Leon examined the three Peak B rank fighters before him. He did not spare any attention to the cowering people behind. They had been beaten down badly by his summons before, so they did not have any confidence facing him, the master.
“Why should I give you anything?” Leon asked. Hank opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the sound of footsteps in the distance reached his ears. From the corner, a large figure appeared, bounding forward. A person was on its back.
At first, Hank thought that the person would stop once he saw Leon and his intimidating summons, but the man simply urged his mount forward. And Leon’s summons did not do anything. The man stopped beside the giant Ice Wolf King.
“Hey, what’s the hold up?” Jet asked, looking up at Leon.
“I was just wondering what to do with these ones.” Leon tilted his head at the group in front of him, and it was then that Hank understood that the two were teammates. He turned to Jet and tried to reason with the man.
“Let us help you for a cut of the spoils. We won’t get in your way.” He raised his proposal again.
Jet looked up at Leon with a questioning look. “What do you say? Leave them or beat them?” He asked.
“Let them help. They are Peak B rank fighters and will be useful in the boss room.” Leon finally decided. Now that Jet was here, he could leave his back to a trusted person.
Hank let out a sigh of relief at that. He was sure he could escape if need be, but he would be in a bad condition after that and he did not know much about the other competitors he might run into. So, he was happy that the Undead did not plan on fighting them.
Boom!
Just then, a loud thud shook the earth underneath him. The giant double began to creak open on their own, allowing an ominous aura to leak out from the room beyond it. The aura that leaked out was unlike anything any of them had felt before. Even Leon’s Peak B rank summons were bothered by it and felt the urge to shrink back, but they held steady.
A few moments passed as Leon let the aura wash over him, allowing him to come to terms with its pressure, then he turned to the rest. “Let’s go in.” As he spoke, his summons began to walk forward. A wave of darkness spread out before him, birthing dozens of summons at a time, that rushed into the boss room.
Hank’s group followed behind immediately. Dee had to talk some sense into the trembling group before they followed. At the back was Leon and Jet, who simply exchanged a glance before they entered the boss room and the doors creaked shut behind them. Leon turned around briefly, but his eyes could not pierce the darkness that enveloped the hall.
Whoosh!
A green flame lit up the torches mounted on the walls, brightening the massive hall and allowing them to see what was inside it. Everyone’s eyes were immediately drawn to the dark figure that was seated upon the raised throne on the opposite side of the massive hall. That was when they realized this was not just any random hall, but a throne room.
The dark figure seated atop the throne chuckled, supporting its head with its fist. It was a Skeleton Undead, but one that struck a chord of familiarity within the participants of Divinity’s Bout present in the throne room. Black bones with a shiny sheen, pitch black armor that seemed to reflect light, while absorbing it all the same. On top of the exposed skull of the undead laid a crown that seemed to be made of the same bone of its being. On second glace, they saw that the crown was fused with its skull, which meant that it was part of its body. The crown was also engraved with multiple brightly glowing gems.
“Puny bugs in my throne room.” A deep voice said calmly. But that voice leaked a terrible aura.
“W-what is that?” Dee could not help the stutter in his voice. But no one answered him. There was no answer to that question that needed to be spoken out loud. Instead, they all turned to look at the black skeleton seated atop the giant wolf. The skeleton on the throne was a near mirror copy of the one on the giant wolf.
“This is your final Trial! I AM your final Trial!” The boss of the Fiftieth Floor boomed, getting up from his throne. Black fire burst out from the base of the stairs that led up to his throne. With his aura boiling through the air around him, he stepped down, the black fire boiling and brewing with each step. From that black fire, numerous beings of darkness were born. They all radiated an Unholy energy that corroded the very air around them. The ambient mana in the atmosphere began to warp, turning into something sinister.
The boss of the floor was also a Necromancer, and from what Leon could see, even its summons were the same as his! Millipedes, spiders, birds, snakes, dinosaurs, and even the armored monsters from the second floor! A copy of Fenrir even manifested beside the boss!
‘What’s going on? Is this Trial supposed to test me? Or is it for everyone?’ Leon quickly thought, trying to come up with an answer.
Boom!
The air between the boss and its minions and the challenging group burst, the mana in the boss room having reached its peak. The air buzzed and burned as mana that clearly was not in the range of B rank reared its head.
“Impossible!” Hank took a step back. He could not believe it.
Even Jet had his eyes wide open. He had only felt this level of pressure from his grand father before. This was not a B rank being… But an A rank being!