Bel gazed at the menacing man before her. His tall and broad figure nearly touched the modest restaurant's ceiling. Anyone looking at him would be terrified.
Even the hero party grew vigilant, sensing the dangerous aura from this man. He seemed out of place, as if he didn't belong to this world. Despite his handsome appearance, something about him felt inherently wrong.
However, Bel didn't care. Their crimson eyes locked in a glaring contest as she stood from her chair.
"Huh? Why would I need to do that? Isn't my opinion clear enough?" she challenged, crossing her arms.
Ashtarot scoffed. "Shallow opinions like that don't count. This dungeon has maps in the great hallway. The hallways might look the same, but there are signs for each section." He pointed at her. "If you got lost, it's because of your stupidity."
Bel gasped, stunned and embarrassed as Ismene agreed with the man.
"He's right. There's a map near the entrance door, and we have one," Ismene said, pulling a map from her pocket. "They sell it everywhere."
Ismene smirked at Bel, relishing her being humbled. As a navigator, she memorized all the maps. This dungeon always had clear signs for each region, making Bel's complaints seem baseless and foolish.
Bel's mouth wrinkled, her pride making an apology impossible. "But still! If someone who enters this dungeon for the first time gets lost, there's something wrong with it!"
"And the human settlement is weird too. This is a dungeon for adventurers to wander, search for treasure, and fight monsters! The settlement isn't needed." She smiled, thinking she had won the argument.
Ashtarot laughed, a frightening sound that made everyone shiver.
"This is why this dungeon attracts so many visitors and dwellers! They love it so much they've made a settlement. Your point is absurd and moronic!"
Bel clenched her fists in annoyance. "Huh, still, this dungeon will never surpass the Daybreak Star Tower!"
Ashtarot's anger grew, veins pulsing on his temple. She had a point; that dungeon was the first in the world, with 99 floors and Lucifer himself as its sentinel and the architect. It was unmatched.
He was about to shout and curse her when her stomach grumbled.
"Shit, I need to go to the toilet!" she shouted, running to the back as fast as she could.
Ashtarot was speechless. The woman was so random he lost his words. Then Landon grabbed his shoulder and apologized.
"That woman is...not really part of our party, but still, I'm sorry on her behalf." Landon apologized sincerely.
He didn't want trouble with a man as tall and intimidating as Ashtarot. He even questioned how he wasn't scared when he first talked to him.
Ashtarot nodded. "I don't have a problem with it." He brushed off the shoulder Landon had touched.
Turning to Sorrush and Meowki the First, he said, "Let's go. We need to terminate that slime."
The three of them left the restaurant. The hero party felt bad, as they had been kind to them, but they shrugged it off, thinking they wouldn't meet again anyway.
As they prepared to leave, the server grabbed Landon's shoulder and handed him the tab with a forced smile, tired of many penniless parties who refuse to pay.
He sighed, taking coins from his bag and giving them to the server. Their financial situation was troubling.
The meat from earlier had been from monsters they hunted before they died on the 14th floor and gave to the restaurant, which cooked it for them. That's why they could eat cheaply, but they still needed to pay.
"I guess we need to search for treasure or events, right?" Osson asked, sensing Landon's worry.
"Yeah...let's go."
The hero party left the restaurant. When Bel returned from the toilet, she looked around, perplexed that the restaurant was empty and only server clean up the table.
She clenched her jaw in anger, she wasnt done argued with that devil and how dare that lame party leave her alone like this!
"Gaahhh!!! Thosee jeerrkkkkksss!!!" she screamed and cursed them.
***
Ashtarot and his team finally arrived at the place where the giant slime was wreaking havoc, and it was indeed a mess.
The plants where the slime had passed were dying, and the buildings were destroyed. It looked like an abandoned place.
This was why evolved monsters like this needed to be eradicated, especially on the lower floors. They endangered many adventurers and disturbed the dungeon's ecosystem.
"Hmm... Let's continue to follow this path," Ashtarot said, walking ahead with Sorrush clinging to his hand and Meowki by his side.
As they approached the slime, they were taken aback by the scene in front of them. The slime was holding two women upside down and it start to melt their attire slowly.
One woman's delicate lace panties were on display, her black skirt flipped over her waist, while the other woman's simple white underwear peeked out from beneath her dress, which had been pulled askew. Their torn dresses barely contained their ample, jiggling chests.
"Damn it, this stupid slime! Help us!"
"Landon, you useless!!!"
The women were from the hero party. A dwarf was attempting to attack the slime with his ax while another member covered his eyes with his hands with a reddened face, completely useless in the situation.
Ashtarot massaged his temples in frustration while Sorrush pouted and covered his eyes with her hands, preventing him from seeing the women's exposed bodies.
"AAAAHHHH!!! Just look at my body, Ashtarot! You can't see other women!" she demanded, standing on her tiptoes to block his view, even though he could still see through her fingers.
"What a mess..." he murmured. "How did they get here faster than us?"