I dodged the burst of flames by rolling to the side. It was close and almost ignited my cloak.

"Can I at least learn why the fuck are you attacking me?" I shout.

He didn't answer but only raised his sword once again to charge it.

I don't know much about his combat style, weaknesses, and strong sides. So finding an opening is very hard at the moment.

But, if he needs to charge his attacks every time before launching it, I may have a chance. "Crimson blade, use it twice." My agility increased in an instant.

I dashed towards Alexandros. My sword is ready to cut his throat in one hit.

"Try to survive from that, fucker!"

Time didn't slow down, but it always happened before, but why not now!

With an agile maneuver, he stopped charging the sword and blocked me. Our swords collapsed, and we got into a battle of strength.

He is holding his sword with one hand, and I can barely compete with him, even though I use both hands.

He overwhelmed me in the test of strength and pushed me away. I managed to keep my balance, but I still gave an opening.

Alexandros used this opening in his favor and continued charging his attack.

At the moment he almost unleashed his attack, I shot an ice projectile and hit his hand. It didn't do much damage but stopped him from sending his attack.

My attack increased Alexandros's temper.

"Just die and let me do my job!" He shouted to me.

"Are you going to cry because you didn't manage to attack me?" I teased him because it looks like he's not that good at controlling his temper.

I shot another ice fragment, but Alexandros blocked the incoming projectile, but shards bouncing from his sword hit a button hidden on a wall.

The button activated a trap door beneath us, and we began to fall towards a pit of spikes.

I managed to stop my fall thanks to my gloves. "That was a close one." I sighed.

"Yes, it was." Alexandros was also able to stop his fall.

I began looking around to find a way of escaping from him, and yes! There is an opening going towards a deeper part of the dungeon inside the pit. I moved towards the hole and jumped in.

Alexandros throw a fireball after me. First, it was only a simple projectile, but it exploded when it got close to me, and I barely dodged it.

"You fucker!" I didn't stop escaping from him.

Thanks for this shortcut. I managed to lose Alexandros, at least for now, but I need to find help. I can't beat him alone. I hope other groups are doing fine.

After more moving, I ended up in an enormous circular room with pillars spread around. If there isn't a dangerous monster here, I could use it to my advantage.

"Like what I did in knight fight." I began to climb one of the pillars.

Seconds later, Alexandros entered the room. Flames, more magnificent than ever was covering his sword.

"Show yourself. I promise I will give you a painless death." He shouted and began searching for me.

"If it's not me, the lady will kill you anyway. No one can escape from her. You are only wasting my time." He sounds worried.

I don't know who this lady character is, I don't know why she wants people here dead, but I probably made one more enemy without even knowing.

I began to crawl around the pillar.

It is at least six meters long and two meters wide. I can hide while watching Alexandros from a distance. I will strike him down when I have the chance.

I got an opening! I dashed towards the ground. He managed to turn towards me, but I shot two ice projectiles and some ranged light attacks from my sword.

He tried to block them, but the only thing he did was give me an opening.

Ice projectiles exploded near his face and created a mist and blocked his vision, and light slashes coming out from my sword inflated minor wounds to him.

I got beneath him and ducked. Now, my sword is ready to split his chest into two from below to above. I start a vertical slash.

In an instant, he turned towards me and blocked my attack.

"Now, you pissed me." He began to glow blue, and his strength began to rise. I can barely hold myself in the same spot.

His right hand began to glow white, and before I understood what that was, a burst of air threw me away.

I wasn't expecting that trick. I rolled on the ground until I hit my back into a pillar. I don't think I can recover myself fast enough.

Alexandros leaped towards me, ready to do the finishing blow. Well, that's life. There always be someone stronger than you out there.

I closed my eyes and let myself into the hands of death. Who knows, maybe old liches will save my ass one more time.

And as I felt the warmth of his sword, I opened my eyes with a sound.

Two swords clashed and sparkles spread around. I opened my eyes. There is a familiar figure waiting right next to me. Arthur.

"I hope you are not planning to die right now. Get your ass up."

I crawled back and jumped to get back up. "Why are you here, and how did you find me?"

Arthur dashed forward at a speed that was too fast for me to even track with my eyes and began attacking Alexandros from every distance and kept doing that until he pushed him far enough.

Now, there is a distance between him and us.

"Something was wrong." Arthur began to talk. "We got into the second chamber, but we didn't even encounter one spider on the way, and the only group that didn't make out here was yours."

So that explains that spider wave attacked us!

Arthur was still talking. "When I come to check, I saw the burned corpse of a knight. I began to suspect one thing. Now, I can see there is a traitor among us!"

"Lady didn't want blood on her hands, but you forced me to this Arthur of Argeour." He pulled out a burning Zweihander made of still burning charcoal and veins of magma flowing inside it from his mouth.

"Just as I said, I already saw every weird shit happening today." I laughed at my joke.

"Finally, a worthy opponent for me!" Alexandros shout.

"I might need some help." Arthur turned towards me.

I nodded with my head.

Arthur dashed forward with an incredible speed. Their swords clashed, and both of them jumped away from each other.

I joined the action.

Only blocking Alexandros's swings is enough to break my balance, but I am giving my everything to help Arthur.

Arthur continuously dashes Alexandros from the back, front, right, left, above, everywhere. Arthur won't even give him a second to breathe while I try to annoy him much as I can.

"Enough!" Alexandros shout. "You shall feel the power of the red dragon!" With one swing, he threw both of us away.

"Why this guy is stupidly powerful." I nagged.

"That's not his best. I saw better performances from him," Arthur said.

What an encouraging word. Well, at least my bombs didn't explode.
Wait, my bombs!

"Arthur, I need you to be careful." I opened my bag and showed him the bombs for a brief second.

He smiled and nodded.

I sent two projectiles towards the Alexandros. He blocked them with ease but gave us an opening for a second.

Arthur dashed towards him and landed a hit to his back. It left a wound on his back but wasn't enough to take him down.

Alexandros turned towards Arthur and began to shout. He looks like a wild animal right now.

"Knock knock." I got to his back while he turned towards Arthur.

As he turned his face towards me, I threw my bombs to his face.

The ceramic ball exploded with the impact, and the point-blank explosion shredded his face into pieces.

But, even after his flesh spread around, and now I can see muscles inside his face. Alexandros is standing.

He began to burn himself with fire.

"If I am going down, I will finish the request of the lady." He screamed.

"Get away from him." Arthur grabbed me from the shoulders and pulled me back.

Fires turned into a tornado, and this tornado is constantly growing.

"Now, if we only managed to run towards the gate and find a safe place, we could escape from it. Maybe hiding behind the pillars be enough. No, fire will spread around them. Only if I could-"

I hold his shoulder. "Now, my friend. Let me help you with that. Hold me tightly, and don't dare to release it."

I began to climb one of the pillars using my gloves, with Arthur on my back.

"You never told me you had an ability like that." He said.

"You never asked," I answered him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Tornado stopped after five minutes. How do I know that? I counted while waiting for it to end.

"Thanks to your surprise tool, this fight ended up easier than I thought." Arthur looked at the burned corpse of the Alexandros.

Fire tore his flesh. His face is deformed, his jaw is out of place, and one of his eyeballs is missing. It is a very unpleasant view. I can say that.

"Let's find the rest of the group. Then we can discuss that lady thing."

We exit the room.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Pain, heat, disappointment. All these feelings are covering my heart.
"My family, their lives are on my hand. I can't die. I am the Phonix of Eera, Alexandro." He began to talk.

"A rooky can't beat me because he had a surprise tool on his hand."

The burned corpse of the Alexandros began to rise from the ground and move. He is barely able to handle his Zweihander.

But he is still moving.

"For my baby girl. Don't worry. Pa will save you from the lady's hand, and we can finally have a normal life that will end your Pa's debt to the
demon." He is talking with himself.

Alexandros took out liquor from his pouch and began to drink it.

His body began to transform into something. Something that is not human.