more, your relationship with the [Pioneer] will just be exposed."
"But!"
"Aisha is right. Let's gather separately and talk first."
**
"That elf... a murderer?"
"Knowing the Ryu I know, I find it hard to believe."
Bell's group gathered in a building in Rivira.
They discussed the situation, prioritizing whether Ryu was the true culprit and if she had truly committed murder.
"But back when the Familia she belonged to was almost wiped out..."
"I heard she purged everyone involved. Even murder, in the worst cases."
"""!!"""
"That's why she was almost put on the Blacklist, though I heard the [Pioneer] prevented it."
"Ouka!"
"Don't misunderstand! I also think there's some mistake!"
The Akumo and Ryu they knew weren't the type to do such things without reason, but if it were true, it was a grave matter.
"Based on circumstantial evidence alone, [Gale] is suspicious. However, there are a few things that bother me."
"I investigated the body with Daphne earlier."
Slide—!
Lily shared the information about the corpse with everyone and nodded to Daphne, asking for an explanation.
"You guys were doing that?"
"Not that I wanted to."
Daphne made a face as if she had no choice and began explaining the characteristics of the corpse she had investigated in detail.
"The slash wounds on the limbs were almost certainly done by [Gale]."
"She likely severed the tendons in the arms and legs to prevent escape... perhaps she intended to interrogate him?"
"Yes. What's strange is the fatal wound. The method of attack looked different for a killing blow, and there was no need to stab him so many times."
According to her investigation, while Ryu was involved, there were many doubts regarding whether she had directly killed him.
Furthermore, the claim that Akumo was involved was highly likely to be a lie.
"I also think that man, Turk, is lying."
Clench—!!
"When we fought the Black Goliath, Ryu was active in plain sight. If they wanted to catch her, they would have raised an objection then."
"True. The way he's pushing for a subjugation so suddenly is also suspicious...."
"Above all, I don't believe Miss Ryu would do such a thing."
Bell felt a surge of internal rage at the sight of adventurers like Turk trying to incite public opinion, but he judged the situation calmly.
"Miss Ryu might have been caught up in something."
Slide—!
"If that's the case, I want to help her! So I—"
"I have a suggestion. Why don't we all join the subjugation team?"
"What?"
"U-Us too?"
Lily, having synthesized all the information, proposed a strategy they could execute and addressed everyone.
Bell was flustered by Lily's words, and Cassandra was equally panicked, recalling her prophetic dream.
"If we can clear Miss Ryu's name, the most important thing right now is to contact her before the other adventurers do."
"To do that, we join the subjugation team and then break away when the time is right?"
"Yes. What do you all think?"
Lily's opinion—to make contact faster than anyone else, learn Ryu's true intentions, and uncover the full story—was sound. Since no one held ill will toward Ryu, Bell's party mostly agreed.
"We must go, Master Bell."
"I will go as well."
"I hate troublesome things, but I guess I have no choice."
"Me too!"
"If it's decided, let's get ready!"
Mikoto, Haruhime, Daphne, Chigusa, and Ouka all signaled their agreement, willing to lend their strength to resolve the incident as usual.
'Wait...?'
'This flow... I have a very bad feeling about this...!'
Only Cassandra felt an overwhelming sense of unease, her eyes trembling.
**
Step, step—!
"Akumo, where is Ryu....?"
"She went to pursue them."
"..."
The [Hermes Familia] was investigating the man-made labyrinth, Knossos. Akumo was among them.
Upon hearing Akumo's answer regarding Ryu's whereabouts, Asfi wore a bitter expression, showing her concern for the elf.
"Why that face? As if something terrible has happened."
"Even so, isn't this at a level one would call an obsession...."
'I thought she had finally settled down....'
"No matter if you are there, Akumo, she will eventually be consumed by the flames of revenge."
Asfi told Akumo that Ryu's actions had exceeded normal bounds. She judged it dangerous that Ryu was doing this even after nearly being blacklisted and having her expeditions suspended.
".....Asfi."
"Yes?"
"Then what should Ryu do?"
"That is...."
"Simply forcing the 'right path' isn't always the answer. It just isn't....."
"..."
They both knew it all too well.
No matter how much one speaks of the right path or the peaceful path, it does not necessarily become the truth.
"I am well aware of that."
".....Right?"
Asfi, who served a deity whose path could hardly be called 'right' even by a generous person, and Akumo, whose very conviction was to achieve what he desired, could not help but understand.
'They say revenge is hollow, but....'
"Once the catalyst for revenge has already been created, does it matter if it's hollow or not?"
'Just looking at it makes the stomach churn, and the worry must be at a level that gnaws at the mind....'
Akumo knew especially well that a person consumed by emotions like rage, sorrow, or fear must resolve those feelings somehow, or at the very least, deceive themselves to hide them.
From the great Alfia and Naaza, to children like Welf and Lily.
'To be able to say such things... one must have something strong enough to overcome those emotions... or at least something that can rival them.'
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 157
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T