The parasite lair was under a massive mountain, this was obvious when Evan, Halvor, Klaus, and Hana reached the mountain. However, now they had another task - to find a way through because, without it, they would never be able to reach the parasite lair as well as destroy it.
The crystal sphere as well as an arrow, whose direction had changed due to Evan's actions, was able to show them in which direction to move, and soon they reached their goal.
"What are those freaks...?" Hana whispered with obvious concern, looking at the two creatures standing in front of the passageways.
They were humanoid, in some ways they even looked like humans, however, it only seemed that way at first glance.
There was no skin on their bodies, only exposed muscles, sometimes trembling here and there, as if someone had just skinned them like an animal. Unlike humans, they had four arms, very long with claws as sharp as blades. Anyone who came within range of their attack would immediately face a barrage of blades that could turn any flesh into a pulp.
Unlike the beasts that had been mutated by parasites, their bodies were not so ugly and chaotic, though their heads could intimidate even the bravest warrior.
Two horizontal jaws with tongues as long as whips swayed slowly in the air, trying to sense any fluctuations-perhaps the fear of their would-be victim.
"Hmm... They look stronger than any we've met before. What do you think?" Halvor asked, pondering the situation.
Evan nodded, "Yeah, they look like a finished product if it can even be called that. No chaotic outgrowths, growths, or extra limbs, just what's needed for combat."
Klaus put his hand on the hilt of his rapier as a sharp glint passed through his eyes, "What do we do? Halvor, can you kill them with Ignite? Surely they are not strong enough to withstand the power of your spell."
Halvor was ready to agree, for Klaus's suggestion sounded logical. As the only mage in their squad and the strongest member, Halvor had to take out the main opponents. It was his job as the elder and as the hunter who allowed the parasites to grow.
"Wait." Evan said sharply, extending a hand forward in front of Halvor's chest.
"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Halvor raised an eyebrow puzzled, "If you're worried about my mana, you shouldn't be. In order to deal with these monsters I only spend a small portion of mana. My Ignite was running at a maximum of 25% of its power."
Evan nodded, "Sure. I remember what happened when your axe flew into the mutated moose. That blast was many times stronger than anything you'd done before."
"So...? What's the matter then?"
Evan sighed, "We need to deal with them quietly. If it's a parasite lair, then there's a queen inside, a main larva, or something. Someone has to create parasites all the time, you know. Rules of nature and all that."
"In that case, there's a real impregnable military base inside, even more so. They act as one, as a lair almost like insects. If they find out about the intruders too soon, they'll gather around the main larvae, while we'll be attacked by the strongest."
Klaus frowned, "Come on. I may sound overconfident, but we are strong enough to deal with them! What's more, Halvor's fire is the best tool against flesh and blood monsters!"
Evan shrugged, "Don't be silly. It's not about whether we're strong enough or not. Even if we kill them all, we'll spend so much time on it that the main larva and its crowd will escape. In that case, it'll soon start all over again and we won't have a compass from the demon anymore."
Klaus said nothing, he only turned away, as if unwilling to admit defeat in their brief but important argument.
Hana looked at Evan and asked, "Then what do we do?"
Evan pulled his broad sword from his belt, running his palm over the cold blade, "You and Klaus will keep your distance from us so the monsters don't notice you. These two will be handled by me and Halvor. I'll freeze them and Halvor will use his superior physical power to finish them off. That's my plan."
...
No one bothered to argue with Evan, so after a few minutes, he and Halvor were near the passageway.
Evan didn't know how long his ice would be able to hold off the monsters, but for Halvor, even a few seconds would be enough. Of that he was sure.
The monsters didn't notice them, so as soon as Halvor showed his readiness to act, Evan rushed forward.
"Rrrrrrkkkkkk!!!"
In a heartbeat, the monsters spotted him and started banging their jaws - not loud enough to be heard by the other vermin, but intimidating and intimidating.
However, for Evan, this was an advantage. Just now, his opponents had wasted several seconds of useless intimidation. That was enough for Evan to activate his sword's ability.
Anyone could use the catalyst, as there was a mana-giving magic crystal inside it, and the runes on the catalyst were spells. Thus, even a child could cast a spell if they wanted to, but to do so they needed to have a catalyst, which was too expensive for commoners.
Whooooooooooosh.
The monsters lunged forward, but before they could attack, Evan thrust his sword deep into the ground like Aron had done before, during their battle in the prison.
The blue crystal shone brightly, dramatically lowering the temperature around them to a low point and releasing frosty currents of air that were stronger than any blizzard.
As soon as the frost reached the monsters, they turned into ice statues, as if time had frozen forever for them.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
However, in less than three seconds, cracks began to crack through the thick layer of ice - the monsters were ready to break free of their captivity at any moment.
Evan wasn't scared, he just grinned at the broad-shouldered silhouette that was already behind the monsters.
Halvor's hands clutched his massive axe, its sharp blade glinting off the brightly shining moon like the harbinger of death that would send the monsters into the depths of darkness forever.