Brandon, Ryan, Heather, and Zhang were taking charge of the confrontation with the Crimson Menace. All three of them had their weapons out and pointed straight at her to ensure that she wouldn't try to escape. The situation was extremely tense, and everybody was waiting for the injured Aisha to begin speaking.
Heather, who had been on Aisha's side from the beginning, wanted nothing more than to take Aisha to someplace safe and question her on everything that had happened until now. Why was she all battered up? What happened to the rest of her party? Why did she not request her to join in their break-in mission?
Despite having all these questions bottled up inside her, she knew that now wasn't the time. Things seemed to have fallen perfectly into place for Zhang to execute his plan. Now that the Crimson Menace was injured, he could ask her to hand over all of the loot, likely without much trouble even. She couldn't let them happen, and the gears in her mind were turning to figure out a plan to get Aisha away.
As expected, Zhang didn't give her the time and spoke up first, breaking the tense silence.
"How do you do, Crimson Menace? I believe we haven't met before. My name is Zhang. You wouldn't mind telling us what happened to you?"
Aisha did not reply. In fact, no one was sure if she even could reply in her state. Blood dribbled down the corners of her mouth, and her pretty eyes were holding back tears. A few moments ago, she even fell to the ground, kneeling. This was the Crimson Menace. Anything that could hurt her and make her look so vulnerable must have been quite powerful.
Zhang raised an eyebrow and pointed his crossbow even closer.
"I'm sorry, but I won't be tolerating silence. Just now, we were attacked by a giant skeleton. You wouldn't happen to have met one just now, have you?"
Still nothing, though Aisha's breathing got noticeably more haggard than before. Seeing them get to nowhere, Ryan leaned in and whispered to Zhang.
"Psst. Hey. Should we just execute the plan? Though, judging from her state, she likely won't be carrying much."
"Sigh. I know. That's why I'm going for information instead. Besides, didn't you notice?"
The question came out of nowhere and left Ryan surprised.
"Noticed what?"
"Pity. Worry. And worst of all, the feeling of wanting to be her knight in shining armor. Those are all feelings that some people behind us are feeling towards her now. If I execute the plan now, there will be trouble. Some of the adventurers, particularly her fans, will get in our way."
"That's bullshit—"
"Excuse me. Leader?" A muscular, bald man called out. Ryan knew this man's name to be Ronald. "She looks incredibly beat, so how about we let her rest first? We can question her later."
And Ryan was immediately proven wrong. Such was her level of fame. Was it her looks? Or perhaps it was something else. Whatever it was, Ryan didn't know. Ronald had been one of the people arguing to bring the Crimson Menace to justice, yet right now, all that rage seemed to have been for nothing. He was completely smitten.
"Y-yeah! We're adventurers! We would never harm our comrade-in-arms! Let her rest, boss!" Some random guy with earrings in the crowd yelled out.
Soon after, many more people began to speak out, talking about the honor and caring nature of being an adventurer. It all sounded so fake that Ryan began to feel sick to his stomach. Now he understood what Zhang was referring to, who proceeded to give an 'I told you so' look.
Ryan sighed in his heart before turning to look at Brandon. Surely this brute of a man had something to say about this.
And he was right.
"This is outrageous! Did you all forget what she did to us? We should demand compensation, and this is the best time!"
"What are you talking about? You weren't even there when it happened!"
"Shut up!"
The argument got even more heated as time went by, especially so when Brandon joined in. Like the situation before outside the dungeon, there were two sides, and this time, there was significantly more on the side that supported the Crimson Menace.
Heather of course did not miss this chance and riled up the adventurers even further. To this, Brandon felt betrayed.
"I thought you were on our side! I even invited you and everything!"
"You idiot! Anyone with half a brain would know what I was after since the beginning. If you didn't spend all that time ogling me, maybe you would have figured it out, idiot!"
"You—!"
The argument nearly devolved into fisticuffs, but Zhang was there to ensure that either side do not go too far. Taking advantage of the chaotic situation, Ryan squatted down next to Aisha. He had just come up with an idea.
"Are you too tired to talk? Things may end up badly if you don't do anything. I could even help you if you want, I just need some information."
He pulled out a bottle full of green liquid. It was an extremely potent healing potion made by yours truly, and Aisha recognized it immediately. The reason Ryan could even talk so casually like this to Aisha was due to them being in the same party for a short while. Although Brandon had caused many problems, Ryan didn't and was even very helpful at times, so they didn't part on bad terms. Unfortunately, when Brandon was kicked out, he had to follow.
Aisha began to speak for the first time. Her voice was raspy, and could barely be heard, but Ryan could make it out.
"My party… Injured, but alive… Heal them… and I'll give you… what information I have…"
"Oh? And where are they now?"
"Behind the invisible wall… At a corner… Hidden by an illusion…"
A glint appeared in Ryan's eyes. Illusion magic was Kayden's specialty. Does that perhaps mean that the thief was currently injured and not that far away from him? Either way, this deal could not have been any better.
"Very well. The situation with the adventurers… Well, do your best."
With four vials in between each finger of both hands, Ryan disappeared through the invisible wall and headed towards the specified location.
