The sound of clash echoed through the room. "Cecilia, I need some support over here!" The warrior shouted to the mage, before cleaving through a group of monsters with a swing of his sword. "R-Right!" The mage lifted her staff up and then hit it against the ground, magic circles forming on the ground below her.
"Spirit shield." She stated, the magic circle below her igniting with a bright green colour, before energy began to flow from it and towards the warrior, quickly spiraling around him, before forming a barrier around him.
Then, she raised her staff again, grasping it with her other hand and aiming it at the monsters that began to rush the warrior. "S-Spirit missile..!" She outcast a magic circle forming at the tip of her staff, before several green beams of energy were fired from it, rushing towards the warrior and hitting the monsters head on, obliterating them.
The thief knocked a skeleton with a sword to the ground, before kicking its head off and looking around. "Damnit… there's no end to them…" He backed up a bit, barely managing to dodge a sudden sneak attack from behind, before quickly retaliating and decapitating the attacker.
"Gustav, we have to find a way to escape!"
The warrior struck down another monster, breathing heavily before throwing his look over at the thief. "The door we entered through is closed! And we have no idea what's beyond the massive door here–" Gustav paused, before dodging a few strikes from multiple undead warriors, quickly slicing them apart before lunging his sword into a undead wolf that rushed him, killing it, before pulling his sword out and kicking the corpse to the side.
"The only choice is to fight through the monsters, until the door opens!"
"Yeah, well–" The thief dodged an attack, the attacking undead being obliterated by Cecilia afterwards. "We don't exactly have the strength to keep this up for very long."
Gustav shed a sweat, before flipping around and launching his sword towards Cecilia, the weapon flying past her and into a massive undead wolf, which stumbled back before falling to the ground. "Cecilia, how much magical energy do you have left?" Gustav shouted, running towards her and then past her, quickly reacquiring his sword before continuing to fend off the monsters.
"N-Not much..! A few more spells and I-I'll be dead weight!"
"For the love of the Dragons…" Gustav struck down several more undead, before flicking his attention to the thief. "Rodrigo, stay close to Cecilia!"
"Right!"
While the trio began to stick closer to one another, Avy was locked in a one on one battle against a black armoured skeleton. The undead creature movements and sword skills were far, far more advanced than the simple minded undead that mostly made up the dungeon up until now, making it a lot tougher to fight it, as unlike the other monsters, Avy wasn't able to get in a good hit.
Every time she saw an opening and lunged at it, the undead would simply parry her attack, before attempting a counter, which Avy would usually avoid by quickly making distance. The duel was a stalemate.
"This thing is annoying…" Avy grit her teeth, leaping into the air right as the undead knight swung its sword down with great force, cracking the ground beneath its blade. In the air, Avy took in a deep breath, before extending her talons a bit more.
Then, white light gathered around her before seeping into the talons.
In an instant, Avy launched herself back down, before lunging forward with her talons.
Fae Light arts, Enhanced Slash.
Right as her talons would have connected, the knight lifted out a shield seemingly out of nowhere, blocking the strike, before retaliating with a strong swing of its sword. Avy smirked.
"Seen that—!" She plunged to the ground, dodging the swing, before quickly following up with an uppercut, her fist engulfed in a green glow. The strike connected, hitting the undead knight directly on the lower jaw.
Fae Nature arts, Mountain Punch.
A great force was sent out from the impact place, before the undead creature was sent flying straight into the ceiling of the room – debris falling from it as it crashed into it, causing the entire room to shake. Then, in case it had somehow survived that strike, Avy quickly leapt up after it, flipping around, her right foot now engulfed in the green glow.
Fae Nature arts, Mountain Kick.
As the dust cleared, the undead knight looked at the approaching woman, however before it could react, she crashed into him, cracking and then smashing the ceiling, causing the entire room to violently shake, as debris and dust fell from the ceiling. Gustav, Cecilia and Rodrigo all shed a cold sweat, as they watched it from their spot. "Hey… is that normal—?" Rodrigo asked.
