The girls hidden behind rock formations covered their ears from the sheer force of the explosion and the deafening sound it produced. Emma immediately worried about Niall's well-being, while the other girls were confused by what had just happened.
Peeking out from behind the rock, Emma noticed Niall's burnt flesh and his guts scattered across the floor. For a moment, she lost her breath, thinking Niall was dead.
"I... I... I can't believe we've sent that young boy to his death. If only we had kept our mouths shut to Hermes and never invited Niall to aid us, perhaps he could still be alive. That bomb was meant for us..."
Emma's voice was filled with emotion as she spoke about the tragedy that had unfolded before her eyes. She felt an overwhelming sense of guilt, believing she was responsible for Niall's death. Despite his bravery, he would still be alive if they had never asked for his help.
Even though she barely knew him, Emma was saddened by the thought of losing someone who seemed like a younger brother to her. Being the younger sister herself, she felt a special connection to caring for someone younger, just as her sister had cared for her.
"It is unfortunate, but we have to take immediate action and take down the culprits. After that, you can mourn as much as you want, but our Familia is the priority," Karen said. She felt bad about Niall's fate too, but she wouldn't let her emotions get the better of her.
The girls exchanged glances, and just as they were about to jump out from their hiding place, they were startled by the screams of men and the sounds of tearing flesh.
"YOU MONST—"
The terrified screams of the men, followed by curses and cries of agony, filled the air as someone or something killed the unfortunate bandits. The girls knew that these men had tried to kill them by planting explosives, but they couldn't comprehend what was now killing them.
'Perhaps it's an evolved monster of some sort?' Emma thought as she listened to the horrifying sounds that went beyond her imagination.
In the end, only one weak voice—a man screaming for forgiveness and mercy—remained. The girls mustered enough courage to step out and see what was going on. The sight before them was unimaginable.
A cat-man stood before the girls of the Player Familia. He wasn't bleeding, which meant his missing limbs were old scars. They didn't know the man, but they felt something very wrong about him like they were staring at the worst kind of person.
Niall stood there, staring at the man without any expression, which made him look like an ice prince, looking down on a pitiful bandit begging for his miserable life. Around the boy were numerous corpses, their deformities making them unrecognizable.
Niall's clothes were completely gone, leaving him unaware that his bare butt was exposed to the disbelieving eyes of the girls. Immediately, the girls closed their eyes, trying not to look at the naked boy, while Emma blushed but couldn't help catching a peek at the situation.
Niall took a good look at the man and realized he had mistaken him for someone he killed some time ago. The cat-man had his arms and ears intact, unlike that bastard Jura, whom Niall had killed. Blinking in realization, Niall sighed and pointed his arm at the man, still unaware of the girls behind him.
"PLEASE DON'T!! I'll tell you everything I know, just please don't kill me!" the man begged on his knees, desperately trying to stay alive as small teardrops fell from his eyes.
"Then tell me everything you know about your organization, the goddess that sent you here, and the location and full list of people involved in this little attempt of yours to get rid of me and the Player Familia."
The cat-man's eyes widened at the thought of being tortured by Evilus for giving up information, but on the other hand, he knew he would be killed immediately if he didn't comply. He had to choose the lesser evil, even if it meant becoming a traitor to his organization.
At least he could try to escape once the boy let him go, somewhere far away where Evilus didn't have influence. His life had been nothing but dull and awful, filled with murder and plotting.
Ever since he came to this town with dreams of becoming a powerful criminal, things had taken a wrong turn. Evilus's recruitment had made him happy for a short period, but after experiencing near-death encounters with powerful adventurers, his opinion about Orario had changed.
He was never one to pursue noble goals; he was very weak compared to the average adventurer. But his obedience had kept him in the organization long enough for him to get promoted.
This was supposed to be a quick job that would earn him an even higher position within the organization. However, the wheel of fortune turned against him. Emotions churned inside him, and he gave up on trying to act brave. He had to do everything he could to stay alive.
"ALRIGHT... Alright, I'll tell you everything! I was assigned to ambush the Player Familia with the explosives. It was supposed to be a quick, easy job, but as you can see, things went out of hand..."
He held his arms in the air as a sign of peace. Despite his fear, he was also confused by the sight of the boy standing naked before him. But what confused him wasn't the boy's nakedness; it was how the boy hadn't realized it yet.
"Goddess Morana gave me a direct order to command my group and ambush you with the explosives, as I mentioned before. She didn't tell me why, I swear to all the goddesses and gods of this realm!"
The girls listened to the conversation in disbelief. "Morana? Wasn't that goddess exiled from Orario a long time ago?" Emma asked quietly, but none of the girls knew the right answer.
"Where is your base of operations, and how many of you are there? Don't try to avoid these questions if you don't want your skin peeled off right now," Niall said, his tone sending shivers down the spines of both the girls and the man.
"OKAY... okay, okay, I'll tell you everything I know. Our primary base of operations is inside the man-made dungeon of Knossos. To get in, you need a special orb that only a few people have. The entrance is located on Daedalus Street, in a secret corridor that only Evilus members know."
"How many of you are there?" Niall asked without showing any surprise at the information he had just received. The girls, on the other hand, struggled to think rationally but failed.
"Man-made dungeon? How is that even possible? Surely the gods would know about this..." Karen quietly spoke, horrified by the thought of the worst kind of criminals hiding under their noses the entire time.
"There are a couple of Familias residing there. The Ikelos Familia is supposed to be one of us, but it's complicated... They are the main rulers of Knossos, so we just have to get along. Then there are the remnants of old Familias whose gods were sent back to Tenkai, and finally, there's a small group of Morana's men, where I belong. There should be around 300 of us in total, but I honestly think there are more..."
The girls who listened to the entire ordeal widened their eyes in surprise and fear. "300?! How are we supposed to deal with that?!" Leon clenched her heavy greatsword, disbelief in her eyes, but despite her fear, she tried to act as calmly as possible, like heroes are supposed to do.
Niall listened to the cat-man explaining how Knossos was organized but found nothing particularly special, as the man himself wasn't an important figure, despite what he thought.
"Thank you, you're the real hero," Niall said. The man's fear turned into confusion, and his confusion turned into relief, bringing a smile to his face. He was going to live, but he needed to get out of Orario before his former comrades caught up with him.
But the moment he tried to turn around and leave, a blast pierced his head, making it explode like a pressurized melon. Blood splattered everywhere as the man's headless body fell to the bloody floor.
A few girls gasped in shock at the sight, making Niall aware of their presence.
"Oh, hello there, girls. I'm glad you're all fine. I have some very valuable information about the goons that tried to attack us. It looks like Evilus is involved with the Aeshma Familia, so we'll have to—"
"Niall, please cover yourself!" Emma screamed in embarrassment, then let out a small chuckle.
"Wha... oh."
Niall's face turned red quickly, and he hurriedly grabbed the clothes from the man he had just killed moments ago.