Basil was heading toward the array carved on one of the stone poles in the room. There was a lever there, but ke knew more than anyone it wasn''t a lever. It was a sealing sword.


    The Kinyer was rapidly closing in, and it wouldn''t take long until he caught up to Basil. Luckily, Basil had the others to aid him.


    "[Matter Augmentation]!"


    Whistle!


    Thompson''s sword was rapidly elongating. It split the air, heading toward the Kinyer, blocking his way to Basil. However, the Kinyer punched through it, and it was broken into pieces.


    Scatter.


    Surely, the other didn''t have any n to stay idle. Cray was already closing in, and Whitney had shot a gigantic earthen ball toward the Kinyer. Although it couldn''t hurt him, it definitely stopped him in his track.


    Boom!


    The earthen ball was broken to pieces. Then, Cray quickly appeared amidst the scattering pieces of earth.


    "Killing Art: [Head Chopper]!"


    Cray spun his body, then gave the Kinyer a powerful and precise axe kick. Even the air was split apart due to the speed the kick was delivered.


    Boom!


    Of course, the Kinyer managed to block it. Cray gritted his teeth, then added more power to his feet.


    Crack!


    The ground below the Kinyer cratered, but the Kinyer was still as healthy as a horse. Even before Cray managed to retract his foot, the man grasped it in his hand.


    Crack!


    This time, the sound didn''t belong to the cratered ground.


    "Gah! My foot!"


    "Stay out of my way, boy!" Then, the Kinyer threw Cray at Whitney. "Cray!" Whitney was quick in his action, and prevented Cray from hitting the wall.


    While Whitney was taking Cray away from the battlefield, the others were already surrounding the Kinyer once again. Thompson took out his staff, and constantly annoyed the Kinyer with it.


    Jake''s Aura Ability, [Unfathomable Strength], allowed him to get more physical strength the heavier the thing he was lifting. Therefore, Steven was dly aiding him in his endeavor.


    Boom!


    He mmed the ground, and it did more than just annoying the Kinyer. Sadly, Jake wasn''t as agile as everyone. Therefore, he was an easy target for the Kinyer.


    "Stay out of my way!" The Kinyer punched Jake right in his chest.


    Boom!


    Crack!


    His chest caved in, and he puked a mouthful of blood. "Uaaakkk!" He was thrown across the room with a high speed, and hit the wall.


    Everyone was worried. However, no one could turn their attention to him, lest they wanted to let the Kinyer catch Basil.


    Looking at that, the Kinyer was annoyed. Clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction, he activated the Magic Circles he didn''t use since the beginning of the fight.


    Boom!


    The air exploded due to the sudden fluctuation of Mana. Nine Magic Circles floated behind the Kinyer''s back, and all of them were Grand Circles.


    Everyone''s eyes widened in terror. The aura the Kinyer was exuding was terrifying.


    It didn''t take the Knights to be a Mage to understand how absurd the Mana the Kinyer was exuding. The hair on their body stood on end, and the atmosphere was getting thicker; one can even cut through it with a knife.


    "My Magic Circle is crippled indeed. But, it is only my ninth. I have eight more, and they are enough to y you!"


    The Kinyer''s hand glowed in bright golden light. An overwhelming amount of Mana gathered on his palm. Then, even before anyone could even move, he mmed his hand to the ground.


    BOOM!


    The reaction was instantaneous. The ground surged upward, as if a sea getting struck by a meteor. The amount of Mana was so terrifying, everyone froze in their ce. In result, they could only helplessly ept their fate.


    Or so they thought.


    A thin film of golden light rose from the ground, separating everyone from the attack of the Kinyer. Although they could still feel the overwhelming aura, they were safe from the attack.


    Looking up at the person who was responsible for the endeavor, all of them widened their eyes in utter bafflement.


    It belonged to a beautiful blonde haireddy with an unblemished yellowish white skin. She had long eyshes, a sharp nose, and a sharp jaw. She was wearing a ck robe that covered everything but her head.


    She looked so stunning. However, that wasn''t the main focus of the people''s attention. It was her long and pointy ears.


    She was an Elf.


    "Are you okay?" The people could only nod dumbly. "You should move. I can''t hold it any longer." Her hands trembled.


    The people were woken up from their daze. They turned their head toward the trembling golden barrier, before turning their head back at the Elf. They quickly stood from the ground, and put their hands on the barrier.


    Then, they infused their Qi into it. The barrier was stabilized. While doing that, none of them spoke a thing toward the Elf.


    "We finally know each other, Effie," Thompson said. The Elf''s eyshes fluttered slightly. "Nice to meet you, Thompson," the Elf muttered lowly.


    "Nice to meet you, Effie!" The other Knights of Hauler eximed in unison.


    The most mysterious member of Hauler, Effie, who turned out to be an Elf, smiled softly. She was d herrades still could ept her, even if she was of a different race.


    The attack died down, and the slowly barrier disappeared. Everyone was panting heavily, due to the amount of Qi they had spent to maintain the barrier earlier.


    Steven nced at the left side of the vast room, and found that Jake was safe with Whitney and Cray. Since they were the farthest from the Kinyer, Whitney had managed to defend Cray and Jake by himself.


    Then, he turned his attention to the Kinyer. The Kinyer''s hair was no longer floating in the air, and his back was turned on them. Although he was no longer exuding the absurd amount of Mana from earlier, the aura around him was still terrifying.