"Is that a serious question?" Gustav exhaled, before repelling an attack from an undead, he then cut down. "Don't lose your focus."
Avy fell back down, landing rather gracefully, before taking in a deep breath and stretching out a bit. "Should have done that earlier…" Then, she unleashed her talons once more, before launching herself across the room, rapidly ripping through the smaller and weaker undead. "Those three won't be able to keep fighting for much longer…" She threw a gaze over at the trio, shedding a small sweat.
They looked pretty beat up, with the mage especially looking like she was at her limit. Shaking her head, she plunged to the ground, taking in a light breath, as a massive group of undead monsters rushed her from all sides.
Then, she spun around and in one swift motion, she sliced apart all the monsters, before stopping.
Fae Nature arts, Whirlwind.
Then, she leapt towards the trio, quickly cleaving her way through the monsters. "You three holding up?" She asked as she landed next to them, quickly crouching down and placing her arms onto the ground. A large white magic circle formed below the four of them, before a white barrier formed around them.
The trio looked surprised at first, however upon seeing the monsters try to break through the shield and fail, they relaxed a bit. "Just barely." Gustav replied, looking at Avy. "And you look like you're barely breaking a sweat…"
"Well, other than that undead knight, the creatures here aren't anything special."
Rodrigo sheathed his daggers. "What do we do? These monsters won't stop coming…" Gustav looked at the monsters outside the shield that surrounded them. There were hundreds surrounding them now, and the number was only growing larger and larger, as more and more approached them. "I… don't know… The doors are closed and we have no idea what's beyond those gates that we wanted to peek inside."
"A-Are we doomed…?" Cecilia asked, her expression and body language clearly communicating her fear. Avy looked at the monsters outside her shield, brainstorming what to do. "While it's no trouble for me to tear through these monsters for as long as it is required, it'll be difficult to do that and keep these three safe once they're drained… We have to think of a way to get out of here…" She began throwing her gaze all around the place, searching for perhaps another secret passageway or something that could let them leave the room.
"How long can this barrier of yours hold?" Gustav asked, looking at Avy. She ceased her search and looked back at the warrior. "For a while, though it will fade eventually."
"Gustav, do you have a plan or something?" Rodrigo asked, shedding a cold sweat as he threw a gaze over his shoulder.
"Perhaps… Cecilia, do you have any more magical energy for one final spell?"
The mage nodded. "B-But only one spell… Once it's cast, I-I'm out." Gustav looked at the monsters outside the barrier again. Rodrigo looked at his friend with a nervous expression. "Gustav, what are you—"
"Right, listen carefully." The warrior cut off his friend, turning around and gesturing for the others to come a bit closer. After a silent exchange of gazes, they leaned in closer to Gustav. "Alright, we'll do it like this. Miss…"
"Avy. Call me Avy."
Gustav nodded.
"Miss Avy, can you hold off the monsters for us?"
"With ease. How long do you need?"
"A few minutes."
Avy nodded. "I can do that."
Gustav nodded back, before turning his attention to Rodrigo and Cecilia. "You two get to the doors. Rodrigo, keep Cecilia safe and Cecilia, I'll need you to cast that spell."
Cecilia looked confused at Gustav.
"That spell…?" Then, her eyes widened, before she panicked and looked at him with nervousness. "N-No way Gustav! Y-You're not planning on—?!"
"It's the only way. I will try to use it to blast those doors open. If it works out, you three get out of here and quickly go outside the dungeon to get help."
Avy looked confused while Rodrigo grit his teeth. "Gustav, are you insane?! Did you forget what the doctors said last time?! If you use that power again, you'll—"
"I know Rodrigo, but what other choice do we have?!"
Avy raised an eyebrow, however remained silent. "There has to be another way…" Rodrigo looked at Avy. "Miss, you're clearly stronger than any of us three, can you do something–?"
Avy eyed the doors.
"Like blasting open the doors?"
"That or anything else that would mean that Gustav over here, won't have to use a power that will kill him." Rodrigo bit at Gustav, while Avy carefully examined the doors. In the past, she probably would have been easily able to blast through them, however as she hadn't recovered all of her strength after being freed of her seal, her power was still limited.
She wasn't sure whether she'd be able to get through the doors.
"I can try… however I do not promise anything."
Rodrigo and Cecilia looked at Gustav, who sighed lightly. "Fine… But if she fails, we're doing my plan." The others nodded in unison, before everyone prepared. Avy stood in front of the trio. "Back up a bit, this will be rather strong." The trio did as requested, backing up slightly before Avy placed her hands together.
Then, her eyes lit up for a moment, as she pushed her hands out, the barrier suddenly expanding and erupting — pushing back the giant horde of monsters that had surrounded them in the time that they spent talking.
Fae Nature arts, Force Expand.
"Now! Go, towards the doors!" Avy shouted, launching herself towards them. The trio quickly followed after her, managing to just barely keep up with her. Avy easily sliced through the horde of monsters on their way to the doors, clearing the way for the other three. And so, it wasn't long before they reached the doors.
"Alright, here goes nothing!"
Avy announced taking a deep breath, pulling back her right fist.
Wind gathered around her fist, forming around it for a moment. "Concentrate, concentrate… Gather as much of your power as you can… And…" She opened her eyes, shining for a second, before throwing the punch towards the doors, a massive amount of force following after it. "And unleash it all—!"
Fae Grand arts, Mountain Shatterer.
As her fist collided with the doors, the huge force that followed her fist all hit them at once, sending out a powerful wind gust. The trio barely held on, while the monsters that approached were blown away. Avy kept it up for a bit, pushing her fist more and more into the doors.
However, nothing.
Eventually, the force dissipated and she fell to her right knee. "M-Miss Avy..!" Cecilia rushed to her side, helping her stand up. Looking up at the doors, a magic circle appeared over them, which surprised all four of them.
"Is that…?"
Gustav clicked his tongue. "Tch… A seal… The same one as what flashed over the trap after the companion of Miss Avy fell down."
"B-But that's impossible…! That'd m-mean someone—!"
"Someone doesn't want us to leave…" Avy finished Cecilia's train of thought, before looking back at the once again approaching horde of monsters. "Damnit… Is it the dungeon's 'boss'? Is it the one keeping us here and that took Faofa?" Avy thought, tightening her hands into fists as she rose back up to her feet.
Rodrigo looked at Gustav. "Still ready to use that power and blast the door open?" Gustav shook his head. "If there's a seal on the doors, that means we're stuck here no matter what we try. Something wants us to remain here, as well as entertaining itself by sending an endless horde of monsters after us…" Gustav took in a deep breath, unsheathing his sword again and gripping it tightly. "We have no choice but to continue fighting."
"But Cecilia is down to her last spell–! And we both won't last much longer either!"
"I-Is this where we die…?" Avy shed a sweat, looking at the scared Cecilia. Her entire body was shaking in fear – understandably so. Looking at their situation, it was rather hopeless. After a quick inhale and exhale, Avy moved in front of everyone, preparing for a fight. "We'll have to fight until the guild starts sending in personnel to search for any missing adventurers."
Avy stated with Rodrigo and Gustav nodding. Rodrigo unsheathed his daggers, also preparing. "Guess there's no other choice…"
"Let's just hope we can last that long…" Gustav commented, gripping his sword a bit tighter. Avy unleashed her talons, before sharpening her gaze. Then, right as the trio was about to engage the massive horde and enter combat again—
Explosion.
Several explosions went off, blasting apart the monster horde. The small group looked perplexed. Rodrigo looked at Cecilia. "I thought you said you don't have enough magical energy for more than one spell—?"
"T-That wasn't me…!"
