In the morning, near the City of Orlando, 10 days later.
A squad of 2nd Circle Knights headed inside the destroyed mansion of Count Werbner. The five 3rd Circle Knights and Mages looked vigilantly and searched around for any type of evidence.
"The necromancer was here about two months ago… Maybe more…'' The Court Mage's blue eyes gleamed as he used a spell and concluded.
Beside him, the beastkin adventurer suddenly teleported outside. She had an innate Lesser Teleportation skill. The old Grand Knight Rowan looked at her and asked, ''Anything?''
Ariel shook her head. ''We should leave it to the Exorcists.''
Long lines appeared on the Marquis' face as he sighed. Exorcists? The church had refused to send reinforcements despite knowing that their paladins had died here. They even dismissed what Gilbert said about the lurking evil in the dungeon.
Rowan found it odd. Ever since the Archbishop left, things were getting suspicious with the Holy Church.
The marquis didn't have a good feeling about this mission. And in such a time, there was another trouble coming along with them. The new queen's son.
Looking at the third prince ordering the Royal Knights, Rowan let out a sigh again.
"Why must His Majesty allow him to come with us?''
Neither Ariel nor Ivan replied to the Marquis. All three knew Prince Splennar was useless in this mission.
The young man was a mere 2nd Circle Knight with little achievements to back up his strength. The prince said he wanted to prove to his father. Prove what, exactly?
''He's too young to think about the throne,'' The beast girl commented.
Ivan looked at her with a judgemental stare, telling her to not talk about royal affairs. As an adventurer, Ariel cared little for etiquette and whatnot. Though she understood the Court Mage and just chuckled, looking the other way.
''Let's go to the city first and rest, sire. According to the map, we are getting near the dungeon. It would take another week at most,'' At this moment, a veteran mage came forward and said.
The mansion of Count Werbner was located on a hilltop, and it was possible to see the whole view of Orlando from there. Especially the church's spire which shined under the sun.
Suddenly, Ariel's beige hair flowed in an unnatural manner as a dark shadow appeared beneath her feet.
''I'll go first and ask around.'' The moment these words left her mouth, the shadow enveloped her body, and she soundlessly disappeared.
No matter how many times she did it, everyone was awed. The power to move instantly from one place to another… Who wouldn't be impressed by it?
It was because of this skill that Ariel, despite being only at the 4th Circle, could complete an A-Rank quest. It wasn't easy to become such a high-level adventurer. Even people in the other kingdoms knew about Ariel, The Shadow Mistress.
If she could travel long distances instantly… That would be even more terrific.
''With her, it will be much easier to infiltrate the dungeon,'' the marquis said.
"No, she still needs a mental image of her destination. She can't just teleport anywhere,'' Ivan began flying as he replied.
''I'll leave them to you, Lord Bradley. We'll rest here for a day and head out.''
Holding his magic staff, the tall Court Mage elegantly flew toward the city. The elite squad of Royal Knights and Mages were left for the Marquis to handle.
In a few minutes, everyone quickly got on top of their horses and different breeds of tamed monsters, descending down the hilltop.
…
Dungeon of Sin. Afternoon of the same day. It was drizzling outside.
Inside the birth chamber on the 66th floor, people were gathered around a bed on which a young woman lay, smiling peacefully.
Today, Niru had birthed a girl. It was a joyous occasion. The little one had eyes like beads of chocolate, unlike her brother which Vin birthed yesterday.
In her father's arms, she giggled instead of crying. Her voice made everyone smile a little. Jake held the baby tightly, took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. His eyes were red.
He glanced at the women who were hugging each other, shedding tears of joy.
No, it was of sadness. Niru had died.
Jake was not prepared for this. The mortality rate during childbirth was low on earth. He had forgotten modern medications were not available here. Every birth was natural.
Preparation for any type of life-threatening situation was limited to the healing of priestesses and herbs made by medieval doctors.
Niru had lost her life the moment she pushed the baby out. The labor had been too much for her body. Everything Jake tried didn't work out.
He even used Life Elixir, but it wasn't a resurrection fluid. Niru's body healed and became pristine, yet it was soulless. The elixir could heal life, nurture it, but it could not give life back.
