Kyson nodded, acknowledging his words.

"Then, Director, how long does the effect of your potion last?"

"I have to say it first, I can only accompany you for at least three minutes. More than that and I won't have any protection from the miasma anymore."

Director Gil nodded in understanding, "That much is enough. You only need to guide us until we reach the cave and we will be responsible for everything from then on."

"As for the duration of the Golden Bell potion, it can last from 30 to 60 minutes. It entirely depends on how bad the concentration of demonic energy is now."

With the miasma spreading to such a wide range, the amount of demon energy must have been more concentrated at the center than before.

Kyson also understood this and didn't say anything.

At this point, he can really only hope for the best for Director Gil and the other members of the task force.

And so with that, the group continued moving.

With Kyson's guidance and with the security brought by the Golden Bell potion, the group soon arrived outside of the demonic cave.

Director Gil turned to Kyson, looking solemn, he said, "From here on, it is our turn to do our duty. Thank you for accompanying us here, Adventurer Kyson."

Everyone in the group also has the same solemn look, making the vibe heavy.

Kyson nodded, "It is now all up to you, Director. I wish you all the best of luck and to come back safely."

"Thank you!"

After thanking Kyson again, Director Gil and his team didn't waste anymore time, and entered the cave.

Watching their backs gradually disappear into the dark mouth of the demonic cave, Kyson took a deep breath.

"Good luck, everyone."

Under his soft whispers, Kyson turned around and started moving to the same path that they took.

Thanks to that, it didn't take him long to come out of the miasma's coverage.

But when he got out, he couldn't help but notice the notable change in the range of the miasma.

"The miasma is really moving too fast… I hope they are safe inside that cave."

While praying for the safety of the task force team, Kyson turned around and was about to go back home.

But what he saw when he looked behind him made his eyes widen.

…

Inside the demonic cave.

When Kyson first went inside the cave, the surroundings were bright thanks to the light coming from the walls, making it easy for him to move around.

But this time, when Director Gil and the task force team went in, the thick miasma was already making it hard for them to even see their hands right from the beginning.

"Everyone, take your Purifying Lanterns."

At Director Gil's order, all members of the task force took out an old looking lantern with a bright shining light.

The moment the light shone on the cave, the demonic miasma retreated.

It was like a mouse that found the cat staring at it.

Within 2 meters of the lantern, no miasma could be found, keeping them in place.

The only drawback of using the Purifying Lantern is that they run out of fuel fast.

Because of this, it can't be used for a long time.

This is why Director Gil only ordered for it to be taken out at this moment.

With their path cleared, Director Gil immediately signaled for everyone to continue moving.

The whole team moved with careful steps, afraid of encountering an accident.

But just as everything was going smoothly, the voice of one of the task force members sounded in Director Gil's ears through the intercoms.

"Director, something happened!"

Director Gil's face immediately changed and he asked, "Report!"

"Director, Jack suddenly disappeared!"

"What?!"

Director Gil immediately looked behind him and counted the number of lanterns lit up.

Excluding his, there are currently nine lanterns exuding a bright light inside the cave.

But there the original number of members in this task force is ten.

That means one is missing!

This made Director Gil's expression turn ugly.

"Speak, what actually happened?!"

"Director, Jack was just walking right beside me, then I looked at the other side to make sure there's no problem, but when I looked back at him, he was already gone."

"He suddenly disappeared. I also don't know what happened, it's as if he disappeared into thin air!"

The task force team implements a buddy system as they move as per Director Gil's direction.

The one reporting is Mel, the buddy of Jack.

At this time, Mel is also feeling a bit weirded out by the situation.

The sudden disappearance of his buddy means something dangerous might be lurking around them.

The bad thing is that they are not even aware of it while it can take them out without others even noticing.

Although they are not aware where and what happened to Jack, they can be sure that it's not anything good.

"Search the surroundings! Try to look for Jack, but do not leave the group!"

""Yes, sir!""

Immediately, Director Gil issues an order for a search.

Everyone started getting to work, looking at the nearby surroundings, trying to find Jack.

But even after searching for a few minutes, they still found no trace of Jack.

Knowing that they can't delay the time any longer because the fuel of the lanterns are still being consumed.

They already spent several minutes looking, they can't just use all of their time on this.

They still have a much more important mission to complete.

So even though he was worried about Jack, Director Gil still had to make the ruthless decision.

That is to continue without Jack.

Facing this kind of situation, Director Gil tried to maintain his composure and issued an order.

"Listen up, all of you should all pay attention to your buddy at all times. Proceed with caution and be ready to react at any time."

"Mel, come here and I'll be your buddy."

"Copy, Director!"

Soon Mel ran beside Director Gil and they proceeded with more care this time.

To make sure that no one will suddenly just disappear without anyone knowing, Director Gil made them report every five minutes.

Thankfully, no one disappeared anymore this time and they safely arrived at the goblin's settlement.

Or at least what's left of it after Kyson came and go.

Despite the thick miasma, the tall crystal that stood at the center of the settlement is still very prominent.

This helped them locate it as soon as they got there.

"Everyone, our mission this time is simple. We just have to put the purification crystal on that core."

"After that, we just have to leave this place and that's mission complete."

"Do you all understand?"

""Yes, sir!""

"Good. Do this well and we'll be able to rest for a while."

After some preparatory talks, the group entered the settlement's premises.

Just as they take their first step inside, Director Gil frowned.

It wasn't just him.

All the members of the task force with him also frowned.

The reason for this is the sudden increase of speed on the consumption of the Golden Bell.

When they entered the cave, it already sped up because of the thick miasma.

But now that they are deeper into it, the consumption once again increased.

At this speed, the effect of the potion will disappear in about 20 minutes at the latest.

However, their frowns soon relaxed after thinking about where they currently are.

"It seems the demonic energy here is more concentrated than the outside. But that's understandable. We are already in the same space as the core of this demonic cave, after all."

"So, everyone, now that our goal is already within our sight, I want all of you to be more careful. To avoid all our efforts of coming here to come into vain, let's proceed with caution."

""Yes, sir!!""

Hearing the energetic replies from the intercoms, Director Gil smiled.

But when the thought of Jack crossed his mind, he immediately suppressed it.

"Anyway, let's do this, everyone. Let's go!"

And so, they walked towards the crystal core step by step.

Because of the miasma here, the range of the lantern's light was shortened to 1 meter.

Maybe because Kyson already took out the goblins beforehand, the team didn't encounter anyone until they reached the crystal core.

But when they got there, they froze and their faces turned pale.

Standing in front of the crystal, a menacing figure with green skin could be seen.

With deep black eyes and red pupils, a goblin with a muscular body that stood at the same height as the crystal was there.

Black lines of unknown meaning run all over its body, looking eerie and terrifying at the same time.

Seeing them coming, it's eyes locked on to Director Gil who's standing in front.

Then the next moment, a deep and heavy voice, as if coming from below the earth, sounded.

"I've been expecting you, humans."

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