Anastasia turns towards the group.
"The grunts Master Zep hired."
"What did you just call us– wait, I mean, what the hell is this dungeon, it's too small to be called one and now it's falling apart!"
King Crow looks up as he senses a falling rubble, he then blocks it with his axe and throws it away like it was just a pebble.
As Anastasia turns around to face Alice, the group then finally notices her presence.
"Wait, why does that lady seem familiar?" ← Athy
"Wha-? A person and a cat! We have to save them!"
As Fiona and the rest of the group attempt to save Alice, the ground finally crumbles, resulting in everyone present to immediately lose their foothold.
"Crap! This is one disadvantage of being heavy!"
King Crow jumps away from his current position.
"Why is this dungeon collapsing anyway!? What did you do {Witch of Frost and Dark}!?"
"It's a long story, I shall explain at a later date."
Anastasia slightly raises her hand and returns to its obsidian-like form as she prepares to weave another spell. However, her mind's a bit of a mess–
'Should I let her meet her demise…or should I save her…she attempted to feed Master Zep to her monster and could be a future cause of disaster if let be. So why am I even thinking of actually giving her a chance…'
As if time has slowed down, she looks at the ring which Zephyr has given her. She might be strong and can take on every form of danger, however, Anastasia's one fatal flaw is her emotions which often leads to erroneous decision making. With her feelings getting conflicted, her subconscious calls out for help. And of course, it's none other than–
".....!?"
The ring shone as if it's a guiding light that lights up Anastasia's gloom. After a while, the light was shot out of the ring and in a matter of seconds, forms itself into a person– rather, the person was called out by the light.
'Eh? Where's this?'
From the light, the strongest hunter of Telmaris, Zephyr Gersche, has spawned out.
"{F-Fate Threader}!"
The group calls out in unison.
"Look! Lord {Fate Threader} is all geared up. Is he expecting to be called!? As expected!" ← Meiren
"Master Zep! I-I seem to have called you out unconsciously…" ← Anastasia
'What? Ana, out of all places–'
A huge rubble then somehow was blocked by a certain relic that Zephyr possessed.
'–why in such a dangerous place!'
As the cat felt the presence of Zephyr inside the dungeon, its eyes widened up as if sensing an imminent threat. Looking up at its master, Alice, who's holding it, the cat grits its teeth, seemingly readying itself for combat. Jumping out of Alice's embrace, the cat takes up its true form once again for the final time–
"ROOOOOOAAAAR!!!" –and lets out a deafening warcry, signifying its will to defend its master no matter the circumstance.
Everyone inside the dungeon with the exception of King Crow, Anastasia and Zephyr covers their ears with their eyes closed after hearing such a vicious roar.
"G-Guuuhk!"
"That monster, it's not something we can just best with numbers!" Fiona exclaimed.
"So that's…the monster Master Zep has defeated once." ← Anastasia
"He defeated it once already!?" ← King Crow
With all the power it has and the remaining energy that Alice has to offer, the Moonlight Chimera has taken over the dungeon, adapting to its ecosystem. An armor of sturdy iron is beginning to form around the vulnerable parts of the Chimera while the dungeon has finally ceased to collapse, instead, a new formation of stone pillars begins to rise from the ground.
"What in the name of the Goddess…"
David raises his weapon even though he's overwhelmed with what's currently happening which then follows suit by the rest of the party.
"It looks like that cat changes the form of the dungeon after adapting to it. This one is no ordinary monster." Fiona tightens the grip from her sword as she assumes a battle stance.
"It's a Prism ranked monster…what's more it has upgraded after adapting to this dungeon's ecosystem!" Meiren exclaimed after studying it with her eyeglass artifact.
'What!? Oh man we're screwed! At least Ana is here to finish the job.'
Zephyr looks at Anastasia with a confident gaze, seemingly passing the baton to her once again. Unfortunately for Zephyr, his purpose was misunderstood…as always. Anastasia interpreted it the other way, however she wishes to assist him and so, she turns towards the group.
"We'll assist–"
As Fiona was about to lead the charge, Anastasia erects a wall of dark ice in front of them.
'.....'
Zephyr tilts his head, confused about what Anastasia was trying to do, that is until she speaks–
"Please exit the dungeon for now. We cannot guarantee your safety from here on out." She then ambles towards Zephyr and stands on his side.
"Master Zep and I will conclude this mission."
"What are you talking about, are you telling us that we're deadweight!?" King Crow furiously inquired behind the wall of ice.
Anastasia then immediately responded:
"No. I know my imperfection, and it's that…only Master Zep can handle the destruction of my spells and curses when I fight. If not the monster, then I'll be the cause of your misery…and I don't want that." As if a heavy load had been lifted off her chest, Anastasia firmly sighed.
Meiren then taps King Crow's shoulders after Anastasia's speech and looks at him with a serious expression, signifying her acceptance of Anastasia's words. King Crow then scratched the back of his head and nodded.
"We're just one shout away if you two do need some aid– but I doubt it."
The party then exits the dungeon as per Anastasia's order.
"Master Zep, I'm glad to be fighting alongside you again." A small blush formed in her cheeks, meanwhile the said master seems to be having a breakdown but it doesn't show.
The Prism ranked monster; Moonlight Chimera on its strongest form against [Grim Fate]'s Leader and Sorceress. Begins!