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—---------------
/Shua…/
'As Silver and his companions left the lake…'
"Hum?..."
That is…
'For just a moment, Silver saw a shadow passing through the water deep down, and upon extending his senses, he quickly realized what it was.'
'Slithering through the waves, piercing through the currents, something lurked beneath the waters...'
'His expression quickly deteriorated into a frown as he thought of its name:'
It's here, the Violas.
It must've been attracted by the handful of magic powder I dropped into the lake.
I did it on a whim, but one actually appeared.
/Fwoosh!.../
'Swiming in the water was a creature resembling a snake but with a still maturing, closed flower bud for its head.'
'It had many root-like appendages at the end of its long cylindrical body, adding to its plant-like appearance like a yet-to-bloom flower plucked from the earth.'
(Image)
There it is… Our target.
'This may be Silver's first time seeing it, but its bizarre appearance was enough for him to recognize what he was dealing with.'
'There were many Plant monsters in the Dungeon, but none looked like that, none acted like that, this was a physiology that did not belong anywhere.'
'Each zone of the Dungeon usually had its own unique monsters that filled their own exclusive niches within, one like this would not find its place within the Dungeon.'
/Raise…/
'So without hesitation, Silver raised his right hand…'
"Hum? Is something the matter?" Asfi asked as she turned to Silver
"Just take a look for yourself." Silver replied as he suddenly lifted his hand, pointing at the sky
/Splish… SPLASH!/
""!""
/HISSSS!/
'And abruptly, the lake's surface exploded as a creature emerged from within, wriggling its body all around as it opened its mouth, hissing violently in protest.'
'This revealed its true appearance, its entire head, the closed flower bud, was just a mouth containing a front row of teeth similar to that of a Venus Flytrap, together with a second row of teeth similar to that of a person's.'
'It was disgusting and somewhat appalling. Both characteristics didn't blend well together, as if they had been forcibly fused...'
"..."
It's quite strong... Like a Deep Floor monster.
'Simply by the strength of its struggle, Silver estimated the beast to be around the High ends of Level 3, but given how fights tend to go, in a one-on-one scenario, this monster could pose a threat to even Level 4 Vanguard adventurers.'
'It was a monster never recorded before, a hideous beast no one knew existed!'
"T-This is?!" Keaks exclaimed as he fell on his back
T-There was something like that on the Lake?!
'Shivering, he gulped down hard, glad he hadn't tried to check the seal himself and that Hermes ordered them to not approach it.'
'Maybe this was exactly why, a God's intuition wasn't something to be taken lightly.'
"Is this what I think it is?" Hermes asked slowly as he raised his hat, taking a peak at the monster as Silver held it mid-air
We always hear about it, but seeing one up close always blows me away.
A monster.
But this one... Looks a bit strange, there's something in it...
This is a monster... Just not from the Dungeon itself.
'Hermes was quick to figure out its nature, alas, he kept it to himself.'
"Unless there's something else hiding in these waters, it can only be this." Silver replied as he used telekinesis to pull the monster closer
"Woah there… Isn't this close enough?" Keaks asked as a bead of sweat fell from his forehead
"The monster is completely incapacitated, even if it can move, it's not fast enough to do so, nor should it be able to deal any damage given its body shape, at most you'll be sent flying as it twitches." Silver added as he pinned the creature against the sandy shores
"From its resistance, it's at least Level 3 in strength and quite high at that so stay a bit away."
"... You talk as if that was little..." Keaks mumbled to himself as he kicked the sand away
"... I've never seen something like this before." Asfi said as she adjusted her glasses, a bead of sweat falling from her forehead as she started to understand the scope of this mystery
"A plant-like monster… It's like a flower to be more precise." Hermes said as his eyes sharpened, several things crossing his mind as he pondered over this
'Maybe, he already understood what was going on. Given the fact what the Gods knew about the Dungeon was mostly kept a secret, this kind of monster may as well be within what he could infer and understand.'
