When we reached the third floor, we felt a distinct shift in the atmosphere.

The dampness in the air had given way to a thicker, denser stench of decaying flesh.

The number and power of the monsters had increased considerably compared to the previous floors.

Even the weakest creatures that caught my eye appeared to be dangerous entities, at the peak of the Second Star level.

The hall was like the architecture of a nightmare.

Strange, leathery monsters, a mix of bat and human, hung from the ceiling. In the corners, grotesque, woman like creatures with empty eye sockets lurked, their long, filthy white hair transformed into limbs like octopus tentacles.

In the center of the room, just as on the floor below, stood massive, one eyed giants, their front ranks held by a dozen or so common, dog faced guards.

Considering their power levels, they weren't much of a threat one on one. Additionally, I hadn't used Zagna yet. I planned to save him until the Boss room.

I prepared my spells again. Dozens of Lightning Spears, crackling with static electricity, materialized in the air. I drew my black katana and took my place beside Fredrinn, shoulder to shoulder. This time, I couldn't just provide support from a distance. Given the number of enemies, I couldn't let Fredrinn be surrounded.

"Ready?"

Fredrinn answered by raising his greatsword.

"Now!"

I unleashed the rain of Lightning Spears I had formed upon the horde of monsters in the center of the room.

The deafening crackle of electricity mingled with the monsters' agonized screams. The weaker dog faced guards and a few of the hairy creatures that couldn't dodge were instantly riddled with holes and collapsed.

The rest were only a few meters away from lunging at us, shaking off the shock of the initial attack.

Fredrinn charged forward. His massive greatsword glowed with a dark aura. In a single horizontal sweep, he separated the heads of two giants rushing toward him from their shoulders.

At the same time, those grotesque, octopus like hair tentacles reached for Fredrinn's blind spot from the side.

But before they could reach him, I intervened, slicing all the tentacles in mid air with my katana.

Where I cut, Chaos Flames spread like a poison, traveling to the monsters' main bodies. The unquenchable dark fires enveloped the bodies of those eyeless women and consumed them in seconds, leaving nothing behind.

Simultaneously, I was also burning the corpses of the giants Fredrinn had just killed. I couldn't let those black life essences reach the Boss above.

Just then, I blocked two bat monsters diving from above, their claws slashing, with my katana. Their attacks were sharp and fast. They were using hit and run tactics, not exposing themselves to much danger. It was annoying.

The bat like monsters stopped bothering me and focused on Fredrinn, whom they saw as the main threat.

They began sending unseen, mind numbing psychic waves at Fredrinn, who was in the thick of the fight. Fredrinn grabbed another approaching octopus like tentacle and pulled it toward him.

Caught by the sudden force, the monster was dragged to Fredrinn, who instantly split it in two. But just then, he was momentarily distracted by the psychic attack. He clutched his head and looked up at the source of the problem the bats on the ceiling.

"Cassian! Get rid of these damn birds!"

"I'm trying!" I yelled back, barely dodging the claws of another bat while cutting down a small dog faced guard in front of me.

This couldn't go on. I would have to sacrifice a large portion of my mana.

I unleashed my Chaos Flames over the entire ceiling, targeting the bats. The room's temperature rose like a furnace in seconds.

Some of the bats, unable to escape the sudden, wide area attack, were incinerated in mid air. Others, diving to the ground to avoid the flames, fell right into the trap waiting for them. Dozens of sharp ice lances shot up from the floor, impaling them.

Those two major spells had depleted most of my mana reserves. I had spent a lot of mana. Just as I was trying to catch my breath, I noticed the last remaining giant swinging its massive stone club at me. It was too late to react.

"Storm Heart!"

As time slowed, I entered Storm Heart mode at the last second, placing my katana in front of the blow. I barely parried the strike, but the club's immense force sent me flying backward.

Before I hit the wall, I managed a quick slash with the tip of my katana at the giant's hand holding the club.

"Void Decay."

As the toxic energy spread into the giant's hand, it roared in pain and dropped its club. It had lost its balance. I didn't miss the opportunity. I instantly leaped onto the giant and plunged my sword into its neck with all my weight.

Panting, I pulled my katana from the giant's lifeless body and looked around. The battle was over.

Fredrinn had killed the last two standing monsters. I quickly ran to the corpses on the ground and, before their life essences could escape, summoned the Chaos Flames again to burn them. I let nothing reach that Boss.

There was no trace of any monster left. Only Cassian and Fredrinn, exhausted and breathing heavily.

Fredrinn held out his canteen to me. "Have some water."

