Everyone ended up falling to the floor below, and before they had time to reorganize themselves, three zombies appeared before them. They were exactly the monsters they had talked about earlier, except for one of them, which now looked different, as if it had undergone some kind of transformation.
"Are these the zombies you were talking about?"
Liam landed on the ground and began running alongside the others, waiting for an answer, but before anyone could respond, the ground beneath them simply disappeared again after they had run five meters. Even the ground they had stepped on before disappeared.
Everyone began plummeting down a huge abyss.
"Wait..."
Tolen's eyes widened as he recognized the location.
"This is the huge hole I told you about! And that's not all... the ground wasn't an illusion because we stepped on it. It was real!"
During the fall, they passed through the first floor of the dungeon and continued descending. Serenya immediately used her control magic to try to pull the others back, but she could only reach those who were closest. In total, she managed to save six students besides herself while the others tried to keep themselves from falling in their own ways.
Liam was one of those who managed to hold on. He drove his spear into the wall and braced his body against the rock. Kai did the same with his sword and, upon seeing Enrico falling toward the depths, reached out one hand to grab him.
"Enrico!"
However, a blue blur passed between them.
Enrico was grabbed and dragged into the depths of the abyss before Kai could hold him.
"Damn it!"
Kai pulled his sword from the wall and jumped after him without hesitation. However, before he could reach Enrico, a hand grabbed his clothes.
It was the zombie with the head resembling Jupiter.
The creature pulled Kai into a tunnel that had opened in the wall.
"Kai!"
Liam pulled his spear from the rock and ran after them, determined not to leave him alone.
"Tsk."
Serenya prepared to jump as well, but stopped when she noticed a brown-eyed zombie clinging to the ceiling, blocking her path. Tolen immediately extended his hands toward it.
"Get back!"
An explosion struck the ceiling, causing the creature to lose its grip and fall directly in front of them.
The monster landed before them, making the ground tremble slightly from the impact. Tolen narrowed his eyes as he observed the creature and quickly realized there was no time to waste.
"Serenya, let's distract it. You still have more mana than anyone here. You're the only one who can help Enrico now."
Serenya did not hesitate. She dashed forward while Tolen and Valença launched fireballs at the zombie to draw its attention. The creature dodged the attacks by lowering its body, and at the same moment, Serenya jumped over it.
The zombie opened its mouth and spat a stream of brown acid toward Serenya's back.
She noticed the attack in midair and immediately used her control magic on her own body, changing her trajectory. Instead of continuing forward, she changed direction, kicked off the wall to gain momentum, and dove directly into the abyss after Enrico.
Tolen watched Serenya disappear into the depths and then turned his eyes back to the zombie, displaying a small smile.
"Looks like you let one escape."
The monster growled and charged.
Tolen took a step back while Caelan, Elian, Sílvia, Vanessa, and Cris positioned themselves beside him, all assuming combat stances.
"Now it's us against you."
Down below, Enrico kicked the zombie away and used his own momentum to reach a ledge on the wall, grabbing onto the rock before continuing his fall. On the other side of the abyss, the creature also managed to cling to another rocky formation. Below them was an even deeper abyss, and, right in the center, a large stone platform stood out in the void.
Enrico used those few seconds to analyze the creature and, upon seeing its attributes, smiled.
"So your name is Azure Specter? That's too long. I'll call you Azure... You should have introduced yourself earlier. That was rude."
Azure did not respond. He simply charged.
His arm came directly toward Enrico's face, which Enrico barely managed to dodge. At the same instant, Enrico fired a fireball at the wall behind him, using the explosion to propel his own body.
He passed Azure and landed on the platform.
Azure placed one foot against the wall, and at the next instant, the surface seemed to expand slightly beneath his strength. Then he launched himself forward at an absurd speed and struck Enrico head-on, sending him crashing against the platform.
"Gahh!"
Azure raised his foot and brought it directly down toward Enrico's head. Enrico managed to react at the last moment, enveloping his fist in flames and striking the attack head-on.
The two were thrown in opposite directions.
Enrico rolled across the ground and stood up with difficulty, breathing heavily as he began forming his fire bow again. However, before he could complete the weapon, Azure appeared behind him.
Enrico noticed the movement at the last moment and barely dodged, feeling the wind from the attack pass close to his face.
"Now I can move this body much better."
Azure finally spoke while staring at Enrico with a sinister smile.
Hearing that, Enrico gripped the fire bow more firmly and smiled back.
"Looks like the two of us evolved, huh?"
Azure smiled even more, seeming genuinely pleased with the situation.
"Yes..."
"You know, it's surprising to see you manage to spe—"
Before Enrico could finish his sentence, Azure disappeared from in front of him. A kick struck his chest with tremendous force, knocking all the air from his lungs and sending him flying backward.
Apparently, even after gaining the ability to speak, his enemy had no intention of talking for very long.
Enrico barely managed to regain his balance, but instinctively raised his hand and released an explosion directly against Azure's face. The creature was sent flying backward, sliding across the platform before managing to stabilize itself.
Enrico took a deep breath and brought one hand to his chest, trying to recover his breath while keeping his eyes fixed on his opponent.
'This is bad... but it's not impossible. I need to defeat him to survive. The problem is that speed.'
"Subordinate!"
A voice echoed through the abyss above him.
Enrico raised his head and saw Serenya descending toward him. She was using her control magic to remain suspended in the air for brief moments before continuing to fall as she slowly descended, approaching the platform where he was.
An excited smile immediately appeared on Enrico's face.
"That's my leader!"
In the place where Kai had been taken, the battle continued. Kai advanced and performed a slash to the right, making the blade strike directly against the zombie's ribs and send it flying backward. The creature rolled across the ground but recovered almost immediately and stood back up.
Its head spun.
At the same instant, Kai felt his own body become heavier.
"Not this time. Crescent Slash!"
Even as the weight increased against his muscles, Kai forced his body to move and executed the attack, launching a slash of energy at the creature. However, the zombie spun its head again and charged toward him, once again altering the weight of his body.
"That was just a distraction."
Kai disappeared for an instant and reappeared in front of the creature, taking advantage of the opening created by the enemy's own movement. His sword pierced the zombie's shoulder, opening a deep cut and forcing the creature to retreat several steps.
Then the zombie's head began spinning in both directions at the same time, something Kai had never seen before. The next instant, his body was violently thrown against the ceiling, and before he could regain his balance, he fell back against the floor. The creature repeated the movement, throwing him upward again and then back down.
"Aaaahhhh!"
Kai tried to drive his sword into the wall to stop the movement, but the zombie was faster. It grabbed his arm and threw him away, making him roll across the ground.
Kai stood up with difficulty as the creature advanced toward him. Before it could attack him, a spear pierced the monster's shoulder and pushed it to the side.
"Sir Kai!"
Liam stood before him, firmly holding the spear.
Kai was surprised to see him there, but quickly wiped the blood running from the corner of his mouth and returned to a combat stance.
'My rematch. This time, I'll defeat him.'
Kai smiled as he pointed his sword at the zombie with the head resembling Jupiter. At that moment, the words Enrico had said earlier returned to his mind.
'You can defeat it on your own if you have time. But we don't have time. So... do you want me to give you a tip?'
Kai tightened his grip on the sword.
"Let's finish this."
He charged at the creature, and Liam ran right behind him, preparing to attack at the right moment.