"Minions of the empire! Did you come to kill my beloved? How dare you show up here!"
The unbelievably gorgeous woman spoke in a voice which made everyone's hearts melt. Cyclone shook her head to get rid of the strange feeling of admiration as she answered the woman:
"Hmpf. Look how you are treating the people here! It's not strange that the empire chases you!"
The woman slightly tilted her head looking at Cyclone. Her rosy lips didn't move. She didn't deign Cyclone worthy of an answer. Lifting her chin faintly she simply looked away.
"Damn, so arrogant?"
Cyclone stared wide-eyed at the woman. She considered pulling her wand out and unleashing her lightning on the woman. But before that, Liam spoke up first:
"Listen, we just need something from your temple. It won't take long. Just a quick in and out. Afterwards we will leave you be."
The gorgeous woman stared at Liam with piercing eyes, scoffing arrogantly:
"You are dreaming."
"Well. It was worth a try."
The women took the last few steps down the stairs, her eyes slowly narrowing. Reaching the stone floor she suddenly took out a staff out of nowhere. It was made from white wood and brimming with magic.
"Do you leave on your own or do I need to throw you out?"
Silver Blade walked to the front, protecting the party behind her as she responded to the woman:
"Try it!"
"Hahaha."
Bell-light laughter rang through the cave as the woman raised her staff. The fight began.
[Lady Somme, Treacherous noble of the empire
Rank: Boss, Hidden
Level: 36
HP: 35.100/35.100]
As Lady Somme waved her staff, the mana in the cave steered. Silver Blade feared she wouldn't make it in time. Thus, she directly used her [Luring Barrier].
The faint barrier protected its caster behind it as Lady Somme unleashed her first attack. Suddenly mana gathered right in front of Silver Blade. It formed a spike of translucent magic, which abruptly shot out of the earth, targeting the tank's chest.
Luckily Silver Blade had used her [Luring Barrier] or else the attack might have caught her off guard.
[-1821!]
The barrier rippled but fortunately it held on. With this attack Lady Somme was locked onto Silver Blade. The rest of the party was just about to rush towards the boss when Liam held them back.
"Wait a second! We don't have to kill her yet."
The others were puzzled, staring at the expert. Yet Liam ignored them and swiped his eyes along the wall. Several notifications popped up in his vision.
[Solid stone wall segment
HP: 300.000/300.000]
[Solid stone wall segment
HP: 300.000/300.000]
[Solid stone wall segment
HP: 300.000/300.000]
[Strange stone wall segment
HP: 20.000/20.000]
That's it!
"Guys, focus your attacks on this spot!"
Liam's friends took a moment to react. Cyclone mumbled quietly:
"Has he gone crazy now?"
Nevertheless, she swung her wand, attacking immediately.
[-382!]
The rest of the party complied as well. Only Silver Blade continued to hold back the boss. When she didn't receive any support from her party, the tank glanced over her shoulder only to see her friends stupidly hitting a wall. Her eyes twitched and she quickly turned back towards the front.
Lady Somme also noticed the party's actions.
"Wha…!"
The gorgeous woman hastily swallowed her words not letting others notice her shock. She waved her staff in a large circle before pointing it at the floor. A large, blueish magic circle formed. It sucked in copious amounts of mana.
A moment later figures suddenly jumped out of the floor. They were formed from pure mana. Their height reached only towards Silver Blade's knees. They had a humanoid form but no detailed features. On first glance they looked rather weak, but their high numbers sent a chill down Silver Blade's spine.
The little figures swiftly moved. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on one's perspective – they didn't focus Silver Blade but rather attacked the entire party.
The friends were forced to give up on destroying the wall and had to deal with the magical figures first. They formed a half-circle against the wall, protecting the ranged players within while attacking the frail figures.
But Lady Somme didn't seem satisfied. She unleashed another skill resembling Fortune's [Arcane Bolts]. Silver Blade and Radiant Shield did their best to block the powerful bolts of magic.
For a while the party was literally with their backs against the wall, almost unable to breathe under the pressure brought by Lady Somme.
