(A/N):
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As the second wave came faster.
Heavier. Relentless.
Skeleton miners poured in from every tunnel, their hollow eye sockets burning brighter than before.
Asta tightened his grip.
"Alright—round two!"
They charged again.
The Magic Knights met them head-on.
Steel clashed. Magic flared.
Bones shattered—Then—One skeleton lunged forward unnaturally fast.
Too fast.
It didn't swing. It didn't attack.
It grabbed onto Magna's fireball mid-flight—And—
-BOOM!
The skeleton detonated.
A burst of unstable mana exploded outward, sending fragments of bone and energy in all directions.
Magna barely jumped back in time.
"WHAT THE—?!"
Another skeleton sprinted toward Luck.
Luck tilted his head mid-fight—Then his eyes widened slightly.
"…Oh?"
It exploded.
Luck vanished in a lightning flash just before the blast hit.
"HAHA! They explode now?!"
Across the battlefield—More skeletons began rushing forward recklessly.
Not attacking. Not defending.
Just—Closing distance.
"Watch out!" Yuno called.
A skeleton reached Asta—Asta sliced it instantly—But the moment it broke apart—
-BOOM!
The explosion forced him back.
"Tch!"
The battlefield shifted instantly.
This was no longer a simple fight.
It was a minefield.
Noelle gritted her teeth, still recovering mana.
-Grit!
"They're turning themselves into bombs…"
Solid cursed looking at the skeleton with disgust clearly visible on his face.
"Damn it—don't let them get close!"
Nebra cast a quick water barrier to deflect an explosion, but even she was forced back by the repeated blasts.
Leopold shielded the small fire spirit with his body as an explosion went off nearby.
"Stay back!"
Magna shouted in annoyance,
"We can't just smash them anymore!"
Every skeleton destroyed—Risked triggering another explosion.
The knights were forced to fight carefully.
Step. Strike. Retreat. Dodge.
The timing had to be perfect.
One mistake—And they'd be caught in overlapping blasts.
The pressure mounted.
Even Luck slowed slightly, calculating distances between detonations.
"...."
Yuno's eyes sharpened.
"This is to stall us."
He pointed again toward the glowing crystal pillar in the distance.
"As long as that remains—"
Another skeleton exploded nearby, cutting him off.
Asta wiped dust from his face.
"Then we just push through!"
But pushing forward meant running through a field of living bombs.
The skeletons kept coming.
Faster now. More aggressive.
And every one of them—Was ready to explode.
The explosions kept chaining.
One blast triggered another.
Dust. Heat. Bone fragments everywhere.
"WE CAN'T KEEP THIS UP!"
Magna shouted, barely dodging another detonation.
Yuno's voice cut through the chaos.
"We break the core—NOW!"
The team shifted instantly.
Instead of fighting everything—They made a path.
"Cover them!"
Solid shouted, raising a water wall to block an incoming blast.
Nebra reinforced it, deflecting fragments flying toward the group.
Magna hurled fireballs—not to destroy, but to push skeletons back.
"Make space! Make space!"
Leopold stepped forward, flames roaring.
"Flame Magic: Crimson Drive!"
A blazing wave surged outward, forcing a temporary gap through the swarm.
"Go!"
Yuno commanded.
Asta and Luck didn't wait.
"...."
"...."
They dashed forward.
Luck turned into a streak of lightning, weaving between skeletons and explosions.
"Too slow!"
A skeleton lunged—
-BOOM!
Luck vanished just before the blast.
Meanwhile—Asta charged straight through.
Explosions erupted around him.
-BOOM!!! -BOOM!!!
-BOOM!!!...
Fragments struck his body—But he didn't stop.
"OUTTA MY WAY!"
He swung his sword, clearing a direct path ahead.
At the far end—The crystal pillar pulsed violently.
Dark mana surged inside it like a beating heart.
Cracks already spiderwebbed across its surface from earlier attacks.
Luck arrived first.
"Lightning Magic: Thunder Crash!"
A bolt slammed into the pillar—
-CRACK!
The fractures deepened.
Asta leapt forward. Both swords in hand. His anti-magic surged violently.
"This ends now!"
He brought both blades down in a cross strike.
"ANTI-MAGIC—DOUBLE SLASH!"
-SHATTER!
The crystal pillar exploded into fragments.
A shockwave rippled through the entire chamber.
For a moment—Everything froze.
Then—Every skeleton stopped moving.
Pickaxes dropped. Bones loosened.
One by one—They collapsed.
Limbs dislodged. Skulls rolled across the stone.
The red glow vanished completely.
Silence returned.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Magna dropped to a knee.
"…Finally."
Luck stretched his arms casually.
"That was fun."
Noelle exhaled slowly, leaning slightly on Nebra for support.
Leopold looked down at the small fire spirit.
"Looks like we passed again."
Yuno glanced toward the deeper tunnels.
"…This dungeon has layers."
Asta rested his sword on his shoulder and grinned.
