Chapter 320

Chapter 320: Chapter 320

Monsterphilia had already filled the western district with enough noise to make Rayleigh regret accepting Ardi’s request before he even reached his assigned post.

The streets surrounding the exhibition grounds were packed with civilians, food stalls, temporary stages, and Ganesha Familia adventurers attempting to keep thousands of excited spectators moving in roughly the correct direction.

Every few minutes, a roar from behind the reinforced arena walls would send another wave of cheers through the crowd, usually followed by Ganesha’s amplified voice announcing something with far more enthusiasm than the situation required.

Rayleigh avoided the public entrance entirely and entered through the western staff gate, where Ardi was already directing transport crews between several rows of reinforced cages.

She noticed him as soon as he passed the checkpoint and tossed him a temporary security badge.

"Good, you’re early. Shakti has been threatening anyone who misses their assignment with enough paperwork to make death preferable, so I was starting to worry you might run away."

"That threat is exactly why I’m here."

Ardi laughed while leading him toward the main containment corridor.

She had grown into her responsibilities over the years without losing the warmth Rayleigh remembered, although today she looked more like one of Ganesha Familia’s senior officers than the energetic girl who had once rushed into the Dungeon with Nejibana newly strapped to her waist.

Most of the monsters being prepared for exhibition were ordinary specimens by adventurer standards.

Goblins, Hellhounds, Dungeon Lizards, and several larger creatures from the Middle Floors had all been restrained, sedated where necessary, and assigned teams capable of suppressing them if anything went wrong.

The massive white-furred ape at the end of the corridor was different enough that Rayleigh stopped walking the moment he saw it.

The Iron-Armed Silverback sat hunched inside a reinforced steel enclosure with chains wrapped around its wrists, ankles, chest, and neck.

Even seated, it nearly filled the cage, while the old wound running across its torso had already healed enough to leave little more than an ugly scar.

Rayleigh studied the monster’s spiritual presence for several seconds before looking toward Ardi.

"This is the one your team brought up?"

"Shakti’s team captured it during the preparation expedition. They found it already badly injured, which made transporting it possible. The original estimate put it somewhere around high Level Three strength, although the healers warned us that its recovery rate was unusually fast."

Rayleigh stepped closer to the cage and watched the Silverback follow him with red eyes.

The pressure coming from it no longer felt like high Level Three.

"Who checked it this morning?"

"Two tamers and one Guild examiner. Why?"

"Because either their estimate is several hours out of date or this thing improves dramatically when it recovers. Move the cages beside it farther away and add another set of anchors to the floor before anyone tries transporting it."

Ardi’s expression immediately lost its casual amusement.

She did not ask him to justify the order, instead turning toward the nearby crews and directing them to clear the neighboring cages.

Shakti arrived before they finished.

She carried a schedule board under one arm and looked as though she had already dealt with enough logistical problems to last the rest of the month.

After listening to Rayleigh’s explanation, she approached the cage herself and watched the Silverback strain slightly against one wrist restraint.

"Do you think we should cancel its exhibition?"

"Not necessarily. Keep the chains on during transport, move it after the surrounding routes have been cleared, and put enough people nearby that nobody needs to play hero if something breaks. The cage itself is fine for what the monster was supposed to be. I’m less convinced it’s fine for what the monster is now."

Shakti considered that for only a moment before changing the schedule.

That was one of the reasons Rayleigh had always liked working with her.

She did not turn a simple safety decision into a debate about pride.

"I’ll move two more upper-class adventurers onto the western route," she said. "You’re still responsible for emergency restraint. If something escapes, civilians come first and recapture comes second. Kill only if we can’t contain it without risking the crowd."

"That works for me."

With the problem temporarily handled, Rayleigh took up his position near the western service corridor and spent the next several hours doing exactly what he had been asked to do.

For the most part, that meant very little.

The opening exhibitions ran smoothly, transport teams moved monsters according to schedule, and Ganesha somehow managed to make every creature sound like the greatest discovery in Dungeon history.

Rayleigh repaired one damaged cage hinge, reinforced a restraint around an unusually aggressive Hellhound, and helped a nervous rookie move a crate after watching the boy nearly drop it on his own foot.

He also saw Bell passing through the area once with Hestia.

The two had been assigned simple support work well outside the actual containment zones.

Bell carried supplies while Hestia handled communication with the organizers, and Tachikaze remained sheathed at his waist.

Bell noticed Rayleigh and started to raise one hand in greeting, only for the crate in his arms to tilt dangerously.

Rayleigh pointed at it.

Bell hurriedly caught the load and continued walking while Hestia laughed at him.

That was enough Bell Cranel for Rayleigh’s morning.

He returned his attention to the cages.

...

The Silverback’s transport order came earlier than expected.

Rayleigh frowned when the message arrived through the communication crystal Shakti had given him.

"Why was the schedule changed?"

"The previous exhibition finished early," Shakti answered. "The central arena is ready, but the southern spectator route will start crossing the service lane in twenty minutes. If we don’t move it now, we’ll have to delay the Silverback until much later."

Rayleigh looked through the bars.

The monster had become increasingly restless as the crowd grew louder.

