Chapter 285 Break In [4]
As a mini rainstorm occurred in the underground space, drenching everything in the vicinity of the water bubble, Kazuki stepped forward with his spear ready.
*DRIP*
*DROP*
*DRIP*
*DROP*
Liam, being the first one to move, rushed forward, trying his best to keep his balance despite the wet obsidian floor.
Behind him were Kevin and Kazuki, who ran side-by-side with their weapons ready and eyes peeled for the intruder.
Finally, Kaneki and the rest of the main cast followed behind them, except for the magic-users, who stayed a bit farther away.
As the pitch-black water bubble disappeared, the top portion of the obsidian door where the intruder and Lily were standing previously came into view.
Yet, no one was there.
Kaneki, who wasn\'t looking forward, just blindly ran forward, but when he finally looked up, he noticed that no one was there.
And maybe, worst of all, the gap in the obsidian door that led into the vault was blocked off by a pitch-black substance that was somehow darker than the obsidian material surrounding it.
Putting down her wand, Ruby confusedly stared at the plugged-up hole that led into the vault.
How was he going to get out..?
Echoing the same sentiment, Irene and Alya ran forward, dropping their wands, towards the hole.
Ignoring the frozen figures of Liam, Kevin, and Kazuki, Alya ran to the very top of the obsidian hole where the wall used to be.
Leaning down, Alya tried to clean the gap and reopen the hole with her hand... however, the material blocking the hole was sharp... to the touch.
As Alya placed her finger on the material to move it, a sudden cut appeared on her fingertip, and blood started rushing out.
Regaining his composure, Kazuki headed to the top, where Alya and Kazuki\'s confused figures stood.
Staring at the vault, Kazuki asked in a grim tone.
"So... the two of them... they\'re inside the vault, aren\'t they."
Gesturing for Alya to move out of the way, Kaneki leaned down and began to examine the substance blocking the gap before nodding his head.
"Sure, seems like it."
Taking out his katana once again, Kazuki immediately attempted to pierce through the pitch-black material.
However, the tip of Kazuki\'s katana couldn\'t even pierce through the material.
The katana simply bounced off the material, not even able to make a dent or single mark in it.
Shaking his head, Kaneki stood up and dropped his katana before turning to Kazuki.
"This intruder...it seems we\'ve underestimated him."
As Kazuki stared at Kaneki with a confused expression, the rest of the main cast, including Liam and Kevin, approached them.
Gesturing to Kazuki, Kaneki waited until everyone was next to the gap before explaining.
"The djinns, earlier. I don\'t think our intruder in there with your friend is associated with them. Rather, they were a distraction he used to get by us."
"After all, all the djinns down there are dead and massacred while he\'s in the vault alive and, most likely, thriving. That entire vault is all his. I find it hard to believe that he would just let his teammates die like that."
Recalling something, Kazuki hesitated for a moment before saying.
"That purple orb attack from earlier that exploded the ceiling...that must have been him, then."
Nodding his head, Kaneki replied.
"I didn\'t see the attack exactly, but I saw the surprise evident in the expressions of the djinns I was fighting. They had no idea that was going to happen."
Staying silent, the main cast simply listened, not asking questions or making any interjections.
Seeing this, Kaneki continued.
"This material of his, whatever it is, is managing to block off a near S-rank artifact. From that alone, we can assume that our intruder is at least an A-rank villain."
Pausing for a moment, Kaneki pointed at himself and Kazuki before saying.
"If you\'re wondering, both Kazuki and I are recently advanced A-ranks. The two of us completed our last dream together around three weeks ago."
Pointing at the filled-in hole, Kaneki continued.
"Anyways, let\'s get the real problem at hand."
"He\'s down there in the vault, and we\'re up here. That may seem like a bad thing right now, considering that we can\'t hurt or do anything to him while he is probably robbing the vault and having the time of his life.
"However, that also means that in order for him to leave the vault with all his treasures, he has to get through us."
Ruby, finally breaking the silence of the main cast, hesitated for a moment before asking.
"What if there\'s another exit from the vault...?"
Thinking for a moment, Kazuki pointed at the entrance to the underground space before saying.
"If there was another exit, that means there would have to be another entrance to the vault. And since he chose to come down here and go through the trouble of getting through us, I doubt he found another entrance into the vault."
As the main cast nodded their heads, Kazuki stepped forward with his spear before saying.
"Of course, there is just one problem."
Before Kazuki could even finish his sentence, Liam spoke from behind.
"A hostage. The intruder has a hostage."
Immediately, a grim silence enveloped the whole group as everyone wordlessly stared at each other.
Kevin, stepping forward, ignored everyone else before boldly saying.
"If it gets to that, the life of Lily is much more important than whatever treasure is in there."
Nodding his head, Kazuki agreed with Kevin\'s statement.
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"Of course, the value of any human life far outweighs that of a magical artifact or item. But...let\'s not get too caught up, now."
Not missing the implication of Kazuki\'s last few words, Alya stood back up and said.
"What do you mean by that?"
Kaneki, speaking for Kazuki, took a deep breath before replying.
"IF we can get both the items and your friend back... it will be the optimal situation."
Liam, walking next to Kevin, immediately said in a cold tone.
"No shit."