Chapter 88: You are all useless!

Erick’s expression chilled as he stared at Eleven and the two A-Rank female Guides.

"Where are Zephyr and Lucien?"

Eleven shoved the two Guides aside and furiously shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Are you all idiots?! First, you ran off earlier, leaving us Guides here alone!"

He glared at Erick and the others.

"Second, you didn’t keep an eye on Zephyr, even though you knew Lucien, that damn Guide, was no good! Zephyr was about to follow you guys, but then Lucien whispered something to him, and the two of them suddenly ran off together! I couldn’t even follow because Zephyr bent down and let that bastard Lucien climb onto his back!"

Erick’s expression changed instantly. His voice was low, barely containing his anger.

"Ran off? Where?"

Eleven flinched as a powerful, ominous aura suddenly erupted from Erick’s body, bearing down on everyone around him.

Jake immediately stepped between them, trying to keep the situation from escalating.

"Calm down, Erick!"

But Erick showed no sign of calming down.

His expression had turned frighteningly grim, and the pressure radiating from his body only grew stronger with each passing second. Finally, he spat out through clenched teeth.

"You are all useless!"

With that, Erick turned and started walking in a random direction, seemingly no longer caring about the others. His only thought now was finding Zephyr.

That uneasy feeling he had been trying to suppress earlier suddenly made sense.

This was what his instincts had been warning him about.

Lucien had taken Zephyr away!

That bastard didn’t even seem to care how dangerous this dungeon was, especially for someone like Zephyr. He might be incredibly strong, but he was still blind, and Lucien was dragging him off somewhere without a damn clue what he was doing.

What the hell was Lucien thinking?

And where the hell had he taken Zephyr?

If this was to get Erick’s attention, then Lucien really had gone too far this time!

Jake, Oreon, and the burly Esper quickly exchanged glances before immediately following after him, along with the Guides.

Sylvia and Ryan were exhausted beyond words and desperately needed guiding. But seeing the situation, they could only grit their teeth and force themselves to follow.

Their minds were still reeling.

After all, they had witnessed a Demon kill Gilbert right before their eyes, and they had barely managed to escape with their lives.

The terror of that experience was something they would never forget.

And yet, after finally escaping the Demon that had been chasing them, the news they received only made their mood worse. Zephyr was still alive. Not only that, but that guy was apparently completely unharmed, just like Erick and the others.

It seemed that Zephyr was far stronger than the two had originally imagined.

Regardless, now that they knew he and Lucien were suddenly missing, a darker thought quietly took root in their minds.

They couldn’t help but secretly hope that Zephyr would die wherever he had gone.

While the group following Erick continued along the stream, none of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them from high above.

The slits of those blood-red eyes glowed with a dark, ominous light.

It was one of the two Demon Servants dispatched by the Demon General to discover who had killed Slar. He was also the Demon who had killed Gilbert. That unfortunate human had simply encountered him the moment he emerged from the crack leading into this Demonic Dungeon.

The Demon had chased Sylvia and Ryan as well. He could have killed them easily, but there was no point. They were too pathetic, too weak, and too cowardly to have killed Slar, the strongest Demon Servant.

So instead, he had deliberately let them escape.

He wanted to see where they would lead him.

Now, the robed Demon narrowed his eyes as he watched Erick and the others walking beside the stream.

His voice was filled with arrogance and mockery.

"These humans are weak and pathetic as well. Only the one with golden eyes is somewhat powerful. The rest are nothing but weak ants."

A second dark-robed figure appeared beside him. Curved horns protruded from his head, and a pair of bat-like wings were folded against his back.

"Did you find anything useful?"

The second Demon asked.

"We need to report back to the Demon General."

The first Demon shook his head.

"Not yet. I was planning to enter the Human World linked to this Dungeon and investigate myself, but this group said something rather amusing earlier. They claimed that if someone named Zephyr helped them, they could fight me. Moreover, from their words, it seems they know who killed Slar."

A cruel smile slowly spread across his face.

"I want to meet him. Perhaps he is the one we are looking for."

