"Whoa! A unique monster?!"
"Thank goodness we got out on time!"
"But I wonder what kind of monster it is."
"Me too! After all, only a few have seen one, and most of them hadn't survived to tell the tale."
"..."
The atmosphere at the dungeon entrance was a chaotic mix of relief and confusion.
Graduates streamed out, their faces pale with exhaustion and the lingering terror of the emergency evacuation order that had blared through their arconometers. Instructors moved through the crowd with grim efficiency, doing headcounts and herding everyone to safety.
At the edge of this organized chaos stood Mireille. She was a statue of stillness amidst the flow of people, her gaze fixed on the dark maw of the dungeon entrance. Her hands were clenched at her sides, her knuckles white.
Every few seconds, a graduate would pass near her.
"Excuse me," she would say, her voice cutting through the din. "Have you seen Nael? A boy with dark brown hair. He has the Investor class. What about his party?"
The responses were a frustrating litany of shakes and shrugs.
"Investor? Never heard of it."
"Sorry, no. Didn't see anyone like that."
"Who?"
"I was just trying to survive in there, I didn't see anybody else!"
"Oh! It's the Sun Princess? Eh? Nael? No, never heard of him."
Her expression grew tighter with each negative reply. The pristine, sun-touched armor of the [Sun Princess] seemed at odds with the frantic energy around her.
Brennon approached her, his own face etched with concern, though it was clearly for her, not for the missing boy.
"Mireille," he said, his tone gentle but firm. "We need to go. The instructors are locking the entrance down. No one else is coming out."
She didn't look at him. Her eyes remained locked on the dungeon. "He hasn't come out."
"He probably left hours ago," Brennon reasoned, trying to sound convincing. "A Common-class party... they likely couldn't handle the first few tunnels. I am sure that guy probably got spooked by a Rock-Tail and retreated before any of this even started. He's probably back in the city already, safe and sound."
"..."
Finally, Mireille turned her head. The look she gave him was not one of anger, but of such utter, glacial coldness that he took an involuntary step back.
Her eyes, usually holding a distant warmth, were chips of frozen gold. It was a look that said his words were not just wrong, but irrelevant. That he understood nothing.
The sheer, silent intensity of that look was more effective than any shout. It shut down his argument completely.
"...(°ロ°)"
Brennon opened and then closed his mouth, swallowing his next attempt at reassurance. He simply nodded, a silent acknowledgment that he would wait with her.
Mireille ignored him and turned back to the entrance, her worry a private, chilling storm behind a calm facade. She knew, with a certainty that went deeper than logic, that he was still in there. Her only hope was that he was safe, or it was truly as this guy said.
'Nael, please be safe-!'
"Mireille!"
A loud voice cut through the murmuring crowd, sharp and clear.
"Mireille!"
Mireille's head snapped up, her glacial focus broken. A girl with determined eyes and a bandaged arm was pushing her way through the throng of graduates, heading straight for her.
"What is it?" Mireille asked, her voice tight.
The girl stopped before her, slightly out of breath. "H-hello, I'm Kira. I heard you were asking about someone. About a guy named Nael."
"!"
Mira's eyes widened instantly. In a flash, she closed the distance between them, her movement so swift it made Kira flinch.
"You saw him?"
Kira nodded, a flicker of awe in her eyes at the Legendary-class graduate's intensity. "Y-Yes. He saved our lives when my party was about to be killed by a mini-boss. He appeared out of nowhere, used fire and clever tricks to blind it, and helped us kill it-"
"When?" Mireille's heart hammered against her ribs. "Where?"
"A few hours ago, in the mid-tier tunnels. He helped my wounded party retreat. He said he was going to keep hunting. He also said... that he had to keep going until nightfall. That it was the only way for a solo delver like him to—"
"!" Mireille's blood ran cold. She gripped Kira's shoulders, her fingers pressing hard. "W-What did you say?"
Kira blinked, confused by the reaction. "That he had to keep hunting...?"
"Later! Before that! Did you say solo?" The word felt like ice on Mireille's tongue. "Was he alone?!"
"Y-yes?" Kira stammered, taken aback by the sheer, raw fear now etched on the Sun Princess's face. "H-He was by himself. He helped us, took some loot, and then went off on his own. He was probably alone."
The world seemed to tilt on its axis.
'Solo.'
...Nael wasn't with a party. He wasn't safe in the city. He was in there. Alone. And a deadly Unique monster was on the loose.
'...'
