About thirty minutes had passed since they used a stalactite trap to defeat the Wind Bat. As they navigated deeper into the dungeon, passing through several forks in the road, Byune suddenly came to a halt.
"What is it, Byune?"
"Nn."
In response to the question from Vihera, who was walking beside her in the vanguard, Byune muttered a single syllable and pointed toward the end of the passage.
Everyone turned their gaze in that direction, and they immediately understood why she had stopped.
"A sword won't work! Use the hammer... Go!"
"On it! Out of the way, Ramuros! My hammer's better for this stone bastard!"
"Shut up! This damn puppet dared to chip my Karsana! I'm going to smash it to pieces!"
"Agh, you're a pain! I'm attacking, so dodge it yourself! If you get hit, it's on you! Get behind it! Uwarghhhhh!"
Rough, shouting voices echoed faintly from ahead.
Under normal circumstances, they would have been out of earshot, but everyone in the group possessed heightened five senses. The voices reached them clearly despite the distance.
"Nn?"
Byune cast a glance toward the others, asking what to do. Her eyes weren't on Rei, but on Vihera, whom she had known the longest. Given Vihera’s extensive experience in the dungeon, it was a natural choice.
"Let's see. Rather than engaging in a pointless fight... wait, they called it a 'stone bastard.' That means it’s undoubtedly a Stone Puppet. It would be a good chance to show one to Rei and Elena."
"But is that wise? Intervening in another party’s battle without warning can lead to complications."
"Kyu!"
Perched on Elena's left shoulder, Iero gave a small cry of agreement.
Vihera considered this for a few seconds as the angry shouts and roars continued to drift down the passage. Then, she shook her head slightly.
"Etiquette dictates a tacit agreement against intervening in another party's battle, but that changes if they request help. We’ll ask them; if they say they don't need reinforcements, we’ll stay out of it. Any objections?"
"...Personally, I am a little worried about the predatory glint in your eyes," Elena remarked.
Though Vihera claimed her intent was to help, her eyes burned with a pure instinct for combat—a deep-seated battle lust. The only reason her companions didn't feel a sense of immediate danger was because Vihera maintained masterful control over those desires.
Brushing off Elena's comment, Vihera lightly clapped her gauntlets together and looked at the group. Seeing no further complaints, she flashed a melting, bewitching smile and kicked off the ground, charging toward the shouts.
She moved with such intensity that fighting spirit seemed to radiate from her alluring form, clad only in her thin raiment, gauntlets, and greaves. She glided through the cave with her unique, fluid footwork until a shadow considerably larger than a Mud Puppet came into view.
The shadow stood a full head taller than Vihera’s 175cm. It was a stone doll easily exceeding two meters in height. Two warriors were currently sandwiching the creature—something too small to be a Golem, yet too large for a typical puppet—slamming their weapons into it from both sides.
From Vihera’s vantage point behind the Stone Puppet, she saw a warrior with a longsword attacking from the rear, while a man in front swung a massive iron hammer the size of a human head.
"Vihera, what's the situation?"
Elena caught up quickly, followed by Rei, Seto, and Byune.
"Well, it looks like that party pushed themselves a bit too hard to reach B6F. Look there."
Vihera pointed her gauntleted right hand toward a lightly armored woman—likely a thief—lying unconscious a short distance away. Beside her, an archer man was frantically nocking arrows and firing them to provide cover.
However...
"It’s no use," Rei muttered.
The arrows were a poor match for a Stone Puppet. They struck the creature’s rough, face-like features, but simply bounced off harmlessly. Had the arrowheads been forged from magic metal or the bow been a magic item, the outcome might have differed. Perhaps a legendary archer could have pierced stone, but this man lacked the necessary skill. He succeeded only in drawing the monster's attention for a fleeting second.
"Rei, could you handle this?" Vihera asked.
"Me?"
"Yes. In this situation, if a 'frail' woman like me calls out, they might get defensive. A man like Rei is better suited to make the offer, even if they look down on you at first."
Rei glanced at Elena and Byune. Both nodded in agreement. Beside them, Seto and Iero let out soft trills of approval—though Iero likely only did so because Seto had.
I’m pretty sure Vihera’s name is more famous in Exil than mine, Rei thought, but seeing the adventurers in genuine peril, he didn't waste time arguing.
"Hey! Do you need a hand?"
"Shut up! Stay out of this, you damn vultures!" the man with the sword shouted back instantly. He lunged forward, but his longsword struck the stone body with a high-pitched clink and bounced back without leaving a mark.
High-pitched? Against stone? Rei wondered, but the hammer-using man’s shout cut through his confusion.
"Ramuros, don't let your temper get us killed! We’re in trouble—please, help—whoa!"
The man dodged a stone fist by a hair's breadth and exhaled a sharp breath of relief.
"Whatever! If you're offering, we'll take it! Please!"