Jake felt like something was stuck in his throat when he heard Rose's loud cries. He came back to Niru's corpse, and let the baby see her mother's face.
''Anna,'' Jake said. ''That's your name from today.''
The name was Niru's choice. Jake looked one last time at her, carried the baby and turned around. The girl began crying, throwing her little hands at her dead mother. However, Jake walked away, his grasp on the baby tightening.
''She will be remembered.''
The women looked at his broad back and covered their mouths. Tears fell endlessly from their eyes and they wondered. How could he not cry? Why?
They simply didn't notice the slight crack in his voice.
…
It was the night, around the time when the mourning stopped. Jake personally buried Niru on the 18th floor, near the underground riverbed.
He had controlled his emotions, not letting them slip out. Well, that was the first time he had experienced loss. Jake knew he was going to experience it again… and again.
Next time he would be prepared. After all, he had killed others. He deserved it, but he wouldn't repent. He was a demon.
''I will grow stronger to the point I can resurrect people. If I don't like others dying, then I will control life and death itself.''
Jake swore, listening to the sound of flowing water.
Whoosh!
He flew back to the 66th floor, spreading his wings. But at this moment, he suddenly heard a voice.
''Master, the reinforcements have reached here.'' It was an informant from Orlando.
Six days later, at Redwoods.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The tamed monsters followed the Court Mage who was flying at a moderate speed. Other mages would use a mana compass to locate a nearby dungeon, yet he didn't need it.
Ivan's Mana Sense was way more accurate. He had trained it since he started studying magic.
''Halt!''
The Grand Knight commanded, and everyone stopped. The team was outside of the thick woods now. They could see a large dark hole in the ground.
The adventuring clerics could acutely sense the evil aura oozing out of that place. The reinforcement team had hired them in Orlando. Most had posts in the city's parish.
Although the main cathedral refused to send help, they could still gather clerics from the other churches. They would be useful against the undead creatures and whatever evil being the Farseer had warned them about.
''Take out your weapons and leave your mounts,'' the marquis ordered.
Immediately, the team comprising 54 individuals got into formation. The clerics would be at the center with the surrounding mages. The knights would protect them with their shields. It was a traditional method, but it always worked.
Well, not against humans, but definitely against dungeon monsters and undead.
In a thick dark cape, Ariel stood at the edge of the dungeon. She was memorizing how this place looked, so that she could always teleport back if things went wrong.
''This…'' She suddenly heard Ivan's surprised voice.
''It's actually a 2nd Tier Dungeon!'' The Court Mage exclaimed as he hovered above the dark entrance.
His words alarmed everyone. A 2nd Tier Dungeon was a high-level danger area. Even the Adventurer's Guild stated that only C-Rank adventurers or above could clear it. Even within the whole Grimbow Kingdom, there was only one known 2nd Tier dungeon.
It was already too old to the point even the Royal family was hesitant to send out forces. Now, right under their noses, there was another second tier dungeon. Moreover, it had recently spawned.
''S-Should we retreat and-''
Everyone glared at the mage who had spoken. Under the pressuring gazes, the man tightly held his wand and looked down, saying, ''N-Nothing.''
''Hmph, this just confirms what Gilbert had said.''
Old Rowan snorted and unsheathed his heavy sword. Putting his bulky shield in front of him, the Grand Knight descended the stairs. He wasn't afraid. The others steeled their minds and followed him.
As they left the sun's light and descended into the darkness, everyone was surprised by the torches burning on the 1st floor.
It was common knowledge that low-ranking monsters usually occupied the first floor of any dungeon, and it would usually be just a dark, dirty area.
However, the 1st floor of this dungeon was different. There was no mention of a monster even as they walked a considerable distance.
''But the air here certainly doesn't feel nice.'' Ariel commented as she smelled around, wagging her fluffy tail left and right. Her fox ears rose every time she heard even a slightly suspicious sound.
She had two sharp black daggers in her hands, ready to swipe the neck of any monster which might attack her.
