Dozens of scarlet daggers made of ice pierced the air with a bang. They gracefully maneuvered between the dense branches of the wilderness, dodging obstacles that stood in their way.
The daggers followed the four Night Rippers fiercely. They were literally nipping at their heels.
A pair of oversized cats tried desperately to escape their impending doom. Their animal instincts told them to flee at once. They subconsciously sensed the crushing advantage between them and the succubus trampling on their backs.
Literally, millimeters were missing so that the Grim Reaper could reap a hefty harvest. The monsters felt the icy cold penetrate their skin, slowing the rate at which their blood circulated.
In an act of desperation, the leader of the pack made a truly bestial decision.
Buzz
His odon crackled like a whip through the air, clipping the legs of the female running past him.
The cut was swift and precise. A fountain of blood immediately gushed from the severed limbs, staining the area a dark red.
The Night Ripper's eyes widened in disbelief at what had just happened.
A pitiful whine of pain escaped from within him.
Losing feeling in its two front paws, the monster knew it was facing the end.
Before the female had time to do anything, a hail of razor-sharp daggers descended upon her. The blades of the weapons immediately slammed into the vital internal organs, ensuring that the target of their attack would surely fall into the grim reaper's grasp.
Some of them transformed into long picks, stopping the poor creature in mid-air. Instead of a cat, it resembled a hedgehog with very large spikes.
Night Ripper's body was shaken by a sulfurous and crackling pain. The monster felt the blood flowing in its veins freeze, bursting every cell of its body from the inside.
The pain the female felt was indescribable. Even Ramiel felt a bit of sympathy towards the monster when he saw its eyes twisted in agony.
The whole thing didn't last more than two seconds.
It was enough for the other three monsters to gain distance from the death sentence trampling on them.
The leader of the group made a good decision, sacrificing one individual. It was a brutal approach, but that's nature. Justice??? Concern??? Maybe someone wants a burger with double fries? Ridiculous.
In the wilderness, such things don't exist. There is only one law, the law of nature. The strongest will always survive, and that's all that matters. If you can breathe on the second day, you are a winner.
Just when the group of Night Rippers thought they had escaped the clutches of death, a brutal collision with grim reality awaited them.
Swish
An arrow flashed past them, its tip made of intricately carved crystal, emanating a soft glow of pale light.
It might have seemed that the arrow missed its target, but nothing could be further from the truth. It was shot by the best archer in the Dungeon of the Damned. It headed exactly where it was supposed to go.
On the branch of a tall tree stood a young elfess. Her usually cheerful eyes emanated a cold chill, tracking the arrow that was disappearing in the distance. The distance from the target was 200 meters, but this didn't prevent her from hitting the center of the target perfectly.
The Night Rippers' instincts screamed of impending danger, but it was too late. Maybe they would have had some chance of survival if they had managed to intercept the flying messenger of doom, but now... There was no hope for them.
Boom
Suddenly, the arrowhead exploded, creating a five-meter-wide wall of dark blue ice.
The ice creation became the beginning of the end for the desperate monsters.
With panic written in their eyes, they ran into an obstacle paving their way. It was impossible to avoid it, not when it appeared within five meters of the unleashed creatures.
The leader of the Night Rippers wailed in pain. He heard his bones break under the crushing impact. Broken bones pierced his skin, releasing copious amounts of tethered flesh outward.
The fate of his companions was no better. The other two suffered similar injuries.
However, this wasn't the end of the overgrown cats' troubles.
Noise Noise
In the blink of an eye, dozens of ice spears slammed them into the wall. It was impossible to avoid them.
With regret written in his eyes, the leader of the Night Rippers took one last look at the world around him. His fading irises reflected blood-red spears that gently pulsed to the rhythm of his beating heart.
Strangest of all, there wasn't an ounce of blood anywhere. All the scarlet liquid had been absorbed by the ice creations, temporarily strengthening its owner.
The spears were characterized by an unquenchable appetite, capable of devouring any existence that had life-giving blood in its veins.
From behind the bushes emerged the proud figure of the most beautiful woman in the world Ramiel had ever seen. Her raven-black hair, mixed with a few streaks of red, cascaded down the back of the succubus.
