Chapter 71: Brunhild & Sigrid VS Alistair
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Frozen Swamp Dungeon, Floor 4.
A tall, slender, and voluptuous woman stood silently, her sharp red eyes narrowed as she gazed into the distance. She carried a large purple crystal sphere that contained the soul fragment and presence of a powerful being. In her arms, she held her “lord,” and the energy radiating from Alistair had suddenly surged dramatically.
It seemed he was taking a severe beating. He had been cornered to the point of complete desperation, transforming into a forbidden form rarely seen among vampires—especially those of the proud Belladonna family, who valued beauty and elegance above all else.
“It can’t be. Is that fool Alistair actually struggling?” a voice echoed from within the crystal sphere, pulsing with powerful cursed energy.
“Alistair is among the weakest members of our clan,” the woman replied calmly, her long, silky dark red hair swaying in the strong icy winds. “Yet even he stands far above most living creatures in this territory. Whoever he is fighting cannot be some ordinary human who wandered into the dungeon by chance.”
“Tsk. One problem after another, and just when I was finally beginning to establish my roots here,” the mysterious voice inside the sphere sighed in frustration. “I still haven’t located those bastards yet. The Orcs are tracking them mostly by scent from the items they left behind. They must be somewhere in these mountains or the forest… Wait!”
“Hm?”
“It has to be her!” The voice burst into uncontrollable laughter. “It has to be that bitch who got me the other day!”
“Who?” the woman asked.
“Tsk, you weren’t summoned yet, so you wouldn’t know,” the voice replied with a sigh. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. We will not deviate from our path. Move. We have already reached the stairs to Floor 5. Once we locate the Dungeon Core, I will take control of this entire dungeon. Then things will become far more entertaining for all of us.”
“But what about Alistair and the enemy he is facing?” the woman pressed. “Master, do you want me to leave him? I can go. I can fight them. I can kill them.”
“Don’t waste your time,” the voice commanded. “Let us see what Alistair is truly capable of first. He is not finished yet. I spent a great deal of precious Soul Points to summon both him and you, so you had better prove worth every single point.”
“Understood.” The woman nodded obediently. She glanced back at the figures following her. A large army of scaled reptilian monsters with glowing red eyes marched behind her. Some resembled dried-out undead, while others overflowed with raw power. Among them were humanoid skeletons, giants stitched together from countless corpses, and various other aberrant creatures. “Come! To Floor 5!”
As the army began descending the wide stone stairs, the woman looked back one last time, her eyes narrowing. “Master, this situation might not have arisen if we had not skipped Floors 1 and 2.”
“Those floors were unnecessary,” the voice answered. “You and my army are strong enough. The ice fishes hiding beneath the frozen lakes and those ice golems cannot be easily added to my forces. It was better to ignore them and save time. And now… we have finally arrived.”
Floor 5 opened before them like a breathtaking winter wonderland. A vast expanse of snow stretched out, dotted with towering icicles that rose from the ground and branched like magnificent trees made entirely of ice. Delicate flowers crafted from frost bloomed everywhere, and an ever-shifting sky—complete with a beautiful aurora borealis—hung overhead, resembling the outside world.
In the distance, a serene lake surrounded by gardens of these strange ice flora shimmered under the colorful lights. The moment the army stepped onto the floor, several powerful presences began moving rapidly toward them.
Floating in midair, composed of pure ice and glowing rainbow light, the Auroral Sentinels radiated auroral energy, spiritual power, and raw elemental force. Each one stood over ten meters tall.
“Auroral Sentinels. We have finally reached them,” the voice echoed with satisfaction. “You know what to do, Eleanora.”
“Understood.” The tall, beautiful woman released a crimson aura from her body. She let the crystal sphere float freely in the air and summoned a pair of long red blades formed from her own blood. “Commencing execution.”
♢♢♢♢
Alistair felt a sharp, strange numbness that was not exactly painful but felt as though something vital had been ripped away from him. Though he could not see it clearly, he sensed a bizarre phantom hand reaching into the depths of his soul and tearing off a small piece. When he realized what Brunhild had done, endless wrathful fury unlike anything he had ever experienced flooded through him.
Not only had she transformed into a bizarre new form covered in azure and red scales, complete with a long tail and razor-sharp claws surrounded by frost flames, but she had also hurled a giant ice broadsword that pierced straight through his blood core. She shattered his protective barrier wards and runes, then used a strange power to steal part of his very essence.
Alistair’s handsome face twisted in shock as he felt the changes surging through his body. Brunhild’s eyes widened as a stream of system notifications flashed before her.
[You have used {Goblin’s Greed} to steal from target: Alistair.]
[You received Alistair’s Talent Fragment!]
[You have absorbed the Talent Fragment.]
[You received Alistair’s Talent Fragment!]
[You have absorbed the Talent Fragment.]
[Your [Vitality] has increased by +3,500.]
[Your [Mana] has increased by +2,500.]
[Your [Strength] has increased by +2,500.]
