Mark was left alone in the throne room, staring at the ceiling.

The silence was total, and his mind, as always when there was nothing left to do, began working against him.

’If it’s true that reincarnated people have come to this world before...’ Mark thought, closing his eyes. ’They all ended up dead.’

And that was precisely the part nobody ever mentioned when talking about the heroes of the past.

That all their stories ended the same way.

With their deaths.

’They arrived in this world incredibly strong, with powers that let them face creatures nobody else could... and yet none of them seem to have survived long enough to die of old age.’

Mark opened his eyes and looked at his own hands.

’And my situation is even worse...’

Because unlike Mark, the other reincarnated ones at least had their powers from the start.

He didn’t.

All he could rely on was his wits.

And wits, however well they had served him until now, had a pretty clear limit when what you were facing was an unstoppable force.

’If somehow I were to lose my subordinates...’

Mark tightened his fists slightly at that intrusive thought.

’...I have to recover my powers no matter what,’ Mark thought with quiet frustration. ’And it’s not optional, it’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity.’

Mark was about to spiral deeper into those thoughts when a familiar voice brought him back to reality.

"Are we heading out again so soon, Master?"

Mark lowered his gaze to his lap, and there, climbing slowly up the armrest of the throne, was Vorax.

The small slime slid along the stone surface until he was resting on Mark’s thigh.

"Vorax," Mark said, mildly surprised. "So here you were — I was looking for you."

"I’m sorry, Master," Vorax said in a slightly apologetic tone. "I was resting in one of the cracks in the throne and didn’t hear you come in."

"Don’t worry about it," Mark said, shaking his head. "You don’t have to apologize."

He looked at him for a second and then let out a small sigh.

"And yes, we’re heading out again."

"Understood, Master, I’m ready to accompany you."

Mark looked at the slime for a second.

"I’m sorry, buddy, but this time you, Alpha, and the others are staying here."

Vorax went still on his thigh.

"Why?" the slime said in a noticeably lower tone. "Did we do something wrong, Master?"

"No, it’s not that," Mark said quickly. "You didn’t do anything wrong."

"Then...?"

"I simply don’t want to leave the dungeon unprotected," Mark explained. "Cali is staying here and I don’t want anything bad to happen to her while I’m gone."

Vorax was quiet for a moment, processing Mark’s words.

"I understand..." the slime said finally. "Protect the dungeon and Miss Cali."

"Exactly."

"Then I’ll do my very best, Master," Vorax said in a tone that recovered its usual steadiness. "I promise I won’t let you down, Master."

"I trust you will," Mark said with a faint smile.

If a slime could swell with pride, Vorax would have done so in that moment.

Then Mark got to his feet and picked Vorax up in one hand, placing him on his shoulder where the slime settled among the folds of his robe.

"Let’s go find the others," Mark said, walking toward the exit of the hall. "I want to have everything in order before we leave."

The next two hours passed quickly.

Rose spent most of those two hours on the widest floor of the dungeon, patiently drawing an enormous magical circle on the stone floor.

The runes she traced glowed with a faint reddish light that pulsed softly as she worked.

When everything was finally ready, the group that would be departing gathered on the magical circle.

Mark was in the center, with Ely to his left and Aria to his right. Alice was behind him, with the firm posture that was her trademark. Yuki was at the edge of the circle, one step back from the others.

And Rose was at the front, kneeling just at the outer edge of the circle, hands extended downward and eyes closed as she channeled the spell.

In front of them, outside the circle, stood Cali, Vorax, and Alice’s five companions.

The succubus had Vorax in her arms, holding him with both hands.

"Master..." Cali said in a soft voice. "Please be careful."

"I will, you don’t have to worry about me," Mark replied, showing her a confident smile.

Hearing him, Cali nodded, pressing Vorax slightly closer to her.

"We will protect the dungeon, my lord!" Alpha said, stepping forward with her fist on her chest. "So you have nothing to worry about!"

"That’s right!" Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon added in unison behind her.

Mark looked at them and nodded with a smile.

"I trust you will."

"We won’t let you down, Master!" they all said at the same time.

Then Mark turned his head toward the vampire.

"Rose, is everything ready?"

She slowly opened her eyes and spoke without turning to look at him.

"Yes, Master," she replied. "I’m just finishing leaving an anchor here in the dungeon so we can return quickly."

"Very well."

"Do you have any questions before we depart?" Rose asked, turning to look at him.

Mark thought for a couple of seconds, but no particular question came to mind.

"The place where we’ll appear, is it safe?"

"I left the anchor in an open meadow beside the Great Forest," Rose replied as she got to her feet. "There are no settlements nearby, no registered dungeons in the area, and the last time I was there nothing dangerous was in the surroundings."

"Sounds like a pretty pleasant spot."

"It is," Rose confirmed with a small smile. "It’s quite beautiful, actually."

"Glad to hear that, the last thing I’d want is to appear in the middle of a city or something like that," Mark said with a quiet laugh. "That would be a real pain."

"You don’t have to worry about that, Master," Rose replied, moving one of her hands slightly in front of her.

"Good, let’s go."

And with that said, Rose closed her eyes again and the runes of the magical circle began to glow with greater intensity.

The reddish light gradually shifted to a white that spread from the center of the circle outward, illuminating the dungeon walls and the faces of everyone present.

"Stay safe, Master!" Cali called out, waving goodbye as the light intensified.

"Goodbye, my lord!" Alpha and the others shouted, waving their hands.

Mark raised a hand toward them in response.

Then the white light grew stronger, and stronger.

Until it covered everything.

’Let’s hope there are no unwelcome surprises when we arrive,’ Mark thought, squeezing his eyes shut against the intensity of the light swallowing him whole.