"Don't you dare! I'm going to... smash this thing!" Ramuros roared.
"Give it a rest!" the hammer-user yelled back.
The Stone Puppet shifted its focus to Ramuros, who had just stepped back. The hammer-using man seized the opening to swing his weapon down on the creature’s back. Unlike the sword strike, the heavy impact actually chipped the stone, scattering shards across the cave floor.
"Uwarghhhhh!"
"Don't just charge in! Fall back!"
While the two warriors struggled, the archer man, who had been protecting the fallen thief, approached Rei’s group. Realizing his arrows were useless, he had prioritized coordinating with the newcomers.
He’s much calmer than that swordsman, Rei noted.
"Can I take it you want our assistance?" Rei asked as the man arrived.
"Please. And... forgive Ramuros. His lover was struck by that Stone Puppet the moment we encountered it."
He looked toward the unconscious thief. Understanding why Ramuros was so blinded by rage, Rei gave a small nod.
"We’ll take it down, then. You’ll handle the fallout if that guy complains later, right?"
"Yeah. I had no idea a Stone Puppet could be this strong..."
No, that's not it, Vihera thought privately.
She had fought Stone Puppets on this floor several times before, but this specimen was vastly different. It was significantly larger than the Mud Puppets, and its composition was far denser. Normally, a heavy hammer would have shattered a puppet's limbs; it shouldn't have merely chipped them after so many direct hits.
This is an unexpectedly lucky find. I thought I'd just be watching Rei and Elena fight.
A fire ignited within Vihera, casting a predatory, battle-hungry light into her eyes. A bewitching smile curled her lips.
"Rei, Elena, Byune... Sorry, but I’m claiming this prey for myself. You don't mind, do you?"
"Wait! You can't take that thing alone!" the archer man gasped.
He was momentarily stunned by the sublime, overwhelming allure radiating from Vihera. Unfortuantely for him, he didn't know who she was. While the "Mad Beast" was a name feared by those who knew the underworld, it lacked the widespread international fame of "Crimson" or the "Princess General."
"Oh? Are you suggesting you want to get in my way?"
Vihera turned her gaze toward him, her eyes burning with an intense thirst for battle. The sheer pressure of her stare made the archer man’s heart stop for a beat. He felt a cold spike of absolute mortality.
Finding the man's terrified reaction boring, Vihera snorted and looked at Rei. It wasn't a look asking for permission, but a warning not to interfere.
"...Sigh. Fine. Go ahead. Just make sure you don't hit the two still fighting it."
"Hehe. You really do understand me, Rei. I'll make sure to thank you properly later."
With that, Vihera blurred into motion, closing the distance to the Stone Puppet in an instant.
"Vihera!" Elena shouted after her, but the call went unheeded.
"Damn it! Why won't you break, you piece of junk!"
Ramuros clicked his tongue, refusing to give up as he slammed his longsword into the Stone Puppet's back again and again. Every strike was deflected by the hard stone, failing to leave even a scratch. He couldn't stop; he had watched his lover get crushed by that stone fist and sent flying, and the image wouldn't leave his mind. Deep down, he knew the fault was their own for being careless in a dungeon, but the sight of her broken body had snapped his reason.
As he prepared for another futile swing, a voice glided past his ear.
"Move!"
Something blurred past him. Ramuros, a seasoned warrior, couldn't even track the movement. He stood frozen in shock as the figure moved with a fluid, terrifying grace.
Vihera channeled magic power into her gauntlets, manifesting sharp claws of energy, and shredded the Stone Puppet's side as she glided past. Without slowing down, she headed straight for the cave wall.
"Hey! Watch out!" the hammer-using man yelled.
Vihera didn't slow. She struck the wall and used the recoil to bounce back, launching herself like a spear toward the monster. The Stone Puppet raised a heavy fist to intercept her.
In mid-air, Vihera twisted her body with the grace of a dancer, contorting herself so the stone fist passed through empty air. She caught the passing arm, stopping her momentum for a fraction of a second as she hung from it. Then, she used the Stone Puppet's own massive weight and the force of its swing against it.
With a thunderous crash, the giant puppet was slammed face-first into the dirt.
"...What just happened?" Ramuros stammered.
He and the hammer-using man could only watch in stunned silence. Vihera wasn't finished. She kicked off the ground, vaulting into the air, and channeled magic into her greaves to form blades on her heels. As the Stone Puppet tried to push itself up, she drove her heel into its shoulder, shattering the joint.
What followed was a blur of violence. Using her claws and heels, Vihera unleashed a barrage of strikes so fast they were invisible to the two men. When she finally stepped back, satisfied, the Stone Puppet had lost nearly half its mass. It lay in pieces, incapable of movement.
Vihera looked down at the remains, a radiant, satisfied smile on her face. Ramuros found himself utterly captivated by her beauty, only snapping out of his daze when he heard the archer man calling his name.