"Was that just now!?"
When that excessively shrill scream rang out through the dungeon and reached everyone's ears, everyone, including Riezel, stopped in their tracks.
"That was Raul's voice!"
Tiona cried out.
"Captain!"
Tione panicked as well.
"Miss Ais!"
Lefiya was at a loss.
Ais furrowed her brow and was just about to rush out when Riezel grabbed her wrist.
"It's coming!"
Holding Ais's hand, Riezel's gaze shot toward a side passage like a blade.
From there, tremors drew closer and closer, growing increasingly violent as they approached.
Before long, several figures burst out of the side passage first.
"Captain!"
Tione's worry turned to joy.
Unfortunately, she had celebrated too soon.
"Run!"
Finn, who was at the very front—an agile Pallum hero renowned throughout Orario and a genuine Lv.6—actually shouted those words at Riezel and the others.
Behind him, Gareth and Bete, who usually feared nothing, were also fleeing in panic. Raul, the supporter, was slung over Bete's back, black smoke rising from his entire body as he gave off a foul smell. He looked barely alive.
Before everyone could recover from this shocking turn of events, it appeared.
Its entire body was yellowish-green.
Its swollen, seemingly tender green skin was covered in multicolored patterns.
Countless short legs made up its lower body, while its upper body rose like a small mountain, as though it had been set atop its long lower half. Flat, thin arms extended from both sides, each ending in four slits that looked somewhat like fingers.
It was a worm.
Or rather, a monster that closely resembled a worm.
The worm-shaped monster, which bobbed up and down as it advanced, stood a full four meters tall and was enormous. It crashed into the ceiling, while its width nearly spanned the entire passage, as though it were