In front of the dungeon’s temple, the short priest and an exhausted man sat down, looking at the forest and grass before them.

“Did he mean three hours after you left the cabin or after you delivered this message to me?” The short priest asked.

“I'm...... not sure, Father. Maybe we should err on the side of caution?”

(“Sigh, what a pain. Based on what I heard from this boy earlier it seems the methods of entry for that boy and whoever this person/s is, was different. No, it couldn't be them. Not this early at least. Unless…”)

His mind went back to the incident with Albus. He originally believed they sent the adventurers to Albus to silence him and cripple one of their lifelines. But what if there was more to this?

(“I remember Leo saying they began exercising caution after the maids left but… how could I have overlooked this.”)

But what if the adventurers weren't the only ones there? He assumed the fool was lying low in the parish after goading the adventurers but, they might have been watching and snooping around that estate for longer than he would have liked.

(“I assumed he would've been protecting him from the shadows. But I see, that's why he did those two things. I assumed he sent only the ignorant dogs and gave them hints. And gathering them all together was to make them meat shields for his protection. Tsk, if I had known he left the parish I wouldn't have hesitated to end that greedy bastard. But he also possesses some and I can't risk fighting him without knowing how compatible he is.”)

He rubbed his forehead in disappointment.

“Something the matter, Father?”

“There is. Go inside and tell the others to prepare themselves on the second floor at the third-floor stairway. I want them to hold back the intruder. If they spot him, send someone to alert me immediately.”

“A-are you sure?” He asked.

“Are you questioning me, boy?” He calmly asked.

“Of course not father!” He pleaded.

“Good. I'd appreciate it if you brought my weapons after. I feel the people approaching are going to be quite the pain.” He said before, falling flat on the grass.

“As you wish father. But, why are you so sure Brother Leo won't return with their heads?”

“Don't worry, it'll be a pleasant surprise if he proves me wrong.”

He got to his feet and began walking but soon stopped himself. “Wait a minute Father, shouldn't everyone else be here with you if an enemy does attack?”

He shrugged. “Don't worry about it. I feel like stretching my bones a bit.”

“But-”

Father Daniel threw a rock and it stopped mere millimetres from his face.

“Go.” He bluntly stated.

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The lackey wasted no time running off into the temple.

(“Why don't I have them here with me? It's fu- fricking obvious. You guys are weak. It would be a hindrance to fight with so many of you. Lord grant me strength. I've only heard of their strength through that bastard but I can tell they're going to give me a headache.”)

He sprang up and began stretching, waiting for his opponents.

…

..

.

Three hours had passed and Leo never returned. After three hours and thirty minutes, Kevin arrived at the dungeon.

“Hmm.”

He began circling the forest before the dungeon. Nothing here. Nothing there. He wore an uneasy smile as he continued searching.

“Haha, there's no way right?”

He continued searching and his smile grew increasingly pained with every bush he peered into.

“They're not here…” The dread in his voice was palpable.

Not Elizabeth, Ruby or Furor was present in the forest. He already knew this thanks to his eyes, (if they didn't label his allies blue he didn't know what good they'd be) they weren't here.

“Wahhhh seriously!?”

He quickly covered his mouth remembering he was so close to enemy territory. He considered that they might have begun their attack but the red haze covering the front of the dungeon told him otherwise.

“Holy crap, how many guys are here?”

He went as far as the forest allowed him and moved into a position that gave him a view of the entrance.

“... Are my eyes bugging out?”

He rubbed his eyes for several moments but no matter how hard he did it, the miasma didn't disappear.

“Oh, I get it. It represents the danger of the dungeon itself.”

The entrance of the dungeon was completely undefended. Had they barricaded themselves in? They were certainly people here, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten lost chasing down that bastard in the first place.

“I hope that guy gets a stick up his ass.” Kevin groaned. Whether that was a worse fate than what happened to him was subjective.

But it would look bad right? If he just hid in the forest before they came.

He started pumping his arms and amped himself up.

“Damn, I already know what I have to do. It'd probably help them out if I did some sabotage. My eyes make escape pretty easy so….” He took a deep breath in before continuing. “I guess I'll enter it first.”

His face showed determination, but internally, he cursed at the skies for giving him such a fate.

He walked towards the entrance and saw no one.

“They can't go invisible right?”

Looked around and nothing stood out with his eyes.

“I guess they're underground.” He slowly walked closer to the entrance making sure to keep an eye on his surroundings.

Even if they had decided to hide underground, leaving nobody up here seemed kinda sloppy.

Maybe those guys Elizabeth handled were the guards. In that case, entering the dungeon was going to be a cinch.

But he noticed something new. A part of the ground a few metres away was labelled a dark red.

“Is it a trap?”

He stepped a few paces to its side and continued walking. The red spot moved as well.

“Hmm!?”

He continued walking side to side but the red spot would continue to block his way.

“Is it some monster? Maybe I can find a deer and distract it with its meat.”

That might seem like a stretch to most people but with his eyes, it was an eventuality.

As he thought about going back into the forest, he noticed the red spot move closer.