Chapter 215: Boss battle
Everyone stood in formation in front of the giant doors. The camp was packed up, burning a hole in Cass’ bag, Vespertine was behind him, Lady Ava in front of him, and the three front liners were ready. There was a heavy sense of anticipation that filled the air, beating in Cass’ chest.
Fiona looked around, checking in with everyone before she nodded and Lord Ridgewood pushed open the door.
As soon as everyone had stepped into the space, several sconces began to illuminate the room. It happened in stages, each one lighting up in pairs on either side of the room. It felt like stepping into a set as each set of lights on either side of the room lit up in sync. All they needed was the harsh sound of a giant light turning on, a big bang to truly imitate it. They didn’t have that, which made the lights even more eerie.
The main structure of the room was so similar to the two other rooms that they had encountered with mini bosses and the chest, that it took Cass a moment to realise what was different about this room.
At the back edge, the spot that took the longest to illuminate, was a throne. It wasn’t on the ground either. It was elevated, raised up by several stone steps, sitting on a stone brick platform that matched the rest of the dungeon’s build. It would have been completely normal if looking in that direction had Cass’ blood going cold.
He shivered. It was what was sitting on the throne that made him feel this way. Staring at the decaying corpse that was sitting there, Cass felt an overwhelming wave of the energy that filled this dungeon. It had a crown on its head, and unlike the previous bodies that they had seen, the clothes it wore looked...fresh? That was the best Cass could explain it.
The crown looked crusty, deteriorating. Like there were several stains and a lot of time that had passed. The clothes? Fresh. A brand new cape trimmed in white fur with a deep, intoxicating purple fabric. It was almost comical, if Cass didn’t feel like his teeth were going to chatter out of his mouth from the sudden cold that filled him.
"That’s the boss." Cass muttered quietly and watched as everyone else tensed. Cass knew what this was. It was probably a Lich. That hadn’t been listed in the book, but then again, they only saw zombies as undead. They had a lot to learn.
"Why isn’t it moving?" Lady Ava asked and Cass hesitated.
"It’s...going to activate when we get closer." Cass whispered and Fiona whipped her head to him, as did everyone else.
"You know what that is?" She asked, her tone unaccusing but that didn’t make Cass feel any better. That didn’t mean everyone was unaccusing. Lord Ridgewood’s gaze burned into him.