Frostfire Legacy

Chapter 168: Everyone's Safety

As soon as the woman left, Zena apologized to Aster and began to explain. The woman who blasted the door open was called Octavia Nebulae, an active adventurer currently on the 125th floor.

"Joph is someone from her batch but took a different path than her. As such, she swore to put him down by her own hands if he ever returned to the surface."

"..."

Aster recalled Joph calling her name once, mistaking Argus's attack to be hers. From how she manipulated golden lightning—similar to the little puppy—it wasn't weird that he got mistaken, of course.

"She's quite obsessive with things she's curious about, so you should be careful around her, alright?" Zena added with a hint of worry in her voice. "And she's an airhead, so be doubly careful."

With a new problem in mind, Aster left the guild and returned to the dungeon's entrance.

Like Kali, Tina was also already sent to the hospital for further checkups, so he was left alone in the Medical Tent once more.

As soon as he arrived, he quickly paid Tina's healing bill. Kali didn't have any outstanding balance, thankfully, as her injuries weren't severe enough to require immediate emergency healing.

Right as he settled the bill, he sat down on the bed, playing lightly with Argus as he lay down, waiting for good news.

"Cassy, Liz, Lory..."

Only the three of them remained, two of which—Cassy and Lory—were the biggest worries. Every few minutes, Aster would take out his card and check the party list, making sure that they were still alive and kicking.

Although he could see their names in white, and not grayed out, not being able to see their present state made him worry a lot.

"Can't they include detailed state of party members in this damned card...?" Aster mumbled, grumbling to himself.

Time passed, and Aster's nerves were getting stretched taut the longer he waited. The sun had long set, making the dungeon's surroundings dark. Reporters were still around, of course, not leaving their spots. Some were doing live broadcasts, waiting for "something" to happen, and hoping that it was something that could go "viral."

"T-The dungeon is shining again!"

"...!"

Aster quickly rose after hearing someone shout. He rushed out of the tent and stared at the entrance, waiting for whoever would come out. Slowly, a figure appeared, looking tired, but uninjured. The wings behind her ears were pointing down, showing how lethargic she was.

"Lory!" Aster called immediately, rushing to her side. "It's great that you're fine!" He said with a smile.

Now that he was close to her, he could tell the traces of dried blood from her eyes. She must've cried tears of blood, judging from the traces. However, the truth was that she simply overused her ability over the past few days, causing her eyes to get strained and bleed.

Of course, she didn't intend to explain it, as it's related to her biggest secret—that she could control another's mind with her eyes.

She was thrown to the 29th floor all alone, so to survive, she had to use her eyes and control monsters much stronger than she was. She had to proceed carefully, controlling only one monster at a time, and making them "escort" her to the entrance. As such, she took a long time to return.

With regards to the search team sent to the 29th floor, they ended up crossing paths with her and saw her controlling the monsters. As such, she had no choice but to protect her secret.

"I'm fine, Aster." Lory smiled, pushing Aster to the side. "I'm just tired and hungry... Can you treat me to a meal? I miss your cooking..."

She couldn't use her eyes before such a large crowd, and even if there was no crowd, her eyes were too tired to activate her ability further. She would need to rest for a few days, at least, to regain her strength.

"Of course, leave it to me." Aster smiled, feeling relieved. "Now, only Cassy and Liz are left."

*VUOOOM!*

And as if responding to his voice, the portal began to glow once more. Aster and Lory moved away, clearing space for those who were about to appear. A total of 10 figures appeared. A party of 10, most likely from the Black Numbers, and also, two familiar faces.

"STAR!"

As soon as she saw the person standing not far away, an orange head jumped forward, catching Aster into a tight hug—nay, a powerful tackle. "I was worried sick! Thank God you're fine!"

"C-Cassy..." Aster tapped her shoulder. "G-Give..."

Hearing Aster's voice, almost like choking, she realized that she was hugging his neck, strangling him. "S-Sorry! Priodis Sirreo Cura! Minor Heal!" She healed him as an apology, removing the pain from the tackle and getting strangled.

"It's really great that we're able to see each other like this." Liz, who was also with them, smiled as she spoke. "If not for the food and water you shared with us beforehand, we wouldn't have lasted long enough until rescue arrived."

Cassy and Liz were lucky. They were teleported together to the same floor, the 16th floor. Furthermore, the spot they were teleported to was close to a cave, allowing them to hide and wait for rescue.

Whenever monsters approached, Liz would block the cave entrance while Cassy supported her with timely heals. Their enemies, however, retreat when damaged enough, not fighting until death. As such, the two haven't increased in level at all.

After talking for a bit more, the four of them decided to visit Kali and Tina, bypassing the wall of reporters with the help of the Black Numbers members. Thankfully, they were allowed to borrow an ambulance, sending them straight to the hospital where the last two members were.

Just as the door to the room opened, a familiar voice echoed, as a shadow flashed across the room. "Darling~!"

"...!"

Aster, partly expecting such an event, managed to catch her properly, holding her up like a child, and avoiding a tackle-hug. "Ahn~! You're quite bold, doing this in front of everyone~!"

But his palm ended up "puffing" her chest, clamping them tight together.

"Being on the brink of death made me extremely horny too. How about doing me tonight~?" she suggested with a warm, intoxicated gaze.

*THUMP!*

"NYA?!"

"Stop that, you horny vixen. You're a patient, so lie on your bed obediently." Your journey continues on m v|l--NovelBin.net

But her wish was quickly blocked by another cat. "Kali..." Aster whispered, seeing her last. "You must've suffered." He smiled lightly, before patting her head.

"...!"

Kali's tail stretched and puffed as if she felt threatened, but she didn't move Aster's hand away. Her expression remained as stoic as ever, not showing any changes.

"Ah! Unfair! Me too, darling~!"

"Stop making a fuss, you...!"

"Ahaha, it looks like everyone's fine~! I'm so glad!"

"Right. With just one misstep, we could've died, after all."

"..."

Aster took a step back, watching the girls frolicking. He felt happy that he didn't lose anyone this time. However, his smile soon turned into a frown. Their struggles still weren't over.