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"Hey Guild Master, just how much longer are we going to do this?" Baya exhales, her voice tinged with frustration as she kicks a monstrous creature across the cave. 'I should've brought a cook, dammit, I hate this place. The stupid restrictions don't even let me use my attribute properly,' she thinks, slapping her face with her hand, the sound echoing through the cavern like a crack of thunder.

Looking around the dimly lit cave, Baya rolls her eyes, her annoyance growing. "Itto! Control your lightning, it's annoying having to walk through it every five seconds." She grumbles, lifting her finger to touch a strand of the crackling energy. The instant she makes contact, a chain reaction of miniature explosions ripples through the cave, the lightning around her detonating in a brilliant display of sparks and fire. The air sizzles with energy, the cave walls trembling from the force.

"What the hell are you doing to my lightning?" Itto snaps, pushing his disheveled hair back, his voice low and dangerous. "Wanna fight, you pile of bombs?" He glares down at her, the very earth around him reacting to his invisible lightning, chunks of stone popping and crumbling under the intense, unseen pressure.

Baya's green eyes widen as she looks up at him, her face cold and unyielding. "Oi, wanna die?" she murmurs, her voice icy as she slowly lifts her index finger, gently touching his chin. "Your handsome face won't save you," she whispers, her tone laced with menace, her finger brushing against his skin with the promise of something far more dangerous.

"Oh~ Ho~" Itto smirks, his expression mirroring her coldness. "The second you do it, it'll count as self-defense," he taunts, his hand clenching around his sword, electricity crackling in the air around him. 'Do it,' he thinks, his smirk widening. 'It's about time you got taught a lesson.'

With her cold demeanor still in place, Baya's lips curl into a smirk. "Boo-"

BOOM!

A condensed explosion erupts from her fingertip, shooting directly into Itto's chin. The fire from the blast slowly fades, revealing his twitching, angry face, a thick layer of lightning coating his skin where the impact was made. "Now you've done it, you fucking woman!" Itto snarls, clenching his sword tighter. "You bitch, I'm going to kill you today!"

Baya doesn't wait for him to finish his threat. "Yula! Help me!" she cries out, her voice suddenly shifting to an innocent, high-pitched wail. "H-He's going to kill me!" She takes off running, her previous bravado replaced with an exaggerated display of fear.

"You fucking bitch!" Itto roars, chasing after her, his sword sparking with deadly intent. 'This is the last time I let her get away with—'

"Stop."

The familiar, ice-cold tone freezes both of them in their tracks. They turn slowly, their eyes meeting Yula's piercing gaze. She stands there, an unmovable figure of authority, her white cloak and pants standing out starkly against the dark, cavernous backdrop. Her white hair practically glows in the dim light, giving her an ethereal appearance.

"Y-Yula, help me! H-He's trying to kill me!" Baya pleads, running to hide behind Yula, her professional acting on full display as she grins mischievously from behind Yula's back, sticking her tongue out at Itto.

"Miss Yula, that woman tried to kill me!" Itto sighs, scratching the back of his head. 'Did she know Yula was nearby? Tsk, I thought I could finally give her a beating.'

"Itto," Yula murmurs coldly, lifting her hand. Baya's smirk widens behind her protector, sure that Itto's about to get what he deserves. But instead of freezing him as Baya expects, Yula reaches behind her and grabs Baya's ear, yanking it hard enough to make her stumble and fall.

"You know better than to follow her childish behavior, Itto," Yula scolds, her voice calm yet firm as she turns and drags Baya by the ear. "I'll take care of her, go help out the Guild Master."

"W-w-wait, wait! You're supposed to punish Itto, you—"

"Alright," Itto says, sighing as he prepares to leave. "Stop being so worried, I'm sure the boy will be fine," he adds, patting her shoulder.

"H-Hey, listen to me! M-Miss Yula! You need to—"

"He's a child," Yula grumbles, her tone dismissive. "Well, there's no point in blaming you, even though it's your fault."

