After a while piers lifted the first two items..
"This bangle… it auto-deploys a shield the instant the wearer drops their guard.
And these rings… they cancel out pain."
He stared at the items, face unreadable. But inside—
There's really only one person who needs both of these.
His eyes flicked to Liel.
She blinked up at him, wide and innocent, completely unaware of his thoughts.
These aren't weapons.
They're survival tools.
Shield, pain-cancel… panic-proof.
Exactly what she needs.
He frowned, trying to harden his reasoning.
Well It's not because she's always the first to flinch. or she still looks like she might bolt at the first scare.
Nope. Definitely not that. She just… killed the most goblins. That's all.
Still, his gaze lingered a beat too long on her.
Yeah… not rewards. Safety nets. And she needs them more than anyone.
Then, inevitably, his eyes slid to Luci.
…And there it is. The incoming storm.
…Of course, she's going to be pissed. Really pissed.
He sighed inwardly.
And I don't have the energy to deal with "mad Luci" right now.
Fine. I'll just say it's because Liel killed the most goblins. She can't argue with that… right?
Finally, his gaze settled on the black blade glinting in the chest.
Sleek.
Dangerous. Forged from dragon-bone itself.
At least this one's easy.
Mutou's sword is one bad swing away from snapping. This goes to him. No debate.
Piers straightened and clapped once.
"Alright, listen up. I'm splitting these fairly. Accept your share, and we're heading home."
The crew nodded in unison.
"Step forward, Liel."
She stepped timidly into the glow, emerald eyes wide and uncertain.
"These are for you," Piers said, holding out the two sleek black rings and the golden bangle.
"Wear them."
"Can I really… take these, Piers-sama?" she whispered, clutching her hands to her chest.
"Yup. You earned them. You killed more goblins than anyone else."
Behind him, Luci's eye twitched. Tsk.
A bead of sweat formed at Piers's temple.
Yep. Called it.
"Thank you, Piers-sama!"
liel beamed, sliding the rings onto her fingers and clasping the bangle to her wrist. Her smile radiated like sunlight—too bright, too innocent.
"Wow, they really suit you, Liel!" Gyuunyuu zipped in dizzy loops around her, sparkling with delight.
"Really?" Liel asked, cheeks pink, hands brushing over the rings. She smiled shyly.
Piers turned, holding out the dark, dragon-bone blade.
"Mutou. This one's yours."
Mutou's flame flickered faintly.
"May I truly accept this, Young Master? I did not earn it."
"You did," Piers replied flatly.
"You saved Liel, Lien, and Thog.
You took that Titan's hit head-on.
That counts."
The flame wavered, almost doubtful.
"Ah… you took note of that? Still, I fear I am not worthy of such a reward."
Piers's brow twitched. His inner bubble,
Come on, old man, just take it. I don't have anyone else to give it to.
Aloud, he added,
"Okay, how about this."
He leaned forward slightly, tone sharp but practical.
"Take it, and use it when you feel you've earned it. Your current sword's on its last legs. I saw the way you were holding back—scared it'd snap. And with a broken sword, you can't train. Can't fight. Can't protect anyone."
Please buy it, please buy it, he cringed internally.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Mutou now—the obsidian blade pulsing faintly with a dormant, ominous glow.
"Oh… is that it?" Mutou murmured, flame flickering brighter. For a rare moment, emotion cracked through his stoic tone.
"Then, Young Master… I accept. I am truly grateful for such a reward."
The crew murmured in awe as the dullahan claimed the Black-Saor, its dark surface gleaming faintly in his skeletal grip.
Piers sighed, rubbing his temple. Great. Sword handled. Moving on.
"Okay then, I'll take the key and the map," he muttered, slipping them both into his pocket.
"I'll check them later. I'm exhausted."
Lien immediately bounded to his side, his silver hair bouncing as he leaned in, eyes sparkling like a puppy begging for scraps.
"Ooh, Master, what are you gonna do with that key? Can I see it?"
Piers glanced down at the iron key in his palm. It pulsed faintly with a dark aura, like it was breathing. Creepy.
"Nope," he said flatly. "I'm holding onto it."