I gratefully sipped the water from the canteen and spoke. "I spent too much mana. I need to rest a bit."

Fredrinn sat on the ground next to me, cleaning his sword. "We'll continue in 15 minutes."

"Works for me."

"Excited for the Boss?" Fredrinn asked, a strange anticipation in his voice.

"Excited? Of course," I said sarcastically. "Its power level exceeds both of ours. We can fight it on equal footing using Zagna, but it'll be tough to beat unless Void Decay and Chaos Flames wear it down."

"Why don't you use your Holy Mana? Isn't that more effective against these kinds of dark creatures?"

"Using it too early will make me the primary target for the Boss. Zagna and you would protect me, but it's too risky. I'll use it when the time is right."

"If you say so..."

Just then, Nivelle spoke from within me for the first time since we entered the ruin. I could hear her voice directly in my soul.

"Big brother... are you okay?"

"Yes, Nivelle. I'm fine, just a little tired."

"You seem... uneasy."

"Well, considering we're in the middle of a life or death battle, I think that's a normal feeling."

"No, I don't mean that," she said, her voice sorrowful. "When you looked at those murals on the walls... your heart ached."

I didn't know what to say. She was a part of my soul. I couldn't hide my feelings from her.

"Let's... talk about this later, Nivelle. When we get out of here, I promise, I'll reward you with sweets. As many as you want."

"Okay, big brother. If you say so, I'll trust you. But don't you forget your promise!"

"Right, I won't, you little glutton."

"I AM NOT A GLUTTON!" she huffed shyly, and sank back into the silence within me.

After a short rest, we gathered ourselves and began to climb the stairs to the next floor. But this time, the places where the murals should have been were completely indecipherable. As if a monster had angrily clawed at them, deep, bloody claw marks had destroyed all the paintings.

"Damn it!" I muttered. "I really wanted to learn the rest of this story."

I wanted to know what that child, that monster, had done to his family. To that "perfect" king and his court who had turned him into this monster... I wondered what he had done. I already knew the answer deep down, but I was still curious. Perhaps it was an ending I hadn't considered at all.

When we reached the fourth floor, we were met with an unexpected sight. The entire floor... was completely empty. Not a trace of any monster. It was as if they had all abandoned this place.

Fredrinn looked at me with the same baffled expression and asked, "Is this... a trap?"

"I don't think so," I said, scanning the area. "This must be the boss's doing."

"What do you mean?"

"The monsters' life essences didn't return to it, because we burned them. So, it must have summoned all the remaining monsters to the final floor, to its side. That's the only logical explanation I can think of."

"Sounds... pretty smart for a monster."

"A monster, huh..." The murals I had seen on the way here had left a deep impression on me. He hadn't chosen to be a monster. The world had forced him into it.

"Did you say something?"

"No. Let's keep moving."

I continued to lead the way up. On the fifth and sixth floors, the murals on the walls were similarly torn to shreds, rendered unreadable. And on all these floors, there wasn't a single trace of a monster. They were all waiting for us on the final floor. And in a state we really didn't want: at full strength, as a unified army.

We stopped at the end of the long staircase leading to the seventh and final floor. Before us stood a massive, rune sealed door.

"Do you have a plan?" Fredrinn asked, tightening his grip on his sword.

"I can't say I have much of one," I said. "But I have... something."

"Explain."

"I'm going to focus all my mana into a single, devastating magic attack. Best case scenario, I kill or incapacitate all the monsters in the room except the Boss. But it will completely exhaust me."

I turned to him. "Until I recover, you and Zagna will fight the boss alone. But don't worry, my Chaos Flames and Void Decay will definitely wound it in that first strike. I'll have it weakened. You might even finish the fight without me."

"Hahah! Don't try to pump me up. We'll fight it together."

"Of course!"

I began to form a sphere of pure, dark energy from the Chaos Flames between my two hands. As the mana compressed into the sphere, it became harder and harder to control. I started to sweat as I focused all the mana in my body into that sphere, breathing rapidly. The sphere grew larger and larger, its terrifying pressure increasing.

I looked Fredrinn in the eyes. I nodded for him to open the door.

The moment Fredrinn shattered the Boss door with a single sword strike, I saw the scene inside.

At the far end of the room, sitting on a ruined throne, was that massive, three meter tall, dog faced, mummy like monster... At its sides, two colossal scythes, each one bigger than I was.

And the rest of the room... was completely filled, from end to end, with a horde of hundreds of monsters...

I didn't hesitate for even a second. I unleashed all of that destructive power in my hands into the room.

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