"How many do you think are there?"

"I have no idea, we have walked deeper and deeper into the cave…

​​

...for all we know, there are probably more than a hundred of them here."

"Shit, so we're surrounded?"

The Royal team quickly got into position as the pressure in the air grew louder and louder. Judging by the deafening whispers slithering through the air, the number that one of them surmised was probably closer than he thought.

"Can you heal Alex?" Adia then said as she looked at Kamia.

"...I don't have a healing skill."

"What!? We don't have a healer in the team?" Adia almost pulled out her hair in frustration as she heard the Gold-rank Explorer. She then looked at Alex, whose gasps were being drowned by the sound of the lamias approaching their position. She then looked towards Van, who was swinging Alex's sword... like there wasn't a person in the process of dying beside him.

He was calmly checking out the sword, seemingly swinging it to check the weight. But based on how he was holding it, he probably didn't even know how to use it.

"!!!"

Adia was about to say something, but before she could do so, a spear whistled through the air. If they weren't already aware of the oncoming ambush, then the target of the spear would have surely been pierced by now due to the speed it was traveling.

The media crew, which Adia was worried about earlier, was now hiding safely somewhere. They weren't called professionals for nothing, she thought. The other Explorers seemed to be ready to fight as well, as they got into their own positions.

There really wasn't much for her to do as the leader of the Royal team except to fight. They were all experts here and already knew what they were going to do without even her saying anything. The only one that she was a bit worried about now was Van.

"Get all of them in a straight line!" She then roared, "Don't let them surround us or we will all be dead!"

As if following a queue, as soon as Adia finished her words, 5 lamias jumped out from their rear. But before they could reach their position, Kamia summoned a wall of fire, managing to burn one of them, with the 4 others slightly wounded.

While the four other lamias were in a panic, the 2 Silver-ranked Explorers quickly tried finishing them off. But still, this was a Purple Portal and was already above the level their rank was used to explore. It took a few dodges and hits, but finally, after a few seconds, they were able to kill the remaining 4.

"Kree!"

Without even allowing them to take a break, another group of lamias emerged. This time, they fell from the ceiling, falling on top of one of the Silver-ranked Explorers.

"Tyro--"

His comrade was about to help him, but before he could even do so, it was already too late. Blood showered on his face as the lamia tightened its body, crushing the silver-ranked explorer's head and turning it into a paste.

"No!" The man rushed towards the lamia, his rage exuding from the blade that decapitated the lamia's head swiftly. But due to his anger, he did not see the lamia that was slithering its way towards him.

The lamia had its spear already pointed towards his back as it wriggled its body. "Behind you!"

"!!!"

Luckily, before the lamia could reach him, Adia blocked its path with her fist, punching it in the face causing it to fly until it hit the wall. However, Adia was not able to see the other lamia that was heading towards the remaining Silver-ranked Explorer.

Both of them didn't. At least not until the lamia had the tip of its spear through the man's eye.

Adia could only grit her teeth as she rushed towards the lamia, crushing its head with a pincer using her gauntlets. Adia had no time to rest, however, as another group appeared from another random direction.

If it wasn't for Kamia killing and holding off the rest, then they would have already been overwhelmed with the monsters' number. Adia continued to swing her gauntlet, her feet moving in an almost circular motion as if she was dancing.

Although they already lost two people, and one gravely injured and fighting for his life, Adia could not take even a single breath to put her thoughts together as the lamias came endlessly. Van already warned them that the monsters were now aggressive. She should have probably taken it more seriously and have been proactive in hunting the monsters as they got deeper into the cave.

She was still a little upset with what Van did, so she wasn't really keen on following him. But alas, look where it got them. Her comrades' death might as well have been in her hands.

"Grah!" Adia let out a deafening roar as she clobbered and smashed her way through the lamias that were endlessly rushing towards her and Kamia. She continued to--

...Wait.

Two of them?

What was Van doing!?

Adia wanted to turn her head towards where Van was, but seeing as they were currently being bombarded by the human snakes, she was not able to spare even a single glance towards his direction. She could only click her tongue as she relaxed her breath, trying not to lose focus.

And finally, after what seemed like a whole 15 minutes, the onslaught of lamias was finally over. Adia quickly fell to the ground as she tried to catch her breath. She wanted to remove her gauntlets as her hands were starting to get numb from all the hitting, but she chose not to do so as there might be another wave of monsters ready to ambush them.

Kamia, as well, was the same. She quickly sat down, grabbing what seemed to be a piece of Crystal from the ground and placing it on her forehead to try and recover her SP.

The media crew also started appearing from wherever they were hiding. Their cameras were panning on the dead lamias on the ground, then towards Adia and Kamia whose chests were moving up and down as they gathered their breaths-- truly, a professional.

After a few seconds, however, Adia let out a loud breath as she stood up from the ground. Her eyebrows clearly knotted as she headed towards where Van was. "Kamia, can you light up a fireball towards Van," she then said, the tone of her voice clearly pissed.

Kamia slightly glanced towards Adia before casting a fireball, then returning back to absorbing the Crystal.

"Va-an, why weren't you helping us!?" Adia said as the fireball slowly traveled in the air. Hearing the tone in Adia's voice, the media crew quickly nodded to each other as they widened their shots to capture both Adia and Van.

"Kamia and I were fighting for--"

Adia's words, as well as her steps, instantly stopped as soon as the fireball illuminated Van's position. The sound of water rippling silently echoed from Adia's foot as she slightly backed away.

"This…"

Her eyes did not know where to look as the brightness of the fire was being reflected almost everywhere. "...Blood?"

Adia then took a small gulp as her eyes started to wander, only for them to see only blood and guts surrounding the cave. It was almost as if Adia was inside a monster's mouth, as the color of the cave changed into a pink hue.

And at the center of this mouth, was Van; a small smile formed on his face. His body, also red from all the blood that clung to it. The only thing that was clean on him was the sword he was holding, which was releasing a whistling sound, seemingly vibrating as it blurred into the darkness.

Adia was not sure how many corpses there were here, but judging by the heads that sprawled on the ground, it was equal to the monsters they fought, maybe even more.

Adia then once again slightly backed away as Van turned his head towards him. Adia was about to say something, but before she could do so, Van walked away, heading towards the remaining Silver-ranked Explorer they had in their team.

But alas, a light sigh escaped from Van as he got to the man's position, "He's dead," Van then muttered as he returned his gaze towards Adia.

"I… I see," Adia could only stutter as Van shook his head. The camera crew, who was expecting some good drama, was slightly disappointed. However, the ones watching on the other side of the camera were anything but-- they were going bananas.

The viewers were not able to see what Van did, but seeing that there was blood everywhere, something amazing probably happened. It was just a shame that the cameras were focused on Adia and Kamia. Without even knowing it, the viewers' screens once again became flooded with comments. Comments on how the camera should be focusing on the White Imvubu's protege.

"Should we… leave or just continue the exploration?" Van said as he approached Adia.

"I…" Adia hesitated for a few seconds before nodding her head, "Let's retreat for now so we can discuss our option. Gather all the Crystals we can get."

"...Alright."

***

"Someone… someone is definitely here."

In another Portal, the colossal green-haired woman carried a worried expression on her face. She was now in front of a White Portal, most likely the exit towards the Darkzone.

"I can feel him… Hermes… is it really you? But then why…

...why are you killing these children?"