----Page 34-----
The dungeon seemed to be pulsing around him, alive, and dreadful.
Kinon clenched his jaw, forcing his breathing steady, as he tried his hardest looking for where the real body of the necromancer was hiding.
Everything felt wrong. The air. The walls. Even the shadows. But there was still no trace of the floor master around.
On the other hand.. Lysera cuts down the undead assassin but it still keeps on rising back, as her rapier's crystal edge humming.
"Master— try to keep this in mind. His real goal was to wait, hide until we all exhaust our strength. So try to think thoroughly, if you can't sense his mana, then try to focused on how the enemy thinks."
Her voice was sharp, focused.
"How the enemy thinks?."
Kinon lowered his stance.
"I know… not everything can be done with strength alone.. I need to think."
The Shaman laughed again, a shrill, mocking cackle.
Eeekkee!! Eeeekkee!!
It spun its staff wildly, dancing in dizzy circles. But this time—Kinon noticed something.
A faint glow. From the red gem embedded in the Shaman's staff.
Not mana.
Not aura.
Just a flicker. Too small to sense.
But definitely… something.
If I'm the enemy, where should I hide, of course I'll hide somewhere were no one the least with suspect that I was there..
Kinon narrowed his eyes.
"…That gem…"
Before he could finish the thought, Lysera hissed sharply.
"Master! Behind you—!"
Kinon twisted, dodging the goblin's wild swing of it's wooden club, then followed up with an attack slashing downward, cutting through a reanimated goblin that had leaped for his throat.
The impact rattled his arm.
More were coming.
Tauren snarled, clenching his knuckles hard, pushing several undead back by his bare fist like thet are nothing but wooden branches.
"Hurry it up, Master! This one's breathing is getting worse!"
Kinon glanced back— the rogue's lips were turning pale.
No healing worked here.
No potions. Nothing at all.
They were running out of time.
And still— the Shaman revived everything. The real necromancer were still no we're to be found.
Even after being chopped apart. Burned. Pierced.
It always came back.
"Hiding somewhere…" Kinon muttered.
"But why use the Shaman as a puppet—?"
Then it clicked.
His eyes widened.
It's not in the walls…
It's not underground…
It's not masking its mana…
"He was hiding in the one place no one would ever suspect… just like a simple game of hide-and-seek."
Kinon stood still, eyes closed, breathing steady as he tried to think back.. back to his childhood, back to the simple memories of his old world. Games he used to play. Small tricks he used to rely on.
"It's like when I used to hide behind the trees as a kid," Kinon thought.
"Back when we played hide-and-seek… I used to hide right behind the tree where the seeker was counting. I always thought the safest place was the one no one would ever suspect. But this isn't a game anymore. In a real fight where death is possible, playing fair isn't an option."
His eyes shifted to the shimmering gem embedded in the Shaman's staff.
"Maybe… that gem has something to do with the necromancer's real body."
Kinon gritted his teeth.
"That's why I couldn't sense it…!"
The Shaman froze mid-dance, as if startled.
The gem flickered.
°°°°
Then, elsewhere...
Inside that gem, an infinite void of nothingness, the real necromancer hid.
He trembled in fear, realizing the place he believed was safest… was no longer safe at all.
Impossible… the brat stopped trying to sense my mana. No... he noticed something. I knew it… something was off about him from the start. I need to kill him first… before he realizes, I'm hiding in here.
The Shaman's body jerked violently.
Kinon stepped forward, pointing his sword toward it.
"You've been hiding this whole time, haven't you?" he said quietly.
"Inside that gem."
This is ridiculous…!! How could that mortal kid see through this!? No one has EVER found me before...!!
The necromancer thrashed inside the void, clawing at the shifting black mist as if trying to bury himself deeper into the darkness.
Lysera's eyes sharpened, a cold glint flashing across them as the undead assassin lunged again.
Her crystal rapier sliced through the air, shhk, bisecting the corpse again as if it were nothing more than brittle ice.
"Great job, Master…" she whispered, breath steady, gaze locked on Kinon.
"I knew you could do it."
She flicked the bloodless residue from her blade, stepping forward with calm, icy grace.
"I'm done playing with these undead," Lysera continued, voice low and chilling.
"Maybe…" Her rapier lifted, shimmering with frost.
"…it's time to end this little façade."
Tauren shifted to his miniature form, then hovered slightly above, his bat-like wings beating softly. Arms crossed, he gave a rare approving nod, his low voice carrying quiet praise.
"Well, I never had any doubt—Master Kinon's wits were sharp from the start."
Nivara's eyes glimmered, a small smile tugging at her lips as admiration colored her tone.
"Good thinking, Master. You really are improving."
°°°°
The battlefield held its breath. The undead froze, and the air itself seemed to tighten, waiting for what would come next.
The Shaman staggered back, arms shaking uncontrollably.
"W-Wait… don't! Stay back! I...I'm a Floor Guardian! You can't just..."
Its voice fell into panic.. he forgets to hide his thoughts and his voice slipped out.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!"
°°°°
Meanwhile....
Beyond the shattered door, Kaien faced Dorgan.
The golem's body cracked, shadow ichor squirting out as it reformed.
"You're wasting your strength."
Dorgan rumbled.
"They'll never find him. The first guardian is unseen. This whole tower was his playground."
Kaien rolled his spear over his shoulder, smirking.
"Yeah. Probably."
Dorgan blinked.