[Your [Endurance] has increased by +2,200.]
[Your [Spirit] has increased by +2,200.]
[Your [Resistance] has increased by +2,100.]
[Your [Agility] has increased by +2,100.]
[Your [Luck] has increased by +2,100.]
[Your [Charm] has increased by +2,100.]
[You learned the Skill: [Vampiric Consumption – Tier 3: Level 1/10]!]
Her stats rose dramatically across the board—Vitality, Mana, Strength, Endurance, Spirit, Resistance, Agility, Luck, and even Charm all increased by thousands of points.
And she also gained a new skill.
[Vampiric Consumption – Tier 3: Level 1/10]
“Vampiric Consumption? I wonder if this will even work for me or—”
“Ungh?! What did you do to me?!” Alistair roared.
His once handsome face melted away as black fur rapidly grew across his pale skin. His white hair lengthened and gained red tips. His previously slender body swelled dramatically, becoming four times more muscular. Massive hands with long, sharp claws formed, and membranes stretched between his arms, turning them into enormous wings.
Alistair’s beautiful appearance had been replaced by a monstrous bat-like abomination radiating immense power. He had grown three times stronger in an instant.
Turns out Brunhild and her clan were not the only ones capable of bloodline or tattoo-related transformations.
“I WILL TEAR YOU APART, PIECE BY PIECE!!!”
With a giant claw, he tore into Brunhild’s shoulder, carving through flesh and drawing blood. However, the blood blazed with frost flames and holy Sunflare energy, burning his hand severely.
“Gaaaaack!”
“Hurts, doesn’t it?!” Brunhild roared back.
She held him firmly with her broadsword, then spun in midair and slammed his massive body into a nearby hill, causing a devastating explosion.
BOOOM!
A massive blast of flames and frost cleared the surrounding forest entirely, evaporating the snow and filling the area with thick mist.
“Where is he?!” Sigrid asked, still clinging tightly to Brunhild’s back. “I can’t see anything through this mist— Ah! Over there!”
RUMBLE!
A giant broadsword fell from the sky, hurtling toward them. Brunhild dodged swiftly and kicked the weapon, sending it spinning. She caught it by the hilt and raised it above her as the monstrous vampire dove down from above.
“DIE!!!”
His legs had transformed into equally enormous, clawed limbs covered in black fur. He kicked downward with brutal force, smashing both Brunhild and Sigrid into the ground.
CRASH!
The earth shattered into countless boulders. Sigrid cried out in pain, crushed beneath the weight of Brunhild’s larger transformed body.
“Sigrid!”
Brunhild clenched her teeth and roared. She kicked off the ground forcefully, stood up, and drove her fist straight into Alistair’s face, smashing him back down.
She poured everything into that punch, combining most of her spells, skills, and techniques. Her two Spirits, Ares and Hermes, surged from her soul and granted her a powerful red and green aura, boosting her strength and speed. Her War Goddess Divine Weapon Manifestation transformed into a massive fist.
BOOOM!
A gigantic pillar of holy flames erupted, channeling the full power of her Sunflare Cloak along with her tattoos and bloodlines. Brunhild had gone all out.
“Gaaaahhhhhh! Y-YOUUUU!”
Even as he burned in agony, Alistair pushed through the holy flames and laughed maniacally. He covered himself in ice stolen from the ice elven bloodline he had previously consumed, resisting the flames to a degree. Sharp elven ears sprouted, his fur turned bluer, and ice spikes grew across his body and head like antlers.
“YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN TRANSFORM!”
He roared with even greater ferocity, kicked off the ground, spread his massive wings, and charged straight at Brunhild. She gripped Atlas in one hand and her divine weapon, now transformed into a second axe, in the other.
“Red Fang Axe Style + Burning Dragon Soul Style!”
“First Form – Searing Cleave!”
A burning cross-shaped slash tore through the air. The bat-like monster swiftly dodged as the attack blasted the ground and distant trees into pieces.
He descended toward Brunhild’s head, claws ready to seize and behead her. However—
“Frost Flare Magic – Burning Icicle Spear!”
FLUOSH!
A long spear of ice and fire manifested behind Brunhild and pierced Alistair’s left shoulder, causing his entire wing to explode in a burst of frost and flames. A second spear struck his stomach, making him vomit blood.
“Gwaaack!”
As he screamed, Brunhild smiled fiercely and charged forward. Using her Winged Boots and Hermes’ assistance, she leaped into the air and swung her twin axes.
This time, her techniques struck true.
“Second Form – Tomahawk Boomerang!”
CRAAASH!
Both axes flew forward and pierced his chest and head. After a massive explosion blew away thirty percent of his body, Alistair plummeted downward. Brunhild summoned her ice hammer and ice broadsword once more.
And then—
“Third Form – Burning Crush!!!”
As Alistair fell with widened eyes, her two weapons blazed with soul and spiritual power. They smashed his body into the ground, sending him crashing through dozens of trees in a thunderous impact.
BOOOM!!!
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Eleanora: