The giant chimera's head was split in two halves with no blood spilled whatsoever.
With the loss of the head, the body soon stopped moving as it's aura receded.
A few seconds later and it was a cold carcass with no signs that it was a source of fear for Felix.
Even though the chimera had received a beating from Nathan, it still took a lot from Felix to land the finishing blow.
Taking a deep breath, He calmed his nerves as he retracted his arm.
At the same time, several notification tabs appeared in his field of vision.
[Notice. You have defeated a stronger opponent]
[Your status has risen]
[Ordena has been recovered]
[Congratulations to host]
Pursing his lips, Felix inquired. "Is it possible to recreate this one?"
[Notice. It possesses a seed of chaos so Its impossible]
Felix had a feeling he wouldn't be able to recreate it, thus he didn't bother to ask further as he leaped down from the mountainous body of the chimera.
Nathan waited patiently below, only approaching once he saw Felix drop down.
Looking him over with keen eyes, Nathan nodded satisfactorily. "Good, your aura is becoming tangible now."
"Aura?" Felix put up a brow.
"Mn." Nathan replied. "Take it like an extension of your will. The stronger your aura gets, the more your Will would be able to affect others."
Felix pursed his lips. "So like the pressure I felt from the chimera is aura?"
"Mn, albeit rudimentary, it existed because of it's… innate strength. In any case, a skilled aura user wouldn't need to bother himself when faced with weaker opponents. Their will would be enough to suppress them easily." Nathan explained.
After gaining preliminary understanding on aura and it's uses, the duo scanned the battlefield to ensure they didn't miss anything before making their way through the decimated Inner city.
There was nothing of note apart from the dilapidated buildings and burn marks that looked like the area had experienced a hell of a crisis, but this was a dungeon, that didn't make any sense… right?
Soon enough, they made their way across before reaching yet another arch that led to the center of the dungeon and even more importantly, the boss room.
Nathan stretched a bit before making his way in with Felix following behind.
The knowledge about aura caused Felix to be wary of enemies that were stronger than him, after all, how sure was he that he wouldn't fall into the hands of a being capable of utilizing aura effectively unlike the giant chimera from earlier.
After walking for over 15 minutes, they saw light.
Instead of white, the aforementioned light was a bright red, reminiscent of blood.
After a brief flash, they found themselves in a great hall with massive pillars reaching so high, they'd have to bend their necks to see the end.
The walls of the hall seemed to have been once decorated but for some reason now lay in shambles.
"Looks like a fight went down here." Nathan muttered as they slowly made their way across.
Along the way, Felix noticed even more statues like the ones they saw earlier but these ones depicted a more feral version.
Felix couldn't help but wonder what the statues represented.
Suddenly, Nathan paused and reached out to stop Felix when he noticed he hadn't followed suit.
"What?" Felix asked absentmindedly.
Nathan gestured forward with a grim look. "Over there."
Felix looked to where he was pointing only to furrow his brows.
A tall gate laid at the end of the hall with a seal at its center.
But what caught their eyes wasn't the tall gate, instead, it was the one currently seated on a chair in front of the gate.
A suit of armor with a great sword embedded into the ground beside it.
It's glowing green eyes gave a sharp contrast to the overarching red landscape and it's black armor gave off a dark mist that enveloped it.
"Is that the boss?" Felix asked after a few seconds of silence.
Nathan pursed his lips. "…I'm not sure."
"Do we attack?"
"…I don't know."
"…Is something wrong?"
This time Nathan didn't answer immediately as he pondered for a moment before sighing. "There was something off about this dungeon the moment we stepped in."
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"A red dungeon normally doesn't encompass such a wide area. Also, it shouldn't have had complex mechanisms like golems but this one breaks both rules easily."
Felix felt a familiar sense of foreboding crawl up his spine as he asked. "So what are you trying to say?"
"This dungeon might not be a Red dungeon after all."
"But…"
"Mn, the color of the portal was red." Nathan quickly replied before taking a step forward only for the suit of armor to react as it say up in it's chair, it's gaze trained on the two individuals currently discussing like it wasn't present.
"Which can only mean that this dungeon has two settings, with this place being the first or more like, easy mode and then the place beyond that gate which I'm guessing is the main dungeon." Nathan paused before taking another step forward. "Am I right… what do I call you?"
Morgoth
"There we go." Nathan remarked as though he expected the response.
Felix's eyebrows twitched. "So this means, we aren't done yet."
"Not quite." Nathan replied casually. "We want to cross that gate, will you let us pass?"
Return… you are not worthy to enter his chambers
"There's a problem with that because we can't leave without clearing the scenario."
I know
For the first time, Nathan's expression crumpled as he didn't expect the response.
'Is this really a dungeon?'
My master slumbers, hopeful that a worthy soul might free him from his shackles. Unfortunately you are not worthy, so I shall be your opponent to free you from this place. Come… defeat me and you may leave.
Silence reigned after Morgoth finished his speech after which Felix spoke up. "Are you sure this is a dungeon?"