The dying cinders fell like snow, but what should’ve burned away reignited, the cinders came ablaze when they kissed the shell of the descending soldiers. They were many, clad in horned silver husks that were scalding until fiery. These soldiers cloaked in an aura of heat and an armor of flame stomped forward, searing the ground they walked and charring the air they breathed.

Rana was worried. She had been making many uncharacteristic decisions lately. She entered a dungeon without a fully planned out means of success, and she now faced unknown monsters. The Aodh expedition teams used a tunnel, so they most likely bypassed the engagement on the field towards the tree. She should’ve expected that much when there was no mentioned resistance at the entrance. She wondered what caused her desire to see her sister overpower her sense of caution.

However, there was no time to lament on her mistakes. She would learn from them but now was not the time. The expedition logs did mention monsters that increased in strength under the rain of ashes, but none with such intensity. It made sense in retrospect, however. The power of a Dungeon had the potential for unlimited growth and their reach could theoretically extend towards the end of time, but the total amount of energy they had was not without a limit. The magnitude of their dying breath and the lives they consumed to fuel their hatred determined the energy they had, the quality and the total amount of monsters they could produce. If a Dungeon were to have an instinct of self-preservation, having more powerful monsters stand guard at the entrance, where the intruders would no doubt be injured, could explain the current situation.

Rana was still not pleased. Knowing what lead to a situation did not seem to lessen the difficulty she and the moon-kin were facing. The Dungeon was newer so the threat level of monsters would not be that high. What was dangerous, however, was that she had little idea of what they were capable of, and the monsters were covered in fire, something she was weak against. Alpheia was not faring any better. Her injuries were substantial, her feathers dyed red and charred. Even if she was more powerful than the monsters, having to fight while injured and under the Ash Fall debuff would not be easy.

There was an explosion followed by multiple others. Her instincts flared before she even turned away from the moon-kin. The fast-approaching red on the floor could not be mistaken. It was the System telegraph. The monsters attacked. She dove to the right and rolled to her side just as a flaming silver husk rushed past her. Then, many more trajectories began to appear. She began to run. The soldiers in husks charged. The heat, or rather chill, of their burning bodies, grazed at her back. They charged with formation, which meant there was a pattern with an intention, something that could be exploited.

The problem was how, and she needed to find out before the monsters overwhelmed them. She continued to dash away from the rushing assault. It seemed like for now this was her best approach. It was not viable indefinitely, as each charge burned at her health points, but it was sufficient for now. She looked towards the moon-kin, who was locked in melee with multiple enemies.

Alpheia was forced to the ground as a fist of fire exploded on her guard. The moon-kin rolled away, dodging another explosion that would've no doubt killed her. She quickly got up but was once again faced with punch, kicks, and tackles of fire. Smoke rose from her wounds as she tried to disengage from the attackers, but their ferocity kept her grounded. Her high fire resistance kept the damage to a minimum when she successfully guarded an attack, but any clean blow would be devastating.

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Unlike Rana, Alpheia purged her mana core due to the descent, as she had to use all of her control and focus to make sure the two of them survived the entrance. She was less trained in mana generation than the inquisitor. Rana had to act fast, despite the risks.

Rana rushed towards the moon-kin. There was still some distance and she would put herself in an unfavorable position, but if Alpheia fell than their chances of victory would be no more. She observed the enemy, understanding how they attacked, parried, and moved, their pattern of aggression. She needed to find an opening. There it was.

Without a word, they each sensed the other’s intention, the blood connection still working. Tendrils of ice emerged and reached towards burning wrists and ankles. Rana launched six Ice Geysers, costing all of her mana reserves but immobilizing the monsters enough for Alpheia to break out. The moon-kin did not give her thanks, but the speedy flight into the air and out of sight gave her some hope that her companion was following her instructions.

Now, she only needed to survive until the moon-kin returned.

Rana was surrounded by two groups of flaming soldiers. The one behind her was beginning to charge, and the one in front still reeling from Alpheia’s breakthrough. There was no time to ponder, the choice was clear. If she were to face an enemy charge from opposite directions, it would only be a matter of time before she suffered an explosive tackle in her face. She had to engage them in melee, and at least the second group could act as a buffer to the first group's charge.

She leaped forward and hammered her staff against the head of a recovering soldier. She needed to test just how much she could stagger them. Not much. It was not as if their shells were hard. There was something absorbing the force of her strike as if the force was being absorbed by the fire and heat. This was bad. Rana was already at a disadvantage in a melee against multiple foes. Her Spells were suited for one on one combat. Fool’s Fire was a means to create an opening and Ice Geyser restricted enemy movement, the combination designed to outplay an enemy in combat. She learned another Spell as her means of heavy damage, but what use was a costly Spell when she had no mana. She knew she had the skill and experience to survive for quite some time, but having the enemy armor limit her options was something to be concerned about.

Rana ducked and rolled forward, using her jacket as protection to dodge past the enemy. The red trajectory telegraph zoomed forward and she quickly huddled into a guarded curl. The soldiers charged into the ones she was fighting earlier and created a huge explosion, and Rana used the generated gust to give her some distance. She more or less gauged the monsters’ melee distance. She had to make sure she did not overextend.

The dance began. She could not guard or parry as contact with them was impossible. The heart burned and any sufficient force caused small explosions. However, the explosions could be mitigated by her equipment if she left some distance between them. Her mind turned, visualizing the progression of the fight, each step outpacing her body and her opponent's. She knew what they would do. The issue was the explosions. She could bait the enemy into impeding each other, but the blasts of fire made it difficult to maintain her footing. Small errors and minute miscalculations eventually stacked up. Several monsters prepared to charge.

Rana braced for the worst, but before the monsters gored her with their horns, an explosion came between them and blasted her away. She tumbled back, each scrape and bump chilled her mind and body. Then, she was doused with a splash of sticky liquid, and before she recovered, two thin arms swooped in and carried her away.

“You know, that could’ve killed me,” Rana said, venting her frustration between coughs. Her lungs did not need to work, but the dirt in her mouth was not a pleasant sensation.

“It didn’t,” the Alpheia replied, unapologetic with a hint of satisfaction.

“Did you find it? I assume we have enough mana to make it here,” Rana said, deciding to ignore the issue as there was no point dwelling on it. The blood connection and Alpheia’s technique made sure her damage was minimal.

The moon-kin nodded and Rana let out a sigh. The safe room was something they sorely needed.