Thud! Thud! ROAAR!

"Aron! I'm ready," Pethra announced. She was set to unleash her magic.

"Wait for my signal."

Aron closed his eyes, honing all his senses on the approaching monsters.

Thud!

"They are getting closer," Raum commented nervously.

By now, Raum, Freya, and Pethra could discern the monsters. Witnessing their horrifying and contorted forms, a tinge of fear crept in. But with Aron by their side, they mustered the courage to stand firm. His presence provided them with strength and reassurance.

Thud!

"A-Aron!" This time, Pethra called in concern; the monsters were closing in, yet Aron hadn't signaled.

Meanwhile, Aron found himself in a completely different state; he couldn't even hear Pethra calling out to him. All sounds around him ceased to exist, and his entire focus was on the enemies' footsteps.

Thud!

'Not yet.'

Thud!

'Closer.'

Thud!

"!!!" Aron opened his eyes wide, shouting, "NOW!"

Startled by his sudden exclamation, Pethra regained her composure swiftly and promptly cast her magic.

[Earth Wall]

The first monster in the pack—the one with furious arms and a lizard head—when his right foot was inches away from the ground, a two-meter-high and one-meter-wide Earth Wall erupted from the ground, hitting him on the arch of his foot, causing him to lose balance.

The lizard-headed monster noticed the wall only when it found itself tumbling to the ground.

BOOF!

"ATTACK!" Aron immediately charged at them, with Freya following suit.

The fall of the Lizard-head monster triggered a chain reaction, leading the others to collapse in unison; they couldn't prevent it due to their charging speed being extraordinary for their massive figures. Something that large shouldn't move that fast, but they could. Thanks to Pethra's little wall, Aron utilized their large bodies and high speed against them.

However… One monster managed to avoid falling.

"Freya! Let's focus on that one first."

"Okay, Boss."

Queck! Queck! Queck! Queck!

It was the six-armed monster; he managed to jump above his friends, landed on the ground, and continued his charge at Aron's group, his four goblin heads roaring and moaning in a distorted way.

Aron increased his sprint speed, and when he was a few feet away from the monster, he slid under him. Using Nightfall, he successfully left a cut on two of its left arms.

The monster didn't scream or anything; even his charging speed didn't decrease. It was as if it didn't feel the pain.

Aron didn't like this; he felt like his attack was pointless. If he wanted to kill this monster, he needed to break it apart.

Swiftly, Aron reached for his chained mace, infusing it with mana to extend the mace's chains to any length as long as Aron had the mana to support it.

Aron swung the mace as hard as he could, the chains wrapping around the monster's six arms, tightening like a constrictor snake. The monster halted in its tracks, its goblin heads twitching in confusion.

This moment allowed Freya to jump on the monster's back. With swift and flawless movements, she managed to cut off all four goblin heads.

However, the monster refused to die.

"UGHAAA!" But Aron wasn't finished.

Holding Nightfall with both hands, Aron infused it with his mana, then he activated his [Fire Legacy] skill to set the axe on fire. Then he launched it at the monster.

Nightfall flew at a destructive speed, impaling the monster from the rear. However, the assault didn't end there. Aron was on it too; he slammed hard with his shoulder onto Nightfall's handle, grabbing it with both hands and pushing.

"UGHAA!"

The monster was pinned to the cavern wall with the flaming Nightfall piercing through its torso.

"Die already!" Aron gritted his teeth, pouring more mana into Nightfall to intensify the flames. With a strong final push, the creepy monster was split in two.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

[You have killed Unknown Creature]

[+150 XP]

"DAMN! Finally," Aron panted heavily, drenched in the monster's blood. The flame around Nightfall started to fade.

"More is coming!" Freya landed near him, drawing his attention to the remaining monsters. Some managed to stand up; however, instead of charging, they showed signs of caution and began approaching slowly.

Aron noticed this strange behavior. 'Are they scared? No, they learned that charging blindly can lead to their death.'

Aron and Freya exchanged knowing glances before charging at the monsters.

Far behind them was Pethra alone, Raum already managed to find an opening bypassing the twisted monsters to locate the dungeon core.

Pethra, on the other hand, was channeling her magic all the time, rocking her head to find a way to help in the fight itself. She managed to find only one spell that could be useful. However…

'This spell is far above my level, using it can cripple my mana vines.' Pethra hesitated to use this spell.

I mean, no mage would be crazy enough to risk the chance of destroying his mana vines.

Time slowed down for Pethra as she took a moment to reflect on her life. Her goal was to become a renowned and strong mage to find her mother. But when she remembered her time with Aron and the girls in the mansion, her hesitation was no more.

Pethra felt a surge of determination coursing through her. The bond she had formed with Aron and the others outweighed her fears. She couldn't stand idly by while her friends faced the evolving threat of the dungeon's creatures.

"Forgive me, Mother." With newfound resolve, Pethra slammed her staff, releasing the spell.

"From the depth of the earth, I call you to rise and protect!"

Rumble!!

"Stone Guardians."

As Pethra uttered these words, a brilliant light emanated from her staff, spreading across the cavern. The ground trembled, and massive stone figures emerged, forming a protective barrier around Pethra. These Stone Guardians, animated by her magic, stood tall and imposing; there were four in total, each taking the form of an armored knight with a massive tower shield and a spear.

Aron and Freya, witnessing the arrival of the Stone Guardians, paused briefly in their assault.

