Chapter 43 – Floor 3 – Endless Slaughter

Just as 21 was about to address the party further, he waved Eros's staff. Everyone's faces went blank.

"What did you just do?" Ziphe yelled. At this point, he had enough of 21. This apparent attempt at brainwashing was not apart of the plan. He was exhausted, along with the other elites of the party, and he was willing to silence the prophet at this juncture.

"Don't worry, I just temporarily put everyone below the Deity Realm into a brief illusion of me explaining the next floor's contents. That is, everyone apart from him." 21 stared with a devious smile at Clico.

"What's the meaning of this?" Tyermsy roared, her face as pale as a sheet.

Surprisingly enough, Vladimir watched quietly from the side with intrigue.

"Unlike the others who will face the normal trials of Floor 3, I prepared something slightly more special for you two." 21 continued to point at Ziphe and Clico.

"Along with the normal trial, I'm sending you on a little bit of a side quest. Enjoy." 21 smiled, and the ship disappeared as he waved his new staff once again.

***

Floor 19.

Ziphe and Clico appeared side by side along with a portion of the sub party on Floor 19. They appeared to be in a rocky canyon. Overlooking the canyon was Lavilin himself.

"What the?" Ziphe looked around, and it accurately depicted the future scenes described in 21's prophetic book. Clico didn't know where they were, but Ziphe instantly recalled this scene in his prophetic book. Hordes of monsters surrounded a remnant of Ziphe's sub-party, which was now joined by Superior Councilman Naxa's Sub-Party.

"Where are we?" Clico asked Ziphe. 21 was nowhere to be seen, and it was clear that the party had been split up by the low numbers present.

"Floor 19. That prophet… Taking a B Ranked God into an illusion. This should be impossible." Ziphe shook his head in disbelief.

"When he fought the Administrator, I assumed he was this powerful. Perhaps his aura from the fight had one last attack left before it ran out?" Clico suggested.

"That should be impossible, but I wouldn't put it past him." Ziphe clicked his teeth.

Meanwhile, Lavilin laughed as the horde of beasts advanced.

"After all this time, you're still this weak, Clico?" Lavilin gloated. Laughing, Lavilin displayed his aura magnificently, miraculously appearing to be at the C Rank Deity Realm.

"This is just an illusion; don't let him provoke you. This isn't real." Ziphe whispered to Clico, who was staring at Lavilin angrily.

Nearby, Wandering Sage Mite had a look of concern on his face.

"This isn't right." He muttered, staring at Ziphe and Clico standing next to each other.

"This isn't right! This isn't right! This isn't right!" Mite yelled, clutching his hands behind his head.

"Are you okay?" Clico asked, rushing over to Mite. Ziphe stood in the shadows, watching the situation carefully.

"Aha! I spy with my little eye, one B Ranked God. I can't fight him." Lavilin cupped his hands over his eyes like binoculars.

"Hmm, looks like I should just leave. I'll catch you next time, Clico. Meet me on the 29th Floor. Next time, come prepared and alone." Lavilin winked and disappeared from where he stood and into the shadows with a crimson poof.

Wandering Sage Mite fell to his knees.

"No, no, no! Now Lavilin won't meet them." Mite had tears running down his face. Clico was speechless, watching Mite. Ziphe walked over to Mite, offering his hand to pull him up. Mite slapped it away.

"Why are you here? The whole plan is ruined. Lavilin will discover the secret of the dungeon now instead of Clico." Mite yelled in anger.

"Secret of the Dungeon?" Clico thought inwardly.

Nearby, Stowaway Moti was confused. Wasn't Lavilin leaving a good thing so they could focus on the Royalty Realm monsters surrounding them?

Mo and Do rushed to the scene.

"Where's The Demon?" They demanded.

"Gone." Mite whispered.

"Impossible!" Mo screamed.

"What's going on?" Clico looked around at everyone present. The Arch Priest of Chaos, Evelynn, stood next to one of the masked numbers. Neither of them spoke. Omira was bloodied and bruised already.

"In this scenario, where Ziphe is here instead of with the rest of the party, how many casualties are there?" Do asked Mite with a quivering voice.

"Over a dozen…" Mite's voice trailed off. Do slammed his fist into a nearby beast in anger.

"Ziphe! Explain yourself! How are you here?" Mo demanded.

"Hmm, we've been placed into an imaginary and unfavorable timeline, it appears." Ziphe contemplated. Ziphe turned to Wandering Sage Mite.

"Any predictions? 21 did this." Ziphe explained. As Mo screamed at Ziphe in the background, Mite's face turned from despair into relief, but he still responded in a whisper.

"Then this is likely not real. Take the easy way out; I recommend it." Mite said expressionlessly, pointing his finger against his temple like a gun.

"Don't-" Clico yelled, but it was too late. Mite shot a blast of aura right through his brain, just like the criminal had done in the Voidlands during the Selection. Clico clutched the dead Mite.

