"Wait, so how are we doing this again?" Remuil sat on one of the wooden chairs of the dining room, listening with a bleak expression after hearing Larrus's reckless options and suggestions.

"Like I said, I'll go in and get him out as quickly as I can. If I run into any monsters, then I'll outrun them. We have no money to buy weapons with, so that's that out of the window. Besides, I'll probably manage to do something if it gets too out of hand. Got any other suggestions?" Larrus asked Remuil beatifically, confident in his ability to pull through in the end.

"Well no, but it's still worse to go in a dungeon filled with strong monsters whose weapons are their claws and teeth. I know you're strong, but that's just pushing it too far don't you think?"

"I agree with Remuil. Maybe we could persuade one of the adventurers in the city to lend us some weapons. Hopefully they'll agree once we explain our situation," said Andersen, looking normal and well-rested after having eaten and slept.

"How about this then. Roy, have any sharp looking objects here? A knife will do."

"Uh, I think we have one. Wait here, let me check," the kid, who had introduced himself as Roy the night before, went to the kitchen, rummaging through their utensils, trying to find one that might benefit Larrus the most.

"Hmm, too short... too long... why is this still here?... Wait, this'll do!" he raised the 'knife' in the air, rejoicing after looking through the kitchen, filled with utensils and ingredients, mainly produce from their garden at the back.

Returning, he presented the 'knife' to Larrus and the others, placing it on the table as he smiled, reveling in his accomplishment, despite it being little.

"... A knife?" Larrus said as he looked at it.

"Yeah, we use it to cut really sturdy stuff! I've seen my teacher use it in a lot of things like carving wood, cutting out grass, slicing meat, something like that."

"This... this is a dagger. Wait, this is even better! Alright, maybe we can finally get started," Larrus stood enthusiastically, placing his two hands on his hips, puffing his chest out.

"Before anything else though, tell us a bit about your teacher. I don't really know what he looks like."

"O-okay then. I guess he has long, grey hair, maybe until here," Roy measured the length to the mid-section of his back. "He was wearing a plain, silver robe when he went down. I guess he has a piece of cloth around his face covering his eyes. Oh, and he's pretty pale too!" he went on, giving a more accurate description than what the group could have ever hoped for.

"Remind us why he went down there again in the first place?" Zafra asked, coolly leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, listening as well.

"He said that he felt a mysterious presence in the dungeons and went to investigate it."

"If that's everything, then I guess it's time. Like we planned, Zafra's coming with me since he fights with his fists, while you two stay with Roy and wait for us here. We'll be back in no time if everything goes smoothly."

Carrying nothing but the dagger Roy called a knife with him, Larrus and Zafra were led to the dungeon located on the eastern side of the city, far away from them, explaining the safety of the area despite being secluded.

As the clouds floated listlessly above the air, the Sun was brightly shining down upon the land as a breeze passed by, sweeping away the leaves of the clear fields and overgrown trees, which had a rather faint fragrance with them; the scent of nature as what they called it.

Walking towards site of the dungeon, they saw the gates of Helia, standing tall from their right, looking just as they had left it.

"Here it is, the dungeon of Helia. But be careful though! There are really scary looking monsters down there. I tried going down, but I didn't." Roy said as they stood beside the entrance of a cave that has been held up by wooden beams, looking to be an abandoned excavation site.

After saying a brief farewell, Larrus and Zafra began descending the dungeon, using a lantern they had borrowed from the boy as their only source of light.

Carefully, they walked through an empty hall in the cave, seemingly not infested at all from the looks of it.

"Let's try to take this slow and steady. I want to search thoroughly just in case we might miss him," Larrus said, holding the dagger with his right and the lantern with his left, looking keenly into the darkness, making use of his senses, which were greatly hindered, to be alerted from danger at a moment's notice.

"Don't worry about it. We won't miss him. I can see clearly in the dark. My senses are enhanced if I wanted to."

"What are you exactly? I don't think a spell that complex exists."

"I'd prefer to leave it as that for now. Just know that you can depend on me if it ever comes to that."

"Well that's surprising, you showing a soft spot to someone. I thought you'd be quiet the entire time, acting cool and that."

"What do you think I am? Just and keep walking so we can get this done with faster. I'll tell you if I see anything."

After a moment of walking and looking through various chasms and passages throughout the dungeon, the silence was finally broken by a deep breathing that seemed to come from a large being. Yet they could see nothing for the lantern's reach was too short.

