Knossos.
The rescued Xenos, freed by their fellow kind, gathered together with the armed group led by Reed and Gross, their faces grim and fearful, eyes locked tightly on that man as though facing a mortal enemy.
Switching perspective, it revealed the adventurer known as the Night Weaver, sitting spotless and unruffled on the back of the man he had knocked unconscious.
Just looking at Dix's state, his goggles shattered into pieces, blood covering his head, and half his face swollen, was enough.
This sight, seen by Ryu, Asfi, and Aisha, made them glance at the yawning man and smile wryly.
"Ahem, Mr. Fron. While this outcome is satisfying, couldn't you have held back a little? Otherwise, questioning him later will be much more troublesome."
Fels stood in front of the Xenos group, helping steady them, though his tone carried a hint of helplessness.
After all, Dix was still a Lv.5. To be beaten to such a state, coupled with his mentality collapsing after being toyed with, meant that trying to extract intel from him was now several times harder thanks to Fron.
"Sorry, that wasn't part of my consideration. As long as the results meet our deal, that's good enough."
Saying so, Fron cast his eyes, whether intentionally or not, toward the Xenos, making them all shudder in unison.
This man was simply terrifying.
Even a veteran Lv.5 adventurer like Dix had been rendered helpless before him. To last three moves against him wasn't survival at all, but merely the man toying with his prey.
Do not provoke him. Absolutely never provoke him. This man was a devil.
At that moment, the man sighed, spread his hands, tilted his head innocently, and said in an exasperated tone: "There's nothing I can do, dear Mr. Fels. You must understand, stepping on an ant without killing it is a terribly difficult thing. I hope you'll consider my perspective too."
"..."
"..."
"..."
What kind of bragging was that?
It wasn't just the Xenos and Fels who were stunned.
Even Asfi, Ryu, and Aisha stared blankly.
Their mouths twitched as they turned their faces away in perfect unspoken agreement: 'We don't know him.'
"Ahem. With matters here settled, the payment you're due will be delivered to you in full afterward."
Receiving what he wanted, Fron nodded in satisfaction.
"In that case, we'll take our leave."
This floor's exploration was nearly complete. The three exchanged a glance with the others.
"Let's go."
With a wave of his hand, the four of them instantly vanished before everyone's eyes.
"Again… that kind of trickery! Damn it!" Remembering how they had been stalked with that same despicable method, Gross ground his teeth in humiliation.
Fels raised his hand to stop him.
"Enough, Gross. Has that man's strength still not cleared your head? Do you not realize who that was? The famed Night Weaver, a top-class Lv.6 adventurer! Known as invincible among his tier, capable of fighting above his level, a powerhouse!"
"In all of Orario, there isn't a single faction that dares deny him face, not even Freya Familia or the Guild. Do you understand!?"
"Hmph, he's just a Lv.6. We still have Asterius!"
"..." At those words, Reed's eyes went blank.
"Wait, before we launched the invasion, did we ever actually notify Asterius!?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The entire hall sank into a suffocating silence.
"Is now really the time to be worrying about that!? What about Wiene!?"
"Yes, Wiene!"
Startled, everyone snapped to attention and quickly rushed into the tunnel Dix had opened leading toward the surface.
····
After leaving the hall, Fron and his group began mapping and concluding their findings, using the hall as their starting point.
With Asfi's invisibility mask, they easily slipped past the dungeon' surveillance.
After all, the Violas couldn't track by scent or sound. If they could, Fron would have simply conceded defeat.
Thirty minutes later, the group returned once more to the 18th floor.
"Is it done?"
"The map's here."
"Good. This intel wasn't easy to obtain."
"From here, starting at the 18th floor, we'll conduct a reverse search of the middle and upper levels, a full carpet sweep."
"If the 18th floor has an entrance to Knossos, then I don't believe there aren't others on different floors. Those bastards built it from the surface downward, generation after generation. He's sure to have left himself other escape routes."
Hearing Asfi's analysis, Fron nodded.
"Agreed."
"For now, let's withdraw. The battle with Ganesha Familia seems to be dying down, which means their suppression mission must be concluding. We don't want to run into them. If Shakti were to see us, it would cause endless trouble later."
Even though Fron had made a deal with Fels to keep their presence secret, the Ganesha Familia didn't know that.
Any misunderstanding, without the Guild's higher-ups stepping in to explain, would only lead that fat pig to stir up conflict.
"..."
Just as they were about to leave, Ryu suddenly frowned.
", "
Fron froze, eyeing her curiously.
"Fron, don't you think something's off?"
"What do you mean, off?"
"The battle has indeed ended, but… isn't it too quiet?"
"..."
At that moment, Fron realized he had forgotten something important.
No wonder, his focus had been on the Evilus and Knossos. On top of that, with the passage of time, his memories of his past life had started to fade in and out, leaving him unable to recall some crucial details.
[T/N: The person who has enhanced/photographic memory forgot about such an important thing. At least tell that he hadn't watched season 3 & 4.]
But piecing together the time, place, people, and events, Fron's heart lurched.
"Shit!"
"Move!"
Fron immediately sprinted toward the Ganesha Familia's battlefield.
Lightning flashed in his mind as he remembered, the other key figure in this incident besides Bell Cranel and the Xenos girl Wiene.
Asterius, the Xenos who shaped Bell's growth and became his destined rival.
With latent potential at the very peak of Lv.7, he had long honed himself in the deepest floors of the dungeon.
If not for his lack of technique and experience, almost like a newborn child, then with his Lv.7 potential and racial talent.
The thought barely formed when Fron and his group arrived like the wind at the battlefield of Ganesha Familia.
What greeted them was the sight of countless adventurers lying across the ground, battered and broken.
"Shakti…?"