"Booo."
"Eeeek!" Lefiya shrieked, leaping back. Filvis immediately stepped in front of her, pointing her sword towards the monster and holding her wand close, shielding her companion from the unknown.
"You thought it was a monster—" the voice echoed again. Vines and plants around the creature's head withered and turned to dust, revealing a familiar face and amber eyes.
"But it was me, Rex!" he declared with a grin, pointing at himself with his thumb.
There was a short silence before Lefiya stuttered out, "Mi-Mister Rex?" She blinked in disbelief, eyes scanning his body. "Why do you look like that…?"
She didn't finish her question as she remembered the plant-covered arm he had used earlier to shoot his fireball, and the connection formed in her mind—
'A full-body armor of plants?' She thought. "Is that... your magic?" She asked and he simple nodded.
"Like I was saying," Rex continued, "there is a way to get past the door—well, not past it, but around it."
Still guarding Lefiya without lowering her sword, Filvis coldly asked, "How?"
"We could blast through the wall with magic and using the adjacent passage to circle around the orichalcum door." He glanced at the wall. "Only after clearing the Obsidian Soldier Matter coating the adamantite, of course."
"Obsidian matter…?" Lefiya repeated, her dark blue eyes widening as she stared at the wall surface. '…That's…'
Rex frowned at her reaction. "Don't tell me you didn't know that was obsidian matter?"
Lefiya's shoulders stiffened. "Of co-course I knew," she scoffed, trying to sound indignant.
Filvis gave a tiny smile at the elf's haughty reaction.
"As expected of Nine Hell's student." Rex clapped lightly, but the gesture felt more sarcastic than sincere. "But like I said," He lowered his hands, "we could use magic to blast through the wall."
Lefiya's eyes lit up at the idea, but Filvis spoke first. "Weren't you listening?" she asked, nodding at the wall but never taking her eyes off Rex. "The wall is made of adamantite—a material even a Level 6 like Elgarm would struggle to break through."
She met his calm eyes. "How do you expect two level 3 mage to blast through it?" She was clearly calling him an idiot, albeit politely, but Rex just nodded.
Rex opened his mouth, about to say he could blast through it with Berakh HaKele, but decided against it. 'Let's keep our cards away from this imposter's eyes for now.' He then said, "…I guess you're right."
This caused Lefiya to look down dejectedly. "Then…then what are we supposed to do?" she mumbled to herself. "Try and find them? Try to escape, get word to Lady Riveria and the others? Either way, we're—"
"We'll find a new route," Filvis cut through Lefiya's rant with a nod, her features strained. "We'll need to do our best to avoid combat, and find a new way to reach them."
"Finding a new route, huh…" Rex mumbled, rubbing his jaw. "I wouldn't recommend that." He shook his head as the two elves looked at him, and he explained,
"With just the three of us, trying to find the others isn't smart," Rex explained thoughtfully. "Our main focus should be getting backup. Wandering aimlessly risks getting us even more lost, and that would just mean more people needed later to rescue."
Lefiya opened her mouth to say something but closed it. After a second of silence, she spoke, "Do you think you can… can you…" She struggled for a word, eventually landing on, "…track them?" She said it slowly, as if she didn't want to be offensive.
"You want me to sniff them out like a dog?" Rex bluntly asked, causing Lefiya to cough lightly and look away with a blush. "That would be a bit difficult, but we could try," he said, making the blond elf smile brightly due to the sliver of hope.
"Alright, then we can do that." She nodded vigorously. "You can lead the way."
"But first," Rex said, glancing down at his bulky torso, "I need to re-cast this magic. Give me a second."
With that, he turned and walked back into the alleyway he had hidden in when Revis appeared.
As Rex disappeared down the side path, Lefiya stared at where he had just been. Then, curious about how his transformation magic worked, she tiptoed like a child toward the junction. Filvis followed behind, unsure what her friend was doing.
"No peeking." Rex's voice suddenly rang out, causing them to freeze. "I need to get naked for the magic to work properly."
For a moment, neither of them moved as Rex's words sank in. Then it hit them—they really had been about to peek. And if they hadn't stopped, they would've seen something they could never unsee. Slowly, their faces turned crimson, the color spreading from their cheeks down their necks and all the way to the tips of their long, pointed elven ears.
