"Stop, what are you doing to that man?" a young feminine voice suddenly exclaimed, interrupting Draco's interrogation of Elias.
Turning to the source, the group was greeted by the sight of three unknown individuals.
The one who had spoken was a beautiful young girl with blood-red hair and piercing green eyes, her locks pulled back into a ponytail.
Beside her stood another young-looking girl, though it was difficult to discern her age as she was a pallum.
She had short, pink hair, and her features looked endearing and quite lovable, as was typical of her race.
The third person was shrouded in a full cloak, making their appearance hard to discern, but based on their body shape, team dynamics, and the strands of blonde hair that peeked out, Draco assumed they were also a young girl.
'How careless of me,' Draco thought, slowly rising to his feet.
'I should have scanned the area more thoroughly,' he lamented.
"Help, these people killed those people over there and now they're trying to kill me!" Elias screamed at the top of his lungs, attempting to latch onto the new arrivals for his survival.
A tick mark appeared on Vasiliki's head, and she was visibly irked by Elias' false accusation.
Icicles began creeping onto Elias' feet as Vasiliki attempted to freeze him.
Draco raised his hand immediately to stop Vasiliki.
"Hold on," he said, gauging the strength of the three women.
He judged that two of them were around level 3, and the pallum girl was a level 2.
This was not something their team, composed of level 1's, could easily handle.
He was also aware that it would be difficult to explain their current situation.
No matter how one looked at it, the scene made them appear to be the antagonists.
'Sigh, now what do I do? And why do these girls look so familiar?' Draco pondered.
"Quick, do something! They want to silence me now!" Elias pleaded.
Annoyed with Elias, Draco clenched his fist and struck him on the head, knocking him unconscious.
This act was sufficient to convince the new arrivals that Draco and his group were the antagonists.
"I apologize for that," Draco began, attempting to explain.
"I can explain what is truly transpiring—" he continued.
Swish! Clang!
But the red-haired girl had no intention of waiting to listen.
She unsheathed her weapon and charged towards Draco with the intent to eliminate him.
"Alise, wait!" the pallum girl called out, but her plea fell on deaf ears.
'Fast,' Draco thought, his reptilian pupils dilating as he tracked her movement.
Quickly, he transformed one of his arms into a claw and tried to deflect the rapier attack.
The sudden attack was stronger than Draco expected, and the force of the impact sent him tumbling to the ground.
'She's very strong,' Draco realized, quickly trying to regain his balance.
Dimitra, seeing an opening, didn't waste any time.
She knocked her arrows and fired, providing cover fire for Draco to recover.
The red-haired girl, now identified as Alise, backflipped to avoid the arrows, putting some distance between herself and the group.
"Draco nii!" Vasileios called out in worry, running forward with his shield raised to help.
Clair, Michalis, Eleni, Nikolaos, and Vasiliki immediately took up a battle formation around Draco, ready to respond.
"Alise, we'll help," the cloaked girl said to the red-haired girl.
'Wait, Alise? Isn't she the captain of the Astraea Familia?' Draco realized.
'Then the pallum must be Lyra, and the cloaked person is probably Ryuu,' he deduced.
The battle lines had already been drawn, with Draco's group facing off against the trio from the Astraea Familia.
Draco knew they were in for a tough fight, but he couldn't afford to back down.
He had to find a way to diffuse the situation and explain the truth.
His heart raced as he contemplated the gravity of the situation.
Encountering the Astraea Familia like this in the dungeon was the last thing he expected.
Resolving this misunderstanding would be no easy task, but he knew he had to try.
Rising to his feet, Draco brushed the dirt off his cloak, a casual action that seemed to only further annoy the three girls of the Astraea Familia.
He could sense their irritation at his nonchalant demeanor, as if he was not taking them seriously.
However, Draco didn't care.
He knew that fleeing was not an option.
Even if they made it back to the surface, the misunderstanding would still persist and could even escalate.
'Sigh, can't let them perceive us as weak. They might try subduing us without listening if they realize that we are just level ones,' he thought.
"Are you all, perhaps, members of the Astraea Familia?" Draco asked, his tone measured and polite.
"Yes, and what of it? Scared?" Lyra replied, her voice carrying a hint of irritation.
"No, I am not. I just wanted to talk, so we can resolve this grave misunderstanding," Draco responded, with a light chuckle.
"We have nothing to discuss with criminals like you," Alise spat, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Either you surrender to justice peacefully, or we will make you," she threatened.
'Damn justice freaks,' Draco thought, as he couldn't help but let out an annoyed sigh.
"Why do you have to make things so difficult?" he mumbled.
He wasn't truly afraid of them, but facing Alise, Ryuu, and Lyra together was an impossible feat for his current self to face head-on without resorting to using a skill he wanted to avoid using at all costs.
Closing his eyes, Draco sent out a wide pulse of energy, carefully scanning the surrounding area to ensure no other adventurers were approaching, further complicating the current situation.
His senses detected only nearby monsters, and no other parties were in the vicinity.
Swish !!
Swiftly, Alise and Ryuu immediately moved in a blur, dashing forward the moment they saw Draco's eyes close.
They had clearly determined that he was up to something and needed to act quickly to stop him.
Lyra, on the other hand, moved at a more measured pace, her goal being to subdue the ranged members of Draco's group.
