Chapter 19: Dire Tomb II

ARTHUR LEYWIN'S POV:On the other side of the large doors was a beautiful meadow that stretched out far beyond my view. As we all peered agape at the brightly lit field of grass that glittered like polished emeralds, for a moment, the fact that we were underground seemed like a dream.Reginald asked Brald, whether this was present here previously or not. Brald replied, "N-No, nothing of the sort," as he let out a sharp breath.Stepping into the meadow, I studied the large area. I almost thought that we had stepped through some teleportation gate out of the Dire Tombs until I looked up to see the rows of stalactites high up on the ceiling. The deposits of calcium that littered the ceiling of this cave glowed brightly, to the point where I had to squint to make out any details.What I found suspicious, though, was the very fact that a space like this could exist underground. There were no pillars visible and this area stretched for at least a few hundred meters in all directions. With such an extensive open field with no supports holding it up, I was surprised that this place hadn't been buried in rocks.Everyone's guards seemed to be down except for Jasmine and Elijah, whose eyes kept darting around as if searching for anything suspicious."Something's off. Keep your guard up, everyone. " I remained vigilant with my shortsword out and my left hand on the grip of Dawn's Ballad, which was still sheathed."Are you sure? I don't even hear anything, let alone see much besides the grass and trees," Kriol asked dubiously. I could tell he was a bit doubtful but he followed my advice and raised his shield.(A/N: The story changes from here, make sure not to skip it.)"No, there is definitely something wrong. There is a lot of mist around us," Jasmine replied to Kriol without turning back.Suddenly, a deep thud broke through the silence hovering around the mist."Clara? Is that you? H-How are you alive?"Before I could even move my head to locate the noise, I sensed Jasmine move in its direction.Turning around, I saw Kriol had dropped his gigantic shield while holding his arm out, reaching desperately at something in the distance, but Jasmine was holding him in his place."Kriol, there is nothing. It's just an illusion." Jasmine tried to make him come to his senses."No! That's Clara! Can't you see her!? She is calling for me!" Kriol continued to claim. I witnessed Jasmine gazing into the distance as if she was being beckoned, but she abruptly shook her head, as if to snap out of it. While she was preoccupied, Kriol successfully extricated himself from Jasmine's hold and proceeded into the fog. "Stay there! I am coming to get you!""Damn it, Kriol! Stop, it's dangerous!" I cursed, trying to warn him. Fortunately, Reginald had reached Kriol while Jasmine was holding onto him and slapped him across the face, trying to make him come to his senses."Kriol! Take hold of yourself. Clara is dead," Reginald told him.Suddenly, I heard a familiar feminine voice calling, "Grey." I whipped my head around and saw a silhouette of a familiar person in the fog. As if entranced by it, I took a step towards it, I had heard this voice scolding me and teaching me, someone who had been a very important person in my past life. This person was....."Note," Jasmine called out to me, making me come to my senses. I realized that I too had been bewitched by the mist. 'She is dead.' I told myself trying to forget the bitter memories that arose from it.Immediately, I ordered Samantha to raise a barrier and for everyone to come to their senses. Eventually, we were all gathered.Samantha asked, "Who is Clara?"Reginald shook his head and told her, "Clara was Kriol's fiancée and an old comrade of ours who was killed during one of the dungeon raids.""What the hell is going on?" Lucas cursed under his breath. His knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping his staff, and it looked like he was doing all he could to keep his wits together."Jasmine, create a wind spell strong enough to clear this mist around us," I told her, she nodded in affirmation as soft gusts glowed a greenish hue began to swirl around her, gathering around her hands. Her straight black hair lashed wildly around her as the swirls of wind circled her arms, growing larger."Clear my enemies from my path with an ever-raging howl," Jasmine chanted, struggling to keep the frenzied wind in tow.