"Eh? Why not?" Lien whined, eyes widening even further, shimmering with fake tears.
Piers shut his eyes before the kid tried pouting—or worse.
"Yeah, no. I'm not giving you a key even I couldn't appraise. Knowing you, you'd probably trigger a doomsday event by accident Or worse—,"
Lien deflated instantly, slumping like a punctured balloon.
"Awww…"
"Well then, everyone, let's move. Time to go home. The gate's open up in the cavern, we—"
Piers's words cut short as the ground beneath them gave a sudden, violent tremble. Dust rained down. His eyes narrowed instantly, mind snapping to alert.
Remaining goblins… wait.
The familiar blue screen flickered into his vision, Lines of text scrolled, numbers shifting rapidly.
Estimated Goblins Eliminated: 803,570 / 1,000,000
His flat expression tightened.
Wait… almost two hundred thousand left?
But the quest was marked complete…
Of course.
They wouldn't stop just because the quest ended.
The labyrinth roared—
not one voice, but every goblin left alive.
Crimson eyes lit the tunnels, cracks, and crevices.
Thousands—tens of thousands—of feet skittered against stone.
Their lord—The Titan Goblin—was dead. And now the swarm had no reason to hold back.
Lien cracked his knuckles with a manic grin.
"Heck yeah! Round three, let's go!"
"Yes…" Luci's voice purred low, silken and dangerous. Shadows slithered through her raven hair, flickering like restless snakes.
"This is… perfect timing. Because I am not in a forgiving mood."
"What?! Can't we just leave already?"
Liel whined, tugging her leafy top tighter with both hands.
"I really want a bath!" her face screwing into cartoonish misery.
Thog stomped his foot once—boom—the ground trembled, dust raining down. His hulking frame shifted low, a predator coiled to strike.
"Yes! Go, newbies, go!!" Gyuunyuu squealed, fists punching the air as she spiraled like a manic firecracker.
"Show them what it means to face Team Gyuunyuu!!"
Piers's gaze locked on the advancing tide. His face was unreadable—but his eyes burned sharp with focus.
Eight million goblins slain. His crew was battered, bloodied, exhausted.
And still—they stood.
Good.
Then, just as the slaughter was about to begin, something stirred deep in his mind.
They're here.
A faint, knowing smile tugged at his lips.
BOOOOM!
Lightning split the labyrinth in two. blasting a crater through the horde and erasing hundreds instantly.
Stones exploded. Screams were silenced. The swarm faltered.
Through the smoke, a massive silhouette descended—fur crackling with golden lightning.
Arc.
The lightning beast landed with a bone-rattling crash, the sheer force gouging the floor as if the labyrinth itself bent under its weight.
The crew froze, wide-eyed, awe burning in their gazes.
"H-Hey, what gives?!" Lien barked, jabbing an accusatory finger at the beast.
"Master! Why is he here?! He stole my grand strike!!"
Piers shot Lien a flat look, one brow cocked.
For real.
From the shadows, Asphyx drifted forward—graceful, venomous.
One exhale unleashed a blanket of shimmering poison.
Goblins convulsed mid-charge, collapsing in spasms, their screams choked off in seconds.
A razor howl split the air. Ventus dropped in a cyclone, tornadoes spiraling outward.
The goblin ranks disintegrated, their bodies flung like ragdolls, shredded by invisible blades of wind.
Water answered wind.
Ondine lifted her hands. A massive globe of water swelled overhead—then crashed down in a tidal flood.
The labyrinth floor drowned in seconds, goblins thrashing helplessly in the rising tide.
Last came Blaze.
Each step cracked the ground, magma oozing across the stone.
His molten fists punched through goblins, their flesh melting away before they even hit the floor.
A trail of fire carved the cavern into a smoldering grave.
Together, the five Arcane Beasts were pure cataclysm.
Lightning, poison, wind, water, and magma—an orchestra of destruction.
The goblins weren't dying.
They were being erased.
"Go, you rookies, go!!" Gyuunyuu squealed, zipping in frantic circles.
"Team Gyuunyuu always rules!!"
Mutou's voice cut through as he observed the Arcane Beasts tearing through the goblins with brutal precision.
