Arthur awoke early before the crystals began to light up the city below.
He looked at Gabriel, who was still sleeping, and then at Safira, who had fallen asleep in his arms.
Arthur hesitated for a moment before moving his face close to the girl's and pressing his lips to her forehead.
"Hmmmm~" Safira let out a soft moan in a sleepy voice that bordered on sensuality.
She opened her eyes to find Arthur's burning gaze upon her.
"Ah..." She looked away as a red flush appeared on her face.
"Good morning... how did you sleep?" Arthur asked, trying to put some warmth and affection into his usually cold voice.
"W-well," Safira replied in a hesitant, faulty voice.
At that moment Alice, who had rolled around in Safira's arms during the night until she ended up between the two of them, woke up and gave them a suspicious look with a pretentious and even cute smile on her face. A smile that was only interrupted by the rumbling of his stomach.
"Uncle Arthur... Aunt Safira... I'm hungry..." Alice said in a hoarse, childish voice.
"I'll prepare something for breakfast," Arthur stood up and walked to the center of the room.
In the world beyond the black window that separated this room from the streets outside, the crystals slowly began to glow and illuminate everything, making Gabriel's light stick useless.
Without much thought, Arthur grabbed the staff and threw it at Gabriel.
"Ugh!" Gabriel groaned in pain and cursed, "Damn..."
"A man of God should not curse," Arthur laughed as he removed a few pieces of wood from his spatial ring.
Hearing this response, Gabriel also laughed, but his face turned bitter as soon as he saw Safira and the blush on the visible part of her face.
"I have to have my morning prayer..." He said before getting up and hurrying out the front door.
A man with a broken heart can drown his sorrows in alcohol, but a man of God can only find refuge in his prayers.
"Ah..." Arthur sighed heavily and concentrated on his work.
Their breakfast was simple, nothing more than some dried meat, water, and some grains. It was far from tasty, but it was all they had.
Soon after Gabriel returned from his prayers and also ate a little, they made their way towards the great stone walls on the horizon.
***
It took them just over 50 minutes to reach the edge of the city and finally come face to face with the base of the mighty stone walls, which closed in a perfect arch.
"This is the place." Gabriel pointed to a narrow hole, just wide enough for a single person to pass through.
"It looks scary..." Alice said as she looked through the hole, As far as the eye could see was pure, oppressive darkness.
"I'll lead the way." Arthur volunteered, he was the member of the group with the highest HP and felt he was the most qualified to make the vanguard.
No one but Arthur was excited about going first, so they just stood back and let him do what he wanted.
Taking one last breath of the city's fresh air, Arthur entered the tunnel, preparing to face the stuffy, hot environment of the tunnels once again.
"Shit..." Arthur cursed, regretting that he had not removed his armor before entering this place.
It was only after long minutes of struggling that he emerged from the other side and found himself in a large room lit by the same rustic torches he had found at the beginning of his journey in this world.
A dank, metallic smell, along with the terrible stench of rotting organic matter, filled Arthur's nostrils, reminding him why he hated this place.
Soon after Arthur passed, it was Alice's turn, then Safira's, and finally Gabriel's.
"Ew... this place stinks," Alice muttered as she covered her nose.
"More than usual," Gabriel grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it out of its sheath, taking the lead of the group alongside Arthur, who also had his sword in his hand.
Safira, who was at the back of the group, grabbed Alice's arm and pulled her close, keeping her in the middle of the trio.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Gabriel signaled, "Come on, keep your steps light and slow.
And so, the group moved forward, their footsteps echoing through the silent cavern as the terrible metallic stench grew stronger.
Suddenly, they stopped as they heard a sound different from the dry footsteps on the rocky floor; a crack, like bones breaking.
Arthur crouched down and picked up a skull from beneath his feet, its shape was humanoid, but not human, with sharp fangs and being small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.
"It's from a goblin, a very young one." Gabriel took the skull from Arthur's hands and looked at it for a few seconds.
"It looks like it's been corroded by some kind of acid..." Arthur said as he noticed the worn and uneven surface of the bones.
Looking down at the ground in front of him, he noticed something that sent a shiver down his spine.
As far as the eye could see, hundreds of skeletons were scattered across the ground, from goblins to hobgoblins and even larger creatures he couldn't identify.
"This wasn't here the last time we passed through..." Gabriel gritted his teeth and his eyes widened as he looked at the wall and noticed goo oozing from one of the many cracks along its length.
"We have to go back..." He exclaimed as he took several steps back.
"Now!" Gabriel raised his voice, but unfortunately, it was too late. The ground beneath their feet trembled, followed by a deafening beastly roar.
Without a second's hesitation, the group took off, while in the distance, a black, demonic figure appeared, its form unstable and its quadruped body deformed as it ran.
Its head, or rather the hundreds of heads, arms, jaws, and eyes that could be seen, rose from its form like unstable shadows desperately trying to escape from a horrendous prison.
[Boss: ?????
Grade: ?????
Stage: ?????
Level: ?????
HP: ?????]
At that moment, Arthur looked back, his body shuddering at the sight of this unknown beast. Despite the deep fear that rose in his heart, he did not stop his steps, or at least he wouldn't have if it wasn't for what happened in the next second.
Suddenly, the beast stopped its pursuit and writhed violently before a single hole appeared in the center of its body, spewing a small but powerful blast of acidic liquid toward the group.
"Safira!" Arthur shouted as he realized that the jet was aimed at Safira, who was carrying Alice in her arms and running not far ahead of him.
Gritting his teeth so hard that his jaw cracked, Arthur took a step to the side, placing himself between the creature and Safira. He knew it would be painful, but the thought had barely entered his mind before he felt a hellish heat seize his back.
"Argh!!" Arthur let out a painful grunt, and even his powerful armor could not protect him from the acid, he soon stumbled and was thrown to the ground. With his current agility, Arthur was able to run at more than fifty kilometers per hour, and the inertia of his body was able to carry him dozens of meters before he finally stopped.
But even then, his body couldn't stop the blast of acid completely, and a small amount still managed to pass through him and hit the beauty's back.
Safira groaned pitifully and fell to the ground. Alice, who had been curled up in Safira's arms with a terrified look on her face and tears streaming from her eyes, was thrown from Safira's hands and fell heavily to the ground, landing between the group and the creature.
"Alice!" Safira's eyes widened as she saw the little girl fall to the ground unconscious. She regained her composure within seconds and rushed towards Alice with extreme speed, reaching the little girl within seconds.
But once again it was too late. The creature had already arrived in front of her and launched a merciless attack, aiming to wipe out both Safira and Alice in a single blow.
At that moment, Arthur was already running towards the creature, his mind chaotic and time seemed to pass in slow motion as deep despair took over his face. The pain had been completely erased from his mind, and the only thing he had in his vision was Safira and Alice.
"Maybe I'll regret this," Gabriel told himself mentally as he took off his space ring.
"But not today!" He shouted and threw the ring at the two girls with all his might.
Arthur, who was a little ahead of Gabriel, saw a powerful golden light appear on his back and pass through his body at an absurd speed, completely engulfing Safira, and Alice.
In that brief moment of being engulfed by the light, Safira looked at Arthur, her gaze deep as she cried out. "I love you!"
"Please... survive," Safira disappeared with Alice, leaving behind a last echo of her voice.