"But… Is it really our monster? It doesn't look smart enough to follow any orders around." Keaks asked as he scratched his head
"Guess there's only one way to find out. Asfi, throw the powder in the water." Hermes said as he pointed at the water
/Nod… Throw!/
'Asfi grabbed the bag and opened it slightly prior to throwing it far in the Lake.'
'And as its contents spread around, Silver quickly released the beast, already knowing what Hermes wanted to do.'
/MOVE!/
"!... As expected…" Hermes said as he touched his chin
'The plant monster initially tried to escape, but as soon as it caught a whiff of the powder, it changed courses, making its way to the powder instead.'
'There, it moved around in circles, as if trying to find something, only to fail.'
"Interesting… It's not that the beast is being controlled but more of being guided into something… It has... A goal, priorities."
"Yet, this is still a monster in every letter of the word, it tried to attack us after it got close enough…" Keaks pointed out as he crouched on the ground
"So this means… The beast's top priority is the powder… But why though? The fish? That can't be it… Otherwise, the fisherman would be having a whole heap of trouble if these monsters hunted all the fish down." He mumbled to himself as he touched his head
"Then... There has to be something in the Powder."
"That's right Keaks… And considering our assumption that these creatures attack other monsters, there can only be one thing that they're after…" Asfi added as she pondered over the issue
""Magic Stones."" The three said in unison
"..."
'They do have quite the coordination.' Silver thought as he looked at them all silently, rolling his eyes as he let out a sigh
"We can easily confirm that…" Silver added as he took something from his pant's pockets
'It was a bluish magic stone.'
"Is that the magic stone from the monster you slapped to death?" Keaks asked with some curiosity
"Yes, I collected it after the creature turned to dust." Silver replied as he threw the magic stone into the Lake
/Splish…/
"!"
'The moment he did so, the Violas immediately reacted, turning around as it swam to the stone, gobbling it down in one singular bite... Together with a few litters of seawater and sand.'
"... I don't think that's enough to confirm it but… I would say it's pretty serious evidence." Keaks said as he shook his head
"I say it's enough for us to ask some questions." Hermes said as he turned to Silver
"Still, we can't let it go like this, and I don't think any of us wish to get wet so…"
'Hermes' eyes blinked innocently as he looked at Silver.'
"..."
/POOOF!/
'Silver rolled his eyes as he pulled the Violas out of the water once more, and this time, with the snap of his finger, the creature turned into dust, leaving behind its magic stone…'
'And although the sight of the monster dying with one snap of Silver's fingers was surprising enough, there was something greater at hand that caught their attention...'
"Wait… Is it just me or…"
"That magic stone!" Asfi explained as she looked at the Yellowish stone in Silver's hand
(Image?)
'A yellowish magic stone stood amidst the golden sand, shimmering lightly as the waves passed by...'
'This was the beginning of the Evilus' end, the seed of destruction that threatened the Dungeon's lid.'
'It had fallen onto the shrewd God's hands.'
…
/Later.../
/Knock knock…/
"... Wait! Give me a moment…"
"..."
'A few minutes after meeting the Violas by the ocean, Silver and company now stood at the entrance of a modest Manor, the house of the Governor of Melen.'
'They had questions, and they would be answered... At least that was their goal.'
/Creak…/
'The door opened, revealing a bald old man with a white and plentiful beard. He possesses a muscular physique as he was once a sailor, and his gaze was sharp, full of old wisdom.'
(Image)
"I don't recognize you lot, you aren't from around here are ya?" He asked heavily as he looked at Silver, Hermes, Asfi, and Keaks
"We…"
"No, you don't have to answer, those clothes… They look expensive, you're all from Orario aren'tcha?"
'He then turned to Hermes.'
"... And you… You aren't 'men', are you?"
"Ahhh shoot… I tried really hard to look normal though." Hermes replied awkwardly as he held his hat
I thought my hat would've been enough, is it my looks? I am quite handsome after all.
"What gave it away?" He asked in a deeper tone, his eyes growing a bit dark
"..."
