Chapter 81: Separated
Contrary to their beliefs, nothing threatening came out to take their lives. Although monsters acted suspicious as if being controlled, those small fry didn't possess any threat to the hatchlings. They couldn't even force them to use their full powers.
And so, within a mere hour, they were standing in front of the boss room.
A golden magic circle appeared on the tiny, pale hand of a boy as a burst of magical energy shot out from the center of it.
The magical energy directly hit a Red Salamander the size of a house, making the monster's eyes unfocused.
Sirius, with the afterimage of the magic circle still on his hand, didn't waste any time. He effortlessly lifted his other hand, which was holding a scythe twice his size. His straight lips parted, violet eyes glowed neon as he mumbled;
[Black Scythe: First Form: Shadow slash]
An arc larger than a regular sword arc, entirely made from the essence of shadows, shot forward from a deadly looking scythe.
Slash!
"Raaaaahhhhhh!" The Red Salamander screamed in agony as it lost its eyes.
The slash wound was deep enough to see bones. Slashing through tough salamander scales as well as elastic inner tissue was a great achievement itself, yet this boy—this mysterious, night-haired enigma, looked as aloof as ever.
Kyrios extended one of his arms as the Red Salamander before him suddenly halted its movements. Even its screams ceased, gushing blood paused. A golden magic circle rotated under the monster clockwise.
Suddenly, a blur of something leaped up high into the air from behind Kyrios.
Bam!
Theodoros loudly embedded his rod into the ground as he landed with a power weighting at least a small hill.
The ground trembled. Dozens of spikes made of ashen soil rose up from the ground, stabbing the unmovable monster on the spot. Then, Theodoros' champagne eyes gleamed with a murderous glint as he snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Boom!
Kyriaki expressionlessly stared at the exploded Red Salamander that used to guard the boss room. Its flesh had ripped apart into pieces, leaving behind only a mass chunk of unrecognizable body parts.
"It's not common to have gatekeepers to the boss room in a dungeon. This must be a special type of boss room, be cautious."
"Got it!"
Kyriaki felt something amiss, yet she could pin point it accurately. She frowned inwardly as she took slow steps towards the door to the boss room. Her hand extended with the calm of an artist ready to place another brush stroke on her canvas.
Wrooooom!
The massive door made of pure obsidian moved, announcing the opening with a strange humming roar.
The five hatchlings peeked inside with curiosity, only to be met with a pitch black darkness that can be cut to pieces with a knife. Kyriaki paused, her body immoveable for half a second before she blinked.
She detected faint traces of a familiar scent and energy in an instant.
"Eucee…"
"Mhm…I know." Both of them exchanged knowing glances before turning to their teammates.
"The fight ahead might mostly be unfavorable for us. If you judge the situation to be unmanageable, do not hesitate to use the emergency space rift to escape. Am I clear?"
After the incident five years ago, this was another change that came to EESOP missions. The dragons used their advanced knowledge and technology to create an emergency space rift connected to an artificial pocket dimension only selected few dragons can enter. A safe place for those with life risks, in another word.
"Yeah~ yeah~" Theodoros, as carefree as ever, just brushed off her statement with a relaxed air.
"..." Sirius nodded, his expression unreadable as always.
"You too," Kyrios, unlike his obedient self, smiled gently without giving a direct answer to Kyriaki. "Don't hesitate to escape. Don't dwell on questions. Don't try to take control of the scene like you always do. Sometimes it's better to not be in control, to distance yourself from the things that are being controlled instead."
Kyriaki blinked.
'Where's that coming from?"
Kyrios was always the kind, gentle and cheerful younger twin brother of hers. That didn't mean he was a complete air head, a dragon is a dragon after all. Yet he never actively engaged in displaying his dragon traits.
That's why Kyriaki was baffled by the hidden meaning of Kyrios' words.
But before she could respond, Kyrios flashed a dashing smile and stepped into the darkness beyond the door.
Kyriaki blinked a few more times.
Theodoros whistle to a carefree rhythm, jumping into the darkness like a reckless Knight on the path to slay a dragon in a fairytale. Sirius spared no time as he followed the two of them, his final glance lingering on Kyriaki as he melted into the darkness.
