Belle rose up from the bed and exited the room by herself.

Rey simply sat there and watched as she left in silence, completely speechless even after she shut the door.

A few seconds after, and only one word proceeded from his lips.

"Ater…"

He spoke through gritted teeth, a deep glare manifesting on his face.

The instant Rey uttered those words, blackness swirled about a meter from him, and a handsome young man appeared in his presence.

Ater, in all his glory, fell on his knees as he addressed his Master.

"What did you do to Belle?" He asked in a low, but threatening tone.

"I merely made a few suggestions to her mind. In order to stop her from being more troublesome in the future…"

Rey could understand the sincerity of Ater's words.

Thanks to whatever he did, Belle no longer desired to enact proper revenge on Alicia and Adonis. She also undid her [Grand Charm] on everyone.

In a way, Ater had solved the Belle problem for him.

"In essence… it was for the greater good?"

"Precisely, Mas—!'

~VWUUUUUM!~

Rey's aura instantly filled his room, enveloping everything in an inescapable pressure.

"—ter!"

Ater's body crumbled further to the ground, now prostrating in the most humiliating way possible. His face was planted straight on the floor, and his entire body could not move even if he wanted to.

Such was the greatness of the power that held him down.

"I will only say this once, so listen carefully." Rey's eyes glowed as he coldly stared at Ater.

The Familiar couldn't even look upon him due to his current situation, so he merely shivered under his Master's words.

"Don't ever mess with my classmates again."

A certain emotion—anger mixed with pure authority—coated Rey's statement.

It wasn't a mere suggestion, or an advice.

It was a warning?

"Do you understand?" Rey asked, his gaze still on Ater's pathetic form.

"Y-yes… yes, Master!"

Once Rey heard this, he caused his overwhelming pressure to instantly evaporate.

"Good."

Rey exhaled deeply and plopped to his bed, his head facing the ceiling.

'Maybe I was a bit too hard on him. He only did what he thought was best.'

There was no malevolent intention whatsoever in his actions.

Still…

'Why am I so upset? I don't know…' Rey slightly bit his lip and made another deep exhalation.

He covered his eyes with his hand and shut them, breathing silently until he finally fell asleep.

********

"W-whoa!"

"T-this is…!"

"Amazing! They're amazing!"

The Otherworlders were in awe as four Grand Elementals stood before them.

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

These four Grand Elementals had their respective designs which differed slightly from the ones they recognized.

The Earth Elemental had four arms, with a buffer form than they previously recalled. It also had varying weapons in each hand.

Likewise, the other Elementals had notable differences that made them appear more formidable than ever.

Behind the Grand Elementals was Ralyks, and he had a calm demeanor as he looked at his creation.

"They will be your guards and supporters in the Dungeon."

Grand Elementals could obey orders—both general and specific

—and fill in the blanks from there.

They were by no means sentient. However, they could act on their own based on the instructions they were given by their Summoner.

"Good luck on your Raid." Ralyks told them, and the Otherworlders nodded in full resolve.

"I await news of your victory."

Before they could respond to those words, a portal was opened beneath them, and they all descended to the Eleventh Floor of the Dungeon.

Of course, they all made a perfect landing, and as they did so, the Grand Elementals descended into the Dungeon Floor as well.

In total, there were nine Otherworlders, one Familiar, and four Elementals.

A total of fourteen for the Raid.

"Alright, everyone!" Adonis smiled at his comrades.

He felt a surge of optimism and excitement for the mission for some reason.

"Let's do this!"

********

'With that settled, it's time for the next step.'

Rey stared into the distance as he sent his classmates and a replica of himself into the Dungeon.

'I'm basically at half power, but this should be more than enough for now.'

As he turned back and saw the soldiers that were already gathering behind him, a smile formed on his face.

There were a total of three thousand, five hundred soldiers who were gathered in the Royal Estate.

Added to the seven thousand or so soldiers that were in the Merchant City, they had over ten thousand soldiers to work with.

'Of course, these are just fodder. Most of them don't even have more than one Skill.'

The ones with more than one Skill had pretty useless ones in their arsenal. That was why they were mere soldiers who were responsible for guarding or patrolling the United Human Alliance, rather than helping out in the ensuing war.

None of them could be useful against a single Dragon.

'But, for the purposes of our investigation, they'll work perfectly well.'

Rey approached the group of soldiers, standing right beside Conrad, who was already opposite them.

'Vida will be staying in the Capital and monitoring things while we're away.' Rey thought to himself as he cast a glance at Conrad.

It was clear that the man was nervous.

'The Merchant City plays a very vital role in the economy of the entire Alliance. He's taking a big risk by suddenly raiding the place, guns blazing.'

If Conrad didn't end up with something tangible to show for his actions, the Royal Council could face serious backlash.

They were even facing backlash already; with some people accusing Conrad and Vida of executing the other Council Members so they could remain in power.

'All the deceased's family members and relatives have also been reported missing or dead, so Conrad and Vida can't choose successors.'

All of that merely served to compound the issue and made the two of them seem even more guilty.

'He's probably praying that this mission yields good results so that the people's faith can be restored in the Royal Council.'

Rey smiled to himself as he prepared himself for what was to come.

'Don't worry, Conrad. You'll have your results.'

*

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Thanks for reading!

The day has come, and we're about to head to the Merchant City. Do you have any theories on what could happen?