Right now, there were two potential causes as to the situation with Richard's corpse.
One was that the Boss Monster caused it.
'If the Boss is a Necromancer, then it only makes sense that they could do something like this.'
Monsters weren't usually very intelligent, but there were exceptions. Plus, since the entire setup of the Dungeon was so special and resembled the kind that housed intelligent life, the possibility couldn't be discounted.
But, Rey couldn't see a Boss Monster around, which meant this was probably not the Boss Room. If the Boss really was behind this, it wouldn't just leave the corpse lying around.
'That leaves me with the second option.' Rey stood to his feet as his eyes narrowed as a gleam of anger flashed inside.
'Adrien Chase!'
Adrien was a necromancer, and since his involvement in this entire Grand Calamity Class Dungeon Conquest was pretty much a certainty, he was a more prime suspect.
Once again, Rey couldn't think of any way in which Adrien could benefit humanity from this entire ordeal. From his guess, this was probably a breeding ground for Adrien to fully test out and advance his Necromancy Skill.
'He's not beyond using others to achieve his goals anyway…' Rey sighed, covering his eyes for a moment so that he could think.
After a few seconds, he walked forward, leaving the white barrier that protected everyone else.
Many people gasped, but their worried faces soon dissolved once they found him completely fine despite standing amidst the immense pressure of Miasma.
"I'm tired of this farce…" He whispered, suddenly releasing a burst of Mana in a split-second.
Almost at once, the corruption within the entire room vanished from sight.
He did this so quickly that no one in the audience could possibly suspect that he was responsible. Plus, since they were all inside the barrier of [Absolute Perfect Defense], they probably couldn't even tell the difference anyway.
"When will you reveal yourself this time?"
Rey asked no one in particular this question. He just looked at the sole taint in the room, the corpse of the Guildmaster, and knelt before it once again.
'I don't really know you, nor do I feel particularly sad that you died…' His honest thoughts flowed as he felt his heart tighten.
'But, you didn't have to die.'
None of the people that would have perished in this Dungeon had to die. Yes, protecting them would have been a frustrating chore for him, but he would have still done so.
'I would have stuck to the plan until the very end and wrapped everything up nicely.'
Yet, Adrien had to ruin all of it!
"At the very least, let me put you out of your misery…" Rey stretched his hand towards the Miasma-filled corpse.
Then, at that very moment—
~FSHUUU!~
—A massive door appeared and opened up from the other side of the hall.
Rey paused and looked ahead, his eyes widening a little, considering how he never saw or detected a door there before. That meant only one thing.
'Another Zone shift, huh?'
However, that wasn't the only surprise he was met with.
As soon as the door opened up, he was bombarded with the sight of a shimmering golden barrier, and a bunch of people inside it.
A certain golden-haired man stood at the front of the crowd that trailed behind him. Many would recognize him as Sebas, but Rey knew who he really was.
He could see Britta close to him, as well as the faces of the Master Rank Adventurers near the Heroic Rank duo.
Then, right behind them, though scattered in many locations, the mature faces of his classmates could be spotted.
All of them, without exception, were seen by him.
'A-ahh…' Tears nearly filled his eyes as he stared at them with shock clearly imprinted on his face.
Just as he believed, they were all together—safe.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Adonis suddenly raised his voice as he stepped out of his golden barrier, his brows furrowed as he glared at him intensely.
'H-huh? What's going on?'
The look of utter repulsion and enmity on Adonis' face told him that something was off here. He could even sense a strong killing intent rushing from him.
'Right now he sees me as Jet, so why is he acting this way? Shouldn't he be relieved to see me, or at least everyone else?'
Despite all of his confusion, Rey decided to answer as honestly as possible.
"What are you talking about? I'm investigating the—"
"Guildmaster Richard?!" Adonis' voice rose into the air, instantly causing a lot of tension to rise all around. "What did you do to the Guildmaster?!"
'What did I do? I don't get it…' Rey glanced at the Guildmaster's corpse, and while it was true that his hand was close to the shriveled husk, and Miasma was oozing out of the thing, he really wasn't doing anything.
Now, it was possible to make a mistake and assume something else based on how the whole thing looked like—especially with no prior context on the matter—but Rey didn't see why Adonis was reacting so negatively all of a sudden.
It almost felt as if Adonis already had a conclusion in mind, and he projected that onto the scenario that Rey was a part of.
'I guess the tension must have gotten the better of him. It's been a long week, after all, and he probably has a lot on his plate.'
The people on their end were probably starving due to lack of resources, and knowing Adonis, he probably gave up his share to make sure more mouths were fed.
He was probably just overreacting due to the irritability that came with hunger and sleep deprivation.
'Yes, that's right… he's not really himself.' Rey smiled as he shook his head, slowly rising to his feet.
"My friend, it seems you—"
~WHOOOSH!~
In a sudden flash, Adonis closed the incredible distance between himself and Rey, sending a powerful blow charging towards him.
He had to block it with his briefcase, but the aftershock forced his body to slide backwards as a result.
"Don't call me your friend…" Adonis' aggressive tone filled the room as his golden eyes flashed bright.
"… Filthy Dragon Spy!"
Rey's surprised face was no longer contain the disbelief, and his parted lips had to let out the only word he could mutter.
"H-huh…?!"
*
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Thanks for reading!
A fight between Rey and Adonis, at long last! Well, not really…. More like Jet vs Sebas.
This should be really fun.
Hehehe!