Vasiliki reacted without hesitation, spreading a sheet of slippery ice on the ground in front of the advancing Alise and Ryuu, hoping it would cause them to slip and buy some precious time.
But her efforts were in vain, as the two adventurers easily powered through the ice, their speed and skill undiminished.
Vasileios quickly moved to the front, activating his skills and readying himself to withstand the incoming blows.
Michalis and Clair, meanwhile, had shifted their focus to Lyra, recognizing the potential threat she posed.
Draco took a deep breath, his mind racing as he considered the situation thoroughly.
He soon came to a decision.
"Stop!" Draco suddenly exclaimed, his voice carrying an unexpected authority.
He channeled the full brunt of his skill, 'Dragon Aura,' mixed with a potent sense of bloodlust, encompassing the entire hallway.
He also sent a pulse of earth elemental energy through the dungeon walls in the hallway, causing them to lightly rumble in sync with his shout.
The sudden change in his demeanor and the effects of his skills immediately took effect, causing Ryuu and Alise to halt their assault and retreat with caution.
The air became thick and heavy with the pressure he was emitting, giving the illusion of being pulled to the bottom of the sea.
"What was that?" Ryuu asked, quickly snapping out of the skill's effect.
When she felt Draco's aura and bloodlust, a sense of unease crept up her spine, and she instinctively retreated, with the same true for Alise.
Alise and Ryuu were not the only ones affected by Draco's skill; Lyra, Clair, Michalis, Eleni, Nikolaos, Dimitra, Vasileios, and Vasileios had all come to a halt.
Their bodies instinctively tensed up, perceiving Draco as a threat.
Silence filled the hallway for a while as the rumbling hallway settled down.
"We will peacefully surrender," Draco stated, breaking the silence, his voice calm and composed.
It was a decision he had made after deeply contemplating the situation.
He had considered two ways of settling the matter.
The first was somehow subduing the Astraea familia to make them listen, which was currently impossible.
The second was to surrender peacefully, while making a strong impression and preserving their pride as a familia.
Fighting the Astraea familia would only escalate the situation and was not worth the effort.
He could already imagine, how the scenario would play out if he did that.
It was highly likely that if they fought, casualties would occur from his side first, and if that happened, his rage skill would definitely be triggered, leading to a much larger mess.
He was also aware that Alise possessed several dangerous skills and magic, making her on par with a new level 4 combatant.
The same was true for Ryuu, while Lyra, though not much of a threat to him skill-wise, her cunning and dirty tricks were definitely going to be a problem.
Additionally, Draco had thought of an easy way to solve the whole misunderstanding.
He remembered the truth device used by the guild when they first entered the city.
They just needed to meet Rose, their guild advisor, to get one, and the truth should be revealed.
Upon hearing Draco's words, Alise, Ryuu, and Lyra were a bit confused.
With the amount of bloodlust Draco had released, they were certain that he was preparing to attack them.
But here he was, surrendering without putting up much of a fight, making the situation seem a lot more complicated.
This, in turn, made them doubt whether Draco and his companions were the ones who had committed the murder.
"What if we do not accept the surrender?" Lyra asked, curious about Draco's capabilities that had allowed him to be so confident in his actions.
"Well, it simply means that it will become a fight to the death," Draco replied nonchalantly, his reptilian eyes narrowing at her.
They could all sense that his words carried a serious weight.
"Interesting," Lyra murmured.
"Disarm," Draco instructed his familia as proof of his sincerity.
They were initially skeptical, but obliged, believing in his judgment.
Alise, Ryuu, and Lyra watched as Draco's familia laid down their weapons, a clear demonstration of their willingness to surrender peacefully.
The tension in the air was palpable, and the three girls found themselves reconsidering their initial assessment of the situation.
Draco's calm demeanor and the unexpected turn of events had left them with more questions than answers.
They realized that there was more to this encounter than met the eye, and they needed to tread carefully to uncover the truth.
Draco, sensing the doubt in their eyes, determined that it was time to explain the situation to them and provide a way to verify the truth.
His gaze briefly swept across the group, his expression serious.
"I apologize for the misunderstanding, but I assure you that this man is the true criminal in this situation. We have been framed, and I would like nothing more than to resolve this peacefully," he began.
Alise's eyes narrowed, her stance still tense.
"And why should we believe anything you say?" she said.
"I understand your skepticism, but what more do you want? I believe that we have proven to be sincere enough," Draco replied, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
"Go on," Alise said.
"This man named Elias is the one manipulating the situation, and we are merely trying to set the record straight. If you'll allow me, I can explain everything in detail and provide evidence to support our claims," Draco said.
He began explaining everything he knew about the situation and provided the evidence.
To top things off, he even suggested using a truth device in the guild.
Alise had a furrowed brow, contemplating after listening to Draco and seeing the presented evidence.
"If you're telling the truth, then we should indeed meet with this Rose and get to the bottom of this. But I warn you, if we find any evidence of your involvement in the murder, there will be no mercy," she warned.
Ryuu and Lyra nodded in agreement, their eyes fixed on Draco and his companions, ready to react at the slightest provocation.
Draco simply nodded, his expression unreadable.
"I understand. Let's proceed to the guild and clear this misunderstanding," he replied.
As they walked back to the surface with Elias in tow, Draco couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. 'Sigh, what a waste of the day.' he thought.