Chapter 34: Reunited (2/2)

The mist-like bird opened its beak and emitted a piercing cry, creating a howling cyclone of nearly invisible blades that hammered into the lizardman, cutting deep into its armor. It roared in pain and was forced back several steps, before tripping and landing on its side.

Not missing his chance, Mike sprinted towards the wounded monster. He avoided the its thrashing tail, dodged the flailing legs, and jumped up on to the creature's torso, using it as a spring board to leap high into the air.

For a moment time seemed to slow.

The armored lizardman, roaring in defiance from the ground, tried to bring its halberd to bear, but couldn't make it in time. Mike's sword flashed in the dim light of the dungeon. It fell like a thunderbolt, plunging deeply into the monster's armored chest. As he landed, the sword snapped at the hilt, leaving the blade buried inside.

The creature let out a pained gasp, one of its claws feebly grasping at it wound. Its reptilian eyes focused on Mike, and he felt a strange connection with the creature in its last moments.

With a rattling wheeze the lizardman collapsed and started to disintegrate, armor and all. In a few short minutes, all that was left behind was a fist sized ruby-colored crystal.

The misty bird-like form wrapping Tal slowly dispersed, and she staggered as if overcome by a sudden weakness. Mike jogged over to lend a hand, but she silently refused. Slowly, she made her way over to the broken form of her bound armor.

The elf kneeled, picking up a piece of the shattered metal. While her face didn't really change, Mike could detect a profound sorrow emanating from her.

He decided that she needed some time to grieve, so he checked up on the rest of the group. Brendon had taken over for Tal, protecting the twin, so the trio had remained largely unscathed.

Judging from Lloyd and Rita's fearful faces, their journey up to this point had evidently been harsh.

”You two doing alright? No injuries?” He questioned the pair. They merely shook their heads in response, too overwhelmed to even speak up.

Mike nodded, and decided to wait for Tal to discuss their next step. In the meantime, Brenden grabbed the lizardman's mana core and brought it over to Mike.

”Thanks,” He murmured, a little puzzled by the beastman's behavior.

Brenden nodded before trotting over to stand next to the twins. He was starting to regain a little of his former joviality, but eyes were still sharp and cold. Nevertheless, Lloyd and Rita seemed comforted by his presence.

The whole affair reminded Mike of a solemn guard dog looking after small children.

[Does that thought count as racist?, .... or speciest, I guess?] He thought to himself with some mild amusement, before turning to face Tal, who had finished her business.

She was carefully handling a small, intricately carved rock.

”Is that...?” Mike asked.

”Yes. Mejimanethial's spirit core.” She replied flatly, evidently not wanting to discuss the matter. She placed it reverently into a belt pouch before focusing her gaze on Mike.

”We're on our own.”

Mike parsed her statement for a few moments before replying. ”So, Philomena?”

”Don't know. She was holding back monsters. Told us to go. Haven't seen her since.” Her face remained neutral, but Mike detected a sense of regret. She glanced over at Brenden before questioning, ”Devin?”

”Dead.”

Rita gasped, and Lloyd looked sick. Silence descended on the room for a good minute.

”Well, this is probably the boss room.” Mike said absently, while looking at the large pair of double doors, lost in contemplation. The others waited patiently as he weighed his options. None of them had quite realized it consciously, but in the absence of their instructor, they had begun to treat Mike as the de-facto leader.

”The way I see it, we have three basic options. One, we could backtrack and try to locate Philomena before we challenge the boss room. A Rank 5 adventurer would be a great help, but we have no guarantee that she is still alive.”

”W-We might run into other monsters while we are looking.” Lloyd added hesitantly.

Mike nodded before continuing. ”That's true, and we could end up wasting mana and stamina in the process. Our second option is to wait here, in the hopes that she will make her way back here.”

Tal shook her head. ”Not safe to wait in a dungeon.”

”So, we are left with one other option, challenging the boss ourselves. While this is probably the most dangerous option in the short term, there will be no need to worry about supplies or wandering monsters. If we are successful, we can head back to the guild and see about mounting some kind of rescue mission.”

He waited, but no complaint emerged from the group. ”So are we in agreement? Are you all willing to challenge this boss?”

Tal simply nodded. Brenden just looked at Mike, without saying anything.

The twins seemed uncertain, but after some quiet deliberation between the two of them, Lloyd stepped forward. ”Let's do it.”

”Alright, its decided. Lets talk strategy.”