The Author's POV

"Lead us toward the exit."

Ryan issued the command to the demons, his voice calm and collected despite the chaos that surrounded them.

It was an unusual situation, to say the least. The demons, previously doing everything in their power to resist him, were moving in unison as they followed his orders to the word. They were no different than puppets at the moment.

Bang—!

The muffled sound of explosions rang in the distance as screams echoed everywhere.

In the midst of the madness that had overtaken the underground system, it seemed that no one was paying them any attention.

This was good…

'Everything is moving smoothly.'

Their current situation was rather delicate, and just one single mistake would cost them their lives. Having exhausted all of his means, Ryan could only hope that everything flowed smoothly.

'Yeah… it's going to work… I should have already accounted for everything.'

As they moved forward, Ryan found himself growing increasingly confident in his plan.

He had expected the demons to be suspicious of their group, but it seemed that his strategy was working even better than he had hoped.

Emma's presence was proving to be an unexpected boon.

The demons seemed to be more focused on the chaos around them than on the group of humans that were following them.

It wasn't long before they found themselves moving through a labyrinth of tunnels.

Ryan couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the sheer scale of the underground system.

He had always known that it was vast, but seeing it firsthand was a different experience altogether.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

"Over here!"

"Move!"

As they moved through the tunnels, they saw demons rushing past them, heading toward the areas that they had previously been in. But the demons paid them little attention; their gaze was focused solely on the task at hand.

'It seems like the prisoners are making things difficult for them... good.'

The group continued on for what felt like hours.

Ryan had lost track of time, and he wasn't sure how much longer they could keep up the pace. But then, in the distance, he saw a faint glimmer of light.

His heart skipped a beat as he realized that they were nearing their destination.

As they approached the opening, the demons in front of them came to a sudden stop. Ryan hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. But then he understood. The area ahead was where he needed to go.

He turned to the demons and spoke softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"The exit is over there, isn't it?"

The demons didn't reply, but their nodding heads confirmed what he had suspected.

had made it. When he turned his

might never know if there are

Emma and Leopold were

necessarily be the exit, so it's

Click! Click!

and Emma felt their mana return, and Ryan returned their weapons to them. At the same time,

to face the glimmering light in

from being the strongest in their surroundings. They still had

"Let's go."

of the two demons that had brought them here, the demons disappeared into dust, and

light, and the closer they got to the opening, the more nervous Ryan

be fine... I've

feel his own heart beat out of his chest at the moment, and soon, they

"What the…"

the opening, everyone was shocked by what they

a high ceiling that seemed to stretch up into the darkness. The

been intricately set up in the center of the room. It was massive, stretching for

vividly see the mana in their bodies get sucked dry out

thing was gruesome,

'Sh..shit..'

chill run down his spine, as if he had stumbled upon something that he was

step back, his

shock as they looked upon the scene. They had to cover their mouths

realized that they had

planning, they were instantly detected by the numerous demons that lurked in the shadows. Countless pairs of glowing eyes stared up at them,

"Shit."

breath as his body tensed up with a sudden

vain. All the tools they

"So be it."

drawing her sword

"Emma!?"

for her, but it was already too

Swoosh!

dim light, and Ryan watched as she jumped down and

BOOM—!

"Arkgh!"

"Argh.. catch her!"

the demons fell to her blade, but it wasn't long before she was

Spurt—!

might as well do as much damage

beneath as she continued

needed to help her, but he also knew that he wasn't strong enough. He watched in horror as several powerful demons approached her, realizing that she was

need to

in his chest as he watched Emma struggle against the demons. She fought valiantly, but it was

eventually crashed against the wall beneath

BANG—!

"Ugh!"

nervousness and rummaged through his dimensional space for

"I... I..."

"That's enough."

a hand press against his shoulder, and his entire body froze

for the demons below, who stopped in their

guys have caused quite a problem for