However, there was really nothing on the first floor, except some harmless plants which looked harmful. They had brought one of the best trap masters in the whole kingdom, yet she found not a single trap.
As the reinforcement team stepped on the second floor, the same thing repeated. Why was there no monster in a 2nd Tier dungeon?
About another hour passed, and they reached the third floor. Nothing here too. Ivan told everyone that they could rest for some time once they found the staircase leading to the fourth floor.
It was a good thing that there were no monsters. They could save energy for when they would fight the necromancer. The three of them had no doubt that Minerva was here. The Farseer hadn't been proven wrong even once yet.
On the 15th floor, Jake had his eyes closed. He could see what the intruders were doing currently.
He was waiting for them to come closer. After not seeing monsters or traps in the earlier two floors, these intruders had lowered their guards. Well, except the veterans of course.
But Jake would not target them so soon.
'Now!' He suddenly clenched his right fist while keeping both eyes closed. Concentrating on the area under the mages' feet, Jake smiled. After the dungeon advanced a tier, he could control its terrain.
That meant…
''What?!''
''Ah!''
Suddenly, large holes appeared beneath the feet of every magician. Their wands, staffs and robes made them too easy to single out even in such a large group.
The Royal Mages were completely caught off guard and fell in the holes which led directly to the lower floors. They had been vigilant of traps, but this was too sudden. There was no indication of mana flow. Even the trap master couldn't warn them.
''Curses!''
The Court Mage pointed his staff at the nearest falling man and pulled him using magic. Ivan had heard about this property of dungeons. It was as if this place had gained sentience. This was the terrifying part about high-tier dungeons.
In one fell swoop, the mages were now separated from the rest of the team. This would weaken them for sure. Ivan and Rowan were frustrated. Ariel, however, wanted to fall there. She wasn't afraid of getting lost, as she could return anytime.
Laying on a large boulder, Jake opened his eyes. He stood up and flew higher, creating a secret tunnel straight through the floors. Droge and Minerva were already on the 10th floor. The Dark Knight was on the 7th floor while Calliya was currently with the women.
Against these opponents, Jake wasn't going to waste low-level monsters. Once 4th Circle Beings fought, others would just have to stay in the sidelines to not get killed accidentally.
Jake had first planned on confronting them outside, but he quickly dismissed such a terrible idea. It was certainly quite dangerous to let such high-ranked beings inside his dungeon. Especially when he had pregnant women and newborn children.
However, he would have a huge advantage here inside! It wasn't just his familiarity with the place, but the suitable mana, and his control over the creatures as well as the dungeon itself.
Jake also had a nice trump card prepared which would surely shock the other party. Indeed, those clerics from Orlando. He had already…
Spreading his mana sense as far as he could, Ivan cast a speed buff on himself, and headed toward the staircase leading to the lower floor.
Whoosh!
Ariel followed him down. Behind them, Rowan tried calming down the forces.
On the 7th floor, Ash silently weaved between the shadows, finding every mage who had fallen through the tunnels.
Jake could sense anything happening within the dungeon. So he was making it easier for the Dark Knight by changing the routes of the tunnels, leading Ash straight to the place where the mages were.
Of course, he had told Ash to leave out the female mages. He could kill them after fucking. Jake simply wanted to maximize his profits. If he liked their pussies, he might keep them alive.
''You go first and find them!'' The Court Mage told Ariel.
The adventurer nodded. She stared ahead for a few seconds and vanished, only to appear at the place where she was staring at. The beastkin woman repeated this process, increasing her speed by 10 times.
Jake noticed it from below, she was approaching too fast. He frowned and focused on her movement pattern. Realizing that she would memorize the scene first before teleporting, Jake quickly snapped his fingers.
All torches on the floors 1-9 went out instantly. However, the fox woman still kept teleporting. Darkness didn't hinder her.
''I guess not…'' Jake muttered. Then a sharp glint appeared in his eyes.
It was all too easy to stop her, anyway. Jake began changing the pathways of multiple tunnels, making it a loop. Ariel kept teleporting in the same small location of the 4th floor, isolated from her other teammates.
However, it wouldn't take long for her to realize what was going on. Jake had to be quick.