-Grin
"Good. Because we're not leaving without that kid."
The echoes of battle faded behind them.
No more explosions. No more clinking pickaxes.
Only their footsteps remained as the group moved deeper into the mine—the only path forward.
The indigo-green crystals dimmed slightly the further they went, their glow now colder… almost sickly.
Then—
-Drip!
Magna slowed for a moment.
"…Huh?"
-Drip!
Something wet hit his cheek.
He wiped it absentmindedly. Looked at his fingers.
Dark. Thick.
His eyes widened.
"…That's not water."
A heavy silence fell.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Slowly—Magna looked up.
The others followed his gaze.
And froze.
Above them—A boy hung upside down.
His body suspended high from the ceiling.
A long spike had pierced through his leg, pinning him in place like some grotesque display.
Blood dripped steadily from the wound.
Drip… drip… drip…
The source.
His arms hung lifeless. His clothes were stained.
His face pale. Unconscious.
Noelle gasped softly.
"…That's him."
Asta's expression hardened instantly.
"Eron right his name?…"
Leopold clenched his fist.
"They used him as bait…"
Luck's smile faded for the first time.
"…That's not fun anymore."
Yuno stepped forward, eyes sharp and calculating.
"Careful," he said quietly.
"This is too obvious."
A trap.
Everything about it screamed trap.
The boy was placed deliberately.
Centered. Visible. Unprotected.
Which meant—Something was waiting.
Watching.
Magna looked around nervously.
"…Yeah, I don't like this."
Noelle steadied herself despite her exhaustion.
"We can't leave him like that."
Asta stepped forward without hesitation.
"I'll get him."
Yuno didn't stop him—But his voice followed.
"Step carefully."
The air felt wrong.
Too still. Too quiet.
Every instinct screamed the same thing—Trap.
Yuno stepped forward, eyes focused on the suspended boy.
"I'll bring him down," he said calmly.
His grimoire opened.
Wind gathered around his hand.
"Wind Magic: Spirit Thread."
A thin, precise current of wind shot upward—sharp as a blade, yet gentle in control.
It sliced cleanly through the point anchoring the spike.
For a brief moment—Nothing happened.
Then—The boy's body dropped.
Magna was already in position.
"I got him!"
He jumped forward and caught the boy carefully, lowering him to the ground.
"Hey! Kid! Wake up!"
Noelle rushed closer.
"He's alive," she said quickly after checking him.
"But barely."
Leopold clenched his jaw.
"We need to get him out—"
Then—A sound tore through the chamber.
A scream. Loud. Piercing.
Not human. Not beast. Something in between.
It echoed from every direction at once.
-ROOOOARR!!!
The entire tunnel trembled.
The crystals flickered violently.
Magna froze for a second.
"...."
"…What the hell was that?"
Asta's grip tightened on his sword.
"…That wasn't a trap trigger."
Yuno's eyes narrowed.
"No. That was a reaction."
The scream echoed again—Louder. Angrier.
-ROOOOAARRR!!!
They didn't stay long.
Not after that scream.
With Eron now carried carefully by Magna, the group pressed forward—faster, tighter, more alert than before.
The tunnels twisted.
The red glow faded back into dim crystal light. Then—A sound.
Hee… hee… hee…
That same childish laughter.
But now—It echoed. Warped. Layered.
Like multiple voices laughing from different corners at once.
Magna swallowed shivering.
-Gulp!
"I liked it better when things were just trying to explode us."
Noelle tightened her grip on her grimoire.
"…This place is getting worse."
The tunnel opened suddenly—Into a vast chamber. And they stopped.
They were surrounded.
Tall statues stood in a perfect circle around the room.
Dozens of them. Massive.
Each one shaped like an ancient soldier.
Heavy armor carved into stone. Large shields planted before them.
Swords held upright. Guarding.
Waiting.
Unlike before—These statues had heads.
And faces. But their expressions were blank.
Lifeless. Watching.
Asta looked around slowly.
"…Yeah, this is definitely not suspicious at all."
Luck tilted his head, eyes gleaming.
"I wonder which one moves first."
Leopold stepped closer to the center of the chamber.
"Stay sharp."
Yuno's gaze moved across the statues, calculating.
"…Formation."
The group tightened instinctively.
Magna adjusted Eron on his shoulder.
"Let's just pass through quietly—"
-Clink.
Everyone froze. A single sound. Metal against stone.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Then—
-Clink.
Another. One of the statues—Moved.
Its fingers tightened around the sword hilt. Dust fell from its armor.
Then—Its head tilted.
The empty eyes glowed faintly.
The laughter echoed again.
Hee… hee…
This time—It sounded pleased.
The statues began to move.
One by one. Slow at first.
Then all at once—Every statue lifted its shield.
Swords lowered into combat stance.
The entire chamber shifted.
Not a trap. Not an illusion. An army.
Yuno's voice cut through the tension.
"…Guardians."
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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