*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
As the high-frequency buzzing of wings echoed continuously through the cave, dense and relentless, massive beetle monsters flew in groups.
They would sometimes fly by, then disappear, sometimes cling to the walls and ceiling, and at other times, get tangled and roll to the ground, giving the unsettling impression of having entered a nest of insects.
Let alone anyone else, even Riezel, who was always fearless, could barely stand this sight, as watching them for too long made his skin crawl. A place like this was undoubtedly a nightmare for anyone with a phobia of tight spaces or insects. If they ended up here, they would probably rather take their own life on the spot.
'Good thing Lizbeth isn't here...'
Riezel felt a mix of relief and worry since he was almost certain that he had left Bessare.
Apparently, this so-called Holy Beast, with some unknown method, had taken advantage of the opening during his intense battle with Raven to pull him into its body.
Just like in the memories of the magic dolls, a huge black shadow had appeared beneath their feet, and then they found themselves inside the Holy Beast, not knowing how it had managed that.
Since this Holy Beast was able to come to Bessare from the places in the magic dolls' memories, even arriving at Bessare's training field and bringing him here, the possibility that it was not in Bessare right now was pretty high.
In other words, Lizbeth was left in Bessare, while he was taken somewhere—who knew where.
'I bet she's worried sick right now.'
Riezel could easily imagine how frantic Lizbeth was right now.
He had tried using Message to contact Lizbeth, hoping to communicate, but the Holy Beast's interior was highly insulated from magical energy, as not only couldn't Message be sent, but even the attendant contract connection between them seemed to blur.
Fortunately, he could still use teleportation magic.
He had tested it before and found he could teleport out at any time, even using 'Gate' to return to Bessare, but the sheer number of beetle monsters here made it dangerous to do so. Considering groups of them appeared from time to time, if he used Gate here, it would give these insects the opportunity to spread outside, creating a huge problem.
As a result, Riezel planned to explore the Holy Beast's body first, and once he was done, he would try to set up a teleportation point here, then return to Bessare to reunite with Lizbeth.
In fact, the reason he didn't teleport right away to meet Lizbeth and then return to investigate was that he worried he wouldn't be able to leave a teleportation point behind.
'Well, there's nothing I can do, so I have no choice but to make the little princess suffer a bit.'
Riezel mentally apologized to Lizbeth, then flew through the cave, brushing past the numerous beetle monsters who completely ignored him, letting him pass as if they didn't even notice his presence, continuing to fly around.
How could this happen?
It was because they essentially didn't notice him at all.
It was thanks to the 9th-Tier Magic, Perfect Unknowable, which could completely erase one's presence—including not only appearance but also sound, scent, and aura—that Riezel had effectively become invisible, so no monster could detect him.
Using this magic, unless someone had an extremely high level of special perception or used high-tier magic specifically designed to break invisibility, even surveillance magic would have a hard time detecting the user.
Riezel had used this magic to erase his presence, and with the additional effect of the Selfless State, which could close one's aura and fighting spirit, the beetle monsters couldn't detect him at all.
As a result, Riezel moved stealthily through the swarm of beetle monsters, effortlessly flying deeper into the cave.
However, he had been flying for quite a while now.
'Flying for so long, but still haven't found any kind of end... If it weren't for the Transparent World, I'd have a hard time believing this is inside a living creature...'
Riezel couldn't even imagine how huge the creature called Holy Beast by the magic dolls really was.
'Sadly, once I use Perfect Unknowable, I can't use other magic. Otherwise, I could try using teleportation magic to speed up the journey.'
Perfect Unknowable had downsides, which were not only that once an attack was made, its effect would be canceled, but also that this magic could only be used on oneself.
If he tried to use another magic while in the state of Perfect Unknowable, it wouldn't be an issue as long as it wasn't considered an attack, but if it was, the magic would immediately be deactivated.
He wasn't sure if his attempt to teleport would be seen as an attack, so he had no choice but to keep flying forward like this. He should be thankful that using Fly didn't count as an attack, or else he would probably be walking right now.
'Let's try using some surveillance magic to see what's around here.'
