First encounter

In a fairly well-known neighborhood, roads were blocked by police, while several hunters with fanciful armor and medieval weapons appeared to wait. They chatted quietly, seemingly unstressed at all. 

Opposite them was a semi-transparent blue gate, seemingly releasing a special aura. This gate was about five meters high, while the energy released by the portal was rather commonplace. A man quickly joined the group, while the group's laughter increased.

"Adam, is everything okay?" said a young man, as he gently looked at Adam from the corner of his eye, smiling at him. Adam's group consisted of eight people, including him. The young man was a two-blade warrior, equipped with light plate armor. He looked like a medieval knight. There were also two tanks in their teams, the last two equipped with heavy armor and a big shield that could hide the people behind them.

An archer was also there, equipped with a light leather armor, a quiver, and a long bow. An assassin also appeared to be in the group, dressed in black clothes, and equipped with daggers. You almost couldn't feel it, as if it wasn't there.

Finally, a fiery magician was fitted with light red armor and a healer with a scepter stood proudly beside the group. All the members of the group were Rank C, and they all knew each other quite well.

"Yes, everything's fine, we can come in!" Adam spoke softly, as he touched the pommel of his sword quickly. He gently tapped the floor of his foot as he looked away from the gate. He breathed gently from the nose and rested his gaze on his comrades.

"It's time, gentlemen. Let's conquer this place." Adam walked gently towards the gate as his group followed him. They entered the portal one by one, while a distorting effect appeared at each entry. They gradually disappeared, while fluctuations of power destabilized the portal for a few moments. However, no one could see this small detail.

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Once the group passed the gate, they appeared in the hall of a castle made of black stone. Statues of knights in armor were distributed on either side of the hall, while banners floated, creating a heavy atmosphere. However, no noise seemed to emanate from the place, as if it were deserted. 

The group quickly articulated, as the two tanks set out in front, while the two DPS came to support them. Adam looked at the assassin, as he came to lower his hood, becoming invisible.

"We'll wait while Eric goes around the place. Once he locates the boss, we'll go to the boss." Speak Adam in an authoritarian voice, while everyone on the team responded with a nod.

After about ten minutes of waiting, Eric reappeared next to Adam, speaking in a monotonous and calm voice. "I have spotted a total of twelves enemies. Ten knights with swords and the dungeon boss, however, five seem to patrol the surroundings. The other five stay with the boss."

Adam quickly nodded, as he asked Eric to lead them to the first enemies. Eric nodded, as he pointed to a broken door. The group walked carefully inside the corridors of the castle. During their journey, they gradually discovered the state of the castle itself. The castle seemed to have fought countless battles, consumed by time and damage. 

The castle itself seemed to crumble, while holes in every corner of it appeared.

"This place seems to have lived." Says one of the members of the group, as they continued to advance them. After some time, the archer stretched out the string of her bow, making enough noise to make their comrades understand that she had heard something. The tanks deployed their shields, while the tension instantly rise among the group.

"Anna, did you hear anything?" Asked Adam, looking in front of him at the darkness of the corridor. Anna didn't even have time to answer, as metallic footsteps were heard in the hallway. Three pairs of purple eyes pierced the darkness, while three soldiers in armor came out, revealing themselves to the group.

"Get ready for battle!" Adam quickly shouted as he positioned his long sword in front of him, preparing himself. The enemies opposite the group gently drew their swords, as they hurried into the group. 

Anna fired a volley of arrows as quickly as possible, however all were deflected by their enemies. She grimaced, as she quickly loaded a mana arrow, pulling it to full strength on the nearest soldier. The soldier blocked it, twirling in the air, crashing against the cold surface of the castle.

The fire magician threw a torpedo of fire at one of the other two soldiers, but the knight dodged it. They then reached the level of the two tanks.

One of the soldiers kicked the shield of the tank, as it retreated a few steps. His teeth grinded, as his shield bent. Light tastes of sweat gently flowed down his forehead, as he let go of his breath. He then cried out verbally:

"They're not common, be careful!" He didn't have time to go on until a blow came to cut off his monolog. The second tank received the same treatment. Both were reduced to punching balls, which could only be passive in the face of the two soldiers.

