Lysandra and Eris arrived and walked calmly toward the others. They were shocked when they saw the crater filled with monsters. Eris felt extremely energized, since she fed on mana.
Vesta explained everything that had happened, along with the hypothesis that there might be a traitor. The idea was shocking and very hard to believe.
Eris was very suspicious and, even so, it took her a long time to accept the possibility that someone from the Tower could be a traitor. She was wary, but she did not believe anyone would be capable of something like that, which contrasted with her usual behavior.
The two larger dragons were sleeping. The smaller dragon was circling the sphere, and it seemed to enjoy the energy the sphere emanated. The other monsters were acting normally, patrolling the crater on watch.
The sphere was far larger than any mana sphere Vesta had ever seen. These spheres are usually found inside dungeons. Some are extracted and used as energy sources for cities. They are used for lighting and other purposes, such as transmitting messages between guilds and between countries.
Niko continued to feel unwell. The amount of mana in the environment made her feel confused and dizzy. Eris noticed and kissed her, which caused almost all of Niko's mana to be absorbed. As a result, her mana perception senses were paralyzed. She felt better, but she was weak.
"Do not worry, this does not hurt me. I can absorb your mana all day."
Victor found the scene strange, but decided not to say anything.
"What will we do?"
"I will attack the dragon on the right. Vesta attacks the dragon on the left. Lysandra attacks the smaller dragon and the other monsters around it. Pallas and Niko provide cover and kill the remaining monsters. Eris stays back to assist if mana or healing is needed. We can win this way."
Eris was not very good at fighting. She was better suited for support.
"You still have very little mana. Would it not be better to wait a bit longer?"
"Do not worry, I will recover soon. Waiting could be bad and give the monsters an advantage. It is best to act as soon as possible," Victor said.
In fact, he was weak. Raising the barrier over the entire Tower had consumed all of his mana. His reserves were low, and he continued to use mana in his daily routine, which was why his recovery was slow. Without mana potions, he was relying on natural recovery, which takes a long time, considering his total mana capacity. Niko, on the other hand, would be fully recovered on the same day, even though she had at least ten times more mana than Victor.
The attack began. The dragon on the right used water magic, which was bad, considering Victor used fire magic. Earth magic was more effective, but the dragon gave no openings for attack, since it was flying.
The dragon on the left used fire magic. Vesta did not use magic for magical attacks. All the magic she used was only for bodily reinforcement and healing. She could not heal other people, only herself. Because of that, she had no magical disadvantage against the dragon, but the dragon could fly, and she could only attack from the ground. Even so, she managed to injure its right eye when she threw one of her swords at it. Now she was left with only one sword.
Lysandra had the advantage against the dragon. It used earth magic, and she relied on brute strength. She could withstand the dragon's blows without taking any damage and could even hurl rocks with immense force. The dragon used earth magic to throw rocks at her, but she used her strength to catch them and throw them back, causing severe damage. It was a different species, known as lesser dragons. They did not have wings capable of flight, which made it the perfect opponent for her. Even with other monsters attacking her, she maintained the advantage against multiple opponents. The clothes she wore resembled a military general's uniform. The outfit was an armor she had found in a dungeon. The fabric armor was as resistant as, or even more resistant than, an armor made of mythril, while also allowing her to move faster.
Niko and Pallas had no major problems. Pallas was an excellent swordsman, perhaps only inferior to Victor, Vesta, and the Hero. He could kill every monster with a single strike. These were normal monsters. Niko, even with little mana, still had enough for her attacks. Eris observed everything and stayed alert to help if needed, but she felt useless. Even with Victor and Vesta at a disadvantage, they did not seem to need help.
Victor was thrown against a wall of earth. He spat some blood and then returned to the fight with the dragon. The dragon continued to launch water magic, and all Victor could do was defend himself with barriers. His attacks had no effect. He took a dagger from his belt and decided to engage in physical combat. It was risky, but it was the only way he could deal any damage to the dragon. The dagger was made of mythril, so it could easily cut through the dragon's scales, but it would still be an inefficient attack, since the strikes themselves were weak. Victor could not fly, but he could throw the dagger at the dragon and pull it back using magic.
Victor used earth magic and created a thin line of earth. The line was attached to the dagger's hilt. He threw the dagger at the dragon, causing a small wound, but the dragon did not seem to feel any pain. Victor had expected this. The plan was to inflict many small injuries.
The fight came down to the dragon attacking, Victor using magic to raise barriers, and, between the dragon's attacks, throwing the dagger. Victor was using reinforcement magic, so the strikes were accurate and strong.
Over time, the damage accumulated. The dragon grew tired. Victor's mana reserves increased, with Eris helping him. The dragon had no way to recover mana. The mana sphere increased the mana in the environment and made the monsters stronger, but that process was slow.
Little by little, Victor defeated the dragon, not because he was stronger, but because he was more patient and had a mana battery at his side.
Vesta managed to recover her sword when she threw the second blade into the dragon's other eye. At that moment, it descended, and she ran to its head and retrieved both swords. It was blind and relied only on its sense of smell, but soon Vesta inflicted more wounds on the dragon, and little by little, it died.
"What a shame. I wanted a dragon as a pet."
Lysandra managed to kill the smaller dragon and several other monsters without any trouble. She was tired and sweaty, the sweat running down her body, and Victor looked away. She noticed and simply smiled. Pallas and Niko also managed to kill all the monsters, but Niko was experiencing mana fatigue. She had never felt that before.
"We need to take these monsters to be studied by Vans. This must be kept secret. I do not want anyone else to know about this," he said to the soldiers who were storing the bodies in item bags.
"What will we do with the crystal?"
"The only option is to destroy it. It is far too large and has no practical use. The Tower already sustains itself with more than enough mana. Leaving the crystal here could only cause more damage in the future, but the decision is Victor's," she said, looking at him.
He was thoughtful about it, but he knew it truly was the best option. Destroying the crystal was the best course of action at that moment.
"How can we destroy this crystal?"