CHAPTER 184: CHAPTER 184: DEVIATIONS FROM THE STANDARD PATTERNS

"Thank you all for joining this meeting on time. As you all know, we’ve just had the fifth Calamity Level Monster in history appear two days ago, and most alarmingly, in a High Level Dungeon," Remarked Charlotte, a serious look on her face.

It was the 12th of June, 2169, two days since the raid. After we got out of the Dungeon and headed back to the Guild, we reported what had happened to Isla.

I dropped the bodies off at the Guild before all of us, except Keira, headed back home. She must have wanted to stay by Kelsey’s body for a bit longer.

I rested for most of the next day, completely and utterly worn out both mentally and physically from the raid.

Then, that night, I got a message from Isla, asking me to come to the Guild today.

Aria, Damien and Sera were here too.

Isla, the other Guildmasters and Charlotte had set up a conference call to discuss what had happened, and they wanted us included in the meeting.

"This seems hard to believe. My Guild members have experienced a pretty high number of deviating Dungeons lately, but a Calamity Level Monster in a High Level Dungeon? I can’t help but feel skeptical," One of the other Guildmaster’s spoke up with a suspicious frown.

I kinda get where he’s coming from, but still, that pisses me off.

"I assure you, it’s true. We lost three of our members to that Monster, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t-...," Began Isla with a grimace.

"Yeah, that’s another thing, only three deaths against an Archdemon? With the previous four cases of Calamity Level Monsters, the lowest number of casualties suffered was six.

And you’re telling me this party of yours lost only half that number? And how convenient, one of them just so happened to destroy the Monster’s Core.

Yeah, right...Monster Cores aren’t easy to break, let alone destroy without a trace. There’s no proof, so-..."

"How about this? Is this proof enough for you, as-...?" I responded as I pulled the Archdemon’s head out of Treasury, cutting myself off before I could call him an asshole.

When I used Devour to consume the Archdemon’s corpse, I decided to preserve his head in Treasury.

Usually, the Cores serve as proof of having defeated a Monster, but since I obliterated it completely, I figured I’d take his head, just in case.

And now, I’m glad I did.

But, uh, I’m kinda dripping a fair bit of blood on the carpet, I should’ve thought this through a bit more.

"Three horns...yeah, it certainly fits the description," Nodded one of the other Guildmasters.

"No way, is this actually for real?"

"Yeah, it certainly looks that way...well, this isn’t good. If Calamity Level Monsters can appear in High Level Dungeons, we’re in big trouble."

"Well, this could just be a one-off anomaly."

"Perhaps, and hopefully so, but it’d be dangerous to just assume that. Deviations from the standard patterns are becoming more and more frequent, and the rate of casualties has steadily increased as a direct result," Chimed in Charlotte grimly.

"Right, we can’t just hope for the best and take no action, we need to be proactive," Nodded Isla in agreement.

"There’s one thing I don’t understand...if an Archdemon really did appear, how exactly did this party kill it? You have two talented young Aces, sure, but they’re still very inexperienced, and-...uh, what are you doing?" Frowned the skeptical Guildmaster, as I used Devour to consume the Archdemon’s head.

"I don’t need it as proof anymore, so I’m getting rid of it," I replied with a shrug.

"Er, I see. More importantly, tell me, how did you kill it? According to the report that was shared with us, you’re the one who dealt the final blow, is that right?"

"Yeah, but it was a fluke. He was about to kill me and let his guard down, and I used that opportunity to strike," I answered.

"You’re as vague as ever, I see," Responded Charlotte wryly.

"Could you please be more specific, young man?" Chimed in one of the Guildmasters.

"Fine...his arm was through my stomach and out my back, he’d also cut off my right arm, which I was holding my blade with. If I meet a certain condition, I can fire out a beam that’s completely unblockable, I used it and blasted a hole through his body, wiping out his Core in the process. That’s as specific as I’m willing to get."

"Impressive...you call it a fluke, but to be able to launch an attack in a position like that is amazing. It’s too bad you didn’t join my Guild," One of the Guildmaster’s sighed wistfully.

I think he’s the Guildmaster of the Demonsbane Guild, the one Rex is in.

"More importantly, what do we do about this? It’s not like we can just stop raiding Dungeons, we’ll get Stampedes all over the place."

"Yeah, and we don’t have nearly enough Aces to send some to every single Dungeon."

"That’s what we’re here to discuss. We need to figure out a way to deal with this problem, as quickly as possible. If only we had more information, we just don’t know enough about the Dungeons and Monsters," Sighed Charlotte, a frustrated look on get face.

Hm? Oh, that’s right, Luxuria!

I can get a lot of information about that from her. At the very least, she knows a lot more than we do.

"Actually, I might have a way to find out more about the Dungeons and Monsters. I’ll need a day or two to sort some stuff out, though," I spoke up.

I’m going to need to set some ground rules with her, to make sure she doesn’t attack anyone.

"Huh?" Responded one of the Guildmasters.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ohh, right! I totally forgot about that," Remarked Aria, as she figured out what I was talking about.

"Yeah, that could work," Nodded Damien.

"We already did learn something we didn’t know before, maybe you could share that for now," Suggested Sera thoughtfully.

"I’d like to ask that too," Added Isla in response.

She heard about Luxuria when we reported what happened. I asked everyone to keep it a secret, for now, and they agreed.

I don’t plan on hiding her forever, or even for all that long, I just want some time to figure out more about this whole Apostles of Sin thing.

"Well, go on, don’t leave us in suspense," Charlotte prompted me curiously.

"The reason why Monsters stay on the same floor unless and until a Stampede occurs...apparently, they lost half their power if they try to move to a different floor."

"I’m sorry, how do you know this?" Responded one of the Guildmasters with a bewildered look on his face.

"Like I said, give me a day or two, I need some time to figure some stuff out. I’ll explain after that, and there’s a good chance I’ll have a lot more information to share...so, I’d like to ask all of you to be patient and wait just a little longer," I replied with a sheepish smile.