''I can sense them, they're coming…'' Minerva looked above and smiled. Her cherry red lips made her look somewhat evil.
Jake pointed his finger above and a hole appeared in the ceiling. It was large enough to fit three school buses.
''Go!'' He told the wyvern. ''Keep the human mage busy.''
Woo… WoOoo…
Droge flapped its wings, creating loud gusts of wind and dust. It shook the ground by kicking and flew into the hole. As it appeared on the 9th floor, Jake created another hole. This was far to the left.
Creating a hole right above the wyvern would kill the monsters living on the 8th floor. Even so, Jake still destroyed the habitat of lower ranked monsters and even killed quite a few of them to make way for the wyvern.
The Court Mage had just descended on the fifth floor when the ground suddenly shook, opening a vast hole.
A feral roar resounded from its depths, and a silver-scaled wyvern appeared. With its terrifying aura, Ivan immediately recognized that it was a 5th Circle creature.
''Hah!''
He waved his staff and cast Flame Shield at once, seeing cold mist coming out of the wyvern's mouth. His intuition was right on mark because the creature shot Frost Breath the next moment, enveloping almost half of the floor in cold ice.
Jake had now isolated all three 4th Circle beings. Together, they had the power of a recently advanced 5th Circle being. However, when singled out like this, they were just a bit more powerful than other 4th Circle beings.
Jake was expecting that he would have to fight them himself, but he became a sort of controller instead.
''Minerva, go and engage with the beastkin assassin. She's already aware of what's happening,'' he suddenly said, opening his eyes.
Pointing his finger left, a hole appeared in the wall. Inside was a crudely made stone staircase.
''Can't I just wait for her to come here…?'' Minerva rested her hand on her hip and leaned on her skull staff.
''I've already led her to the 9th floor. She should be fighting with Ash now,'' Jake took a long breath as he replied.
Changing the terrain of the dungeon took a lot of mana. His mental attributes were almost depleted now. He would have to rest.
…
The team which the Grand Knight was leading appeared on the 6th floor. They still hadn't found the others. Rowan was frustrated. Someone was surely controlling parts of this dungeon, separating them!
''Look ahead!'' At this moment, someone shouted.
''Those are…''
Everyone saw monsters waiting in formation right ahead. There were skilled Ogres, Orcs and Gnolls. 3rd Circle Minotaurs, Lizardmen, Imps and Dark Spirits were also there. It was like a mini army.
Seeing such a large pack of monsters, the humans were deterred. However, the presence of Lord Bradley gave them courage. With a Grand Knight here, these monsters were nothing.
''Haaa!''
''Follow Sir Marquis!''
A battle broke out quickly.
Clang!
Ting!
All sorts of weapons clashed against each other. Blood was spilled. The heads of the monsters as well as humans rolled on the floor. As casualties began appearing, the knights requested the help of the clerics.
It was at this moment. The betrayal happened.
''Unholy Blessing!''
''Hex of Pain!''
''Open Wounds!''
''Bleed Curse!''
The very priests and priestesses who were supposed to support them now cast evil spells, helping the monsters instead!
Jake was laughing out loud on the 10th floor, looking at the despair on the knights' faces.
''Your Highness, stay with me!''
Rowan shielded the prince, cutting through the horde of monsters. His every slash and tackle killed tens of creatures. The Grand Knight was the monster here. Unfortunately, he was limited by his humane emotions.
When he was about to kill the Dark Priests, Rowan hesitated. That led to him sustaining heavy injuries.
''Ack!''
Immediately, all monsters grouped on him. He was like a wounded tiger.
[One Sword Kill]!
Bradley roared and swiped his heavy sword vertically. It created a huge shock wave which killed almost thirty monsters at once.
However, doing that took a lot of his stamina. If he hadn't focused on avoiding the remaining knights, that attack could've had a much better result. But now, more monsters poured out from the lower floors and joined in the battle.
''Lovia!'' The Grand Knight cried. ''Take the prince out of this dungeon, we are outnumbered!''
At the same time, he crushed an enchanted crystal, informing the Court Mage about his location.
