Ace tried to reassure Amaya that it was fine now.
"I've already spoken to the king. Me and my trustworthy friends will take it from here."
"No, you can't," Amaya replied.
Seeing that she was worried about something related to the dungeon, Ace tried even further to assure her.
"You don't need to worry. The dungeon will be dealt with."
Looking at the dungeon entrance, Amaya slowly unfolded a sentence.
"No...you can't...because."
A serious and worried expression formed on Ace's face.
"Because what? Amaya, what's worrying you? Are you okay?"
Amaya swiftly turned her head, glaring at Ace. And as Amaya spoke, she was clearly disturbed emotionally.
"...Because I'll be the one to clear it. Alone with no help. I….I will push my limits and do it."
In that moment, all the issues Amaya had were rapidly running through her mind. Atsuya, Alison and Humbert were killed and so were the many other adventurers. By killing the monsters and clearing the dungeon, Amaya felt as if she could avenge them. But this was something she had to do alone as her leadership skills were what caused their failure and deaths. After this whole dungeon was dealt with, Amaya would find a way overseas and get Emi back. Even if she had to kill dark mages to do it, it was going to get done, one way or another.
A shadow gradually started to cover her face, until fully embedding it.
['Rage 2' has activated]
Ace sensed her dark energy right away and called her name in confusion.
"Amaya?"
"Ace, please….please turn back. I will clear this dungeon alone." said Amaya.
Ace declined, "I'm afraid I can't do that. As a protector, I can't ignore this dungeon. Why are you acting strange? Don't you want it to be cleared."
Even greater than before, Amaya glared at him. Ace began to feel hostile intent from her.
"Amaya. That's not a very pretty look on you." said Ace.
Again, Amaya went on to demand.
"Turn back. I'll clear this alone. Even if I have to fight you, I'll clear this dungeon alone."
Ace took a firm step forward and looked Amaya in the eyes, even from a distance.
Bmp!
"Don't be rash, Amaya. You couldn't even scratch the Ice Leader with help. I don't see what the issue is if me and my friends here clear it. Really, it should be simple."
Ace could feel Amaya's glare, lasering him with intensity. Walking towards him, she tightened her fist.
"Okay, then. Looks like I'll have to fight you."
The two men by Ace's side grew on guard, preparing to attack. But Ace sigled for them to stay put.
"It's fine. Stay back, I'll try to talk to her."
Ace faced back to Amaya with a serious expression, requesting that she stop.
" There's no reason at all to start a commotion, so I ask that you rethink this."
Amaya's slow and steady footsteps brought her closer and closer.
"Listen, Amaya. I don't know what the issue is. I'd like to avoid raising my sword at you, but it looks like you're leaving me no choice."
[Ace has used 'Goldy Barrier]
A golden haze of light surrounded his body as he drew out his sword, firmly holding it with both hands.
Amaya dashed forward, swinging her fist with all of her might. The strike blew against Ace's chest. But it was useless as he wasn't even moved or harmed.
Bam!
As Amaya tried to swing once more, Ace moved and appeared behind her. A sudden wound opened up on Amaya's thigh, spilling out blood. She kneeled down from the pain, but only for a moment. The speed of her opponent was near instant. Amaya regained her footing and turned to swing at Ace who gently stepped to the side, and dodged.
Fwsh.
A counter quickly came.
The handle of Ace's sword slammed into Amaya's chest, knocking her down.
Thump!
"Amaya, you're too overconfident in your combat ability. I suggest you get a grip on reality. I know many people who died because they thought they could handle something. And I know for a fact, you can't clear that dungeon alone." said Ace.
Amaya stood back up, replying "Atsuya, Alison and Humbert died because of my bad leadership. Their death is something I need to avenge on my own."
Ace nearly let out a surprise gasp. It Was right then and there that he realized what was going on.
"Atsuya, Alison and Humbert? Death?" Ace shook his head, letting out a sigh and placing his sword away. He continued.
"Ah. I see now. You want to avenge their death? But you want to do it alone. Correct?"
"..yeah," Amaya replied.
"Then there's no need for you to do anything. They're not dead. You see, they were only frozen."
