Phina And Yukina Against The Heroes Of Relics

Fwoosh~!

Although Alexander Grado was on the heavier side, that didn't affect his speed at all. Thanks to his centaur form, his speed could easily match a portion of Albrecht's speed, giving him enough throughput to keep up with Albrecht while on the offensive. 

Leaning forward, Albrecht dodged the axe by a hair's breadth. For a moment back there, Albrecht felt a tad bit threatened, but he knew that he wouldn't be defeated by Alexander. 

Even if they were to team up and attack him all at once, they wouldn't stand a chance against him. Before he could do anything though, he saw the axe stop midway, and Yukina seemed to teleport in front of him. 

"Master… let me do this. You go on ahead."

There was a hint of determination in her eyes and Albrecht paused as soon as he noticed it. With one great push, Yukina was able to deflect the axe before she spun mid-air, delivering a kick and sending Alexander flying toward his teammates. 

"Are you sure about this?" Albrecht just had to ask since he knew her history with the Heroes of Relics. After all, they were the ones who cleared the First Outerlayer and defeated her. 

Nodding her head, Yukina gave one final look at Albrecht before she smiled. "This dungeon is important… important to you, right?" She asked. 

"Then I'll be going," Albrecht said with a serious expression. He had no idea why Yukina was acting that way, but he didn't want to interrupt her fight. Besides, this might be her turning point or a very important event that would give her character development. 

"But just in case! I'm leaving Phina with you, okay?" Albrecht continued.

Without saying another word, Yukina nodded her head. It's as if she had contemplated this event for quite some time now, and her decision was final. 

Of course, Albrecht was gravely worried for her since she might get injured fighting against one of the strongest parties, but he didn't want to stop her. 

"Then… I'll be going." Albrecht let out before giving the Heroes of Relics the sharpest glare in his life. 

They got the message, but that didn't mean they would hold back against Yukina. After all, she was previously the 'final boss' of the First Outerlayer. 

"Oi, Albrecht!" Sun Wu screamed, hoping that riling him up would make him come back. However, Albrecht didn't as much as swivel his head. Instead, he continued running deeper into the dungeon. 

Then there was Yukina blocking their path, along with the huge snake that killed hundreds of adventurers back then. Just the sight of the duo made the Heroes of Relics gulp. 

There was no turning back. Since they were there anyway, and they needed to at least get a small share of the dungeon from Albrecht as instructed by their guild master Azura Xalthor, they had no choice but to stand their ground and fight. 

Since this was their second time engaging each other in combat, Yukina already knew that her passive wouldn't work against the group. Also, her passive skill 'Medusa's Longful Gaze', only works on men so it didn't matter. 

"Mana Sense." Lockhorn Holmes let out, much to Yukina's dismay. This skill allows the user to link his mana sense to his party members, giving them the gift of sight even though they needed to close their eyes while fighting Yukina.

Of course, it was somewhat unnecessary to the ladies but just in case, Lckhorn Holmes shared it with them as well since it would give them heightened senses— pretty advantageous for this team fight. 

"Keep your guards up. We don't know how stronger this girl's gotten." Sun Wu let out. As much as he wanted to treat Yukin as a monster, or a resident of Ground Zero, he was well aware that at the moment, Albrecht was her teammate. 

"Phina, can you sense it?" Yukina asked, It was clear that Lockhorn Holmes's Mana Sense became even more refined since they last met each other. That means he could pinpoint someone's location much better compared to their first fight, and currently, he was sharing that skill with everyone in the party. 

Phina, the gigantic white snake, nodded her head. She completely understood why Yukina was worried. 

"We have to be careful." 

Fwip~!

Before Yukina could react, Sun Wu's Alprechian Wooden Staff already reached her In a split second, Yukina raised her arms to guard the attack, but she was still sent skittering sideways before gravity finally stopped her momentum. 

"Sturdy as usual." Sun Wu let out while his eyes were closed. Thanks to Lockhorn Holmes's skill, he could see where Yukina was exactly, and that allowed him to her squarely in the arms when he caused his staff to extend. 

Gritting her teeth, Yukina hissed before she crouched charging forward with fangs bared— well more like claws extended since she charged at Sun Wu with her arms retracted. She was ready to swoop in for the kill. 

"Not so fast, lady." Marie Netoinne calmly said as the land turned into her ice domain.

Members of the Medusa Tribe couldn't handle the cold, let alone sudden spikes in the temperature. That's why Yukina's movements slowed when the entire domain turned into a huge slab of ice like a skating rink. 

"Phina," Yukina called out as Phina brought her head up, charging a huge beam while aiming directly at Marie. 

As for Yukina, she continued charging forward. This was her revenge, and more than anything, she didn't want to lose against the Heroes of Relics for the second time. 

Sun Wu smiled. He could already taste the victory that would soon be met with how strong they currently were. However, he could tell that something was shady from the start, it's just that he didn't want to think about it. 

During their first encounter, Sun Wu clearly remembered that Yukina dodged his first attack. This was the second time he used the same strike and Yukina didn't even bother dodging it. 

Bzzzrzzt~! 

From a distance, the Heroes of Relics heard some sort of static, and then their Mana Sense stopped detecting Phina and Yukina.