Chapter 100

As the silence continued, three human figures held their breath and remained perfectly still, their eyes focused on a singular point. The siblings Cloffe and Clofia, and the black-haired elf maid Siren, who quietly stood at a slight distance, stared fearfully at the piled remains of a cave-in. They were on the twenty-eighth floor of a dungeon. Their location? A previously massive, stalactite-riddled underground cave Clofia had fallen into after getting caught in a trap. The word previously was key here since the ankle-deep water was now gone without a trace. There was also a spawn plank with the image of a lizardman on it. Since the plank needed water to produce monsters, there was no indication the monsters would respawn. Now that the lake had dried up, it was no different than a relief sculpture. This scenario was all thanks to the massive sword that had pierced the ground from below and torn part of the floor to shreds. The water from the underground lake poured into the new hole, and the giant blade vanished after chopping up the bottommost floor. The weapon didn’t stick around for long, but the damage it left was immense. Some time had already passed after the deadly sword disappeared, but it didn’t seem like anyone would rise up from below. The werecat siblings were worried sick about Cayna since she had charged in there alone. As they shuddered at the terrifying thought that the sword might have injured her, time began to move once again. Rubble from the cave-in stirred, and an instant later, multiple objects blasted away the debris like a fountain and floated effortlessly in the air. The objects in question were small red arrows, their minuscule forms carrying detritus of every size. However, the twirling junk was made of a heavyweight metal impossible to produce with modern technology, and the siblings realized their peril when the chunks directly overhead started crashing down on them. The hail of litter was so widespread there was no time to seek escape. Cloffe could feel their luck fading fast; he pinned Clofia beneath him without a second thought, his body and heart united to save his sister’s life at the cost of his own. However, the expected wave of pain and agony never came. Cloffe soon heard a heavy, screeching thud and felt a gust of wind follow shortly thereafter. When he cautiously opened his eyes, he found all the rubble falling to the floor around Clofia and him as if purposefully avoiding them. Neither sibling had a scratch on them. “Don’t you have something to do before giving up?” “Huh?” Siren was smiling gently next to them even though she had been a distance away moments earlier. She cleared the dust with a graceful wave of her hand. Cloffe and Clofia had escaped unscathed because every piece of debris that Siren touched scattered in all directions. Her casual intervention just as the siblings were about to be crushed was nothing short of incredible. Nevertheless, Siren held her composure without the slightest inclination to gloat. Exhausted from their brush with death, Cloffe and Clofia collapsed to the ground. Suddenly, the source of the crimson arrows that nearly sent the werecats to an early grave dreamily fluttered up from the hole. It was the fairy Kuu. She turned back toward the cavity, huffing and puffing at the two people following close behind her. Kuu, of course, wasn’t the least bit aware of the near-fatal disaster she’d caused. Whatever she lacked in stature she made up for in pompousness, and then some. “Sheesh. You were only supposed to be the sub, but you’re basically a mini Cayna,” the demon Opus complained as he came into view. Or more accurately, he rose out of the hole with Cayna over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She dangled limply, her eyes swirling. Cloffe and Clofia hadn’t exactly failed to notice her—they were just too terrified to rush to her aid. But soon their concern won out, and they started making their way toward her on their hands and knees. “Hmm?” ““……?!”” The moment the werecats’ strange behavior caught Opus’s suspicious gaze, they froze in their tracks. Then his gaze turned pitiful. “Who are these weaklings?” “‘Weaklings’…?!” “What did you say?!” Their outrage at being deemed weak dispelled the siblings’ paralysis, but they were soon struck by an intense pressure that kept them rooted in place. The pair nervously wondered what this demon intended. They were also dying to chew him out for treating the queen’s aunt like luggage. “They appear to be Lady Cayna’s companions.” “What?” As Opus stared at Cloffe and Clofia with growing hostility, Siren broke her silence to provide additional information. “Cayna came all this way with dead weight? She must enjoy making her life harder.” “Compared to you, Master, anyone would appear that way.” The scorn and disgust on Opus’s face deepened. He wasn’t being hostile, but it was clear how he felt about Cayna bringing along two (in gamer terms) “newbies.” He asked himself what in the world she was thinking and wondered if Cayna had imposed some kind of challenge on herself. Meanwhile, Cloffe and Clofia tried to rescue Cayna from her presumed kidnapper while still under the weight of his condescending gaze. Tried being the operative word here. Opus sniffed derisively and prepared to intercept the inferior fighters. However, that was as far as things got. Refusing to stand by and watch, an interloper stepped in. With a sound like a driving rain, a legion of crimson arrows rose to the top of the cave. The interloper was, of course, Kuu. Hands on hips, she floated between Cloffe, Clofia, and Opus and puffed out her cheeks. “Geh!” “Urgh!” “Huh?!” Opus sensed a ruthlessness equal to Cayna’s own destructive violence and stopped in his tracks. Cloffe and Clofia also froze, their faces twisted in a grimace; they had already witnessed the fairy blow previous floors to smithereens. Neither Opus nor the werecat siblings recalled ever acting hostile toward Kuu, so they had no idea why she was turning on them. Only Siren took the situation in stride as she stood serenely beneath the crimson projectiles. “No fighting!” The way Kuu flailed her arms in protest was adorable and hilarious, although this was instantly offset by the barrage of missiles floating above her. “Luka said so.” “…Luka did, huh?” Opus murmured as he looked up at Kuu with a knowing nod. He had spotted Cayna’s adopted daughter during the River Festival (albeit from a distance) while he was working behind the scenes and had decided to investigate further. Kuu was mentally around the same age as Luka, so the girl’s childlike behavior was likely influencing the fairy. “If you fight, you’ll both be in bubble!” “Huh? Bubble?!” Clofia exclaimed. “…I believe she means trouble,” said Siren. It was unclear whether this was what Luka had actually said or if Kuu misheard her, but everyone tilted their heads at the fairy’s turn of phrase. Both sides, which had been primed to strike, paused in confusion. The flurry of red arrows seemed to imply that any fighting would result in more than a few burst bubbles. “Hold it! We won’t fight anymore, so call off the fireworks!” Opus was already sweating as he raised a hand and promised unconditional surrender. He looked quite unnerved. Kuu might be tiny and childlike, but Opus knew exactly who he was dealing with here. Even if Opus and Siren took on the full brunt of the red arrows’ wrath, the damage would be negligible. Cloffe and Clofia, however, were a different story. Their levels were only in the double digits. If hit by the same attack, their injuries would be no joke. They might not escape with their lives. Best-case scenario, they’d wind up being lumps of flesh. Worst-case scenario, they’d be blown to smithereens. Opus didn’t hate the pair that much.