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.

that they had made it. When he turned his head, he saw that

when going there. We might never

and Leopold were and removed their

not necessarily be the exit, so it's best if

Click! Click!

removing the bands, Leopold and Emma felt their mana return, and Ryan returned their weapons to them. At the same time, he handed them a couple

face the glimmering light in the distance.

that they were far from being the strongest in their surroundings. They still had to

"Let's go."

the cores 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

going to be fine... I've

heart beat out of his chest

"What the…"

everyone was shocked by what

had emerged into a large, cavernous space with a high ceiling that seemed to stretch up into the darkness. The walls were

thing was the rune that had been intricately set up in the center of the room. It was massive, stretching for several meters in every direction, and it glowed with an eerie, pulsating

alliance, and the three of them could vividly see the mana in their bodies get sucked dry out of them, turning them into skinny husks that would soon fall down and be replaced by new members

gruesome, and Ryan's face turned

'Sh..shit..'

as if he had stumbled upon something that

step back, his mind racing with questions

looked upon the scene. They had to cover their mouths in order not to make any sound,

arrived, Ryan and Emma realized that they had underestimated the demons that lay beneath

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

"Shit."

as his body tensed up

been in vain. All the tools they had used to conceal themselves had failed, and now they were caught

"So be it."

said grimly, drawing her sword and jumping down into

"Emma!?"

out for her, but

Swoosh!

she jumped down and began hacking at the runes beneath them, with each blow releasing a burst

BOOM—!

"Arkgh!"

"Argh.. catch her!"

off-guard, a few of the demons fell to her blade, but it wasn't long before she

Spurt—!

anyway, we might as well do

beneath as she continued to

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 no match for

I need to do

Emma struggle against

was easily overpowered and eventually crashed against the

BANG—!

"Ugh!"

of nervousness and rummaged through his dimensional space for anything

"I... I..."

"That's enough."

he felt a hand press against his shoulder,

demons below, who stopped in

quite a problem for