The heavy iron gates clanked shut behind them, sealing off the upper world as the strike team stepped fully into the dark, echoing the expanse of the deep Layer.
The moment they were safely out of sight from the checkpoint, Lilith, Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra pulled back their heavy hoods, letting out collective breaths of relief as the suffocating fabric came off. The surrounding was that same pink soil all around.
Lilith immediately turned her sharp gaze toward Ivory, crossing her arms. "Care to explain why you shoved me back there and forced Toya into the spotlight?"
Ivory smirked, tossing her hood over her shoulder. "Simple. You're royalty. The moment that attendant recognized your face or your crests, we'd have half the guild breathing down our necks and blowing our cover. Keeping you out of sight was the smartest play."
"Hah! Don't flatter yourself too much," Lilith retorted with an unamused eye-roll, though she knew Ivory was right.
Before they could argue further, a small pair of arms wrapped tightly around Lilith's leg. Lilith looked down to see Aeterna staring up at her, looking completely exhausted. "Mommy... my legs hurt. I don't want to walk anymore."
A soft, defeated sigh escaped Lilith's lips. She bent down, scooped Aeterna up into her arms, and settled the little girl comfortably against her hip. "Alright, alright. Hold on tight."
With the team fully assembled and geared up, Toya stepped forward, pulling out a tactical map of the descending sectors. He frowned as he scanned the massive, labyrinthine layout. "How are we even supposed to find him down here? The Layers are ridiculously massive, and there are dozens of sublevels stretching down into the abyss. Who knows where he could be?"
Lilith shook her head, her expression resolute. "Haruto gets bored easily. He wouldn't waste time lingering around the upper tiers; he always pushes forward until something actually catches his attention. Considering it's already been over fifteen days since he vanished, he definitely isn't in Layer 1 anymore."
She pointed a finger down the primary descent tunnel. "Let's skip the upper search. We're heading straight for Layer 12, and we'll expand our sweep from there."
Everyone exchanged nods, unanimously agreeing with her logic.
As they marched deeper into the gloom, Rutherford adjusted his collar, keeping a watchful eye on their flanks while maintaining his perfect butler composure. They all knew the mechanics of this descent: they didn't need to waste time scouring every single corner of the upper layers for clues. To unlock the passage downward, they simply had to crush whatever regional boss guarded the sector, clearing the path straight to the next gate.
Lilith paused, pulling a weathered, archaic floor map from her storage pouch and unrolling it across a flat slab of stone. A soft blue glow illuminated their faces as they huddled around.
"According to this layout," Lilith pointed a slender finger at the glowing parchment, "we don't need to scour every inch of this floor. The primary Floor Boss's chamber is dead ahead. Defeating it is the only way to trigger the structural collapse and open the gate to the next layer."
Toya leaned in, squinting at the markers. "Looks like it's only a few kilometers away. Let's move."
With a shared nod, the team readied themselves and pushed forward into the echoing corridors.
Lilith carried Aeterna securely in her arms, gently supporting the little girl who was bouncing with boundless, excited energy, kicking her feet as she pointed at the strange neon flora lighting the cavern walls.
Behind them, Toya adjusted his grip, carrying a spare pack of supplies alongside his weapon. Ivory pulled her dark hood back over her head, slipping back into stealth mode just in case scouts were lurking nearby. Lustra let out a long, sleepy yawn, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, while Bellona swung her massive broadsword through the air in a clean, whistling arc, testing the weapon's balance in the dense underground atmosphere.
As they marched, Rutherford quietly drifted backward until he was walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Toya. Keeping his voice low so only Toya could hear, the polished butler spoke up.
"Pardon me, Toya," Rutherford murmured, his expression completely blank and professional. "You are carrying a heavy load with those provisions. But ahead of us, the combat density will spike significantly. If an unexpected ambush occurs, you might find yourself needing a secondary blade to cover your blind spots."
A sudden glimmer of hope sparked in Toya's chest. For the first time ever, Rutherford was actually offering to help him out instead of casually ignoring or roasting him.
Toya grinned, shifting his pack as he leaned over toward the butler. "Oh? My dear weapon spirit, are you finally offering to lend me your strength?"
