With the monster focused on Yuki, I dashed around it, cutting off its bones, forcing it to change its focus to me, though whenever it did that, Yuki would charge into it with her shield, once again garnering the monster's attention while also knocking it off balance, which I would use to try and get close, though whenever I did, the monster would use it's [Spike Breath]; making it nearly impossible to get close without getting impaled by at least several of them.
Seeing a significant amount of mana converge around the monster's mouth, I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I launched a powerful [Wind Blade] at the skeleton using more mana than usual, hoping to interrupt its attack, yet when the thick blade of wind landed atop the skeleton, a decently deep gash appeared on its body, but that was it.
Failing to interrupt the monster, I quickly changed directions and headed toward Yuki; though, I was slightly too slow as the monster had already launched its breath, shooting a multitude of javelin-sized spikes at us. Inwardly cursing, I slowed down my perception of time, and for the first time since I left Master's home, I used [Lightning Cloak]; feeling the sensation of lightning surrounding my body, all of my physical attributes significantly increased once more, allowing me to properly react.
Block, cutting, and dodging, I did all of that to the numerous spikes in my way, though unfortunately, there were so many of them, and they were moving so fast, I didn't remain unharmed; thankfully, nothing too serious.
Cutting a few more spikes that were in my way, I finally arrived behind Yuki, causing me to sigh in relief as I stopped using the lightning cloak since, while it was very strong, it drank my mana like there was no tomorrow.
"A-Alex, are you okay!?" Exclaimed Yuki in concern and surprise as she looked back at Alexander while her shields blocked the continuous breath of spikes.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine; only some cuts." Replied Alexander with a nod as he covered a small wound on his stomach, which was healing rapidly.
'Tsk, that's quite a lot of blood I spilled.' Mused Alexander with a frown as he glanced at the trail of his golden blood.
Raising Trina into the air, I poured mana into her, and a large ball of fire manifested at the tip of the sword; using [Fire Blast], I continued to pour a decent amount of mana into it, causing it to get much bigger while it's reddish color got slightly brighter, taking on an orangish hue. Once the skeleton stopped using its breath, I launched the ball of fire at the trail of blood I had left behind, burning my ichor to a crisp and getting rid of any evidence.
"Take this your, bastard!" Yelled Yuki aggressively as she charged toward the monster, the two colliding with each other using their shields and clubs.
Rolling my eyes at how overly dramatic she was being, I followed up from right behind her before sliding underneath her legs and cutting the monster's foot in half, causing it to lose its balance and tip forward, right into Yuki, who powerfully swung her shield at its ribcage; however, true to its impressive endurance, she was only able to lightly crack a few of its bones.
"I've got it pinned, Alex!" Yelled Yuki as she moved out of the way, allowing the monster to fall onto the ground before rushing forward and standing atop its chest while constantly slamming the butt of her shields onto its head.
Pushing off the ground, I dashed toward Yuki and the monster, aiming right for its neck while using all of my physical enhancing skills except for my lightning cloak; coating my swords in fire, I swiftly slashed down on the monster's neck, yet surprisingly, it didn't try to dodge at all, meaning, it was still very much alive.
'Oh yeah, Yuki did say the head or heart.' Mused Alexander as he looked at the limp skeleton body without a head before turning around and leaping onto the skeleton's head.
Landing on its skull, I used [Expand] on Zartha, increasing her size by double before stabbing her into the skull of the skeleton, and although it rapidly shook, it was too late; the instant my swords stabbed all the way through, the monster stopped moving entirely.
"It's dead, right?" Asked Yuki as she cautiously eyed the skeleton's body while approaching Alexander, who nodded with a faint smirk.
"Yes, it's definitely dead." Replied Alexander with a slight smile as he removed his sword from the skeleton's head while the size returned to normal before he holstered them onto his back.
"Hahaha! I can't believe it; that was so easy!" Yelled Yuki loudly as she removed her helmet and let out a boisterous laughter unbefitting her womanly voice.
"Yeah, it was pretty easy." Said Alexander with a nod as he slightly frowned while resting his hand on his heart.