Ace explained that they were only frozen, but still alive. After Amaya had lost consciousness that time her arm was removed, Ace used heat magic to unfreeze Atsuya, Alison and Humbert. They didn't have any injuries and were in perfect heath, so they had no need to get medical attention after leaving the dungeon.
The shadow that once covered the entirety of Amaya's face then vanished.
"So, they're alive?"
"That's right." Ace nodded.
Amaya couldn't even look him in the eye. She was too ashamed of her own actions, so she only looked at the dirt.
Ace coughed and continued on his original path toward the dungeon, along with his trustworthy friends, Aguish and Bayaz, who were both protectors.
Standing in silence, Amaya wanted to offer help to them but they looked capable. Far more capable than herself. Looking at her thigh, Amaya saw that her wound already healed. But, a large chunk of her Hp was missing.
[Hp: 78,109,628 /190,834,752]
'And he wasn't even trying. Hmm. Maybe I'll ask him to spar with me one day. By the looks of it, I already know he'll win.'
Somewhere among the trees….
There were two men wearing purple masks, hidden among the trees, watching Amaya the entire time. They were even there to witness her get easily defeated by Ace Skyman.
"Ever since we started to monitor her, Amay has had a great ability for growing to match her opponents. Now, it seems like her new level of power has made her pretty dull. Her skill in fighting has decreased, her ability to think straight has also gone down and so has her ability to grow." said the first man.
"Ahhh, yes. That is a problem among most who get sudden power ups. They end up relying on their stats alone to get things done. Amaya is no exception." the second man replied.
The first man sat down against one of the trees and let out a loud, slow sigh of exhaustion.
"I don't think she's of much concern to the dark mages anymore. We can use her strength, definitely, but I don't think she's all that much of a threat."
"Truly, Your words speak no lies."
Swsh.Slashsss!
The two men lost their head by the clean swing of a sword.
Thump Thump.
The person responsible was Kono. Because of his connections, he was able to get his hands on info from the dark mages. Info that involved Amaya.
'My original plan was to watch her and learn about her abilities. But, I didn't think I'd find him to.'
Kono's hand was itching to run into the dungeon, after Ace Skyman. Yet, Kono was aware that wasn't an encounter he could survive as it was no ordinary dungeon. With it's rank being Legendary, Kono would not be able to even take on the weakest monster in there. In the off chance that he snuck past any monster, there was no way for him to win in combat against All three of the protectors inside. Even in a one on one fight, Kono still would be incapable of defeating Ace.
'I reached part of my goal, and that's getting to know about Ace's location. Now, I just need to keep a tab on him until I get stronger.'
Looking at the headless bodies of the two dark mages, this was the only time Kono was thankful for their appearance.
'If they weren't so good at stalking, I wouldn't have found Ace.'
Now that he knew the whereabouts of Ace, tailing him at any given time would be a breeze as long as he was still in the kingdom of Therngo. So, Kono decided that it was time to call it a day and head back. But when he turned to walk away, he found himself surrounded by multiple men, all wearing white masks.
"Hah, I should've known there were more of you out here." said Kono.
One of the men walked forward, gratefully waving his arms around, appearing to be leading the group.
"Oh,oh, oh, oh. You know, we were about to kill you. But, I know you're kind from anywhere. You're a surviving member of the clan of death."
Kono's eyes widened as the man's words were true. But, how did this dark Mage know about his background by just seeing him.
"How did you know that?" Kono asked.
"Oh, we know lots of things. It's easy to tell by the way you observe and how your eyes constantly study everything."
With those traits alon, it shouldn't be possible to easily narrow someone's background down. There had to be more. Much more.
"That makes sense. Well, if i was an idiot that's what I'd be saying. But I know you're not telling me everything."
Kono kept a still and calm demeanor as the man started walking in circles around him. As the man did so, he began to unfold the start of a conversation.
"Do you not realize the position you're in? I don't think you're the one to question us. Say, the power you possess is pretty valuable. Why don't you come join up with us? It would be a waste for you to just be doing normal assassin work."
The dark mage's words were enough to make Kono envelope into silence.
"Sooo. What do you say?" the man went on, trying to get a response.
Kono broke into laughter, shaking his head.
