The subterranean atmosphere turned instantly chaotic.
This sudden influx of intruders had shattered the cave's once tranquil depths, enraging Bloody Queen Edith to the point of near madness.
"You insignificant vermin, you shall all perish!" Edith bellowed, her hair rippling upward like tendrils.
Her form shifted; blood-colored mud creatures that had been lurking beneath the surface fused into her body, causing her to swell until she resembled a small mountain.
"You shall all DIE!" Edith roared. Her tendrils shot out like lightning, aiming for the crowd.
"Watch out!" Ethan yelled, shielding Mia and the others behind him.
Others weren't so fortunate.
The tendrils that Edith hurled moved with staggering speed and lethal force.
Adventurers attempting to defend themselves were instantly pierced, their bodies drained of all blood in the blink of an eye, leaving behind nothing but desiccated husks.
Those who managed to evade shared a collective expression: faces drained of color, a pallor touched by the nearness of their mortality.
"How about we all join forces?" Alaric proposed, stepping forward.
"Agreed," Savi reluctantly consented, his face contorted in distaste. Moments before, Edith's tendrils had claimed the lives of several of his men.
Luke and Luvi nodded as well. Among the four groups present, they were clearly the weakest link.
Luvi's attendants had already perished at the hands of those abominable creatures.
"What about you?" Alaric turned his gaze toward Ethan and his group.
In truth, this was Alaric's first encounter with Ethan, although they did share some unresolved tension.
Black and his people had once attempted to sacrifice Ethan for the Blood Source, only for Ethan to turn the tables, leaving them as the unfortunate offerings.
Yet, Alaric and Ethan had never met; his grudge was actually with Komait.
Faced with Alaric's suggestion, Ethan didn't outright refuse. "No problem," he nodded.
"Excellent." Alaric beamed, then announced to the crowd, "Everyone, bring out all your tricks! If we kill that monster, we'll uncover the deity's secret. At that point, we'll all have ample Blood Source to boost our powers!"
His rallying cry invigorated many adventurers but also put Ethan on guard.
The story of the cave being the transformed body of Oksd was common knowledge; ancient inscriptions at the surface spoke of it.
However, those texts were decidedly vague about the Blood Source and the deity.
Alaric knew much more than Ethan had expected.
And another issue struck Ethan: the heart of Oksd was massive, the size of a room. How did these people intend to carry away something so gargantuan?
Alaric and the others couldn't answer Ethan's questions. Nor did they have the time to.
At that moment, the Bloody Queen Edith was in a state of feral rage.
Transformed into a mountain of flesh, her tendrils flailed wildly.
Suckers sprouted all over her body, spewing bloody sludge that sizzled upon contact, the sound of flesh being seared.
Several adventurers, caught off guard, were burned to death by the corrosive mire.
Seeing this, Alaric was losing his composure.
"Draw her attention!" he shouted to the others.
"I need a moment to prepare, then I'll finish this monster off for good!"
He began reciting a lengthy incantation, and the air tinged with the scent of sulfur—a sign of the concentration of fire elements.
Clearly, Alaric's next move would be potent.
"Ethan, should we intervene? If he really takes down that creature..."
Sherry whispered, leaning close to Ethan.
Pale Wolf, Eluna, Mia, and Komait were busy fending off the attacking tendrils.
"It won't be that easy," Ethan shook his head, elaborating, "Alaric has the largest force of adventurers; he aims to seize control of the situation. In fact, he's already taken the reins. If the Bloody Queen is defeated, he will have the authority to distribute the spoils."
"But all of this hinges on him being able to take down not only the Bloody Queen but also that more troublesome entity."
Stunned, Sherry asked, "Are you saying that Alaric's attack is likely to fail?"
"Highly probable," Ethan replied.
Ethan nodded gravely.
His spiritual attributes, far exceeding those of ordinary people, had greatly amplified his perception.
This sensitivity had only continued to grow since completing his Bloodline advancement.
Right now, he sensed that the Bloody Queen's power was still escalating.
Alaric's measures would inflict no meaningful damage on her.
More importantly, Ethan sensed something else—a far more terrifying entity, the heart of Oksd.
Within that massive organ, a vigorous life force was slowly reviving.
Although faint, its quality was far beyond anything human.
That, Ethan realized, would be the final boss.
Unaware of this, Alaric completed his magic with the group's diversion.
He conjured a flaming greatsword, which he wielded with purpose.
"Move!" Alaric yelled at the group, launching the greatsword toward Edith.
Sensing danger, Edith's tendrils moved frantically to protect her, but they were all effortlessly severed by the flying blade.
The greatsword impaled her massive form without resistance.
Sssss~
Inside Edith, her blood boiled and evaporated into a bloody mist under the heat of the flaming greatsword.
"Insects, you dare harm me?" Edith wailed in agony, her rage intensifying.
Her tendrils fused again, this time into thicker tentacles that yanked the flaming sword out and tossed it aside, reducing it to ashes.
Yet, her form transformed once more, and she refrained from retaliating against Alaric.
Now resembling a huge ball of flesh ringed with tentacles, Edith began moving towards the dangling heart within the cavern.
Then, the two began to merge.
"This is bad!"
Sensing something amiss, Alaric sought to intervene.
But it was already too late.
The fusion between Edith and Oksd's heart transpired smoothly; they originated from the same source after all.
The moment they merged, Oksd's heart gave a powerful thump.
In an instant, many adventurers coughed up blood and collapsed, as if their hearts had been shattered by some inexplicable force.
It was impossible to defend against, except for Ethan's group who had wisely retreated and raised a Holy Light Shield.
"Lord Ethan, did you know this would happen?" Mia asked, her eyes filled with admiration.
Ethan had led everyone away as soon as Edith began to change form.
"I had my suspicions," he replied, turning to Komait, "Get ready. This place is about to collapse; we need to burst our way out!"
"Don't worry, Ethan, leave it to me!" Komait grinned, adding with malice, "I can't wait to see the pathetic face of Alaric. How dare he plot against the mighty Black Dragon!"
As Ethan had anticipated, the creature formed from the fusion of Edith and Oksd's heart began to wreak havoc.
Its body pulsated like a living breath, sending out waves of sound with each contraction and expansion. There was nowhere to hide.
The walls of the cave began to crumble, unable to bear the strain.
Rocks from the ceiling also started to fracture and fall as giant boulders.
"Komait, let's break out!" Ethan fully expanded the Holy Light Shield, while Komait transformed into a black dragon.
Together, they flew through the rain of falling boulders, ascending towards the top of the cave.
Only then did they realize that the collapse was not confined to the cave's depths.
The entire cave—or perhaps the entire area that Oksd's body had transformed into—had begun to crumble.
By the time Ethan and his companions had fully escaped, they looked down to see nothing but a vast abyss below, its depths almost indiscernible.
They were not the only ones to escape.
Alaric, his ancient garb now tattered and resembling more the rags of a beggar than the attire of a leader, struggled to maintain his levitating form as he landed at the edge of the gaping chasm.
Savi manifested a pair of flaming wings behind him.
However, his face was ashen, clearly indicating that the use of such precious wings was not a choice made lightly.
Luke and Luvi, on the other hand, tore open a magical scroll and vanished, transported to some other locale by its enchanted script.
As for the remaining adventurers, save for a few lucky survivors, the rest were entombed at the bottom of this unfathomable pit.
But the ordeal was far from over.
From the center of the abyss arose a monstrous humanoid figure, woven together by blood-red tendrils, levitating ominously in mid-air.
Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on freew(e)bnove(l).𝓬𝓸𝓶