A massive dungeon was called, where Julie felt that having the rookies work with the seniors would be great. The students arrived at the Hunter Association where 151 was seen with preparing the SDUs to join the fight. Jensen, Bigby and Alex went on over. The other Hunters were getting ready, checking their gear. The Porters, the Support Hunters were handling the blessings of weapons and armor. Some were fixing and correcting a few items.

"Hey Silas." Bigby greeted whereby Zyx and Yrvad appeared to pay their respects to Bigby.

"So Bigby and Alex. You two got your licenses?"

"Yep. We're B-Rank for now." Bigby showed his rifle, it was in standard 5.56 but the rifle itself was something unique. An automatic assault rifle yet, Silas could see the weights attached by the barrel along with the unique muzzle break.

"A lot of flip in the rifle?"

"Yeah. Need the weights to help reduce recoil. I can't use my mana for long periods of time, so this was the best solution. It's not practical for long fights, but this was the best solution. Besides, mana in this place isn't exactly a lot so." Bigby's manner of speech was more relaxed, speaking more like an adult.

"This is a massive dungeon. It's at C-Rank difficulty but they want a few B-Ranks and A-Ranks to be safe but something stinks." Alex said whereby Silas gave a nod, it was something that was suspicious anyway. Silas turned to 151 who was busy preparing the SDUs. Getting the Orions, Gladiators and the Sylvanus Knights and Fangs to join the operation. The Crimson Reapers were the same. The Troopers, Horsemen, Daemon Punishers and Void Dancers were ready. Silas found Yuliana and Serena there, they bowed to his direction.

"Lopt, Vingthor, Bileygr. If we need you to be here. Please standby."

"As you command, Lord." Their voices echoed as Silas joined the students. He was using his Gates Weapon Set. Since he can convert the essence of his enemies into something useful.

151 went over to the front of the Hunters.

"Alright. This is a massive dungeon. Normally I'd just send you all in as it is, but there's been a recent case of Dungeon Mutations that have caused various things to change within them. Which is why there are multiple B and A Ranks added to the list. The Sylvanus Knights, Sylvanus Fangs and Orions will be joining this operation. The Troopers and Goliaths will focus on making sure that our portal is safe. Think of massive dungeons as warzones. The ones we will be fighting... As to my knowledge are groups that hunt witches. The objective is to rescue a few of the Witches to ensure their survivability. These Witches come from a long line of legendary witches known as the Disasters. As their name suggests, they are powerful but we must protect them and ensure their safety. In their world, they believe that Witches are signs of disaster and demons." Jenny raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"So what's the benefit of rescuing them?"

"Witches come in many specialties. There are some who may imbue curses or blessings as they craft weapons or improve weapons. Not all curses are bad and not all blessings are good. It depends on the material and the witches that you ask. The Disasters may also teach you valuable spells." 151 continued to answer the questions from the many Hunters while Silas was getting his gear prepared. Midnight Squall behind him with the Gates weapon set. Just looking at the weapon coffin, seeing the weapon handles sticking out from the sides. Looking at the skull that was venting out the heat from its activation.

Yuliana and Serena were present, it was going to be their first battle as an ascension to the Maiden and Iron Rose. They had good expressions on their face, prepared for battle. A Massive Dungeon was a new experience. It would require Hunters to prepare their equipment and rations for fighting that may reach up to a week or even longer.

There were Porters, Weapon Smiths and even a few other Support Hunters whose focus is to aid in development and ensuring that there is a base for the Hunters to start out. That will be the role of the Troopers and Goliaths to defend. This time, Silas grabbed one of his Gates Rifles. Based on the AR-15 design but chambered in 6.8 SPC. There was something else, he had the rails made to be slimmer with a shorter barrel for his use. Offset red dot sight and a scope for medium range. Special bullets courtesy of Leon, armor piercing with the ability to manually imbue mana into the receiver to change its properties.

Convenient. The magazines were set at 35 rounds since the construction of the magazines and bullets had to be made from the ground up. Silas was adjusting the stock, trying to find a balance that he preferred with his current physique. The bolt's action was smooth, the trigger reset was perfect for what he needed. The trigger pull was a bit heavier than what he was used to, but there was not time to readjust. This is a rifle that Bellwitch had made as part of the Gates weapon set. Then for his close range weapon, it would be a gunblade. Thanatos's Gift. His backup would be a Gates Dagger.

"Alright, Hunters! The gates are open!" Silas looked around, he received a note from 151.

'Garden movement inside the area. The Sylvanus Knights and Sylvanus Fangs are to operate as an aide while the Troopers will block the exits out of our gate. We believe there is a Rose Knight affiliated to the other Lord that is running amok.' The note burned away after Silas had read it, indicating the secrecy that was needed in this Massive Dungeon. It would take a while until they were done.

Silas went inside with Caroline, Nora, Jenny and Xiao. Ace was going to be accompanying them this time around, which was an added blessing. So was Weiss. Having a Rose Knight and a Crimson Reaper was an added layer of security. Lopt, Bileygr and Vingthor would be the last layer should the need arise. Passing through it, Silas could see the world as a whole. It was a lush forest and they were standing in the ruins of a town. The walls had marks of battle, Silas could picture all of this clearly. This must have been a settlement by the witches or those affiliated as the entire townsfolk was slaughtered. Their remains were still present. Evidently by the skeletal remains with clothes. One of which Silas had noticed was a child's bones hanging by a pole. Crucified for all to see, the clothes were too torn to make out the gender but the damage to the bones?

It meant that they were tortured in the public eye. The feet had a bit of charring, safe to say they were burned by the stake and then tortured further. The remnants of a blade inside a skull of an infant's bones. Looking at the other Hunters who seemed to have either been shocked or just empty. Empty from realizing that their jobs were not as simple as rescue the witches and be free. It was more of protecting a species that may be extinct of sorts.

"Silas?" Nora called, but Silas was too busy trying to understand what had happened here. Piecing together the fights, piecing together the desperation that had lurked in this place. It was like his body was resonating with the massacre itself. Not that he would be guilt free since in the past, he took on Joshua's wrath to do the same. Anger is blind but even blinder were those that were filled with hate.

"What is it?"

"Jenny wants to make a move to the south."

"Got it." Silas got up to join the others as they kept their weapons ready. Navigating through the forest, Xiao would move on ahead to disable the crude traps while Nora would be handling anything that was used by the witches. Some of the traps set by the witches were more of a nuisance than actual damage. The kind that causes one to never leave the forest or the kind that causes a confusion in direction. But the traps set by the Witch Hunters? Those were different, crossbows set to tripwires. Barks of trees that were meant to crush people caught within them. Crude, but effective. Xiao's ability as a Ranger was still there but enhanced by becoming a Reaver. Ace and Weiss on the other hand followed them but didn't say much.

"So... Weiss. I've never seen you before... Are you one of the familiars like 151?" Caroline popped the question.

"Yes, I was recently awakened by my lord."

"Lord? Is that what you call him? Is he a noble of some sorts?" Jenny asked as she held her long sword, while scanning the area.

"He is not nobility, he's a lord because he's earned us through his power alone. It is why we follow him." Ace spoke up as they continued moving. Whereby Ace signaled them to stop. Silas readied his rifle, looking through the scope.

"They must be the witches aide... We have to ki-" Silas pulled the trigger, putting one right through the head. Watching the splash of red through his scope as the others went ahead to take on the targets.

"Don't falter! They are nothing without their magic!" A bright flash had appeared, Silas could see Nora's magic losing power. His magic was sealed but not the Avatar of Season's powers. One went after Jenny from the side, Silas fired a shot to throw the attacker off. Then getting close as he grabbed the gunblade to slash the attacker in half.

"Glory for our Hero! The Auric Rose!" One of them shouted, dashing towards Silas with a magic imbued on the helmet. It was glowing blue and then followed by a bright flash. Ace and Xiao stood to protect Nora and Caroline while Jenny was protected by Weiss's cape.

"Silas!" Jenny called, where Weiss and Ace were curious to see what had happened? Silas was frozen in ice.

"Ace, Weiss. Get them out of here. Tell 151 that they're using powers of the Auric Knight. Grimoire Raizel, head over to 151 to explain the situation." Weiss used his roses to create barriers and bright flashes of light.

"We need to go!"

"We can't just leave him!"

"Trust us!" Ace said as they pulled the others back. That gave Silas a chance to use Bayran's ice to crack this open. Nobody was watching him, that gave Silas a chance to breakthrough it in an instant. Stretching his neck as he put on his Thorns Weapon Set. Putting on his Grieving Thorn mask.

"151."

"Yes, I've heard of the situation. The Auric Rose Knight, Vengria. We've gotten the others to come back as well. It seems that the Rose Knight had used their power to imbue their weapons to increase their lethality. The Witch Hunters are just more dangerous than our C-Ranks. Even as I stand here, I am getting reports from the Sylvanus Knights that their magic has been sealed but their other skills are intact. It is also possible that this particular Rose Knight does not have a master. A wandering Rose Knight."

"Raizel." Silas called.

"Yes lord. Wandering Rose Knights are not that rare if one knows where to look. The Auric Rose Knight Vengria is one under the Ancient of the Harrowing Winds.An Ancient that has refused to serve any Garden or give her blessings to anyone. The 15th Lord had clashed with the Auric Rose Knight. Though the Auric Rose Knight had agreed to serve, they primarily wander around to satiate their wanderlust." An answer that was as convoluted as to the nature of this particular Rose Knight. Raizel's explanation was sufficient to prove a point. Though he is a grimoire, Raizel may not necessarily have all the answers. It is up to Silas to make a choice as to the matters at hand.

"Getting some further reports, my lord. It seems that the Witch Hunters have mages who are quite skilled with magic. The Sylvanus Fangs and Sylvanus Knights are focusing on intercepting them. The Maiden of Iron and the Iron Rose Knight are doing well, she is able to maintain her magic." A gunshot was heard from the radio, followed by silence.

"Hm... Quite the persistent rabble. Apologies, Lord. One of them caught me by surprise. They don't have demonic energy or mana of the sort. Their energies are faint and seem to be using it in limited uses. Some of them are using artifacts and other items to hide themselves. Akin to optical camouflage.. Yet, we can faintly detect it. I suspect their jamming abilities are meant to hinder our magic and hide their mana from being detected. A minor setback at most, Lord."

"How's the situation over there?"

"Tolerable. We're keeping the Hunters safe." Silas used his shared senses to look at the situation from 151's eyes. Seeing the Hunters fight with the Familiars under his orders. Whereby the Sylvanus Knights would act as a defensive measure with the Sylvanus Fangs taking on the vanguard role. The Nora was unable to use her magic, so Fluffy was leaping on her head to keep her moving fast to dodge attacks. Hitting the enemies with the staff to throw them off balance while Jenny would swoop in for the kill. Xiao the new Reaver was doing quite well, fighting tenaciously with his abilities. Ace was just hanging back firing shots with his rifle. Rather tame for a Crimson Reaper, but then again. Ace was only brought here to keep people safe. Weiss? Weiss was just using his flowers as tools, he can't use it for magic but he could set traps instead. Binding a few of the Witch Hunters. Yuliana continued with her blessings, and whenever a blade would come into reach of her. The wielder would be missing its head, that was Serena for you. The faithful guard to the Maiden, the way she fought. It was astounding to watch.

Like a war game when one would put a powerful piece onto the table. Watching it destroy everything within seconds, it was Lopt's swordsmanship in its truest form. Dominating the battlefield and inciting fear within those within reach. Limbs would fly away. Watching how the floating swords would keep close to Yuliana who was healing the others with whatever she could muster. Potions and herbs that she had prepared. Even salves made from herbs of the Avatar of Season's Garden. The desperation of the Maiden had spurred the Familiars, as when a Trooper had his arm cut off, Yuliana was the first to rush to grab the arm. Even if it meant getting in range of being attacked.

"Maiden!" A Trooper fired his rifle at her attackers, then rushing over towards her

"That was dangerous, Maiden!"

"Even if it is, I must heal my allies!" The Trooper nodded as he turned to 151.

"Squad 7,8 and 9. You are now tasked with defending the Maiden as she aids our allies! The rest of you focus fire on the targets!" 151 gave the order as the 5 man squads formed a firing line near Yuliana. Standing in front of the Witch Hunters that came closer, one got close to Yuliana. Only to have the head fly off thanks to a Trooper wielding a shovel. Another Familiar, a Griffin was struck in the head, screaming in pain as Yuliana went over to stop the bleeding. Singing to it, easing its anxiety from the pain. A Hunter was struck in the back, Yuliana stopped the second blade with her hands. Bleeding slowly as she called out for a name.

"Jormungradr!" The Witch Hunter was chopped in two from the tall figure.

"Please, protect them! I will need to heal them!"

"Maiden! I apologize!" One of the Troopers said as he kept on firing at the other targets.

"It's fine, Trooper. Please prioritize the frontlines!"

"Commander!?"

"Head to the front line! I want these rabble dead before Our Lord arrives!" 151 drew his saber as a Witch Hunter got close to Caroline who was busy singing, 151 cut the Witch Hunter down with a swing. Caroline fell to her knees, as 151 passed her a potion.

"Protect the Support team! Make sure no harm reaches them! Orions, you are our last men! Goliaths, you are our first! Sylvanus Knights, you are to maintain formation near the Healers! Troopers, any one that passes the Goliaths are fair game! Keep shooting until they do not move! Watch out for the camouflaged fighters!" 151 commanded as he kicked a camouflaged Witch Hunter, then shoving his blade through its neck.

Bigby dodged a strike from a Witch Hunter's blade, shoving the barrel of his Beretta 92 to the chin. Pulling the trigger twice, kicking the body down. Firing another two shots through the iron chest. Alex swung her mace, leaving a Witch Hunter's head into ground meat. She shattered a blade with her fist, then followed by a heavy swing with her mace to the head. Helmet dented, but the Witch Hunter was left as a corpse.

Jensen danced through the fight with a pair of long swords. The Thorn Sharpness helped immensely as he cut through the enemies with clean swings. Leaving nothing left to chance, a kick to send the Witch Hunter flying into an Orion's reach. The Orion fired an entire magazine into the Witch Hunter.

Their numbers weren't decreasing, pouring into the base camp. Silas wanted to go and chase the others, but he had to go help base camp. The Witch Hunters paused in their attack as screams were heard from behind. Seeing 10 heads fly in front of them, Silas walked into view with blood on his gloves and suit. Brushing the dust away as he waltzed in, unleashing his killing intent that he had learned in Upiezen. Freezing the Witch Hunters on the spot, as they felt blades pierce their skin. Even their cold sweat could not touch the ground without being decimated by the sheer blood lust that Silas was emitting.

"Our Lord has returned!" 151 said as the Familiars knelt before Silas's appearance as the Lord of Thorns.

"How are the injured?"

"We're stabilizing them now, Lord."Weiss offered a rose to Silas who threw it into the air, the petals burst with light magic. Healing the wounds of the injured in an instant. The Hunters who had been injured were able to stand on their feet, looking at Silas with curiosity.

"What?! How can you use magic?! Our jammers are supposed to keep you busy!"

"Lopt, Vingthor, Bileygr. Handle the rabble." Silas called for the trio to appear.

"Make them disappear." The Witch Hunters were turned into nothing but a bloody mess, whereby Silas went to check on the equipment. Lopt on the other hand, made his way to his Maiden.

"Oh, Ancient Lopt.. I."

"It is fine, Maiden. You may not be fit of battle, but you were valiant in your defense. My Knight. Beautifully done. I enjoyed watching the chaos. My Maiden, your heart of valor. That is a wonderful sight."

"Truly, you've chosen quite a good candidate for a Maiden. If I knew she was that courageous I would have made her my own." Vingthor said as he slapped his brother's back. The loud smack was heard as all eyes were on them.

"Ow."

"Ah.. Too hard?" Lopt was on his knees, while tapping his back. Lopt gave a nod to his brother who seemed to be apologetic to what had occurred. Bileygr? He was just checking on the Avian Familiars who seemed to like him a lot. The One Eyed Emperor was making sure that they were feeling better. Healing them with his presence. Vingthor helped Lopt on his feet, then seeing Vingthor be met by the many Familiars who wished to gain blessings from the Thunder Prince. There were some who went over to Lopt, primarily asking for blessings. The presence of an Ancient must have gotten some of the Familiars feeling safe with their masters.

"Wait! Where's Silas?" Caroline was the first one to notice Silas was missing, little did she know that the man standing before her was SIlas.