"How energetic." Euclid chuckled, a rare kind of genuine amusement on his face.
"Rio didn't reply to my command." Meanwhile, Kyriaki stopped foolishly blinking. She straightened her back and frowned her brows as if everything finally snapped back into place.
"Hmmm…" Euclid moved smoothly, gently grabbing Kyriaki's hand. Kyriaki's frown deepened by another step.
"He's not foolish and he's definitely not weak. He doesn't need your constant protection. Did you forget who's carbon copy he is?" Asked Euclid.
"..." His straightforward words gave Kyriaki's eyebrows a faint relief. After all, Kyrios has Thanasios as his backer, he's definitely not ordinary.
"Rio can take care of himself. And I advise you to take his words to heart too." Finally, Euclid bent down and placed a harmless, soft peck on the back of her hand like some ancient knight pledging loyalty to his lady.
With a charming smile matching his actions, he leaped back into the darkness, disappearing in a matter of seconds. Kyriaki, with her hand still extended, watched in silence as she was left behind by his fellow teammates.
"This is why I want a girl in my team. Sigh…" Kyriaki sighed softly before stepping into the darkness like the reckless fools did before her.
[Ding!]
[Welcome to the Boss room of
[Calculating participant adventurers]
[Loading]
[Ding!]
[Condition met to clear the dungeon boss room]
[Activating first stage]
In the pitch black darkness where even a dragon couldn't see the next step ahead, the transparent status notifications lit up Kyriaki's golden yellow eyes.
Then without any notice, the entire room lit up like a second sun was placed directly above her head in a mere second, surpassing space and time.
Kyriaki found herself standing inside a colossal square-shaped space made of solidified lava stones. Everywhere her eyes landed, she could only see the plain and common looking blocks. Nothing else was in her sight until her eyes caught a silhouette at the opposite side of her, far at the corner.
No.
Not one.
But nearly ten. Lined up against the wall like massive armors. The kind even Titans might find massive in their normal form.
[Ding!]
[Magma Knight
Category: Monster
Variant: Armor Golem
Rank: SSS
Description: An Armor Golem made out of Lava stones and energy of magma. As a sentient being, it has the ability for decision making and absorbing valuable knowledge during the battle. Highly skilled in assigned weapons. Immune to magical attacks. Weak against Ice and water attribute from an opponent over SSS or higher core rank. A tough foe to fight against for most adventurers without a party. Be careful of its weapon aura attacks]
Kyriaki quickly scanned the row of Magma Knights.
Ten in total. As stated in the description, they were made of Lava stones and energy of magma that strengthen their armor. Ten meters tall in height, they truly looked like transformed Titans, though without extra arms. Each of them were in SSS rank.
Half of them looked slender, meaning they were agile on their feet. The other half looked bulky, meaning those were specialized in tanking or brutal force battles.
Three slender Magma Knights weiled long swords. The other two weiled a spear and a Javelin in order. The rest of the bulky Magma Knights all had shields of diamond shape with some holding war hammers, some battle axes and the remaining one a mace.
For some reason, none of them moved.
They stood like stone statues without an ounce of life. Kyriaki felt like they were observing her. The moment she made a move, they would too.
But Kyriaki couldn't care less about that. For she had discovered something that boiled her displeasure to new heights.
She was alone.
Aside from her, none of her teammates were with her.
Kyriaki suddenly felt an urge to laugh and smash the entire space at the same time.
'So this is it?'
This boss room was somewhat special.
It divides the two stages of the battle actively by separating not only the boss monster and the adventures, but also adventurers and boss-minions themselves.
Kyriaki wasn't really worried about her teammates. As Euclid said, they did not need protection. They had their own strength and schemes to survive. After all, they were dragons.
Although this stage without the help of a party might hinder their actions, they'd survive. And they can just use emergency space rifts if all went downhill.
What made her worried was the thing beyond these walls.
The next stage.
Kyriaki had a feeling she was about to experience something she'd definitely dislike to death.
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