Lovia was a 3rd Circle Thief and an elite Trap Master. If there was anyone better who knew how to escape from this dungeon, it was this thief.
''Your Highness, this way!''
The masked woman immediately pulled the prince, who was overwhelmed by the brutality of this battle. He had dueled with many great men, but he hadn't fought in a way where every attack is meant to take lives.
Splennar quickly let himself be pulled by Lovia. They went through a dark tunnel nearby which, for some reason, had conveniently appeared there. Jake had lots of uses for this prince.
After Jake recovered his mana, he went through the same tunnel he had made for Minerva. He could sense the fights happening above.
Droge and the Court Mage's battle was entertaining to view. The fight of that Grand Knight was also interesting.
But they still have done nothing for him to join in the battle. In his mind, Jake had already sentenced death to the monsters keeping the Marquis busy. They could always be replaced, anyway.
Jake was also not worried about the trap master escaping out of the dungeon as he had already blocked their exits. They would soon find themselves facing dead ends in all directions.
It was nearing two hours since the battle started. Climbing to the 9th floor, Jake's plan was now simple.
Corrupting those he who might be useful to him, and killing those he didn't want. To be honest, this was disappointing. This whole battle seemed underwhelming.
It could be because he was prepared from the start. If this reinforcement team had appeared when he had prepared nothing, Jake would have had much bigger loses than this.
Bam!
Tiiinnng!
He heard sounds of battle as soon as he reached the 9th floor. Jake flew over to the place where they were fighting, crossing various chambers.
Goblins used to reside on this floor, but now it was a dark and cold place. He had told every monster living here to go to the lower floors.
''She's tough!'' Minerva exclaimed at this moment, sensing Jake's presence.
He looked below and saw how the assassin clad in a black cape flickered from one location to another.
Whatever spell Minerva used, it was unable to hit the target. Her undead warriors laughably fell confronting this ghost-like assassin. The teleportation skill made this beastkin too overpowered.
Ash, the Dark Knight, couldn't even put up a fight against her. He was already injured from her numerous sneak attacks.
Whoosh!
Ariel suddenly appeared before Jake and swiped her magical dagger on his neck.
''Tch!''
He was caught off guard. Jake knelt and clutched his neck which began bleeding immediately. That dagger was poisoned as well!
[Minor Regeneration]
Jake hurriedly patched up that wound. Honestly, cutting his neck wasn't anything different from cutting his hand. He didn't need to breathe to survive. As long as his head wasn't sliced off, Jake would have control over his body.
So, he really shouldn't have panicked that much. It was because of his instincts as former human. Jake realized this only after his cut healed. He touched the red tissue on his neck which had formed a scar and withdrew a detoxification potion from his inventory.
Instead of appearing on his hand, it appeared inside robe's pocket. Jake took it out and acted as if he was going to open the bottle.
Whoosh!
The assassin suddenly teleported in front of him to steal that potion bottle. Jake smiled at this moment. She wasn't expecting it to be a bait. That bottle had disappeared from the demon's hand.
She was hit squarely on her stomach. Spilling out saliva and blood, the beast woman flew back only to disappear midair.
Ariel appeared a lot far into a distance and warily glanced at the three 4th Circle beings. She was contemplating whether she should retreat.
'No, I can still handle them alone… I have to wait for Ivan and Rowan to come…' She spat the blood in her mouth and wiped her lips, standing straight.
[Ding! You have made another individual commit a prideful sin. You gain 120 Evil Points!]
That message surprised Jake. However, he didn't lose focus. Using Demon Eye on this assassin, he saw her mana had depleted a lot.
Indeed, using that teleportation skill cost mana. It was a low amount, maybe 3-5 points, but knowing that she couldn't limitlessly teleport was somewhat comforting.
If he could, Jake would have stolen such a useful skill. However, his Greed-Specific Ability [Skill Steal] only worked on those ranked lower than him.
Now the only option left was to somehow deplete her mana, so that she wouldn't be able to get away. Of course, she would try to teleport out before that happened, so things were tricky.
Jake lightly kicked the ground and suddenly turned into a blur. Ariel just laughed at this demon trying to get her. She disappeared and appeared beside the Dark Knight, cutting his tendons again.