Only as the magical figures were reduced to a manageable number did Liam order the ranged players to continue attacking the wall. The party had all lost varying amounts of stance and HP, but the veteran guaranteed the party that this was necessary.
Thus, the fight continued. Lady Somme's two skills were gradually dealt with. Just as the fight returned to a regular exchange did the wall segment finally lose its last bit of HP. Yet instead of breaking apart it flickered and disappeared.
"NO!"
Lady Somme suddenly bellowed, her voice even sounding like a different person's.
"Hm, why is she so worked up? What's hiding there?"
Cyclone asked in a teasing tone, glad to cause the arrogant boss some distress. She and the other ranged players stood closest to the opening which had now been revealed in the wall. Brimming with curiosity she took a look inside.
Immediately a freezing cold assaulted all the players as an insane amount of extremely pure, dark mana surged out of the wall. As it brushed past, the view cleared up.
Cyclone froze on the spot. Balm felt like vomiting. Fortune feared that the scene had to be censored in her videos. What got revealed to the party was a living hell.
It was a spacious cave mostly inhabited by basilisks. They were held in cages, always in pairs of one male and one female. Magic circles flashing with dark magic were painted on the floors.
People ran between the cages bringing food for the basilisks. They looked pale and emaciated, close to death, resembling slaves. In fact, some of those people had obviously died during the work. Their corpses lay on the floor. No one bothered with burying them or at least carrying them away.
At the very rear of the cave was a special magical circle. A basilisk was chained on top of it. The poor creature struggled heavily as dark magic washed over its head. But it seemed there was no escape for the basilisk.
Cyclone trembled. She averted her eyes and took deep breaths before asking with a strained voice:
"What… is going on here?"
"This is where Lady Somme breeds and controls basilisks.", explained Laim.
"Lady Somme, not Endal?", asked Silver Blade, which was answered by Liam's nod.
"Great, adventurers… just great. I have no idea how you saw through my illusion but now that you did, I hope you are prepared to die!"
Lady Somme's voice surprisingly didn't sound angry. On the contrary, it was almost praising. Her eyes looking at the party had an admiring touch, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
She returned to her arrogant demeanor, remaining confident as if nothing could escape her control.
"B*tch you're crazy! What did you do to all these people?", asked Quickstep with a disgusted expression.
"There is no reason to explain to a dead woman."
With those words Lady Somme suddenly began attracting an insane amount of mana. The entire dungeon was affected. Even some of the more sensitive dwarfs in Deep Bell City noticed something.
Lady Somme muttered incomprehensible incantations as an enormous magic circle formed behind her back, filling out the entire cave.
An invisible power immobilized the party.
[Cyclone: Damn, I can't fight back!]
[Silent Acacia: Is this a scripted event?]
[Radiant Shield: Is this the true might of the boss?]
[Bloody Edge: Breathtakingly beautiful.]
[Fortune: The magic or the boss?]
[Bloody Edge: …]
[Silver Blade: @Mirage, are we supposed to do something?]
[Bleary Mirage: Nope. Just enjoy the show.]
While the party conversed, the magic circle slowly began to revolve. Something came out of it. It was the tip of a sword formed from pure magic. It was large enough to easily swallow the party whole. The oppressive might it emitted felt like a mountain pressing down on one's head.
Suddenly everything happened in a flash. Bright light filled the cave as the sword sped up, barreling towards the players. They were forced to close their eyes, waiting for death.
Boom!
An enormous shock caused the entire mountain to shake. When the scene fell silent the players tentatively opened their eyes.
"I knew we wouldn't die.", stated Cyclone confidently as she hid her sweaty hands behind her back.
"But how did we survive?", asked Balm.
"Dear viewers, a mighty hero saved our lives at the last moment!"
Fortune patted her chest as she focused her view on the broad back which had appeared in front of the party. A silver armor and unkempt golden hair. Shockingly, it was Endal!
Even Lady Somme was surprised for a moment before quickly regaining her composure. She put on a vulnerable expression as she spoke to Endal: