Levi's first reaction was relief. A living human guarding the entrance meant the chance of monsters having gotten inside was low. A guard standing here meant his family was almost certainly still alive.

His second response was burning rage, a fury that immediately overwhelmed any other thought. This man was complicit in the capture and continued imprisonment of everyone Levi loved. Of keeping them contained in a dungeon that could kill them all in minutes if given half a chance.

Skarm's claws dug into Levi's shoulder, his oldest minion echoing his anger.

He held himself back only with extreme effort of will.

Under any other circumstances he'd have thrown himself forward into the fight already. But at this moment he had so much more to lose. He couldn't die here.

Assess first. Then decide what to do. Even if every ounce of blood in his body insisted that he should be attacking without hesitation.

Ranger and Scout. Ranger baseline, so he'd have high stamina. Average health. It took a moment of quick calculation to be sure, but health should be around 250. The increased stamina would be a problem. No way to outlast him, without engaging in direct physical attacks to drop it faster.

Level 19. Third threshold. He'd be fast, have good targeting - uncomfortably good targeting - and depending on his focus either AOE or guided tracking.

On Levi's side, he had one gremlin, two copies of a rust scarab, and sixteen copies of a flying fish.

If they could get close, Bladefin could take care of the stamina barrier, but there was no way to close the distance without being seen.

The ranger was far enough back in the tunnel that any approach had to be straight on. He'd be able to pick the low-health swarms out of the air before they reached him.

Levi needed something more.

His eyes slid upslope to the overhang above the tunnel. Could he destabilize it somehow, cause an avalanche?

No. As satisfying as the thought of crushing his enemy under a ton of stone was, that plan would trap Levi outside. He needed to get past, not eliminate one opponent.

Then again, this man had no reason to believe Levi was an adversary, did he? Who else would be strolling up in the dungeon except someone who belonged here?

He should be able to get close. If he could approach calmly, without obvious aggression, they could deal with the problem of distance and the approach through subterfuge instead of direct conflict.

It would put him front and center as a target, but that was inevitable.

Would it be better to leave him alive to guard, slip past without even punching him in the face for his crimes? Probably. Should he try to recruit the man? Perhaps. High level Awakened would be essential resources in the coming war.

Right now, though... Levi doubted he'd be capable of coherent speech, much less persuasive enough to change the mind of someone who didn't mind keeping civilians and children trapped inside a dungeon.

Skarm's claws suggested vengeance. The anxiously hovering fish clearly would rather not engage.

"We'll try talking." The words stuck in his throat, coming out as more of a snarl than a furtive whisper. His reflex for violent recompense against everyone and anyone involved warred against years of placing preeminent value on the survival of every human they could find regardless of circumstance.

Maybe it wouldn't be worth the effort, if it took this much focus just to think about it, how would he pretend civility long enough to get through a whole conversation in which he'd like nothing better than to tear the other man's head off?

"In."

The fish swarm obeyed immediately, his backpack bulging with their bulk as they all crammed inside. Skarm slipped off his shoulder to walk at his side. Together they approached the lone guard.

The moment they came into view the guard's posture shifted, growing a bit more rigid, his gaze a bit more focused. His manabow activated, light tracing down it and springing into existence to form its ethereal string, but he continued to hold it lightly at his side.

He might not know, Levi reminded himself. He might not have any idea what he's guarding. Javier hadn't known what was really happening. Adams might not either.

Levi quickened his pace and focused on projecting confidence.

That wasn't hard. It was far easier to slip back into the mindset of a fighter with nothing to lose and no time for nonsense than it was to pretend to be normal.

He barely glanced at the man, meeting his eyes for only a moment. "Adams," Levi said curtly without pausing in his focused stride.

Adams moved sideways to block him. "Ah, sorry, you're not on my list of approved visitors." His eyes narrowed as his own gaze flicked up to Levi's tag again, then back down. "Morrison..."

Levi saw the recognition in the man's eyes.

Any facade of self-control shattered.

There was no good reason for him to recognize the name.

Levi surged stamina, swords whipping out as he lunged forward in the instant between realization and reaction. Adams may have been trained against dungeon monsters, but Levi trained against demon warriors. The difference between them was deeper than any level tag could possibly show.

Bladefin poured out of Levi's bag in a wave, Crackle joining the rising swarm. Skarm stabbed his horn into Adams' leg.

Before the ranger could so much as raise his bow, Levi's swords had drawn twin lines across his chest.

The higher level guard's armor absorbed most of the blow and his health only dropped by a single percent.

Sixteen swarming fish slammed their bladed bodies into the ranger's armor, carving deep scratches into the dark material, but its durability was too high to be easily cut through.

The guard's bow finally came up, almost in slow motion. He still wasn't using his own stamina, even as Levi's surged and enhanced his body in every way.

Adams didn't know how to fight another humanoid, not like Levi did.

Levi was ducking to evade before the ranger even finished aiming. Beast Bite clamped down on the man's arm. A quick twist sent the shot wild. Then Levi reversed his grip and drove the Destruction sword down into the man's chest.

It didn't pierce far, his armor still resisting. Of course someone left on guard in a Beast dungeon would have high physical resistant armor. But the blade pierced deep enough for Levi to start pushing Destruction power out through the blade's tip and directly into the ranger's body.

Adams made a strangled sound somewhere between a grunt and a scream, but he didn't crumple. He jerked to the left, dropping the manabow from his trapped to his free hand, then raised it and fired all in the same motion.

The icy teal bolt of mana split as it crossed the inches between them, four blades of ice slamming full force into Levi's chest. If he hadn't reinforced his armor with piercing resistance, it may have done serious damage.

Bladefin flashed and sliced, the swarm moving with a frantic energy Levi recognized as stamina surge.

Adams remained focused on the biggest threat, refusing to be distracted by the swarm. He started charging again, holding the shot longer before he fired this time.

Mistake. If you were at a disadvantage in close combat, you had to strike fast to do as much incremental damage as possible. Gambling on landing a finishing blow would get you killed more often than not.

Levi whipped the Destruction sword out of the ranger's chest, slapping the manabow aside. The shot held this time, the guard not releasing the attack but continuing to charge it.

With a twist and sharp jerk upward of the Beast sword still clamped around Adams' arm, he twisted at a deliberately painful angle which forced the other man off balance.

Only an instant.

That was more than enough.