Reincarnated with an SSS-rank Tamer System: My Harem of Villainesses-Chapter 62 – The Wrong Territory

Fernis’s proposal had been accepted by the group, although with varying levels of enthusiasm.

However, before turning around and heading back the way they had come, everyone agreed that it would be a waste to abandon such an enormous chamber without at least taking a look around.

So they decided to explore it for ten more minutes, just to make sure they weren’t leaving anything interesting behind.

Each of them conjured a sphere of fire in the palm of their hand, and the orange glow illuminated the stone walls with a warm light that contrasted with the cold dampness of the environment.

Then they split up, each taking a different direction to cover as much ground as possible in the time they had.

Adam walked toward one end of the chamber while lighting his path. The place was impressively large, far bigger than it had first appeared, and the ceiling disappeared into darkness far above where his light could reach.

The walls were covered in moss in some sections, while in others they gleamed with veins of minerals that reflected the fire.

But despite the natural beauty of the place, Adam couldn’t feel comfortable because of a strange sensation that had settled in his chest ever since they crossed the opening.

It was like a persistent unease, a kind of warning telling him that something wasn’t right. And the most unsettling part was that it didn’t come from him alone.

Nox was anxious.

Adam could feel it clearly through the bond they shared. The little dragon remained hidden inside him as always, but his presence was no longer the usual calm Adam had learned to recognise.

Instead, there was a noticeable agitation, almost as if Nox wanted to warn him about something but didn’t know how to do it.

’What’s wrong with you?’ Adam asked mentally, though he received no coherent response. Only more of that diffuse anxiety that made his skin prickle.

He decided not to dwell on it too much for now. After all, Nox had been acting strangely since the night with Alice, so maybe he was simply still upset about that.

In any case, Adam preferred to remain alert for anything that might appear. If his companion was nervous, there was probably a reason for it.

-x- -X- -x-

Meanwhile, on the other side of the chamber, the voices of Sophia and Lihua began to rise enough for everyone to hear them.

"We should take advantage of this opportunity," Lihua insisted with a tone that bordered on impatience. "A hidden cave like this could house beasts the professors never found. A-rank beasts, maybe even higher."

Sophia looked at her coldly while the flame flickered slightly in her palm.

"The mission is to capture a beast of rank B at most," she replied in a sharp tone. "We don’t have authorisation to face anything more dangerous than that, and frankly, I doubt this group could handle something of that level without killing each other first."

Lihua let out a short laugh that echoed against the stone walls.

"You speak as if you’re afraid, princess."

"I speak as someone who understands the rules," Sophia retorted without flinching. "Something you clearly don’t—"

"Rules are for those who don’t have the power to break them," Lihua interrupted as her smile widened. "And between the two of us, I think we both know who has more power here."

Sophia’s eyes flashed with irritation, and for a moment it seemed like she was about to respond with something just as biting.

However, before either of them could continue their confrontation, Fernis intervened from his position.

"Can you stop fighting for five seconds?" he snapped with annoyance as he walked toward them. "Time’s almost up, so—"

He didn’t finish the sentence.

Because at that precise moment, a sound cut through the entire chamber.

It was a growl. Deep, grotesque, so low that it seemed to come from everywhere at once.

The stone walls vibrated slightly with the resonance, and the echo multiplied until it filled every corner of the chamber as if it were a warning.

Adam spun on his heels before even thinking about doing it. His body reacted on pure instinct, placing itself in a defensive stance while his eyes searched for the source of the sound.

And he wasn’t the only one, because when he looked around, he saw that everyone else had done exactly the same.

Fernis had his sword drawn and pointed toward the darkness. Gareth held his spear with both hands, his knuckles white from the strength of his grip.

Sophia had stopped arguing and was now gathering mana in her free hand with impressive speed.

Even Lihua had lost that arrogant smile she always wore, replaced by an expression of genuine alertness.

They were all looking at the same place.

There was an area of the chamber that none of them had explored yet. A corner where the darkness was so dense that not even the five combined flames could penetrate it.

And now, as the echo of the growl slowly faded, they could all feel that something was there.

Something big. Something that was watching them from the shadows with a patience that was terrifying.

Adam felt Nox’s anxiety spike inside him, so intense that for a moment he struggled to distinguish it from his own. The little dragon was terrified, and that was something Adam had never felt before through their bond.

’This is bad,’ he thought as his heart began to beat faster.

No one moved. No one spoke. The five flames trembled slightly in their palms, casting erratic shadows across the walls as the group waited in absolute silence.

And then, from the depths of that impenetrable darkness, two points of light appeared.

Eyes.

Enormous, and glowing, a blood-red colour that seemed to burn with a fire of its own.

They were far above ground level, so high that the creature they belonged to had to be colossal.

And as those eyes fixed on the group with a blood-chilling intensity, another growl echoed through the chamber.

This one was lower, but just as threatening as the first.

As if the beast were deciding what to do with the intruders who had dared to enter its territory.