Before the man could attack her, she disappeared again. People didn't call her The Shadow Mistress for nothing. She had toyed with her opponents until they went mad. These three were nothing.
'Pride… What a relatable feeling…' Jake chuckled visibly.
''Fuck you!''
Minerva cursed at this moment, finding that the fox woman had cut her cheek. She hit the ground with her staff and a dark magic circle appeared. All mana converged beneath her feet.
Jake knew she was about to cast an area of effect skill. However, Ariel just teleported to the upper floor at this moment, leaving the three of them.
''Aarrggh!'' Minerva clenched her palms. Her undead seemed terrified by the pressure she emanated.
'Control yourself,' Jake told her with Magipathy. Although this necromancer was powerful, she had a fatal weakness. It was the importance she gave to her looks. It was easy to make her angry by just harming her skin.
''Master, how are we going to defeat such an opponent?'' Ash came to him at this moment.
Jake glanced above and closed his eyes. He could see that assassin inside a tunnel on the 8th floor, tending to her wounds.
'Ariel Decker huh…' To him, she felt like a rabbit. Looking like an easy prey, but quick to run away.
''We have to target her weakness…''
''And that is?'' Minerva touched her left cheek and asked.
''Her ability to teleport is a weakness in itself,'' Jake looked at her and said, ''Imagine what would happen if there was a trap right where she teleported.''
''And how would we know where she will teleport?''
Jake just smiled, tasting her salty curiosity.
Jake walked up to Minerva. He withdrew a healing potion from his inventory, opened the bottle's cork and put his long tongue inside.
The revitalized zombie woman found that scene particularly confusing. With the healing potion on his tongue, Jake came before and licked her cheek with no warning.
''Hey!'' Minerva glared at him. But when her cut began disappearing, she didn't mind it as much.
Jake held her chin, tilted his head and chuckled. ''My little witch has placed traps on the 7th and 8th floors. I know how to trap that fox.''
''You mean… Irene, the elf?'' Minerva puckered her lips and narrowed her eyes.
Jake nodded and turned around. He passed two healing potions to Ash and spoke.
''That assassin will be here soon. She's been hired to kill us, kill you especially.'' Jake looked at Minerva who rolled her eyes in anger. She looked more beautiful while making such an expression.
''If not for the fact she can teleport, that woman is nothing against me!''
Jake smiled and walked ahead. He stood on the place Ariel had disappeared at and said, ''She'll most likely reappear in this place. Keep your binding spell ready, get in position.''
This time, Minerva immediately obeyed him. Despite her hatred for Ariel, she knew the beastkin assassin was pretty skilled. Without applying some kind of tactic, it was nearly impossible for them to defeat her.
Jake contacted Irene laying on the lower floors and asked her about the specifics of the traps she'd laid.
The Dark Witch's all traps were related to the use of magic. She couldn't set mechanical traps. Jake quickly learned that the traps on the 7th and 8th floor were nigh-invisible for non-mages, or beings who couldn't sense mana.
There were lightning traps, fire traps, land traps and Ice traps. Among them, Jake focused on the restrictive traps more than killer traps.
An assassin with a teleportation skill… He had to make her his servant. She could infiltrate tightly guarded locations as long as she had been there once. Killing her would be a tremendous loss.
Jake turned to Minerva, and Ash after he finished making a plan in his mind. The goal was to severely injure Ariel and deplete her mana with various pre-placed magical traps.
''We'll have to lead her to the upper floors as quick as-''
Whoosh!
Jake suddenly rotated and threw tens of Shadow Spears behind him. At the same time, Ash shot a Ray of Darkness in the same direction.
''Hands of the Depths!'' Minerva shouted.
Ariel had just teleported to this floor when she was bombarded with various attacks.
''Aaah!''
This time, she was slow and sustained quite serious injuries. As an assassin, her physique was focused more on her agility than vitality. She had extremely quick reflexes and actually managed to dodge the Ray of Darkness.
Minerva's spell held her for a few seconds before the woman teleported back to the 8th floor.
''Quick, follow me!''
