Isekai Dungeon Architect

"Quick! He ran this way!" Reddy and I were already out of the association and into a small alleyway by the association castle, which was already quite far from where we had originally started.

'This crazy speed…'

Did they use magic to move so quickly as well? From a distance, it just seems like it.

"Haaaa… this is so frustrating." It did not seem like running was Reddy's strong point, even though she was the captain of the guards, who were all physically very fit.

Those guys were all well built with unreal stamina as well, but their captain was most certainly different from them all.

She was tired even though we were only running for a few minutes now, and more than exhaustion, she seemed frustrated that there was something happening with a love rival of hers.

"There they are!" But even though I wanted to make comments on how I can outrun her when it came to stamina, even at my current level in bed, I restrained myself for the time being and finally spotted the target.

They had already cornered Cass and were surrounding him. There was a solemn expression on their faces as if they were doing something grand.

Cass was cornered against what seemed like the association castle's outer pillar, and even though the area we had just passed through was crowded, this place was unusually quiet, as if there was some kind of invisible force blocking this place from the outside.

"You should just come with us. Resistance is futile." One of the hooded individuals announced while Cass just stood there, hugging his magic staff with his dear life.

He was on guard right now, the Mana around him fluctuating badly as if he was going to explode everything around him in that very instance.

But, having already seen what he could do, I don't think that's possible for him right now.

"I'm not going with you people! What do you want!?" Cass screamed loudly enough for Reddy to finally see the whole situation after arriving at the scene.

She saw the hooded figures, she saw their faces, she saw Cass and how the things looked, and then she took a few deep breaths, calming herself with some deep oxygen.

"What is going on here?" Her voice was a little too loud. Even I had the basic manners of keeping things quiet when some thugs were trying to take on a tiny mage boy.

But her voice was loud enough for all six of the hooded figures to look back, and, as soon as they spotted the two of us, many of them widened their eyes.

"Captain Arcage?"

"What is she doing here?"

"What is the captain of the guards doing here?! Shouldn't you have checked things beforehand?!"

They whispered among themselves, trying to understand why Reddy was here.

"Aria! What are you doing here!?" But then Cass called out to me, and as soon as he did, everything changed.

The change in air was strange in itself, but the way their eyes practically changed colors was nothing short of dangerous.

"How does he know her?"

"Who is she…?"

"Could it be that…"

They looked at each other unanimously and then nodded at each other, shifting their focus to me instead of Reddy.

But Reddy did not like that.

"Do you take me for a fool, you dogs?"

-Step.

Redy took one step and moved me behind her, facing the bunch with a look I had never seen on her face ever since I came to this place.

"You may be the loyal guards of a noble, but that does not give you any right to cause any trouble within my city."

Reddy raised her hand, a strange-looking red vial present in those delicate, rough hands.

"If you had the determination of harming someone standing right beside me, you must also have the balls of steel that the nation needs on the frontlines."

Reddy opened the vial, and a strange red smoke oozed out of it immediately.

"...!"

In no time at all, this red smoke took the form of a snake, one so detailed I was shocked to see it materialise right before my eyes.

"Ptssss!"

The snake, made of the red smoke, hissed furiously at the people present there, a gut-wrenching frequency filling the surroundings that almost twisted my insides.

But that wasn't even the worst part.

"I'll make sure to send you where you're truly needed instead of this peaceful city. You don't even have to thank me for recognising your hidden potential."

The snake passed through the air like a hawk diving from the top of the sky, moving so quickly that even my eyes could not react to its speed.

-Tak! Taak! Taaak!

All I saw were red lights clashing into each one of the hooded figures, piercing through their bodies without physically harming them from the outside.

"...!"

"That! That… that damn!"

"...witch!"

One by one, each of the six individuals who seemed strong enough to overpower me three times by themselves fell to the ground, red veins slowly appearing all over their bodies.

At a glance, I could tell they were poisoned. However, even though the six had fallen, the red snake still remained floating above their bodies.

"Why do you even run away from your oh-so-great house, Young master of Khalasi? This is the third time, oh, if we count the time you ran away with your sister, then it would be the fourth time."

Reddy spoke to Cass, or at least that's what it seemed like, but her eyes were somewhere else.

"And you should change your party formations. I have memorised all your scents by now." The snake, following the directions of Reddy's eyes, moved at a lightning speed once again, crashing into a pillar that seemed completely unrelated to the ongoing dispute.

But, just like the sound of bodies falling to the ground, I heard the sound of another body falling from behind that pillar, making me open my eyes wide.

"Holy… shit…"

I didn't realise Reddy could do such cool things… that red snake, especially. What the hell was that?!

"It seems like you have gotten yourself into the right kind of trouble this time, though, young master." Reddy sighed as she closed the vial, storing the remaining red liquid, which had not turned into smoke.

Then, she looked behind me, a smile present on her face.

"So? Happy to see that?"

There was a smirk on her face that was usually present on my face.

She had turned the tables this time… no.

To be more precise, she had just placed me on the kitchen counter, pressed my hands down, and taken a bite of my very soul.

'And believe me, it's much hotter than I make it sound like.'

This… was the real fantasy battle that I had been longing to see ever since falling into that red hell from that white door.