"I can see it... It's a monster, wait! It's a cockatrice!"

Just as Zafra said the beast's name, a vicious green reptile stretched its long scaly neck from within the darkness, mouth wide open to reveal its sharp fangs and tongue, closing the gap between them and It instantly.

As the beast entered the light, Larrus's body reacted faster than Zafra could, showing the gap in experience of having developed hints sharp senses, pushing his companion to the side and him to the other, narrowly avoiding being bitten.

"That's too strong of a monster! Damn, this looks bad already. An S class monster. Be careful, this thing'll petrify you if you stare at its eyes for too long' Zafra said, trying to glance and avoid the monster's gaze.

"I know that much. Distract it for me. I don't want to prolong this one since it's too dangerous," Larrus said, trying to make sure of the monster's position before attempting to move.

From the shadows. It made a crowing sound, as if waiting for the two in preparation for a fatal attack.

Seeing clearly in the dark with his eyes, filled with much mystery that Larrus does not know of, he picked up a nearby pebble, gripping it tightly as he peeked from behind in order to find the best spot to throw it to.

"There!" having memorized the place that the Cockatrice stood from, remembering how it looked like within a split second in his head, he turned around with his eyes closed, reimagining the image inside his head to recreate the view, aiming for one of its eyes, throwing the pebble like an arrow to a bow.

Larrus, having thought of the same method, turned around after hearing Zafra's voice, throwing the lantern towards him, then using the information in his head from a second ago, closing the gap quickly with reckless abandon.

The monster made a loud, high-pitched screeching sound as it reeled back from the pebble, losing focus of its two prey.

Hearing this, Larrus opened his eyes, knowing that if a Cockatrice's eyes are closed, then its petrification goes away, leaving only its mouth to focus upon.

Zafra, at the same time that Larrus threw him the lantern, then made a run forward, matching his ally's speed as if already knowing what to do.

At the point that Larrus opened his eyes, what he memorized in his head had become useless, thus the light of the lantern that Zafra brought with him shed some light at his target, revealing a large reptile with feathers and scales.

He motioned to slice through the monster's neck, combining it with numerous strikes to the body, forcing the monster down on the ground.

The monster repelled one of the attacks, shielding itself with its wing and sending Larrus back at a nearby wall with its tail.

Preparing to strike a fatal blow at his target, the Cockatrice raised its long head to take a bite, attacking with great agility.

Reacting to this, Zafra unleashed a powerful blow to its body, forcing the giant a few meters away, saving Larrus, who was already in his defensive stance, as if he had been that way even before the monster sent him away.

"Finish it!" yelled Zafra, whereas Larrus moved quickly, leaping a great length and diving down upon the monsters, driving the short dagger in between its eyes, ending its life instantly.

The monster fell lifeless on the ground with a loud thud, creating a cloud of smoke around them, leaving behind a deathly wail, as if to cling desperately to its fading life.

"This was just one. Wonder how many more's down there?" Larrus exhaled in relief, wiping off the sweat that has formed on his forehead, looking at the monster's body. "You alright, Zafra?"

"Yeah. Didn't get hit that much anyway. How about you? I saw you got hit by its tail and launched to a wall."

"Managed to block at the last second. I'll live, don't worry about it. It's going to take much more than that to bring me down," he smiled confidently, walking to the lantern and picking it up, luckily still having a light to guide them with.

"I don't know which ones is more of a monster. Guess I'm lucky to be with you, huh? Let's keep moving then."

"Right. But still, you're pretty strong yourself, being able to punch a large monster like that away. Is that a type of body enhancing magic?"

"It takes a lot out of me. That's just how my body works. I can't explain it myself, but it's just like this. I guess I have more strength than an average person."

They continued to walk, wandering through countless of dead-ends, trying to find the passage that leads to the lower levels of the dungeon in order to find the Sage that is said to have the power to locate their missing friends.

"I just have one question. Don't think about me badly, but aren't you concerned about Cecil and everyone else that was captured? I guess it's just bugging me since you seem so laid back," Zafra said with a serious tone, carrying a bit of weight to it.

"Of course I do. I don't want to admit it, but couldn't sleep last night. Maybe I'm just trying to hide it and remain calm so I don't become insane because of it. It's the best I could do for now. So that's why I'm giving this my all and finding that Sage."

Zafra smirked upon hearing this, feeling a sense of duty wash over him saying that he needs to give his all as well if they want to do this as fast as possible.

