Dungeon of Pride, Laplace



What is it that these monsters are safeguarding? It was something for the adventurers to find out after they explore the area.

The thing to note about the Danger Zone is that since it is named as such, there are likely to be areas designated as Safe Zones as well.

Just like what the name means, they were specific areas in the Danger Zones where the monsters can't get in. They were created to provide some respite to the adventurers seeking to explore or clear these special areas.

The cave where Cynthia and the others were currently, was precisely one such place.

"Let's not dwell on that for now" Alvara leaned against the cave wall, wincing as pain shot through her body. "Our priority is to tend to our injuries and regain our strength. We won't last long if we don't recover ". She spoke with a strained voice.

Quite some time had passed as they continued to hide inside the dimly lit cave. It was long enough for their pursuers to either get eliminated by the monsters outside or to give up on the search.

Still, the group continued to bide their time inside the cave.  It seemed as though they had successfully evaded danger when suddenly a light appeared at the entrance, accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

As the light from the cave entrance grew brighter, Cynthia, Alvara, and Marba exchanged anxious glances. The hope that they had finally managed to elude their pursuers quickly dissipated and they were thrown into the pits of despair once again.

Alvara's heart pounded in her chest as a bead of sweat formed on her forehead. Her mind raced, trying to come up with a plan to escape. She grabbed her sword and with much difficulty, she stood back up.

But with those injuries and in an exhausted state where she was quickly losing consciousness, it seemed almost impossible to confront their pursuers head-on.

Outside the cave, the voices of Herm and his accomplices became audible. Although their words were muffled, but their intent was clear – they were determined to find the princess and put an end to their escape.

"Search every nook and cranny!" Herm's voice boomed. "Don't let her get away!".

The adventurers replied in affirmation, their footsteps growing louder and more frantic as they scoured the area. Alvara's grip on her sword tightened, and she tried to steady her breathing, praying that they wouldn't be discovered.

They slowly inched back further inside the cave; however, it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.

And just like she had feared, one of the adventurers suddenly let out a shout of excitement "Hyohoo, I found something! Over here Sir Herm".

Alvara's heart sank as multiple footsteps could be heard coming towards them. Using magic to light their way, their pursuers slowly appeared in front of them.

"Come out, Princess! There is nowhere left to run!" Herm spoke, his voice filled with triumph.

"You bastard... how did you escape from those monsters?" The Guard Commander asked standing between Herm and the princess.

"Heh, why should I answer you? Hmph, I have a feeling that you and your group may be up to something, even in your last ropes, you are still thinking about some way to escape. But it's all useless, I have you cornered. This cat and mouse chase is over"

The latter laughed at their resistance. Herm's laughter just rang out when suddenly…

"Marba now!!"  Alvara cried out and ducked into a corner.

RUMBLE… Immediately after, lightning started generating inside the cave and the figure of the Mage hiding behind Alvara all this time and preparing her magic, came into view.

CRACK… the core stone embedded inside her staff burst apart and a vast amount of mana overflowed from it.

"This is bad sir Herm, she is overloading her magic staff" One of the adventurers reported with a pale face.

"Overloading what?!" Although he did not understand what the adventurer meant by those words, even an idiot can understand that the magic the mage was casting was dangerous and was very powerful.

Seeing that she was pointing her magic at him, he screamed frantically and tumbled onto the ground.

And in this pivotal instant...Eat this…" Marba shouted at the top of her lungs and cast her Lightning Magic Mastery- [Volt Strike]… 

Powerful electrical currents generated from her staff, instantly incinerating the adventurers in the path before moving towards Herm.

"Sir Roderick.. Please help meeee!!!". At the very instant his cry rang out, a figure jumped between the Lightning magic and Herm.

BANG… the [Volt Strike] connected with the target blinding and shaking the entire place. As for the caster, she fell to the ground puking a mouthful of blood.

Marba had already exhausted all of her mana and mana recovering potions. As such, it was normally impossible for her to even cast even a novice tier magic much less a magic as powerful as this.

The only reason she was able to cast her magic was because she had overloaded the core stone embedded inside her staff and used the overflowing mana from its destruction to cast her magic.

However, using this method posed several risks to the caster since the mana wasn't theirs. For trying to overload the core stone, Marba had to bear a significant amount of repercussion in return.

That said, the power gained from using such a method was also very substantial. When one casts a magic by overloading the core stone, the might of that magic triples or even quadruples.

Added with Marba's level and mastery of lightning magic, the attack should have wiped their enemies or at the very least severely injure them.

That should have been the case… however, when the dust settled, Herm looked almost fine. Standing in front of him was the robed person who took on the brunt of the attack for him. And yet even after that, they came out unscathed. Only a small part of their robes got burned but other than that, the magic seemed to have achieved no other effect.

Other than that, what stood out was the shield the robed person used to defend them. It was a huge round shield, pitch black in colour with a greyish-black aura oozing from it. Its design was simple and the material it was crafted from also did not seem to be too special.

However, it was this shield that stopped Marba's attack. Even after taking that intermediate tier magic powered from the overload of core stone, the shield did not have the slightest scratch.

"Hehe… hahaha. I'm saved. Your last attempt failed" Like a twisted symphony, Herm's laughter echoed inside the interior of the cave. That magic would have killed him if not the robed person's timely intervention.

'That's right, as long as I have him with me, there is no way I will die' Herm thanked the robbed person before picking himself up. His previous miserable and cowardly attitude was gone, replaced by a bold and triumphant look.

"How did…" Marba, sprawled on the ground, wore an expression of disbelief as she extended a trembling finger toward the robed man. However, before she could say anything further, Herm lashed out at her.

"You bitch!! You dare try to kill me?"…

BANG… BANG… BANG… A barrage of brutal kicks erupted from Herm's enraged onslaught upon the injured mage, who lay defenceless. His kicks mercilessly targeted her stomach, chest, and even her face, unrelenting even after she lost consciousness as he vented all of his frustration out.

"You bastard… stop!!" Unable to see her comrade being tortured like that, Alvara rushed out while swinging her sword. However, her weapon was effortlessly swatted away by the robed figure, who then seized her by the neck.

"Kuh!!" the guard captain groaned with a pale face after being lifted off the ground. If she was in her peak condition, and not so severely injured as she was now, she might have been able to do something in this situation.

However, it was impossible for her to muster even the tiniest bit of resistance right now.

"Stop!!… Stop it!! If you hurt them anymore then… I will kill myself. Your objective is to capture me right? If die then you will fail in your mission" Cynthia threatened holding a knife near her throat.

Her face looked frighteningly composed even as a droplet of blood trickled down her neck from the sharp blade of the knife. The ring in her right hand finger glowed and even Alvara plead with her eyes not to do it.

However, at this moment other than doing something like this, she had no other choice. Her guardian spirit Leo had suffered grave damage in the battle at the capital and needed to fall into a slumber inside the ring to preserve its life.

All of her precious subordinates left her side one after the other and the ones that were remaining, were also at their last legs.

A dead end behind her and enemies in front, there was nowhere left for her to run to. If ending her life can bring an end to this nightmare, then she was no longer hesitant to do it. Although she did feel bad for her letting her subordinates down, in the end, she was powerless to change her fate.

Since It was like this, Cynthia gave a fearless smile and was about to plunge the dagger into her when something hit her neck hard.

In that split moment, she almost lost consciousness and the knife fell out of her hand. When she regained her consciuness, she found herself immobilised. The robed person was in front of her.