    He red intently at Basil. "You know I have your friends already. Release that seal, and I will spare their life." The Kinyer held out his hand, before clenching it abruptly.


    Immediately, a golden chain appeared from below his feet. They swiftly head toward the people, and slithered around their body. The process took only two seconds, and no one could react properly.


    By the time they realized it, the golden chain was already wrapping around their neck. It was suffocating, and their strength was leaving their body in each second.


    It was absorbing their Qi and Mana alike.


    "This is... This is the lost Art, [Bind of Suppressor]!" Whitney mutteredboriously.


    Since he was a Mage, the effect was stronger on him. His Mana was sucked up almostpletely. On his side, Cray had lost his consciousness. Even Jake, a Knight, could only breathe faintly.


    The Kinyer turned his head to Whitney.


    "That is true, smart boy. [Bind of Suppressor] is a powerful Art. It can suppress one''s power orpletely suck them dry. Due to its nature however, it is forbidden by your ''Empire.'' Aren''t you excited to see it in front of your eyes?"


    Kinsey kept his mouth shut.


    The Kinyer turned his head back to Basil. "Now, choose. The control of this Dungeon or your friend?"


    Basil answered in a heartbeat. "Why do you even ask?" He waved the sword he had pulled out of the stone pole, and said, "I choose the seal."


    Everyone''s eyes widened in shock. They couldn''t imagine Basil could nonchntly make that choice, without even feeling any guilt.


    "Very well. It is your choice, boy."


    "I don''t regret it."


    The Kinyer tightened the chain hold on everyone''s body, and they could slowly feel their body was crushed in each second. All along, their mind was still upied by the disbelief form Basil''s betrayal.


    Effie looked at Basil in contempt. "What a lowly person." ncing at her briefly, Basil said, "This is the nature of human." Basil fiddled the sword in his hand, then stabbed it to the ground. "We are naturally opportunistic."


    Crackle!


    Red electricity ran through the sword Basil had stabbed in the ground. The Kinyer''s eyes widened, and he swiftly dashed toward Basil.


    The people could see the process slowly. Their body was pushed back due to the wind caused by theunch of the Kinyer, and the chain hold on them was getting weaker. Then magically, they were gathered in one ce.


    With his right hand wielding Kusanagi, Basil pointed his left hand at the gathered people. "Tell my family I''ll be back." Then, the people felt a pull on their body.


    All of that happened in seconds, but it felt like an eternity. They could see the moment Basil activated [Synchronization]. Kusanagi shone brightly, and he swung it toward the Kinyering at him.


    Boom!


    The explosion was thest thing they heard, before they eventually found themselves back to the surface. They had been expelled from the Dungeon.


    Their mind was overwhelmed with the development of the situation. Basil didn''t betray them. He took the control of the Dungeon to save them.


    Once again, their mind was upied.


    ...


    Inside the Dungeon, a mad sh between two different energies was happening, and the already ruined ground was damaged even further. The air exploded, and an absurdly powerful wind was blowing in the room.


    The perpetrators of the phenomenon, Basil and the Kinyer, were grinning as if having the time of their life.


    BOOM!


    An explosion ured, and a blinding light covered the whole vast room. The ground was dug out, creating a 14 meters deep hole. When the light died down, the two people were revealed. They were standing face to face in the middle of the hole.


    Basil had lost his upper clothes, and his body was steaming madly. Kusanagi slowly lost its light, before the de eventually disintegrating, leaving the hilt behind.


    Basil looked at it, before smiling bitterly. He didn''t regret destroying it due to his stunt. He was dissatisfied by hisck of control toward the Qi fluctuation caused by [Synchronization].


    He turned his head to the man in front of him. The man didn''t have that much change in appearance. Even if he had became bare-chested, he was still as ragged as before.


    "Did you use six Circles?" Basil asked. "Yup." The man nodded. "I see." Basil shook his head.


    The Kinyer hummed in wonder. He was genuinely puzzled by the boy''s motive.


    Uponying his hand on the sealing sword, with his weird Art, the boy had asked him to let him stay inside the Dungeon for a while. He had agreed, but asked the boy to spar with him as the payment


    The spar wasn''t disappointing. It was more than he had expected. However—


    "Why do you want to stay here?"


    —he was still puzzled.


    "The same reason yours."


    He wasn''t afraid of staying in the Dungeon. On top of holding the seal of the dungeon, there was an rm put in the Dungeon that would notify the Empire if the man killed a Mage.


    Yes, it was only for a Mage. This was the reason why the Mana could kill the Priests. Therefore, Basil didn''t have to worry.


    The man had engaged in a fight with them merely out of boredom. He had been toying with them, and acting like a viin to ease his boredom. He didn''t have any intention to kill them since the beginning.


    "You''re punished by the Empire?"


    "No, it''s a withdrawal from the world."


    The man was puzzled. However, Basil didn''t have any intention to exin himself.


    There were already many eyes scrutinizing him, and he couldn''t advance to the next Realm peacefully with that. Furthermore, the people of the Church had also developed a grudge with him due to his "ident" with Eugene.


    Different than the outside world, if the people of the Church decided to chase him, he could freely y them without any consequences, since death inside Dungeon was considered normal.


    Staying here was the best choice for him.


    "Let''s not bother each other." Basil extended his hand at the man, and the man grabbed it instantly. "Let''s be a good neighbor." The man smiled.


    With that, Basil''s withdrawal from the world started—with a Kinyer as his neighbor.