Sarah and team stood in front of a valley. Behind them were the corpses of hundreds of level 3 magic beasts.
Their location was currently in the core area of the Dungeon.
"Remember, we'll only probe. Crimson, check for any signs of explosives." Sarah commanded.
Crimson nodded.
He would be able to check explosives on any individual if he probed deeply.
"Let's go."
Varian stood a few km away. He observed them entering and hoped things would go well.
He didn't know why, his heart was throbbing intensely.
'System… what will happen?' He whispered.
[This System does not know. It only knows you are the first host of the System. Be the last.]
The sincere reply caught him off guard.
'Are you really my well-wisher?'
He sighed and gazed into the distance.
He could only see the yellow valleys and the littered corpses. The hideout is a separate space, after all.
The main hide out was eerily silent at this moment. There was not a single Abyssal in sight.
The big black building that used to be bustling and directing the entire dungeon now looked dead.
This was the sight that greeted Sarah's team.
They were on high alert and ready to fallback at a moment's notice.
However, the surroundings were still. It was as if time was frozen.
Sarah signaled, and Crimson spread out his mental power. Even though the senses of a Body Awakener could see farther, they could not sense the surroundings with such fine detail.
He stretched his mental power from him and all the way around the building.
He held his breath and tried to probe inside the building.
Boom!
It was like water trying to flow through a steel wall. His mental power was obstructed by the building's material.
He gave up and searched the ground for buried explosives. There were none.
"The perimeter is secure. The building is blocking my sense." He said.
"Ivy, second check." Sarah said, and Ivy focused on her beastly senses.
Beast Morphers inherited the characteristics of the beast they transformed into. Each beast had different characteristics, but all beasts, in general, had excellent instincts.
Though these instincts could be tricked, in most cases, they could be used as a secondary test.
Ivy ran around the field and felt the surroundings.
'Nothing here'
'Safe'
'Secure'
Her instincts were perfectly normal, and she felt no danger. There was no danger signal.
Finally, Olivia checked the ground with her powers. She, too, found no danger underneath.
'The chance of getting attacked by something outside the building is almost zero. Now we can focus on the one threat.'
Sarah signalled, and they all approached the building.
Crimson used his mental power and slammed the door.
Creaaak!
It creaked opened.
Click.
Click.
The walls were filled with exhibits of human skeletons and skulls. Below each skull was the detail of the human.
'Yuen — Level 3. Age 20.'
'Shi Yan — Level 2. Age 18.'
'....'
It went on and the team silently walked. Their footsteps were the only audible sound in the long hallway.
It was a scene straight out of a horror movie.
Click!
Click!
The hallway split into two, and they had to pick a side.
Crimson tried to probe beyond the walls, but his mental power seemed to be blocked by the special material of the building. He couldn't sense things beyond a certain range.
So they could only rely on their five senses.
Shuaaa!
The floor suddenly slid out all of a sudden like a carpet that was pulled off.
"—Watch out!" Sarah yelled as they dropped towards what seemed to be an underground facility.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
They were greeted by the attacks of thirty-nine Abyssals. Falling through the air, they were live targets!
Arrows equivalent to 5 star treasures rained down at them.
Sarah channeled her water mana and created a water barrier surrounding everyone.
She then manipulated the water barrier to accelerate their fall for a quick landing.
Crash!
Crash!
Crash!
The attacks from the thirty-seven level 4s crashed into the barrier. Even though the spears attacks from two level 5s put heavy burden, they too failed to destroy the barrier.
Sarah was about to sigh in relief when—
Crack!
A huge fist broke through the barrier and punched at Olivia.
Olivia was shocked and her reaction speed fell short.
Crimson gritted his teeth and used his mental power to slow the fist.
"Blrugh" The fist broke through his mental barrier swiftly and reached the head of Olivia.
Crimson coughed blood at the swift, but not so minor injury.
As she watched the fist magnify, Olivia understood.
This was a level 6. The Abyss Duke. He was the predator since the beginning.
He attacked her because she was weak in mid-air compared to earth.
But that realization wouldn't save her from the predicament.
Bang!
A fist much smaller than the Abyssal countered the punch and exploded the air.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The shock waves from the confrontation blew away the arrows and cracked the hard floor.
Sarah looked at the gigantic Abyssal as she landed on the ground. Blood flowed down her lips as the forceful intervention cost her an internal injury.
'Is that it?.' She glanced at the enemies and felt relieved.
"Yes." The Abyssal in front of her spoke as if he knew her thoughts.
"But it well be more than enough."
At the same time, Crimson and Olivia were taken on by the two Level 5s.
The remaining thirty-seven level 4 Abyssals encircled Luca and Ivy.
Crimson and Olivia's strength was in their ranged and distance attacks.
But by putting them against their weakness, Crimson and Olivia were forced to focus on the Level 5s.
On the other hand, Luca and Ivy were forced to face 18 Level 4s each.
Boom!
Sarah blocked the punch and counterattacked with an ice spear.
They were fighting at least a few hundred meters away from others, yet the shock waves were affecting the other side.
The Abyssal Duke brought out an archaic shield and blocked the ice spear.
He was stronger of the two, being at the peak of Level 6. Sarah was only in the early-mid stages and was weaker in Body path.
However, her ice attack brought her enough time to land another hit.
Water mana flowed through every corner of her body and she was 'empowered.' Every physical stats increased dramatically.
Stacking it with her body powers, she was able to make up for the difference in physical strength.
Boom!
Crack!
Even though the Abyssal Duke had more physical strength than her, Sarah outmatched him through her dual powers.
This was the reason she was so confident.
On the other side, Crimson and Olivia were struggling against the Level 5s. They weren't suppressed, but they couldn't gain an upper hand as well.
But the gamer changers were the other two.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
One by one, the thirty-seven level 4 Abyssals collapsed under the wrath of Luca and Ivy.
Broken spines, twisted necks, ripped hearts… it was a gruesome picture to behold.
Even though they had more enemies, a Level 4 couldn't withstand a single full blow of theirs. It was a one sided battle from the start.
The taller man and the shorter woman somehow stood in harmony as they finished the bloodbath with a cruel smile on their faces.
They joined forces with Olivia and Crimson. The two Level 5 Abyssals were suppressed.
The outcome was set.
"You're done." Sarah said and continued her attack.
Her body was bathed in a soft blue hue, and her dual powers gave her an unfair advantage.
Contrary to her expectations, the Abyssal duke wasn't panicked.
Instead, he smiled. "Do you really think so?"