"What..?" Rodrigo looked at Avy. "Then…?" She shook her head. "I don't possess magic like that."
The horde was engulfed in the flames of the explosions, before from the left side, a figure appeared out of nowhere, a wand in hand. "What the—?! Who—"
"Stay behind me!"
The rogue shouted, before taking position in front of the group, pointing their wand at the monsters again. "Combustion!" The rogue exclaimed, before more magic circles formed underneath the horde, erupting into even more explosions which quickly tore apart the horde of monsters.
Gustav shed a sweat. "H-Hold on, who are you!?"
"An ally. That's all you need to know. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." The rogue replied, looking back at the four individuals, eyeing Avy especially. Then, they turned back towards the horde, swinging their wand around. "Ignite."
Several balls of fire formed around the rogue. Then, they lifted their wand into the air above them. "Distort!" The balls of fire morphed into the shape of bows, before pulling back flaming arrows and aiming themselves at the horde of monsters that pushed through the smoke of the previous explosions. Finally, the rogue swung their wand down, aiming it at the horde.
"Fire barrage!"
After the final command, the bows began to rapidly fire their flaming arrows, tearing apart the monsters with ease. The squad behind the rogue all watched in fascination, while Avy eyed the rogue with a slightly worried gaze. "Someone else was with us…? But how…? Did… did we get tailed or something?"
Avy then shook her head.
"Whatever— This is good for us. Since this person seems like a strong mage, I won't have to worry about holding back the monsters and protecting those three on my own now. I can focus on finding a way out…"
Crash.
The entire room violently shook, as a loud crashing sound echoed through it. "The hell was that?!" Rodrigo exclaimed, shedding a sweat. "Is the room falling apart from the magic being cast by that person?"
"Don't refer to me as that person! Call me Vic!" The rogue replied, keeping up the barrage of fire arrows.
"Whatever the cause, we better be careful in case the ceiling starts coming down on us!" Rodrigo shouted, before moving to Cecilia's side and sheathing his daggers, placing his arms around her, sort of to 'shield' her with his body. Avy nervously looked towards the smoke from which the monster hordes kept pushing through.
A pair of piercing red eyes shone for a moment.
Avy's eyes widened.
With the final monsters falling, the horde suddenly stopped pushing through. Vic stopped their magic assault, lowering their wand. Gustav and Rodrigo looked towards the black clouds of smoke that Vic had created with their magic. "Is it over…?" Gustav asked. Vic carefully examined the area and nodded. "I believe so—"
"Behind me, now!" Avy leapt in front of everyone, pushing Vic back towards the trio before creating a massive magic circle in front of her. From the black smoke, flames spun before a massive beam of fire was shot towards them, blocked by the magic circle Avy had formed.
The others all looked in shock, while Avy held off the flames, her shield slightly cracking. Once the beam of fire dissipated, her shield shattered and she stumbled forwards, Gustav quickly catching her. "Careful now!" Then, they looked towards the smoke.
As it cleared, a giant silhouette glared down at them with shining red eyes. It was towering in size and the magical energy radiating off of it was so great, that nearly everyone was put in a state of utter fear by just gazing at it. "W-What is that…?" Cecilia asked. Vic shed a sweat, before quickly rushing in front of everyone and pointing their wand at the giant beast.
Gustav looked behind the beast.
The doors that they had initially wanted to peek through were wide open now. "Is that…?"
"The boss of the dungeon…" Avy finished Gustav's train of thought.
The shadow cast over the beast dissipated as it raised its head up high, skeletal wings expanding from its back before it unleashed a loud roar, which on its own was strong enough to shake the entire room. A massive skeletal dragon, with bits of rotting flesh and occasional fire spread over its bony body stood in front of them. In its ribcage, a beating heart was held in place via charred chains and many, many rusted and aged weapons were stuck in its skull.
The beast looked down at the humans, its eyes practically flaming.
