The battle was over in an instant.

The men who had been so full of bravado showed no sign of standing up.

Lying on the ground, all they could do was groan, “Uuuuugh…”

Well, of course, I hadn’t dealt any fatal injuries.

As I mentioned before, there were plenty of things I needed to ask them.

“Eh… Eh!?”

Mary let out a startled cry.

“I-It’s over? Just like that, in an instant?”

“Haha… Yeah, it seems they weren’t as strong as I thought.”

“I-I don’t think that’s the case… When I was kidnapped, I couldn’t see a thing…”

“Is that so?”

Well, Mary was a complete novice when it came to combat. It was no surprise that she couldn’t keep up with their movements.

These guys were probably no stronger than D-rank adventurers.

“…Now then.”

This wasn’t the time for idle chatter. There was something I had to do.

“The Arceus Salvation Party… That’s what you guys called yourselves, right?”

The Arceus Salvation Party.

A radical organization that operated in the shadows within the kingdom. They advocated their own interpretation of 《the kingdom’s governance》 and weren’t above resorting to violence against opposing factions.

They occasionally caused large-scale incidents that made major headlines.

And these guys were part of that Arceus Salvation Party…

It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

I’d heard before that members of the Arceus Salvation Party often wore robes.

“Damn it… You monster…!”

One of the members spat out his words with seething hatred. His eyes burned with fury, but unfortunately, his body was in shambles. He couldn’t even stand, his entire frame trembling uncontrollably.

“Think about it! How the hell did you even get in here…?! This place is designed to be inaccessible to outsiders…!”

“Oh, that? I smashed the entrance open. It was a bit rough, but… let’s call it even.”

“Smashed it open…!? Impossible!”

The man’s eyes widened in shock.

“We prepared multiple layers of defensive magic on that entrance, just in case! No matter how strong you are, it shouldn’t have been easy to break through…!”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you…”

In reality, I had simply broken through it using 《Attack Power Up (Small)》. No other tricks involved.

“…Anyway.”

I pointed the tip of my sword at the members and deliberately lowered my voice.

“We’ve already uncovered your suspicious activities. If you don’t want to suffer any more—start talking.”

“Guh…!”

“What an overwhelming presence…!”

The members turned pale and tried to crawl away, but they were too pathetic to even get on their feet.

“Damn it…! If it’s come to this…!”

One of the members pulled out a pitch-black gemstone from his pocket.

Somehow, it looked eerily similar to the 《Crimson Gem》 I had obtained the other day.

“Hm…?”

I widened my eyes.

A sinister aura emanated from the gemstone. It pulsed with dark energy, as if summoning something—

“…!”

“Arios-sama!!”

Just moments before Mary screamed, I had already noticed it.

From an empty space, a White Wolf suddenly materialized.

“Like hell I’ll let that happen!!”

I instantly dashed forward and struck down the newly summoned White Wolf.

At the same time, I took down the members as well, knocking them unconscious. If I left them alone, they’d surely cause more trouble. I decided it was best to restrain them for now.

Naturally, I also made sure to secure the pitch-black gemstone.

As expected, these guys were responsible for the mass monster outbreak.

And just then—

“Arios-kun! Are you alright!?”

Right on cue, Yuya rushed over. It seemed he had just finished his battle with the White Wolf.

Though he had some injuries here and there, he appeared to be unharmed.

“…Wait, huh? It’s already over?”

“Yes. …Sorry, Yuya-san, but could you call the adventurers over here? We need to restrain these guys—and get some information out of them.”