The night was deep, and a solitary moon hung high above Orario. Inside the Pleasure District, the air was thick with hedonism. The Ishtar Familia boasted that for the right price, you could find any woman here—wild Amazons, feral werewolves, rugged dwarves, or even pure elves. It was even rumored that with enough gold, Goddess Ishtar herself might grace a customer.
It was the favorite haunt of male adventurers, gods, and merchants. For those who spent their days risking death in the Dungeon, the Pleasure District was the ultimate pressure valve. Without it, there was no telling what desperate adventurers might do. In a way, Ishtar's contribution to Orario's "stability" was so great that the Guild often turned a blind eye to their minor infractions.
The streets were crowded. Adventurers laughed, clutching scantily-clad women, tossing Valis like rain. Even many gods were among the patrons. Compared to Ishtar's wealth-generating machine, Roy's Soma-wine or Hephaestus's equipment sales were secondary.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Suddenly, a hound tethered outside a house began to bark frantically, its cries piercing the night.
"Shut that mutt up before I kill it!" a scarred adventurer roared, his mood ruined.
"Don't be angry," the woman in his arms purred, trying to soothe him. "That's strange, that dog is usually very quiet."
Someone stepped forward to quiet the animal, but the hound seemed possessed by terror, its eyes wide and rolling. As the crowd's irritation grew, one person followed the dog's gaze upward—and their breath hitched.
A massive shadow had blotted out the stars.
The clouds shifted, allowing the moonlight to illuminate the intruder. A twin-headed dragon, over twenty meters long, loomed over the district. Its shadow stretched across the entire street. Its body was encased in chalk-white scales that shimmered with an iridescent light. Its long necks branched into two heads—one with sapphire eyes and the other with crimson, both devoid of reason.
No high-level adventurer could fail to recognize this nightmare: Amphisbaena, the Monster Rex of the Water Capital.
The sheer majesty and terror of the twin-headed dragon were overwhelming.
"I didn't know you had this kind of entertainment planned," a middle-aged man laughed, pinching a prostitute's cheek. "Impressive."
"Of course..." the woman replied with a practiced smile, though she was internally baffled. She hadn't heard of any such performance.
"Amphisbaena! Heavens, it looks so real," another person jeered.
Laughter erupted throughout the street. The tension broke as the revelers assumed it was some elaborate prop or illusion. After all, a Monster Rex that huge couldn't possibly climb up from the deep floors of the Dungeon. If it were real, the whole city would be under a Red Alert.
ROAR!
The deafening roar of Amphisbaena erupted, soundwaves rippling through the night air like a tidal wave, making everyone's eardrums throb with pain. People within a radius of several kilometers shuddered, their skin crawling with goosebumps.
The laughter died instantly.
The adventurers who had just been mocking the creature as a prop turned deathly pale. Their legs gave out, and they collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
BOOM!
The head with the sapphire eyes unhinged its massive jaw. A torrent of pale blue flames spewed forth, blanketing a wide area and melting rows of buildings instantly. The relentless fire raged, turning the district into a sea of flames within seconds.
The sudden catastrophe drew everyone's gaze. As people watched the two-headed dragon rampaging through the inferno, their expressions turned to masks of pure shock. The members of the Ishtar Familia, in particular, looked as though they had lost their parents—those were their dormitories being incinerated.
But the real problem was the monster itself.
"Hey, hey... are you kidding me? Is that the actual Monster Rex, Amphisbaena?!" Samira, an executive, let out a piercing, hysterical shriek.
The evidence was undeniable. Every scale on the massive dragon shone like diamond, and the murderous hunger for destruction in its four eyes confirmed its identity. The Ishtar Familia had hunted this boss many times; they knew it well.
But it was that very familiarity that fueled their despair.
This was a powerhouse that required Phryne Jamil—a Level 5—to lead over twenty combat-prostitutes in a meticulously planned raid. Even then, it took hours of grueling combat to slay. For it to suddenly appear on the surface was a nightmare they weren't prepared for.