"Oh, come on. Why would I just simply offer my help to your stupid little organization for free. You know nothing about negotiations. But, I'll tell you what, how about I kill each and one of you. Sorry, but I've never liked you dark mages."
The man stopped and turned his back to Kono, muttering.
"Oh, what a shame. You leave us no choice then."
Three of the masked men sprinted toward Kono.
In only a couple silent swipes, they were sliced apart.
Thump. Thump.Thump.
Their corpses hit the ground and Kono gently wiped his blade off. Then with a single, deadly glare, he spoke.
"Come on. Don't just send your men to die."
The leader of this gathering of dark mages lifted his arms into the air, as if he was celebrating the death of his own allies.
"Truly amazing. Despite being around the same level in power, you still killed three of us without even trying. I think I won't kill you after all."
Kono didn't give one hell about the Dark Mage's compliment. Instead, Kono only replied. rudely.
"Who ever put you in charge of them obviously didn't see your stupidity. Also, if you're not going to kill me then leave already? You're an eyesore."
The man twirled around, before stopping and shooting a look in Kono's direction.
"Oh, we won't kill you. We'll just bring you into one of our little hide-outs. You'll be a great subject to experiment with. But of course, If you decide to join us, that's always up for discussion."
Kono still had no intention of joining up with freaks like them, no matter how they would torture him. But, they torturing would only happen if they captured him, of course. Kono made a decision. A decision to kill each and every dark mage here. Only then, he would be able to leave without a worry.
Kono lifted his sword at a high angle, gripping it firmly with both hands.
"Let's get this fight started."
"Sure!!!" The man yelled in an angered yet amused voice.
Within moments, dark mages crowded around him and began slashing their bladed weapons at him. Kono's arms moved at great speeds, blocking and parrying the many attacks as they came. And even though he was surrounded, he was steadily keeping up, stepping around and defending from in each direction.
The man leading this gathering of dark mages stood in the far back, admiring the brilliant view of a sword show. As the metallic weapons continued colliding, blazing sparks were sent scattering all around.
All which brought delight to their leader's eyes.
"You really are something, aren't you?"
But, Kono could not focus on the man's words, as it took every ounce of focus to fight against the many attackers. Losing concentration for even a second would cause his fight to end in defeat. Kono kept up, defending against the attacks. In his legs, back and arms, he could feel exhaustion creeping closer by the second.
'I can't stop now…'
As a burning pain enveloped inside him, he wanted to give up, but his sword still rapidly deflected the blades as they slashed. Kono kept this up, as he observed, waiting for the perfect chance to catch each of his opponents off guard. Then to his luck, an opening came. One of the dark mages stopped their attacks only for a brief second. But a second was all Kono needed. He swiftly ducked down, smashing his fist within the floor all while shouting.
"Sacred: Traveling Shocking"
A strong current of electricity traveling through the ground. Every dark mage was hit and injected with an immerse shocking pain as they slowly faded into death.
ZZzzz crackle!
zThe only reason Kono was able to keep up as long as he did was due to his massive adrenaline rush. However, it shortly ran out, leaving him to feel the sore feeling overcoming his limbs. Yet, he couldn't rest now. There was still one more opponent, the leader of this gathering.
"You're lucky you stood far enough from my spell," said Kono.
The dark mage nodded in agreement as he slowly removed his mask until his face became visible. He wore a wide, twisted smile, showing his razor sharp teeth. His skin was pale enough to reveal the veins under his eyes. Last but not least, he had ruby red eyes, matched by his dark red hair.
"Yes, I was lucky to not be in the range of your spell. You see, I'm weak when compared to stronger tiers in the organization."
"I don't care about how the rankings work. I just want to end our encounter, here and now."
The man titled his head while holding a confused expression.
"Now? Even before I got to telI you my name? I really wanted to talk some more. Oh well…" The man briefly let out a sigh, then continued.
"....I'll grant your wish and end this encounter. Sleep tight."
Kono began to wonder what the man meant by that and went on to ask about it.
"What do you me-"
Wrap! Grip! Squeeze!
Before he came close to finishing his question, the ground broke apart and had risen up, wrapping around Kono's body, squeezing him.
He tried to squirm free but, he was too worn out to even come close to escaping. It wrapped around, tighter and tighter, until his consciousness slowly faded out…..