Having this thought, Riezel planned to find a spot free of monsters so he could cast surveillance magic to scout the area and avoid being interrupted or attacked, but suddenly—
*BOOM!*
An explosion-like sound came from ahead.
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
In an instant, the surrounding beetle monsters immediately started flapping their wings frantically, heading in the direction of the sound.
'Someone?'
Riezel was surprised for a moment before a thought quickly crossed his mind.
'Could it be him?'
As a person flashed through his mind who was most likely the one who came here with him, Riezel raised an eyebrow before heading toward the sound.
After flying for a while, Riezel noticed that the noise was growing louder, and not only were there explosions, but there were also sounds of crashes and rumbling like a fierce battle was taking place ahead.
Once Riezel arrived at the scene, he saw a person who completely matched the one he had just thought of, confirming his guess.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
Following this roar, a wave of dark energy swept through the area, causing another loud explosion-like sound.
A middle-aged man, dressed in tattered armor and covered in wounds, wielding a greatsword, was fighting a group of beetle monsters alone.
As his body got surrounded by dark energy, the greatsword in his hands spun like a storm, slicing through the air and cutting the attacking beetle monsters in half.
Even though the beetle monsters had very tough bodies and were clearly strong in defense, when faced with the man's greatsword, which radiated black light and a mysterious aura, they seemed as fragile as clay figures because as soon as the sword touched them, they were easily sliced in half, making blood splatter everywhere.
Fighting fiercely, the man pushed the beetle monsters back so far that they couldn't even get close to him for a moment as the area around him, several meters wide, became a monster-free zone, with only the bloody corpses of beetle monsters scattered around—not a single living one of them remained.
However, the man's victorious streak didn't last long because, in the next second, he suddenly seemed to weaken.
*Cough!*
He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, his battered body oozing more blood, causing his movements to falter and stop his storm-like assault.
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
*Buzz—* *Buzz—* *Buzz—*
It was in that split second of hesitation that the sea of beetle monsters found their chance as they flapped their wings frantically and charged toward him.
*Pu-chi!*
One of the beetle monsters hit the man, its sharp mandibles piercing through his shoulder.
*Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!*
One after another, beetle monsters climbed onto him, their mandibles stabbing through his arms, thighs, and back.
"ARGHHH—!!! SCRAM!"
He let out a deep, pained roar before dark, violent energy vibrating around his body swept out, knocking the beetle monsters clinging to him away.
*Cough!**Cough!**Cough!*
With his body covered in wounds and blood staining his greatsword, the man finally collapsed to his knees.
At the same time, the dense swarm of beetle monsters surged toward him, ready to devour him completely before suddenly—
*Swish!*
In a split second, Riezel's figure appeared in front of the man.
"You?!"
Seeing Riezel, the man, who had been preparing for a final desperate struggle, wore a surprised expression.
"Widen Magic - Cry of the Banshee!"
Riezel didn't pay attention to the man behind him and chanted instant-death magic, causing a piercing scream to turn into a powerful soundwave, blasting outward.
In an instant, as the scream engulfed the surrounding area, the beetle monsters caught in it froze mid-air, only to fall after a few seconds with a crackling sound, losing their lives.
Seeing countless beetle monsters in the area wiped out in an instant, the man widened his eyes and breathed heavily.
"..."
An indescribable silence filled the air.
Riezel, with a half-smile, slowly turned around, looking at the pitiful-looking man kneeling before him.
"I didn't expect you to be this miserable after just a short time apart, Marquis Mavros." Riezel said with a teasing tone.
Yes, the man holding a greatsword was none other than Raven Mavros.
"I knew you were here too..."
Raven responded with a gaze that was especially complicated as he looked at Riezel.
It couldn't be helped.
Riezel, just like before, appeared casual and calm, without a scratch on him, as though he hadn't entered a nest full of dangerous monsters.
Meanwhile, Raven was in a dire state, covered in wounds, bloodied, and his armor was in tatters.
Needless to say, when comparing the two, the difference was crystal clear.
Seeing Riezel in such a state, Raven's feelings couldn't help but grow complicated.