A pair of scarlet earrings dangled freely from her ears, pulsing to the rhythm of the spear.
This was a unique feature of the Blood Ice Succubus, whereby they received the reinforcement flowing from fresh blood. Their ice creations are closely related to the blood jewelry.
Rasp
The blade attached to Asme's right side left the scabbard, protecting it with a loud rasp.
With enviable grace, Asme split the heads of the dead monsters. From between the half-frozen pieces of flesh, three red jewels popped out. They were the cores of the monsters.
Proud of herself, Asme waved toward a man hiding in a nearby tree. Enthusiastically, she showed off her new catch.
" She is good. "
For the first time, Seraphine saw Asme in a good light. Her earlier performance had ripped a good impression on the austere necromancer.
It's worth mentioning that the group the woman was pursuing at the very beginning numbered ten monsters.
Asme swarmed their ranks like a harbinger of doom. She crushed, cut, and tore the Night Rippers to shreds like a true deity of blood mating. A horned beauty, she became their worst nightmare.
Ramiel nodded slightly. Asme grew strong. Ordinary Night Rippers posed no challenge to her. The woman felt like she was taking candy from a small child. Her level of power definitely exceeded that of the monsters.
Ramiel's gaze shifted to a distant group of goblins. The gray creatures were sorting out the carcasses of twelve overgrown cats. For them, too, cracking down on a bunch of Night Rippers was a child's play.
In their eyes, the creature's movements seemed slow. It wasn't wrong to say that what they were doing was bullying the weak.
Rascal didn't even take out his broken sword. He crushed the skulls of the four monsters with his bare fists. His overwhelming strength was enough to nip the young monsters' lives in the bud.
Ramiel went to the forest for a simple purpose. As a fan of strategy games, he couldn't help but test the new units. Ordinary people will never understand this.
The second goal can be considered a side mission in the role-playing game. He wanted to find out the true extent of Asme's power. Aside from a few basic mistakes due to inexperience, he was impressed.
Even for a low-intermediate hunter, she was strong. Ramiel might have been tempted to say that she was even stronger than the average hunter.
The secret to her strength lay in the mythical element of bloody ice. It turned out to be a Christmas gift bag. Thanks to it, Asme's strength increased dramatically. There is nothing that can be compared to an ordinary element of ice.
Ramiel even went so far as to say that it was stronger than his Dark Spectrum element. Although the roots of his element also went deep into the Exodus era, he had to bow his neck to the Blood Ice, the true ruler of the battlefield.
" Avi, gather everyone here, we need to look for something better. "
The fairy disagreed with Ramiel's idea. She knew all too well what he meant by " something better. "
It didn't hurt to try her luck, and perhaps... maybe, he would blurt out his decision.
" Are you sure? Why don't you reconsider... We still have plenty of time before, you know. We can always try tomorrow. "
Ramiel wanted to agree for a moment, but he remembered what the dungeon core had shown him today.
| Master Status |
| Strength 36 (33) |
| Stamina 34 (30) |
| Vitality 26 (20) |
| Agility 36 (33) |
| Defense 44 (41) |
< resistance to ice element 30% >.
| Mana 62 (57) |
| Enriched mana 0 |
| Intelligence 53 (44) |
The degradation of the soul has progressed at an alarming rate. It not only affected Ramiel's personality but also affected his stats, undercutting them. It was extremely bad and dangerous.
He became weaker and weaker day by day. He didn't know to what extent he would be weakened the next day, and he couldn't risk that much.
In a fight to the death, every statistical point counts. It could tip the balance in the wrong direction, condemning Ramiel to a tragic end.
" Avi... do what I say. " Ramiel sounded apodictic and commanding. Despite this, Avi didn't feel offended. The fairy knew that it was hard for him, and she understood that. After all, no one would be happy if they knew they would die in a few days.
She was hurt in part by the fake smile Ramiel wore every day, hiding his true feelings. Only she knew how he felt. Only with her was he showing his true face... The face of a vengeful predator who showed no mercy, the face of a tired man consumed by revenge.