"The Scorched Skeleton dragon of ancient Ordial." Vic added to Avy's comment, before forming the flaming bows around them once more. "All of you, stay behind me and do not move away from the group! I will… try to protect you all." Then, Vic pointed their wand towards the dragon. "Fire barrage!"
The bows instantly began raining fire towards the dragon.
However, even though the arrows connected, the beast remained unfazed, simply charging up flames, which spiraled around its heart, before traveling up into its skull. Then, after a bit of head jerking, the dragon fired the flames as another beam of fire towards the group.
Vic quickly dissipated the bows. "Change form!" The fire that made up the bows moments prior quickly gathered in front of them, forming a massive flaming shield. Then, Vic pointed his wand at the shield. "Reinforce!" Another layer of flames was added to the shield. "Double reinforce!" Then another two layers.
The beam of flames shot by the dragon easily broke through the first three layers of the shield before being blocked by the last one. Vic was pushed back a bit, quickly grabbing a hold of his right hand with his left one, to ensure he kept the shield up.
It was a stalemate struggle for a bit, however eventually Vic's flaming shield began to break.
"I can't… hold it…!"
Vic stated, slowly falling to his knees. Rodrigo tightly hugged Cecilia, burying her face in his chest. "Don't look…" He quietly told her. Gustav moved in front of his two friends, standing in front as a 'human' shield, preparing for when the shield Vic was holding would break. The shield Vic held up began to crack more and more, some tiny bits already falling off of it.
"N-Not yet…! T-Triple reinforce!" Vic exclaimed, forming three new layers in front of the shield, pushing the beam of flames back for a moment, however, it only took a few seconds, before the shields shattered one by one, reaching the final one once more.
The dragon kept up the immense force, slowly amplifying its power.
Avy stood there, watching the raging flames in front of her. Holding her right hand over her chest, she placed her other hand onto it. Her body gently shook. "Am I…. afraid…?" She thought, looking down at her hands. "It's been so long… since I've felt genuine fear for my life…"
Memories of her childhood flashed in her mind.
The time she spent with her father in the Owl Kingdom. The last time she had felt genuine fear for her life, was during those times – when a rogue demon had somehow ended up in the kingdom and she had encountered it. She remembered how afraid she was back then.
Terror and fear that would never leave her heart were implanted in her that day. Thankfully, her father had saved her – killing the demon, however, this time around, that wouldn't happen.
She lifted her gaze up, watching as the shield reached its final moments. She lowered her arms to her sides, tightening them into fists. "N-No…!" Vic exclaimed, as the final shield finally gave out and shattered. The rogue tumbled back, falling to the ground in exhaustion, breathing heavily. As the beam of flames rapidly approached them, it seemed as though doom was inevitable.
That this would be where all of them would die.
Incinerated by the flames of the dragon.
….However, something stirred inside Avy.
Her eyes widened. It felt as though a spark ignited in her chest. A gentle voice then whispered in her ear — so quietly, it was inaudible.
Then, the dragon's flames suddenly stopped, its skull flinging upwards, before it stumbled back. Gustav's and Vic's eyes widened. It happened in but a split second – so fast, it was imperceivable to them. However, Avy had suddenly vanished from her spot.
Looking over to the dragon, they noticed how she flew in the air above the dragon, having kicked its jaw up. Avy's eyes shone brightly. "This feeling… I recognise it…" She commented in her thoughts, before smirking and launching herself down onto the dragon, scaling down its spine, before leaping up, spinning around and kicking the spine, shattering a part of it, before quickly leaping away. She landed not too far away from the dragon, slowing herself down with her hands.
"My strength… Part of it is back… but how?" Avy wondered, before shaking her head and looking at the dragon. "Doesn't matter… this is a miracle that we needed."
The dragon's broken spine quickly healed, before it eyed Avy, clearly ticked off by the woman's strikes. Avy rose up to her feet, brushing off her clothing before cleaning off her mouth and taking a stance. "...Let's dance."