The other Demon raised a brow.

"If he’s still somewhere in this dungeon, there’s no need to waste your time searching. Just follow these ants. They will lead us straight to him."

He paused, glancing toward the distant entrance of the dungeon.

"Once we find him, we can deal with him, cause a little chaos in the Human World connected to this Demonic Dungeon, and perhaps bring back a few good-looking young slaves for the Demon General before returning to the Fallen Realm."

The two Demons exchanged knowing smirks.

Then, without making a sound, they began following Erick and the others from a distance.

***

Meanwhile, completely unaware of what was happening on the other side of the stream, Zephyr continued running at full speed through the patches of healthy green trees with Lucien on his back.

After running for quite some time, he finally slowed his pace once he was certain they were far enough from the stream. He adjusted Lucien slightly on his back, supporting him as Lucien’s hands remained tightly wrapped around his shoulders.

Despite Lucien suddenly asking him to leave with him earlier, Zephyr showed no signs of concern or suspicion. His expression remained as calm as ever.

In a leisurely tone, he finally asked.

"How much farther should we go?"

Lucien’s expression was complicated.

He had spent the entire journey thinking about how he would explain to Zephyr why he wanted to separate from the others and why he had suddenly asked him to take him to the other side of the stream. He had prepared all kinds of excuses, ready to explain himself if Zephyr questioned his sudden decision.

After all, Lucien had his own reasons for doing this. He wanted to get his hands on the treasures hidden within this dungeon, including the ones Erick and Nana had found in the original story, as well as the treasures they had missed. But as a Guide, Lucien was far too weak to obtain them on his own.

Only Zephyr could help him.

Yet Lucien couldn’t exactly tell Zephyr the truth. He couldn’t explain that he knew about these treasures because he had once read the original story. So, all he could do was make up an excuse and hope Zephyr wouldn’t question him too closely.

But Zephyr hadn’t questioned him at all.

He had simply followed Lucien’s words without hesitation, as though he trusted him completely.

Lucien didn’t know whether he should feel happy about that or not.

With a helpless smile, Lucien sighed and gently patted Zephyr’s collarbone over his clothes before pointing to the right.

"Go a little farther to the right."

Zephyr felt the warmth of Lucien’s touch, his lips curving slightly as Lucien’s arms wound around his shoulders again.

A low hum of acknowledgment escaped him, and he tightened his grip on Lucien’s thighs before picking up his pace.

His mana had already rippled outward through the surrounding area, allowing him to sense the presence of numerous powerful monsters nearby.

Yet, he wasn’t concerned.

With the skills he possessed now, he was confident that he could protect both himself and Lucien. As long as Lucien was by his side, there was no reason for him to fear the monsters lurking in the surrounding forest. If any of them dared to approach, Zephyr could simply use his SSS-Rank Corrosion Manipulation skill to eliminate them before they had a chance to harm him and Lucien.

Fortunately, his mastery over his Corrosion Manipulation skill had finally advanced.

He could now control its range.

That meant he no longer had to worry about his Corrosion skill spreading beyond his intended target and affecting everyone around him. He could unleash its terrifying power while keeping it confined to a specific area, ensuring that it only affected the targets he wanted to kill.

Suddenly, Lucien, who was on his back, seemed to notice something. His eyes lit up, and he excitedly patted Zephyr’s shoulder, the complicated expression he had been wearing moments ago gone.

"Stop! Stop!"

Zephyr immediately came to a halt and carefully lowered him to the ground.

Although he couldn’t see, Zephyr had already sensed the tree standing before them. It was different from the other trees around them. Small, bean-sized fruits grew among its leaves, each one radiating a rare and powerful concentration of mana.

Zephyr tilted his head slightly, quietly listening to Lucien’s movements.

’I wonder how Lucien knew this.’

Regardless, he didn’t question him.

There were simply too many strange things about Lucien. He seemed to be hiding a lot of secrets. But there was no need to rush.

If Lucien didn’t want to tell him yet, Zephyr could wait.

He would stay by his side and slowly uncover every secret Lucien was hiding.