Arlyne O''s POV


    /Heal/


    /Heal/


    /Heal/


    /Heal/


    "..."


    Everyone stared nkly at my brother as his handsome face transformed into an unsightly, swollen mess, akin to a pig.


    "pfft----ha---"


    Someone struggled to contain theirughter as my brother''s face and body became riddled with blisters.


    "I''m sorry, we managed to counteract its deadly poison, but it seems there are some side effects we can''t cure at the moment" Kyra stated with her normally radiant aurora night-sky eyes clouded in the gloom.


    "I''m sorry" Kira added in a saddened tone.


    In response to their apologies, I shook my head vigorously, stating, "No, it''s not your fault, Your Highnesses. I''m very grateful for saving him from certain death".


    "...hmm"


    "...mm"


    Both of them nodded silently, seemingly unsatisfied with the assistance they had provided.


    ''Sigh''


    I sighed deeply and shifted my gaze to my brother, who looked back at us with an awkward, albeit unrecognizable smile?....or at least, I assumed he was smiling since even his lips were swollen.


    "I''m sorry"


    Hearing his apology,


    "Ouch"


    I smacked his head and said with a deadly tone, "Shouldn''t you be more aware of your surroundings, Mr. 9-Star Ranker?"


    "Ahaha..." My brother merely chuckled, shrugged it off, and stood up.


    He then dered, "This room must be a trap. Let''s move on before we encounter anything more dangerous" as he pointed at the in surface which had a treasure chest.


    Everyone nodded and proceeded forward.


    On the way, Simon struggled to suppress hisughter, but after a prolonged effort, he burst out,


    "Hahahahahahahahah"


    Hearing hisughter, I covered my face, attempting to stifle my own amusement. It was hard not to find humour in the fact that my handsome brother had suddenly transformed into....''this''....hahaha.....as much-hahaha-as I was worried, I also felt-hahahaha-ridiculous to see his face.


    "Do you have a problem?" My brother inquired in a stern tone.


    "Ahaha..." Simon, who had beenughing heartily, suddenly felt a surge of killing intent and quickly covered his mouth.


    "Hmmm." My brother nodded and began walking. However, his steps appeared somewhat unsteady.


    ''Maybe he''s just tired?'' I thought.


    After an hour of walking, we reached a dead end and encountered a set of stairs.


    "Stairs?"


    Simon mumbled as he moved closer to inspect them.


    At that moment, I cast a worried nce at my brother, who was breathing heavily.


    "Brother, I think you should le--"


    Before I could finish my sentence, my brother interrupted me, saying firmly,


    "I''m sorry, Arlyne, but I can''t....I can''t afford to lose my rank, and I have a feeling this is more than just a ''Training Program''".


    Observing thepetitive fire in his eyes, I inwardly sighed.


    ''I''m not entirely sure about him losing his rank since he''s only Rank-15, but this "Training Program" keepsing up as a hint when Aadya talks about it,'' I thought, nodding in agreement.


    Everyone ascended the spiral staircase.


    After reaching the tform, we.....


    "!!!"


    Everyone raised their eyebrows in shock.


    It was the same floor as before...the same never-ending brick walls, the same narrow path...but this time, the atmosphere was changed...dark mana leaking from the walls.


    /Barrier/


    A golden barrier enveloped our bodies. We all knew who was responsible, and we remained on high alert as we continued to move.


    After only a few steps, my brother suddenly halted.....My hand instinctively reached for my weapon''s hilt.


    "Oliver?" Simon, who was standing beside my brother, frowned as he called out.


    "...."


    However, my brother remained unresponsive, standing still with his head lowered.


    "...Brother?" An uneasiness washed over me.


    "Oliver?" Theo, who was behind the princesses, tried to address my brother...he said he wanted to protect the rear, However, I don''t think so.


    "...."


    Sensing that something was wrong, Simon tapped my brother on the shoulder.


    "...."


    ''SLAP''


    Growing frustrated, Simon pped my brother''s back forcefully. The sound was startlingly loud.


    ''That was loud'' I thought.


    As soon as Simon pped my brother, he moved slowly and gazed at Simon with a salivating mouth.


    Observing this, Simon beganughing nervously, "Ppfftt---hahahahah-HUH? Wai-Hmmm"


    Simon, who had beenughing, suddenly found himself pushed to the ground by my brother, and... kissed?


    "HMMMM-Y-You-HMMM---"


    Simon was initially too stunned to react, but as soon as he felt a tongue invading his mouth, he screamed and attempted to push my brother away.


    However, my brother, a 9-Star Ranker and well-built for battle, proved difficult to dislodge.


    With his swollen lips, my brother mmed on Simon''s as he.....urgh...I don''t want to exin that.


    "..."


    None of us knew how to react. I noticed a gentle tug on my shirt.


    Turning around, I saw Kyra with her aurora night-sky eyes focused on me, her hands covering Kira''s eyes who wore blindfolds.


    I couldn''t fathom why she was concealing Kira''s eyes instead of her own.