The two of them descended level after level, encountering various monsters of unprecedented danger, nearly encountering death himself as they fought strong monsters with every inch of skill that they could make use of.

Needless to say that with every level of descent, the monsters would become stronger as well, ascending heights to which Larrus never thought possible for monsters he had encountered in his past, gaining new insight about them and what he needs to improve upon.

"This is ridiculous. There's too many of them already. This'll be it for us if we don't do anything, Larrus!" Zafra said with a grave tone, defending himself against the approaching monsters, skeletons wielding various weapons and wearing needlessly heavy armor.

Reaching the twelfth level of the dungeon, they were met with terrifyingly dangerous monsters, those that would be considered epics and reserved only for those strong enough, and those who fights in groups.

Yet with enough perseverance and narrow escapes, they either defeated the monsters in their way or passed them by, only injuring them enough to hinder movement, coordinating with each other as best they could in order to survive.

But this time, their situation proved rather difficult as they were surrounded by a large group of skeletons warriors, relentlessly attacking in crowds.

"If only we had someone who could use divine magic, then this should be easy. The thirteenth entrance is just right there. Do you have anything that could immobilize them?" Larrus said, fighting back multiple monsters at once, keeping the dagger he had used and replaced it with a longsword taken from one of the skeletons, giving him enough power to defeat some of them.

"Leave it to me then. Get ready to move!" Larrus held an offensive stance, lunging forward and using that momentum to make a way towards Zafra, easily cutting down the fragile, but strong monsters.

After having made his way to him, they defeated the ones guarding the entrance, destroying them for now, as without a divine magic user in their presence, unholy monsters such as skeletons will continue to live and roam the world, unable to find peace.

"Just how many floors are there left? I don't want to know what the final floor of this place keeps. Probably a giant monster," Zafra said, breathing hard as they took a break from running halfway through the passage leading to the next floor.

"At least I got something I'm used to fighting with. It's just a sword, but it's something," Larrus spoke, examining the passage, using the lantern to highlight the passage.

"Wait, look at that," Larrus pointed further down the pass, revealing a neatly paved corridor made up of foreign looking landscapes of dark, hard looking rocks with strange etchings on it. But what caught his attention was that the corridor was lit up by torches meticulously placed parallel to each other, as if to indicate a sacred and important place of interest.

Without another word, they came forward and admired the eerie feeling coming from the hollow chamber pass, as if it was drawing them in slowly.

Further in, the light they brought shone a mess of rocks looking to be of the same material as the chamber walls, dark, like obsidian, cold to the touch.

The mess of rocks seemed to be part of a much larger piece, one that resembles a tall, sturdy man wearing thick, heavy armor and wielding a sword larger than it, but it is destroyed and smashed to bits.

"What is the hell is this?" The two of them started examining the rocks, trying to make heads or tails of it, thinking if it makes a link to the man they are searching for.

Before the mess of rocks was a door, one that spanned amazingly wide, taking up the entire space of the corridor, also etched on with strange patterns.

Looking around, they saw no other entrance except the one in front of them.

Not waiting for an answer, he knew in his mind that this is where they needed to go, Larrus came up and placed both of his hands on one side of the doors, pushing it using most of his strength as the weight behind it was incredibly heavy, so to speak.

"I don't like the feeling of this, Zafra said, gulping as he waited behind Larrus, who was opening the door.

Unknown to him, his legs trembled in fear, and his body shivered, yet it was not cold enough to affect him in any way.

A heavy sound of solid rock being pushed aside could be heard, filling the silent corridors with a loud echo, followed by a draft of wind, which doused their lantern’s light, leaving them no light, except for the one through the doors in front of them.

Fully opening, they were met with the sight of a wide room glowing a holy, bright light where a man, who had various scars and wounds along his body, and clothes were ragged and torn, sat on the ground, holding a position where his hands were clasped together, unmoving as if holding great focus and concentration.

The man had his back facing the two, and his front was facing what looked to be a fair-skinned, attractive, young woman with captivating looks and long, scarlet hair, wearing a dark, frilled dress to go with her black heels, standing dominantly and condescendingly, as if looking down upon them all.

Her entrancing red eyes stared at their general direction, yet she too was frozen in place, as if an anomaly had done this to both parties.

At a loss for words, Larrus and Zafra simply came forward, looking at the man who bore a resemblance similar to what Roy described, having long, silver hair, and a piece of cloth tied around his head, concealing his eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?" Larrus placed his hand on the man's shoulder, making him twitch for a split second.