'That uneasy feeling, even after killing the monster, is still present.' Thought Alexander with a frown as he felt his beating heart while warily looking around, searching for anything unnatural.
While observing my surroundings, hoping to pinpoint why my heart was warning me, I was suddenly lifted into the air by four arms tightly squeezing my body as I was face to face with Yuki.
"What are your swords made of, Alex? For them to be able to slice through the skeleton's body with ease, they must be at least of the Epic rank! Maybe even Legendary!?" Remarked Yuki enthusiastically as she looked at Alex, who was being crushed against her sturdy armor.
"I-I'll tell you b-but y-you must f-first r-release me; I-I'd like t-to breath please." Replied Alexander with a pained expression as he looked at Yuki, who awkwardly laughed before setting him on the ground.
"Haa, thank you; now, as for my swords. I'm not telling." Said Alexander with a sigh of relief as he fixed his clothes before looking up at Yuki with a sly smirk, causing her to pout while glaring at him.
"Hmph, liar." Muttered Yuki in annoyance as she scoffed before folding her four arms and looking away, causing Alexander to chuckle to himself.
"Hehe, you're quite cute when you act like that, Yuki." Remarked Alexander lightly as he gazed at Yuki, who slightly blushed from his words.
"C-C-Cute? N-No one has ever called me cute before." Whispered Yuki softly with a deep blush as she grabbed her cheeks in embarrassment while looking behind her, glancing at Alexander, who was approaching the skeleton's body.
Kneeling, I grabbed Zartha off my back and started butchering the skeleton body, which was proving to be an easy and clean process, something I was very fond of, especially since I was not practically covering myself in the monster's disgusting blood.
"Yuki, how much will this skeleton sell for?" Asked Alexander curiously as he glanced at Yuki, who was currently in her own little world.
I had called out to Yuki several times, but whatever she was thinking about must've been very important since she completely ignored my calls.
'The hell's up with her?' Mused Alexander curiously with a raised eyebrow as he looked at Yuki before shaking his head.
Figuring I'd ask her later after I finished, I continued butchering the skeleton, and thanks to Master, despite the monster's massive size, I was able to store all of it in my space pouch; the perks of having a filthy rich Master.
"Heh, thank you, Master." Muttered Alexander with a faint smile as he looked toward the ceiling, only to suddenly fall to the ground, dodging a ball of scorching fire from hitting his back.
Looking at the ball of fire hit the wall, I used [Heroes Gaze], which gave me a complete three-hundred-sixty view of my surroundings, allowing me to see several people standing at the entrance to the fifteenth floor, and unfortunately, said people were all too familiar.
"Firemania." Muttered Alexander with a frown while lying on the ground, only to instantly spring into action when he noticed Lucy, who had just attacked him, switch her target to Yuki.
Quickly standing up, I dashed toward Yuki while unholstering both of my swords, and I arrived in front of her just in time to coat my swords in fire before slashing the ball of fire in half, causing the two pieces to go around us.
"Eh, w-what was that?" Asked Yuki as she was finally snapped out of her trance before looking around, only to sport a furious expression when she noticed the Firemania party.
"To think all this time, Yuki was actually a woman; how surprising." Said Lucy lightly as she stood at the forefront of her party while glancing at Yuki, who wore her helmet and grabbed her shields.
"Lucy, don't think I won't kill you just because we're both adventurers!" Stated Yuki aggressively as she stood in front of Alexander while glaring at Lucy through the slit in her helmet with her piercing yellow eyes.
"Heh, big words from the walking target; however, that's the whole reason I came here. Adventurers killing each other is prohibited, but no one will ever find out about it here, will they?" Remarked Lucy with a scoff as she eyed Yuki before she wore an arrogant expression while her eyes were filled with a wicked light.
"Can we not just talk about this?" Asked Alexander with a frown as he eyed Lucy and her party, his words causing her to chuckle.
"Hehe, yes, I don't mind talking about this, though I'll only speak to your corpse. Kill them!" Stated Lucy with a wicked chuckle as she raised her staff before pointing it at Yuki and Alexander while her five party members all dashed toward them.