Chapter 41: Investment 41— Second Floor Assault

A few hours before the student council leaders and Jin left for the teleportation platform, Deria, Seria, and Edith were still very much on edge after the battle with the Bug Maid Puppet.

"Tsk, that’s not even its real body." Seria brought down her arms that were suspended in the air. She could feel that the puppet was nothing but an empty shell that was being possessed and used by something else entirely.

"That’s what makes me worry more. If this wasn’t its real body and it had so much mana, how much more dangerous will the actual body be?" Edith let out a defeated sigh.

"Well, there’s no use worrying about that now, is there?" Deria said with a cheery tone to ease the tension. "Let’s regroup with the guys." Her eyes drifted towards the sandy sky. "Moohawk just left here, so I’m guessing the student council won’t be far behind."

Earlier during the fight, she had noticed a strange presence watching, and as the battle came to an end, she discovered it was Futaba’s summon: Moohawk.

"None of that matters to me." Frosty blue mist enshrouded Seria sparsely. She clutched her fists, her crystal blue eyes turning dim, filled with anger and contempt.

"It is quite obvious that some evil forces are at play here—but that doesn’t matter too." She placed a palm on her face and spread her fingers such that only one of her eyeballs was visible.

A horrendous grin tore across her face as she let out a hitching laugh that was unsettling and scary at the same time.

"But if they lay a single finger on my Elliot..."

Her cracked yet subtle voice carried.

Edith and Deria couldn’t help but look at her in awe. Their faces didn’t say, "What is wrong with her?"—they screamed, "We are in shock that you could express your love so intensely. Anyway, we are still going to support you."

"I swear I’m going to cover this dungeon in ice and offer them an eternity of blizzardous nightmares that they will never wake from."

Her facial expression was no longer detached but aggressive and determined. Her tone carried not just the weight of affection but also obsession. She didn’t care who or what their enemy was. All she cared about was Elliot.

The sand beneath their feet froze and turned to solid pristine ice, covered with jagged frost shards.

"Hohohoho. I’m a little annoyed you didn’t mention us, but—I’m all in for some ass-kicking." Deria slammed her fists into one another.

"It’s so thrilling to see you express your feelings so deeply. I’m honestly annoyed and elated at the same time." Edith rubbed down her long, slick green hair.

"Either way, I’m always ready for some action." She grinned devilishly.

They were quite the unusual trio. Each of them accepted each other’s weird-ass characters like they were nothing.

After their brief moment of glory, they headed back to the point where they left Elliot and Taumus to face the gigantic crab.

After what felt like an instant because they ran, Seria wanted to go back to Elliot as soon as possible.

Their mouths were agape at the sight of the levelled sand and the huge crater that stood in the middle.

"Those two really don’t know how to hold back, huh?!" Edith muttered.

"Tsk. Show-offs." Deria grunted. She was quite jealous that she missed the action.

"Elliot, where’s my Elliot?" Seria’s eyes darted around restlessly in search of her fiancé.

"Maybe something ha—" Before she could finish her statement of extreme worry, a pair of warm hands wrapped around her waist from behind.

Elliot brought his face directly to her left cheek. "Don’t worry, my honey. I’m here and I’m alright." He whispered these calming words into her ear.

At that very instant, her cheeks turned red, then her entire face, with steam practically evaporating from her head.

"I—I’m glad you are okay." She held his warm hands on her waist with her ice-cold palms. "If something had happened to you, I might just not be able to live another day." Her mouth throbbed at the thought of such a thing ever happening.

"You don’t have to worry." Elliot turned her around slowly until they were face to face. His brown eyes locked with her crystal blue eyes.

"I’m not going anywhere. I will be by my Seria’s side even after the end of time."

His words melted her concerns as well as her heart. "For... ever?" she stuttered.

"Forever." He replied boldly with full confidence and reassurance. At this moment, he may have just created the most terrifying and deadly contract in all of existence.

"Okay, okay, lovebirds." Taumus cut in, jamming his hands together.

"Tsk, I’m so jealous." He said inwardly. Being the single guy he was, he couldn’t help but be jealous.

"Edith and Deria have filled me in on the info." His voice carried.

"What info?" Elliot asked. He slowly removed his arms from around Seria’s waist.

"Well, we fought a bug puppet that had a similar mana signature to Vena and the mystery guy from the arena." Edith blurted out with an exhausted sigh.

"Speaking about bugs—" Elliot turned his head around mechanically towards Taumus as both their eyes locked together in a solemn instant of agreement.

"We saw a weird bug after we completely obliterated the gigantic Elder Crab." They pointed a finger at each other. "What was more disturbing was how a bug could survive our combo spell—unless..."

They both paused for a brief moment.

"The bug was responsible for powering up the gigantic crab."

Their conclusion made a lot of sense, which raised more concerns amongst the group like—Who was behind it? Were their instructors truly waiting for them on the fifth floor?

The only way to find out was to head on to the next floor and see things for themselves.

"I pinpointed a teleportation platform on our way back—so you guys follow me." Edith made a hand gesture, telling them to follow her lead.

The other students mounted the teleportation platforms one by one, each getting teleported to the second floor.

The first group of students appeared in a large cave that had a gleaming blue sea at its center. The scenery was truly mystical.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble, throwing some of them off their feet.

The head of what looked like a sea dragon with purple eyes and dark sinister mana flaring around it burst forth from the sea, splashing heavy drops of water on the students.

The female student in the front, her eyes wide with terror, pointed a shaking finger towards the huge dragon.

"Wha—what is th—" The sea dragon didn’t allow her to finish. It simply consumed her whole.

The entire cave spiralled into chaos as the other students all scattered, looking for a way to escape.