"This isn't how it's supposed to go…"
Adonis mumbled to himself as he stared at the night sky.
He didn't remember every single detail of the past, but he knew about this incident.
'The kidnapping of Billy and Alicia… it's supposed to happen way further in the future!'
Sure, a lot of things had been altered now, but he never expected such a drastic change to the original timeline.
'They'll nearly be sold at the Slave Auction a few days after being captured, but thankfully the investigation was done before the process was complete.'
As a result, the Royal Knights rushed in and apprehended a lot of criminals in the Black Market and Slavery World.
Unfortunately, this huge victory came with a great loss.
'Alicia's mental state became unstable and she became insane. Billy was fine, but he was too concerned with Alicia's health that he didn't focus on training any longer…'
Eventually, Alicia's mental health deteriorated to the point that she eventually committed suicide and died.
As for Billy, he joined her in the afterlife not long after.
Adonis didn't know the details of their relationship back then, or how they were captured in the first place, but he suspected that they were lovers.
… Or something of the sort.
'Billy still seems very fond of Alicia, but it didn't seem like she felt the same. I thought, for sure, they wouldn't ever go on that date of theirs that led to the incident.'
And even if they did, it wouldn't be anytime soon.
'So why…?!'
Adonis felt anxious—the most anxious he had ever been since his regression.
If he didn't act fast, the same tragedy that occurred last time would happen again.
'Like last time, it'll probably take a few days for the investigation to bring forth fruit. I just hope we can find them earlier this time.'
Adonis didn't know where the Auction Center was, and even if he did, the location was said to constantly change for each Auction.
With the kidnapping happening much earlier than anticipated, there was a good chance that it wouldn't be the same location as last time.
It bothered Adonis to the core that he felt useless at such a crucial moment.
He gritted his teeth and sank his fingers deep into his palm.
'Things can't start falling apart now! We've hardly even begun!'
Somehow, it felt like things were even worse now.
Sure, everyone was growing stronger at a much faster pace, but problems were arising here and there that didn't happen in the original timeline.
'… And I honestly don't know what to do.'
The most he could do for Alicia and Billy was pray that they were found earlier than last time.
And if Alicia's madness repeated itself this time, he could solve it using his extensive knowledge of H'Trae.
As long as they weren't dead… Adonis was confident that his two comrades would be fine.
'The same can't be said about Brutus, though.'
Adonis' face darkened the moment he thought about the Head Warrior's current situation.
'This is yet another change I wasn't expecting…'
In his past life, there was an investigation carried out by Brutus and Lucielle, but it wasn't anything too serious.
The students were soon able to begin exploring Dungeons and killing Monsters.
'But the timeline has changed. Apparently there's a strong monster that surfaced… one that didn't do so in the past.'
Adonis tried to think about the possibilities, and he had a few ideas.
'Right now, I should be stronger than them.'
And so, he was fairly confident that Brutus and his team would be able to subdue the monster and return.
However…
'… This had to happen.'
Adonis was puzzled to his core about so many things.
'Where did all the Mana Crystals and Monster Cores go? Our Seventh Floor Dungeon Exploration remains memorable to me because of that stash we found.'
It was a huge victory for the United Human Alliance, and it helped them greatly in their preparation for the imminent war.
But now… all those resources were gone.
But why?!
'There's a possibility that there is another class traitor. I can't rule it out completely.'
Adonis felt his heart ache, and he felt his head hurting. There were a lot of possibilities to think about, and it was a little too overwhelming for the Hero.
'And the fact that none of them are helping matters is the worst part of all this.'
Adonis never expected his classmates to suffer the way they did in the past.
In fact, the whole reason he was training so hard was to save everyone.
But… he couldn't do it alone.
'I need help. Tons of it. But none of them are being very helpful.'
Adonis thought he could be the glue that held everyone together—especially after seeing what happened the last time—
but after being so patient with them and seeing the way things were going, he had to face the truth.
Most of them were useless.
'I'd have better luck with a select few than such a crowd.'
That was why he had to save people like Brutus.
'He's a knight that's loyal to humanity, and in the near future, he'll become even stronger than he is now.'
Brutus was an indispensable asset to the salvation of the world
—something he couldn't say about most of his classmates.
"I have to save him. I have to save all of them."
Preparations were already being made to explore the depths of the Dungeon, and with the Magic Item that existed in the Royal Treasury, it was possible to directly teleport to the depths of the Dungeon.
'It's a one-use Item, though, so we'll have to climb back up once we rescue Brutus.'
Adonis wasn't sure he was currently strong enough to face all the Monsters of the Lowest Floors, but he didn't have to.
'If it's just escaping, I'm confident about that…'
Besides, he still had the Item he got in the Black Market. He would have to alter his initial plan for it; but it couldn't be helped.
'If I use it to open a rupture in space to a Top Floor, we can use that to escape.'
Even if it was the 30th Floor or something, Adonis was confident that it would be more than enough for the rescue to proceed smoothly.
Adonis leaked out a heavy breath and closed his eyes.
'I'll have Lucielle with me, at least. It'll be a close one, but we should be able to win.'
*
*
*
Thanks for reading!
A lot of things are now beginning to converge. I wonder how it will all go down.
