Chapter 148

Mikhail was staring at the basilisk's corpse, turning over everything that would need to come next, when it happened.

Rumble….

A faint tremor rippled through the ground beneath him.

Mikhail flinched and dropped his gaze. But the vibration died away almost as quickly as it had come.

"…?"

He kept his eyes fixed on the floor, brow furrowing—

"—Senit!"

Someone was calling his name. Mikhail turned toward the approaching voice and rose to his feet.

Germain Lowell. Guild Master of the Guild Alliance and chief overseer of the Joint Suppression Campaign.

He'd led the reinforcement unit in himself, and now he was closing the distance with his personnel in tow.

Mikhail greeted him with a small smile.

"The magical beasts inside the cave must've gone berserk on your way in. That couldn't have been an easy trek."

Germain let out a hollow breath and waved his hand dismissively.

"Hah, don't get me started. Every damn beast in this cave came crawling out, and they were relentless—I've never seen creatures move that aggressively. Cutting through that lot had us sweating bullets."

He griped as though unloading a petty complaint. But the casual front lasted only a moment.

Germain's expression softened into a smile, and he shifted his gaze toward the basilisk's petrified remains.

"Maybe that's why you look so impressive to me right now…. You brought down a basilisk that mutated without any warning whatsoever. And you did it while leading a group of exhausted participants."

Mikhail offered no addition. Instead, he pulled his gaze from Germain and fixed it on the basilisk ahead.

"……"

He retraced the events once through in silence.

Then he lifted his tone and spoke without reservation.

"It wasn't one person's contribution. Everyone chose to trust what I said and follow through—they moved together because of that. That's why we wrapped things up without any real surprises."

"Hmm…."

Germain hummed thoughtfully, fingertips grazing his chin, then aimed a warm smile at Mikhail.

"Come to think of it, you said something along the same lines when we spoke at the reception."

"……"

"I told you Edwin had changed for the better because of you. But you insisted that, in the end, it was Edwin who grew on his own."

Germain let a silence weighted with thought settle between them. Then he continued in a lighter tone.

"So let me give you a slightly different answer this time…. You don't try to claim achievements as yours alone. You see the people involved—not just yourself. That quality of yours, Senit—I genuinely admire it."

The candid words caught Mikhail off guard. His eyes widened and he went still for a beat.

Then he slowly dipped his head.

"You're too kind."

"Haha, hardly."

Germain laughed heartily and clapped Mikhail on the shoulders.

Mikhail swayed with each impact, and Germain's eyes went round.

"Oh—whoops. Still pretty worn out, aren't you? Want to sit a while longer?"

"…Yeah."

"All right. Leave the cleanup to us and take it easy. You'll be able to rest properly once we're back at headquarters."

Germain gave the reassurance freely, then turned away with the reinforcement unit personnel flanking him.

"Well then—I'll see you shortly. Who's going to be the talk of the town after this campaign wraps up? I'm looking forward to finding out myself."

Germain's farewell ended on a broad, easy laugh.

The reinforcement unit sprang into motion according to priority.

Tending to the participants' injuries, assessing the surrounding conditions, distributing supplies—

Mikhail watched them bustle about for a moment, then turned and walked toward the basilisk ahead.

Crk-crk.

The basilisk's lifeless body had petrified completely. The massive reptilian frame had crumbled into something resembling weathered rock.

And yet, the strange gleam in its pupils still lingered.

By the original progression, every trace of light should have vanished long ago.

"……"

Mikhail stared down into the basilisk's eyes, then reached toward the faint glow flickering across the corneas.

He wanted to observe the dark-violet mana still clinging to the beast's pupils a little more closely.

Its appearance, its behavior, any reaction or texture it offered—

Whatever the anomaly had thrown at them, he needed to analyze it and extract information that could help him prepare for what lay ahead.

His fingertips touched the basilisk's eye.

Tap.

The instant contact was made, a swarm of golden light rushed at his fingers—but the moment Mikhail released a sliver of mana, the gold crumbled apart and collapsed.

Fssssh.

Behind the golden residue that dissolved in a flash—

A faint dark-violet mana revealed itself.

"……"

Mikhail lifted his finger from the cornea and studied the dark-violet glow with care.

Then he moved his hand again. This time, his fingertips hovered just above the surface of the dark-violet mana—and made contact.

"Ngh…!"

He barely swallowed the scream that tried to claw its way out, and yanked his hand back.

It had lasted only an instant. A stabbing pain had surged through his fingertips the moment they grazed the violet surface—sharp enough to shoot up his entire arm.

What… was that?

Mikhail let a trembling breath escape. His hastily withdrawn fingers twitched involuntarily, and his startled heart hammered against his ribs.

That amount of mana shouldn't be capable of inflicting any harm.

His thoughts tangled into knots. He swallowed hard and was curling his fingers into a fist when a sound drifted to his ears—thin as a heat haze.

Beeee—. Beeeeeee—.

From somewhere impossibly far away—a distance beyond any measure.