'The man closed his eyes, exhaling.'
'He didn't seem surprised, perhaps he knew all along that one day, this would happen.'
"What do you want? I doubt an old sailor like me can be of help." He said as he crossed his arms
"I just have three questions, if you can answer them, I would be thrilled." Hermes said with a wide smile as he looked at Borg
"... And why should I be entitled to answer anything to you? Leave, I'm not in the mood." Morg said rudely as he turned around, about to close the door
"Now now, you wouldn't want to leave a traveler out in the cold, would you? We came all the way from Orario after all." Hermes asked with a thin smile as he held the door in place
"..."
Borg looked at the sky, completely clear with white clouds roaming about…
The sunny rays illuminating the world beneath it, today was a perfect day to fish, far from the cold reality Hermes assumed to be happening.
"Are we even experiencing the same season? Go away!" Borg exclaimed as he held the door, about to close it
"Hm?!"
I… I can't close it?
'But no matter how much strength he put into the door, he couldn't close it.'
'He looked at the adventurers and God in front of him, a bead of sweat falling from his forehead.'
"You all… A bunch of thugs." He said as he spat on the ground
"Huh? Come on, we're all nice people, just answer the questions, we didn't come here to do anything else."
"..."
'Borg went into deep thought, but just when he was about to give in, his eyes grew resolute, and he turned his head around, saying:'
"I'm just an old fisherman, leave me and the people alone... There's nothing more I could ask for."
/CLACK!/
'But this time, Silver who was holding the door, let it go, allowing the old man to close it with a loud "thud".'
"Tsk, what a bad-humored old man." Keaks said as he crossed his arms, scoffing on the side
"He does have a reason to be angry, we did barge into his home but… What should we do now Hermes? We can't leave with just this." Asfi asked as she turned to him
"..."
'Meanwhile, Silver maintained his silence as he looked at Hermes, but his meaning was clear as his expression said it all.'
"... Thank you for letting me handle this… But I already confirmed what I came here for." He said as he looked at Silver and then at Asfi
'Obviously, Hermes knew Silver could likely force the answer out of Borg's mouth if he wished, be it through force or something else, but this wasn't how he wished to do things.'
'Of course, that was extremely hypocritical coming from the guy who sent people after Familias and individuals to dig up dirt on them so he could blackmail them.'
'A God that had no qualms about using underhanded means if that meant getting what he wanted... So this could only mean one thing...'
'That he saw something in Borg that gave him the right to not be handled like the others... Either that or Hermes had a soft spot.'
'Still, even Hermes knew where to stop… But unfortunately, his morals did not coincide with those of the common folk.'
'This came from the same God that pushed a kid to death more than once only so he could test his potential, uncaring if that would break the boy or not...'
'Albeit in this timeline, both had yet to meet.'
"I've pretty much confirmed he's not the one behind those strange creatures, though I already had that suspicion before anyway."
"It would be too much of a stretch to think a common seaside family would be able to cover up everything or to be able to procure such a strange method in the first place, and now here lies my answer." Hermes said as he turned around, leaving the Manor's door
"Borg is also a man of great integrity, he's been seen almost as a Hero for the people of Melen for decades, I see no purpose in actively bringing smuggling into his city if it wasn't to make up for their biggest problem, the monsters."
"They're being coerced into doing so… Or to some degree, they can't opt out of it anymore..."
Or they are benefiting from this.
"Understandable, given the nature of the people they're making secret deals with. Someone's already holding them by their throat."
"Then… Nothing would come from threatening them." Keaks added as he scratched his chin
"What we need to figure out now is who… The puzzle pieces are starting to take shape." He said with a chuckle
"In any case, onto our next target." Hermes said in a humorous tone as he walked along the street
"To the Guild!"
""...""
'They all quickly followed Hermes without much protest, but unbeknown to them, someone watched in the dark.'
/Turn.../
"..."
Someone's watching.
'... To all... But one.'
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Notes