Her head turned slowly, her gaze locking onto Brennon. The frozen gold of her eyes now burned with a terrifying, betrayed fire.
"!"
Brennon paled, instantly averting his gaze. He couldn't meet her eyes.
He had lied. They had all let her believe he was with a group, that he was safe. That he already had a party. They...
'No, I need to move quickly!'
Without a word, Mireille turned. She shoved past Kira, her movements charged with a new, terrifying purpose.
'I need to save him!'
She ran for the dungeon entrance.
"Mireille, stop!" Brennon shouted, lunging after her.
She didn't even look back. She ignored him, the urge to turn his lie to ash with a solar lance warring with the desperate need to find Nael. He was nothing but a distraction.
She reached the sealed entrance, where instructors were already laying containment wards. But she didn't slow down at all because she couldn't afford to.
Swoosh!
A figure landed in front of the entrance, blocking her path. He was a middle-aged man in luxurious robes, arms crossed, expression stern and immovable.
"Stop," he commanded sharply.
Mireille skidded to a halt, her eyes blazing at the man. He was the one who tricked her!
"Stand aside," she hissed, the words dripping with a hatred so cold it seemed to freeze the air between them.
The man shook his head, his gaze dismissive. "No. I will not let you sacrifice yourself for a mere Commoner. His life is not worth risking a Legendary-class Princess like you."
Mireille's eyelids twitched. Without another word, without a single ounce of warning, she thrust her palm forward. A lance of condensed sunlight, hot enough to melt stone, shot toward the man's chest.
[Solar Lance]!
"SWOOSH-!"
Crack!
It shattered against a shimmering barrier of golden light that flared to life around him. The instructor didn't even flinch. His eyes narrowed. "My patience has its limits, young lady. Don't push—"
"Don't talk to me," Mireille snarled, already gathering light for another, more powerful strike. Her form began to glow with the promise of an imminent, devastating attack.
The man's lips twitched in anger. He raised a hand, intent on forcibly restraining her.
"My, my." Just then, a smooth, calm voice cut through the tension. "Creating quite a scene, aren't we?"
A young woman with hair the color of a deep ocean and eyes like polished sapphires stepped between them. She wore the crisp, dark blue uniform of a high-ranking academy, a silver pin glinting on her collar. She adjusted her glasses with a slender finger, a faint, unreadable smile on her lips.
The older instructor froze, his restraining spell fizzling out. "You—"
The blue-haired woman ignored him, turning her smile to Mireille. "Go on, little lady. I'll take care of this stubborn old man."
Mireille stared, shocked by the sudden intervention from a stranger. But the offer was clear, and the path was open. She gave a quick, grateful nod. "Thank you."
Then, she didn't wait any longer and dashed past the frozen man and vanished into the dungeon's dark maw before anyone could react.
The middle-aged man strained against an invisible force, his face a mask of fury, but he couldn't move a muscle. He could only watch her go.
The blue-haired woman turned her placid smile back to him. "Old man," she murmured, her voice soft but carrying an undeniable edge. "I didn't think the famous Instructor Valen of the mighty third-ranked academy would stoop this low. Trying to trap a Sun Princess in a gilded cage? How... foolish of you."
Instructor Valen's face flushed a deep, furious red. The invisible force restraining him shattered with an audible crack of dispelled energy.
"You!" He took a menacing step toward the blue-haired woman, his voice a low growl. "How dare a mere student interfere with my—"
"Ah, come now," she interrupted, her voice still light and airy, but her sapphire eyes sharpened like ice. "We both know it's never about age or rank with us, isn't it? And let's be honest, I hate your guts as much as you despise mine." Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Besides, our academy has set its eyes on the boy. I can't exactly stand by and tolerate your... dirty tricks."
Valen's jaw clenched so tight it looked like it might snap. He glared at her, a silent war raging in his eyes. He knew the power and influence she represented, the academy whose uniform she wore so casually. He was outmaneuvered, and he knew it.
With a final, seething look of pure venom, he turned on his heel. "This isn't over," he spat over his shoulder, his robes swirling around him. "If it weren't for your... background..."
He left the threat hanging in the air as he stalked away, melting into the confused crowd of graduates and instructors.
The blue-haired woman ignored him and his words completely.
Her faint smile faded as she turned her gaze toward the dungeon entrance. The playful glint in her eyes was gone, replaced by a look of calculating focus.
'Prove me right, boy,' she muttered inwardly. 'Prove my eyes didn't lie.'