Swiftly, the soldiers rounded up everyone from crafters and adventurers to healing staff, civilians, and the soldiers who served under Higgins. The people's patience was starting to wear thin, but the 'Oh So Mighty' phrase of 'General's Orders' from the military squashed any rebellious thoughts.

  What could they do? Raise a rebellion after the most significant disaster the city had seen in hundreds of years? Kill almost 150 soldiers and bury the bodies, hoping that no one would tell a soul?

  'sigh'

  It also didn't help that the Major's own men, who were injured, were forced to lie on the ground to continue receiving treatment. No one was spared from the Major's wraith.

  "Commander Higgins..." The Major was pacing back and forth in front of the caskets.

  "When was the last time you saw the body of the Fire Empire soldier I am looking for?"

  "Ah... Tied up outside with the other bodies."

  "True." The adjutant declared.

  "! Are you telling me that you never saw the body being stored away?"

  "... Yes. I was busy at the time."

  She was busy sleeping next to Alex.

  "True."

  "Augh! Useless!... Where did you believe that the body was last found?"

  "... In one of the caskets."

  "Which one?"

  "The one located at the campsite."

  "Which campsite?"

  "The one over there." Higgins pointed over to where their party had stayed last night.

  "True."

  "Soldiers! Which casket was the one from the campsite?"

  "Sir! It was the one with the ash and chain, sir!"

  "Toddy! What does your skill say about it?"

  "It is telling me the same information as the other piles of ash; it was formerly organic and roughly converted to ash between 8 and 16 hours ago. There also seem to be other types of ash mixed in, organic but somehow different. The chain is unenchanted and unremarkable."

  "Whose campsite is it?" Multiple heads in the crowd turned toward Damian's party. Higgins didn't need to answer the question.

  Shit! Well... I knew this was coming as soon as this all started.

  Damian's group slowly made their way to Higgins' side. As they walked up, Damian tapped Frey on the back twice, nudging her to the front of the group. She got the message and walked ahead of them, as if she were the party leader. Their time for questioning was next.

  "It's a pleasure, Major Aberman. I'm sad that we're meeting under such tense circumstances." Frey greeted him as if she were nobility.

  "Oh~ Someone with manners... But pleasantries will get you nowhere. Speak your name and tell me what I want to know."

  "Of course, sir. I am Frey Tier 4. I do not know what happened to the evidence you are looking for. None of the members of our party holds any skills that could disrupt lie detection."

  "True."

  The Major followed up by asking each member of their party whether anyone held an obscuration skill. The reply was a resounding "No" from them, then "True" from his assistant.

  "Hmm, does anyone in your party hold a spatial storage skill?"

  "Yes... two. Donna here can store anything, but in a more limited capacity, while Alex over here can store only things related to earth affinity. We don't have any teleportation-type skills amongst ourselves, and neither do we have any items that have a spatial storage function."

  "True."

  "Hoho~ Dear Donna, did you perhaps store or hide the evidence I am looking for? I promise to go easy on you if you tell the truth now. Same question toward the giant as well."

  "... I did not store or hide the corpse you are looking for or any evidence you are searching for."

  "Yeah, I didn't do it either. Can't even. Big oaf lady no talk so good." Alex cheekily said.

  "Psh!" A laugh escaped Frey's mouth, and several people in the crowd.

  "True. True. True. Lied about not talking well." The adjutant said without even a hint of humor in his voice.

  "Hmm~ Who else had spent time around your campsite?"

  "Our group here, Commander Higgins, ... and another party called Finn's Spell Slingers."

  "Would the group mentioned step forward?" The Major ordered.

  "..." No one responded. Looking at the crowd, Damian didn't see the Spell Slingers anywhere in sight. They must have left earlier in the day, Lucky bastards.

  "Did anyone see that group leave? The Major asked more sternly."

  One of the soldiers under Higgins raised her hand. "I think I saw them leave right before the sun rose."

  "Toddy! After I finish with my questions, ask command whether to proceed or not with finding that adventurer group."

  "Yes, sir!"

  "Ok then, now where was I?" The Major was tapping his foot on the ground again.

  "I'll ask this of your whole group. Did any of you destroy the body or any evidence that was in that casket?"

  """""No""""" The group resounded.

  "True."