    ''Why am I even thinking about this right now?'' I wondered, before appearing in front of the unusual kissing scene.


    My eyebrows furrowed when I saw Simon''s teary....horny eyes?


    Without hesitation, I rushed to my brother''s side and


    "B-Brother"


    Tried to pull him away. However, he clung tightly to Simon. Just as I was about to seek Theo''s help out of frustration...


    "..." Theo shook his head and pointed princesses saying, "I cannot leave them alone in this ce".


    "..." Hearing that, my lips twitched. ''Can''t he even hide his true goal?'' I thought.


    As I was about to pull my brother away again, I suddenly felt someone pushing me down.


    "Huh?"


    I felt a hand creeping over me, sending a shiver down my spine.


    "aaarrrr"


    I then looked at my brother''s face.....Only the white of his eyes was visible, and his lips were dripping with a disgusting mixed saliva.


    I watched in horror as his face moved closer to mine, and a sense of fear overwhelmed me.


    "NNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!"


    In a panic, I delivered a powerful punch to my brother''s face.


    ''crack''


    Resulting in a neck-cracking sound as he was sent flying and rolled back,nding on the ground....motionless.


    "-Ha-Ha-" I breathed heavily as I lifted my upper body and looked at the ''Bastard''.


    Anger red inside me. Just as I was about to confront him...


    "Arlyne?"


    Hearing my name, I turned to look at Kyra, who was looking forward with a scared expression....My head mechanically turned to my right, and I saw...


    "ggrrrr"


    "ggrrrr"


    "Kiiiikk"


    "Ahhoohh"


    Hundreds of ck humanoid monsters or Faunmia ring at us....or rather, at my brother, who was still unconscious. Their expressions weren''t angry but instead had a strange, animalistic, lustful look...a horny look that was simr to animals.


    My eyesnded on my brother who seemed to pass out from my attack and Simon seemed to turn normal as his blood drained from his face when he saw them.


    I slowly stood up and whispered to Simon to back off.


    We retreated cautiously, dragging my brother by his leg...''He deserves that,'' I thought as we finally reached the stairs and began to descend. Our eyes remained fixed on the monsters, which, for some reason, didn''t move an inch.


    "..."


    "What was that?" Theo muttered in disbelief, while Simon already red at my unconscious brother.


    "You can purify them?" Theo suddenly asked the princesses, to which Kyra nodded.


    Before I could let out a sigh of relief, she added,


    "But I don''t think it''s possible to kill many of them without help from another team".


    "...Heh, I thought so" Theo remarked after a moment.


    "...sigh, Well, let''s take a rest here" I suggested as I sat down and asked the princesses to check on my brother.


    "He is fine; it''s just the side effect of the poison," Kyra said with a sad smile.


    "We should break his bracelets" Theo suggested seriously.


    "Yes, I think he turned one of them" Simon chimed in with a furious face.


    We unanimously agreed not to speak about what happened to him, but he started to irritate me more.


    "..." I knew they were right, and yet, I couldn''t possibly eliminate my brother after seeing his serious face, ''He really does not want to leave''.


    I nced at Simon, who sending death res at my brother....''Should I?''.


    I contemted for a second and asked, "Princesses, what do you think?"


    "Whatever you choose," Kira, who had been silent until now, said.


    "He was fine... it seems they were attracted to the side effects caused by the poison," Kyra said with a frown.


    "Fine... huh?" Hearing that word, I looked at Simon and Theo and said firmly, "I am sorry, but I cannot leave my brother."


    "HUH? What you--"


    "....I see," Theo looked at them with an indifferent gaze before ncing at the twins and nodding.


    Simon''s voice abruptly stopped, and he looked at Theo with a disbelieving gaze.


    Feeling his gaze, Theo said, "We are the ones who formed a team with them, so whatever they decide, it''s up to them."


    Theo''s words were firm as if he expected no rejection.


    "rrrrrrr"


    Simon gritted his teeth in anger and swallowed his words.


    "I will take care of him," I said firmly, preparing the shackles for my brother when...


    "ggrrrr"


    I jolted and shifted my gaze to the source.


    My brother was growling in his sleep.


    "ggrrr"


    A collective sigh of relief escaped us, as his sounds eerily resembled those of the ck humanoid monsters.


    "BBOOOOMM"


    "???"


    Then, a deafening noise shook the ground, as if something massive was being demolished.


    We all turned our attention to a brilliant sh of light in the distance.


    I couldn''t help but wonder who or what could be responsible for such devastation.


    ''Someone is fighting?'' I wondered.


    ''Tuck, Tuck, Tuck''


    "Run!!" Theo immediately shouted.


    The sound of approaching footsteps descending the stairs made me realize the impending danger. Without hesitation, I promptly hoisted my unconscious brother onto my shoulders and ran, pulling the twins along with me.


    We sprinted relentlessly, increasing the distance between us and the ominous marching sound. After some time, the noise gradually receded, and we eventually slumped to the ground, gasping for breath.