Despite a few minor hiccups along the way, Loki Familia still managed to bring the entire team to the 35th floor.
Two hours from the surface to the 35th floor—this pace couldn't be called anything but fast, to the point it nearly felt like flying.
This was the maximum speed Loki Familia could achieve while barely stopping at all.
After all, this was a campaign against Evilus, not a deep-floor expedition. As long as they carried combat supplies, they didn't need to bother transporting strategic materials, which naturally pushed their pace to its limit.
"We're here."
Passing through the staircase marked their official entry into the 35th floor. Here, the stone walls were made entirely of white rock, earning it the name "White Palace."
But the 35th floor was still a highly dangerous place.
It was well known that the dungeon's territory expanded drastically with depth. By the time one reached the 35th floor, the fully explored area alone was already as large as one-third of Orario.
This was why exploring the deep floors was so perilous. Without sufficient preparation, the dungeon could devour an unprepared adventurer at any moment.
Now that Loki Familia had arrived at the 35th floor, their next task was to find the entrance to the Evilus stronghold hidden somewhere within this massive area—almost one-third the size of Orario.
Of course, reality wasn't that ridiculous.
The entrance had already been found long beforehand—otherwise, today's large-scale assault against Evilus wouldn't even be happening.
"Welcome."
As Loki Familia's vanguard stepped out from the staircase, a ghostlike figure appeared before them.
A white coat and hood covered most of the person's face, making it impossible to identify who they were. Even the voice was muffled, making it difficult to tell whether it belonged to a man or woman.
Yet Ais—and in truth, nearly everyone present—recognized who it was.
"You—"
Ais began to speak, but Riveria raised a hand to stop her. Looking at Bell—who appeared almost no different from usual—Riveria said:
"Please show us the exact entrance location."
"Follow me."
The corner of Bell's mouth curved slightly beneath the hood. With a light bow, he stepped ahead to guide them.
It seemed the Vice Captain of Loki Familia was quite perceptive—she had figured it out.
But Riveria wasn't the only one.
As they walked, Bete glanced at Bell leading them and instinctively sniffed the air.
'I can smell it… but I can't remember it.'
As a Werewolf whose strongest sense was smell, Bete instantly recognized something was wrong.
The person was right in front of him, and the scent definitely existed—yet his nose insisted he couldn't retain it.
He could sense the presence, and even feel that the aura was merely that of an ordinary Level 2.
But Bete was absolutely certain the person in front of him was far more powerful than that.
He just had no evidence.
The figure in front of him hid his presence far too well—never leaking even the faintest trace of anything. Even his entire aura felt completely ordinary.
In short, it was downright eerie.
Following behind Lefiya, both Filvis and Dionysus felt that something was off.
It was obvious they didn't recognize the youth who had appeared out of nowhere.
'A deviation from the plan.'
A boy suddenly showing up on the 35th floor, deliberately Stealthing his appearance and even masking his voice—this was far too intentional. It practically screamed that he didn't want anyone to identify him.
Dionysus certainly grasped this, but given how abruptly the situation had shifted, he had no way to call things off midway.
That unease only grew stronger with every step as they followed the group toward the entrance.
The 35th floor's passages were numerous—so numerous that even seasoned adventurers could get lost here.
But Bell, leading the way, knew this place unusually well. He had watched this floor for a long, long time. Navigating it came to him as naturally as breathing.
With Bell guiding them, Loki Familia's assault team located the path to the Evilus base entrance without any difficulty.
Still, something felt strange to the vanguard team of four. Today felt… different.
"The 'White Palace' is really quiet today."
Tiona commented, unable to ignore the unsettling silence around them.
The other three halted for just a moment. That was all it took for them to realize what had been bothering them earlier.
Yes—this entire route through the "White Palace" had been far too quiet.
Under normal circumstances, the "White Palace" never grew silent. The monster spawn rate here was extraordinarily high.
Unless there had been a massive wave of spawns that had just been completely cleared, the "White Palace" would never remain quiet for this long.
Realizing this, the three couldn't help turning their attention toward Bell at the front.
Even so, they couldn't immediately take this as proof of his power.
Under normal circumstances, most people would have. But they all knew Bell possessed unique magical script capable of producing all kinds of effects.
Their own familia had purchased Rune Stones to disperse monsters from him before. Who knew—maybe this was another ability of those stones.
'Why is this guy hiding himself so thoroughly?'
Bete found himself growing more and more curious about Bell's reason for hiding—especially since Bell had gone out of his way to conceal his voice today. It practically begged to be questioned.
'Does something today make hiding himself necessary?'
'Did that old woman stop Ais earlier so she wouldn't accidentally say his name?'
Riveria's action had been sudden, but neither Finn nor Gareth stopped her—which meant they had noticed something too.
'Finn, the old woman, and the old man are all hiding something, but they won't say it.'
Bete could faintly sense that something serious lay behind all of this, and his thoughts inevitably turned to the outsider participating in today's assault.
'So the reason they're hiding this is because of a god?'
'Tch! I knew it. Loki suddenly being so agreeable about adding one more person today was sketchy. Looks like I was right.'
...
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