Master Of Astral Summoner-Chapter 168: When the blue lizard mutated

Shaan turned his head around and saw the one who had thrown the spear. A woman with long brown hair stood there—none other than Miss Khaya, the one who had taught Shaan and the other daemonists about the Noctis Gate.

’Miss Khaya? What is she doing here?’

"Miss Khaya, thank you for your help," the female officer said as she bowed deeply. "Without your assistance, we would have struggled to defeat that creature."

The injured male officer forced himself to stand and bowed as well. "Without you, that creature would have killed me. Thank you, Miss Khaya."

Miss Khaya walked toward the fallen lizard and pulled the spear cleanly from its body. "Stay alert," she said calmly. "Mutated lizards may still lurk inside this cave. We must rescue the remaining participants as quickly as possible."

"Thank you, Miss Khaya."

Miss Khaya’s words made Shaan’s face turn pale. ’Damn it... I need to find Chelsie and Nalira right now. They could be in danger.’

"You two," Miss Khaya said as she scanned the surroundings, "take these participants outside immediately. I believe the cause of this incident still hides nearby, and we need to locate the others as soon as possible."

"Yes, Miss Khaya," said the two officers in unison, then immediately escorted Shaan and Theo out of the cave.

"Wait." Shaan slowly rose to his feet and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "My friends are still inside this cave. I can’t leave them behind. I’m coming with you, Miss Khaya."

The female officer shook her head firmly. "No. You haven’t fully recovered, and you don’t have the strength to defeat that creature."

"She’s right. Let Miss Khaya handle this alone." The male officer grabbed Shaan’s arm tightly, irritation clear in his voice. "You’ll only become a burden to her. Don’t interfere. Come with us—"

"Let him come with me."

The male officer fell silent at once, tension stiffening his expression. "Miss Khaya... are you certain about this decision?"

"Yes." Miss Khaya gave a calm nod. "He wants to save his friends. I won’t stop him."

The two officers exchanged glances for a moment.

"Very well. We won’t stand in your way, Miss Khaya," the female officer said. "We’ll escort the other participant for further medical treatment."

"We’ll report this incident to the information room immediately," the male officer added. "Please be careful, Miss Khaya."

The two officers then carried Theo away together, leaving Shaan alone with Miss Khaya. Good—at least Shaan no longer needed to worry about Theo’s condition.

"Alright," Miss Khaya said, turning forward. "We need to move quickly before—"

"W-wait." Shaan suddenly reached out and stopped her. "There’s something I need to ask you first."

"How did you know the Blue Lizards in this cave mutated?" Shaan asked.

Miss Khaya let out a quiet sigh. "To be honest, I didn’t know at first. When I tried to contact my team members who were assigned to guard this cave, none of them responded," she explained. "So I decided to enter the cave myself and check on their condition."

"Then, did you find them?"

"Yes—but all of them suffered severe injuries."

"S-severe injuries?" Shaan echoed.

"That’s right." Miss Khaya crossed her arms. "When I asked what happened, they told me the Blue Lizards launched a sudden attack. The creatures attacked without warning."

"Huh?" Shaan rounded his eyes. "B-but Blue Lizards shouldn’t attack anyone unless we provoke them, right?"

"I don’t know the exact cause either," Miss Khaya replied calmly. "But I suspect this relates to the mutation—one that makes the creatures far more aggressive."

’Jeez, that sounds terrifying.’

"Miss Khaya," Shaan continued, his tone uneasy, "what about the appearance of Photomana? During this event, all dark creatures—including Blue Lizards—should weaken, shouldn’t they?"

"It should work that way," Miss Khaya explained. "However, that rule doesn’t seem to apply to mutated dark creatures—like that Blue Lizard. That creature didn’t weaken at all. Instead, it grew even stronger."

Shaan fell silent, his face turning deathly pale. "Oh my God... s-so it has no effect at all?"

"Yes, that’s how it appears," Miss Khaya nodded. "But we still need further investigation to confirm whether this assumption is correct." She paused, her expression tightening. "Still, something about this situation bothers me."

"Bothers you?" A deep frown formed on Shaan’s forehead. "What do you mean?"

"The inspection team always examines the location thoroughly before approving it for an event like this," Miss Khaya said. "In all previous events, their inspections reported no issues at all. Nothing like this has ever happened before."

"W-wait... what?" Shaan swallowed hard. "So this is the first time a case like this has ever occurred?"

"Yes. Exactly." Miss Khaya nodded calmly. "I’m certain someone deliberately sabotaged this event." Her posture stiffened, her eyes sharp. "The Resistance. I’m convinced they stand behind this—but how did they manage to pull it off?"

Shaan’s heartbeat nearly stopped when he heard the name Resistance. He knew that once the Resistance started moving, they would plan something horrific. Even so, Shaan still had no idea what their true objective was. Everything remained shrouded in uncertainty.

"I’m sure the culprit still lurks around here," Miss Khaya said as she scanned the surroundings with sharp, alert eyes. "We need to move before the situation gets even worse."

"Alright. I understa—"

’Warning!’

’All Daemonist participants, evacuate the cave immediately.’

Blue Lizards have mutated. They are aggressive and extremely dangerous.’

The announcement echoed through the cave from hidden speakers. The clear, urgent voice left no doubt—every participant inside the cave would hear it.

’This is bad. I have to find Nalira and Chelsie quickly.’

Moments later, the sound of chaotic footsteps grew louder from the tunnel ahead. At first, Shaan couldn’t identify the source—until a crowd of participants burst out, sprinting toward the exit like a swarm of panicked bees. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Move. We have to hurry," Miss Khaya said firmly.

"Yes, Miss Khaya," Shaan replied without hesitation.

***

Shaan’s breathing grew shallow. Sweat streamed down his forehead as he forced his way through the crowd, which grew denser with every step. Panic spread fast. In the chaos, Shaan lost sight of Miss Khaya—and suddenly, he stood alone in the middle of a sea of people.

"Damn it..." Shaan clenched his teeth. I have to get out of—"

He stopped short. A glimpse of purple hair flashed through his vision. "Che–Chelsie?" Shaan’s eyes widened as he turned his head sharply. "Where did she go?"