Rutherford didn't break his cold, professional composure. He let out a dry, unimpressed sigh. "Don't flatter yourself. You're still far too weak to properly wield my true form. Level up a bit more first. Until your life isn't constantly in danger of being snuffed out by random stray attacks down here, I am not taking the form of a sword for you."
Toya's jaw dropped in sheer offense. "Then what was the point of bringing it up?!"
Without missing a beat, Rutherford reached into his coat and produced a sleek, elegantly crafted standard blade humming with a faint, magical aura. He held it out hilt-first toward Toya.
"I cannot transform for you, no," Rutherford said smoothly, his expression entirely deadpan. "However, you are welcome to use this enchanted backup blade instead."
Toya let out a mock sigh, taking the enchanted blade from Rutherford's outstretched hand with a wry grin. "Fine, fine. Just you wait—one of these days, I'm going to be strong enough to wield your actual true form."
Rutherford offered a faint, composed smile, his tone softening just a fraction with quiet loyalty. "I'll hold you to that. I'm not going anywhere. My bond as a weapon spirit is tied to eternity—I am yours, and yours alone. But until you reach that level of power, I'll watch your back from right here."
A determined glint sparked in Toya's eyes as he secured the magic blade at his side. "You won't have to wait long. I'll get strong enough, fast."
Rutherford's smile turned genuine, a rare note of warmth in his voice. "Good. Because I'm looking forward to that day even more than you are."
Toya gripped the hilt of the new blade tightly, a fierce surge of confidence driving him forward as he strode to the front of the group. Rutherford watched him go with a quiet, approving nod, slipping back into his composed, background butler posture.
Jogging up to catch step with Lilith, Toya tapped her shoulder. "Hey... we need a real strategy for this boss fight, don't we?"
Lilith didn't even slow her pace. She glanced sideways, offering a nonchalant shrug. "Plan? See the boss, beat the boss, open the gate to the next layer. Simple."
"No, no, that's not a plan!" Toya protested, waving his hands. "How are we actually going to coordinate? We need actual teamwork here!"
Lilith let out a light, amused laugh. "Toya, relax. This is just a lower-tier boss. It's laughably weak compared to us. Any single one of us could wipe the floor with it in a single strike."
She raised her hand to signal a halt, turning to address the group. But right as she opened her mouth to brief them, a sudden wave of realization hit her like a physical blow.
Wait... shit.
Lilith's eyes widened in panic as she spun around to look at Aeterna. "Aeterna! If we go down past our corresponding tier thresholds while your core is unstable, the regional pressure will crush you flat! What is your current level right now?!"
The rest of the group froze. Aeterna tilted her head innocently, blinking up at them.
"My level? I don't know..."
Panic-stricken, Lilith reached out and aggressively jabbed her finger against Aeterna's chest, trying to force her status badge to trigger. But nothing happened—no numbers appeared, and the UI stayed completely blank.
Ivory slapped her forehead and thought. "She's not a human with a standard mortal level, she's the Queen of Weapon Spirits! Her raw essence doesn't register on standard HUD!"
Thinking fast, Ivory quickly raised her hand, weaving a swift, complex string of illusion magic. With a soft chime, a fabricated holographic status window flickered into existence above Aeterna's head, proudly displaying a fake, safe-looking number: Level 15.
Lilith stared at the glowing numbers, blinking in utter confusion for a second before buying it. A strained, awkward smile crossed her face.
"Ah... Level 15? Well, for someone your age... wow, incredible progress. But i never expected less from Haruto's daughter"
Toya crossed his arms, frowning at Lilith. "Hey, that doesn't actually answer my question about how we're supposed to handle coordination."
Lilith smirked, leaning in with a teasing glint in her eyes. "If you're that worried about teamwork, how about a little test? You take on this floor boss entirely by yourself. If you can't beat it, we'll step in and coordinate. But if you manage to wipe it out solo, you have to admit this boss was pathetically weak."
Toya's eyes lit up as the gears in his head started turning. Wait... if I take down the floor boss all by myself, my level-up surge is going to skyrocket instantly!
A confident grin spread across his face. It was a total win-win situation—he got to prove his strength, level up massively, and shut Lilith's teasing down in one go.
