Bab 120: Chapter 108

The sudden thrashing of Wram had almost thrown Dhrys off balance. Yet his natural instincts as a vampire had saved him from grave harm. Swiftly, he evaded and left the radius of the giant creature's attack, yet not everyone around him was as fortunate with their battles.

With the enraged necromancer and its herd of undead skeleton warriors charging at all of them, some were inevitably injured. That turn of events arose both fear and frustration- and among them, Rumi felt the same.

She among others deeply wanted to help Naell, yet she too was preoccupied on their side of the battlefield opposite to Bungo and Wram.

It was as if the summoned monsters' attacks suddenly became more powerful, and thus, she was even forced to take on more monsters as the others could no longer hold their own.

[ If only this place wasn't so cramped! ]

That area had become so cramped due to their numbers being accompanied by a large array of monsters. This had put them at a disadvantage, as none could make the mistake of using their normal explosive spells and abilities.

And on the other hand, monsters couldn't care less and because of that, it was also the adventurers' job to make sure the dungeon would hold.

Further, with the arrival of the necromancer, no matter how many they killed, the beings would be resurrected faster than the party could rest.

"I'm getting kinda tired now.." Said the guild leader with his team backing Rumi. They had been taking on two brutish undead knights, whose strangled cries were easy to pinpoint among the crowd of common undead.

As the guild leader and his companions parried an attack from the two knights causing them to be thrown back, Rumi's eyes grew resolute. Hastily, with her chaotic aura rising, she then said, "Everyone, maintain your post, we will hold this line!"

She had given up on assisting Naell and the scholars. Although it was true her help would mean Wram and Bungo could be handled far easier, that decision would cause the untended side of their party to fall, as the power of the undead centurion and its knights had grown too much for the others.

While the B-rank adventurers in their midst could cope, the C-rank adventurers had begun struggling even with weak monsters due to the appearance of the necromancer. It was a risk she was not willing to take.

Considering they were outnumbered, outplaced, and outpowered, some felt they were nearing the looming doorsteps of death.

Yet that all stopped upon Rumi's counterattack.

With a resounding war cry, she lifted both her massive shield and chains, before forcing them both onto the ground. The deafening clang of her weapons alerted the undead centurion, thus every one of the undead knights were taunted into focusing on her.

As the gruesome creatures turned and charged towards her, Rumi with no sign of hesitation, wrapped a third of her chains around her arm, burst a hurricane of her aura through it, and allowed the rest of the chain connecting to the shield to harden like a handle.

The guild leader, before he could even shout that it was dangerous for her to gather an immense number of foes, was left in awe and remained speechless as Rumi then said, "I'm not letting this undead pull us into their graves!"

Her voice of pure resolve raised everyone's morale, as each adventurer took the opportunity to change the tide of battle in their favor. The load had been lightened for the previously overwhelmed adventurers, and they were finally able to properly fend themselves off.

Meanwhile, even Naell and the others who stood at the far end felt a sudden rush of adrenaline, and a strong desire to finish their fights. They too had heard the boisterous Rumi shout, thus they each unwaveringly faced their foes.

They also realized that Rumi had put her trust in them to finish the two awakened monsters before she could exhaust herself.

As such Drhys who just wiped blood from the corner of his mouth said, "It's about time we end this farce."

Owly then flew towards Sajae with vigor, "Yup, HOOT!"

In return, Sajae grinned and said, "We'll leave the scarecrow in your hands, young master."

Naell could only smile wryly as he braced himself to go toe to toe with the necromancer. It was a decision they all devised telepathically upon knowing he could trace Bungo's whereabouts better than anyone.

And then it happened. That momentary distraction caused by Rumi's uplifting words was not missed by Naell as he slipped past and charged toward Bungo.

Immediately Drhys' mana upon his body shone darker. He appeared almost clouded and engulfed in black mana, known to be the most impure of them all.

Yet the incredible amount and strength he displayed upon clashing with Wram, made it so that those who would see his mana, would question whether or not it was really tainted or just uniquely blessed.