"Your friend that got frozen into a snow cone? It's alright. I used an artifact to send him back somewhere safe." An answer that had a lie written all over it but Caroline seemed to not take the bait.

"Where?!"

"Do not question the Lord, Hunter!" 151 raised his voice to Caroline.

"Trust our lord. Your friend is safe. Do not worry about anything else. Focus on surviving the Dungeon." Ace told her, then grabbing his Reaper rifle by the stock. Letting the blade of the Reaper rifle extend out for him to sharpen with a stone.

"Lord?" 151 called out as Silas was thinking of a strategy. It would be safe to say that the Witches were in greater danger than anticipated. The fact that some of them were able to use artifacts that kept their mana hidden. Most of these Hunters are not used to such things, Silas put on his pair of Thorn Gloves.

"We need to move faster than this. We need to save the Witches after all. We're moving too slow for my taste. Alec, Mitchell, Krieg." The three of them made their appearance as petals flutter about. Alec and Mitchell loaded their pistols while Krieg was checking on his lever action rifle. Testing the action, trying to get a feel for the smoothness.

"Lord." The three chorused towards their Lord.

"We'll be taking the lead on this. You three are with me. 151, take command of the rest. I'll trust your judgement. Lopt, Vingthor, Bileygr. Do as you wish." Silas brought out the Grieving Thorn katana, absorbing the grief all around him. The grief of the dearly departed from the residents here. It was going to sink deeper and deeper into the blade.

"I understand, my lord. I will do my best. I apologize for our pace."

"Heh, it's not like you 151. Being caught off guard like this." Krieg joked whereby 151 chuckled much to the surprise of the many Hunters.

"It just means that next time I need to survey the details myself and not leave it to the system. I suppose the meddlers have decided to ensure the deaths of our Hunters that attempt this. At the very least, none are dead yet. I cannot simply gamble away their lives like my Troopers. They lack the conviction." 151 spoke out loud. Alec was just whistling as he went to a dead Witch Hunter, baring his fangs as he bit the neck. Slurping the blood.

"Sheesh, Alec. Can't you like? Eat them later? We're going to be hunting them in a bit." Alec shrugged off that remark by Mitchell. An annoyed sigh as Mitchell shook his head to his brother's actions. Alec sucked the blood dry from the corpse, then looking at Mitchell.

"Yep. They don't taste all that great. Since the body turned ice cold. Might be a way for them to throw us off. I don't taste a lot of mana though." Mitchell raised an eyebrow as he went to a body and did the same. That caught Silas's attention.

"Yep... These guys aren't human. They're half-human with some other blood mixed in. Half Humans with a lot of things mixed in... I'm getting a hint of Vampire from this one... And maybe a werewolf?" Food for thought, as Silas was trying to understand. Wouldn't that mean regular weapons would not work?

"Mitchell... Mind elaborating?"

"It's like my brother said. It's not that great in taste but they're not fully human. Some of it tastes bad like there's demons mixed in it. Just let me lick some blood to figure this out."

"It never ceases to amaze me how un-vampire like these two are." Krieg grumbled as he loaded the bullets into his revolvers.

"This is a helpful hint. It might shed some light on the situation. What are we fighting against here?" Alec stopped feasting after 10 bodies.

"Yeah. They aren't fully human. Some are mixed with some other creatures but the common taste is this weird tanginess. A bit spicy and it's not the good kind. The kind that burns my tongue kind. They might just have blood of various creatures injected into them to strengthen their bodies."

"I second that opinion, Lord. It makes sense to why normal weapons could kill them. They're like a chimera made in human shapes rather than humans." The words of his two Vampires had given Silas a bit of an idea. So they're essentially incomplete. Just enhanced but they can't do much after that. Even the ones that Weiss had bound with his magic had turned motionless. Most likely to prevent information from getting out.

"Then let's go on ahead. There's bound to be answers somewhere." Silas said as the three followed him to the forest. 151 needed time to sort out the damage here, and an assessment onto their foes. If they were like Chimeras, then it would make sense to why it was difficult for them to die. Either way, this was going to be a confusing fight and one that Silas cannot afford to take his time. Losing the Witches would be a greater loss on the Hunters than it is on him. But if the Hunters are to prepare for Garden. Then they need every advantage they can get.