"Uh, who-wait! What are you doing here?!" he held a look of surprise, much less with his eyes, which were covered.

The man held his stance as he looked at the two with a turn of his head, suddenly having the face of a stressed man, someone who had been under a heavy pressure.

"We're here to save you. Someone named Roy told us that you were trapped here."

"It is very dangerous for you to be here! Leave while the doors are still open, now!" he yelled with urgency as his hands, which were still tightly clasped together, trembled with surprising tremor inside the room.

Just as he had warned them, the doors began closing quickly, preventing them from escaping.

"I can't hold her back for much longer! Quickly, if you could still force the doors open- "the sound of glass shattering filled the room, and a dreary, deathly aura enveloped everything, giving off a strong presence and pressure, enough to make one, without a great enough will, to faint under it.

"This is terrible. There's no way I can stop her anymore. I suggest that you both prepare to fight with your lives at stake. I've barely even managed to damage her. Her skill and power is just way too above a mortal's," he exclaimed in clear terror, standing up without delay and taking a stance as his hands started to glow.

"Come forth, Ordu, the impregnable vanguard! I summon thee under our pact!" he placed both hands together out vertically as an image started to form, taking shape in front of him.

A large, light-blue being, with half a shield on both arms to form a large kit shield, stood before the men, kneeling with his armed crossed, defending him from any harm with his large, sturdily built frame, decorated by a sturdy set of armor.

"I will try to hold her off as best as I can. Try and pry those doors open. You must live. This woman is a dangerous being. Her powers far exceed my own. There is no defeating her in my current state, not unless a miracle happens, which is unlikely," the man said to them, focusing his eyes on the woman in front of him, exerting his own power.

"What the heck is this feeling?!" Zafra knelt down on one leg, barely being able to lift himself up as a powerful amount of pressure forces him down, not knowing the source of this.

"Hrm, just what are you fighting?" Larrus asked the man before him, only slightly perturbed by the woman's presence.

"She is what you might call a dark lord's disciple, the direct subordinates of the dark lords who serve the demon king. She fights using a spear of strange power. I have made a grave mistake of underestimating her when we first met."

The woman then and there started to move slowly, blinking, then looking at her own body, examining herself with any sort of damage.

"What's this? Your concentration seems to have been broken, or have you run out of energy to stop me?" she smiled maliciously at their direction, making the blindfolded man grimace and jerk in anxious anticipation.

"I enjoyed toying with you. I'll say that I was surprised at first, seeing as how to successfully trapped me under your spell. It was quite amusing, really. But now, I've grown bored of you. I have some things more important to take care of," she brandished her spear, taking a stance with a sharp stare.

"It seems that you've brought more playthings for me, how delightful. I'll make sure to enjoy them to the fullest," her face filled with ecstasy upon looking at Zafra and Larrus, who took a defensive stance suddenly.

"Stay your hand away from them. I won't allow you to harm them," his hands glowed brighter upon yelling his intent, making him stronger on the inside.

"Those who are weak and feeble should silence themselves. You are nothing, and it will remain that way. I'll show you why," her smile turned to a glare, one that seemed to be enough to subdue her enemies.

"Can you stand, Zafra?" Larrus extended his hand out to his companion, keeping his guard up due to the hostility in the air, and due to the fact that a Dark Lord's Disciple was amongst them.

"A Dark Lord's Disciple, huh? Just like that one you fought near Rade?"

"Yeah. Don't let your guard down no matter what. I'll try and figure something to get us out of this," Larrus vigilantly looked around, trying to find a way out of the large chamber that they are in.

"Get ready then, I'll be sure to make this quick," she said, readying her spear.

Hearing this, the man turned to Larrus and Zafra saying, "I'll grant you enough power to overcome her with enough luck. If you will fight, then I shall be aiding you. I won't allow us to go down without a fight," the man pointed his open palm at them, giving them the strange sense of power, similar to the feeling when Andersen bestows his enhancements, but much stronger and potent.

"I'll tell you everything that I can if we manage to escape from here, so I suggest that you try and find an exit while I keep her attention away from you. We might have a chance that way. I haven't searched the entire chamber, but there might be something here- "

Just before the man's last words, the disciple dashed forward at an inhuman speed, closing the meter’s worth of gap between them in seconds, already going in for the kill.