"Young Master. How shall we proceed? The Arcane Beasts appear… sufficient."
"Yes! Finally, we can go home now!"
Liel clapped her hands together, eyes squeezed shut like she was praying for salvation
"If they keep this up, we can actually rest! Right, Piers-sama?!"
Then Luci's voice slid in, low and razor-edged.
"Piers-sama… may I kill the beasts too?"
"NO, you can't," Piers grumbled, dragging a hand down his face.
Seriously. How am I supposed to handle this circus?
He glared at Liel, who was still doing her "scaredy-cat" routine despite her power-up.
Then his eyes flicked to Lien, the brawn-over-brains hothead, already yelling at Gyuunyuu—good grief, his brain is literally just muscle fibers.
And Luci... yeah. Luci was practically vibrating with the urge to bathe in blood again. Always with the low voice, always with the murder eyes.
Oh, and let's not forget Mutou, always so damn obedient.. Piers's face remained a masterpiece of blankness.
He finally found Thog, who, bless his silent, monstrous heart, was already knee-deep in goblin guts, fighting alongside the Arcane Beasts.
He's just charging into battle without a word or a single shred of a plan.
"Nope. No hope for me. None at all."
"Fine, we're done here. Let the Arcane Beasts handle this,"
he said with a snap of his fingers.
Mana stairs spiraled upward toward the glowing exit carved into the cavern wall high above.
His tone was casual, almost lazy.
Of course, nobody moved.
In that instant—
His faint smile vanished.
His head tilted slightly—eyes wide, dark, empty.
The air shifted. Heavy. Cold.
Mana seeped out in quiet coils
When he finally spoke, his voice was flat.
Too calm to be safe.
"…What. Did. I. Say?"
A collective shiver tore through the group like a glacier dropped on the battlefield.
Liel's whine died mid-breath.
Lien and Gyuunyuu froze mid-argument, mouths still hanging open.
Luci's crimson eyes dimmed as her shadows slunk back.
Mutou's spectral flame guttered small.
Even Thog—mid-goblin crush—paused like a scolded puppy.
In perfect unison, they stammered:
"Y-Yes, Master!"
And just like that, they scrambled up the mana stairs as if their lives depended on it, abandoning the Arcane Beasts to their massacre below.
From their rising vantage, goblins shrieked and died in floods of lightning, poison, water, wind, and fire.
Gyuunyuu zipped up beside Piers, eyes wide as she glanced between the carnage and her tiny Master.
"Master, what about your summoned beasts? Are we leaving them?"
Piers blinked once, mind clearly elsewhere.
The unappraised map still tugged at his thoughts.
"What? Oh. Them." He shrugged.
"I can summon them whenever I want. Once we're in the cavern, I'll dismiss them. No need to waste time wiping out every goblin. The quest's already cleared."
His eyes lingered on the beasts below.
"…Still. Seeing how easily they wiped that crowd… yeah. That kind of power will be useful for the other mazes."
A hush settled over the group. No words needed—just a shared awareness of what lay ahead.
Then, predictably—
"P-Piers-sama…" Liel's voice trembled as she tugged her leafy top tighter.
"We're not… we're not coming back to this Abyss again, right?"
He turned, smiling brightly—too brightly.
"Oh, we are. We have three more mazes left to do."
Liel froze mid-step. Her soul visibly left her body in a glittering puff as she flopped forward like a felled tree.
Without a missing beat, Thog scooped her up in one hand and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"YES, Master!" Lien bellowed, pounding his chest. "I'll show you how strong I've gotten since evolving!"
"Indeed," Mutou added.
The Black-Saor gleaming in his grip. For once, eagerness sparked in his calm tone. "I intend to test this blade to its fullest."
Piers arched a brow.
"…Huh. He's accepting it fast now."
Step by step, he led them upward.
His pace was steady, his presence calm.
Behind him, Luci tilted her head, trying to catch a glimpse of his face—her crimson eyes narrowing faintly.
For once, his aura wasn't heavy.
No pressure.
Just quiet, unreadable calm.
And that, somehow… unsettled her more than anything.
* * *