  "Hmm... One last question, and then I'm done. When was the last time you saw the body that was in the casket?"

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Frey, Alex, and Donna all answered, "Outside, lined up with the other bodies."

  "Being placed into the casket by Damian and the earth shaper from Finn's Spell Slingers," Fergus answered.

  "In the casket yesterday, before it was sealed. The earth shaper made the casket for the body. I thought that he did an outstanding job with his craftsmanship..."

  "All true."

  "... What was this earth shaper's name you've all mentioned?"

  "?" They looked at each other, clueless.

  "So no one had gotten his name? What about the other members?"

  "Finn, Natasha, and Derrick. No one ever mentioned the shaper's name. Just that he was a cousin of Natasha."

  The Major wore a baffled look at this statement and then turned to the crowd.

  "Does anyone know the name of the earth shaper within Finn's Spell Slingers?" He asked openly.

  The crowd looked around in confusion, seeking someone to raise their hand and provide a name. People were turning to the few members of the Adventurers Guild staff, but they shrugged their shoulders, offering no answers.

  "... Toddy, Alert the patrols to keep an eye out for that group and have them taken in."

  "Yes, sir."

  ***

  Damian and his party were in the clear, but they were still not allowed to leave. The adjutant had gone outside to relay their findings once again and issued a warrant for the arrest of Finn's Spell Slingers.

  The Major still wasn't satisfied with his current findings and planned to ask every last person gathered questions. He had to wait for Commander Ender to bring in Ms. Sanderson anyway, so he decided to bide his time by abusing his authority.

  "If someone knows something, NOW is the time to come forward and speak it~." The Major was having the time of his life, throwing out indirect threats and watching the people nearest to him flinch whenever he raised his voice at the drop of a hat.

  As Damian was about to take a seat on the floor, a bright light shone from the front of the Spire entrance. Everyone turned to look. Many people were already drawing their weapons in preparation for another disaster.

  The Major, meanwhile, was like a deer stopped by a bright light at night, a common hunting tactic in remote towns. He was frozen, staring at the archway.

  The bright light faded, and Damian could see outside. The adjutant was on his ass looking up, following something that flew in the sky. People started leaving the Spire to see what the commotion was, but then the Major began yelling.

  "NOBODY MOVE! YOU ARE NOT TO LEAVE THE DUNGEON!!!" The man was screaming in panic. He didn't want his wall of living shields to leave his side.

  "TODDY! GET BACK HERE AND REPORT!! ON THE DOUBLE!!!"

  The shocked adjutant took a moment to register what was said and quickly made his way over to the Major's side.

  "Sir!... The Valkyrie have left the tower—all five of them. Two were carrying one Valkyrie each, and the last one looked to be flying as a guard. I did not see any blood or injuries, but they looked fatigued. They immediately flew off and headed north!"

  "..." Everyone was registering what was just said. Unsure of what conclusion to come to. Was the Spire safe? Why did they all head north? Did they really leave without saying anything? Maybe one of them had a communicator to relay information to the royal castle.

  '?' They didn't know what else to think.

  "TODDY, GET A REPORT TO COMMAND RIGHT AWAY! SEE IF OUR PREVIOUS ORDERS STILL HOLD!!" The Major wasn't too sure about staying in the Spire either.

  Should we leave? We could use the teleporter to go to the 10th floor and then teleport right away outside the Spire. We'd be marked for capture as soon as that happens, and likely have the whole city's guards after us.

  If we start a panic and get multiple people to do the same, we could get away. But we're too close to the Major for us to start it... shit! Just wait and see how things develop. Maybe Ms. Sanderson will come through with something...

  As Toddy stepped outside, his communicator immediately buzzed. It seemed their superiors wanted to know what they had learned. The crowd inside was starting to stir more and more with anxiety, waiting for any new information to drop. After several gruelling minutes, the adjutant stored his communicator and rushed back inside.

  "Our orders are to continue holding this position. One of the Valkyrie did make contact with the royal castle. She said that the undead still roam the upper floors. Other than that, there is nothing to fear about the Spire."

  "They offered for other Valkyries to come and clear out the remaining dead, but we declined their help. After the rest of the city is secured, we will be launching a force to clear the dungeon."