Jake spread his wings and flew toward the exit which led to the 8th floor. He knew exactly where she was.
Jake took the shortest way up, not caring whether he crushed Poison Centipedes between boulders, or made holes on the place Giant Rats were staying at.
The Dark Knight ran through the tunnel his master made, creating afterimages. The necromancer left her undead soldiers and flew behind Jake. She still ordered her two 4th Circle Death Knights to follow.
On the 8th floor, Ariel was listening to the sounds of battle above. Worried that neither Ivan nor Rowan had descended down here yet, she was about to teleport back to the 3rd floor and take a look.
But at this moment, a hole directly appeared beneath her, and she fell onto it. Before the adventurer could even teleport, all kinds of bony chains appeared sprouted from the walls and pierced through her body.
Ariel cried in pain. She accidentally turned into a beige fox and tried teleporting. But for some reason, she forgot where she wanted to teleport.
[Malefic Enchantment]!
Jake's black eyes had a sharp glint of red as he shot vertically upward, catching the fox. He created a gust of wind and landed on the 8th floor.
Behind him, Minerva and Ash respectively appeared. The hole in the floor automatically patched up. Jake threw the female fox on the ground and she wailed.
The next moment, Ariel again used teleportation. However, instead of appearing on the 3rd floor, she teleported near a wall on this floor.
It confused her to no extent. She didn't know that Jake had swapped her memory in that split moment using the same skill he used earlier.
Ariel finally seemed terrified. Just as she glanced at the three standing a distance away from her, the beastkin saw the demon snapping his fingers.
''Aaarrggggh!''
A dark blue magic circle appeared beneath her feet and thick arcs of black lightning zapped her. As a beastkin, she had minor resistance to all kinds of elemental magic, but this trap was a condensed form of Irene's Black Lightning Field.
Even as a 4th Circle being, it seriously harmed her. Also, the injuries she had gained worsened her condition. She found herself unable to even think properly.
Despair started eating her confidence and pride away. Never would have she thought that this horned demon was manipulating her emotions. Because of one teleportation failure, she now believed that she'd forgotten how to teleport precisely.
In such a condition, Jake quickly directed Ash to cast an Aura of Insanity.
The Dark Knight kicked the ground and went in Ariel's range. He plunged his longsword in the hard ground and channeled his Fallen Powers.
A dark halo burst from him and a sound akin to countless crows crying was heard. Jake and Minerva were at the edge of that skill's range, so they weren't affected. However, the beastkin being zapped by lightning was hit by it.
''Aaaaa!'' She throbbed on the ground as her hair unnaturally rose toward the ceiling. Ariel began trembling, losing control over her body and mind.
Jake quickly shot forward at this moment and stretched his hand at her. Now was the perfect time to corrupt her.
[Degeneration Halo]!
On the 6th floor, Marquis Rowan breathed heavily while looking around him. He was injured in various places but the wounds weren't life-threatening.
Right now, corpses upon corpses were piled on this floor. Dead bodies of humans and monsters. Some clerics had fled but most were now dead.
The battalion of knights, supposed to fight the necromancer's undead army, was all spent fighting the dungeon monsters. A few of them may be alive, he ought to kill them and end their misery.
The Grand Knight stood alone and walked among his fallen comrades. Rowan etched each one of their faces to his memory. As long as his life didn't end, he wouldn't forget them.
Rwarrrggh!
Rowan could hear the roar of that Wyvern from there.
''I must go help Ivan and Ar- Ack!''
A dagger suddenly pierced his heart from the back. Rowan spurted a mouthful of blood. He grasped the blade which came out of his chest and slowly turned around. As soon as he saw the face of this attacker, the Grand Knight's eyes widened.
''A…Ariel…''
He used all his strength to utter one word and fell on the ground, eyes open and unmoving. He was dead.
With a ruthless glint in her eyes, the fox woman pulled out the black dagger and licked the crimson blood on its edge.
''Master exactly knew where he was…'' She muttered and jerked the dagger in her hand. The fresh blood on it splattered on a corpse.
Jake had sent a piece of memory into her mind using Malefic Enchantment, letting her visualize the location and even the exact position of Marquis Rowan.