"I-I wasn't trying to peek!" Lefiya shouted, quickly spinning around with her red face and running back down the hall—right toward the path Revis had vanished into.
She came to a stop near the orichalcum door, catching her breath. As the flush faded from her face, reality pressed in again. Her thoughts returned to her wounded captain—and the fact that they were still alone, cut off in this vast, man-made dungeon.
The air felt colder. The shadows around her stretched longer, thicker, as if waiting to consume her whole. Then came a voice.
"Lefiya." Filvis's voice snapped her out of the spiral. She turned to find her friend standing behind her. "Are you sure we should let that man lead us?" Filvis asked.
Lefiya blinked. "What do you mean, Miss Filvis?" she asked, locking eyes with the older elf—eyes that almost seemed to glow in the dark. 'Does Miss Filvis know something about Mister Rex that I don't?' she wondered.
"He seems odd," Filvis whispered, just quiet enough that Rex wouldn't hear. "He's an outsider, and we know nothing about him." She hesitated, then added, "Besides, don't you think he's a little too calm? Even though he's separated from everyone else? It's... suspicious."
She didn't say it directly, but it was clear—Filvis wanted to leave him behind. At this, Lefiya lowered her gaze to the ground.
"He does seem odd… and too calm," she admitted quietly. "But Goddess Loki and Captain Finn trust him, and I trust them, so I trust him." She lifted her eyes again, meeting Filvis's steady gaze.
"And... we need all the help we can get just moving through here." Her voice cracked slightly. She turned her head to the side, hiding the fear in her eyes—but Filvis noticed it in the way her fingers tightened around her staff.
"Mister Rex has the combat ability of a first-class adventurer like Bete or Ais. We also need his help to track the others. He'll be a huge help to us. If we go without him..." She trailed off, the fear creeping back—especially after what they had seen of the endless swarm of spider-like monsters.
"Lefiya…" Filvis stepped forward. Her hand reached out, hesitated, then curled into a fist before falling to her side.
"You're right," she said with a nod. "But I'll keep my eyes on him."
Lefiya nodded, pushing the fear down. "Me too."
Then, after a pause, she muttered, "He's really a pervert."
She remembered his earlier words about him being naked and how he casually stood beside Ais while talking to her, and Lefiya face scrunched with mild frustration. "I want to knock my staff over his head…" she added under her breath.
Filvis smiled faintly, relieved to see Lefiya calming down—until she realized the shift hadn't come from anything she had done. It was because of him. Because of Rex. Her smile faltered.
'…' A dark thought flashed through her mind.
As for Rex, of course he heard all of it—but he paid it no mind.
Silently, he removed his armor, slipping it piece by piece into his bag with his weapons. He could have left it on for extra protection but it didn't work well with his transformation. The breastplate, in particular, had made his Swampfire form look disproportionate and it restricted his movement, making it feel less fluid, more boxed in.
As he stripped down to his Undine shirt and pants, his thoughts returned to the creature that had injured Finn.
Revis.
The instant she appeared, he had used Scavenger on her. And the moment he confirmed she was a level 7, he abandoned the backline and ran into a side path while forming his Swampfire armor over his body. But he hadn't outright fled.
Scavenger had revealed that Filvis was part of Revis's group. With Lefiya present, Rex doubted Filvis would let Revis wipe out Loki Familia's members. So instead of running blindly, he stayed close—just in case.
Sure, he could've bolted, but with the Vigilance statues everywhere and those damn Oricalchum doors being controlled remotely, he knew Revis would catch him in seconds, even with Jack Bird Dash. His only option was to hold out and wait and only run if things went south.
And just like he suspected, Revis left Lefiya alone after noticing Filvis was with her.
'She probably thought Filvis would kill Lefiya herself, so the redhead went after Ais,' he guessed, already piecing together that 'Aria' was Ais. 'Now… I wonder what Revis will do with me here,' he thought, trailing off. Then sighed internally.
'Filvis… Revis… why do their names sound so similar?' He already knew he was going to mix them up a lot later.
After removing all his armor, the plants shifted across his clothes, fully reforming his Swampfire body. "I've finished transforming." He said as he wore his bag on his back, which looked so odd against his green armor.