The two DPS helped them quickly, quickly swinging their blades against the soldiers. They jumped into the air and attracted a few meters further. A slight rustle came from the last of them, as the third soldier seemed to be walking back, gently cracking his neck. A dreary and terrifying voice then emerged from the closest of enemies.

"You are not welcome in the field of the Void, Awakaned. Under our Commander, we will exterminate you like the insects you are." A slight haze escaped from the helmet of the void soldier, as he lowered his torso, disappearing in a split second, reappearing just in front of one of the tanks. He prepared to hit the tank shield again, however, Adam had already anticipated this action. His sword quickly cut the soldier's left arm from the void, while the knight responded by throwing head shot at Adam.

He was then pushed to the side, while the other two enemies came to resume their assaults. A long and very difficult battle ensued. Every wound inflicted on the monsters was proof of strength. The group managed, after about thirty minutes, to finish the last soldier.

His body dissipated in a pool of purple blood, as most of the group fell to the ground, completely exhausted. The healer went around everyone, treating each of her comrades as quickly as possible.

"Adam, what was that? Are you sure it's a C-level portal?" Quickly asked Eric, as he approached him, his face clearly showing concern. His clothes were partially torn, while traces of dried blood roamed the parts of his visible body.

"I-I don't know for sure. I think we need to go back and report to the association the condition of the dungeon. We didn't even fight the boss that we're already in this state..."

Various whimpering sounds could be heard, while most of the group was wounded. 

"They said there's a Commander or something, you think it's the boss?" Eric looked around as he interviewed his friend.

"I think." Adam nodded before speaking in a voice loud enough for his entire group to hear. "We get back on our feet and leave this place, it's far too dangerous."

They all nodded quickly, as one of the tanks stood up and spoke in a rather confident voice. "Don't worry, we will protect you-" His voice trailed off as a thin line of blood appeared on his neck. Guttural noises escaped him as he knelt on the ground, his frame sagging heavily. His head slipped and fell to the ground as it rolled over to Anna, his lifeless eyes staring at her, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Ah... Jo... Joe ? JOE !" Anna screamed desperately, as her legs lost their strength. The whole group trembled in fear as the healer vomited her lunch onto the cold ground. A cold, pitiless voice then made everyone shiver.

"You dare kill my men, and you plan to leave without even paying the consequences?" Adam turned around, his eyes quickly shaking. An elegant woman in purple plate armor stood there, accompanied by seven other soldiers. Two stood on either side behind her, their hands on the hilts of their weapons, while the other five stood between the group of awakened and this woman.

"FORMATION!" Adam bellowed quickly, grabbing his sword and getting into a fighting stance. He felt fear like never before as he stared at the monsters in front of him. The group quickly stood up, but the healer and Anna remained frozen, shaking like leaves in a windstorm.

The monsters approached slowly, as the armored woman wiped her bloody blade on her arm. She sheathed her blade and crossed her arms, nodding her head to order her soldiers to fight the intruders.

The five in front moved, while the two behind seemed oblivious to what was happening, not moving at all. They remained motionless, appearing to be nothing more than statues without any real life.

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Change of POV : Eleftharia.

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"They're much weaker than I thought. I expected people to be stronger. However, this is what Awakened Ones look like. It's rather curious," thought Eleftharia, as she watched her men fight the intruders.

As she killed the Awakened One, she felt her wounds slowly healing. It seemed that killing these beings would allow her to heal, and even become stronger. On the surface, she seemed calm, but deep down, she was ecstatic.

She wanted to kill as many as possible to heal herself. However, as she killed this Awakened One, she had an image of a man holding a baby, while the man seemed to be giving the baby all the love in the world. This image seemed to confuse her a little, as she pondered what this meant.

"Is this the memory of the one I killed? So I regain the memory of what I killed?" Eleftharia thought, tilting her head to the side.

She quickly returned to the fight in front of her as she narrowed her eyes. Despite the difference in strength between the two groups, the Awakened group seemed to be holding its own. She quickly analyzed the group as one of her soldiers perished.

She then stared at the man who had screamed during the beginning of the fight and frowned. She walked slowly towards the group, drawing her sword, while her two guards followed her silently.

"Stop playing around, you're going to die anyway." Eleftharia said as she approached the group. A murderous intent enveloped the area as everything seemed to freeze. The soldiers backed away, bowing their heads before their Commander.