In a space where he couldn't tell reality from illusion, a whale cried out from the deep.

"Ah…"

His consciousness sank as though submerged in seawater. Mikhail's eyes flew wide, and a thin groan slipped from his lips.

In the same instant, the scenery surrounding him began to shudder—violently, as though caught in a storm-tossed sea.

---

Meanwhile, in the same cavern where the reinforcement unit and participants had gathered—behind a boulder where few eyes could reach.

Verte, draped in the stolen uniform of a support staffer, watched the scene unfold from his hiding spot and let a hollow laugh escape.

Ha. With the situation looking like this… there's nothing I can do.

Verte's eyes narrowed as he ground his teeth. He'd pushed through his injuries and fought his way back to the cave's center—yet the scene before him looked nothing like what he'd expected.

Every last crisis, perfectly contained. And under Senit's command, no less.

Verte pulled his gaze from the cavern floor and leaned his back against the boulder.

He lowered his eyes and pressed a hand to his forehead.

A dog chasing a chicken, left staring at the rooftop.

The absurdity of finding himself utterly useless without even realizing it was almost funny.

Verte clicked his tongue in frustration and thought.

Of course I assumed everyone would be in danger…. The participants were completely spent, and the basilisk was no pushover.

That was why he'd planned to reach the center, throw himself into a losing fight, and prove his worth one more time.

He'd paint a picture of redemption for his earlier failure.

Then he'd stand tall again—and challenge Senit to a proper duel, face to face.

But now… all of that is….

Verte chewed at his lower lip as humiliation seeped in from every angle.

He'd moved with a clear plan in mind.

But at this point, every premise it rested on had collapsed entirely. He couldn't afford to make an even worse play.

If I step out now and pick a fight with Senit, I'll just look like a clueless kid throwing a tantrum. Pathetic beyond words.

His reputation, his standing—all of it would hit rock bottom. He'd be a laughingstock.

Better to wait for a more favorable opening. Commit to next time.

Even if… there was no telling when that opening might come.

"Hoo."

Verte forced down the prickling burn churning inside him and pulled his hood low over his face.

He stole one last glance at Mikhail standing motionless near the basilisk's corpse, then turned toward the path leading outside.

RUMMMBLE….

That was the moment. A vibration climbed through the soles of his feet, and Verte flinched, head snapping upward.

"…!"

His eyes blew wide.

The blue mana stones embedded at intervals across the towering ceiling, the black rock formations arching overhead—

Every surface and structure within reach was pitching and rolling as though caught in a squall.

"Wh-what! What's happening all of a sudden! What's going on?!"

"The—the cave's collapsing! It's coming down! If we stay here, we'll be buried alive! Move! Now!"

The scene around him dissolved into pandemonium in an instant.

People seized by panic scattered in every direction, and terrified screams and shouts erupted from all sides.

"This isn't fair! We already killed the basilisk, and now the ceiling's caving in too? Unless somebody's literally cursing us from somewhere, how does this even happen!"

"Ugh, damn it. I pushed too hard—my legs won't cooperate…."

Amid the chaos, a few of the rougher types had already torn into the supply crates the reinforcement unit had brought.

"Re-return stones! Those are in here, right! Hand them over! Hurry! …What the—why isn't this one working?! There's no light!"

"Heh-heh… idiot. Rotten luck. This return stone works. It actually works! I'm going fir—"

"You selfish bastard. Not a chance!"

Scuffles broke out everywhere. Participants clawed at one another over the functioning return stones.

But the raised voices didn't last long.

Germain and the reinforcement unit shut down the brewing fights before they could escalate and seized command of the scene.

BANG!

"Listen up! From this moment, anyone who touches the supplies without authorization gets taken down by force! If you don't want to get hit and dragged out of here, get your hands off the equipment—now!"

"……"

"Everyone, stay calm and follow orders. Return stones go to the injured first. Anyone who can walk evacuates on foot. Fall in behind the reinforcement unit and move toward the cave entrance!"

At Germain's command, the reinforcement personnel moved in lockstep, guiding people into formation.

Verte watched the situation stabilize in silence.

He observed the orderly columns filing toward the cave's exit, then slipped a hand inside his coat and felt around.

Whirrrr—

The return stone he'd been issued earlier glowed in his palm.

Judging by the snippets of conversation he'd overheard, his stone appeared to be one of the functional ones.

"……"

Verte looked down at the return stone, then shifted his gaze toward where the basilisk lay.

While everyone else scrambled to get out of the cave, Mikhail alone was doing something different.

He'd been standing motionless beside the petrified corpse—then snapped to attention, as if jolted awake, and started making his way into the interior of the basilisk's stone body.

He moved as though the commotion around him didn't exist. Just walking forward, nothing more.

"……"

Verte tracked Mikhail's movements without blinking. Then he gripped the return stone in his fist and swallowed a breath.

This might be… the perfect opportunity.

The opponent he'd been burning to defeat.

No interference. No distractions. A chance to settle things once and for all.

The moment Verte locked onto what he wanted, his heart began to pound.