Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

With Blake, Alvara and the others taking the rein, the team cautiously entered the building. Inside, all they found were ordinary offices, seemingly abandoned. Fallen chairs, broken desks, and scattered documents told a tale of recent desertion, leaving many confused.

Nevertheless, the adventurers proceeded forward without letting their guard down. As they ventured further, eerie silence pervaded the air, broken only by the distant echoes of their own footsteps.

Dust particles floated lazily in the dim light, adding to the surreal atmosphere. What was going on? The first building was completely empty with not even a trace of any traps laid out for them.

The adventurers, who had initially entered with anticipation and battle-ready spirits, found themselves caught off guard by the emptiness. The absence of opposition deflated the adrenaline-fueled tension that had accompanied their arrival.

Weapons that had been tightly gripped relaxed in uncertain hands, and the zeal for confrontation waned. Their expectations of a fierce battle began to dissipate, replaced by a sense of confusion and disquiet.

The eerie quietness seemed to amplify the creaks and groans of the building, creating an unsettling symphony of solitude. The adventurers exchanged uneasy glances, grappling with the surreal contrast between their preparedness for combat and the ghostly stillness that surrounded them.

The absence of any overt signs of villainy left the group perplexed. Did the criminals master the art of concealment or something?

The first building they explored revealed empty rooms and corridors as if the criminals had vanished into thin air. Nevertheless, Blake didn't let them to relax their guard and urged them forward.

Just as they approached the second building, a sudden tremor shook the entire town. The ground quivered beneath their feet, catching many off guard. The buildings groaned in protest, and dust billowed into the air as structures nearby succumbed to the seismic force.

"Everyone steady yourselves!"

The adventurers struggled to maintain their footing, grabbing onto whatever they could to stay upright. The sudden intense tremor of the ground caught them by surprise; however, it did not last long.

After the earthquake stopped, the adventurers recomposed themselves and helped one another up.

"Blake, just now... that tremor, it was no ordinary earthquake but a result of a clash between some tyrannical force. What's more the epicentre of that tremor was right below us" Frida informed, coming over to Blake's side.

Just now, before that intense tremor had hit them, she felt a massive amount of mana rushing underneath them.

Blake narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground below them. he did not doubt Frida's words as he knew that she was a gifted mage with a talent not any inferior to his own. If she said that she felt the epicentre of the disturbance was underneath them then it meant that it was true.

"Alright everyone, on your feet. Let's enter the second building" Blake bellowed.

With grim determination, the adventurers pressed forward, recognizing that whatever force was at play, they needed to reach the heart of the disturbance to understand and neutralize it.

Just like the first building, the second building was also completely empty, devoid of any presence. The adventurers were met with nothing empty silence and a shell of a building that was the criminal organisation's headquarters.

However, unlike the first one, the second building had something that the first building didn't.

"Everyone, come down. I found something".

When the adventurers thoroughly searched the place, they were met with an unexpected sight—an expansive underground chamber, its passage hidden with a formation.

No wonder they were unable to spot it at first, it was because the formation used here was a strong formation that isolated the place from the outside. What were they doing with a massive underground space underneath the building?

Numerous questions popped inside the heads of the adventurers. Given all the clues they had found so far and the fact that they had yet to meet a single member of the criminal organisations, it was most likely that something had happened here.

The possibility that it was a trap was also very high. However, there was no backing down from here, trap or not they had to go down and see for themselves.

"Everyone, the chances of this being a trap are very high as such, I would like some people to stay behind and guard the entrance. If you find something off, quickly get out of here"

Blake looked at the newbie adventurers and instructed. It would be too risky to take inexperienced people with them any further. Things had already deviated so much from the expectations that even Blake was starting to feel the gravity of the situation.

The disappearance of the members of the criminal organisations weighed heavily on everyone's mind. Who or whatever had caused this, must be immensely dangerous. If this was a trap, there was no reason for all of them to fall for it.

"Sir Blake, please don't take our resolve lightly. We have already decided to put our life on the line for this mission" Hearing Blake's words, the newbie adventurers replied in a determined tone.

"Hey, hey… since when did the younger fellas become so serious? It's not about resolve or anything, it's about not foolishly falling for the trap. Just to do as he says or do you guys think that us old timers are too weak or something? Brats if it's the other case, I will beat the crap out of your right now" Wyot joked.

"Alvara what do you think?" Blake asked turning towards the Guard Captain for her opinion.

"I'm fine with the decision. I too think that the inexperienced ones should stay back and guard our backs".

Now that even the Guard Captain had opened her mouth, the newbies could only stay behind and did what they were asked.

"Don't worry, if we need your help we will call for you. Not that it's gonna happen though" The veteran adventurers made fun.

Before long, with Blake and others at the helm, they made a neat formation and dived inside the underground chamber.

The air grew denser as they delved deeper, the complex architecture here hinted at something that was being hidden beneath the surface. The flickering torchlight cast dancing shadows on the rows of smaller rooms that have collapsed in the aftermath of the recent earthquake.

As they progressed, the atmosphere shifted. The chamber widened into a vast underground space. The air became charged with remnants of magic, and the adventurers could sense the aftermath of a powerful clash.

The ground bore scars of devastating blows, creating craters and upheavals that told a tale of forces colliding with titanic strength. The further they went, the more obvious these signs became.

The echoes of battle lingered, and the air was thick with the scent of magic and burnt debris. Strewn across the expansive chamber were shattered remnants of magical constructs and the remnants of spells unleashed in the heat of combat.

"I was right, something happened here, something that took the members of the criminal organisations by surprise" Wyot commented looking at the enormous crater in front of him "Something that even they were powerless against"…

"Are you suggesting that they were attacked? Who would attack them? Monsters?"…

"Could be… or it could be something else".

The bizarreness of the events or the destruction wrought here had already far surpassed the capability of an ordinary monster.

Feeling the weight of the recent confrontation that had taken place here, the adventurers moved cautiously through this underground chamber. And finally after a while, they arrived at the place which was the centre of all the strange and bizarre events that occurred in the tower town lately.

The moment they arrived here, all the adventurers suddenly stopped moving at the exact same moment. It was as if somebody had pressed the pause button, all of them came to a halt.

Silence hung in the air as nobody muttered a word, all eyes focused on the being in front of them. If somebody asked the adventurers at this moment, what made them stop like that, the answer would be their instincts.

The senses they had honed through multiple battles and adventures, screamed at them at this very instant, telling them to run, run from the DANGER that was in front of them.

There at the far end of the chamber, standing amidst what looked like ripped bodies of some warriors, the silhouette of a black figure could be seen.

The figure was not human, it had crimson antlers atop its head that seemed to reflect the light from the flickering torchlight, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Its flaming mane danced with an ethereal fire.

Eyes, glowing with an otherworldly intensity, fixated on the approaching adventurers. As the flickering light of the torch fell on it, the figure's form also became clearer, revealing the ancient-looking armor that adorned its powerful frame.

Four nightmarish eyes that glowed like coals in the depths of night, silently observed their every action.

GULP… it was unknown who made the noise but everybody present here could feel their throats drying at this moment.

"What is that?"

One of the adventurers asked. The figure exuded such an imposing and formidable presence that it made others unsettled just by getting exposed to it.

"Mars!!" right ahead in the forefront of the formation, Blake muttered with a solemn voice. "What? Do you recognise it Blake?"

Wyot asked from the sides. At this moment he noticed that Frida was also acting weird to the point where she lost balance of her body and had to be carried by the teammates around her.