He did not like the timing, but delaying the transfer while several thousand civilians began shifting through nearby routes could create a different problem.

"Fine. Nobody rushes the transport, and if I tell them to stop, they stop immediately."

"Agreed."

Ardi gathered the assigned team while Rayleigh walked beside the cage as its wheeled platform began moving toward the arena tunnel.

For the first several meters, nothing happened.

Then the Silverback raised its head and drew in a long breath.

Rayleigh stopped walking.

The change was subtle, but the monster’s entire posture had shifted. Its nostrils flared as the scents and noise from thousands of people reached it through the tunnel, while the muscles across its shoulders tightened hard enough to make the chains creak.

"Stop the platform."

The transport crew obeyed immediately.

Ardi moved closer, one hand settling on Nejibana. "What’s wrong?"

"Get everyone away from the cage."

The first wrist chain snapped before she had time to issue the order herself.

Ardi reacted instantly and shouted for the transport crew to clear the corridor while Rayleigh stepped directly in front of the enclosure.

"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"

Six golden pillars slammed through the gaps in the cage and locked around the Silverback’s torso.

The monster roared and surged upward, smashing its shoulders against the ceiling hard enough to bend the reinforced frame.

One broken chain whipped across the inside of the enclosure while another anchor tore halfway out of the floor.

Rayleigh felt the pressure being placed on Rikujōkōrō and immediately confirmed his earlier suspicion.

This monster had recovered far beyond the estimate.

"Ardi, clear the arena tunnel and shut the western public access. Nobody comes through here until I say otherwise."

She took control of the retreating Ganesha members without wasting time asking whether he needed assistance.

Rayleigh stayed in front of the cage as the Silverback tore through one of Rikujōkōrō’s pillars.

"Still unhappy?"

The monster answered by breaking a second.

Rayleigh raised his other hand.

"Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku!"

A massive golden chain wrapped around the Silverback’s shoulders, arms, and chest before tightening hard enough to force it back against the rear of the cage.

The remaining light pillars stabilized around its torso, and for a few seconds the combined restraints seemed sufficient.

Then the Silverback stopped trying to pull its arms apart and instead drove both legs downward.

Rayleigh immediately understood what it was doing.

"Get away from the platform!"

The reinforced base shattered beneath the monster’s weight.

Wood, iron, and broken anchor bolts exploded outward as the entire cage dropped several inches into the damaged floor.

One side twisted sharply enough that a support beam tore loose and crashed into a neighboring enclosure farther down the corridor.

The impact bent its door.

Several Hellhounds inside began throwing themselves against the damaged section.

Rayleigh clicked his tongue and extended one hand toward them while maintaining Sajō Sabaku with the other.

"Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!"

A circular barrier formed across the damaged entrance before the first Hellhound could squeeze through.

Its head struck the spiritual shield and rebounded into the other monsters, keeping the secondary problem contained long enough for the Ganesha team to begin moving the entire enclosure away.

The Silverback used the distraction to tear its right arm free.

Rayleigh released Rikujōkōrō rather than wasting Reiatsu maintaining a broken restraint and disappeared with Shunpo just as the ape smashed through the front of its cage.

Steel bars flew across the corridor.

Rayleigh reappeared above the Silverback’s shoulder, drove an open palm into the side of its head, and sent the monster crashing sideways into the wall.

The stone cracked beneath the impact.

The Silverback recovered almost immediately and swung one enormous arm toward him.

Rayleigh ducked beneath it, stepped inside the monster’s reach, and drove his elbow into the ribs where the old injury had healed.

The blow forced a roar from the Silverback, but its mass prevented it from being thrown backward.

It brought one knee up toward Rayleigh’s chest instead.

Rayleigh blocked with both arms and allowed the force to push him several meters down the corridor before regaining his footing.

He flexed his fingers once.

"Definitely not Level Three anymore."

The Silverback charged again.

Rayleigh did not draw a sword.

"Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan!"

The blue-white rod in his hand multiplied the instant he threw it.

Dozens of spiritual poles drove into the floor and walls around the charging monster, creating an irregular cage that narrowed its movement without giving it enough room to build full momentum.

The Silverback smashed through the first row, but each obstacle slowed it further.

Rayleigh disappeared with Shunpo and reappeared behind its left leg, where one sharp kick destroyed the monster’s balance.

It crashed forward.

Rayleigh raised his hand toward the ceiling.

"Bakudō #75: Gochūtekkan!"

Five enormous iron pillars dropped at once and hammered the Silverback into the floor with enough force to shake the entire western section.

The monster roared beneath them, but the combined weight prevented it from standing.

Rayleigh waited long enough to make sure the restraint would hold before touching his communication crystal.

"The Silverback broke containment, but I’ve got it pinned. The Hellhound cage beside it was damaged and is currently sealed behind Enkōsen. Nobody on my side is seriously injured."

Shakti’s response came immediately. "Good. Keep it there until the replacement containment team reaches you. We’re clearing the central route as a precaution."

One of Gochūtekkan’s pillars shifted several centimeters upward.

Rayleigh looked at it.

"I’d recommend they bring better chains."