The portal to Lizard Rock suddenly began wobbling violently as its shape distorting unnaturally.

"What is this? What’s happening?" Emorim asked anxiously. At that moment, he was waiting outside the dungeon alongside a group of soldiers.

"There must be an unstable release of mana inside. Probably a massive mana explosion," one of the soldiers replied nervously.

"What?!" Emorim’s expression immediately changed.

"I’m going in. You two, follow me!"

Without hesitation, he rushed straight into the portal. To him, the safety of his two young lords was far more important than his own life.

Fifteen minutes later, they finally arrived at the boss floor.

The moment they arrived, all of them were completely shocked by the scene before them. The boss room doors were completely gone. The walls and ground were covered in flames and massive cracks, while chunks of the ceiling had collapsed onto the floor.

It looked as though the entire area had been bombarded relentlessly by cannons.

"Oh my God... Young Lord! Young Lady! Where are you?!" Emorim shouted frantically. He immediately climbed over the rubble and began searching desperately for the twins.

"Be careful, Sir Emorim. The place might not be stable," one of the soldiers warned nervously.

"You’d better help me find the young lords, or your heads will be the least stable thing here soon," Emorim snarled.

The three of them quickly spread out and began searching through the destroyed boss room.

Suddenly, they spotted the two young lords in the distance. Auron was sitting beside Aria, who was lying on the ground with her eyes closed. Emorim’s heart nearly stopped as the worst possible thoughts filled his mind.

"No! No! Young Lady, what happened to you?! Please don’t die! You’re still so young..."

Emorim cried as he rushed toward her with tears already forming in his eyes.

"Why are you crying, Emorim? I’m still alive," Aria said weakly as she slowly pushed herself upright.

"I’m just tired from mana exhaustion."

"Ahhh... thank God, thank God..." Emorim said dramatically as he clasped his hands together in prayer.

"Emorim, did you see anyone running past you?" Auron asked.

"I don’t think so. Did either of you see anyone?" Emorim asked the two soldiers beside him.

Both of them shook their heads as well.

"Tch! That bastard already escaped," Auron growled before punching the ground in frustration.

Emorim looked at the twins with a strange expression.

"What kind of boss did you two fight in here? I thought this was only a Rank 4 dungeon. It should’ve been easy for the two of you," Emorim asked in confusion.

"We fought someone in here. And he was strong." Aria said slowly.

"He wasn’t strong. He was just a coward! I was only a little more away from defeating him!" Auron snapped back.

Bang!

Aria smacked the back of Auron’s head.

"Argh! What was that for?!" Auron shouted while clutching his head.

"How many times has Master told you to pay attention to your surroundings before using that skill?" Aria scolded him.

"Gosh! It’s always ’Master this, Master that.’ It’s freaking annoying. Whatever! I’m leaving."

He immediately turned around and walked away.

"Young Lord! Please let us leave together. You two, help the Young Lady walk," Emorim said hurriedly.

"It’s alright. I can walk by myself," Aria replied softly.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered what had happened a few minutes earlier.

"Why did you save me? We were the ones attacking you."

"Do I need a reason to save someone in danger? Don’t worry. Next time, you can repay me back."

Suddenly, Aria’s heart began pounding erratically. An unfamiliar feeling quietly seeped into her heart.

’What is this feeling?’

---

Oliver moved swiftly from tree to tree while still in his synchronization form.

(Why did you save that girl, kid? If she died there, you’d have one less enemy to worry about.) Husk asked.

"I can’t let children die, Husk," Oliver replied quietly.

In his past life, he had participated in countless assaults on enemy territories. During some of those operations, his group had committed cruel acts, including the killing of innocent children.That was why he could not bring himself to abandon Aria earlier.

(What are you talking about? You’re a child too.)

Oliver remained silent after hearing Husk’s words. Soon, the town of Ashville came into view in the distance.

(Sigh... fine. I won’t talk about it anymore. My limit is almost reached. Don’t do anything dangerous while I’m not around, kid.)

"Alright, Husk. Thank you... and sorry," Oliver replied quietly.

(There’s no need to apologize. You did a good job just now.)

[Velkryss (Husk) has entered Sleeping Mode for 12 Hours.]

’Wait... did Husk actually praise me just now? ’ Oliver thought in surprise.

He then fell onto the ground and rolled forward before quickly getting back up and running toward the town. Inside his mind, he was still thinking about the identities of the twins he had fought earlier.

And more importantly, how did they both possess Rank S monsters?

’Rank S monsters are truly terrifying, even when they aren’t boss monsters. But if ordinary Rank S monsters are already this strong, then how powerful would Rank S boss monsters be? ’

He could not even begin to imagine it.

Instead of fear, however, Oliver felt excitement filling his heart as he began hoping that one day, he would be able to tame a Rank S boss monster himself.

As Oliver arrived at the town, he suddenly noticed a large group of people gathered near the gate. He was confused as he walked toward them.

The moment Theresa saw him, she immediately pointed at him and shouted,

"You! You’re the reason all of this happened!"

The surrounding townspeople all turned toward Oliver with angry expressions.

"No! My child did nothing wrong. Please stop blaming him for everything!"

Suddenly, Irmine rushed forward and pulled Oliver into her embrace, shielding him from the hateful gazes of the crowd.

’What is happening? ’ Oliver wondered in confusion. Then his eyes suddenly landed on a body lying among the crowd. It was Peter, the person Oliver had specifically told Queen to spare.