Chương 223: Xenos
The whole room felt warm as Noah stepped into their home. Asuna, Yui, Yuuki, Mine, and Lili were already waiting inside, but one figure caught Noah's attention. An unfamiliar girl stood in the middle of the group, looking about the same age as Yui. Her long hair shimmered with a silver-blue hue, and her bright yellow eyes radiated curiosity. A soft red gem glowed gently on her forehead, while small scales adorned parts of her body.
"Xenos?" Noah murmured in surprise, recalling Ouranos's request to help the Xenos, but he never expected Asuna and the others to meet one. Judging by her appearance, he recognized that the Xenos girl was named Wiene, as Bell had named her in the original work.
"How was your exploration today? Anything special?" Noah asked, curious about how they encountered Wiene.
Yuuki looked at Noah with a wide smile, "Oh, you won't believe it! We met this girl in the dungeon!"
They began recounting their experiences in the dungeon, and the story took us back a little while ago.
---
**A Little While Ago**
Asuna led Yui, Yuuki, Mine, and Lili through the 23rd floor of the dungeon. This floor was known as the Great Tree Labyrinth, with walls, floors, and ceilings made of wood. It felt like being inside a giant tree as they stepped on the glowing blue moss-covered ground. The diversity of insect and plant-type monsters here made it a place full of potential for finding rare materials.
...Swosh...
Yuuki, with incredible speed, sliced a lizardman in half. Asuna admired how amazing Yuuki was in battle.
"Yui, behind you!!" Asuna shouted as she saw another lizardman sneaking up on Yui.
..Swosh..
Before the lizardman could attack, Mine had already pierced its skull with Pumpkin. Asuna admired Mine's unexpected reaction speed.
Asuna's rapier gleamed coldly as she pierced through another lizardman's body, killing it instantly. The monster's body vanished in a puff of black smoke, leaving only a magical stone in its place.
After defeating all the lizardmen, they continued on their journey. Suddenly, from a distance, a small figure in a cloak dashed past them and fell. The cloak opened, revealing a terrified face. The girl had a magical stone on her forehead, making them all cautious.
"Wait!" Asuna called out as Mine prepared to shoot.
"There's something strange about this monster. She seems to have a high level of intelligence," Asuna said, noticing the girl's terrified expression.
"Who are you?" Asuna asked, her voice soft to calm the girl.
However, the girl didn't respond. Instead, she backed away in deeper fear. Asuna felt empathy for her, clearly in a desperate situation.
As they tried to gather information, a group of adventurers approached. One of them, a man with a horrific scar on his face, asked, "Hey, did you see someone suspicious pass by here?"
Mine tugged on Asuna's shirt, signaling that these were not good people.
"No," Asuna replied, standing protectively in front of the monster girl.
The man glared at them angrily and said, "Do you think we're blind?" He pointed at Wiene behind Asuna.
"Hand her over, don't meddle in our business, or you'll regret it," he threatened, drawing a longsword in his hand.
The other adventurers behind him also drew their swords.
"Yui, Lili, you protect this girl, let us handle this," Asuna ordered, her rapier instantly surrounded by swirling wind.
"Alright, Mama," "I understand, Captain," they replied.
Without further ado, the man attacked Asuna, who easily dodged his strike. Asuna countered with several horizontal thrusts, making it difficult for him to evade.
The other adventurers attacked Yuuki and Mine, some trying to sneak around to attack Yui and Lili, but they were quickly taken down by Mine's Pumpkin shots, dying instantly without a sound.
Seeing their comrades' deaths, the adventurers began to panic but still did not give up, fearing the punishment for failing their mission. Their attacks became more desperate.
"Hmm... a bunch of trash," Mine scoffed coldly, her tone arrogant.
Mine's hands danced like shadows, and the Pumpkin lasers swiftly pierced through the head of one adventurer.
On the other side, Yuuki moved gracefully, like a sword dancer, every movement seemingly in rhythm.
None of the adventurers stood a chance against them, as except for the scarred leader, they were all low-level adventurers. They were quickly eliminated.
The leader realized the situation was dire and attempted to flee when a slender rapier pierced his chest.
"You..."
The man's words went unfinished as he took his last breath.
After spending time with Noah and the others, Asuna, Yui, and Yuuki were no longer naive enough to think that killing was wrong. They would not show mercy to enemies and those who deserved to die.
"What's your name?" Asuna turned and asked the monster girl after dealing with the adventurer corpses.
"Name?" The girl looked confused, not understanding the question. Initially terrified, but after seeing Asuna protect her, her fear began to lessen a bit.
Asuna carefully observed the monster girl. Although she looked about Yui's age, her common sense and knowledge seemed empty. Feeling pity, Asuna took the initiative to bring her back with them.
They gave her a large cloak to hide her identity, trying to ensure no other adventurers discovered the girl.
But what Asuna didn't know was that in a discreet corner, one adventurer watched them take the girl away. At first, he wanted to help, but seeing his comrades die in an instant, he decided to observe and plan to report this.
---
**Back to the House**
"I see, I understand, we'll take care of this girl," Noah said after listening to Asuna's story.
Asuna nodded. "She may look like a monster, but she is not dangerous."
"I know, she is a Xenos. Ouranos just asked me to help them."
"Xenos? Is that the race of this girl?" Asuna looked at Noah, asking for a more detailed explanation.
"Xenos are monsters that somehow gained intelligence..." Noah explained to Asuna and the others about Xenos and Ouranos's request.
.....
A vast room with floors and walls made of orichalcum displayed a luxury that contrasted sharply with the horrors occurring within. On either side of the room, iron cages of various sizes were neatly arranged, each containing different forms of Xenos: Harpies with their wings pinned, lizardmen tightly bound, frightened goblins, and many more. The sounds of moans and gentle screams filled the air, creating a chilling atmosphere.
In the center of the room, a young man with black hair and red eyes lounged on one of the iron cages. He was Dix Perdix, a descendant of Daedalus. Over the years, he had collected Xenos to sell at high prices to fund the completion of his artificial dungeon, Knossos. It wasn't that he was obsessed with accomplishing this impossible task; rather, it was a curse left by his ancestor, Daedalus, who had become enamored with creating an artificial dungeon after witnessing the wonders of dungeons.
Dix despised Daedalus for restricting his freedom; he felt as though his soul was being torn apart at the thought of not fulfilling the curse's demands, driving him nearly insane. He discovered that venting his frustrations through violence against the Xenos provided him with temporary relief from the pain, which is why he engaged in various tortures upon them.
"Dix... it's bad...." A adventurer who had previously seen the Xenos taken by Asuna returned to report what had happened to Dix.
"Oh... Vermilion Familia? It seems an interesting hunt has appeared," Dix replied, not angrily but with a bloodthirsty smile upon hearing the news.
"I hope they can entertain me." He said, full of anticipation for their encounter.
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