"Quick! Go get that toad Phryne! Tell her to stop playing with whatever man she's killing and get here!" "Request backup from the Guild!" "Notify Goddess Ishtar immediately!"
The Ishtar Familia members scrambled in every direction, their voices lost in a cacophony of panic. The entire Entertainment District had devolved into utter chaos. Most people were fleeing for their lives. No one wanted to be buried alongside a bunch of prostitutes; to the patrons, these women were merely tools for pleasure. One moment they were whispering sweet nothings; the next, they were abandoning the women without a second thought, desperate to find an exit.
The visiting adventurers had no intention of staying to fight either. They knew the power of Amphisbaena better than anyone. Even if it were eventually defeated, the Entertainment District would be nothing but rubble.
"Dammit! That cursed Amphisbaena!" adventurers cursed as they ran, though their eyes betrayed their absolute terror.
Even the gods, who usually loved chaos, weren't laughing now. They looked miserable—they certainly didn't want their "lovely sisters" in the brothels to come to harm.
High atop a building, Hermes watched the carnage. Asfi had used her flying shoes to bring him up there. She stared at the rampaging dragon, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"The Monster Rex from the 25th to 27th floors suddenly appearing on the surface, and in the Entertainment District of all places... how very interesting!" A fanatical, excited grin played on Hermes's face as he pulled his hat down.
Where did this Amphisbaena come from? Why here? These mysteries were like a kitten scratching at Hermes's heart. The fire of divine curiosity was burning bright.
Seeing his reaction, Asfi sighed and massaged her temples. "Lord Hermes, things are already this bad. Please don't add to the trouble."
Hermes chuckled. "How can you call it trouble? I just want to know the truth!"
Asfi rolled her eyes. She didn't believe him for a second.
Hermes fell into a pensive silence. "Dungeon monsters haven't appeared on the surface for over a thousand years. Has Ouranos's prayer finally lost its efficacy?"
"Lord Hermes, what will happen in the end?"
"The Ishtar Familia will eventually deal with it. The real question is: what is the mastermind after?"
"You mean... someone is controlling this?" Asfi's expression shifted.
Hermes smiled. "Of course. And they are deliberately targeting the Ishtar Familia."
Asfi gasped. To bring a Monster Rex from the Water Capital to the surface... what kind of person possessed such terrifying power? Even a god shouldn't be able to do that!
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the chaos...
While Amphisbaena drew everyone's attention, the "mastermind"—Roy—sprinted toward the core mansion of the Ishtar Familia.
The Doll Summoning Card could have summoned Ottarl or even the mutated nine-headed version of the dragon, but neither was suitable. Ottarl was too recognizable, and the mutated version would point the finger directly at him, as only he and Astraea had seen it. A standard Amphisbaena was perfect.
He wasn't looking to wipe out the Ishtar Familia; he just needed a distraction. This was the surface, after all—the Guild would send reinforcements soon. Roy was manipulating the dragon carefully; unlike the Dark Factions, he wasn't looking to cause unnecessary civilian casualties. Using the dragon's heightened senses, he directed the blue flames toward uninhabited areas. The destruction was loud and spectacular, but the goal was to keep people running.
With most of the members outside trying to deal with the threat, the core mansion was nearly empty. Roy moved with impunity. However, he didn't know where Ishtar had hidden the "Daedalus Orb." His cold eyes scanned the mansion; he needed to find someone to interrogate.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Rapid footsteps echoed from a nearby corridor. Roy paused, judging the strength of his targets by their sound. The lighter and more silent the step, the higher the Agility. One Level 4, one Level 3, and... an ordinary person?
"Dammit! Why is Amphisbaena in our territory?!"
Ishtar was so livid she had snapped her smoking pipe in half. Following behind her were her elite captain and entourage: Tammuz and Aisha. As the three rounded a corner, they came face-to-face with the distorted, ghost-like figure in the hallway.
Both parties froze, caught in a tense, silent standoff.
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