[Storm's Gale]The condensed whirlwinds swirling around Jasmine's arms collided as she clapped her hands together. The impact of the two tornadoes expanded and burst forward, shredding the mist into a clear path in front of us.However, the once excited looks on everyone's faces turned pale at the sight before us. The tornado revealed a path but also uncovered something else.Tentacles of vines and branches were quickly making their way towards us."Enough of this!" Lucas pushed Jasmine aside and swung his tall staff at the wave of vines advancing toward us and muttered a spell."Crescent Ember!" he shouted, lashing his staff. The bright flame that glowed on the tip of the staff expanded, shooting a large blade of fire.With a fiery explosion, the slithering vines and branches flinched back, but other than a scorched impression where the spell had hit, they were unaffected."Shit! What kind of trees aren't afraid of fire?" Brald hissed as he ignited his broadsword into a fiery tornado and charged into the wave of vines that were approaching rapidly."Samantha! Elijah! Lucas! Support us!" I barked, willing mana into my body and sword as well.Jasmine rushed next to me, both daggers unsheathed and glowing brightly. The spell she had used to clear a path had drained a lot of her mana, but it didn't do much as the mist had already filled the path the tornado spell had created. Reginald stayed behind to protect our Conjurers as they cast spells.Brald let out an unintelligible battle roar as he continued mindlessly hacking away at the endless wave of vines that seemed to manifest out of nowhere.The vines, however, were regenerating faster than Brald was cutting them as the one-armed adventurer was getting buried deeper and deeper inside the torrent of vines."Fool," I cursed under my breath. Whether he had just gone reckless or wanted to die here in battle, I couldn't help but doubt that he was an AA-class adventurer.Augmenting my sword in the fire as well, I made my way to our one-armed companion, hoping I would make it in time to support him before he got himself killed.Concentrating on the fire dancing wildly around my sword, I condensed the augmentation so that just a thin layer of bright red enveloped my sword.[Searing Edge]Lashing my molten-hot weapon at the vines continuously shooting themselves at me, a pile of dismembered branches began forming around me.I didn't need to keep tabs on Jasmine to make sure she was okay, as I knew how strong she has become. Instead, I focused entirely on the vines, I noticed whenever my fire-imbued sword cut through it a fizzing sound was made. This indicated that the vines had much more moisture than normal and somehow the moisture was being restored from the fog around it, so the usage of ordinary fire spells was useless."-spread and burn!"[Liquid Blaze]Lucas finished his spell first as he unleashed a spray of red liquid from his staff while Reginald continued blocking the incoming vines that targeted our conjurers.The three of us jumped back to stay out of the way of the spell. I had to hand it to the noble brat for still thinking straight despite the situation. The spell, Liquid Fire, wasn't as powerful as the actual fire spells but it spread quickly and, if not doused, would eventually envelop everything in its way.The spell landed on the torrent of vines, but before the liquid fire was even able to spread, the mist around us gathered toward the spot where the spell hit the vine. As expected, with a loud hiss, the spell was doused by the moisture from the mist.I could see Lucas's face pale as sweat rolled down his neck. From the state he was in, it was safe to assume that this spell had exhausted all of his mana."Samantha, create a spell to absorb the water from the fog," I ordered.Samantha started chanting the spell, knowing it would take time. I went to help Brald out of the situation he was stuck in, while Jasmine and Elijah were busy keeping the vines from reaching Samantha. Suddenly, a vine shot from behind everyone's blind spot.I didn't have time to reach her, and for a second, I thought of using [Static Void], but the vine was suddenly blocked by a gigantic shield and a large hammer crashed on it, crushing it. It was Kriol with his shield and Reginald with his hammer. It seemed Reginald was able to make Kriol come to his senses. Reginald gave a nod toward me, and I nodded back and went on the way cutting the vines and getting Brald out of harm's way.By the time I was back with Brald to the group, Samantha was able to create [Aqua Siphon]. She was about to fall to her knees when Reginald supported her. She thanked Reginald and looked ahead to where the fog