We moved ahead to the next floor, soon after. The strategy this time was supposed to be the same. Upon entering, I used magic sense, and after detecting the horde, I immediately fired the arrows straight at their heads. Two hit, and there were three left. Me and lil-fen charged at them with full speed.
Taking one down in a flash, I noticed two more shadowy figures behind my back. I checked at the fenrir and then instantly continued my battle. The fenrir was taking on the other two.
I speeded, circling around them, cloaked in lightning. I predicted that attack to the heel of my feet, jumping spontaneously. They were continuously attacking me with that extra limb.
I stopped for a second, standing in front of them to get their attention there. And rapidly swooshed passed them slicing their tendons, then another speed attack slicing that predatory organ. Without giving them another second to regenerate, I charged my weapon with lightning and struck that in their neck, one by one, half slicing it.
I rested on a distance as they lay frigid on the ground. Making sure they were dead; I burned their head with dark flame.
“Now, onto the dog.” He had long finished it and was enjoying his little meal after battle.
Picking up the stones I went to the mana ore and extracted it, this time without any hurdle.
“C’mon! We’re done here.” I called out to the fenrir; it was time to move ahead.
As we were reaching the staircase of the next floor, something seemed to grabbed my ankles. I immediately charged myself with lightning to shock it off as a reflex. Then looked back to see what it was, whether any ghoul was left alive.
None?
It was a hand that had grabbed me, the scary part being, it was just a hand.
Do these things stay alive even after severing their head off? Or…
We moved ahead to the next floor, with some creepy feeling running inside of me.
The 19th floor wasn’t so different, except for the platoon of ghouls in front of us.
I was ready with my spell and so was the fenrir.
Sigh, “This will take a toll.”
I fired my lightning spear, followed by three dark arrows. The spear hit. However, I didn’t care for the arrow’s accuracy. I had no time to control each arrow’s direction so I fired arrows at them constantly. Meanwhile, the little fenrir had already started playing with the ghouls.
I cloaked myself in lightning, even though I knew it would drain my mana rapidly. But I had no choice, for I could not afford to get caught by them.
I was running from one end to another, stopping to fire an arrow, then moving again. But I was no match for so many of them.
There was no time to think. I couldn’t count them, but there were sure several. Perhaps…..no definitely more than twenty.
There were less of them after fenrir but I had no leeway to help him; I already had a squad of them after me.
This may be the first real challenge since entering the dungeon.
“Fooo! No need to panic! No need to panic! Act upon the strategy! Act upon the strategy!” While I was saying such to calm myself. A ghoul caught me by leg and slammed me against the wall. In an instant, I had been cornered.
They were constantly barraging me with their sharp claws and fangs. I tried avoiding them with high speed lightning but I wasn’t really successful.
I had lost my ground and was starting to lose my consciousness. I was really starting to feel the cold of the dungeon.
Thoughts flooded my mind. The scene of the mansion burning and my father dying and my mother… flashed before me. I was running, like always, never standing up to the real situation, always finding the means to escape whatever so.
“NO! It’s too soon. I have things I must accomplish before…” I muttered to myself
I used mana reign to cast a layer of barrier over me. It was incredibly thin and couldn’t hold for long. But it was just enough to give him a call.
“Lil Fennnnnn!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, just so that it would ring on the whole floor.
I tried to hold myself again; meanwhile the fenrir shot a shadow blast towards me to distract them a little. I immediately jumped out and sped to the other side.
I speedily took down two of the five that were over the dog.
“You can take care of the rest, right?”
“Woof!”
“Alright!”
I crafted some lightning arrows and threw those at them followed by a few dark ones. They were quick to evade, but little did they know what was coming.
I took a leap backwards and prepared another dark magic spell while the ghouls surrounded me from all sides.
“Heh! You’re exactly where I need you to be.”
“Dark Ignition!”
A small flame started on my palm turning into this massive-violent flame annihilating everyone and everything around. While they were crying in agony, I chopped their heads.
Sword in one hand, and a violent flame in another; and a twisted smile on my face.
Even so, there were several left. Running backwards, they were persistently trying to avoid me now. “Huhu! Now you’re running.”
I turned of the black flame, getting ready for the lightning speed; while the ghouls still remained there, attacking from a distance.
A ghoul instantly flashed behind my back; their incredible speed was something to mess with. But I was ready this time. My lightning speed was able to see its movement and hence gauge its next attack. I turned around and promptly charged my blade and sliced through its neck.
The pack wasn’t startled, instead they were ferocious again. I started my attack towards them, though it was hard to connect even one strike, I was constantly barraging them with my sword; trying not give’em a single chance.
Pretty soon, the fenrir joined too. Now it were two of us constantly attacking them.
The fenrir was deftly sneaking to their backs and kicking them towards me, as I sliced them in half with my charged sword.
This combo was pretty damn effective but only for a few minutes, until they started attacking the ground in the hope of throwing the fenrir off balance. But that short moment was enough for me to cast dark arrows and ignite their grotesque faces. I fired multiple arrows in progression and soon saw several of them laying dead.
“Yess! It’s almost over.” I exclaimed tiredly.
I looked over at the remaining few, just enough to count on one hand; they didn’t seem scary anymore. They spread out abruptly.
Are they… scared?
I followed them with my eyes and the scene was of utter disgust. All five of them were digging up the bodies of the dead ghouls….. and feeding on them.
I tried to give’em no chance and straightaway dashed at them, augmented in lightning, slicing their neck off. I took care of them within seconds while I saw the fenrir doing the same. All of the ghouls but one lay dead on the ground. And it seemed ready to take me on.
It looked at me, and I him. A frightening look on its face, its jaw filled with what it was eating, his heavy breathing and ears twitching. In a few moments it went berserk and started attacking in the air. Though I seemed like it was onto me, but its attacks had no direction. Its body showed an abnormal movement inside, as if something in wanted out.
“Kkkkheeeeeeeeeeeeee!” It screams were loud, even so high to scratch my ear drums, while the icicles up above started to crack.
And soon it went silent, with something sticking to my face. The ghoul had blasted off, with its specimens hanging all around the walls. I wiped what had stuck to my face and took a close look as to ascertain its type.
“What is this?” It was thin, but not that much to be mistaken for fingers; and it even didn’t have its long nail on it. Umm…. Ah! Eww! Probably an unpleasant expression appeared on my face as I pitched it far away into the darkness.
I heaved a sigh of relief as I ordered the fenrir to collect he mana ore, while I myself collected the magic stones from the ghouls.
I just couldn’t bring myself to eat these dead undead specimens so I just ate some raw meat to fill my empty stomach and prepare for the next room.
“Eat up. There’s a tough battle ahead.” I was looking at the staircase in front of me, peering into the darkness, ascertain the upcoming dangers of twentieth floor. And also, whether or not I should continue to the next, after twenty.
