With roughly five thousand Hunters, Leo leads the charge into the artificial Dungeon Knossos.
"Fuck! The entrance is breached!" The criminals suddenly shouted in panic when the Oricalchum door they so trusted was blasted open.
"Hunters. Charge!" Ludwig, wearing the white Healing Church Hunter's attire and wielding Ludwig Holy Blade, brandishes his longsword while issuing a warcry before charging ahead into the criminal's stronghold.
Gunshots, swords clashing and painful screams echoes the false dungeon. Hunters of various workshops, each with their unique trick weapons, firearms and outfit, charged on the criminal adventurers holding the lines.
However, the Hunters are fearless. They had experienced countless life and death battles far worse than this. They attack with disregard of their life, not that it matters since they are immortal. They only are as strong as Level 3-4 Adventurers except for a few like Ludwig, Lady Maria and Gehrman. But they fill the gap of strength with sheer skill and experience in taking down humanoid opponents.
The criminal adventurers have no chance to begin with.
"Everyone fall back! Release the monsters!" One of the Adventurers shouted and escaped deeper into the maze as a loud stampede could be heard by anyone before one of the walls suddenly fell into the ground and opened up a passage that unleashed the monster on the Hunters.
Too bad for the person behind the criminals, Hunters are the most proficient in taking down Beast or monsters alike.
———
"This…! It's pure Oricalchum!" Riveria pick up a chunk of the broken entrance door and inspect it. "Not even a Level 7 can break this metal. Not to mention how thick the door was." She said while looking at the frame of the said door.
"Nothing to be surprised. He used Arcanum after all and that sword he used is a divine weapon. How did he even smuggle that thing down?" Loki left exasperated as she walked into the passage and the rest of the team followed behind her.
Immediately, they found themselves in a giant hallway that could fit 5 houses in width. They saw the bloody battle taking place inside. An unknown group clashing against the Underworld's criminals.
"No wonder the remnants of Evilus cannot be traced. They were hiding in Knossos all this time." Loki glances at the false dungeon.
"What should we do, Loki-sama?" Finn asks when he saw the criminals were falling back and one of the walls disappeared and revealed a horde of Monsters charging at the unknown group.
"We do nothing." Loki mutters but they are high level adventurers and they heard what she said very clearly.
Ais frowned. This unknown group is clearly on Orario's side because they were trying to eliminate the bad people. But Loki didn't want to lend any help.
"Ais. Don't." Riveria catch Ais' shoulder when she saw through what she planned. "Remember, he told us not to interfere."
Loki nods as Riveria. She didn't want to offend the other party that clearly did not need their help.
Just as everyone except for Loki brace for the stampede to reach the Hunters. A powerful crack of thunder followed by blinding light floods their vision. When their vision is restored, what is left of the monster stampede is a trail of destruction, a deep trench and melted adamantite slags that stretch who knows how far into the false dungeon.
"...absurd power." Loki murmurs before she orders everyone to follow as the Hunters are chasing after the fleeing criminals deeper into the dungeon.
———
Spearheading the charge is Leo, Ludwig, Gehrman, Lady Maria and the unknown Vileblood Hunter.
They soon encounter a problem when they entered the maze labyrinth. The enemies have full control of each doors and even some walls while Leo and the Hunters don't.
"Everyone stand back." Leo issued his order and the Hunters immediately retreated few meters behind him as his black sword once again charged with powerful lightning oscillating on the blade while the blade itself act like a transformer to increase the power of the lightning until it's too powerful that it becomes a literal beam of light covering the blade.
With a horizontal slash, the lightning unleashed like an arc that cut through the Adamantite wall and exploded, destroying the entire maze labyrinth.
Once the wall is gone, the criminals hiding in the maze are exposed and the Hunters immediately go and slaughter them like cattles in the slaughterhouse.
The criminals were caught off guard. No adventurer could wield such power and they think the maze is enough to keep them safe. They didn't expect Leo would have such power to break the maze in such a manner beyond their imagination.
"Impossible! How!" Dix in the end of the maze surrounded by criminals, shouting in anger and disbelief.
The hard work of his ancestors was destroyed just like that. Not that he cares. But the curse compels him to feel anger. Thousands of years of effort were destroyed in a blink of an eye. Unreasonable and unimaginable power beyond the mortal's boundary.
It's obvious he was targeted by a god. But who? Who had he offended?
Unaware by Dix himself, he simply caught in the crossfire of the Pallum rogue. Had he not met the Pallum, Leo would have no reason to kill him. But because he did and Leo had Clairvoyance, he saw what Dix would become.
A threat to the girls and Tanya.
Thus, he must be eliminated.
As the Hunters taking care of the criminals that tried to fled away. Leo approach Dix standing on a pedestal while holding an orb in his hand.
"Who are you!"
"How dare you ruin the work of my ancestors!" Dix shouting nonsense at Leo but he is in no mood to entertain this squabbles.
"Please die." Leo said with an impassive expression and made a lightning slash that cleaved Dix diagonally, killing the adventurer effortlessly.
What else to expect? Leo even after sealing his strength have the strength of a Level 8 Adventurer. With his divine sword, maybe even a Level 10. Meanwhile Dix is just a Level 5. The gap of strength is simply too wide to bridge.
Once Dix is killed and his soul extingushed, Leo made a relieved sigh and light up a cigarette while the Hunters finishing their Hunt. He sit on the pedestal while waiting.
"Hmn, I wonder what will you do about the group spying at us?" Artemis suddenly appeared next to Leo with her parasol providing a shade despite them being indoor.
"The Loki Familia?" Leo glance at the entrance of the maze where the said group is watching the entire scene unfolding in front of their eyes with shock written on their face.
