With lightning-fast reflexes, I grab Franz's neck with my hand and lift him into the air with brute force.
"L-let me *Cough* g-go..." his eyes are filled with terror.
Despite his best efforts, he can't wriggle out of my grasp. The difference in strength is now too great.
He can't believe this fact, and panic takes over his expression as his skin starts to turn cyanotic due to the lack of air.
"You are nothing. You are useless and harmful to those around you," I express my contempt through my words. "Thank your gods that Welze is still alive. If it weren't so, I would have killed you with my own hands."
"Strauss, let him go! You're suffocating him!" Welze tugs at me with tears in her eyes.
I lose patience. The suffering of the girl with blue hair brings me back to reality.
I can see that everyone is worried and surprised by my reaction.
I've let myself get carried away. I'm still unstable.
I throw the blond man to the ground like a bag of garbage. Welze rushes to check on Franz's condition.
He starts to breathe again, coughing.
"You hurt him!" she accuses me.
I nod, acknowledging my guilt. Then I return to my usual aplomb and drive away the fury that had taken hold of me.
"I apologize. I lost my patience," I respond without fueling the argument.
The woman pouts at me, but I'm sure the pretty boy will think twice before bothering me again.
Now I'm even more determined to destroy his life, though perhaps it would be better to eliminate him.
The longer he stays around me, the more he might discover secrets about me that I don't want him to know.
In this group, his presence is useless. Maybe I can turn him into a slave?
I don't like the idea. At least Gallo is fun.
"Welze... Wagner is insane! We need to leave. He's leading us into a trap full of dark elves!" Franz attempts to turn the girl with blue hair against me by sowing doubt.
"Franz... I-I don't think it's a good idea to split up..." the woman tries to express her opinion, but she struggles to assert herself with her friend.
"He'll lead us to death! Don't you see he's violent? Didn't you see how he provoked the dark elf?" he cowardly tries to set her against me.
"We have no choice. They have our classmates and the academy's teachers as hostages," I respond to his foolish accusations with facts. Personally, I'm not very concerned about the hostages, but he is a devout follower of the Church and if he's consistent, he can't ignore them.
"What? I didn't know that..." Still on the ground, he is surprised.
"The Elfrider showed us with magic," I inform him.
"I can confirm it," Kanna testifies, and being a professor, her words carry weight and should convince Dadref.
I approach the fool and offer my hand to help him up.
"Let's set aside our differences. We need to save the others," I propose a truce, appealing to Dadref's sense of morality.
The blond clicks his tongue but is forced to swallow his pride.
"You're right, Wagner. The priority is to save the students and school staff. This is what Chand and the righteous gods would want."
Chand would want me dead, I think amusedly, but better to keep that to myself.
Franz grabs my hand and I pull him to his feet.
We exchange a knowing look. For the moment, we'll put aside our conflicts.
After all, I'm postponing the problem. Buying time while thinking about how to resolve the issue named Franz Dadref.
He tries to squeeze my hand hard to show his strength, but it just tickles me.
Welze is relieved by this temporary reconciliation.
Gallo tries to ease the tension and asks, "So, we're going to meet the queen of the dark elves?"
"Yes, that's right. I don't know what awaits us, but we must proceed with caution. We can't afford any missteps," I state, although in our current condition we can't do much.
We are in a dimension where we are strangers, in an enemy kingdom, and we are heading towards a likely trap.
Franz scoffs.
"Do you really believe the queen will be generous to us? What's her true intention behind this meeting?"
"I have no idea, but the fact that she wants to talk is a positive sign," I respond.
"She might know the way out of this dungeon," Kanna adds wisely.
Welze steps forward, expressing her opinion: "We'll have to wait and see. But think about it, when will we ever get an opportunity like this again?"
She has always dreamed of an adventure like this. Exploring the realm of the dark elves, meeting their queen, uncovering the secrets of the Underealm. These are things worthy of being described in an epic book.
"And I trust Strauss..." she says, looking at me with slight embarrassment.
Has her pout towards me already ended? Sometimes women are unpredictable.
I smile at her, but she looks away.
I turn to Jarica and ask, "Do you feel able to walk?"
In her condition, she should rest, but we can't keep the elves waiting any longer.
"I-I'll try..." she responds determinedly.
With difficulty, she gets back on her feet and signals that she's ready to set off.
Then, I ask my women if they are ready.
"I was born fucking ready," Deedee responds with a smirk.
"Yes, Master," declares Luysia in her cold tone.
"This will be fun," Rero smiles at me, lighting up like the sun.
"Let's find out what this queen wants," says Kanna, pushing up her glasses with a finger.
Bicrista nods, confirming her willingness to continue.
"I would have liked to rest a bit, but there's nothing we can do about it," Gallo says, looking at his sister who, in contrast, is ready to venture deeper into the dungeon.
"Let's go, Wagner. We're ready. But don't think you're the leader of this group," warns Franz Dadref, deluding himself.
I laugh at his stupidity but don't rise to his provocation.
"When we've saved the others, I'll challenge you to a duel, and this time you'll have to accept," he says seriously.
"As you wish," I respond briefly, unimpressed by his veiled threats.
"Enough bickering, guys. The dark elves are waiting for us!" Welze calls out, unable to hide her excitement for the adventure that awaits us.
I nod, amused by how quickly her mood changes when it comes to adventures.
Probably Welze is the one who most embodies the spirit of what a Venture should be.
I approach the dark elf and say, "We are ready to leave."
"Ph'luin ulu'orbb," he grunts impatiently.
"Usstan natha thalra, jalukin! Follow me, humans,” orders the elf knight, mounting his giant spider.
The dark elves set off toward Arach'Che'el, the city where we will find the queen's palace.
Deedee, with Kanna's help, extinguishes our campfire that had warmed and sheltered us until now.
Welze, with her staff illuminated by the [LIGHT] spell, takes the lead.
Rero and Luysia assist Jarica to walk, while the twins take care of the rear guard.
I signal the others to gather their belongings and quickly follow the procession of dark elves.
We delve into the dark labyrinth of the dark elf cave, with shadows swallowing us whole.
As we venture deeper into the lair of our enemies, I can't help but wonder if it was the right decision.
The queen awaits us, and I have no idea what kind of reception we will receive.
I hope I've made the right choice, but for now, there is no other option.
I see the same concern in the eyes of most group members as we begin to follow the dark elf's lead.
Franz Dadref, who had been so hostile before, seems to have grasped the gravity of the situation, and his eyes are now filled with fear.
Rero and Welze, on the other hand, seem more determined than ever.
Deedee and Kanna, having had bad experiences with elves in the past, are particularly tense.
The dark elf knight leads us through the winding corridors of the underground kingdom, towards an uncertain fate.
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