Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Erdas Party (2)
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"Ugh, that damn clan leader asshole."
John, a lowly grunt in the Black Swamp Clan, was scurrying around to carry out his clan leader's orders. From the clan leader's lofty perspective, mid-tier adventurers might seem like disposable pawns, but for John, who had to deal with them face-to-face, it was pure hell.
And this time, the orders were to scout out at least five adventurers operating on the early 10th floors—or better yet, snag some who had pushed past the 20th.
Hell, how rare were adventurers who had cleared the 20th floor? Demanding he just casually round one up—what kind of nonsense was that?
...Still, he had managed to snag one adventurer by digging up some dirt from his past. The guy had just barely made it to the 20th floor, but that ought to check the boxes on the clan leader's demands.
Clutching the dossier on the adventurer he'd lined up, John slipped into an alley in the East District.
"Hey, did you see that? Some crazy bitches just smashed up a whole clan."
"Fuck. Who the hell did that?"
As he entered the alley, the gutter trash of the backstreets were huddled together, whispering in hushed tones.
'What, did some advanced adventurer barge in?'
It happened sometimes. Idiots who didn't know their place would pick fights with the power players in Labyrinth City, only for their entire clan to get obliterated. The fallout rippled to other clans too, so the criminals holed up in the East District just prayed for the chaos to blow over quickly, keeping their heads down.
'Sigh, which dumbass clan poked the bear this time.'
These incidents were usually the work of upstart clans. Being part of one meant your life could end any second, so John had kneeled before some connected big brothers, bought them a few rounds, and wormed his way into the mid-tier Black Swamp Clan.
"I don't know who's getting hit, but I should hole up in the clan hall too..."
Figuring he should hunker down in the clan building like everyone else, he headed down his usual alley route. Oddly, the path toward the clan hall was eerily quiet compared to normal. And was that a whiff of smoke in the air?
"Did a fire break out or something?"
Didn't they even have a fire-suppression magic tool? This was why small-time clans were such a joke...
John rounded the corner out of the alley and laid eyes on his clan's building.
The Black Swamp Clan's headquarters, engulfed in flames.
"What the fuck are those crazy bitches?!"
"Hey, who the hell pissed them off?!"
The Black Swamp Clan members still at headquarters were scattering in blind panic. One minute, some decent-looking women show up, and the next, they're smashing the place without a word?
"Fuck, where are the executives? That's what they're there for—to stop bitches like that!"
"Didn't you see two of them go down just now? And you think you'd stand a chance against... guk..."
-Chill!
The fleeing clan member stopped short when his screaming buddy suddenly went silent. He'd picked up a few survival skills scraping by in the East District, but he hadn't sensed a thing—yet his comrade's breath had cut off in an instant.
".........Hi there?"
"Hii! Uh..."
-Thud.
A sweet, bubbly woman's voice whispered right in his ear, and then the world spun. His running legs were gone, and everything went black.
'Ah.....'
"Daphne! All clear?"
"Yup! These are all the ones we can kill! Got all the evidence and docs too!"
The shadow of the headless goon rippled, and a petite half-elf woman popped out. She shouted up at the sky, and the witch lounging atop her staff—hovering above the clan building—finished her short incantation.
'Bombardment Witch' Bella.
Unlike other witches who holed up in labs for research, she honed her offensive spells right in the thick of battle—a combat mage through and through.
-[Magic Lv.8], [Mana Manipulation Lv.9], [Bombardment Magic]...
The space around her saturated with her mana. The beautiful blue glow flickered once, then erupted into raging flames.
"Bella sis! Dial it back! Don't blow up the neighborhood like last time!"
"Why not!"
"'Cause if we cause a scene, Sia sis has to take the heat!"
"...Tch."
Bella clicked her tongue and dialed back the mana. The dozens of mana orbs shrank to single digits, scattering to chase down the fleeing Black Swamp remnants.
-Boom boom boom!
"Gaaah!"
"Kaa! ...Huh?"
The spells nailed the runners with flashy explosions, but the onlookers caught in the blasts were stunned to find themselves unscathed.
"Ugh! Gyaaa!"
One goon who'd barely shielded himself with a buddy staggered into the alley, clothes singed black.
'...A priest?'
There stood a priest in pristine white robes—totally out of place in the East District—flanked by a golden-haired woman with a warm, reassuring smile.
'.......Dangerous!'
In the East District, the real threats were women like that: clean clothes, friendly smiles.
