Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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—•——•——•——•——•——•—

"DAMN IT. DAMN IT. DAMN IT!"

Dix Perdix sprinted down the dark corridor with Gran, his last remaining subordinate, close behind.

"That rookie is a psycho," Dix hissed, grinding his teeth.

It finally made sense. Ikelos had been strangely quiet for days, watching the Familia members as if they were already dead.

Ikelos must have known this was coming...

Dix hadn't understood before. How could August kill him without staining the spotless reputation he had worked so hard to build?

"DIX, WHAT DO WE DO?" Gran gasped. He always looked up to Dix and did whatever he said, but this was a nightmare.

"We keep running. We can't take him head-on."

Even as a Level 4, Dix knew he'd be reduced to a bloody sieve. August's weapons defied logic. Compared to that level of precision firepower, his cursed spear was nothing more than a useless piece of metal.

"But he's only a Level 2!" Gran protested. He thought they still had a fighting chance.

"You idiot!" Dix roared. "The guy is a cold-blooded butcher! You think he's just going to let us walk away? He isn't a normal Level 2!"

Thinking August was just a regular Adventurer was a death sentence. Dix wanted to survive. He still wanted to play his twisted games.

He'd faced Evilus and cultists before, but August was different. August was a real lunatic. He didn't talk or bargain. He just started shooting.

What kind of crazy world made someone like that?

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

Back in the staging area, the ground looked like a slaughterhouse.

Lili didn't even flinch.

She put on gloves, walked through the carnage, and started searching the bodies. Most Adventurers kept their money, weapons, and gear with them. She wasn't going to leave anything valuable behind. Every Valis helped the Familia.

"Lord August," Lili called out, glancing toward the heavy iron cages.

Inside sat the Xenos, battered and bleeding.

"I know you can speak," August said.

The monsters, previously silent, froze.

"Stay put," August ordered. He looked over the cages. These were deep-floor variants—much more dangerous than the Hellhounds on the upper levels.

"If you walk out there looking like that, Adventurers will skin you alive. Sit tight. Once I finish my business, I'll find your people and get you out of here."

The caged monsters shared hesitant glances.

August lifted his hand and summoned several thick wires. He went down the line, picking the heavy iron padlocks with proficient skill.

A humanoid monster covered in vibrant green feathers stepped out of her cage, staring at him.

"You're letting us go?"

"A Siren," Lili noted, recognizing the species. They only spawned past the 20th floor.

"I have no interest in you," August said flatly. "As long as you don't do anything stupid and pick a fight with me, we won't have a problem."

He looked at the Siren. She was exhausted, worn out by whatever the Ikelos Familia had done to her.

"You're Xenos, not normal monsters," Lili added, stepping up. "We know you have your own faction down in the deep floors. You're always looking for stragglers to join your ranks. The Hestia Familia has no reason to make enemies out of you."

Lili knew the Xenos were becoming a real force.

Their existence was somehow connected to human souls, or maybe even darker things involving fallen Spirits and Gods. She wanted nothing to do with that kind of trouble.

August pulled rations and high-grade potions from his inventory, dropping them on the floor.

"Take these. Patch yourselves up. You were born from the Dungeon, but your biology should process them just fine."

Without saying anything else, August headed down the tunnel where Dix had escaped. Before he left, he picked up a few severed heads from the Ikelos thugs. He needed proof for the bounties.

Lili jogged after him.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

Left behind in the blood-soaked cavern, the monsters didn't know how to react.

Some growled in frustration. Humans had tortured and broken them beyond recognition. Their hatred for humanity burned deep within their hearts.

Yet the one who had just saved them was human.

The Siren moved first. She dragged her battered body forward and reached the supplies. She had seen the smugglers use them before.

She opened a potion and poured it over her wounds. Her torn flesh started to heal. Then she grabbed a Ration Bar and took a bite.

"Why are you eating human food?" another Xenos asked, staring at her in shock.

"Because it keeps us alive," the Siren replied calmly. "And because we have nowhere else to go. If we leave now, the surface Adventurers won't kill us—the normal monsters will."

Did she trust August? No. She had suffered too much because of humans. But he was right. Staying here was their best chance to survive. If they listened, maybe the others would find them.

Slowly, the other Xenos stepped out of their cages.

They gathered around the supplies. Those who couldn't open the potions got help from the others. They huddled together, sharing food and tending to their wounds.

They sat in the quiet cavern, waiting for the human to return.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

August and Lili tracked Dix deeper into the Dungeon.

The captain led them through special corridors that avoided the main surface routes.

"There are too many branching paths here," Lili noted, checking her surroundings. "If this keeps going, we'll hit the upper levels. How far did Daedalus dig?"

Knossos was huge... It almost matched Orario's size, stretching endlessly under the city.

The corridors twisted everywhere, and Dix was leading them in circles.

"He's trying to make me dizzy," August chuckled.

He had to give Dix credit for trying, but the captain made one big mistake: Lili.

She was an elite Pallum Supporter. Tracking, navigation, and trickery were her specialties. Before Dix even started running, she'd tagged him with a scent-tracking item. She followed his invisible trail without any trouble.

"Where is he taking us, Lord August?" Lili asked.

They were moving steadily back toward the Daedalus Street sector, yet Dix showed no signs of actually leaving the maze.

"He's dragging us into Evilus' territory."

August checked his weapon. "This Dungeon isn't just an Ikelos hideout. The remnants of the Dark Faction are dug in down here. He wants to use them to ambush us."

Knossos stretched across the whole underground. No one knew what horrors were hidden in its depths.

"Don't forget, the Ishtar Familia's Gugalanna is stashed somewhere in these tunnels. If we blunder into it, things could get ugly."

"I forgot about that," Lili said with a grimace. "This whole place is a stronghold for the worst scum in the city."

She understood what Dix was doing. He didn't care who killed them, whether it was the Gugalanna, the Evilus, or his own traps. He just wanted them dead.

"Lord August, if we let him keep running, aren't we just walking into a trap?" Lili asked. "Shouldn't we just finish him now? Besides, if we secure this Dungeon, we could use it as a secret base."

"No." August dismissed the idea immediately.

"We aren't keeping this place. It's too massive to guard, and it's physically connected to the Dungeon. Holding onto a piece of real estate like this is a massive liability."

He didn't care about owning the place.

"We left a pile of bodies back there. The Guild will find out. But if we take out Dix in the Dark Faction's territory, the Guild will label the Ikelos Familia as Evilus. We won't face a single penalty."

August made it clear. He didn't see the Ikelos members as people. To him, they were just targets.

"I see," Lili said quietly, realizing her mistake. She'd been blinded by the idea of making a profit from a secret Dungeon. "I got greedy. A small reward isn't worth all that trouble."

"Let's go. Sounds like they stopped," August said.

"Right behind you."

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

Up ahead, Dix Perdix and Gran finally halted.

They weren't tired, but they were furious.

"He's still right behind us," Gran panicked. "We can't shake him!"

Dix could sense August following them, keeping up and staying just out of sight.

Does he know the layout?

Impossible. He's an outsider. There's no way he knows the secrets of Daedalus!!

Dix couldn't believe someone was moving through his stronghold so easily. How the hell were they being tracked? He'd sacrificed his whole Familia to buy time, and this rookie was still right behind him.

Dix let out a ragged, angry scream. He was a Level 4 Adventurer, now running like a stray dog from a Level 2...

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM. I SWEAR I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

BULK UPLOAD OF 6 CHAPTERS IF WE HIT 1100 POWERSTONES THIS WEEK!!

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