A few seconds later, the two elves entered the hallway he was waiting at. Lefiya stared, then her ears flushed red, and she quickly turned her head away as she realized that he was still naked under all that. Filvis caught the reaction and glanced at Rex. Her crimson eyes shimmered with a quiet pressure, and Rex immediately picked up on the shift, but he showed no reaction to it.
"Let's get going."
—✦—✦—✦—
"This isn't working…" Rex mumbled as the trio halted at the edge of a hallway, which split into three paths—one continuing straight, and the others branching left and right.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Lefiya asked from behind him.
"The dungeon is too large, and the walls and rooms aren't letting air flow well," Rex explained, scanning the three paths thoughtfully. "So…"
"You've lost their scent?" Filvis asked from beside the blond elf.
"Nah, it's still there," he glanced back at them. "But it's become unreliable. Following it now would only confuse us more." He paused briefly. "It would be best if we focused on finding an exit instead."
"Huh?" Lefiya blinked at the sudden suggestion.
"I have to agree with him," Filvis said, drawing the elf's attention. "I understand your desire to pursue your fallen comrades, but finding a way out and getting help is our wisest option right now."
Lefiya found herself at a loss for words. She knew Rex and Filvis were right. They had been searching for almost two hours now and weren't any closer to finding their missing teammates.
Worse, following Rex's nose had led them into over ten rooms swarming with Violas and spider-like monsters. Rex insisted on handling the larger groups alone. Feeling guilty, Lefiya decided to deal with any smaller swarms in the passageways with her magic.
In just one hour, Rex had taken down hundreds of monsters—an achievement that left her deeply unsettled. He showed no signs of fatigue, even after relentless combat. Not even the first-class adventurers in Loki Familia could match that kind of stamina. At times, she found herself wondering if he was like those creatures with high-speed regeneration.
However, due to the constant fighting, the scent he was tracking had dimmed and Lefiya now genuinely believed that finding the others might be impossible. Certainly, getting help from Riveria and the others outside was a more practical plan than continuing to wander this maze. The logic was clear, yet Lefiya still found it hard to accept.
'They'll…be all right, surely?' she thought, worried for her teammates. "Alright," she finally nodded.
'Not that your decision mattered,' Rex thought, glancing at his status screen. 'I already got what I came for. No reason to stick around.'
— — — — — — — — — —
Rex Magnus
Level 3
[Strength] SSS1499 | [Endurance] SSS1499 | [Dexterity] SSS1499 | [Agility] SSS1499 | [Magic] SSS1312
[Predator] G
[Luck] I
[Skill]
"Scavenger" — Harvest stats, skills, magic, properties, or treasure from corpses and evaluate quality.
(Skill: Strong Body, Body Furnace, Tremor Sense+, Heptathlos, Jack Bird Dash, Vouivre Rage, Green Dragon Body, Goliath Roar++, Iguazu Dash)
(Magic: Blue Papilio Powder, Fire Breath, Berakh HaKele, Poison Release++, Overgrowth, Siren's Scream, Light Quartz Light)
(Physical Property: Sharp Retractable Claw, Nictitating Membrane++, Green Dragon Teeth+++, Magic Sense [Pending… Have a good night sleep])
(Development Ability: Abnormal Resistance (H))
"Indomitable Will"
— Grants immunity to mind-based attacks, enhances physical and magical growth through trials, enables multitasking and rapid skill mastery, and in dire moments, suppresses pain, boosts mental fortitude, and significantly increases all stats.
"Dragon's Bane"
— Massively increases all abilities when fighting any dragon-type monsters.
— — — — — — — — — —
Apart from his magic stat, every other stat had been maxed out after deliberately leading the two elves through monster-dense areas. His Predator ability had even ranked up to G-rank due to this.
On top of that, he'd gained a new physical property from one of the Violas. Once fully assimilated, it would let him instinctively sense a person's magic capacity, current magic reserves, and even the magic in the air. This was another addition to his sensing arsenal, alongside seismic sense and echolocation. At this rate, he might as well call himself a sensory ninja or something.
'Knossos is really generous,' he thought, feeling giddy. Now all he had to do was max out his magic stat and, 'while I wait for that two-headed dragon to spawn, might as well use the time to practice forging~.' Already planning ahead, he said,
"Let's go." He began leading the way back the way they came, following a path marked by plant matter growing from the walls.
