"@#$%$%..."

-Oooooooooooooong!

A light appeared from her palm and enveloped me completely, covering me in a blanket of gold that made me into a lantern.

"Phew. I did my best, but that will not last for more than ten minutes. If you need more time, you must come back… if you can."

Holy power was different from Mana. It was a kind of energy that you borrow from nature against the good deeds you had committed for your fellow mortals.

The higher the number of people who believe in you and support you, the greater the potency of the holy power you possess. And, one of the reasons people who possess holy powers go on to become religious figures was also because of the influence that they can have over the masses.

"Ten minutes should do. Thanks a lot, Lady Jasmin." I thanked her first and looked at Reddy, Captain Lux, and the rest of the people present around us.

Some of them knew about the safe zone, while some of them were just as clueless about the things as this noble lady before us.

I was hoping things would play out as we had planned, but then again, the attachment of a mother to her children was not something you can purchase.

The Naga mother was not going to hand her children to me… at least, not as easily as we needed.

"Then, I'll be back in a bit." Once the safe zone goes down, the Naga would lose its protection and the source of stamina. Without the safe zone, it would not recover the energy and stamina as consistently as it does right now.

The tremendous energy cost of maintaining this fog was not something it could afford with so many of its enemies closing in on her. She needed to change her tactics the moment the barrier went down.

And for that, it would have to conserve as much of her powers as she could for the right time.

"Be… be careful, Aria." As I prepared to jump into the realm of the fog, I heard Reddy's words, her voice full of hesitation as usual.

She did not want me to get hurt, and she did not want to show she cared so much about me too obviously either. And to hide that, she did her best this time as well.

The fight that we had would not matter if I weren't around, so she placed the conflict away for once and was being herself at that moment.

"I will." With a smile and one little nudge at our bond, I reminded her of the string that connected us.

She would feel the nudge of emotions and remember the string… but for now, I focused on the monster with three eyes beyond this dense fog.

-Shrrrr…

"Qwy?"

While I could not feel the strange sensation within this fog or the presence of the ghosts myself, Qwy was flying right beside me, unaffected by the fog, and she could feel the strange sensations of the fog.

"Qwy~."

She was actually loving this experience. The spooky sensations, as well as the way the ghosts were running away from the holy power surrounding me, were something she enjoyed very much.

She even chased after the ghosts just because she wanted to play with them– and these are the same creatures that can defeat even a Rank-4 adventurer, so you can just imagine the terror of the flying eyeball within this mist.

"Qwy~!"

She flew around as we walked closer to the Naga mother, cheerful as ever. However, we could not waste the precious time we had, so I made sure to be as quick as I could.

Using the buffs from the potions and magic of my companions, I made it to where the Naga mother was, or at least, to an appropriate distance away from her.

"Ptsssssss…"

She knew I was there instantly. Well, it was obvious since she had been watching me from the moment I stepped inside the fog.

"You know why I'm here, don't you?"

Lifting her enormous head, she looked at me, her three silver eyes opening at once with her tongue tasting the air around us.

She did not say anything, but I could feel what she wanted to say.

"Yeah… It's fucked up."

All she had wanted was to live with her children peacefully. But she could not even do that simple thing.

"I understand how you feel, but I must do it. With you here, even if you don't do anything, the suffering of people would only increase."

She cannot be here. And she cannot be anywhere else either.

She was tied to this place. And yes, it is unfair, but that's just how it is.

"That's why… I know you don't want to… but, can't you leave the children–."

"Ptssss…!!!"

She was furious. The murderous intent oozing from her almost choked me in that instance.

"Ughh! No! Do… do you want them to die with you t-then?! Get sold out to… to those greedy humans out there?!"

The pressure was insane. Feeling the power of a being I partially helped evolve was a completely new kind of experience… a pleasant one at that.

If only I were strong enough to actually handle this kind of pressure, it would have been more fun.

"Qwy!"

I felt like every muscle inside my body was being pulled right now. And the mother had not even moved from her place.

"You must die! You have to, and you know that! But your children can live! They aren't a product of the dungeon, so they can leave the dungeon as well!!!"

I don't know how I got those words out of my mouth, but my throat was scratched from the inside. It almost seemed like I was going to choke on the blood that'd soon come out.

"I will take them…! You can try fighting those invaders, and if you survive! If you make it to the end, then you can raise them yourself…!"

I don't know how it was happening, but everything I was saying, I know for a fact that it was being conveyed to the mother.

The Naga's individual scale was bigger than mine. It was a being far greater than any I had faced until now… but she was a mother.

"Save them! Save them and save yourself! Mother Naga!"

[Ding!]

[You have selected the [Safe zone] as the Dismantle target.]

"Make the right choice here. Even if it's you, even if you're doing your best right now… it will never be enough! And you know that!"

It'd take her months to hatch these eggs as she was right now. These beings weren't supposed to hatch in this kind of environment in the first place.

She would not live for long here either, and yet the safe zone blessing them was their only hope.

[The [Safe Zone] is being dismantled.]

But even that hope is gone now…

Which means, death was a certainty they… she, could not avoid.

Her end was approaching. But the right choice could save her children here.

Her right choice in this moment could make all the difference she had wanted to make throughout her challenging life in this dangerous dungeon.

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