"Don't ignore me! Itto, you—"

"Yes, yes," Itto rolls his eyes at Yula's words, knowing better than to argue with her. 'It's not my fault we were split up,' he thinks, taking a step before disappearing into the shadows.

"Are you done being a problem?" Yula asks, lifting Baya higher by her ear.

"Yes," Baya mumbles like a scolded child, "My ear hurts..."

"Too bad," Yula replies with a small smile, continuing to drag her along without a hint of sympathy.

"How did he block that attack...? Ughh, I don't get it! I touched his skin... what the fuck?" Baya groans holding her head in disbelief. 

-

BOOM!

The ground shatters, sending debris flying in all directions. The entire cave quakes as cracks spiderweb across the walls, the force of the explosion rippling through the cavern like a violent storm. "Damn it!" Cora snarls, slamming her fist into the cave wall with such force that it leaves a massive crater, pieces of rock crumbling away from the impact. "There's no end to them! Just how many more do we need to kill before they stop coming?"

The air is thick with dust and the putrid stench of the undead, making every breath a struggle. The relentless onslaught of creatures, their grotesque forms floating out of the darkness, shows no sign of slowing down. 

"It's not as bad as I expected it to be," Bein mutters, adjusting his glasses with one hand while his other taps furiously at his holographic screen. He moves with precision, effortlessly dodging the clawed hands of the monsters that lunge at him. "We're split into four, possibly five groups... Most of the others are together, navigating through some sort of maze. Your elf is alone right now; he says there's not much where he's at. Ryua isn't responding to messages, but she's definitely read them, so she should be fine... I think. As for the boy... I have no clue."

"There's only seven of us," Cora grits out, pulling her greatsword from the ground with a grunt, the blade covered in black ichor. "We've been fighting for over a week already, and these monsters just keep coming. How much longer do you think we can last?" Her voice carries a mix of frustration and exhaustion, but there's a steely determination in her eyes that refuses to waver.

Bein closes his screen and rubs his forehead, the weight of their situation pressing down on him. "We're in a bad position," he admits, his tone grim. "The rate of monsters hasn't slowed at all, and we can't confirm their deaths since the black vines keep dragging their bodies underground when they're near death." He jumps high into the air, scanning the battlefield. The sight that greets him is a sea of rotting, undead creatures, their twisted bodies moving with unnatural speed. 'We've learned their movements, so dodging these weird undead isn't difficult. But the relentless attack rate hasn't changed. If it weren't for these damn restrictions, any one of us could easily clear this dungeon single-handedly.' As he descends, his eyes widen in sudden realization. "Shit!"

"What is it?" Cora demands, her tone sharp as she slices through a monster with a clean, practiced motion. Without missing a beat, she reaches into her pocket and bites into a piece of bread, her mind racing.

"I've just meticulously scoured every inch of the area, scrutinizing every possible nook and cranny, and after a thorough, painstaking observation, I can state with unwavering certainty and a level of precision that leaves no room for doubt—we are, without a shadow of a doubt, utterly and irrevocably, fucked." Rotû's voice rings out as he appears in front of them, his usual cocky demeanor replaced by a rare seriousness. "This place was a trap from the start. It's filled with sleeping gas, a rank 8 spell. With the current restrictions, we can't avoid or resist the effects."

"Shit," Cora growls, slamming her fist against her sword, the force sending vibrations through the ground that momentarily stuns the creatures around them. 

Bein pushes his glasses up, his mind racing as he scans through his supplies, his usually calm demeanor cracking under the pressure. "How much time do we have?" he asks, desperation creeping into his voice.

Rotû lets out a resigned sigh, laying down on the ground with a lazy smile. "We're fucked," he says, his voice tinged with dark humor. "Well, it was nice knowing you guys." He closes his eyes, the smile never leaving his face, as if he's already accepted their fate.