"Deal," Toya said, gripping the hilt of his enchanted blade.
The group pushed forward, stepping out of the stone corridors and directly into a massive, subterranean jungle biome glowing with bioluminescent flora. Right at the center of the clearing stood their target: a grotesque, hybrid floor boss—a monstrous cross between a hulking armadillo and a savage, multi-armed monkey, its thick plated armor bristling with razor-sharp spikes.
Lilith stepped ahead of the group, waving a hand lazily toward the beast. "Alright, Toya. Show us what you've got."
Toya didn't hesitate. He dropped his heavy supply pack to the ground, took a deep breath, and channeled his true Level 60 speed and precision—honed through relentless training sessions in his room.
In a blinding flash of motion, he vanished from his spot. Before the beast could even register his movement, a clean, razor-sharp arc of magical light cut through the air.
Slash.
The armadillo-monkey hybrid froze mid-roar. A clean diagonal line split across its heavily armored torso, and with a heavy thud, the creature split in two, dissolving into shimmering particles of digital light.
Toya landed smoothly on his feet, exhaling a breath as he sheathed his blade. "Whoa... that actually worked."
Aeterna immediately started clapping her hands with uncontainable joy, jumping up and down. "Yay! Toya did it! He's amazing!"
Lilith crossed her arms, offering a smirk. "Hmph, he is older than you, give him some respect."
Toya blinked, pointing a finger. "Ohh wow you are a responsible mother—"
Ivory interrupted with a dry laugh, holding up her ring-bearing hand. "Oh, please. If anyone's acting like a mother around here, look who else has a ring tied to him."
Aeterna tilted her head, looking between them before declaring proudly, "I only have one Mommy!"
Lilith puffed out her chest with a triumphant grin, looking down at Aeterna. "See."
As the celebratory banter echoed through the clearing, the defeated boss dropped its reward key onto the soft moss. Lilith scooped it up, tossing it casually into the air and spinning it on her finger as the massive stone gate to the next layer slowly ground open ahead of them.
The group pushed further up, racing through the ascending floors until they reached the threshold of the next major floor boss.
Toya puffed out his chest, stepping forward with a confident grin. "Alright, let me take this one too—"
Before he could finish, Lustra gently nudged past him, flashing a lazy, sleepy smile. "Hold on, Toya. Let the rest of us breathe a little air and stretch our legs, too."
Toya stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish chuckle. "Ah, sorry. Go ahead."
With a flick of her wrist, Lustra stepped up to face the snake monster guarding the current floor. In a blur of fluid, effortless motion, her hidden knives flashed through the dark, cleanly severing the serpent's core before it could even strike.
As they cleared that floor and dropped into the next, Ivory stepped up without hesitation, unleashing a devastating wave of raw combat magic that obliterated a massive, hulking monster with a single blow.
Not to be outdone, Bellona grinned wildly, swinging her massive broadsword in a vicious arc that sliced right through a towering eagle monster shrieking from the cavern ceiling.
Finally, they reached the boss of the upper sector before Layer 5, and all eyes turned to Lilith.
Lilith took one look at the towering beast awaiting them, let out a bored sigh, and shook her head. "Nah, I don't feel like fighting this one. Toya, you take it. I'm bored."
"Wait, really?" Toya blinked, stepping up with an eager grin. He drew his blade, swiftly dispatching the final guardian with a clean, practiced strike.
With the path cleared of resistance, the team pressed forward, descending deeper and deeper through the tunnel network until they officially broke through into Layer 5.
Toya swung his blade through the remnants of the sector's final guardian, waiting for the massive stone door to grind open or the victory reward key to drop.
Instead, absolute silence echoed through the chamber.
Toya lowered his weapon, looking around in total confusion. "Wait... nothing happened? No key dropped, and the gate isn't opening. This doesn't feel like a normal boss fight at all."
Lilith stepped forward, narrowing her eyes as she scanned the empty chamber. They had mowed through countless stray monsters along the way, intentionally ignoring the minor wildlife because their entire focus was locked not on leveling up quickly and tracking down Haruto. But now, even after clearing the area, they were completely stonewalled with no key and no exit in sight.