disappeared. The color drained from her face and everyone else's. Brald, confused, also looked back and muttered, "N-No way."I also looked to where they were looking and noticed, standing more than twenty meters tall, high above our heads was a colossal mana beast. With a humanoid structure that oddly resembled a centaur, it towered over us like a massive building.While it seemed to be made up completely of densely packed and intertwined vines, the top half of its body was that of an armored man holding a drill-like lance that came to a menacing point just over our heads. Its lower body was that of a horse, but rather than legs, its limbs consisted of the countless vines we had been battling against. Two green eyes peered down at us, filled with unbridled enmity.I swallowed hard, staring mindlessly up at the imposing figure. For the last hour, the seven of us had been battling against the toes of this mana beast."I-I've read about a monster that looked something like this," Samantha stuttered in horror, sinking to her knees in complete resignation. "I think tha-that's an S-class mana beast called the e-elderwood guardian!""It can't be, right? What the hell would an S-class mana beast be doing here?" Reginald almost dropped his giant hammer as he peered up at the elderwood guardian in dread and with good reason too. An S-class mana beast meant that it was on par with an SS-class adventurer or at least ten S-class adventurers."W-We're doomed..." Brald had a crazed expression on his face as he began laughing madly at the giant mana beast. He had already lost his arm and he was worn out from the fighting. This was probably the last straw for the veteran adventurer."Retreat! Now!" I ordered, grabbing Brald and pulling him along. Jasmine grabbed Samantha, and we started to move when suddenly the elderwood guardian thrust its giant drill lance at us, creating a gale of wind.Elijah conjured a flat wall of earth from the ground, angled slightly so the force of the drill would be parried. A thunderous explosion resonated on impact.Following the order, everyone turned to leave, but a large blast of fireball hit the space where everyone was, throwing us to the other side. Samantha, Kriol, and Reginald seemed to be unconscious from the impact as they were nearest. Fortunately, Jasmine was still far from the impact, and Elijah had been able to conjure a small wall to keep himself from harm's way.Furious and baffled, I looked at where the blonde noble brat was. He was running towards the exit, laughing and saying, "You think I'd risk my life to help all of you escape? Be honored that you'll be the valiant hero who stalled the beast enough for me to escape! I'll tell everyone all about your courageous deeds!" He conjured a smokescreen.Another deafening crash reverberated as the ground split around us from the force of the elderwood guardian stabbing the lance where Lucas had been. The smokescreen subsided, but Lucas was already gone, closing the door behind him."HAHAHA!" Brald's maniacal laughter faded as a wave of vines consumed his body. Brald seemed to be losing his senses, and I knew we couldn't afford to lose another teammate. Without hesitation, I struck him in the neck, making him unconscious, and threw him towards Elijah."Catch him, Elijah!" I shouted. "Form an earthen shield around them to keep them away from damage and stay with them.""W-What! No way! What about you and Jasmine?!" Elijah shouted, incredulously."We will be fine, just take care of them," I reassured him, my tone serious and authoritative, leaving him no choice but to follow, as he mindlessly nodded and followed the order.I turned to Jasmine, who was already poised and ready, her daggers glinting in the dim light of the cavern. With a determined nod, we both readied ourselves to fight the monstrous mana beast."Let's do this," I said, my voice steady despite the fear gnawing at the edges of my mind.Jasmine and I advanced, our movements synchronized from countless hours of training and sparring together. The elderwood guardian's towering form loomed before us, its green eyes glowing with malevolence."Jasmine, we need to distract him from where Elijah created the shield," I instructed, keeping my voice low but firm. "Just In case call Mistral."I wasn't sure If I could defeat this beast alone without using Sylvia's will, but with Jasmine by my side, I was sure, we would at least make it alive.~~A/N: Lol, looks like the fight is postponed to the next chapter, don't worry I will try to release it by evening or tonight.