There were exceptions during interactions with Asme and Caera. Then he was really happy, he didn't have to pretend.
" Seraphine, you know what to do. "
" Of course, master, I am to babysit... I mean, I take care of Asme and Caera. "
The necromancer leaned slightly to hide the unstable flames flickering in her empty eye sockets. It was the only thing that expressed a slave's sincere emotions. Seraphine tried many times to do something about this phantom, but interfering with the lich's nature ended in bitter failure. To this day, the unpleasant taste of bitterness caresses her imaginary taste buds.
A few moments later
Ramiel stood leaning against the trunk of a tree. His right hand stroked the blood-soaked fur of the Condemned Wolf. The creature quietly purred, accepting his master's caresses.
Eagerly, the wolf would have played along, but concern for his health prevented him from doing so. He felt the fierce gazes of the two women on him, who glared at him with written hostility.
A lump rose in his throat. The last thing he wished for was revenge from the two crazed women. Whimpering quietly, he steadied himself against Caera and Asme.
" So, how did you like it? ~ I can probably take care of myself. ~ "
A playful smile appeared on Asme's face. Even a blind man would have noticed what she was trying to do.
Ramiel remained oblivious to the succubus' advances. The forest of the Night Rippers is no place for such things. He had already learned this painfully once.
" You are strong, but you still make a lot of basic mistakes. If it weren't for your stats advantage, you'd end up as cat fodder. " After a moment's thought, Ramiel added. " Very attractive cat fodder.
Caera laughed softly under her breath at the sight of a surprised Asme.
" This is probably not what you expected. "
Asme smugly said, picking fights that are doomed to fail isn't the wisest approach.
The horned beauty's lips curled into a straight line. She expected compliments about how great she was and how well she had done, not criticism and pointing out mistakes.
Ramiel took in the sight of the assembled army. It consisted of Seraphine, Asme, Caera, five Condemned Wolves, four Shadow Goblins, and three The Condemned Sloths. Next to them stood Felix, but he didn't count as part of the dungeon's fighting force.
" Avi? "
The fairy understood Ramiel's unspoken request. His one look expressed more than a thousand words.
" Silence! Form a line! "
The whispers and murmurs stopped immediately. Within seconds, two orderly ranks stood in front of the man. Avi excelled in her role as a superior in the army. She also took great pleasure in yelling at people, which revealed her sadistic inclinations.
The exceptions to the rule are Asme and Caera. As Ramiel's women, they stood beside him, openly mocking the screaming fairy.
" As you have noticed, the Night Rippers pose no threat to most of us. Therefore, we will hunt for something bigger... " Along with the last words, Ramiel's eyes shone with an amethyst glow. An ethereal glow surrounded them, from which hair stood on end, and the senses went into high alert.
If one had taken a closer look at them, one would have seen a raging snowstorm inside an abyss as dark as night, in which lurked all sorts of monsters born of darkness.
" Our target is the Night Terror. It's an improved version of the Night Ripper. They are bigger, stronger, faster, and twice as deadly.
Look closely," he said.
The darkness around Ramiel moved. Minimalist fragments the size of sand merged together to form the form of a terrifying monster.
Soon, next to Ramiel stood an exact imitation of the Night Terror.
In size, it surpassed the Condemned Wolves and a good ten centimeters. Its compacted muscles are hidden under its pitch-black skin, capable of exerting several tons of pressure. A moment of inattention is enough to turn you into a pile of twisted flesh.
However, the most dangerous are the two tails. They resembled a sword, divided into dozens of segments, connected to each other by flexible bone. The segments are made of a material harder than steel. Without the slightest resistance, they cut through the blade of a normal rank weapon.
The only way to save the weapon is to imbue it with any element or cover it with a spell.
Ramiel passed on every bit of knowledge he had about the Night Terror. He did what he could to reduce potential losses.
" One more thing, watch out for the shadows around you. They use the element of darkness as well as shadows. Don't be surprised if your own shadow suddenly attacks you. Fighting them is challenging and unpleasant. The slightest mistake might cost you your life. "