Over their two-hour search, they had traveled three floors from the second floor, now on the fifth. With their speed and the predetermined trail, it would take about thirty minutes to return to the second floor. From there, Rex would pretend to track the scent of the sewer to locate the exit—when in truth, he would just ask Scavenger to find it.
Since they had only been on the fifth floor for a few minutes, they quickly returned to the fourth. There, they encountered a swarm of water spiders in the corridor, but the blond elf didn't give them a chance, and after Concurrent Chanting, she cried;
"ARCS RAY!!" Thrusting her staff forward as a surge of magic burst from its tip.
The tunnel lit up in an instant as a brilliant beam of light surged forward, scorching through the swarm and vaporizing everything in its path. Their magic stones cracked and shattered under the force, the spell continuing for several seconds before fading.
"Huuu..." Lefiya breathed as the group continued on.
The frequent spellcasting was quickly draining her Mind. She considered suggesting a short rest to drink a potion from her duffel bag but decided to hold off until they passed this area.
It was a monstrously large corridor—unbefitting of a dungeon—with perfectly aligned columns stretching toward the ceiling. They'd passed through it earlier when descending, and it had a strange air she didn't like—
Suddenly, Filvis's shoulders jumped.
"Miss Filvis?" Lefiya asked, noticing the reaction.
Rex also stopped, glancing back at the elves before following their line of sight. There, he saw it: a massive drawing on one of the chamber's walls.
"A mural…?" Lefiya murmured.
Indeed, it was. In fact, there were many—some drawn directly onto the red stone, others etched into the cracked, faded rock. All had clearly been taken from ruins outside the city and embedded into the labyrinth walls. They all told the same story: chaos and destruction. Humans fleeing colossal dragons, ominous birds, and terrifying monsters. Panic. Devastation.
Carnage.
"It's a dragon…" Lefiya said quietly. This mural was different. At the center was a massive dragon, surrounded by six young maidens. At first glance, they looked like they were praying—eyes closed, hands clasped.
"Sacrificial maidens, maybe…?" Filvis guessed. "Or saints?
In ancient times, such rituals were rumored—offering young girls to Dungeon-born monsters in hopes of appeasing their rage.
"And that dragon…" Lefiya's eyes locked on the central figure. "It's the One-Eyed Black Dragon?"
"Nah, that's not it," Rex said, stepping forward and pointing to some faded writing beneath the mural. "Nidhogg… that's its name."
The two elves stepped closer, squinting at the strange letters. "What language..." Lefiya began.
"It's written in ancient Norse," Rex explained. "You could call it the 'language of spirits'—kind of like how the gods use hieroglyphs."
He knew a bit of Norse from back on Earth—picked it up once when looking for a hobby. He never really mastered it, eventually losing interest, but he could still recognize the characters. And after a quick consultation with Scavenger, he confirmed the language's existence in this world, and it only took seconds to discover it was tied to the spirits here.
"Nidhogg loosely translates to 'Malice Striker' or 'Hate Biter,'" he said, recalling fragments from his old mythology research. "It's a symbol of chaos, corruption, and decay."
He glanced back at the mural. "And I guess these six maidens were the spirits who defeated it… or maybe sacrificed themselves to seal it."
The two elves listened in silence as Rex studied the faded script beneath the figures. "The spirits' names are Dis, Norn, Landvaettir, Hamingja, Dokkalfar… and…" He leaned in, narrowing his eyes at the final name, its lettering nearly erased by time and erosion. Yet, one word drifted into his mind—
'Aria…?'
Scavenger rated the discovery as high quality.
"Wow!" A funereal voice slithered out from the surrounding gloom.
"?!"
It belonged to none of them, startling the trio as they turned simultaneously toward the source. A god stepped from the shadow of a nearby pillar.
He was tall and lean, with pale, almost grayish skin, and long, smooth purple hair cascading down his back. He wore a tattered black robe, its hem and hood rimmed with deep violet wisps, with dark patterns coiled across his chest. A choker with a pale gem hung tight around his neck.
"Behemoth, Leviathan, the One-Eyed Dragon… the marks of the Three Great Quests," he said, continuing without pause.
Though he bore the elegance typical of the gods, his presence was deeply unsettling. It was as if the shadow itself clung to his form and the air around him reeked of noxious decadence.
