The Tainted Fairy

The terrain of the 59th Floor had changed completely. It was a shock, but as Leo had said, everyone in the Loki Familia had prepared themselves for this. They soon regained their composure.

Only Tsubaki had been kept in the dark. She wanted to ask questions, but never got the chance.

Finn had already begun giving orders, directing everyone to form up again.

Bete Loga and Tiona took the vanguard as before, Ais and Tione held the middle, and Leo and Riveria Ljos Alf brought up the rear. Gareth stayed nearby to protect them, with one supporter assigned to each position. Finn and Tsubaki would adapt as needed. In that formation, they advanced through the dense forest along a passage-like clearing.

They did not encounter a single monster. All they heard were faint sounds that might have been monsters moving about or gnawing on something.

The unnatural scene told them once again that something was very wrong with this floor.

After all, this was the closest the Dungeon came to the front line. On a floor this deep, monsters spawned more often, appeared more frequently, and sensed their surroundings far better than monsters elsewhere. Cannon Dragons could even detect enemies several floors above and snipe them from a tremendous distance. Yet here, on a floor deeper than the 58th Floor where Cannon Dragons appeared, not one monster had shown itself. How could that not be a serious problem?

Even safe floors that spawned no monsters had some wander in from other floors. Here, not a single one had appeared. It was plainly unnatural.

Even Ais, usually the first to sense a monster's presence, detected no danger. Her face stayed tense, unease glimmering in her eyes.

The group pressed on in silence, watching their surroundings as they wove through the forest.