Chapter 131: The Auction Incident II

[Candle] Dante uttered, and a small flame like a candle emerged on his finger. He then began to illuminate the path, descending the stairs... He encountered a scene he never wanted to see...

Several children were trapped by chains, cages, and other objects he didn't even want to mention. Some were sick, bearing purple marks all over their bodies. They weren't just young children; there were youths and adults, gagged and beaten. Moreover, they weren't just humans. Elves, Dwarves, and even magical Beasts; lost children and the like. It was as if...

it was a hell.

Unfortunately, Dante didn't have time to think. When they realized Dante was there, they began to tremble. Many of them were terrified, but before he could sit down to calm them...

"Dante! Behind you! Duck!"

Aaralyn's shout ripped through the air, echoing like a warning trumpet. Dante spun on his heels with agility and reaction, his body instinctively yielding to the warning as the air hummed with the passage of a giant axe, scraping dangerously close to his head.

"Well, well, what do we have here? An intruder?" The gruff voice filled with malice echoed from the fat man, whose eyes gleamed with rage. He gripped his axe with both hands in a manner that more resembled a drunken rage attack, without any refinement or discernible technique.

Fortunately, his speed was the worst, like a truly crazy drunk attacking without any technique.

BOOM!

The impact of the axe against the ground reverberated through the surroundings, shaking the ground beneath Dante's feet, struggling to maintain balance amidst the tremor.

"Hey, you idiot! Stop hitting the ground! We already have enough earthquakes!" Dante's voice exploded in frustration as his aura pulsed with fervent intensity. It was evident that the earth tremors stirred dark memories in his mind, a trauma he really didn't intend to forget anytime soon.

But Dante had no time for reflections, not when he was embroiled in a fight for his life.

He moved with a speed far superior to the fat man's, dodging the clumsy blows of the idiotic man.

Dante asked, and she observed him. "How much do you know about the Demon Cult?" she questioned, and Dante just nodded. "Only shallow things; my subordinates have been missing for a few years; I'm looking for them," Dante said, referring to the Valkyries. "So I can't give you a very good context since it would be a long story, but keep an eye on them.

When we get out of here, we can talk," she said, and Dante nodded.

"Can you fight?" he questioned, and the elf nodded. "Despite having the core damaged, it wasn't completely destroyed."

"Aaralyn," Dante said, and from the shadows, the woman emerged with a few pairs of daggers. "Sorry if they're of poor quality; I'm trying to save as many people here as possible," he said, and Aaralyn tossed two daggers into the hands of the Dark Elf. In the background, the sound of the iron door slamming shut. "Damn, hide," Dante said, and the elf nodded, hiding behind some crates.

The sound of heavy footsteps approached, and soon, someone entered the room. Dante didn't have a proper position to see him, but he could sense him.

"It's a mage," Aaralyn said telepathically, and Dante got into position. But soon a voice came. "What happened here?" A man wearing a cloak questioned, and the other simply said, "Looks like we have an intruder. Inform the guards that a rat got in here and killed one of the mercenaries." The man nodded and turned to leave, but before he did, he glanced back, then moved on.

A few minutes passed, and Dante revealed himself from the darkness. "Looks like they're gone."

The two women he had freed stepped out and looked at him. The woman who didn't understand the empire's language didn't say anything, so the elf went along with the flow and suggested, "Could you create a distraction? I'll try to get all these people out of here, and we'll meet outside. I don't intend to flee before you ask," she said, and Dante didn't have many options.

"All right, at the end of the north corridor, there's a room that leads to a long spiral staircase up. Follow it, and it will lead to a melted door. Wait for me there," Dante said, and she nodded.

"Are you sure you can just let her go like that? She has important information," said Aaralyn as Dante walked out through the previous entrance, where he had killed the fat man.

"It's okay. She's an elf. Despite being arrogant, they're known for fulfilling their contracts and rewarding their favors. She won't run away. Even though she seems like an abandoned elf, her eyes were too deep for her to be here just by coincidence. She has a different strength, both of them do," said Dante, and soon he reappeared in the corridor.

"Get out, look for possible places I can set on fire, kill as many as you can," Dante said, and his shadow molded itself in front of him on its knees. "Yes, Master," Aaralyn responded and disappeared like a shadow.

"That's why I love women; they're easy to understand and practical. Dealing with men is so boring," said Dante, then drawing his sword as he walked slowly among the wide corridors of the place.