Chapter 20: Dire Tomb III

ARTHUR LEYWIN'S POV:The towering form of the elderwood guardian loomed before us, its green eyes glowing with unbridled hostility. This S-class mana beast was a monstrous amalgamation of densely packed vines and branches, resembling a centaur with the upper body of an armored warrior wielding a drill-like lance, and the lower body composed entirely of the countless vines we had been battling.'Papa! What happened?' Sylvie's voice rang into my head as my distress reached her through our bond.Nothing, Sylv, We are just inside the dungeon. Stay where you are and go to Helstea's Mansion if anything happens, okay?'No, I am coming, wait for me!' Sylvie insisted.Listen to me Sylv, I will be okay.'No, Sylvie is stronger, she can fight too.' Feeling like she wouldn't listen I gave up and focused on the battle ahead, Once the Elderwood Guardian was dead Sylv wouldn't be in danger even if she came."Jasmine, be careful. This thing controls wind and water, but it's mostly plants," I warned, my voice steady despite the knot of fear in my stomach.Jasmine nodded, her eyes narrowed with focus.As if in response to our presence, the guardian's vines surged forward like a tidal wave, aiming to overwhelm us. Jasmine and I split up, dodging the initial onslaught with agile movements. Her wind-enhanced speed allowed her to dart in and out, slashing at the vines with her daggers, while I targeted the beast's torso with my flame-imbued sword. I have also increased the mana output of all my cores to the maximum, giving me access to a much larger mana pool and allowing me to cast spells, that normally empty half of my single core. The elderwood guardian roared, and a gust of wind howled through the cavern, scattering the debris and nearly knocking us off our feet. Jasmine countered with a wind spell of her own, stabilizing us and pushing back against the guardian's control of the air."Focus on the vines! If we cut off its limbs, we can weaken it!" I shouted, slashing through a particularly thick vine that tried to ensnare me.Jasmine nodded, her daggers glowing with a greenish hue as she channeled wind mana into them. She moved with the grace and speed of a dancer, slicing through the vines with precise, deadly strikes. Each cut sent a shudder through the guardian's body, but its regeneration was relentless.Suddenly, the ground beneath us trembled as the guardian summoned roots from below. They shot up like spears, forcing us to leap and roll to avoid being impaled. One root grazed my leg, drawing blood, but I ignored the pain and continued attacking."Arthur, we need to do something about its regeneration!" Jasmine called out, frustration evident in her voice."I know! Keep it distracted. I have an idea," I replied, focusing my mana on my sword. I ignited it with a searing edge of flame, hoping that sustained fire might slow the creature's healing. [Inferno blast]A small ball of blue fire shot towards Elederwood Guardian's lower body, since the moisture present in the air had been siphoned by Samantha's spell [Aqua Siphon] the fire was able to spread, burning the vines to a crisp.The guardian roared in pain, its vines flailing wildly. But instead of retreating, it summoned a torrent of water from the ceiling, drenching us and dousing the flames. The water swirled around us, forming tendrils that tried to pull us under.Fortunately, the fire has already burned most of its lower body. And it will probably take a lot of time to regenerate it Jasmine reacted quickly, creating a wind barrier that pushed back the water. "We need to find its weakness!" she shouted over the roar of the elements. "We need to cut as many vines as possible and locate its core!" I replied over the din of battle.Jasmine nodded, her focus unshaken. "Got it!"With most of its lower body burnt away by my [Inferno Blast], the elderwood guardian retaliated by summoning wind blades and water bullets. The air was filled with sharp gusts and high-speed droplets, each attack capable of cutting or piercing through flesh and armor alike. The guardian swung its lance wildly, aiming to crush us under its immense weight.Jasmine and I moved in perfect synchrony, dodging and countering each attack. She used her wind mana to gracefully evade the wind blades, her movements fluid and precise. I relied on [Thunderclap Impulse] to boost my reflexes, allowing me to parry and dodge the guardian's frenzied strikes while slashing at its remaining vines."Keep moving! Don't let it regenerate!" I called out, my voice strained from exertion.For several minutes, the battle raged on. We danced around the guardian, never staying in one place for too long. Jasmine's daggers flashed in the dim light, each slash severing more of the vines that composed the guardian's body. My flame-imbued sword cut through the tangled mass, leaving charred stumps in its wake.The guardian's attacks grew more desperate. It lashed out with its lance, but the once-deadly thrusts were slower and less precise. Its wind blades and water bullets became erratic, missing their marks more often than not.Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we saw it—a glowing, pulsating core nestled deep within the guardian's torso. The core radiated a powerful green light, and it was clear that this was the source of the beast's strength and regeneration."There! The core!" I shouted, pointing with my sword."Jasmine, I think this is the best time to finally test your first phase," I shouted, my eyes locked onto the pulsating core within the elderwood guardian's torso.Jasmine nodded, her expression determined. She took a step back, gathering wind mana around her. "Understood. Get ready!"I braced myself as Jasmine muttered under her breath "Phase One Activate."[Blade Tornado]A fierce whirlwind formed around her, growing larger and more powerful with each passing second. The tornado of wind and razor-sharp blades encircled me, I Jumped in the air and created a small tornado of my own to keep me steady and resist the force of Jasmine's fierce tornado. While I had not used Wind Mana for nearly two and a half years, I had watched how Mistral trained with Jasmine, this had allowed me to increase my proficiency and learn some tricks for controlling the wind."Now, Arthur! Go for the core!" Jasmine shouted over the howling winds.I surged forward, my flame-imbued sword at the ready. The tornado provided a barrier against the onslaught of vines, slicing through any that dared to approach me. With Jasmine's [Blade Tornado] shielding me, I advanced toward the core, each step bringing me closer to the pulsating heart of the beast.The elderwood guardian roared in fury, its vines thrashing against the tornado. The sheer force of the wind blades kept it at bay, but I could see the strain on Jasmine's face. She was putting everything she had into maintaining the spell. While the first phase has allowed her to use the power without consuming her mana, the mental strain of using and controlling its power is quite significant."Almost there!" I shouted, my eyes locked on the core. With a final burst of speed, I leaped forward, my sword aimed directly at the vines connected to the glowing heart.[Inferno Strike]I poured all my remaining mana into the blade, igniting it with an intense, white-hot flame. As I drove my sword, cutting the connection of Elderwood Guardian to its core, the flames erupted, consuming the rest of the Elderwood Guardian's body.The beast let out a final, deafening roar as the flames lashed around its body completely, sending a shockwave through its body. The vines writhed and flailed before collapsing into a lifeless heap.The flames I had used required mana of a lot higher purity than what I have, and because of that, I had to forcefully increase the amount of mana imbued in the sword and refine it. Therefore exhausting all of my remaining mana which was worth 3 dark yellow cores. The tornado dissipated, and I fell down, breathing heavily and almost all of my mana cores empty. Jasmine lowered her daggers, her face pale but triumphant. Before I could land on the ground, a green light flashed through my eyes, and I felt like I was suddenly transported next to Jasmine. Looking below, I noticed it was Mistral. "Haha, Looks like you missed the party." I tried to make a joke to lighten the mood after such an intense battle. , Jasmine smiled, but the light in our eyes lasted only a moment as the ceiling started to collapse. Mistral told us that the floor was probably supported by the elderwood guardian's body and now it was starting to collapse. "Don't worry," she said, "come on top of me, I will get you out of here.""Wait," I stopped her. "Our party members are still here, inside a shield," I said, pointing in their direction.Mistral sighed, "Well, then I have to blow the entire thing away, right?" She conjured an absurd amount of wind mana into her mouth and fired it towards the ceiling, completely obliterating the dungeon to the top floor. Sunlight fell through as everything turned to dust.Jasmine and I looked dumbfounded at her astonishing power, our mouths agape.Mistral commented with a smirk, "Close your mouths. You might catch flies."~~A/N: Dang! Mistral is quite strong, isn't she? Well, tell me how the chapter is, I swear this chapter took more effort than the entire Mistral's Den dungeon.For those who are having a hard time digesting the fact that how arthur and Jasmine were able to kill Elderwood Guardian, here is the thing if you skipped the part after the time skip in chapter 18. Arthur and Jasmine both had reached AA-class just in sword and dual dragger proficiency without using mana, which means when Arthur used mana he is almost S-class same as Jasmine. Now you may be like 'Okay, But at least 10 S-class are required to kill an S-rank mana beast, right?' So here is the thing: Arthur has 7 cores which means 7 Arthur, but let's say it is only 5, since its only one person, while Jasmine used her Beast will's first phase [Blade Tornado] of Mistral whose power is, as Mistral once said, only falls short to Sylvia making her at least SSS or SSS+ class, so I think it's justified that Jasmine also received the power boast of at least 5 times. Comment below if you think it's not justified.