***
'Ah. So that's what happened to her party. I almost thought the worst-case scenario had happened.'
Kayden heard everything, for he too had squatted next to Aisha when Ryan came by to negotiate. He thought about quickly carrying Aisha off while invisible but decided to first get her opinion of the matter. Even if he took her to safety, the adventurers could take the other four injured party members hostage.
Quietly, so as to not alert anyone, he tapped on her shoulder and whispered, "Yo, Aisha. Don't panic, it's me, Kayden. I heard everything just now, so I know that you must be going through a lot right now. Do you want me to help you escape?"
"…Kayden? Why are you here?" Surprise colored her face, but it faded as quickly as it appeared. "No. It doesn't matter. Please help the other members instead. You can leave me here."
"Leave you here? Why?"
Her voice was shaky as she spoke.
"It's all my fault they were injured. Don't worry about me, I'm not as injured as I look. But the other four… they can't move on their own…"
Kayden looked into Aisha's crimson-red eyes; in them, he could see regret and hopelessness. Whatever had happened, it must have been very bad.
"Come on, Aisha. You know I can't possibly sneak away with four injured people at once. My plan is to help you hide somewhere safe first before helping Conner and the rest."
"…No, it's not possible. Not with the deal I just made with Ryan. I think it's best if you simply just left… there's not much you can do to help at this point. Everything that happened here was my fault, so no need for you to involve yourself. I can handle it"
"What? Just how many times have you said that already—"
"Oi. Have you gone delirious? Get up!" Kayden was suddenly interrupted by a loud voice. As it turns out, it was Brandon's shouting.
The barbarian was very pissed off, even more so when Ryan wasn't here to calm him down. The winner of that whole argument had been decided, and it certainly wasn't him. In an effort to prevent a fight from breaking out, Zhang gave a compromise.
They were to transport the Crimson Menace somewhere safe where she could rest, but also a place where they could keep an eye on her. As an impatient man, Brandon wasn't too happy about this arrangement, but he acknowledged that it had to be done. Now he was simply venting all that anger at someone else.
Heather, who now had a bright smile on her face, skipped over to Aisha and hoisted her up. Zhang, much like Brandon, wasn't very happy but was much better at concealing his emotions. With a tired voice, he led the crowd of adventurers, together with Aisha, away to someplace else.
Only one man was left there, standing still and silent as the crowd got further and further away. Once he was sure they were out of earshot, Kayden moved towards the invisible wall, the invisible wall made by his magic. It seems that Aisha had really put his spell orbs to good use.
"[…What are you doing? You said it yourself, didn't you? There's no way you can carry four people at once. Just give it up already.]"
"I know. But there's something else I can try." Kayden said as he stepped inside. As he emerged from the other side, he dispelled the invisibility on himself, making it look like he had appeared out of solid metal.
"[What are you planning?]"
"There's no other way. I'll negotiate."
From a hidden corner to the right side of the passage, Ryan emerged from what seemed to be another solid metal wall. Immediately, he was caught off-guard by the man who was waiting outside for him.
"Oh? This is interesting. Don't tell me you're planning to make a deal with me too?"
Kayden frowned.
"You bastard. You were expecting me to show up."
"Well, of course! Did you think I suddenly forgot that an invisible rat was crawling about? So, are you here to assassinate me? Or strike a deal?"
"Sigh… pain in the ass… A deal."
A wide, menacing grin formed on his reptilian face, as he placed his hands behind his head. He looked frustratingly laid-back right now.
"Do tell."
"... First, have you healed the other four members?"
Ryan nodded.
"Alright… I want you to pretend you didn't see anything and not tell a soul about these four people. You wanted information, right? I have it."
"Well, hold on for a moment. You trust me enough to keep my mouth shut? Also, do you even know why we came here?"
"No. Is it important? It's to get rich from the dungeon, just like everybody else, no?"
"No, little thief." Ryan wagged his finger at him. "Brandon—the guy you fought— thinks you've won unfairly in that battle, and wants revenge."
"Won?" Kayden laughed. "That was more like a tie!"
"Eh. A tie still means a defeat for him, since he's of a higher rank than you."
Kayden held his chin in contemplation. If what Ryan was saying was true, there's a massive problem in his hands.
"Fine… I'll agree to a rematch duel with him."
"It's not that simple. He wants complete vengeance, understand?" Ryan tutted as he shook his head. "He wants you dead."
Kayden couldn't believe his ears.
"What? That's dumb! All I did was play a prank on him, and he was the one that started it! That guy's crazy!"
"I KNOW! FINALLY! SOMEONE WHO GETS ME!"
Kayden was stunned by the sudden outburst. It had been too sudden. Ryan continued, as he wiped away a tear from his eye.
"Your master… would probably kill us if we tried to kill you, right? She's already beat us up once. No matter how much I tried convincing him, he still doesn't understand."
"Then…"
"Listen here, tall kid. I need you to pretend to die. Shouldn't be too hard, right? Once that's done, we'll go away, and then everyone's happy. How's that for a deal?"
Kayden was pleasantly surprised at the sudden change in direction. It seems that things were looking up for him. He had been prepared for a scuffle if things were to turn south, but it seems all that worrying was for nothing.
"Alright then! We have a deal!"