"Hmn. Let them be. They are not a threat." Leo shrugs.
"No. Not them. It's the old gramps and the playboy looking uncle over there." Artemis turn to her left and point at the pile kf crates.
"Oya, I was found out." A playful tone called out and the two walk out from behind the crate.
The one talking is a blond young man with effeminate apperance, wearing a feathered hat and a red scarf around his neck. The other is taller than the former with a slight bulky build but wearing a robe that cover his entire body and also head.
The first is obviously Hermes. The second however, Leo can sense the familiarity and the similarity came from his Master Bolt. His identity would be Zeus, Bell Cranel's grandfather.
"Well, what's with the scary aura? We came in peace just to talk, right? Right?" Hermes nudge Zeus with his elbow, looking for support.
Hermes is a very peculiar character. His goal eluded many as he seems like doing things randomly and sometimes just for fun. But Leo know his only interest is to safeguard Orario and it's people to some extent.
As for Zeus, it's to dealt with the unfinished Great Quest that his and Hera Familia once challenged but failed. For such reason he is nurturing Bell Cranel, the protagonist.
"What is it, you want from me?" Leo asked with disinterest and only doing so to keep him occupied while waiting.
"Well, glad we can converse with words." Hermes speaked cheerfully. "Well, what we need is simple. We know you are an outsider. There no use beating around the bush."
"We noticed you have no hostile intention on our world and simply nurturing your people using the dungeon." Hermes revealed as his voice turn solemn. "We wish you will not interfere with our goal and we will do the same to you."
"Do you not fear me, an outsider?" Leo ask with slight curiosity why they didn't mind him knowing most world rejects outsider or Outer God.
Hermes look at Zeus for a moment before he answered. "Well, this isn't the first or will be the last time for an outsider to enter this world. As long as you pose this world no harm. We have no reason to be hostile to you."
"Hmn. Fine, I accept then." Leo replied.
"Well, glad to have your cooperation." Hermes approach Leo with a smile and offer his hand for a handshake. His eyes form a slit which secretly size up Leo up close and Artemis.
Leo place the half finished cigarette on his lips and shake Hermes' hand before he cheerful say goodbye and left with Zeus while trying to stay out of Loki's sight.
"I am surprised, Leo. You could score an easy kills and reap many Blood Echoes. Yet you didn't." Artemis wondered out loud while curiously observe Leo with a faint smile.
Leo grunted dismissively as he continues to smoke his cigarette as the Hunters already done killing the criminals and now wrapping up as Leo send them back to Yharnam.
The Hunters are happy to participate in this Hunt and have a break from Yharnam since in Yharnam, they have nothing much to do in terms of fighting without Beast to hunt and many are restless because of this.
Leo claps his hands to capture their attention. "Alright, people. Thank you for your participation and help. Time to go home."
"Aww!"
"Can I stay behind? I kinda want to tour the city."
"I want to visit the brothel!"
"I want to visit the dungeon!"
"There's not enough skulls to build a skull throne!"
Things only get rowdier after that and Leo have to send everyone back by force before they start rioting. After that, Leo dismissed the Hunt and returned home with Teleportation Magic.
———
"How are you feeling, Tanya?" The concerned Leo sat beside her bed and checked up on her.
Strangely, Pandora drags everyone else out of the room to give them privacy. But with the people literally living rent free in his head, privacy is impossible.
"I'm fine. No need to worry too much, Leo." Tanya sighed at Leo's overprotective nature. "Besides, this isn't the first time something happened to me. It's kinda expected for a female soldier deployed in the frontline that risks being captured by enemies." She reassured him she is mentally fine.
"Hmn. If you said so. But you and the girls will stay in the dungeon for a week. Take a break and relax for the meantime."
"Why?" Tanya is curious and hopes Leo didn't decide on this just because he wanted to protect her after this incident.
"The whole city will be in a little mess for a while. Just stay off the dungeon for the rest of the week until everything calms down." Leo replied vaguely and stood up from the chair.
"Well, take some rest. I still have unfinished work back at my forge." He said before walking towards the door.
While Tanya is not negatively affected by this incident. She does feel her fondness of Leo grew on her. The rest of the house isn't oblivious to what Leo did as Grayfia somehow, always knew what Leo is doing even when not physically next to him.
"Hey, Leo…" Tanya stopped him when he was just about to reach for the door knob.
"Hmn?" Leo stopped and turned to her. "What's the matter?"
Tanya feels nervous when his eyes are looking straight at him and her words become stuck on her throat.
'What are you being embarrassed about, Tanya?!' Tanya screamed internally while faking a cough to clear her throat.
"Uhm… A-Are you busy tomorrow?" She stuttered and felt like hanging herself out of embarrassment.
'What are you being shy about? He is 19 and you are 26!'
Well, 56 if added to her previous life. But that's not important.
"I can clear my schedule. Why? Do you need to repair your gears?" Leo made a guess as to how her gears might have been damaged from the fight. "I remember seeing the barrel was wrecked." Leo remembers seeing her rifle being damaged as Tanya used it to block an attack once from the Wolfman's axe.
"No! That's not it." Tanya had enough with her hesitation and slapped her cheeks to calm herself down. "I want to ask you out to the city." She said.
"You want me to accompany you to the city?" The meaning of the words flew past his head as he thought Tanya wanted him to accompany her to the city. "Sure" Leo replied while thinking about the state of the city after what he did.
Leo left after that and Tanya really hoped he got what she was trying to say.
—————
(It will be a little awkward. Tanya is a corporate man in previous life having zero sense of romance. In her second life, she is a soldier and also has zero knowledge of romance. Meanwhile, Leo who acts oblivious to all advances.)
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