"But before those monsters terrorized the land, there was another—a beast that plunged the surface into despair." His smile turned toward Rex, his lidded and distant eyes giving no warmth.
"Nidhogg." His pronunciation was slightly different, but it was clearly the same creature.
"Naturally, it was brought down by those six spirits," he said, his eyes drifting back to the mural. "They performed a ritual that unleashed a powerful magic—one so immense, it claimed the lives of four of the spirits in the process."
"Ah," Rex murmured, eyes moving the mural. "So that's why you're creating demi-spirits."
The god raised a brow. "Oh? And why do you think that?"
Without looking away, Rex replied, "You want to create six demi-spirits capable of recreating that magic." He glanced back at the god. "I assume your goal is to destroy all of Orario and open the Dungeon to the world."
A cold silence fell over the chamber. Then the god burst into laughter, clapping in twisted delight. His laugh echoed through the room, so ominous that Lefiya instinctively edged closer to Rex—something Filvis didn't miss.
"You are bright," the god said between wheezes of laughter, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye with a slender finger. "How did you uncover our entire plan from just a mural and scraps of information?"
He grinned widely. "Even Braver wouldn't have put it together that fast."
"Why?!" Lefiya suddenly shouted, cutting of Rex's Reply. "Why would you want to lay Orario to ruin?! You're a god, aren't you?! Why would you want to wreak havoc across the mortal realm?!"
"Well… I'm Thanatos, the God of Death," he answered, his lips curling into a cruel smile, one that resembled a scythe. "Isn't it only natural for death to desire as many lives as possible?"
A chill ran through their bodies. Even Rex couldn't help but feel creeped out by the god's word paired with his smile. In that single moment, it felt like they hadd brushed against something alien—
Thanatos's madness.
A place with no reason, no pretext, no emotion or principle. And somehow, within that void, there was a faint echo of divine providence.
As the silence thickened, Thanatos threw his hands up with a laugh. "I kid! I kid!" He said, "l Honestly, back in Heaven, I was as diligent as they come," he chuckled, walking slowly around them.
"Workaholic, actually… I gave those old, worn-out souls a fresh start. Brand-new outlook on life. Pure as newborn babes when they left me. It was fun, honestly," he said, glancing up at the ceiling with a nostalgic look.
There was something distant in his expression—traces of memory, and something unsettlingly close to ecstasy. Then he sighed, and just like that, the atmosphere shifted.
"But it's different now." He mumbled. "Orario changed things. It sealed the monsters—and the Dungeon itself. The lower world's overflowing with life, now that the Falna's been handed out so thoughtlessly. But life and death are two sides of the same coin. Without as much souls ascending, the cycle stops. So..."
He raised his index finger and thumb, pointing it at them like a finger gun, with one eyes closed. "Would it really be so bad if a few more children died?"
A jolt of horror shot through them. This wasn't the madness of an evil god bent on destruction, nor was it the twisted glee of someone committing crimes for joy. This was conviction. A warped sense of duty.
Thanatos believed it. Believed death was necessary. That it was just. That he was doing what must be done.
"I'm diligent. I'm fair. I just do my job," he said. And somehow, there was no lie in those words.
Good and evil meant nothing to him.
"…All those Evils down in the twenty-fourth-floor pantry?" Filvis's voice was quiet, trembling with realization. "The ones who sacrificed themselves—blew themselves up…?"
Lefiya gasped. "You promised them passage to the next life…?"
"That I did," Thanatos nodded. "One by one, I forged their contracts. One by one, they offered themselves to my will. And once Orario is destroyed… once I return to Heaven… I'll restore their lives. Theirs, and those of anyone they lost to death."
To those crushed by grief—those who had lost someone irreplaceable—it was the offer of a lifetime. Thanatos knew it. With sweet words and promises of reunion, he reeled them in. A second chance. A new beginning.
Easy pickings.
That was the true identity of Thanatos's army of the dead—ordinary people, broken by loss, who had struck a contract with the god of death in hopes of seeing their loved ones again in the next life. For the members of Thanatos Familia, death wasn't the end. It was a doorway.
That was why they sacrificed themselves so easily. That was how Evilus had mobilized so quickly, even after their defeat. The world was full of death—and Thanatos was their recruiter.
