The settled dust revealed a green sheen, it was obviously Augustus. His green armor was full of bents and scratches and his purple flames oddly enough shone brightly.
"Hahahaha, that was a good deal. To think my first battle would be this exciting." His flames shone particularly bright at this moment and his voice echoed across the silent room.
All of the adventurers with the exception of Eon were shocked to see him emerge unscathed. That had to be really good armor! Otherwise, how could Augustus not have suffered from the collision or felt the force of their attacks?
"Hmph, your skills don't match your strength" Perhaps Eon was irked by Augustus' relaxed attitude, he decided to take him down a notch.
Augustus who was in the distance would be wearing a wide grin if he had a face as he observed Samuel and Drake readying themselves for another assault.
"That's what makes it exciting. I don't know how this battle will turn out" He swept his gaze past the crowd of adventurers, this coupled with his crazy words made some inadvertently shudder.
The magicians which were previously afraid to injure Samuel and Drake now had free reign to fire. It's only that they felt a bit reluctant to do so given how the spells were returned back to them the last time.
Still, they went ahead and attacked anyway following the orders of Eon who stood at the back, for some reason not attacking at all.
Augustus simply eyed the dazzling light show that was approaching him with excitement. Using his swift swordsmanship and his skill over the wind elements he recreated the earlier vortex which swiftly sucked in all sorts of spells.
This time however its power seemed to have increased. Not only that but it didn't seem so random anymore...
All of the cast spells that didn't disappear upon contact with the vortex were immediately returned towards the group of adventurers. The imposing barrage of many elements looked like it would claim many lives and facing such a large barrage of spells, their own spells, some of the adventurers showed dark expressions.
"Interesting" Said Eon as he watched the approaching assault, he had figured something out while observing the skill for a second time. But before that, he would need to defend himself and the others.
Eon raised his staff, a translucent purple barrier suddenly appeared and fended off the myriad spells. The power that these spells combined had was no lesser than Augustus' first swing earlier. But surprisingly the same result didn't repeat itself as the hasty barrier managed to easily hold its ground.
"This dungeon is far more interesting than I thought" Muttered Eon after quickly wiping some sweat off his forehead.
As a person that had lived for a long time and a great mage, he held knowledge of many things. And the skeleton before him could not be anybody other than Augustus Galeburst, sometimes called the Mad King.
He waged many wars against not only the Volcan empire but even some of the smaller kingdoms which now formed part of the Galeburst Dynasty.
But with so many wars Augustus' life was short not even making it past his 40s. He met his unfortunate end during a battle against the empire.
The circumstances surrounding it were rather skeptical, even the succession of the family line that followed it seemed almost predetermined. It all pointed towards some sort of betrayal.
What mattered however was that Augustus was a powerful individual that had many glorious victories under his belt.
That such a figure managed to appear inside of a dungeon was a monumental discovery. This dungeon could in theory allow one to meet the legends of old. Maybe even learn about their time period and the circumstances of their demise.
The dungeon's irregularities would also be the target of lots of research. The breakthroughs that could come from that were naturally unknown but the future seemed bright.
Thinking of this Eon suddenly felt as though his lifespan was insufficient, he doubted he would be able to form part of the research and the boon of knowledge that followed it.
Truly regretful.
The adventurers breathed sighs of relief after seeing their spells being blocked by the barrier. The danger that this floor alone brought was beyond what most of them were accustomed to.
Samuel who was initially going to attack the distant Augustus was angry since the adventurers had followed Eon's orders rather than his own and put everyone at risk.
Clarys who was at the back of the group would not be able to heal all of them if such a thing were to have hit them. Now wasn't the time to point fingers though.
"Focus!" He yelled Samuel out loud bringing everyone back to reality. Including Eon who tightened the grip on his staff.
Augustus who had been spinning to create the Vortex had long since stopped and was running from the edge of the large room towards the closer Samuel and Drake.
Clang, the sound of metal on metal. Samuel's trusty blade met Augustus' sleek green sword creating vicious sparks. For a split second, Samuel got to observe Augustus' vibrant purple flames which exuded both excitement and death. It was a really surreal feeling.
Drake who was next to Samuel swung out his fiery fist towards Augustus who parried away Samuel's sword and deflected Drake's flame clad fist. But unlike last time where Augustus simply dodged and deflected attacks, Augustus kicked out swiftly towards the slower one of the two, Drake.
His sleek yet tough green armor made for a strong blow which made Drake secretly wince in pain.
The counterattack left an opening for Samuel's sword, which was currently clad in a vibrant green hue, to slash out fiercely. The speedy attack sunk into Augustus' armor for a few centimeters until coming to an eventual stop.
Samuel then felt his feet leave the ground and his vision facing the ceiling of the large room. As an experienced warrior he was able to easily stabilize himself however by shifting the momentum into a backflip.
Drake was also in a similar position. They both had been blasted away by a strong burst of wind that emanated from Augustus.
Noticing that the chances of him and Drake being able to hold down Augustus on their own was becoming increasingly slimmer, Samuel decided to change something.
"Clarys, this is risky for you but get closer!" Yelled Samuel towards those behind him as he tried to keep an eye on Augustus.
"Urgh-" His hands suddenly trembled as Augustus' sword clashed with his own for a second time.
Powerful undead beings were hard to fight since they didn't have the same limitations as the living. Having Clarys stay in the back healing the non-existent injuries was a waste of her potential to change the outcome of this battle.
"Protect her...!" Yelled Samuel again as he tried to get his orders out. This made him receive a swift kick on the stomach however followed by a swift downwards sword slash.
Luckily the second move was prevented by Drake who summoned an oppressive and smoldering field of heat around him. Its purpose was to boost his own attacks and lower the capabilities of others within it.
"Pay attention if you don't want to leave your wife a widow" Yelled Drake towards the inattentive Samuel.
Drake hadn't met Samuel before but since they would be working under him he made sure to do some basic snooping and he was therefore well aware of his character and his affection towards his family,
He also tried testing his patience and resolve which were both passed. As they fought together they also became closer so Drake couldn't help but remind Samuel of the main reason he was here. They may have started on the wrong foot but there was no need to try and step a foot in the grave now instead.
"Note-" Samuel's lush bed of hair was a size shorter as Augustus' sword flew right over his head. Unlike Drake who could be considered one of the best in close quarters in the kingdom, Samuel was stretched a bit thinner. He didn't have the leisure to talk and battle.
Two A-class adventurers were struggling just to keep this monster to a standstill. Augustus must be at the peak of the A-class like Eon or a single level below it.
A blinding white light then shot out towards the fighting duo and Augustus who was enthusiastically fighting was struck by pain.
The life magic spell managed to pierce through his green armor as if it didn't exist. Given his wild battle style, Augustus made sure to receive a powerful set of armor. This led to him relying heavily on it though.
"That's a dirty blow…" Said Augustus as he recollected himself following the fading of the blinding white light.
His purple flames burned aggressively as he looked at Clarys who stood a fair distance away to cast her spell. She was basically surrounded by the B-class entourage and also Eon who for some reason had a pale expression.
It seemed that Augustus might need to get rid of the pestering bugs before he could go back to enjoying his fight....