Chapter 217: Only Five
"What do we do now? We can still turn back and use the distraction to get away," Lady Slave said as she stared nervously at the door. "We have to be done before the fight outside is concluded!"
Vacuse didn’t slow down but instead increased his speed. He blurred toward the door, slammed into it and through it, blowing the whole thing out of the way.
Two Magus guards at the other end jolted up in surprise. "This place is off limits unless you have...!!"
And just like that the two Magus were dead, a deadly spear of void bursting their heads.
Vacuse didn’t slow down as he continued running up the stairs. It was as if all the energy in him since the time he entered the Great Dungeon, all the inactivity, had been unleashed at once, and now that he started running, he didn’t want to stop.
Lady Slave gritted her teeth and ran just as hard, already giving up hope that she could change his mind. "Fortunately all the guards are not strong. They’re more of a formality than anything else, but I don’t know what will happen when we reach the dream pod room."
"We’ll see."
That was all he said.
And he was right. Because soon they busted all the doors guarding the stairs and soon appeared at the very last floor where the dream pod lies and with the monster above.
"What are you doing here? No Magus is allowed here at this time... wait, why are you covered in blood? Head Supervisor!"
Vacuse had stopped running and stared at the four guards in front of him. His face hardened, and he could tell immediately that the four guards were not like the usual Magus, with three of them in the third circle and one in the second.
"...they are strong..."
Vacuse himself was in the second stage. Can he fight against three people one step above him... at the same time? The last time he had a fight like that, it was with Captain Amros, and it wasn’t in his favor.
"...but I’m much stronger now..."
With the four guards blocking the way to the dream pod room in a defensive way, Vacuse and Lady Slave could only pause to catch their breath.
"What is it... who are those?"
The head supervisor had arrived, and his face was filled with irritation. "Do you call me because of those? Are they messengers?"
Vacuse watched his fingers, but he didn’t see his ring. His face fell. "Don’t tell me that I’ve actually lost it..."
"I don’t think they are messengers. If they are, then one of the lower floor guards should have brought them. They are also covered in blood. I think they are part of the intruders."
The head supervisor was surprised. He stared at Vacuse and Lady Slave as if he’d never seen anyone more stupid in his life. "These two... their powers are in the second circle. What could they hope to do here? Even as almost all our manpower has gone to Umbracrypt, do they really hope to fight us? The two of them?"
The head supervisor himself was in the third circle. Normally there are even fourth circle Magus guards among them, but they’re all out to fight the tree. "Just kill them and be done with it... no, beat them unconscious and bring them in. I’ll put them in a dream pod. It’s more than they deserve."
The space quickly filled with heavy pressure as everyone got ready to unleash their powers. But Vacuse wasn’t ready; he took a single step forward and the tension around quickly focused on him.
He raised his eyes and looked at the head supervisor. "Have you seen a ring with a small dragon coiled around it with its wings folded tightly?"
The head supervisor stared at him blankly. "How do you know... wait! You are familiar! Aren’t you the slave that woke from the dream months ago? So you are the owner of the ring!"
"Ah! This is good. The ring has been resisting me, but with you here I’ll be able to use it and unlock its secret power. How did you even get your hands on something like this?"
He raised his hand and pulled the ring that had been turned into a necklace from around his neck. "I’ve been looking for ways to use it."
Vacuse took a deep breath and smiled warmly. "Good. Everything in one place. The only thing remaining now is to kill all of you."
Lady Slave took a step back. "Um... how are you going to achieve that? Four third stage and one second stage. No matter how you look at it, we are dead!"
Vacuse shook his head. "They’re only five."
The head supervisor snorted when he heard it. "Don’t kill them. Maybe they’re related to what’s happening outside. Just beat them senseless. You can cut their limbs."
Vacuse shook his head. "Really, you should not listen to her. If you try to capture me then you’ll die quickly. You better fight as if you are going to kill me."
One of the Magus guards gave him a strange look. "You’re in the second circle. I really don’t think there’s anything you can do here."
"Maybe he’s trying for a last joke."
"Let me use this chance to train," the second circle Magus stretched his body.
Vacuse looked at the second circle Magus with an unimpressed expression. He waved his hand in a casual, dismissive way. "I’ll kill you first, second circle."
And he did.
Before anyone could react, the ground around the second circle turned black and a snout directly came out, wide open with fangs of night snapping close.
What followed was a scream cut short and a terrible crunching sound. What remained was a bit of bloody skull that fell down where the snout didn’t swallow.
And just like that, he killed a second circle Magus guard—one of their elite.
Vacuse frowned. "Have I... overrated you, Magus?"
Even a Soulbearer of the second stage would at least have reacted! But that second circle guy just died like that.
Then Vacuse grinned and shrugged at their stunned faces. "Or am I that strong?"