"…What?"
Kaien tilted his head.
"But see, you made one mistake."
"And what mistake is that, human?"
Kaien pointed his thumb toward the icy explosion echoing deeper inside.
"Hiding is pointless."
Dorgan scoffed.
"Pointless? When no one can even sense him—"
"Not to her."
Dorgan froze.
"…Her?"
Kaien smirked wider.
"She's not called the Frozen Empress for nothing. Even I hate getting on her bad side. Her ice could hurt a lot."
Kaien said as he pointed her spear towards, Dorgan.
"Ohh… and one thing I hate the most was cold stuffs, having frostbites, well if you know what I mean."
And then..
A subtle chill began to creep through the dungeon. The floor glimmered faintly as frost traced along cracks in the stone.
Kaien's spear tip showed tiny frost patterns, and Dorgan's stone body began to feel an unnatural cold seeping into its core.
"What's happening…!?"
Kaien cracked his neck.
"Your buddy should be dead by now."
He leveled his spear at Dorgan, eyes sharpening.
"So how about you followed him next."
°°°°
And then..
Kinon noticed the gem's void pulsing more violently than before. The Shaman's panicked movements as it stopped making it's weird dances before…
The Shaman's body quivered, gem glowing faintly, yet the void inside pulsed erratically, as if trying to resist exposure.
This… can't be happening…
The necromancer thought, voice trembling within the void.
I… I must kill him before he notices me fully… but if I move now, I'll definitely expose myself. What… what should I do?
Kinon's grip tightened on his sword. His eyes scanned the room, calculating angles, spacing, threats, but he didn't see the necromancer directly. Only the Shaman's panicked movements.
"You've been hiding this whole time, haven't you? Inside that gem."
The Shaman jerked violently, arms flailing. Its voice cracked, spilling more than just fear.
"W-Wait… don't! Stay back! I—I'm a Floor Guardian! You can't just—"
The words dissolved into a scream of sheer panic.
Tauren's eyes narrowed, a hint of amusement in his low, mocking voice.
"Ah, so clever… and yet, so loud. Congratulations, you just made yourself easy to find."
Dravion's jaw dropped, eyes wide.
"Impossible!! How could that kid know where the real necromancer was hiding… without detecting its mana?"
Nivara stepped forward, covering her mouth with her crimson fan, crafted from the ancient feathers of Averian's First Empress. Her voice rang proud and commanding.
"Well, you see now for yourself, our Master was not as weak as you think he was. He's still growing and learning. But he cannot be compared to anyone in this world, his true potential."
Her words carried a quiet reverence, as if she were worshipping a god.
Tauren hovered nearby, wings beating slowly, a rare approving nod accompanying his low growl of agreement.
"Hmmm.. hmmmm.. Nivara was right!"
°°°°
Lysera stepped lightly forward, rapier in hand, frost curling along its blade.
"Master… he's desperate. Now's our chance."
The gem's void shivered, the necromancer realizing that his sanctuary, the one place he thought safe, was no longer untouchable. He had relied on the Shaman as a living diversion, a puppet to distract his enemies, and now that façade was cracking.
Kinon advanced cautiously. Each step measured, his eyes flicking between the undead around him and the gem.
The Shaman staggered back, desperately trying to obscure the gem with frantic gestures, but every twitch betrayed its hidden core.
The necromancer's thoughts raced, adrenaline spiking inside the void.
Lord Daath… he promised me power, more than any mortal could ever dream of.
As long as I killed anyone who dared enter this tower. As guardians… we must prove ourselves.
If I fail him now… if I fail to kill this brat…
…then I'm the one who'll be erased.
Lysera stepped, forward. Adjusting her breathing as her crystal like rapier glows in blinding blue light
"Master… prepare yourself."
The Shaman's panic exploded.
"No.. NO!! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"
Skeletons surged forward, desperate to protect their master.
Kinon's eyes flicked to Nivara. She reacted instantly, waving her crimson fan in a circle motion.
"Flame Wall!!"
A ring of fire erupted as it expands, forming a protective barrier around the party. The heat forced back the undead, hissing and shrieking as their advance faltered.
"That's… great. About time you did something flashy for once," Tauren smirked, hovering midair.
"This is insane… I can't believe we're seeing all of this," Dravion said, eyes wide as she gazed upon the massive barrier Nivara had cast around them.
"It… it's a high-tier magical barrier, isn't it? No incantations… no circles."
The young elven archer added, awe in his voice.
°°°°
Kinon kept his gaze on the Shaman's gem, the air around it shimmering with panic and fear.
The necromancer's thoughts inside were frantic.
This can't be… if they see me… everything is lost…
Lysera's rapier glinting. Frost gathered along its blade.
"Frozen Dominion—Expansion."
The dungeon seemed to inhale, as if anticipating the coming storm. Ice surged outward in a perfect tidal wave, spreading along the floor, crystallizing walls, freezing undead mid-swing.
The magic curved perfectly around Kinon, Nivara, Tauren, and the adventurers, sparing them completely.
The Shaman's puppet body cracked, ice crawling up its limbs. The gem blazed, the necromancer screaming from within.
"N–NOOO!! LET ME OUT!! I... I SURRENDER!!"
Silence fell, save for the faint jingling of frozen bones echoing through the chamber.
Kinon's eyes widened, sword steady.
The illusion had crumbled, and the true enemy, once hidden and cunning, now trembled helplessly within the ice.