Freya grinned, "Wow! That's one impressive spell."

Aron thought the same. "Well done, my little witch."

Pethra raised her staff high in the air, commanding the Stone Guardians.

"Guardians!"

BOOM!

The Guardians took formation and reacted by slamming their shields with spears.

Pethra pointed at the monsters "Slay these foul Beasts! Let the Might of Gaia prevail; leave none alive."

Thud! Thud!

Obeying Pethra's command, the Stone Guardians advanced with synchronized steps. Their towering figures radiated an aura of ancient power as they faced the approaching monsters. The cavern echoed with the resounding thumps of the Guardians' steps, and the monsters, now confronted by this new formidable force, hesitated once again.

Aron and Freya, now with the support of the Stone Guardians, resumed their assault with renewed vigor.

The lizard-headed monster found itself caught in a deadly attack from the spears of two indomitable Stone Guardians.

Aron took this opportunity, dashing toward the lizard-headed monster. One of the Guardians, as if understanding his intentions, lowered his giant shield for Aron to use as a springboard. Aron jumped off the shield, soaring through the air with Nightfall poised for a devastating strike, cleaving the lizard's head off.

Meanwhile, Freya chose a different target from the ones engaging the Stone Guardians.

Another twisted monster with a head closely resembling a bull or a horse—Freya couldn't tell. Surprisingly, his other parts were of a troll, matching the rest of the body.

Using her lightning speed and unnatural flexibility, Freya landed multiple strikes on his legs in quick succession. The bull monster fell to his knees, and seizing this chance, Freya leaped into the air, aiming for his neck.

Unfortunately, like the rest, this bull monster had an extra part—his back opened up, revealing a third arm covered in a hard shell. The monster used it to block Freya's greatsword. The shell proved to be the strongest upon impact, shattering Freya's greatsword to pieces.

"Tsk," Freya clicked her tongue; losing her weapons was something she never liked. She jumped back, creating some distance, but the moment she landed, the shelled arm was above her, ready to smash. The arm was twice the length of the others.

"Shit!"

Unable to react, Freya crossed her arms, ready to take the hit. Suddenly…

"MOVE!" Aron came to the rescue, slamming Freya with his shoulder, and throwing her to the side.

BOOM!

"UGH!"

Aron managed to block the hit with Nightfall, but it wasn't over yet. The bull monster stood back up, raising his right hand high in the air, wielding a log as a weapon.

"Aaah! Freya, a little help here." Aron was certain that if that log landed on him, he would be crushed like a bug.

Freya, who recovered quickly, immediately came to Aron's aid. She darted towards the bull monster with incredible speed, attempting once again to strike at the neck. With no weapon at hand, she used her new Draconic Claw to slice the bull's neck.

"AHHH!" The monster screamed in agony, dropping the log and holding his bleeding neck with his three arms.

"Tsk, that's not enough. I need something bigger and sharper."

"HERE!"

Freya saw from the corner of her eye, Aron throwing his axe high in the air. Smiling, Freya jumped to catch it.

Grabbing Nightfall, Freya rotated in the air gathering a bigger force; she used this force to split the Bull-monster in half.

"Wow! That's what I'm talking about!" Freya yelled, raising her arm in victory.

"Nice job, Freya." Aron raised a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Boss. I couldn't do it… WATCH OUT!"

"Eh?"

ROAAR!

A giant jaw of a beast emerged from the ground right under Aron. The jaw closed on him, and the fangs found their way to Aron's midsection.

"UGHHHAA!" Aron bit hard on his lips, enduring the pain. He gazed at the beast that caught him off guard and saw it was a snake.

"Aron!" Freya attempted to rescue, but a fight between a Stone Guardian and a monster cut her path to Aron.

Looking behind, she began scanning each monster separately, looking for one resembling a snake. Soon, she found one with two snake heads, one of them underground. Without hesitation, Freya dashed toward him.

Aron, on the other hand, was busy enduring the pain. He received a system message about his health falling below 30%.

'Is this my end?'

At that moment, a vision came before Aron's eyes—a vision of a woman in golden red armor with six angelic wings covered in blood on her back.

The winged woman floated in the air, and beneath her were the bodies of slain dragons. She turned her head, facing Aron with a smirk on her face.

The moment Aron saw her radiant eyes, he was consumed by a tremendous amount of hatred and rage.

"I WILL NOT DIE!"

[Skill activated: Wrath]

A surge of power in the shape of dark-red flames exploded from Aron.

"I CANNOT DIE UNTIL…"

His skin began to crack, revealing glowing crimson patterns. The dark-red flames enveloped Aron, swirling around him like a fiery aura. The cavern echoed with the raw power emanating from him.

"...UNTIL MY WRATH CONSUMES THE HEAVENS!" His voice resonated with an otherworldly intensity.

Gazing down at the snake's head, Aron's flaming right hand found no difficulty in digging deep into the snake's eye.

Commanding Python to appear, Aron split the snake's head in half, freeing himself. It didn't stop there; the head suddenly ignited with dark-red flames spreading beneath the ground all the way to the main body, reducing it to ashes.

[You have killed Unknown Creature]

[+200 XP]

Aron, now empowered by the flames of wrath, stood amidst the chaos with an aura of unparalleled intensity.

"I WILL CRUSH ANY WHO STANDS IN THE WAY OF MY VENGEANCE!"