"An unforgiving timeline, indeed." Ziphe sighed and casually swept the surrounding beasts away with his mysterious skills. Instantly, the threat was gone.

"It's not real. Follow me." Ziphe said with a blank expression to the weeping apprentice. Clico got a hold of himself and silently followed moments later. Even if it wasn't real, Mite's dead body haunted him. The others in the area also followed Ziphe; he was their only hope of getting through the beast army anyways.

At the base of a large mountain, the survivors finally met up. There were less than 20 people left alive from the total 51 members of the first two sub-parties.

21 was dead.

Councilman Ryke was dead.

White, Goln, Vladimir, Trike, Anaxmai, Duchess, Zacchaeus, and countless others from the second sub-party were no where to be seen.

"This expedition is over." Superior Councilman Naxa silently lamented as Ziphe stared blankly into the horizon. They couldn't clear Hell with this many dead before the 20th Floor.

"Just one mistake was enough." Mo cried out from the silent crowd. Just Ziphe being in the wrong place at the wrong time was enough for over a dozen people to die on one Floor.

Do looked for 21, but he was nowhere to be seen amongst the survivors.

"Why did 21 show us this?" Clico asked Ziphe in sadness.

"He wants us to obey his commandments. That is why he's punishing us." Ziphe said with a blank stare.

Ziphe was describing 21 like an unforgiving Authority rather than the skilled yet misguided prophet Clico knew.

"It's all over, isn't it." The Arch Priest of Order, Joseph, spoke up from the crowd. He was perhaps the strongest God in the party, only rivaled by Tyermsy or Ziphe.

Councilman Ozzy, Councilwoman Kat, and the Arch Priest of Chaos came to Joseph's sides.

"Prepare yourself Ziphe. You couldn't keep your promise to Oceanus. Lavilin has entered the 21st Floor before us." All four roared up their auras. Two of them were high tiered Deities, and even Ziphe would struggle in the battle without backup. Different survivors took different sides, and a battle ensued at the base of the mountain. Clashing with extravagant power, aura swept over the rocky surroundings.

And just like that, the two sub-parties fell to the 19th Floor, leaving zero survivors.

***

Floor Three.

It felt like hours, but in reality, it was actually mere seconds.

"Damn you 21; why did you show me that?" Clico tried to attack 21, but Tyermsy stopped him. Neither Clico nor Ziphe had moved from their spots, but they went into a trance for a few seconds. Vladimir couldn't help but snicker to himself, watching this strange incident unfold. It seemed rather unprofessional to him, but since it was amusing, the High Priest just enjoyed the show.

"I'm more interested in how you just did that. Truly impressive for someone who relies on consumable items." Ziphe inquired, knowing 21's weak foundations. 21 was volatile and weak in Ziphe's eyes, but his horde of wealth was unrivaled and given to him by Wizard King Xie himself. In combat, 21 could pull out just about anything from his ten storage rings on each finger. It was like a magician pulling something new out of a hat anytime he went anywhere.

"Eros, the Administrator of this Floor, offered me lots of compensation for winning a duel with him. Using his staff to dictate the illusions along with him helping from the outside with his Administrative Privilege allows me to drag you into as many illusions as I desire for 30 minutes." 21 explained.

"How did you entice an Administrator of that strength into such an unfavorable Soul Contract?" Tyermsy exclaimed, pulling Clico back next to Ziphe and herself.

"I offered a nice prize, worth much more than just a few illusions and his Artifact."

"And what would that be?" High Priest Vladimir finally spoke up. 21 smiled at the Priest, glad he asked the question.

"I offered my most valuable Artifact, one taken from the Vault of Ryko itself." 21 bragged. Ziphe stared at 21 suspiciously. He was well aware of the dangerous and experimental Artifacts that could be hidden in Cipher's old vault, only for the use of the present Wizard King.

"Don't worry about it beyond that." 21 shrugged it off. Vladimir frowned.

"Until you truly understand what's at stake with your own four eyes, I will continue to send you into illusions." 21 glared into Ziphe's eyes maliciously.

"And what if we stop you right now?" Tyermsy threatened.

"Then your mission from Cipher will fail. If you kill or detain me, the party will crumble." 21 countered.

"Just one lone prophet is not enough to take down a well-established party like this one." Tyermsy scoffed at the arrogant 21.

"I'm afraid this one man is enough." Ziphe sighed. Tyermsy frowned. Trying to keep a level head, the Grand Councilman moved everything bothering him to another place in his mind.

21 was preparing him for the fateful days when the party would lose many of its members. Ziphe was prepared for these outcomes but experiencing a bad ending firsthand was unnerving. Knowing that the endless slaughter ahead was actually apart of the plan made Ziphe want to throw up.

These weren't just pawns to be used and sacrificed; they were people.

"The Grand Councilman is right, Queen of the Gatekeepers. It's time these two experience a sliver of what it's like to face the futility of conquering this dungeon without me!" 21 bragged with a perked-up lip.

"Now, experience the end of the Party, once again!" 21 laughed like a villain and waved his new staff once again.