Chapter 52: Express Service

Raive’s sudden reveal left everyone speechless.

It took a moment before Hazel, first to recover, spoke up, distrust in her eyes. "You... are you sure about what you just said?" She asked.

Raive nodded firmly.

"Yes. Reinhardt has the Reset skill, and your mother, Sheila, has Warm Touch. Your brother has a barrier skill—he used it to protect your whole family during the first trial."

He explained quickly, then raised a finger.

"You can check whether I’m full of it once we save them. Let’s go."

Raive turned, about to walk off, when—

"W-Wait!"

Shymine’s voice cut in, her hand reaching out as if to pull him back. But it just hung there mid-air, as though even she wasn’t sure what she meant to do with it.

"What you said... is it true? My family..."

Raive sighed. He knew hearing that her parents were dead would hit her hard. But forcing her to accept it now was its own kind of kindness.

"Yes. Unfortunately." He sighed.

"I-I won’t believe it unless I see them myself—!"

"You really shouldn’t. There’s a giant monster camped near your parents’ building right now, one nobody alive could take down." Raive said, tone serious, eyes locked on hers. "Go there, and you’ll die. Simple as that."

"...!"

The weight in his voice made doubting him nearly impossible. If anything, the way he spoke, as if he’d witnessed the monster firsthand, only made it more believable.

Tears welled up in Shymine’s eyes as the reality sank in.

Therese, standing nearby, moved to her side and pulled her into a gentle embrace.

"WAAAH!"

And then the tears broke loose.

Raive frowned but stayed still. There was nothing more he could do for her right now, except help her grow stronger.

"Therese, I’ll leave this to you." Raive said abruptly. "Hazel and I are heading to the Sunrise Apartments to get her parents out."

"Understood. Please come back safe." She said, nodding lightly.

For the rescue, Raive planned to bring only Hazel along. The enemy was dangerous enough as it was.

Even with his stats nearly double what they’d been before, victory still wasn’t guaranteed.

"We’re rushing over, so hop on." Raive said, crouching down and offering his back to her.

She hesitated, confused, before catching on.

"Y-You want to carry me?!" She gasped.

Raive answered flatly, laying out the facts. "This way, we get there in five minutes. Without it, an hour."

"Five minutes? Bullshit! What are you, a jet plane?!"

"Just get on. If we don’t make it in five, I’ll grant you any wish you want. I’ll even make you leader of the group."

"That’s a lot of confidence for someone who barely knows me."

"True, not yet. But I will."

"You..."

After a moment of visible embarrassment, Hazel climbed onto his back. To her surprise, it felt far more solid than she’d expected.

’A well-trained body... Does he do martial arts? Some kind of sport?’

While she was still distracted by that thought, Raive was already up, grinning.

"Then, hang on tight!"

BOOM!

A single step carried him roughly 50 meters forward.

Hazel, caught off guard by the sudden acceleration, nearly slipped off, but he caught her with his other arm.

His speed didn’t slow after that—it only climbed.

"KYAAAAAH!"

She screamed, terrified at how fast the world was blurring past. Every time he dodged a car or leapt over debris, weightlessness hit her, and with it, sheer panic.

Before she could even process any of it—

"We’re here." Raive announced, coming to a sudden stop.

"H-Huh...?"

Still windswept and disoriented, Hazel looked around in confusion. Barely four minutes had passed.

But there it was, across the street: a familiar building, "Sunrise Apartments" spelled out across the front beneath a large sun logo.

"W-We actually made it in under five minutes..."

She could hardly believe it, even standing right there.

"Good. Stay put until I call you." Raive said, cracking his knuckles. "I’ll take out the trash first."

"Y-Yeah..."

Hazel tucked herself into the corner, keeping watch on the entrance.

Raive, meanwhile, strolled through the front doors as casually as if he were heading out for groceries.

"Huh? Stop right there, bastard. Name yourself!"

"This is Sine Gang territory. Turn around now, or get skinned alive, brat!"

Two men with blades blocked his path the second he stepped in. Their faces looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t place either one exactly.

Still—

"I’ve got no business with weaklings."

Raive drew his dagger—he hadn’t gotten the Tree Knight’s sword yet at this point. But even a knife was more than enough.

Swish!

One step, one swing, and two heads hit the ground rolling.

He didn’t even glance at the bodies, tapping the flat of the blade against his shoulder.

"Guess they hadn’t formed a proper militia yet. These two were probably just residents forced into it."

Either way, his goal hadn’t changed.

Wipe out the Sine Gang. Save Hazel’s parents.

Moving down the hallway, he could sense presences behind every door. But no one dared even peek out. Almost like they were locked in.

"Well, fewer obstacles works too."

By the time he reached the Green Dungeon portal, he’d killed only five more gang members. Barely any resistance at all.

"Y-You are...?"

At the dungeon entrance, a familiar face caught his eye.

A man in his mid-forties, black hair, laugh lines carved into his face, and eyes of gentle orange-brown that bore an unmistakable resemblance to someone.

"Reinhardt, right?" Raive asked. "I’m Raive. Your daughter Hazel sent me to get you out."

"Hazel...!"

Just her name was enough to drain the color from his face. "Where is she? Is she okay?!" He asked, panic rising.

"Relax, she’s fine. Waiting right outside." Raive said. "First, though—where are the leader and top members of the Sine Gang right now?"

Reinhardt seemed to catch himself and let go of Raive’s shirt.

"Ah! Sorry... got a bit too worked up for my age..."

He laughed, embarrassed, then pointed toward the dungeon.

"They’re all inside right now. Nineteen minutes left before they come back out."

"I see..."

Raive spun the knife in his hand as he stepped closer to the green dungeon entrance.

"Then reset the dungeon for me. Right now." He said.

"...Huh?"

Reinhardt had no idea what he’d just gotten himself into.