While Rei and his party advanced through the hidden passage in the carriage, the ground above had grown considerably quieter than before.
The reason for the silence was plain enough—the Jaya members lying collapsed in front of the building that led to the Underground Facility.
Some were dead. Others had simply fainted.
A handful were still alive, but most had sustained some kind of injury and were in no condition to move.
Their groans echoed faintly through the still surroundings.
"Grrrrru."
Seeing that no one was left trying to attack the Underground Facility, Set landed on the ground and cried out in satisfaction.
Before long, however, its gaze shifted to a spot a short distance away.
There, Jaya soldiers who had only just gathered were watching for an opening in Set's defenses, desperately searching for some way to storm the Underground Facility.
Of course, given that soldiers stronger than themselves had been overwhelmed by Set, they surely understood that forcing their way through would be futile—yet even so.
"Gruh?"
Amidst all this, Set suddenly tilted its head in puzzlement.
It had spotted members of a different faction apart from the Jaya soldiers watching its surroundings.
Acting separately as a group did not necessarily mean they belonged to a different faction... but still, from what Set could see, it half-instinctively understood that these were not the same Jaya members who had been attacking this place until recently.
Moreover, considering that only three people were moving, calling them a group was a bit of a stretch.
Even so, since it had no idea how they would act, Set remained alert so as not to miss any movement from those three.
"...Hey, I swear I just made eye contact with that gryphon for a second. My imagination?"
One of the three dispatched from the Resistance muttered, almost timidly.
But being able to speak at all meant he was the better off of the group.
The other two had completely frozen the moment they met Set's gaze and were unable to move.
Under normal circumstances, merely making eye contact with Set would not have put them in such a state.
But seeing dozens of people collapsed around Set—no, around the building leading to the Underground Facility—it was easy enough to grasp just how powerful it was.
Above all, Set's fur and wings were completely unblemished.
Which meant it had taken no injuries whatsoever in its fight against the Jaya soldiers.
For a gryphon—a High-Rank Monster—such a thing was perhaps to be expected.
After some ten-odd seconds passed, the men besides the one who had managed to speak were somehow able to talk again.
"What do we do? We've figured out what's going on here. Should we head back?"
"...Yeah, good idea. They're definitely short on hands over there, too. If we'd known it was like this, we wouldn't have needed three people."
"That's hindsight. Nobody expected the gryphon to dominate this thoroughly. More importantly, if we're heading back, let's go now."
Such was the conversation among the men, but even as they talked, the situation continued to develop.
The Jaya soldiers who had been watching for an opening to storm the Underground Facility all sprang into action at once.
They understood that soldiers stronger than themselves had been defeated by Set and were lying on the ground. But they also knew that if they did nothing here, they would without a doubt face the organization's sanctions.
If that was the case, it was only natural to pin their hopes on an option where they might possibly survive, rather than facing certain death.
In reality, a fair number of those defeated by Set were still alive.
In other words, they likely judged that their odds of survival were higher if they attacked.
Furthermore, if by some miracle they managed to breach the Underground Facility, the reward from the organization would be enormous.
"Uwooooooooooooooooooh!"
"Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaaah!"
Raising such cries, the Jaya soldiers charged in a desperate attempt to force their way inside.
But of course, Set had no intention of quietly letting them pass.
...Granted, Rei and his party had already breached the inside a considerable time ago.
If so, storming in now was already too late—Set didn't entirely fail to think so. But even so, since this was a job entrusted to it by Rei, it could not simply let the Jaya soldiers pass unimpeded.
"Grrrrrrrrru!"
Along with its battle cry, fifteen Wind Arrows materialized around Set.
Ice Arrows, being made of ice, were harder to distinguish for those on the receiving end. Wind Arrows, however, clearly surpassed them in visibility.
Since they were arrows made of wind, they might be somewhat identifiable while stationary, but once fired, evading them was difficult.
At the very least, there was no way the filler soldiers who had only just gathered here—ones who could by no means be called elites—could do anything about them.
If there was any mercy to be found, it was that Set had fired Wind Arrows rather than Ice Arrows.
Ice Arrows were easier to distinguish than Wind Arrows.
But in terms of mass, they clearly exceeded Wind Arrows.
Given that, when it came to damage upon impact, Ice Arrows surpassed Wind Arrows.
Not that Wind Arrows had low attack power by any means—they could still slash and wound opponents.
In any case, the reason Set did not use Ice Arrows... let alone skills like Power Crush or Poison Claw, which would clearly be overkill against humans—was perhaps because it had seen through the low caliber of the attacking soldiers, or perhaps it was simply a whim.
Regardless, such choices by Set were probably fortunate for the men.
True to their hopes, while many were injured, few suffered fatal wounds.
...That said, few did.
Among the soldiers, there were those whose necks were severed by Wind Arrows, collapsing to the ground amid sprays of blood.
Had they used expensive potions and the like, even such individuals might have been saved... but unfortunately, none of the soldiers present here possessed such things.
If they had been higher-ranking members within the organization, it might have been a different story.