The old Grand Knight could usually react quick enough to protect his vitals. But this time, he was fatigued from the battle. Also, it was impossible for him to expect that his comrade would teleport and backstab him when he was the least defensive.
Ariel looked at the old man and kicked his face. Glancing around, she sheathed her blade and disappeared as a dark shadow.
…
On the 5th floor, the Court Mage, with all his fancy and royal spells, was getting thrashed around by Droge.
Ivan Sol' Philips was absurdly talented in magic and had high mana. But his talent and aptitude couldn't compensate for the absolute difference in ranks.
Against a 5th Circle monster, he ran, he flew for his life. If both Rowan and Ariel were with him, he may have changed his mind. But with him alone, slaying this silver wyvern was impossible.
Even as an elite 4th Circle mage, all he could do was hide and defend. Ivan was trying to find a way to the 6th floor. He had sensed the crystal which Rowan had crushed. It meant the Grand Knight was caught in some kind of trouble he couldn't handle.
Rwaarrggh!
But the wyvern wasn't letting him get away. It had no care for whatever it destroyed while chasing after the human. From tunnels to chambers and chambers to open grounds.
The 5th floor was already large enough for the wyvern to fly around because of the dungeon advancements. That gave Droge more mobility.
The Court Mage had to use defensive spells all the time. He had already run out of potions and was quite panicked. One successful hit from that monster, and it was game over.
''Bones of Death!''
However, he seemed to have forgotten about Minerva. Hearing that voice, Ivan immediately tried to fly in a random direction. Large, white bone pillars rose from the ground and converged in his previous position.
If he hadn't acted quickly, he would be dead by now. With sweat covering his back, Ivan used Mana Sense to find the spellcaster.
'That's…' His eyes widened, seeing a man with horns hovering over a large hole with Countess Minerva.
''Caught you too.'' He heard a voice and instinctively flew sideways.
The dagger aimed at his chest pierced through his stomach instead. Various spells landed on Ivan's tall body as Ariel kicked him.
The powerful Court Mage was still not dead and used Mana Barrier. However, with Jake and Minerva using their best spells on him, that defense crumbled in mere seconds.
Shadow Spears pinned the man on a wall, and Bony Chains stole his magical staff. Before the mage could channel his mana again, Jake appeared before him and kicked his head.
Ivan felt his mind spinning. He was about to lose consciousness. But fortunately or unfortunately for this mage, Jake wasn't interested in killing him.
[Degeneration Halo]
The same process repeated. Jake felt a firm resistance this time which lasted for over 10 seconds even though Ivan was in his last breaths.
Indeed, mages had the highest intelligence. If not because Droge had already exhausted Ivan, and if Jake, Minerva and Ariel hadn't grouped on this Court Mage, he would still pose a major threat.
However, now that his mind had been corrupted, this talented Court Mage was a Demon's puppet.
'A royal puppet to conquer the Grimbow Kingdom…' Jake's eyes glinted as he withdrew a high-tier healing potion instead of using Blood Regeneration.
The Court Mage's injuries were too fatal. Jake leaned and made the dying man drink the potion. A drop of Life Elixir would have been perfect, but Jake was stingy with such a precious resource.
The high-tier healing potion wouldn't heal all of Ivan's injuries, but that was alright. Jake needed him to be functional, not fully healthy. He would let the mage recover slowly. For now, he was already very generous.
''My master.'' The Court Mage bowed regally after his most serious injuries healed.
Jake didn't even respond and went to calm down Droge. He told the wyvern that the battle was over. It was confused. Why wasn't Jake killing the human which had clearly been an enemy some moments ago?
''Go rest.'' Jake said. ''I'll bring some meat for you later.''
He pointed below, and a vast hole appeared again. Jake closed his eyes to concentrate. Droge flew down, attracted by the high levels of mana.
After it landed on the 65th floor, Jake finally opened his eyes and took a long breath. The tunnel spanning 60 floors closed. Jake felt extremely exhausted. But he wasn't done yet.
Somewhere on the 4th floor, he'd trapped that woman and the prince…