In the dimly lit chamber, Lili curled up in a corner.
The man leading the group grabbed her by the hair and jeered:
"Isn't this our familia's Arde? What a coincidence, running into you down here."
Lili's expression turned deathly pale.
Everything was happening exactly as Bell had predicted—the Soma Familia really had set up an ambush here. Even though she despised them, Lili had still harbored a tiny hope that things wouldn't spiral into the worst possibility.
Rotten to the core—just as she feared.
"You bastards actually followed me?!" Lili spat, furious.
"No need to sound so rude," the man replied with a carefree grin. "Seeing a familia companion head into the Dungeon at night, we followed out of concern. That's perfectly normal, isn't it?"
"Stop talking to her. Hurry up and beat her until she coughs up the goods," another man snapped impatiently.
"Tch. Last time that Supporter died, don't forget who had to deal with the Guild's questioning," the leader retorted sharply.
The man who had been eager to attack could only curse under his breath and step back.
"Supporter... death? What are you talking about...?"
Hearing that unexpected word, Lili felt her teeth tremble.
"Sorry—did that hurt?"
The man theatrically released her hair. "It's nothing big. Just an accident. A Supporter without enough skill getting torn apart by monsters—happens all the time in the Dungeon!"
Lili couldn't understand his intentions. Through her confusion, even the pain at her scalp dulled.
She had always believed the Soma Familia's crimes were limited to theft and robbery. But the man's casual smile hinted at something far more repulsive.
What have they... actually done?
Moments later, a figure answered her question.
"We're really late today."
"Not our fault. Someone cleared the nearby monsters, so finding a Killer Ant took a while."
With a sick wet thud, a grotesque object was thrown to the floor.
"K–Killer Ant?!"
Lili stared in horror at the mangled remains.
It was a Killer Ant, upper body severed, its shell covered in wounds, barely clinging to life. Within seconds, the ground was soaked with oozing purple blood.
"Are you out of your minds?!"
Lili's face turned ghostly pale.
Killer Ants, when dying, emit a unique signal to their kin. If not dealt with immediately, they become horrifying beacons, drawing swarms of monsters toward them.
"We're victims too, you know. Just got dragged into the monster wave by accident," one of them mocked.
Another dying Killer Ant was tossed onto the ground. Its ragged, agonized shrieks echoed endlessly through the corridor.
"Alright, Arde, hand over your haul."
The leader looked down at the trembling Lili, his tone dripping with threat.
"We're all members of the same familia. Just hand over the dagger and the money, and we'll escort you out."
"You're all... completely insane," Lili whispered, trembling.
She shakily extended the bundle in her hands.
The man snatched it instantly, laughing like a lunatic.
"A high-priced weapon from Hephaestus's familia... With this, we can buy all the Divine Wine we want—"
"Wait—wait! The Killer Ants are here?!"
Lili screamed.
The chamber had five branching tunnels. From deep within each passage, pairs of crimson eyes—like ghostly flames—began to ignite one after another.
"No need to shout so loudly. We'll send you out just like we promised…"
The man lifted Lili's small body and hurled her toward the Killer Ants.
"Of course, whether you live or die is anyone's guess," he sneered. "But don't worry. As your companions, we'll retrieve your corpse. Now do your job and lure the monsters, Supporter."
Lili's body slammed into the wall. What rose within her wasn't pain—it was a fierce, unfamiliar rage.
These people used dying Killer Ants as threats, then discarded a Supporter once her worth had been drained, turning her into bait so they could retreat unharmed. The dead were indeed killed by monsters. Even if the Guild noticed the deaths, without deep questioning it would be almost impossible to expose their scheme. And Soma would never inquire.
How many people had they killed like this?
All for that disgusting Divine Wine…
How many filthy crimes had they committed?
How was this any different from Evilus?
Rotten. Absolutely rotten.
Lili had believed that gathering enough money would let her escape the familia and gain her freedom. But now she realized she had been targeted from the start by beasts who devoured their prey to the bone. No matter how she struggled, this tragic end was unavoidable. Bell's plan only hastened the moment.
To them, Lili was simply a convenient money tree. And when the time came, she would be chopped down at the root.
"You monsters!"
Ignoring the Killer Ants drawing near, Lili shouted at them.
"If you have energy to yell, use it on the monsters. Not that you can, ha ha ha…"
The man laughed as he opened the bundle—then froze.
His smile stiffened. He spun around, shouting,
"Why is this a bundle of branches?! Where's the dagger you stole?!"
As if to answer, the mangled remains of a Killer Ant hit the ground with a wet thud.
"I didn't expect you'd go this far. Truly surprising."
A calm, steady voice echoed down the passage.
"Who?! Who's there?!"
The man's brow knotted. At his feet, the dying Killer Ant twitched painfully, mandibles opening and closing as its broken limbs flailed.
A second thud followed. Another Killer Ant corpse dropped into the center of the chamber.
Under the pale green phosphorescence, the youth stepped forward. He gave his dagger a cold flick, shaking off the purple blood.
"That dagger… you're the brat from the tavern!"
The man roared in fury.
Four dying Killer Ants now lay scattered across the chamber. The entrances to several tunnels were filled with the silhouettes of more ants.
"Hey! The monsters are multiplying!"
"Did the brat not steal the dagger after all…?"
"This is bad! If more come, bait or no bait, we're all dead!"
The man glared at his companions, who struggled desperately against the encroaching ants. He raised his longsword and stabbed into one of the dying creatures.
But the moment he killed that one Killer Ant—Bell hurled two more into the center of the cavern.
"What the hell are you doing?!" the man screamed.
"Is that so strange?" Bell replied. "I'm simply using your own methods."
Bell shielded Lili, effortlessly fending off the swarm. Meanwhile, the members of the Soma Familia retreated in panic, overwhelmed.
"…You're just a rookie adventurer! Don't get cocky! Hold them off, I'll take care of him!"
The man charged forward with his longsword raised.
But after a single step, he froze—struck silent by a crushing killing intent.
To him, the youth standing there was no longer human. He was an unknown, colossal beast radiating a suffocating terror.
"You…"
The man trembled.
Bell's cold gaze seemed to declare:
If you raise that sword… be prepared to be cut down.
An eye for an eye.
A tooth for a tooth.
The man stumbled backward. Before even crossing blades, he felt as if he'd just survived a brutal battle. His entire body was pierced by that jet-black dagger.
The man had completely lost the will to fight. Gasping for breath, he choked out,
"Who… who the hell are you?! Did you plan all of this from the very beginning?!"
"I'm just passing through, same as you," Bell answered coldly. "Got swept up in the monster wave by accident."
The man heard the sarcasm in his voice and understood at once—this boy knew everything they had done.
"I… I can give you a generous reward. Divine Wine… even the finished Divine Wine that only the Soma Familia can obtain… I'll get it for you…"
"Please get us out of here… No—just me is fine!"
If the man from a few minutes ago had seen himself now, begging a rookie adventurer for his life, he would have thought it was a nightmare—cursing and laughing at the absurdity of it.
But right now, Bell's silhouette looked like a lifeboat.
"Hmm… what was it you said earlier?" Bell asked. "That you'd bring their bodies back?"
He repeated the man's own words with a cold glance.
The man understood instantly. Compared to the monsters, the wrath of the boy before him was far more terrifying.
Overcome with fear, he screamed and ran straight into the oncoming wave of Killer Ants.
...
The Killer Ants flooded every passage.
Bell lifted Lili onto his back and carved a path out with nothing but his dagger.
Monsters screeched.
The ground trembled.
Blood mist spread, and the wails echoed without end.
The two walked down the passageway, never once looking back.