But after that blast, he just wanted to bolt. Ignoring his instincts screaming otherwise, he dashed past the priestess.
"...Purify."
-Flash!
Warm light bloomed from her. The sacred power of priests, healing body and soul—a holy white glow that brought instant peace just by looking.
It washed over the wounded man fleeing, as if cradling him gently.
-...Whoosh.
"Eh? Gyaa? Kaaaaaaa!"
The soothing light ignited into blazing holy fire the instant it touched him, consuming his body. Gloria passed the burning man without ever losing her gentle smile.
"Repent."
"Raaagh! You fucking bitches!"
Hurd, out on errands and just now hearing the news, rushed back to his clan hall. He arrived to find his men slaughtered in gruesome heaps and the building ablaze.
"You... you bitches! Think you can fuck with my clan and walk away?!"
Recognizing the faces one by one, he pieced it together. The party called 'Erdas'—active a decade ago, disbanded and vanished from Labyrinth City after tangling with that guy Ian lately. How the hell were they back?
"I don't care what you bitches are! I'm an advanced adventurer-level powerhouse! You washed-up hags who retired ages ago aren't—"
"Daphne, hold up."
"Yeah?"
"........."
Hurd's rant cut off, veins bulging in his neck. The instant the elf in silver armor said "hold up" deadpan, the dagger at his throat froze.
'...Gulp...'
He hadn't noticed a thing. The half-elf behind him sheathed her dagger and stepped back; the elf advanced, drawing her sword from her hip.
"....You bitch!"
Spotting the ringleader—the party's leader—Hurd spat his rage. But Alensia ran her fingers along her rarely drawn beloved blade and nodded to Gloria.
Gloria looked worried for a split second, then invoked her sacred power, layering buffs onto Alensia.
"Hoo...."
At the same time, she downed a top-grade potion in one gulp. Hurd, dazed by the sight, fumbled for his own potions and started doping up in a frenzy.
'Yeah! I'm no pushover either!'
She was prepping like it was a duel with him—his crushed confidence surged back. He convinced himself he'd missed the dagger from excitement, not carelessness, and readied for battle.
"Sia, you don't mean...?"
"Sia sis?"
As the party eyed Alensia with worry and shock, she tuned her long-dormant senses.
Gloria's healing magic aided her body. Premium mana potions smoothed her sluggish mana flow.
The sensation of mana bending to her will—something she'd thought gone forever. Faintly, it coursed from her right shoulder through her body.
"Fuck! Iron Blood or whatever, I'm not someone you can just—"
Doping done, Hurd charged like an enraged bull, greatsword drawn. Alensia, lost for a moment in the nostalgia, unleashed swordsmanship her body remembered even if her mind had forgotten.
-...Slash...
The sound was brief. Or rather, in the whisper of that tiny noise, the surrounding clamor vanished. Hurd's charging form halted; the mana shockwave swept away all sound.
-...Grind...
"Ah."
"Huh?"
Alensia, wielding power after so long, watched without proper control as Hurd—and several buildings beyond—were bisected and collapsed.
"Sia...."
"Hm...."
Alensia struggled to maintain her usual blank expression, hiding her inner panic.
"Sia... went off to get chewed out."
"Obviously. She can't go rampaging like back in our active days. They're pushing a friendly policy with the East District these days, apparently."
"Friendly my ass..."
After flipping the East District upside down—announcing Erdas Party's return to Labyrinth City, reminding all that 'Iron Blood' was still a force, and causing excessive destruction—Alensia headed straight to the Labyrinth Guild for her reprimand.
"Still, you saw that, right?"
"Yeah. Even with Gloria sis's buffs and potions... for that moment, Sia sis swung like old times."
Having witnessed Alensia's touted 'healing potential' with their own eyes, the two women weren't displeased. Instead of heading to the lodgings Alensia had prepped, they waited at her mansion—to grill her for details post-reprimand and celebrate.
"Wonder how bad the chewing out'll be."
"Everyone scattered, so the buildings were empty—probably just a fine and house arrest? Honestly, the Guild's gotta be thrilled too."
Feeling like the old party days were back, Daphne and Bella chatted and giggled, awaiting Alensia's return.
-Creak...
"Oh? She's back."
"Sia sis~"
They bolted from the guest room toward the open front door—but...
"Huh?"
"Yeah?"
"Eh?"
Stepping into the mansion wasn't Alensia.
It was a black-haired human man.
"Who are you?"