Naturally, those shaken by the sudden outbreak of violence were the members of the Resistance who had come to observe the situation.
"H-hey! A fight just broke out again all of a sudden!? What do we do!? At this rate, aren't we going to get caught up in it too!?"
One of the three managed the clever feat of shouting in a hushed voice, but the other two were in no state to praise him for it.
All they could do in their current situation was hold their breath and watch the flow of battle, making sure not to miss anything.
"Shut up. Right now, we need to see how this fight plays out above all else. Avenero, you go back and report. Even if we're observing the battle here, there's no need for all three of us to stay."
"That's... tch, fine. But you know it's dangerous to stay like this, right? Are you sure?"
"I know it's dangerous. But that gryphon is Rei's Tamed Monster, right? If so, it probably won't lay a hand on us. ...Probably."
The man did not say this with absolute certainty.
That was why he kept repeating the word "probably."
Noticing this, Avenero ultimately said nothing more and left the scene.
To inform them that fighting had broken out again in front of the Underground Facility.
When they had been active as the Resistance, they could never have come to a place like this... right next to the Underground Facility.
The information they had gathered just getting here was already extremely valuable to the Resistance.
...Of course, given that the Underground Facility had been attacked this brazenly, it was unclear how much value that information still held.
Even so, they likely thought it might be useful for something.
After Avenero departed, the remaining two told themselves to calm down and watched the battle—one that could fittingly be called a rout.
Unlike the first battle that had taken place, this was not intense combat... so fortunately, many among the soldiers survived without being killed.
Of course, they had at the very least a bone or two broken, so escaping under their own power was difficult.
Moreover, even if they did manage to flee from this spot, they would without a doubt be sent back to the battlefield.
Knowing this, the injured Jaya soldiers did not carelessly retreat.
There were even some who, despite having no particular injuries, pretended to be wounded and lay down on the ground right there.
"Grrrrrrrrru!"
Set had no desire to kill its opponents needlessly, either.
Those like the ones who had attacked first were one thing, but it understood that the soldiers before it would lose their will to fight after sustaining even a minor injury, so it was holding back to a certain degree.
Using Wind Arrows was likely one such measure.
Even its strikes with its forelegs were significantly restrained for Set.
"Damn it, why is a monster like this here?! Hey, go gather more soldiers! Not the fodder—men who can actually fight!"
The commanding man shouted, but the one who received the order spat inwardly: Don't be ridiculous.
(Doesn't he realize that anyone worth their salt is already gone? For starters, the strongest ones were the ones guarding the Underground Facility! Since that was breached, the people inside were either killed by the intruders... Rei and his party—or knocked out, I don't know which—but they were definitely neutralized.)
No matter how many men with inferior skills he brought, he couldn't imagine they could do anything about Set in their line of sight.
Set prioritized preventing Jaya members from entering the Underground Facility, so it did not stray far from the entrance it was guarding.
With that in mind, some had attempted long-range attacks with bows... but attacks of ice, wind, and Water Balls came flying back, and the bowmen suffered severe injuries, their arms severed.
As a result, there was nothing the Jaya soldiers could do now.
If this were a proper army, withdrawing quietly would have been an option.
But unfortunately, Jaya was a Dark Organization... a gathering of criminals.
As such, things like pride and power struggles were far more intense than in a military. ...Of course, even in military organizations, there were those who would sacrifice subordinates as pawns for the sake of promotion.
In any case, it was unfortunate for everyone present—aside from the Resistance and Set—that the highest-ranking person here happened to have that type of personality.
Misfortunes tended to pile on, and the commanding man had obtained his position by currying favor with his superiors.
At this rate, he too would be used up and discarded.
Having judged this, the man confirmed that everyone around him had their attention focused entirely on Set... and with that, he drew a dagger from his bosom and slashed his superior's throat.
It was not so sharp as to be soundless, but fortunately, no one present was looking toward him or his superior, so no one noticed the movement.
The man hid his superior's corpse in some nearby rubble and shouted.
"Lord Rajarda has been killed by the gryphon's attack! Therefore, I will take command from here on!"
At those words, the soldiers' gazes turned toward the man.
It was naturally unthinkable that someone named Rajarda—who had been issuing one reckless order after another just moments ago—had been killed by Set's attack.
But when it came down to surviving this, it was the unanimous opinion of everyone present that this man should take command.
No one raised any particular objection.
Had Rajarda possessed even a shred of popularity, the soldiers' attitudes might have been different. But Rajarda was the kind of man who flattered those above him and lorded over those below, so he could not possibly have any popularity.
"Everyone, retreat! Retreat! That gryphon is only guarding the Underground Facility! If we don't attack it, there's no problem!"
At those words, as if they had been waiting for exactly that, everyone began to retreat.
The two men from the Resistance naturally watched the scene as well, dumbfounded to see even those who had been lying on the ground just seconds earlier promptly stand up and withdraw.
"What do you call this feeling..."
"Who knows. Anyway, Jaya's retreated, but what do we do? Do we pull out too? Or do we stay here a bit longer and observe?"
"Let's stick around for now. Something else might still happen."
In the end, that was what they decided.