More than three hundred Mutated Fire Ants had entered the Boss Room.
They immediately occupied it.
On the ground, ceiling, and walls, Fiery's Offspring stood.
And yet, all they could do, was stand around, with their heads and antennas moving in every direction.
'Where's the Guardian...?' Mark asked himself.
Just as he was about to enter the Boss Room himself, a lone flame appeared in the middle of said room.
The flame grew and grew.
Eventually, it turned into a large sphere of raging flames.
'What is...!'
Before Mark could even finish his thought, the giant ball of fire suddenly shrank.
'FIERY! GET THEM OUT-'
BOOM-
An incredible explosion occurred.
Even though he stood outside the Boss Room, Mark could feel the shockwave pushing his body away.
The hundreds of Mutated Fire Ants fell to the ground.
Their bodies had either been turned to ash or burnt to a crisp.
'So much for that plan...'
Mark stared at the now covered by burning flames and unmoving corpses Boss Room.
"Well, well. Won't the little mouse enter?" A voice resonated.
Surprised, Mark took a step back.
"Afraid of getting burnt? Don't be..." The same voice added.
'Is that... The Guardian? Is it invisible or something?'
One of Mark's Underlings took a step forward.
"Should I enter the room, my Lord?" Levi asked.
Mark stared at the seemingly vacant Boss Room without answering.
"Come in, little mouse."
'Mm. No matter how much I look, even with my Advanced Kinetic Vision, I can't detect any movements inside...'
Mark took a deep breath.
'Taunts and provocations of this level don't work on me anymore...'
He stepped forward
'Still, I'll make you regret those words.' Mark thought as Aura started oozing out of his body.
"That's it. Come on in..."
Mark entered the Boss Room.
'Let's start with this...'
Immediately, a flick of his tail cut through the air.
The pressure exerted was such that the flames that reigned over the room were extinguished.
The flames disappeared, and a lone creature was revealed.
'The irony...'
Mark's feet cracked the ground below.
'You calling me a mouse?'
The creature was what seemed to be a rat covered in flames.
A punch strong enough to shake the floor landed.
'Since it's so small, that should probably do it...' Mark thought as he raised his fist.
To his surprise, no blood.
No corpse.
But that surprise was mild.
After all, it was a Guardian he was supposed to fight.
'This takes me back...'
And Mark had long ago learned not to underestimate the Guardian Monsters.
'Just like the Skeleton on the Eighth Floor, huh? Or was it the Seventh? Mark asked himself.
"My Lord!" Levi shouted.
A Fire Ball exploded upon colliding with Mark's "Impenetrable Barrier[C]".
He raised his body and turned around.
In front of him, now stood the Second Floor's Guardian.
'I know this Floor is based on the Element of Fire or whatever... But this is a bit much. That's the Guardian, right?'
[Correct.]
"Of course, this much fire wouldn't be enough. A protective barrier. Not bad..." The Guardian uttered.
In front of Mark, stood what looked like a Human.
It could have been considered as such, was its body not entirely made of flames.
'So its body is continually burning...'
The next second, Levi appeared behind the Guardian.
A destructive punch was about to land on its head.
"Trying to win with numbers? How..."
Levi's eyes widened.
His attack had caught nothing but air.
"Utterly pathetic." The Boss Monster commented.
Thanks to his Advanced Kinetic Vision, Mark had perfectly seen what had happened.
The Guardian hadn't dodged.
Levi's fist simply passed through its burning body.
"Troublesome." Levi said, before quickly jumping away and joining Mark's side.
Not only did his attack fail to land, but a burnt mark had appeared on his fist.
'Yeah...' Mark stared at the burning Guardian.
The sides of his mouth rose up, setting free his deadly and sharp fangs, in what could otherwise be described as a smile.
Apart from Levi, all of Mark's Underlings had only taken a few steps upon entering the Boss Room.
"Well then, if that's all..." The Guardian said as he raised his palm to the ceiling.
Immediately, Mark's new Passive Skill "Fire Hide[C+]" activated.
Protective flames appeared around his body.
'Fiery. Light.'
A protective barrier made of flames appeared around his Underling, protecting the Moonlit Feline who was on lying on its back.
The Demonic Dark Wolf had moved closer to Fiery before the latter used the Magic Skill.
To the Moonlit Feline's displeasure.
Hiss-
"Let's make this a short and pleasant encounter." The Guardian said as a sphere of raging flames appeared over its palm.
'Will he target me...? Or Levi...?'
BOOM-
[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]
[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]
...
'Fuck... He just makes them explode without shooting, huh? Tsk. For four of them to die so early. They all have Fire Resistance too...'
Of course, each Underling had the "Fire Resistance" Passive Skill, to varying degrees of resistance though.
The 2 Unique Lower Demon Warriors and the 3 Unique Velvet Werewolves disappeared before they could even act.
On the other hand, the rest was intact.
"Mmmm. It seems I will have to burn a bit more fiercely." The Guardian said nonchalantly.
'Burn...?'
As if taken by the wind, the flames that made up the Guardian's body faded
The next instant, the Boss Monster reappeared in front of Mark.
Instinctively, the latter's tail moved.
The Guardian's body was cut in two.
The air pressure from Mark's "Sonic Tail Flick[B+]" scattered the Boss Monster's flames away.
"Wowowow. No need to be that forceful!" The enemy's voice resonated throughout the Boss Room.
'Its body isn't burning...'
The scattered flames eventually reconnected, taking on a human's appearance once more.
'Its body is made up of those flames...?'
Mark could feel the sting from touching the Guardian's flames, despite his"Fire Resistance" Passive Skill being [A] Ranked.
"There's this innate feeling that-"
The Guardian's words were interrupted by the Inferior Fire Wyrm's burning breath.
'Good. There's no way that breath wouldn't have done at least some damage. Health Points are Health Points. Whether you're made of flames or not-'
To Mark's surprise, the Guardian was standing tall, while the ferocious breath rained hell upon it.
With its hand resting on its forehead, the Boss Monster clicked its tongue.
"One, don't interrupt. It's rude. Two..."
The Guardian raised its hand.
"That's not how Fire is wielded."
A peaceful expression was on the Guardian's face, as raging flames descended upon it.
'Wha-
The incoming flames, instead of crashing into the Boss Monster, started circling around it.
The fierce flames, that made up the Inferior Fire Wyrm's destructive breath, seemed to dance around the Guardian.
In that instant, Mark and Levi were forced to stop moving.
They couldn't bring themselves to do a thing. but stand and watch the spectacle in front of them unfold.
The Guardian raised its arms, and the flames rose too
The flames didn't hit the Boss Monster.
The Inferior Fire Wyrm's attack, could no longer be described as such.
Therefore, it stopped.
The Underling had been forced to stop.
The Fire, that the Inferior Fire Wyrm was spewing, was no longer its own.
That Fire, now had a new Master.
"I'm not sure what those are, but they are inspiring me."
'Huh?'
The next second, the Inferior Fire Wyrm's flames that the Guardian had amassed took form.
They were turned into a dozen spears.
'For real...?'
The spears of fire were exact copies of the ones Mark had made for his Unique Lower Demon Warriors.
Except that, of course, these weren't made of bones, but flames.
The spears hovered above the Guardian.
The Inferior Fire Wyrm roared loudly.
"Are you mad that I took what was yours? Don't worry about it. After all..."
The Guardian lowered its arm.
The burning spears pierced through the air.
The Inferior Fire Wyrm's Fire was thrown back at it.
Each time a spear touched the Underling, an explosion occurred.
Each time a spear touched the Underling, a portion of its body was lost.
[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]
"That Fire was never yours to begin with."