Chapter : 104
+++
Chapter : 104
Ken stopped walking for a second. He blinked his sleepy eyes and looked at Ira. "Wow, Ira. You are just a little ray of sunshine today, aren't you? Can we lower that statistic? Maybe to like, two percent? I am totally willing to negotiate."
"Statistics do not negotiate," Ira replied in her deadpan, robotic voice.
Luna let out a massive, highly dramatic yawn from the back of the group. She was rubbing her eyes lazily. "I really hope we don't have to fight anything too big. My arms are still tired from yesterday. If a monster comes, can we just ask it nicely to go away?"
Zinia chuckled, adjusting her grip on her torch. "I don't think monsters speak our language, Luna. But don't worry, if anything jumps out, Laxmi and I will take the front. You can just stand in the back and throw lightning bolts."
Suddenly, Sayma threw her hand up in the air, forming a tight fist. It was the universal signal to completely stop moving.
The entire 13th Unit froze in their tracks. The joking and the banter instantly vanished. The elite girls seamlessly dropped into their combat stances. Naomi’s hands hovered over her daggers. Laxmi’s fire flared up a little brighter.
"Do you hear that?" Sayma whispered, her voice totally serious.
Ken tilted his head, listening closely. At first, there was only the sound of water dripping from the cave ceiling. But then, the noises started to drift out of the darkness ahead.
It started with a deep, unnatural croaking sound. It sounded like a bullfrog, but magnified by a hundred times. Then came the low, vicious growling, like a pack of starving dogs snapping their jaws. Finally, the ground beneath their feet began to vibrate with heavy, thudding footsteps.
"Oh no," Ken gasped out loud, completely dropping his cool attitude. He put his hands on his cheeks, widening his eyes as far as they could go. "The heavy footsteps! The scary growling! This is exactly the part of the movie where the main characters realize they walked into a trap! This is the part where I should make a terrified face!"
"Shut up and get behind us, Ken!" Naomi ordered, pulling her twin daggers out with a sharp metallic click.
From the shadows of the massive cavern ahead, glowing red and yellow eyes began to appear. First, there were just a few. Then, a dozen. Then, a whole sea of glowing, hungry eyes completely blocked the tunnel.
The first wave of dungeon monsters stepped into the light of Laxmi’s fire.
They were absolutely terrifying. Dropping down from the rocky ceiling were giant, mutated frog-type monsters. They were the size of small cars, with thick, warty skin and long, venomous tongues that whipped through the air like wet ropes.
Stepping out from behind the stalagmites were vicious wolf-type beasts. These weren't normal wolves. They were massive, with completely pitch-black fur and jagged bone spikes sticking out of their spines. They growled, dark drool dripping from their razor-sharp fangs.
And finally, stomping heavily into the center of the tunnel, were the heavy hitters. Massive, armored bear-type beasts. They were easily ten feet tall, covered in thick, natural rock-like armor plating that looked harder than steel. They let out deafening, earth-shaking roars.
It was a complete, highly organized horde of deadly dungeon monsters, and the 13th Unit was completely surrounded.
"Well, look at the bright side," Laxmi grinned, her eyes lighting up with pure fighting excitement. "We didn't have to go looking for a fight. The fight came right to us!"
Ken took one look at the giant armored bears and the slimy, venomous frogs. He let out a high-pitched, highly exaggerated scream.
"Stranger danger! Stranger danger!" Ken yelled at the top of his lungs, waving his arms wildly in the air. "Those frogs look incredibly slimy! If that slime gets on my new suit, it will never wash out! Dry cleaning is way too expensive! I am officially clocking out for the day!"
Without waiting for permission, Ken spun around and ran as fast as his legs could carry him toward the side of the cave. He spotted a very large, conveniently placed boulder sticking out of the wall. He threw his entire body behind it, diving face-first into the dirt.
He curled up into a tight ball behind the rock, wrapping his arms over his head.
"Good luck, team!" Ken shouted from his hiding spot, his voice echoing from behind the stone. "You guys are doing great! I will guard this rock with my life! Don't let the bears eat my potato chips!"
Naomi didn't even bother yelling at him this time. She actually preferred it when he hid. It meant she didn't have to worry about him tripping into danger.
"Let him hide," Sayma commanded smoothly, pushing her glasses up. Her hands began to glow with bright golden light. "Vanguard, form up! Protect the Princess! Do not let a single beast break the line!"
Princess Iris took a few steps back, standing near the cave wall where she was perfectly safe. She drew her silver rapier, but she didn't step forward. She fully trusted her team.
"Show them why you are the best vanguard in the Empire," Princess Iris ordered, her voice full of absolute confidence.
The giant armored bears roared again, and the massive horde of mutated monsters charged forward. The battle in the dark dungeon had officially begun.
---
The giant, mutated frog-type monsters were the first to strike. They leaped off the cave walls, their powerful legs launching them through the air like massive, slimy cannonballs. They opened their wide mouths, shooting their thick, venomous tongues straight toward Sayma and Naomi.
"I hate frogs!" Naomi shouted, stepping forward with zero hesitation.
Her green wind magic exploded around her combat boots. She didn't just dodge; she moved with terrifying, flawless precision. She sidestepped the first venomous tongue effortlessly, using the momentum of the wind to spin her body entirely around. With a lightning-fast slash of her twin daggers, she cut the frog’s tongue right in half.
The monster let out a burbling shriek of pain, falling short of its target. Before the frog could even hit the ground, Sayma was already there.
"Absolute Hexagon," Sayma said calmly, her voice perfectly steady in the chaos.
She threw her hands up, and a glowing golden honeycomb barrier appeared right above the falling frog. She didn't use the shield to defend; she used it offensively. Sayma slammed the heavy, solid light barrier straight down, crushing the giant frog flat against the rocky cave floor with a loud, sickening crunch.
"One down! Fifty to go!" Laxmi laughed loudly.
The vicious, bone-spiked wolves dashed out from the shadows. They were incredibly fast, darting in zig-zag patterns to avoid straight attacks. They leaped at Laxmi, their jaws snapping wildly.
"You want to play fast? Let's play fast!" Laxmi yelled happily.