  "..." It seemed that the Major and everyone else were still in shock. It took a while for the adjutant's words to sink in.

  *cough* *cough*

  "Men! Back to your posts! Nothing has changed. We'll be waiting for Commander Ender to bring back the Former Colonel. Until then, Toddy, carry out the rest of the questioning." The Major then began to waltz over to the makeshift medical center as if he wasn't leaving his duty to his subordinates.

  Will this be better or worse than letting the Major question everyone?

  The adjutant walked up to one of the adventurers and began asking questions.

  "Did you see anything suspicious yesterday regarding the body we're searching for?"

  "Ah... No?"

  "Lie. What did you find suspicious?"

  "... I thought that it was strange that Ms. Sanderson let a group of tier 4s take it. I didn't think much of it since there were three others..."

  "Anything else?"

  "No."

  "You may leave if you so choose."

  The adjutant went off to the next person, asking far broader questions than his superior. It was much more of a catch-all. Rather than trying to be clever and asking questions that would immediately lead to the answer, he went down rabbit holes, hunting for any inconsistencies.

  The questions continued for several hours, but none revealed much more about the fourth body. How was it destroyed, and by whom? During that time, many more civilians had made their way to the Spire, and it was becoming more and more crowded around the outer ring of the chamber.

  Damian's whole group was keeping quiet throughout it all, only summoning food from Donna's storage. Likely sensing something off about their leader, they stayed put. As they always have, they trusted one another.

  "Yes, I believe that Derrick has a fire skill related to his arrows, or else they were enchanted. Yes, I had noticed him sitting on the casket when I looked over." The questions continued, painting a narrative around Finn's Spell Slingers.

  They even got into the details of how Natasha was the one who stopped the mercenaries from leading the ape directly to the Spire. Most people painted her in a good light because of that, but the adjutant had different views.

  "Despicable, regardless of whether they are guilty or not, I'll have their heads."

  "Ah... I believe that what they did was in accordance with Dungeon Herding Laws. In an open dungeon, if you see another group directing monsters purposely in your direction, you may choose to fire warning shots to steer them away."

  "I know what the laws are! But are we in the dungeon?"

  "Ah... yes?"

  "Hmph! It does not matter. Attacking merchant personnel within the city is clearly a crime."

  The surrounding adventurers all seemed quite disgruntled with the response. Some of the crazier-looking ones even started sharpening their swords and knives as if in taunt.

  The adjutant was unbothered by this, looking as if he'd welcome someone to lash out. He was the kind of person who got high on a power trip, like this superior.

  Finished with questioning all of the adventurers, Toddy started to move through Higgins' soldiers. He continued without gaining any new information... that was, until he reached Holden, one of Higgins' scouts.

  "Did you see anything suspicious?"

  "Yeah, sure. Everything had been suspicious yesterday." He was rolling his eyes, clearly showing his disdain.

  "Did you see anything regarding the body?"

  "Yeah, sure. The bodies were mighty suspicious~."

  "Your fellow soldier has told me that you were on watch last night, standing on one of the makeshift towers. Did you see anything regarding the body when you were on watch?"

  "Nope."

  "Lie. Now, let me ask again: did you see anyone approach the casket last night after it had already been sealed? Stay silent if your answer is no."

  "..."

  "Lie"

  *Crash!*

  The familiar sounds of clattering metal could be heard landing outside.

  "Healers! We need healers! Now!"

  The adjutant didn't immediately react and kept staring at the scout. "I'll be back for you..."

  He rushed off to the front of the Spire to what sounded like Commander Ender and his men returning from the dungeon.

  "What happened, Ender?!"

  "Undead! A lot of undead on the 50th floor! We were following Colonel Sanderson's tracks, and they led us into that battle! There were three tier 6 remote-type undead. We couldn't get near them..."

  "Did you see any signs of the Colonel and her men?!" Toddy demanded while ignoring his soldier's plight.

  "No, sir! We didn't see any signs of them!" Ender collapsed after shouting those last words. He was bleeding from his head throughout the conversation.

  As Damian and his party were listening in from afar, Holden was making hand gestures toward Damian. He was flapping his hand as if to shoo away a bug.

  'sigh'

  I figured it would come to this... Still have several hours before it gets dark...

  Damian and his party were engulfed in a bright light, disappearing into the tower.