His followers were puppets, sacrificing themselves willingly for a second chance.
"How…" Lefiya mumbled as she stepped forward. "How could you do such a thing?!" Her eyes widened, trembling with anger as tears welled in the corners. "You think you can just do whatever you want with human lives?! These are our lives! Even if your followers are reincarnated, they won't even remember who they were!"
"And that's exactly what I tell them," Thanatos replied without hesitation. "Along with all the other rules. Yet none of them seem to care. Every single one tells me that the chance to see someone precious again outweighs losing their memories."
He shrugged. "It's their choice. I don't force them. Some even believe they'll be the exception—that their love is strong enough to carry over. That they'll remember."
"You can't just shrug off responsibility!" Lefiya snapped. "You're manipulating them!"
Thanatos frowned, the humor draining from his expression. Slowly, he turned to Rex with a measured look. "You seem like an open-minded individual," he said. "Tell me—do you believe I'm manipulating my followers?"
Rex stayed silent for a long moment, his eyes fixed on Thanatos as Lefiya stared at him for his responds.
"At the end of the day…" He finally spoke with a calm voice. "it's a simple work contract. You tell them the rules and caveats for the contract and they accept it willingly. I see nothing wrong with it, honestly."
Thanatos smiled, clearly pleased with the response. Lefiya expression, however, twisted in disbelief. Her lips parted, but no words came—only shock at how casually he had reduced it all to a transaction. Her hands trembled at her sides, caught between fury and confusion.
"So then," the god asked, extending an arm with casual grace, "what would you say about joining me?"
"If it were a month ago, I might've said yes." he said with a nonchalant shrug. "But now, I've found joy in life. So I'll have to decline."
Thanatos tilted his head slightly, his smile never fading. He gave a small, thoughtful nod, as if amused by the honesty of the response. He opened his mouth to speak—
But a voice rang through the chamber out before he could.
"Lord Thanatos!"
The trio turned as more than twenty black-robed followers poured into the room, footsteps echoing across the stone. More than eighty percent were level 1, with the others level 2s, and a single level 3.
"Are you unharmed?!" The level 3 asked, panic notable in her voice.
Thanatos gave a lazy wave, his smile unbothered. "I'm fine, truly."
The cultists didn't relax. Instead, they fanned out with practiced formation, surrounding the trio with blades and magic sword drawn. Lefiya raised her staff for battle while Filvis slid into position slightly in front of her, sword already unsheathed.
But before the fight could break out, Rex lazily raised his left arm in front of him while speaking, "I, Rex Magnus Lapis, command you," he said, voice low but absolute.
Every black-robed follower froze in place, horror creeping into their expressions as his arm extended lazily.
"You should go to sleep." He slashed his raised arm to the side with finality. "Now."
There was no pause. No hesitation. No defiance.
Each follower dropped their weapons and sank to the floor in whatever awkward position their bodies gave out—some curled up, some sprawled, all of them snoring within seconds.
"...Eh?" x3.
[Author's Note: Nya~! ≽^-⩊-^≼
Was supposed to post this chapter yesterday but didn't because I ended up doing way more editing than I thought. And by "editing," I mean cutting down over 8000 words to about 4500. That's right—this chapter was originally supposed to be two, but I had to condense it. It just felt like it'd be extra EXTRA slow if it was two whole chapters just to reach the conclusion at the end of this one.
That's why this chapter is extra long. I think this is the single longest chapter I've ever written, clocking in at 4,556 words without author's note—surpassing anything I've posted before. I would've split it in two, but the pacing would've felt weird and choppy if I did. So I apologize if reading such a long chapter was a bit tedious.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. My last final is today, and summer recess is right around the corner, so I'll be returning to ~daily chapter posts soon! Probably every other day at the very least, since I'll be working during the summer.
Filvis seems to be growing more hostile toward Rex because of Lefiya. Ais—who was referred to as "Aria"—turns out to be one of the spirits involved in sealing Nidhogg. Evilus is planning to destroy the city. Rex put a few adventurers to sleep. What's going to happen in the next chapter? Will we finally see the Power Bull Demi-Spirits? How will it be dealt with? Will Rex scavenge it?
Find out next time in Danmachi: SCAVENGER! (*￣▽￣*)ブ]