On the other hand, Sajae was now dual-wielding his weapon. Just like Rumi's mace, his gun-like flame thrower was also capable of taking a different form.

Upon splitting it in half, the power of its fire would be noticeably lower yet its speed and recoil were something that Wram could not even scoff at.

Added to it was Owly who was barraging him with magic; Sharp blades formed out of his dark magic cloaked in bright red mana. It was something Naell could not help but notice as it was a sign the young owl would more or less awaken soon.

Still, he had no time to gawk at his allies, as by then all he wished to do was defeat Bungo as quickly as he could.

Ice crystals began to form around the air and in their surroundings. Naell had spread them out in a way that it would cover where he would go. As Naell hovered at one, he rushed towards Bungo who welcomed him with his earth magic.

Roots and vines shot towards Naell who deflected it with his [ glacier cutter ] speedy magic that used wind as its base.

Stalactites then shook above Naell, threatening to fall with their earthy glow, until finally several of them dropped at full speed on where he stood, while some were magically shot towards his companions.

Wasting no time, Naell lifted his hands above his head. Instantly a burst of fierce air pressure forced all of it to disperse.

And before it could shoot in the direction of his allies, several of the spread-out ice crystals unraveled and burst into protective snow, effectively stopping the mana-coated stalactites.

Bungo's vicious laugh then erupted. A smug look on his hollow face showed he was truly enjoying the battle. Meanwhile, Naell ignored this, and with his crystallized magic shot ice javelins in every inch covering his opponent's direction.

Yet Bungo with a flick of his skeletal fingers retreated using [ Burrow ].

That was when Naell realized how Bungo could more or less erase his presence. He then said out loud trying to make him talk, "So that's why you're hard to find."

Yet with no response, Naell could only sigh. His enemy was too smart to be taunted afterall. He then began casting water and wind magic around the dungeon seeping into the deepest ground while hovering above.

If given a chance, he didn't want to use this as it was quite exhausting. For one, he needed to really concentrate as his magic could cause serious rockfall. The dungeon with its structure truly was akin to a hazardous cave.

Bungo noticed this and smirked. Instead of hiding further, he used that chance to attack forming spikes around the ground where Naell was standing.

"Die!---eh?"

However, as soon as he cast the spell, the ground was frozen to the point that his earth magic could not penetrate it.

And in that moment Naell detected where Bungo was. Upon following the trace of magic that the necromancer had just used, Naell immediately cast [ Snowified ].

The remaining ice crystals in the air then flew in Bungo's direction, with the bright glow of Naell's [ Snowified ] fully revealing Bungo. Within that one swift moment, all the undead monsters fell before them and Wram found himself suddenly fighting Rumi.

Soon thereafter, the large awakened wyrm was also defeated and sealed by Owly's magic.

*******

As both Wram and Bungo had been immobilized, the guild leader and Tersec made haste to interrogate the creatures. Much to their dismay, their expectations were defied; it appeared neither of them was a part of the pieces to begin with.

"We swear upon Lucile's name, we are unaware of new vassals related to our master."

[ Ehhh? ]

That had caused everyone there headaches, as they all truthfully thought they had achieved a breakthrough. Nonetheless, the party of adventurers was grateful to have finally cleared the dungeon- or so they thought.

While purifying the monsters, the scouts who went ahead managed to find another floor. With that, they immediately secured a savepoint and tiredly discussed what to do next.

[ I don't think we should continue. ] Uttered some which Naell really did like to hear.

[ But then… doesn't that mean they're not here?" ]

[ I don't think those two are lying, but knowing there is a floor ahead… it may be beyond our capabilities. ] Sadly said some C-rank adventurers, to which even B-ranks nodded reluctantly.

As some wanted to continue, they all went silent realizing a predicament lay ahead. This dungeon that they all thought was a level they could conquer, was more or less for A or even S rank adventurers.

Because of that, Rumi who initially wanted to continue only smiled defeatly, expressing similar feelings, "I suppose we should exit first. The worst-case scenario is coming unprepared."

Most of them shivered at that thought and with that, the dungeon's supposedly easy exploration was postponed, with the adventurers being uplifted anyway by each other's survival.