Death Flags Galore!

“Let's go! We have to find a village to blow off some steam.”

“And we need to find a woman to have some fun with. Did you see those two chicks just now? The cute one, I'd love to make her cry in bed!”

“Get out of here, you pervert! If you ask me, that cold-faced woman is the real prize. Look at that body!”

“Right, right! Good thing we stayed on our knees, so they didn't notice anything.”

“Those two are absolute masterpieces!”

With filthy fantasies in mind, the group of bandits departed, spewing vulgar insults about Milia and Sylph.

Little did they know, they were heading straight into a dead end. Before they could commit any more atrocities, they would be torn to shreds by hundreds of magical beasts.

This was also a precursor to the upcoming monster tide that would assault the city, though no one knew it yet.

Meanwhile, the people of Toka City continued to live their peaceful lives, day after day.

On the way back, despite their earlier disagreement, the cheerful Milia managed to lighten the mood.

The already harmonious atmosphere among the group grew even closer.

Milia, Gareth, and Bernard walked ahead, while Sylph and Charles walked side by side behind them.

Watching the three of them chatting and laughing up front, a faint smile appeared on Charles's blank face. Then, he heard a cool, clear voice from beside him.

“Charles, do you really think they will repent?”

Charles was slightly taken aback by Sylph's question. Looking at her expression, which held a hint of melancholy beneath its usual icy exterior, he nodded firmly.

“Yes! I believe they will definitely repent.”

He paused, a look of longing appearing in his eyes as if he were imagining something beautiful. He continued in a soft voice, “I've always believed that humans and other humans—and even humans and magical beasts—can live together in peace. As long as we treat them with kindness, they will surely be moved!”

“You're quite similar to Milia in that regard.”

Charles's words made Sylph think of Milia. Milia had said similar things before, but... how should she put it? They were similar, yet different.

Milia was not as extreme as Charles.

Milia believed that people could get along happily, but there would still be conflicts and difficulties. When those times came, someone had to step up and help.

However, doing so required sufficient strength.

That was exactly why she trained and fought so hard—so she could have the power to help others.

“Can we really get along happily?”

Sylph lowered her head, murmuring in a voice so quiet it seemed to drift away with the wind like a feather.

The melancholy mixed into her cold expression deepened.

“Hey! What secrets are you two whispering about back there?!”

As Sylph was lost in thought, Milia's energetic voice suddenly drifted from ahead.

Sylph looked up and realized that, without noticing, she and Charles had fallen quite a distance behind the other three.

Milia's eyes curved into crescents, her cute face brimming with vitality. She waved both arms, calling out to them:

“If you don't hurry up, the sun will set by the time we get back!”

Beside her, the muscular Gareth had a bright, hearty smile on his honest face, while Bernard also wore a gentle grin.

The sunlight bathed them, warming Sylph's heart.

Finally, the icy look on Sylph's face melted away. An exceptionally gentle smile appeared on her beautiful face, and she nodded vigorously.

“Yes!”

She then grabbed Charles's hand and ran toward the other three.

“Sylph-chan! You look really pretty when you smile!”

“Huh?!”

“No way! Our ice beauty, Sylph, actually smiled?!”

“Wh-What?!!”

“Mmh, as expected, girls are much more charming when they smile!”

“H-Hey!???”

“Did you all see that?!”

The three of them squinted their eyes with mischievous grins and nodded in unison.

Seeing Sylph's face turn completely red, with steam practically rising from her head, they burst into a hearty laughter.

Milia smiled and said, “Though I don't know what was on your mind just now, never forget—we will always be best friends!”

Looking at that warm smile that could melt the coldest ice, Sylph unconsciously smiled gently once more.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

“Did she just smile again?!”

“Oh ho! Our ice beauty isn't so cold today!”

“Gareth, Bernard, shut up!”

Two red, swollen bumps instantly appeared on their heads. Beside them stood Sylph with a cold face. However, the coldness on her face was no longer the kind that kept people thousands of miles away; instead, it carried a touch of warmth.

Charles watched this scene quietly, a sense of envy rising in his heart. For some reason, he also felt a trace of familiarity from it.

It was as if he had experienced a scene like this before.

Then, he saw Milia stretch out her hand toward him, her cute face adorned with a smile. “Charles, don't just stand there dazed! You're our partner too!”

That was the first thought that flashed through his mind. He grabbed Milia's hand, and the group continued walking toward the city.

The sunlight stretched their shadows very, very long. However, the shadows between Charles and the other four seemed to be separated by an invisible barrier, unable to truly draw close.

Meanwhile, inside a room in the Toka City Adventurer's Guild, a man who looked highly intelligent and possessed a refined, gentle temperament sat in an office chair.

A large pile of documents regarding the Adventurer's Guild lay on the desk in front of him. Beside him, a man was holding a file, reporting to him.

“President, many adventurers have reported that large patches of darkness have appeared in the dungeon labyrinth. Tentacles emerge from the darkness, dragging magical beasts into it.”

“I've compiled the statistics. The adventurers reporting this are at least Tier Four. Those in the Tier One, Tier Two, and Tier Three labyrinths haven't encountered this situation.”

“Alright, I understand. Leave the documents there. I'll look over them in a moment.”

The man squinted his eyes tightly and let out a sigh.

Once the reporting officer left, he rested his hand on the desk and rubbed his throbbing temples, muttering to himself:

“Sigh, first we get reports of traces of the Demon God Cult, and now we receive news of large-scale dark domains appearing in the labyrinth. Is there some connection between the two?”

He then seemed to think of something and looked toward a room behind him, saying:

“Old man, you'd better break through quickly!

I have a bad feeling about this. It feels like something major is about to happen. If we can't get through it, what awaits Toka City will be complete destruction!”

The man's name was Mutas Drauken, an S-rank adventurer currently at Tier Seven, Rank Five. He served as the President of the Toka City Adventurer's Guild.

He had inherited this position from his father. His father, Hank Drauken, had stepped down and passed the position directly to him because he needed to break through to Tier Eight.

Looking at the report in his hands, he sighed and murmured, “What a turbulent time!”

Then, as if remembering something, he added, “I just hope that no matter what major event occurs, the person in the Count's manor can hold out. After all, this is his territory.”

Xia De was entirely unaware of everything that was happening, whether good or bad.

Nor did he care.

He was currently busy simulating and developing his new moves in his mind—Spatial Slash, Spatial Collapse, Spatial Addition and Deletion, and so on.

He was even thinking about searching for magic or magical beasts related to the time element later, so he could observe and learn from them.

Once he mastered time in the future, he could develop moves like Time Reversal, Time Acceleration, and Time Deletion.

Especially when paired with Spatial Slash, he could see if he could unleash attacks that transcended time itself—such as a slash from the past or a slash from the future. He might even be able to alter a person's timeline.

As he thought about it, Xia De drooled with excitement in his sleep...