Chapter 164: Team Clustervayne (Bonus)
But the battle was far from over.
More monsters poured out from the side tunnels in greater numbers.
Dozens and dozens of them.
Ethan’s eyes took on the peculiar glowing pattern of the Eyes of the Sage, the intricate symbols materializing within his irises.
"Come," he said simply.
Multiple purple magic circles opened simultaneously around him, and his Legendary-class summons materialized in bursts of violet light, spreading out at once.
Ethan twirled Ragnarok by its hilt, then blurred forward into the fray of monsters that had multiplied into dozens.
Wilson raised his katana high, gripping it by the hilt with both hands as his reddish aura ran through the edges. Then, he drove the blade down, stabbing it into the stone floor.
The blade sank in, then he twisted the weapon sharply to one side.
A cutting force erupted outward from the point of impact, spreading in a perfect expanding ring as traveled through the air, slicing through everything in its path.
The monsters within range of the technique received deep, clean cuts across their torsos. Some lost limbs entirely, roaring in agony as blood sprayed from their wounds.
The aftermath of Wilson’s technique left a visible spiral carved into the ground, radiating outward from where his katana had struck.
The technique was called Spiral Severance, one of the Heydrich family’s signature saber techniques.
However...
Wilson clicked his tongue in frustration. "Tch."
His attacks hadn’t killed the monsters in one go. This was the problem with fighting A-rank monsters at his level.
Wilson’s current Battle Aura output, despite having S-tier talent in the Saber class, was only around 75% of his maximum potential. That placed him slightly above peak A-tier, but not quite at true S-tier yet.
The wounded monsters, enraged by their injuries, lunged at the vampire with renewed aggression.
Wilson weaved through the first few attacks, ducking beneath a clawed swipe, sidestepped a lunging bite, and delivered clean cuts to finish off the wounded beasts one by one.
But the numbers were overwhelming for just him alone.
One monster leaped from above, descending toward Wilson with its clawed hand raised to strike.
But before it could reach him, a spear-like projectile made of solid ink flew through the air like a hurled javelin. It pierced clean through the monster’s torso, punching a hole straight through its body, and pinned it to the ground by its head.
The creature thrashed for a moment, then went still.
Arael’s wings glowed brightly, and the solidified ink pinning the monster down suddenly took on an orange-like radiance. The ink construct began to writhe and shift, transforming into flames.
Then it exploded, blowing monster’s body apart.
This was Arael’s Change skill, which allowed her to alter or infuse any of her ink constructs with elemental properties: flames, water, earth, wind, ice, or light.
Wilson’s eyes widened as he turned to look at Ethan’s angel-raced summon.
But Arael’s attention had already moved on, launching projectile after projectile at the monsters.
Wilson exhaled, then refocused on his own battle.
-
Percival and Aliyah fought side by side, their movements synchronized perfectly.
Both werewolves had opened their fifth and final meridians just last week, placing them at the peak of what was attainable as A-tier Warrior-class fighters.
But even at peak A-tier, finishing attacks against these monsters didn’t come easily.
Percival drove his fist into one creature’s skull, the impact caving in bone and sending the beast staggering.
But it didn’t fall. Instead, it snarled and lunged again.
However, these two covered each other’s backs. When one attacked, the other defended, and when one created an opening, the other exploited it.
But the sheer number of monsters pressing in on them was becoming a problem.
Then suddenly, a figure blurred around them, leaving only a trail of flames in her wake.
All the monsters they had been struggling with were cleaved cleanly in half, their bodies collapsing in pieces.
Nina landed lightly beside them, having her sword still raised.
Percival grinned. "Thanks for the assist!"
Nina nodded, then turned and launched herself back into the fray.
-
A massive shape emerged from one of the inner tunnels, and the sound of stone cracking filled the chamber.
This creature was enormous, easily twice the size of the others. It was nearly fifteen feet, with a build so massive it had to physically pummel its way through the tunnel walls to enter the main chamber.
Its body was covered in thicker, more densely packed scales that looked almost like overlapping plates of armor.
It had glowing blue eyes, and it head was elongated and almost dragon-like, with massive curved horns extending from the sides.
It opened Its jaws to reveal rows of jagged teeth, and a deep, guttural roar echoed through the cavern.
The creature took one step forward, the ground trembling beneath its weight.
But right then, its head exploded.
A concentrated beam of dark red energy had streaked through the distance and blown straight through the monster’s skull, reducing it to dust in an instant.
Bierzim stood several meters away, the tip of its spear still glowing with residual energy from the devastating attack it had just released.
The headless body of the massive beast swayed for a moment, then collapsed backward with a thunderous crash.
Ethan himself cut through the creatures with Ragnarok, and didn’t have to worry about sneak attacks because Joe had his back, shooting down anything that tried to approach from behind.
Hayley fought on her own, needing no assistance. Her Cannon Style techniques devastated entire groups of monsters at once, and her raw physical strength allowed her to tear through them with ease.
Within minutes, clustervayne had cleared through a good number of the monsters
Corpses littered the ground, and the faint glow of the stone walls reflected off pools of dark blood.
Ethan exhaled and lowered Ragnarok, glancing around at the carnage.
He had to admit to himself that this would have been much faster if his Guardian skill, Provocation, were usable at this moment.
The problem was, he had only unlocked the third Foundation Phase as a Guardian so far.
So, even with Amplification boosting the skill’s effectiveness, it would only work properly on B-grade monsters, not A-grade.
Still, they had managed just well.
Ethan turned toward the rest of the team. "Everyone alright?"
Percival wiped sweat from his forehead and grinned. "Yeah, we’re good man."
And the rest all seemed to have nodded.
——
A few moments later...
Percival was standing over the pile of monster corpses, his right hand dripping with dark blood while holding onto a bloodied mana stone.
"This is the last one," he said, letting the stone fall from his grip and onto a pile of other mana stones that had been gathered in one spot.
In his left hand, Percival held part of a monster’s body, a chunk of scaled flesh still attached to bone. Then he released it, and it fell onto a separate pile of corpses stacked haphazardly to the left.
It was evident from the state of his hands and arms that he had been digging directly into the creatures’ bodies to collect these stones.
Hayley wrinkled her nose and turned her head away. "Ugh, gross." She shook her head. "We actually need a cleanup crew for all of this."
Ethan walked toward the gathered stones. "I’ve been taking applications since last week. There’s a dedicated van already."
As he approached, two objects floated beside him, suspended by an invisible force.
On his left side hovered the massive mana stone extracted from the beast that Bierzim had killed. It was easily the size of a human head, pulsing with energy.
And on his right side floated the corpse of the beast itself.
This was the Ars Levavius spell, a space element technique that applied an invisible force onto objects to control their movement from a distance.
Ethan had learned it from Isabella herself sometime over the past month.
When he reached the pile of gathered mana stones, he released his hold on the floating stone and dropped onto the others with a heavy thunk.
Then he let the massive corpse fall onto the pile of monster bodies.
He stretched his hand over the stones and they suddenly disappeared.
[87 A-Grade Mana Stones added to inventory]