Chapter 232: Going On Ahead

Chapter 232: Going On Ahead

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“Minimize the destruction of buildings! Avoid using magic skills as much as possible!”

“This ain’t no time to worry about that! The people’s lives should come first!”

“Even if lives are saved, they’ll die in poverty if their property and assets are gone! Are you going to help them with that!?”

The monsters that appeared within the Royal Capital seemed to be densely packed against Brooklyn’s Shield, driving the people southward with their sheer numbers. Meanwhile, Ealdred Crow and the Labyrinth Conquerors had commenced their monster purge within the city.

However, the Explorers, unaccustomed to urban warfare, struggled to avoid causing damage around them while fighting. Although they could handle the monsters themselves, collateral damage became a significant concern.

“Ugh...”

In the midst of this chaos, Hannah, who had rushed out without waiting for Christia or Tsutomu’s instructions, wore a pained expression. Seeing Hannah now regretting her impulsive action, Diniel shot her a weary glance.

“If you regret it that much, you should have refrained from doing it in the first place.”

“...My body moved on its own, so I couldn’t help it.”

“Is that brain in your head just for decoration?”

“Ugh... shut up, shut up, shut up! I couldn’t help myself!”

“Now, now, calm down.”

Daryl, soothing Hannah as they headed towards the center of the Royal Capital, occasionally shot out <<Combat Cry>> and checked for any lurking monsters. Hannah, after taking a deep breath to compose herself, glanced ahead with determination in her eyes.

“But you know... If I said I was coming to the Royal Capital, Teach probably wouldn’t have let me.”

“Probably.”

“...Diniel, don’t you think Teach has been acting strange? He’s... too cold to others. No, it’s not just that. He’s... kind of... hard to understand, you know? In all my life, I’ve never met anyone like him before.”

“You’d be better off not understanding him.”

“I guess I was stupid to expect a proper answer from you...”

“Oh, so you KNOW that you’re stupid.”

As Hannah gnawed on her lip at Diniel’s blunt response, she turned to Daryl and Garm as if seeking help.

“Daryl, Sir Garm — has that thought ever crossed your minds before? Something’s off about him. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but...”

“...I DO think he’s at least a little bit peculiar, yes,” Daryl, answering while minding how Garm would react, proceeded to continue speaking once he noticed there was not a stern gaze directed at him.

“He seems to be ignoring everything as much as possible if it’s not related to the God’s Dungeon. I believe he’s doing the same here — getting rid of those unrelated to his sole interest. Conversely, for better or worse, those that have something to do with the God’s Dungeon get a positive reaction from him.”

“That’s it! That’s what I wanted to say!”

“But I don’t think he’s doing it because he enjoys it. After the Stampede last time, he looked genuinely sad seeing all those dead people...”

Daryl had joined Absolute Helix as a founding member through a recommendation by Garm, and during the Stampede, he had observed Tsutomu closely as the latter was his Clan leader. Thus, Daryl had definitely observed Tsutomu’s expression upon seeing the casualties.

“I saw him too!” Korinna spoke up in agreement, having been present at the scene then to nurse the injured. “A truly cold-hearted person wouldn’t react like that.”

As Meena appeared to be a young human girl at a glance, it would be troublesome if the civilians were to spot her. However, either House Kantjelucia or Babenberg’s Shield magic was essential to actually restrain Meena, and as such, Weiss had no choice but to go toward where the civilians were.

Weiss temporarily concealed Meena with his black robe and headed towards Christia, who was giving instructions from the air.

“Weiss, is that...”

“Someone from Orbis Church — the smaller one. I captured her alive. The idea is to keep her restrained, but... it wouldn’t be a good look if the public saw her. Would we be better off killing her now?”

“...No, the information she holds is valuable. You did well to capture her. I’ll call Babenberg over here. Weiss, wait here until she’s properly restrained.”

“All right.”

Weiss, being fairly famous even before the emergence of the God’s Dungeon, was known by many in the Royal Capital. Despite the slight commotion among the civilians as they looked at him from a distance, Weiss remained expressionless.

Before long, the head of House Babenberg emerged from within the city’s Shield and began erecting multiple layers of Shield magic around Meena, who was kept shrouded in the black robe. Master Babenberg’s Shields, despite the drawback of them being connected to his sensory perception, could be imbued with various functions. Hence, coloring the Shield to conceal Meena was easily accomplished.

“You’ll need someone to keep her in check. I’ll stay here and make sure she behaves.”

“Sorry. I appreciate that...”

“It’s fine. But if things get dicey outside, I’ll kill her and come out to help. Surely you wouldn’t mind that, Christia.”

“Right. I’m counting on you.”

Considering Master Babenberg’s Shields had already been breached once by Meena, merely confining her inside was no longer an option. However, with Weiss’ abilities being advantageous against Meena, he could easily restrain her even if she woke up and became unruly. Thus, Weiss also decided to keep himself within the Shield’s perimeter to keep watch.

“And If the situation INSIDE gets dicey, don’t hesitate to kill her.”

“All right.”

With that order by Christia, Weiss entered the Shield’s perimeter with Meena. Within the dark isolated space, wide enough for close quarters combat, the sounds from outside seemed muffled. Just before the Shield closed completely, Weiss lit up the darkness with a Lightning Magic Stone-fueled magic tool.

As soon as the Shield closed, plunging them into darkness akin to night, Meena, shrouded in a black robe, began to squirm.

“Stop it. Don’t hit me. I’m not moving anymore,” Meena promptly said as Weiss grabbed his war hammer and stood up, managing to get him to sit back down.

“......”

Meena proceeded to stick out just her face from the black robe as if to take in some air.

“Can’t believe I got caught like this.”

“......”

“What’s gonna happen to me now?”

“......”

“Everyone ignores me. I hate it.”

Weiss, returning to his usual demeanor, placed his war hammer back on the ground, and Meena buried her face in the black robe. Without uttering a word in reaction to Meena’s cries, Weiss remained seated.

The only sounds echoing within the Shield’s perimeter were Weiss’ inspections of his weapons, mainly his longsword and crossbow. Then, after a while, a deafening roar resounded from outside the Shield.

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