Chapter 206

After reaching an agreement, the raid group—consisting of the Bahamut, Ganesha, and Astraea familia members—gathered their strongest fighters to push through a hidden hallway while the lower-level members secured the other areas, along with the captured evilus members.

They did this because stronger adventurers had greater flexibility when confronting the unknown.

As the group moved forward, the atmosphere grew increasingly eerie.

Every window had been boarded up and nailed shut, barring any light from entering the building from the outside.

The deeper they ventured, the colder the air became, creating the illusion that they were stepping into the underworld.

Suddenly, the long hallway abruptly ended, giving way to a vast room.

“Be careful, I hear people ahead,” Clair warned, pointing in the direction of the sound.

The group immediately tensed, tightening their formation in preparation for battle.

“Whoa,” Vasileios exclaimed in awe as they fully entered the room.

Like the preceding hallways, the room was rundown and dark, but this one boasted an absurdly high ceiling—approximately 15 meters in height.

It was filled with numerous steel cargo containers, making it resemble a mix between a warehouse and a shipping harbor.

Perhaps it had once been used as a storeroom when the building was owned by a merchant, but now it harbored only the vilest beings: the evilus.

“Oh, finally you arrive. What took so long?” a voice suddenly echoed throughout the room, startling the group.

In search of the source, Ryuu was the first to recognize who it was.

“Arachnia,” she growled, her voice filled with hatred.

Vasileios flinched at the name, recalling how that woman had toyed with him and Nikolaos just a few days earlier.

Perched atop a stack of containers, Valletta stared at them with a bored expression.

“Tsk, I thought Finn was going to be here, what a letdown” she muttered in dissatisfaction, though her expression brightened slightly upon spotting Vasileios.

“Ooooh, what do we have here? Did you come to find me yourself, boy? And where is the other one with you that day?” Valletta teased, her lips curling into a twisted smile.

Before Vasileios could respond, Lyra interjected, “Wipe that gross smirk off your face. What exactly are you planning?” she demanded.

“Impatient as always,” Valletta replied indifferently, “but who knows, maybe I am contemplating how to skin you all alive.”

She seemed entirely unbothered by the murderous glare of the pallum girl or the dire situation.

Sensing the need to intervene, Shakti stepped forward.

“Valletta Grede, lay down your arms and surrender. This base has mostly been captured, and your troops are being taken into custody as we speak,” Shakti announced.

Valletta simply stared at Shakti as though she were stupid.

Through history, no evilus member had ever allowed themselves to be captured without a fight, usually they were forcefully captured, so why would an executive like her, who had tormented Orario for years, ever peacefully surrender?

“Hyahyahyahyah, you really are a funny lot. You know that will never happen, so let’s get started,” Valletta replied with a condescending chuckle.

“Go get them, worms,” she ordered her minions hidden in the shadows.

Cloaked figures in milky robes and cowls—mostly dwarves and beast people, none of whom appeared to wield magical powers—emerged, surrounding the group in a four-to-one advantage.

Then, leaping from the cargo container, Valletta joined the fray, brandishing her blood-red great sword that rested snuggly on her shoulders.

Vasiliki had anticipated such an outcome and positioned herself in the center of the formation, nearly completing her spell.

The moment Valletta’s feet touched the ground, Vasiliki immediately unleashed a wave of ice that rooted the surrounding evilus in place.

With that signal, the battle erupted immediately.

…………………………………………………………………………..

“Out of my way!” Clair shouted angrily as she pushed her way toward Vasiliki, who was being overwhelmed.

For every foe she felled, another seemed to take its place.

With an annoyed click of her tongue, she dodged the swing of a dwarven hammer.

Perhaps because Valletta was present, the evilus fought with surprising coordination, covering each other’s blind spots.

In contrast, their usual skirmishes with the evilus had been chaotic and disorganized, so this newfound teamwork posed a significant challenge to the outnumbered raid group.

“This is a complete mess. Is this how one fights when there’s nothing to lose?” Lyra muttered, watching their formation crumble.

The evilus slowly but surely attempted to isolate them into individual engagements, using their sheer numbers against them.

“Stick together; don’t underestimate them. They’re trying to split us up!” Lyra yelled, urging everyone to take notice.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Valletta faced Shakti, Alise, and Vasileios.

“Ahahahahah, not bad, Ankusha! You too, Scarlett, and beast boy!” Valletta praised mockingly.

“Tsk, crazy woman,” Vasileios muttered as he barely managed to parry one of Valletta’s strikes.

He felt irritated that Valletta failed to recognize his alias, at the same time, he didn't want anyone to call or recognize him by such an embarrassing alias.

Valletta was the sole level 5 combatant on the field, facing one level 4 and two level 3 opponents.

This was the minimum requirement to keep the crazy woman in check.

Initially, only Alise and Shakti engaged her, but they were soon overwhelmed.

Valletta had somehow become even stronger since the soup kitchen massacre.

Recognizing this, Vasiliki immediately dispatched Vasileios—who was guarding her—to assist, thereby adding more pressure on those fighting Valletta’s minions and exposing Vasiliki to direct attacks that interrupted her spells.

She had no choice but to endure.

This situation was unavoidable: if Shakti or Alise fell, Valletta would have free reign to massacre everyone—a risk that had to be prevented at all costs.

This was also why Clair was hurrying toward Vasiliki, who was bearing the brunt of the assault.

Vasiliki could neither exert her full power nor fend off melee attackers while keeping an eye on Adi.

Additionally, she had to prepare for the living bombs Draco had warned them about.

‘Ah, everything is a mess. If these living bombs turn out to be real, we could all be dead. Everyone is scattered, making it hard for me to provide support,’ Vasiliki grumbled internally.

“Wait, where is Adi?” she muttered in alarm as she suddenly lost track of the girl and began searching for her in a flustered panic.

………………………………………………………………..

‘Something isn’t right,’ Lyra thought as she surveyed the battlefield.

Despite their opponents’ surprising teamwork, it was only a matter of time before the evilus would be overwhelmed by them.

Valletta wasn’t foolish—she must be aware of this, otherwise she wouldn’t be fighting so aggressively.

“No, she’s stalling for something, but for what reason?” Lyra wondered, though she couldn’t determine the answer.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Adi was the one to receive the answer .

While engaged in combat, she sensed an attack from behind.

Instinctively, she spun around and deflected the assailant, who let out an odd, high-pitched scream after being struck.

“What!” Adi gasped in shock when she saw who had attacked her.

It was a little girl dressed in the same milk-white robes worn by the evilus…….