"Are you alright?"

Lucy worriedly asked the smiling Arthur, who reassured her while glancing at the unconscious Noktox.

"Nothing too serious."

She followed his gaze and looked at the beastmen, who should not wake up anytime soon.

"He's physically strong, huh."

"Yes, a worthy opponent if we're using only melee attacks, otherwise I could have handled him way faster."

The last unseen attack of Arthur wasn't a skill but a super-fast kick that hit Noktox's head. Using the skill [Griffin's Bloody Switch], Arthur converted everything into Agility, choosing to bet on unmatched speed rather than absolute strength. As he suspected, he was able to counter the enemy with his attack, which was aimed at a vulnerable part.

Furthermore, the beastmen focused most of his power in his fist so the rest of his body was less protected. He thought Arthur would try to clash with his fist but the latter launched an attack that struck its target before the Godly Punch could fully unleash itself.

The couple stopped next to the knocked out beastmen and retrieved his white flag, which wasn't carefully hidden. This time, Arthur kept the flag for himself, considering as the victory prize of that melee fight.

Arthur was about to check what happened between Forne and the black-haired woman only to see a figure flying from far away, crashing into the ground then rolling dozens of times. Upon a closer look, it turned out to be the Black Seat, who lacked his usual dominance and was covered in injuries.

He hastily got up and thoroughly searched inside his clothes but couldn't find his personal flag. Surprisingly, for the first few seconds, he didn't do anything and remained silent and even a bit dazed. Only when he realized his situation did he clench his fists and glared at a black silhouette standing four hundred meters away. Forne was about to rush at her but she vanished from his sight, making him stop in his tracks and looking around, only now noticing Lucy and Arthur's presence.

The Black Seat looked at Arthur for a few seconds, snorted and left the area, clearly unwilling to waste time dealing with the parasite. They weren't really enemies and as long as Arthur doesn't interfere later on, there is no reason for them to fight… only if the Red Tower forces them to in order to climb to a higher floor.

"What's up with him? Trying to seem threatening when he got his ass handed to him?"

"Don't mind him… he acts like that most of the time."

*****

On the other end of the massive chest board, the black-haired woman, who just played with Forne for a little while, exited her stealth and looked around. Xyktia already acquired more than eight flags but it wasn't as exciting as she thought it would be because the targets are very dumb and unsuspecting.

This time, she happened to locate a suitable next target, an old man wearing a tattered grey robe. She saw him fight Sol'khin back on the 4th floor and was a bit interested and now that an opportunity has arisen, she wouldn't mind taking it.

She entered her stealth again and using an unmatched speed, appeared next to Zodiak. She stretched her hand, trying to swiftly steal the flag under his sleeves, however, just when she when her fingers were about to reach it, Xyktia abruptly retracted her hand and jumped to the back.

The woman looked surprised as she was forced out of her stealth and was even discovered by the old man, who acted as if he sensed nothing. Now that she could be seen, Zodiak turned around to face her, his black pupils looking at 'The Assassin'.

"What do we have here?"

He spoke with a light, easy-going tone, not worried about who his opponent is. From the look he was giving her, it was apparent that he's aware of her real identity.

"Were the rumors actually true?"

Xyktia didn't reply and, instead, charged at him again. Without a doubt, her speed was infinitely faster than Zodiak but thanks to his Dark Magic, she would get blasted then forced to back away. Unlike normal magic, Dark Magic corrupts the soul and body and the Lady of Darkness is already weakened to it would do her no good if she gets hit.

The woman spat a strange darkness from his mouth which she grasped with her hands then changed its form, it was a weird sight that even made Zodiak frown. In a matter of seconds, the darkness became a black tablecloth that was thrown over Zodiak's head, blocking the light and trapping him.

He tried to resist but was bound by large bony hands that sprung from the ground and immobilized his legs. In the end, the inky black cloth fell on the old man and remained like that for half a minute before dark blue Dark Magic descended from the colorless sky, ripping the cloth and consuming the undead bones.

Zodiak didn't look too well, his face was pale and blood was leaking out of his lips.

"Hahaha I expected no less from you."

He didn't wait for her to attack again and hastily used 'Blur Ticket', an expensive item from the Luxury Store. It teleports the user to a random location of the floor and grants him immunity to all damage for a full minute, basically guaranteeing his safety.

*********

"She really is unlikable!"

The Joker cursed with a low voice that only Leiu, who was sitting beside him, could hear. Saly grew bored and was silently meditating in the corner, no longer bothering her teacher with questions nor demanding to participate in the tower competition.

"Mhm."-Leiu

"What's that supposed to mean? 'Mhm'? Is that you agreeing to my statement or simply grunting?"

The youth glanced at the Magician with an uninterested look then resumed watching the large monitor displaying the events occurring on the 7th floor.

"Hey! Communicate with me! Is she still a lover or what?"

After spending half an hour pestering him, the Joker finally managed to force an answer from his brother.

"We're no longer together."

"Then why the hell is she in my tower?"

"…"

"There you go again with that damned silence!"

*****

"It really was stinky in there."

Timos stood atop a small mountain right next to the prison where Zaarae was held. He looked at the blinding canopy and sighed, disliking the eternal light ruling over this planet's sky.

Just as he about to leave, he heard the flapping of wings followed by a familiar and overwhelming presence. Without needing to confirm anything, he immediately knew who it was.

"What brings you here, Bilgart?"

"You're as carefree as ever, Timos."

Hearing this, the man chuckled and added: "That's how I like to be. Never minding other people's business and just enjoying what's out there."

"Is taking Arthur's daughter also considered 'not minding other people's business'?"

In response, the Black Devil turned to face the motionless crow.

"That's called repaying a favor. He and his wife freed my soul and I paid them back by saving their daughter, then again, I don't need to tell you since you've already seen everything."

After a brief silence, the crow, which was half black and half white, said: "Don't get too much involved."

"Come on, Bilgart, you know me best… I dislike complicated scenarios. Now that I'm free, I just want to explore this different multiverse in peace."

"What about Sol'khin?"

"What about him? Don't try to blame it on me, Watcher. We both know only Sol'dhin was my doing, as for Sol'khin… that's your mess, one that I accepted in your place."